Cherry and Atticus weren't sure how it happened, but they ended up in the middle of New Orleans. They saw many people seeming to have a good time so far and buying necklace beads. That meant it was nearly time for Mardi Gras. People went to a restaurant called Tiana's Place which even had the prince of Maldonia, Naveen as an employee. Though the shops were closing, it was getting dark and the two weren't sure what to do.

"Man, we're really lost this time..." Cherry sighed as they continued to roam the quiet streets of New Orleans, she thought it was always a party town like on TV, it was odd to see no one on the blocks celebrating or spreading joy to others.

"So, where to?" Atticus asked.

"I'm not sure..." Cherry shrugged.

There was light coughing heard in a dark alley as they walked.

"What was that?" Atticus asked.

"It came from the alley..." Cherry sounded cautious. "Might be dangerous."

"Come on, let's see what it is." Atticus said.

Cherry was still hesitant, but went with him to see what the noise was in the alley. To their surprise, there was a little girl with short black hair and a tattered up dress. She seemed to be whispering and coughing a little to some rats who were giving her some edible food. The girl took the food and started to eat it as she shivered a bit. What was a little girl that age doing alone in the middle of nowhere?

"Hello." Atticus said.

The girl blinked, a little startled by the strangers.

"Relax, we won't hurt you, it's going to be okay..." Cherry tried to relax the girl.

"Yeah." Atticus agreed.

"Sorry..." the girl said nervously. "I was just trying to run away..."

"From where?" Cherry asked.

"Home... I was looking for the nearest orphanage, but I got lost..."

"Why were you running away from home?" Atticus asked.

"Because... Daddy's mean..." the girl explained sadly. "He hurt Mommy a lot and we tried to get away from him, but he hurt her too much earlier tonight and I ran away before he could hurt me too..."

"Oh, dear." Atticus said.'

"Well, you can't stay in the alley... You look hungry and so alone..." Cherry soothed.

"Oh, I'll be okay..." the girl looked to the rats who gave her the food. "They helped me..."

The rats squeaked to the girl.

"Thank you so much, Rodentia and Rodney." the girl smiled back to the rodents.

"You can speak to animals too?" Atticus asked.

"Uh-huh," the girl gave a nod. "I don't know why, but I always been able to."

"That's good to know." Cherry smiled.

There was a pug bull dog mix walking by as he came over. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear, did one of you say you could talk to animals?"

"Yes, she can, in fact, we can too." Atticus said.

"I see," the dog chuckled a little. "You all look kinda worn out and hungry... Maybe I should take youse both to my place, huh? I have to meet an old friend of mine in about an hour, but you're welcome to come with me."

"Staying with a dog?" Cherry sounded unsure.

"You got any other choice?" the dog scoffed.

"I guess we could go." Cherry shrugged as she took the little girl's hand.

"Yeah." Atticus said.

"Follow me then." the dog chuckled, leading them out of the alley.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, we never learned your name." Cherry looked down at the homeless girl.

"Anne-Marie." the girl gave her name with a smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Anne-Marie; my name is Atticus and this is Cherry." Atticus said.

"Pleased to meet you too!" Anne-Marie sounded happier now.

The dog grunted, seeming to be a little annoyed with the girl's cheerfulness. "And I am known as Carface Caruthers."

"Are we getting closer, Mr. Carface?" Anne-Marie asked.

"Gettin' there, won't be long now."

"Okay." Atticus said.


Carface walked into a building which seemed to have a few other dogs.

"Hey, Carface, who're your pets?" one dog laughed.

"It's alright, boys, they won't bite." Carface laughed himself as he got himself a cigar and continued to walk along with the humans following.

Anne-Marie looked around, a little scared of the other dogs, they seemed to be like troubled adults and she stayed close with Cherry and Atticus. Atticus didn't seem to like any of the dogs.

"Killer, make up a room for three." Carface demanded to a dog with glasses and a spiked collar.

"Boss, who're the kids?" the dog asked.

"These are our new 'pets'," Carface explained. "Mary-Anne, Lindy, and September."

"It's Anne-Marie, Cherry, and Atticus." the older girl corrected.

Carface scoffed. "Like it matters."

"Rude much?" Atticus whispered.

Killer went to do what was asked of him.

"Here's the deal," Carface blew with his cigar. "You all help me out with some rat races to make some bets, you tell me the winnin' rat and things will be easy on ya."

"You mean like gambling?" Cherry asked.

Anne-Marie's eyes widened. "That's not right!"

"HEY! I don't recall asking for your all's opinions!" Carface snarled.

"So, basically, you're making us do this for you." Atticus said.

"Exactly," Carface chuckled darkly. "I get what I want and I'll let you all get what you want. I don't wanna have to hurt the little lady..." he gestured to the homeless girl with them.

Anne-Marie wasn't sure if she really wanted anything, she might have to think about it.

"Well, for Anne-Marie, promise her that you'll find her a loving family and I mean, a true, loving family." Atticus said.

Carface laughed. "Sure, whatever..." he then walked to check on Killer with making a room for the kids to sleep in from now on, they worked for him now.

"You guys think I'll find a family?" Anne-Marie sounded excited.

"It's the least we can do for you after the trouble you've been through, honey." Cherry gently stroked her hair.

"Yeah." Atticus said.

Anne-Marie felt special and happy now, she hugged her friends. Cherry and Atticus hugged her back.

"Kids, get over here!" Carface called.

"Yes, sir." Atticus said.


The three of them walked over and followed Carface down some steep stairs and went into a new room. There was a few pillows, big cloaks for them to wear to keep themselves warm, a little kitchen to cook their meals in, and a rusty old heater. It didn't look like much, but they would have to deal with it.

"Ya three start workin' tomorrow, I got business to take care of." Carface said as he walked with Killer back upstairs.

"Wait, Mr. Carface!" Anne-Marie called out.

The doors shut and the three kids were forced to stay where they were which looked just as well as a musty old basement.

"Well, I'll go see what we have to eat in the kitchen." Atticus said.

Cherry sat with Anne-Marie.

The girl then took out a mangy bunny doll and hugged it. "Bunny, we're free from Daddy... Hopefully my new friends can help us find a new mom and dad..."

Atticus was in the kitchen. "So, let's see what we have to work with." He said to himself.

There were various pots and pans with few foods like pasta, canned vegetables, and fruit cocktail.

"Gee, thanks for the limited supply of food, Carface." Atticus said sarcastically.

Cherry was doing her best to soothe Anne-Marie as she seemed to be having emotional trauma because of her abusive household and really missed her mother. Atticus was now making pasta for him and the girls.

"Anne-Marie, how old are you?" Cherry asked.

Anne-Marie felt very comfortable with the older girl. "I'm seven..." Her voice wafted a bit due to how comfortable she felt and supportive for once in her life.

"Okay, girls, dinner will be ready in a few minutes." Atticus said from the kitchen.

"Sounds good!" Cherry called back gently.


A few minutes passed and dinner was ready. Cherry and Anne-Marie joined Atticus to their properly made dinner. Anne-Marie bowed her head with her hands together and quietly said grace before eating. Atticus and Cherry soon did the same thing.

After grace, Anne-Marie started to eat. "Are you guys orphans too?"

"No, my family's back home," Cherry replied. "I have two brothers and a sister."

"Older or younger?" Anne-Marie asked.

"All older, they're all grown-up and moved out of the house, I'm the only one home now." Cherry answered, smiling.

"What about you?" Anne-Marie looked to Atticus.

"A mom and a dad and an older sister." Atticus said.

"I hope I can be adopted someday..." Anne-Marie said softly.

"We promise you will, we don't know when, but you will." Cherry encouraged her to not give up.

"Yeah, oh, and also, I have an adopted sister named Darla." Atticus said.

Anne-Marie still wanted her own family and was slightly jealous of her new friends to have such warm families. Cherry finished her pasta and stood up, offering to take the others' plates if they were done. After they gave her their dishes, she started to wash them. Anne-Marie continued to cuddle with her rabbit doll as she rubbed her eye which had a tear in it. Atticus gave her a tissue.

Anne-Marie took it and lightly dabbed her eyes as she hugged her bunny. "I really miss Mommy..."

"There, there... Maybe we could try to find her and get her away from your Daddy, huh?" Cherry offered, lightly stroking her black hair as she came back.

"I agree." Atticus said.

Anne-Marie felt like she was going to rest a little easier as her eyes looked heavy and she yawned a bit. Cherry looked for a decent pillow and blanket from the bunch. Atticus did the same. Cherry and Atticus tucked Anne-Marie into bed and tried to soothe her and calm her down so she could have sweet dreams for a change.

"You think we can maybe try to find her parents?" Cherry looked to Atticus.

"Yeah." Atticus said.

"Who could we ask?" Cherry pressed her finger against her chin as she pondered.

"Who knows?" Atticus replied.

"You think there's a police station nearby this place?" Cherry asked.

"Possibly." Atticus said.

Cherry climbed up the stairs and held the door open a crack, looking around. "Carface must be sleeping, there's no one here right now."

"Great." Atticus said.

Cherry and Atticus snuck out, trying to memorize how to get back so they wouldn't get in trouble for escaping or running away. They went down the sidewalk again, passing some closed buildings.


There was a man at the detective agency who was locking up for the night.

"Now what do we do?" Atticus asked.

Cherry walked over to the man. "Excuse me, sir, we're sorry to bother you on such a late evening, but we need your help."

"It's late kid, I gotta get to my place and crash." the man scoffed, not wanting to work after just getting off.

"But, sir-" Atticus said.

The man sighed. "Alright... What's the problem?"

"Do you know anything about a little girl named Anne-Marie?" Cherry asked.

"Anne-Marie?" the man scratched his stubbled face. "What's she look like?"

"She has black hair and in a tattered up dress." Atticus said.

The man tried to think. "I think I saw that girl a couple times... I ain't too sure... Why?"

"She's run away from home, do you have information on her parents?" Cherry asked.

The man tried to think again. "Do you know anything yourselves about 'em?"

"Well, we know everything that she told us." Atticus said.

The man sharply sighed and opened up his office to let them inside and he went behind his desk where files were. He then took out a nearly burnt photograph of the girl in question they had asked about. "Is this her?"

"Yeah, Anne-Marie, we need to find Mrs... Her mother." Cherry said.

The man then sighed again, this time sadly. "I'm sorry, kids, you can't see this little girl's parents."

"Why?" Atticus asked.

"What happened?" Cherry added.

"There was a tragic accident last night," the detective explained. "Joseph blamed Maria for their child disappearing. He then decided to do her in if ya catch my drift... Though, after she passed, we and the cops were gonna arrest him for obvious domestic violence homicide, but he ran. The cops then shot at him, but the bullet had killed him."

"Oh, dear." Atticus said.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do..." the man said to them.

"How are we ever going to explain this to Anne-Marie?" Cherry sounded devastated.

"I don't know." Atticus said, also sounding devastated.


Cherry and Atticus walked slowly and sadly back to Carface's place. The story about Anne-Marie's parents felt even worse when they came back downstairs without being seen and saw the girl sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of what had become of her parents. It was getting very late and Cherry started to yawn a bit. Maybe they should go to bed too.

"We'll tell her in the morning." Atticus said.

Cherry nodded, then got comfortable, making up a place for her to sleep too. Anne-Marie cuddled with her bunny doll, still fast asleep. Atticus went to bed as well.