Prologue

Zoe peered into the alleyway. She bit her mud crusted lip as she watched a cat pounce on top of a rat. She turned to look behind her, and heard the footsteps of her one fear: cops.

Zoe turned into the alley and hid behind a crate. Her breathing became rushed and terrified as the footsteps stopped near the alley entrance. A flashlight beam spread through the alley, and she stopped breathing.

The flashlight beam hung there for what seemed like forever, and then vanished. She sighed in relief.

Zoe stood back up after about ten minutes, and then hurried out of the alleyway and towards the safe house. She ducked between trash bins and other obstacles when she heard any car or any person, until she made it to the safe house.

The safe house wasn't really a house at all, more like a destroyed apartment building that had yet to be torn down. When Zoe stumbled through the door, she was met by a boy holding a bat, ready to attack whoever came through.

Exasperated, she said "It's me, don't worry..."

The bat slowly fell back to the boys side. He relaxed. "Zoe, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Darrick."

Darrick gave a small smile. His mouth stretched out, making the freckles on his face harder to see. His curly ginger hair fell around his face, and his chocolate brown eyes were warm.

He held out his hand, and Zoe grabbed it. "Zo, you are covered in mud and dirt. What happened?"

"I got chased by the cops. The store manager called them when I ran off with the pickup."

Zoe pulled out the food under her coat. It consisted of bread, some apples, and a few slices of ham. Darrick looked at it hungrily. He licked his lips. "That should feed us for a little bit. Great job." He rubbed the top of her head, then grimaced when he came up with a handful of dried mud.

"Sorry Darrick." Zoe said, looking at the ground.

Darrick looked at her, his face that of kindness. "Zo, it's fine, I'm good. No need to be sorry, little sis."

Zoe snapped her head up, her ginger hair bouncing along with it. She smiled. "Thanks, Darrick." She said, hugging him tightly.

"No problem, I'll always be here for you."

Zoe sat in the main room with the rest of the kids. There were five of them including her and Darrick. Two girls, and three boys, her and Darrick the only siblings. The other girl was named Sophia, and she had darker hair, brown eyes, and darker skin. The other boy besides Darrick was named Ivan, and he had black hair, tan skin, and brown eyes. The last boy was named Brandon, and he had tan skin, brown, shaggy hair, and blue eyes. Brandon was the oldest out of them at seventeen, and he had one motto he lived his life by.

"Zoe." Brandon called.

"Yes?"

"Did you see any Richie's wandering around?"

Richie's were what they called people living in a normal lifestyle. "No, I was hidden under the cover of the night."

"Good. We don't want any of those kind being around here or seeing us."

Zoe bit her lip. Richie's weren't all bad, but Brandon had bad experiences with some, which probably scarred him for life.

Brandon looked at them. "Tomorrow, I'll be on guard duty. Sophia, you'll be the gatherer. Ivan, you'll watch over Zoe and make sure she didn't catch anything. Darrick, you'll be with me. Get some sleep for now."

Zoe got up, and Sophia and her went to the girls room. "Isn't Brandon dreamy?" Sophia asked, her eyes wandering.

Zoe shook her head. "What's to think he's cute, huh? He isn't that nice lookin'."

Sophia sighed. "Twelve year olds."

Zoe watched her walk into the room, and then fall on to her bed, singing a love song. Zoe stayed at the door way, trying to think of what Sophia meant. Brandon wasn't that good lookin, was he?

Zoe walked over to her bed, and sat down. Sophia turned to look at her, her face dark and unpleasant. She exhaled, and then lied down, and her breathing grew from consistent, to almost silent.

The door creaked open as Darrick walked in. "Hey, I just wanted to say goodnight." He said, rubbing her back. "Hopefully you'll get a bath tomorrow, hmm?"

"Yeah, sure." Zoe said, still a tiny bit angry at Sophia.

"Is something bothering you, Zoe?"

Zoe sighed, then felt tears coming to her eyes. "No, of course not. I'm fine."

Darrick kept his hand on her side for a bit, and then stood up. "Alright then. If you need me, feel free to come in and wake me, alright?"

Zoe nodded, and then Darrick left.

After about an hour of tossing and turning, Zoe started feeling hot tears streaming down her face. She stood up and open the door, and walked over to the curtain to the boys room. She pushed passed it, then lied down next to Darrick. He rolled over and gave her a smile. She still felt tears rolling down her cheeks as he put his arms around her.

Zoe soon felt the world getting darker, and she fell into dream land.