Chapter 1

I yawn as I lean against the brick wall. I play with my bandana tucked away in my jacket pocket, trying to keep myself awake. My eyes hurt and feel extremely heavy. Standing up and jumping a couple of times, I stretch my cold and tired body. I can't fall asleep, no matter what I can't fall asleep. Looking around the alley I decide to take shelter for the night. Not far from where I'm standing is a dumpster and next to it is a tent, no doubt the makeshift house of a homeless person.

I sigh, my breath, usually invisible, appears in front of me as a white mist. I hear a ruckus from behind me, footsteps, an accidental kick of a can, some barely audible swearing. Without a second thought, I take off down the alleyway. Sure enough, I hear the footsteps speed up behind me to catch up. I force myself to run faster, I can't let him catch me, I can't go back. Sprinting several blocks and turning down random streets before I finally lose him. I stop and bend over while trying to catch my breath, not realizing that my bandana has fallen out of my pocket during the chase.

After I recover, I wander around the dark streets. It seems like forever but the sun finally rises. I'm exhausted, I haven't gotten much sleep in a long time, and I don't even know what month or day it is. I take refuge under an overpass. Leaning against the concrete wall and resting my sore body, I end up drifting off to sleep. I wake up as the sun begins to set in the sky, casting beautiful colors across it.

I sigh and force my sore and tired body to stand up. I thought that they'd eventually give up on catching me. That eventually, they'd just let me be and move on. If only I were so lucky, I think grimly. I groan and try to stretch out my sore muscles. My stomach growls angrily at my constant neglect.

"You can't run forever," I hear his low raspy voice assert from behind me.

I don't bother turning around, time is of the essence. I force my legs to begin running again. I don't make it more than a few paces before I see his accomplice step out from behind a tree. A tall boy, who to an unsuspecting person, just seems to be a teenager but he's stopped aging long ago. His fluffy brown hair was illuminated by the beautiful twilight sky. His yellow goggles pulled over his brown eyes and his mouth guard hanging loosely around his neck. His brown and blue hoodie dirty from chasing me down for months. He walks purposefully towards me. I screech to a halt and before I can turn to either my right or left I'm grabbed from behind. He wraps one arm firmly around my narrow shoulders and with his other hand holds his blade to my neck.

No…..No….NO….

I can't go back. I struggle in his grasp causing the blade to cut shallow wounds onto the flesh of my neck. I need to get away, I can't go back, I can't.

"Hold fucking still, I'm not going to deal with Jeff if you get seriously hurt, he's a pain in the ass as it is," He growls into my ear, pissed off at my struggling.

The shallow cuts on my neck sting in the fresh air and I can feel them starting to bleed slightly. I don't stop and continue to try to earn my freedom. I can't let them take me back. Jeff… he'll… I try my best to push away those menacing thoughts and focus on breaking from this man's grasp. I'm not going back, not without a fight.

"Toby!" He barks as his accomplice, needing me to stop trying to break free.

Toby begins to dig into his pockets looking for something unseen and unknown to me. He pulls out a small black bag with a drawstring. He opens it as he comes closer to where the two of us are standing. I know full well what will happen if he uses that shit on me. Reaching into my hoodie pocket for my trusty bandana, I find it has left me stranded and defenseless against their drug. Realizing this, the only thing I can do is continue to struggle, wanting desperately to break free. I try in vain to use all of my strength to pull my captor's knife arm away. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep and food has made me grow weak and hardly able to fight back against him.

Toby pulls a handful of the dust contained within the small bag and blows it into my face. I try to hold my breath, but it's too late, I already inhaled some of the dust. I can already feel my legs grow weak and my vision darken.

"Jesus, why does she always have to start fucking trouble. Honestly, Jeff should just kill her and get a more obedient one." My captor spits out, annoyed by my stubbornness.

This might be it though, he might actually kill me when I return. Though….maybe it'll be better that way. I think solemnly, my brain quickly becomes fuzzy and numb. My knees buckle under the sway of the drugs, causing me to lose balance. Before my body hits the concrete, my captor grips me under my weak knees and holds me up to his chest.

"He likes the troublemakers, gives him something to take his anger out on," Toby says with a chuckle, his voice is kind of fuzzy and far away.

"Shit...E.J.," I hear one of them say, as my hearing fades in and out, no longer able to discern who's talking in my drug-induced state.

I can't believe I allowed them to catch up to me. I don't remember the powder working so fast last time, perhaps it's due to my empty stomach. Though my vision has now darkened to the point where I can't see much, I can tell we've started moving.

No…..please don't...take me back, is my last thought as I lose consciousness.