The next day brought clear skies to the Shanty town. Joran had already left for work bright and early. Allana was sitting quietly by the small fire, heating the remnants of last night's dinner.

BJ was up dragging his brothers and cousins out of bed. "Heading off to the woods to hunt!" He called to Em. Normally he would have gone to the market place but the dreams his brother and cousin were sharing, the tired expressions on both AJ and Connor's faces, and his younger cousin's ability to persuade him yesterday made him want to take them out and lay some ground rules.

Joran too had been acting strangely. Not that Joran was a big fan of the boys. BJ's mind flashed back to the day they met. Em had greeted them warmly but Joran had almost forbidden them entrance to his home. If it weren't for the fact that all three of the older boys each had a Biktin in hand he would never have let them in. Proving they could help put food on the table for the rest of them had made it a little easier.
Connor groaned but Caohdan followed eagerly out the door. His first hunt! He was more than excited. AJ followed behind his little brother still thinking over the "rich man" BJ had gotten money from.
His intuition was telling him that this was important to them but he didn't know anything else. He was quiet as they entered the forest. Far from the shanty town they walked deeper into the woods. It was the only place they could practice with the Force without being seen although it was risky.
"Caohdan tell me how often do you use the Force? How often do you use it to make you faster or stronger than you usually are?"
Caohdan shrugged as he walked. "Usually just when I can't keep up." He admitted. "That's it. Everyone thinks I am a really fast runner."
BJ sighed and turned to Connor and AJ.
"Anyone nearby?"
"Haven't heard or seen anything." Connor replied, while AJ just shook his head.
"Ok." BJ looked at the tree in front of him. He reached out with the ability and grabbed a low level branched and snapped it off. Then he turned to Caohdan. "Your turn little man."
Caohdan grinned and concentrated hard on the tree. The next branch up began to shake.
"Don't tear it off," Said BJ patiently. "Think of it as a knife slicing through butter. It's just atoms anyway. Separate them."
Caohdan nodded and suddenly a rent appeared in the tree and the branch tumbled to the ground, but instead of just tearing the branch off Caohdan had put a gash in the tree.
"Too big of a knife, little brother," AJ commented smiling.

"BJ?" Caohdan said suddenly. "What's an atom?"

BJ sighed, his cousin's education was severely lacking due to their circumstances. He was certain all of them were behind but there was no school here. Unless you were apprenticed and learned a trade.
Connor froze in place. "Biktin." He said excitedly.
"Connor," BJ snapped, "we can get them in a bit, and we need to practice."
Connor schooled himself with a grin. His stomach rumbled though and AJ snickered at him.
Suddenly all of them felt a powerful presence. Having never sensed another Force user before they were all stunned. They didn't know what to make of it.
They saw no one yet through the trees but no one could deny that this presence felt them and was heading toward them. It was reaching out to them, almost calling them.
Even Caohdan sensed it.

"What is that?" Connor whispered fearfully.
"I don't know," BJ replied reluctantly. Thinking of the man in the market, he made a decision. "But I think we may have to run for it."
"I think it's the rich guy from earlier," AJ said, voicing BJ's concerns out loud. "Are you certain he didn't know who you were?"
"He didn't sense me." BJ replied, but stopped. How much did any of them know about a well-trained Force user way out here? They were sitting biktins. He'd hoped they'd have more time to grow up and leave the planet on their own as there was no one to take children off Kelusia.
"Run," he whispered. "Deeper into the forest."
All of them ran, this time no one was hesitant about using the Force to get away. Augmented by fear and the Force each boy leapt through at a speed impossible for an ordinary man to exceed. The presence receded back from them for a time. It seemed to sense their sudden fear.

The forest grew dark and they all knew that on Kelusia there were plenty of creatures out after dark that you didn't want to meet. While they were confident they could handle it they weren't taking any chances tonight.
"Climb a tree?" AJ suggested. Connor nodded but instead of climbing he vaulted up into the thickest limb from the ground. BJ opened his mouth and then shut it. Reminding them not to uses the Force was a moot point at this time. Someone had found them. The question was how long did they have?

They were on the run, and there were other things to worry about.

He vaulted up followed by AJ and Caohdan. The branch was wide enough to walk on, so they leapt higher.
"We really should build a treehouse out here." Connor said quietly surveying the area. They were far from the town.
"I don't think we'll be staying long," AJ said to him settling down. Caohdan came over and laid down next to his brother and put his head on his shoulder and started to cry. The older boys sometimes forgot that he was just five years old.
"Will we see Em and Allana again?" he sobbed into AJ's shoulder. AJ wasn't sure what to say so he hugged him. BJ looked over at him.
"I think it is better we stay hidden for a while little man. Safer for them anyway. We will only get them in trouble."
They all felt the same as Caohdan though. In the complete darkness only Caohdan got any sleep after he cried himself out. The rest tossed fitfully, awaking at every noise.