1901

The moon was hidden behind thick clouds; so thick that they almost burst at the seams with the load they carried. In the shadows the buildings loomed over everything. So late was the hour that there was barely a candle to shine their safety into the alleyways. Puddles from the previous storm flooded every crevice.

Desperate, she fled down the first alley she could find, hoping the shadows would give her enough cover and space that she could escape. Her feet crashed inevitably into puddles, soaking her already damp clothes.

Not now…they won't take me, not yet. Please, God…if you're up there help me now.

Hearing nothing behind her, she slowed her pace and hid behind a stack of crates, catching her breath and clutching at her near-bursting heart. Braving a glance, she looked out from behind the crate, watching to see if they were behind her. Nothing.

Feeling that grim sense of triumph, she turned to run home and slammed into a solid torso. Stumbling back and knocking over the stack, she looked up at him in fear. "No…SHIT!"

He grabbed at her, gripping her clothes with a purpose. Poised high over her head she saw the glint of metal. No matter how much she struggled, his vice-like grip had clenched over her hair. He yanked her head back, exposing her throat.

With a silent prayer, she ground her teeth and shut her eyes as his hand descended to her neck-

2006

Gasping for air and struggling to return to reality, Delaney shot up in bed, her nightshirt damp in cold sweat. Finally catching her breath, she glanced around. She'd be damned if it wasn't that same old dream again. It had been a few months since she'd had it, and she had slept peacefully for a while, but now…

Sighing with exasperation, she flung her legs from under the covers to the other side of the bed and ran her hand across her face. Through her parted fingers, the sun penetrated her sleepy unfocused eyes. Glaring at the window as if it was at fault, she got up and shut the blinds before the sun ironically blinded her.

"Well good morning, sunshine. You're up before 9:00 – Did Hell freeze over?" Delaney rolled her eyes in annoyance at his smug tone.

Quinn LeForte had to be the most annoying boy on the face of the earth. He was constantly flaunting his looks, strutting throughout the household and flirting with all the females. At age 18, it was hard not to notice him, and he made damn sure of that as well. Quinn was the usually the type of person you'd want to have your back, but unfortunately, your backside wouldn't.

With a fake smile plastered on her face, she turned and confronted her unwanted guest. "Don't you have a girl to chase after?" Quinn simply grinned that pearly grin of his (which annoyed her to no end) and leaned against the doorframe.

" Figured you'd be happy to see me this morning, after we had to be parted away last night. I knew you'd be desperately wanting my company."

She scoffed and laughed mockingly at him. "You wish. If you remember correctly, I was avoiding you the whole night." Delaney began to try to straighten up her bed covers, though she tossed them back down when they disobeyed her efforts. She spun around to face him. "What do you want?" she asked frustratedly. "If you've said your piece, get out of my room and let me change."

Though Quinn had at first taken a lecherous approach to confronting her, his smug grin and his raised brow faded when her look told him she was serious. Well, damn it, he could be a pain in the ass, too. He stepped away from the door and walked closer to her, his arms crossed. "Why DO you keep avoiding me, Deli? It gets kinda annoying when someone tries to talk to you, and you full out walk away."

Delaney lifted her eyes heavenward as if some higher power would make him leave her be. "Perhaps it's the fact that when I try to have a decent conversation with you, you bring up the matter of sex. Not everyone wants to sleep with you, least of all me, despite what you think." Quinn looked appauled. "Me?"

Quinn quickly wrapped his arm around his shoulders, nearly putting her in a headlock, just to keep her from escaping. "Why, I would NEVER do anything so dishonorable as to think such ungentlemanly thoughts such as you under me….screaming my name-…"

"Oh for the love of God." Delaney pushed him aside and walked to the stairs. "You're lucky I don't slap the shit out of you…ACK!" she barely had enough time to let the words leave her mouth before she had to literally hang onto the banister to avoid a group of little boys and a huge mongrel of a dog.

Holding a hand to her heart, she glared after them. "PATRICK!" As the boy turned, shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry Del! Hank ran off again and we went to catch him and he kinda chased us around and-.."

"Whatever, dude…just keep the dog-and yourselves- in check, alright? I don't want to fall down the stairs again-wait…is it raining?"

Patrick and the other boys looked slightly confused. "How'd you know?"

Delaney looked down at the mud-streaked stairs and then up at the soaked boys and sopping sheepdog. "Just a lucky guess…" Hardly able to hide her amusement, she shook her head at them. "You guys had better dry off and clean your mutt off before Jerry comes home. Its bad enough the poor old guy has to live with all us kids. Go on, scoot!" She made a pushing gesture with her hands until she was satisfied that the boys had moved on. Then she saw the dog sitting patiently at the top of the stairs, his tail wagging gleefully, splattering drops of mud on the walls. "You, too."

Hank whined and got up slowly, shuffling into the bathroom as she pointed to it.

Delaney, satisfied, walked downstairs to the kitchen, her hand unconsciously rubbing at her throat. Catching herself, she dropped it and opened the first cupboard door to get a glass. 'Again with that stupid dream...but then again I suppose that's just what it is… a stupid reoccurring dream.' She scowled at herself for even thinking about it at the moment, knowing she had other things to worry about. Also, she could ask Jerry about it.

Jerry Whitaker, a man of about 60, ran a government-approved safehouse for kids who found themselves homeless or abused. Having no kids or family himself, he often thought he was the luckiest guy in the world, because he had over 20 children. Jerry normally didn't strike someone as the "fatherly" or sometimes, "Grandfatherly", type of man. He was tall, rough-looking, and seemed to like to intimidate people.

But then again, Delaney thought with a small smile, when he took in his first child, her, he showed nothing but kindness. Granted he was awkward at first, not knowing what to do with a small child, but he was wonderful no matter what.

"DELANEEEEEYYYY!"

Delaney jumped and nearly screamed as someone came up from behind her and lifted her off the ground, with her feet kicking in the air.

"Deli, Deli, Deli, Deli…! I've MISSED YOU!"

Bwahaha...cliffhangers rawk. Okay next chapter to be up soon hopefully!