The frigid water chilled her straight to the bone. It soaked her clothes, plastering them against her body as if they were made of paper.

A sharp gasp escaped her throat once her head popped above the surface. The water level reached her shoulders, far higher than what she'd been expecting. She quickly pulled the child to the surface and squinted in order to see him in the darkness.

"You okay, kid?" Erin asked hoarsely.

The child responded with a sneeze and shook his head, his long ears flapping in dismay.

"Good." She said as she brushed a few wet strands of hair out of her face. "Stars, it's cold down here. And it stinks." She wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell. At least it wasn't a sewage pipe.

The sound of gunfire from the cantina echoed down the chute.

"Alright, let's get a move on and hope Din makes it out alive. This tunnel has to lead somewhere." Erin pulled the child close and began wading through the water.

She'd hardly traveled a few meters before she heard another loud splash behind her. She spun around and tried to make out who was rising up through the water. "Buckethead, is that you?"

The figure that rose out of the water was far bigger than Din, with larger muscle mass and curved horns protruding from their head.

Erin's heart dropped into her stomach. "Shit."

A bolt of plasma glanced off the side of the tunnel, nearly grazing her shoulder. She whirled around and began frantically wading through the water. She couldn't swim with the child in her arms, not when she needed to keep his head above water.

Gradually, the water level lowered to her knees, allowing her to break into a sloppy jog. Water sloshed around in her boots and stung her bare skin as it splashed up against her. Her muscles were screaming with effort as she pushed herself to put as much distance between her and the Devaronian as possible. Why hadn't he gunned her down yet?

After what felt like twenty minutes of running, Erin ran out of room to work with. She slowed to a stop at the edge of a drop, where water continued to flow down the tunnel. Essentially, it had just become a giant waterslide.

"You've got nowhere to run, girlie!" The Devaronian called, his voice echoing menacingly off the walls.

Erin faced the drop, trembling like a leaf with a wet bundle in her arms. "This just gets better and better..." She drew in a breath through her nose, then slowly let it out. "Ready to go on the ride of your life, kiddo?"

The child cooed excitedly, unaware of the danger he was currently in.

She cracked a grin. "Okay. One... two... three!" She jumped off the edge, clinging to the child for dear life.

Her back hit the slope of the pipe and water sprayed in her face as she picked up speed. Upon reaching the bottom of the slope, the pipe curved upwards, leading towards a large opening to the outside. She shot through that opening like a cannon ball, free-falling for a few seconds before crashing into a large body of water.

Erin broke through the surface of the water a few seconds after going under. She quickly swam towards the shore, using one arm to keep the child above the surface while the other helped propel her forwards.

When she finally reached the shore, she set the child down first before flopping over onto her back, gasping for air.

"I can't believe I just did that." Erin said, wiping her eyes.

The child waddled over and poked her arm with a soft coo. His wide, dark eyes looked down upon her with innocence and intrigue.

She hauled herself up with a dramatic groan and began wringing water out of her hair with her hands. "I'm okay, but thanks for your concern." She said with a chuckle.

Once she was satisified with the state of her hair, she tossed it over her shoulder and scooped the child into her arms. Now all she had to do was find Din.

Erin climbed up the shore until she reached the forest's edge. She cast a wary glance over her shoulder to make sure that Devaronian hadn't followed her before disappearing into the undergrowth.

***

It took about an hour to reach civilization again, mostly due to the fact that the undergrowth was thick and her soaking clothes were weighing her down.

In the distance, Erin saw what remained of the cantina. The building's exterior was spotted with black burns—Din must have brought the firefight outside—and smoke filtered through the front entrance.

Suddenly, a firm pair of hands seized her shoulders. She yelped and immediately wrenched herself free. She was about to make a break for it when a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.

"What are you doing here?"

Erin let out a sigh of relief. It was Din. She turned around to face him, wearing a half-smile.

"I came back to find you." She said.

He looked her up and down, noting her soaked clothing. "Are you hurt?" He asked.

"Not that I know of." She replied, shifting the child in her arms. "What about you?"

"I'm fine. We need to get out of here." He gently took her by the arm and began leading her towards a parked speeder bike.

"Where are we going to go? Unless there's another town or something, it's nothing but woods out there." Erin said.

"We just need to lay low until things calm down. Then we'll circle around to the Crest." Din said. He climbed onto the speeder bike and gestured for her to sit behind him. "I can't risk the child's safety by staying here. Those were bounty hunters who attacked us."

Erin slid in behind him, placing the child in her lap. She went to wrap her arm around his midsection for support, but decided against it at the last second. He might view it as an infringement of his personal space. Then again, she was already in his personal space, so it didn't really matter.

"They're after the kid, aren't they?" She asked.

He sighed softly, his hands gripping the handlebars of the bike. "I'm afraid so." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Hold on. It could be a bumpy ride."

She held her breath in hesitation before she wrapped her free arm around Din's midsection. Naturally, her head came forward and settled on the dark fabric between his neck and his shoulder plate. Clutching the child against her stomach, she prayed that he didn't mind how close she was.

As Din revved the bike's engine and took off down the dirt path, his mind wandered.