The storm was over when the hot sunshine woke Emil Lapin up the next morning. Every muscle in his body ached but he made himself open his eyes and sit up. What amazed him was the knowledge that it didn't even look like the storm had happened. He smiled when he noticed Remy sleeping beside him, and was also glad to see that their backpacks had not gone missing during the night.

Before waking his friend, Emil looked around them. The aqua waves were calm and Emil could see seagulls flying around. Behind them, there were dense forests of tropical trees, bushes and wildlife, and behind that a small mountain. On the far end of the beach Emil could see a stream flowing to the ocean; he found himself absently hoping it was fresh water. It occurred to him that he was hungry, so he decided it was time to wake Remy up.

Gently shaking Remy's shoulder, Emil spoke his cousin's name quietly, in an effort to not startle him too much. "Remy. Hey Remy, wake up. De storm's over."

Remy's strange red-on-black eyes opened and as he sat up he complained about how sore he was. "One t'ing I don' ever wan' do 'gain is try to swim t'rough a hurricane. I don' s'pose we managed to swim to Florida, huh?"

Emil shook his head. "Non…it don' look like anythin' I've ever seen of de coast of Florida. I t'ink we're on an island somewhere. I jus' don' know where."

"Okay." Remy sighed, trying to figure out what their first plan should be. He stood up and looked at his cousin. "I t'ink we should maybe find out if dat stream down dere is fresh or salt water. Den maybe we should look for a cave for shelter, or a place to build one of our own. An' is dere any sign of James?"

"No. I ain' seen him since we left de kitchen after we'd decided to abandon de boat." Emil replied, standing up and walking with Remy down to the stream he had seen earlier. They took their packs with them planning on starting their shelter search right away.

Remy knelt down by the water and cupped his hands, dipping them into the cool water and taking a drink. "It's fresh, t'ank God. If we run out of de water we have in our packs, we can use dis. Which means we won' die."

Emil took a drink of the water as well after he was overcome with a sudden thirst he couldn't explain. When they were finished, they crossed the stream and started walking, hoping to find a shelter and clues as to their location

Tante Mattie had been comfortably reading a book in her New Orleans home when the storm suddenly appeared in the South Atlantic. In the middle of a sentence, she lowered the book, feeling uneasy and worried. She reached over and picked up the remote for her television and, eyes wide, learned of the hurricane that no one had been able to predict. She tried to shake off her feeling of dread, but couldn't help thinking that her boys were in trouble. She had been a key person in the lives of Remy and Emil since they were born and had a special bond with both of them.

"It makes no sense," she thought. "Dey should be safe from harm in de cottage, an' yet I've got dis feelin' dey ain' safe at all…"

A quiet knock sounded on the backdoor of her house, a sound Mattie would not have heard if she'd been anyone else in the world. But she was mother figure, spiritual healer and guide to the New Orleans Thieves and Assassins Guilds and had been for many years. She was used to hearing almost non-existent knocks, words and other sounds.

When she opened the door Mattie wasn't surprised at who she saw in the shadows of her back porch. Theoren Marceaux, Mercy LeBeau, Claude Potier, Genard Alouette and Zoe Ishihara were the last remaining members of Clan LeBeau, and the only living family Emil and Remy had. Mattie realized her feelings must be well founded if they felt the need to show up at her door unexpected.

"Come in, all of you." She said to them, moving aside so they could join her. There was an overlying sense of uncertainty and fear among the five thieves. As the others went to sit in the living room and watch the news, Mattie noticed something and put a hand on Theoren's arm. She'd known all of them since they were born, and in all of Theoren's life, she had never once seen him shaking as badly as he was then.

Theoren looked at her, his dark eyes silently begging the healer to tell him they were wrong, to tell him they were overreacting because of the sudden storm. She understood the look and sighed. "If I could tell you dat, I would, chil'. Right now I t'ink all we can do is sit an' wait until we hear from dem."

"I'm scared." Theoren admitted, his voice almost inaudible. It took something that shook him to the core of his being to make him say those two words and as they joined the others in the living room, Mattie gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Tante Mattie, can you tell us anythin'?" Mercy asked as they sat down. She was Remy's sister-in-law as well as a member of the group of thieves who helped Emil's father raise him. The five anxious thieves looked at Mattie for an answer to Mercy's question, and the old woman sighed.

"Dey're alive, but somethin' tells me dey're in de middle of dat storm somehow," she told them. "I can' say anythin' more'n dat, I'm sorry."

For the rest of the night, the six kept a worried vigil, watching the updates on the storm on television and praying that Remy and Emil were okay.

"It ain' a big island."

That was Remy's comment when he and Emil wound up back at the stream where they started three hours later. They had walked around the entire circumference of the island without finding a single cave for shelter.

"Well, I t'ink we should try to find a place close to de stream to build a shelter." Emil suggested. "Dat way we won' have far to go if we need it."

Remy nodded in agreement. They started searching for a suitable area near the stream and finally decided to use the trees as a back wall. They constructed a shelter using the trees, branches and palm leaves. It was crude and rather funny-looking when it was finished, but at least it would keep them dry if it rained again.

When the shelter was finished, they created a fire pit, and sorted out their food and water supplies. They had to make what they had last as long as they could.

"Dis is like a really drastic version of Survivor." Emil commented, his voice low. They had discovered that if they rationed their food and water enough, they had enough to last three days. And three days was not a long time when no one knew where you were or what had happened. Emil sat by the fire, pulling his knees up to his chest as the sun set and sighed deeply. "I wan' go home…"

Remy walked over to his cousin and sat down beside him, putting an arm around Emil's shoulders comfortingly. "Me too, Red."

DAY FOUR