A bright red convertible finally began to slow down as it approached a gas station far outside the city. The sunrise in the sky shone light on the several claw marks on the sides and back of the car. Its passengers, a mouse couple, had been driving all night before, their eyes dark and puffy from lack of sleep, their fur ruffled from all the terror. Coming to a stop, they both took a deep breath, and exited the car.

"Jeez..." the male of the two commented, his eyes gazing in fear at the back of the car. "...Would ya take a look at those scratches...stupid thing was worth practically all my money."

"Yes, Mike, I see them," the female stretched her legs, frankly a bit too tired to care. Grabbing a small amount of what little cash they had left from their glove compartment, she walked towards the station inside. "Stay there, Mike. I'm paying for gas."

"Yeah, you do that, babe," he waved absent-mindedly.

To think, just after he finished his performance the night before, he was nearly killed by the leader of the bear trio (again) that had been tracking him since he cheated on some poker game. In one night, he was nearly eaten alive, and he and his girlfriend, Nancy, had just barely escaped him alive by driving like bats out of Hell. They lost him, eventually, but they didn't stop driving until they were sure they were somewhere he couldn't follow them.

"Mike?" Nancy asked, concern in her voice as she approached him. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay to you?!" he snapped, his eyes bloodshot and desperate. "Nancy, we were practically eaten alive! And those bears could still be out there, you know!" His ears flattened, his voice had gotten considerably quieter. "Following us, stalking us, ready to flippin' kill us!"

"Oh, Mike, don't be ridiculous. We lost them by the time we were on the highway. Look around you: do you see any bears around here?"

"...Well, no, not now, but-"

"No. There are no bears here. And you know what? There probably won't be any bears nearby anytime soon."

"But-"

"Mike, just listen to me. Just for a second," Nancy took his paws in hers. "If you're really that worried, I know a nice little town not too far from here where we can hide, and some family and very good friends of mine who would be willing to help us out." Mike rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't know, baby. A 'nice little town' ain't exactly my style."

"It isn't really mine either, but it would just be temporary until this whole 'bear' thing blows over. After that, we can move to another city, maybe even start a whole new life together. But until then, the smart thing to do may be to just lay low, maybe build up a stash of money somewhere so then by the time we get back on our feet, we're not broke. Okay?" Mike looked down at his feet in thought. He never liked the idea of living in one of those shoddy, low-class hick towns, but maybe that would be the last place the bears would look for him! After all, Nancy did have a point: it's not like you can just walk into a city and get their finest without a little bit of dough.

"...Yeah, alright." With a reluctant smile, Mike pecked her on the forehead.

"Okay, stud. I'm driving."

"Weren't you just driving all night?" he asked with a slight tease in his voice.

"Yeah, but I don't mind driving a little more. It's only about...fifteen, twenty minutes from here, maybe?"

"If you say so."

Nancy smelled the fresh country air as she drove along, feeling a sense of relief of taking a break from the busy city life, and starting anew with her lover.

Mike, on the other hand, found it much harder to relax. His heart pounding, he couldn't help but occasionally looking over his shoulder, half-expecting the bears to show up out of nowhere and attack.

Gotta take it easy...it'll all be over soon, he reminded himself. Just gotta take it easy.

With a full tank of gas, they continued down the long, dusty road, the mood that hung between them in the early morning air slowly changing from desperation to hope.