Author's note: An updated version of the previous first chapter. A few things are changed and I gave a bit more information of how Jamie looks.

Stilwater at night was a gorgeous sight to behold, at least from the right vantage point. The skyscrapers lit up the sky while down on the streets colorful flashing lights could be seen as several parties were taking place at once. Many people were drawn to this city every year for several different reasons. Some tried to make a name for themselves through Kingdom Come Records while others were hoping to get signed on with the Ultor Corporation. This city could easily be someone's fast track to the top of a billion dollar company, if they knew the right people to sweet talk.

But underneath all of the glam and glitz that the city paraded proudly was a darker side, both literally and figuratively. While Stilwater was busy showing the world its innovative products, gorgeous models, and popular hip-hop songs it was working hard to keep the most unpleasant aspects well out of the lime-light; the three gangs that plagued the city. People were so used to the colors of red, blue, and yellow in their designated areas. As long as they didn't try to make a move on one another and start a gang war the city felt fine to 'live and let live'. However, there was an area that all three of the gangs were now vying to get. It was the only unclaimed area in Stilwater, the ghetto known as Third Street in the middle of Saints Row.

It had quickly become the most dangerous area in town. The only people who lived there were those who were nearly or completely destitute with nowhere else to go that would allow them to stay cheaply for extended amounts of time. Most had no access to a phone, be it a landline or a cell, so when the shooting started the citizens would avoid anyone wearing the colors of a gang, hide inside of the nearest building, and hope that someone passing by on the freeway would take enough notice to call the police. What little money they managed to scrape up would be spent on ammo or used for protection money. For many of the young people living in this area this violence would be all that they knew. Either they would be killed in a crossfire or they would join a gang in hopes that they could escape the quagmire they had been born into by gaining enough money illegally that they could ditch the town.

But, for some, Third Street became a sanctuary. It was a place where their past was forgotten and they were surrounded by individuals who were willing to lay down their lives for one another. For others, Third Street was out of the way and decrepit enough that they could go into hiding easily. The cops hardly ever came to this area. A few could be seen patrolling but for the most part, it was deserted, making it an excellent place for runaways and criminals.

Gin was a 16 year old girl who had been living here with her brother, Jamie who was 21 years old and extremely protective of her, for a couple of years now. He had been trying to find himself a decent job to take care of them both but it was difficult since he hardly ever spoke to anyone except Gin. He hated the fact she had gotten a job and was trying to support them on a less than minimum wage paycheck. She was trying to pay for their shitty apartment through her check and the tips that she got from some of her more lecherous customers. She had gotten hired at Freckle Bitch's. The long red hair, green eyes, numerous freckles, and small, but curvaceous figure, had landed her the job. At the end of the day they were only able to eat food on their worn out mattresses because Jamie had become adept at pickpocketing and Gin received a discount at Freckle Bitch's. But some days that wasn't even enough and they would be forced to go hungry.

Recently the streets had started becoming increasingly dangerous. Now Jamie had begun walking her to and from work which was about 30 minutes away. She would get changed in the bathroom before and after her shift so she didn't have to walk down the street looking like a hooker. But after her shift ended she would pool some of her money in tips together with Jamie's haul and they would buy their food and eat it on the plastic chairs and tables set up outside of the restaurant. When they finished they would walk home arm-in-arm in an attempt to dissuade most of the gang members from picking her up off the streets so that she could be whored out.

It worked fairly well, since looking at them would not allow someone to tell that they were brother and sister. They looked so different from one another. Standing at 5'9", Jamie was taller than her by 6", he had short dark black hair that was usually disheveled, small light blue eyes, and his build was more athletic. They were fine with the rumor getting spread around that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, so long as it kept people from breaking down their door.

When they reached their apartment they would walk around to the back door since the front door had been busted and they didn't want anyone to know that it was being held shut by a worn out dresser they had picked up off the side of the street one day.

On this night their routine was going well… at least until they were a couple of blocks away from the old church. The activity around the church had been increasing lately as more and more people wearing purple could be seen loitering by the front doors or drinking 40 oz on the wall. Gin and Jamie had been talking about changing their route earlier that week because of it but they kept putting it off. Purple wasn't a color of any gang that they really knew but they had started to fight against the others and the Vice Kings, the gang in yellow, were determined to destroy them.

As they were walking along the street Gin felt Jamie's hold on her arm tighten. She glanced around the street to see why. There was a guy selling legit watches and a fat whore wearing a hideous pink leopard print jacket and short shorts who was trying to coax Jamie to have a night of fun with her instead. While at first Gin thought that it was the whore who he was reacting to when she looked up at Jamie and smirked she noticed he was looking past them. She looked over and saw a group of three black men wearing yellow. They had been spray painting over a blue Rollerz tag. As Jamie and Gin were nearing them one of the guys looked up and noticed her. He let out a wolf whistle which caught his buddies attention. Jamie put a bit more pressure on her arm and she got the hint. They veered to the left and began crossing the street.

"Yo, don't move!" One of the guys in yellow yelled at them. Gin glanced up at Jamie's face, her normally large eyes so wide they made her look childish. "Hey, bitch, we could show you a better time than that little fuck. What do you say?"

Gin turned and stuck out her tongue at them, "Go fuck yourself, cockbite." She felt Jamie tense up against her and she bit her tongue to keep herself from saying anything else. The three guys had caught up to them now and two were walking on either side of them, while one was walking behind.

"Hey buddy, we gotta teach your whore a little lesson. Leave." One of the guys said as he grabbed ahold of Gin's arm.

She felt Jamie's arm leave her's and she knew it was going to be a fight. Gin whirled around, swinging her fist into the guy's stomach with enough force that he let go. She turned towards the church and began sprinting towards the wall. Behind her she could hear the sounds of fighting but she didn't dare turn around to look because of the sound of footfalls following along behind her. They were too heavy to be Jamie's even if he was running flat out. She reached the wall and pulled herself up and over it as quickly as she could. When she dropped down to the other side, she messed up her landing. She rolled onto her side and picked herself up from the ground as quickly as she could before sprinting towards the church doors. Behind her she heard someone jump the wall and continue along. Her fall had cost her several precious seconds. She slammed into the church door and felt her heart hammer in her chest when it didn't open right away. Giving another shove, the door flew open and she ran into the wall of the entrance hall.

As she turned to run into the main building a hand grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled her back. "You're pretty fast, bitch." She was slammed up against the wall, one of her arms twisted behind her back as she felt someone pressing up against her. "Before we were just gonna fuck ya, now I think I'll fuck ya and turn ya over to Tanya. You'd be getting us a decent amount of money."

He began trying to jerk down her pants. From the position he had her in it was extremely difficult so he turned her around and lifted her up off of her feet. When her face wasn't shoved up against the wall she could look around for anything that would be helpful within arm's length. She noticed a floor length candelabra lying on the ground, off to the side. "Go fuck yourself, asswipe!" She spat back at him. It angered him. His hold on her became rougher and caused her to cry out.

"Don't worry, you'll be screaming for me all night long. I'll fuck you real good."

Gin's free hand came up towards his face. She sunk her nails into his flesh, causing him enough pain that he let go and staggered away from her holding the side of his face. She fell to her knees and rolled out of the way as he aimed a kick at her side.

"You bitch!"

She grabbed the candelabra lying on the floor and held it in front of her protectively as she stood up. There were footsteps from somewhere inside of the church but the most immediate threat to her at the present moment was the asshole in front of her. He was charging at her and there was no room to sidestep him. Gin swung the candelabra. The bar connected with the side of his head causing him to become dazed. She jerked it forward so that the base crashed into the back of his head. She tossed it aside and lunged at him. He fell to the ground with Gin on top of him, probably not the position that he had wanted to get her in. She wrapped her hands around his neck and tried to cut off his oxygen supply. But her hold on him didn't last. He shoved her aside easily but as she was tossed aside she managed to grab ahold of the butt of the gun he had shoved into the belt of his pants.

Whether or not it was loaded didn't matter to her now. It was something that could provide better protection than the discarded candelabra. As he got to his feet, she rolled over and backed up until she was against the wall. When he turned to her he saw her aiming the gun at his chest. Her hand was shaking so badly but it still had an effect on him as he froze and stared at her.

"Hand me the gun." He said as he held out his hand, his voice at that moment was scarier than his attacks from before.

She cocked the gun as best she could, "Stand back." Her voice shook despite her attempts to calm herself.

Before she could shoot, someone walked in from the other side of the hall. He was an Asian man, probably 25 years old. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a purple jacket zipped halfway up, black pants that looked like they were expensive, and a pair of the tackiest sunglasses she had ever seen. He held a gun in his hand and had it aimed at the man's head.

"Don't move. Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn't kill you right now VK." He said.

The man turned towards the newcomer and Gin cringed as the Asian man pulled the trigger. The blood splattered onto Gin and she began to shake even more "I told him not to move." He turned to her and she aimed the gun at him. "Put the gun down." She was shaking so badly and didn't know what to do, "One last chance. I won't hesitate." He aimed his gun at her and Gin's eyes widened in fear. She swallowed and set the gun down on the floor. "Toss it over here."

"H-how do I know…" Her voice came back and then went away just as quickly when he moved closer towards her.

"Bitch, if I was going to shoot you I woulda done it by now. You gonna fucking argue or push that gun over here? Nothing is worse than an amateur trying to shoot while their about to piss their pants." She glared up at the douchebag but she had to admit he was correct. Despite her better judgment, she slid the gun across the floor. He stooped to pick it up and tucked it into a holster on his hip.

Then grabbed ahold of her arm, forcing her roughly to her feet. Before she could register what was going on he had forced her into the rest of the church. "What the fuck are you doing?" She yelled and began to try and twist out of his grip. Instead of smacking her he just tightened his hold with enough force to cause her to cry out in pain. She stopped struggling and simply tried to remove his fingers from her arm.

He ignored her as he yelled, "Hey, Julius!"

She looked up to see a room filled entirely with men dressed in purple that were all staring at the two of them. Several of them were sitting in pews. Their activities, which included smoking, drinking, and playing cards, had been forgotten as they all watched the man bring her through the crowd. In the back by the wall were three men who stood aloof from the rest of the group. Two were black, one was a lot older than the other, and the third man was white. The older guy began moving forward, limping slightly on his left foot.

"What's up Johnny?"

The man holding her, Johnny, kept a tight hold as he brought her before the old geezer who she assumed was Julius. "Found out what was making that fucking racket. Some VK was trying to fuck this bitch in the hall."

Gin glared at him, "Thanks asshole. Always love being called bitch, 'cause ya know, don't have any other name besides that. Not that an uneducated cocksucker like yourself would care."

The white guy started laughing as Johnny glared back at her, his grip on her arm tightening enough that it was starting to cut off circulation, "The fuck you say?"

"Deaf as well as stupid? Things aren't going well for you." She was amazed at herself. Maybe the bravado was because she had so much adrenaline pumping through her veins.

He cocked the gun in his hand, "Say that again, bitch, I fucking dare you."

"Congratulations, trying to intimidate a little girl. If you're the manliest person here it's no wonder this gang ain't never been heard of." Several people hated that comment. They started standing up, flexing their muscles while taunting her. Johnny threw her down on the ground.

He pointed his gun at her head and was about to shoot when Julius spoke up. "Stop it." Everyone stopped moving as Julius moved towards Gin. "This is not what the Saints stand for." He leaned down and offered his hand to her as Johnny, begrudgingly, put away the gun. Gin took Julius's hand and he helped her to her feet. She glared at Johnny.

When the gunshots went off outside of the church horror crossed her face. She turned around and tried to run past Johnny. He grabbed a hold of her. "Where'dya think you're going?"

She tried to aim a kick at his knees but missed as he easily stepped beyond her reach while still blocking her way, not a difficult feat due to her rather short legs. The longer he kept her back the more violent she became, trying to kick and scratch him in an attempt to get free. Finally, a couple of guys pulled her off and held her arms back. She continued to struggle as she heard more gunshots. "Jamie! Jamie!" She shrieked when they wouldn't let her go. She knew that her voice wouldn't reach him outside but she felt so helpless in her current situation.

Julius looked at her, "What's gotten into you?"

Gin turned to him, red strands of hair falling in her face as tears began swimming in her eyes, "He could be dead! Help him! Please… The guys in yellow… Jamie!" She reverted to screaming his name in an attempt to keep the reality of the situation from taking complete control over her.

"Vice Kings?" The group began to pull out their weapons and exit the church. The sound of fighting began to increase after they left. Julius nodded to the younger black guy, "Dex, you're gonna stay here with her. Don't let her leave the church." He turned to the white guy, "Troy, you're with me. Johnny…" Johnny had already taken out his guns and had a smug look on his face until Julius said, "You're staying here Johnny. You're a loose cannon and if there is someone out there that needs our help we can't take you since you'll shoot anyone not in purple on sight. Come with us." He said to the two men holding Gin.

Johnny looked murderous and was going to argue but Julius and Troy left the church before he had the chance. Gin looked like she was about to go follow them all until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Dex and she gritted her teeth. "Dumbest move you'll ever make. If you aren't wearing any colors there is a high possibility that you'll be shot."

"So I'm supposed to sit here?"

"What the fuck could you do? You were scared shitless by one and you had the fucking gun." Johnny said condescendingly to her.

The longer she knew him the more she started to hate everything about this asshole. "And what am I doing here?"

Johnny sighed as he flopped down on a pew and began taking apart his gun, cleaning the parts with a cloth, "Surviving. And if you keep talking not even this church is gonna keep you alive. Your voice is annoying so shut the hell up."

Dex placed a hand to his forehead, "Ignore Gat. You insulting his intelligence didn't put him in a good mood and not being allowed to kill something is simply going to make it worse."

"Fuck yeah! I ain't done any murderin' for two-fucking-days!" He said this as though this was the biggest crime in the world. Gin sat down silently on a pew and tried to ignore them. She leaned forward, placing her head in her hands as she tried to keep her thoughts from going to the worst case scenarios.

Finally she stood up. Sitting around wasn't doing anything for her. She had to do something that would keep her mind off of the gunshots going on outside the church walls. As she walked toward the staircase she felt both of them watching her. She began making her way up; they said nothing so she decided they didn't care if she did a bit of exploring. She had always wanted to break into this church but Jamie would have disapproved of the idea completely so she had never voiced it. Now was her chance. Albeit, it would have been better under different circumstances.

As Jamie and Gin were walking away from the guys in yellow he kept a watch on her throughout his peripheral vision. When she was jerked back as one of them grabbed ahold of her Jamie released her arm and was prepared to fight them off. Once he let go of her she whirled around and punched the sonuvabitch in the gut. He held his stomach as Gin took off. Jamie grabbed his head and kneed him in the nose. As he stood up straight, he grabbed ahold of one of the guy's collars as they tried to run past him. One of them managed to get past him and was chasing after Gin as fast as he could. Jamie decided that he could leave one of them for her, she could handle that. If she couldn't… He pushed the thought from his mind as he ducked to avoid the swing from the guy he was holding. As he dropped down he released the shirt.

He looked up just in time to see a foot coming towards his face. There was a crunching noise that he heard as it connected and blood began to flow freely down his face. His hand flew to his nose, trying to staunch the bleeding as best as he could. He was annoyed with his stupidity. Wrong moves in this fight would cost more than his life, Gin's freedom was at stake as well. If he was killed and she was caught there would be no one to protect her. Even if she managed to avoid them for a while, it would only be a matter of time until the gangs discovered a 16 year old girl who lived alone.

The successful hits had filled them with confidence, they believed that he would be simple to defeat and she would be easily caught. He rolled aside as another kick was aimed at him before he pushed himself up off the ground. As he stood up he saw a fist coming towards his face. Without thinking his arm came up and connected with the guy's elbow, causing the fist to deviate enough from its course that he could sidestep it. His left hand left his nose to grab ahold of the wrist. The blood caused his grip to be a bit slick but he had enough leverage from the man's momentum that Jamie was able to flip him onto his back. The man let out his breath as he was left winded from the impact.

Jamie avoided another kick from the other guy before he turned around to elbow him in the stomach. He didn't fall but he groaned as he clapped a hand to his mouth after having taken another hit to his gut. Turning back to the one who had been on the ground Jamie found him trying to crawl away on all fours. Jamie kicked the guy's ribcage so that he rolled onto his back and collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony. He pressed his foot down on the man's throat and was listening to the man choke to death with a sadistic smile on his face. The sound of a gunshot came from the church where Gin had ran to. Jamie froze and looked over at the church, his heart rate increasing as he wondered what had happened. Suddenly, he felt someone's arms wrap around his torso, forcing him down to the ground. A fist connected with the side of his face repeatedly. He was enraged by his own carelessness. He was getting the shit beat out of him as the man was unrelenting in his attacks. The man didn't stop even at the sound of tires squealing against the pavement nor when a pair of headlights illuminated them.

As the man lifted his leg up slightly to resituate himself he gave Jamie an opening. Jamie rolled his hips forward and managed to dislodged him enough that he could roll out from underneath the guy.

Jamie rolled onto his knees and saw the headlights were coming from a blue race car. The doors opened up and a couple of guys got out dressed up in blue jackets. Jamie watched them for a moment before he got to his legs and started running towards an alleyway. He could hear someone yelling, whether it was at him or some of the newcomers, he was not sure, but he didn't care. As he skirted around the corner of the alley he stopped in a dark and deserted parking lot. The blood was still flowing freely from his nose as he sat down and held his side. He had taken a beating back there and it was nice to be able to sit down and try to breathe. There was more screeching of tires and several cars came driving past.

He noticed that some had the windows rolled down while some people were out of the window, leaning on top of the roof as they fired SMGs at one each other. Two cars had pulled into the parking lot, one blue and one red. Doors flew open and several people came out of the cars, shooting at one another as they hid behind their cars. As Jamie tried to hide behind the dumpster a spray of bullets came close to tearing him apart. Several parts of the wall chipped off and showered down on him as he held his head down, protecting his neck with his hands though he knew if a bullet did manage to hit him his flesh would provide very little resistance. All he could do at this moment was hope that either they gave up and left in their cars (highly unlikely) or killed each other off soon.

There were several thuds as bodies began hitting the asphalt. Jamie didn't know how long he was sitting there unable to take action for fear of losing his own life and unable to run for the same. Some people were shouting at one another and there was once what sounded like an explosion. Gunfire had been going on for a while now, whether it was here in the parking lot or back near where he had been fighting with the VKs he couldn't tell, but it had begun dying down in the past few minutes. He was tempted to look around and see if it was safe for him to come out yet but the possibility was what kept him sitting there.

Soon the sound of guns were only heard from the area where he had been fighting. That either meant that they had killed one another here in the parking lot or they had grown bored with one another. Since he hadn't heard them get into their cars or heard any talking, he assumed they had killed one another. Jamie crawled out from behind the dumpster to see a ghastly sight.

Bodies were strewn over the ground, riddled with bullet holes. Shattered glass from the windows lay on the ground, some clear and others dyed a crimson color from all of the blood. He stared at them for a bit before his eyes looked at the cars. They were some of the nicest cars, they had been boosted and would either get him a decent price (even if the windows were missing) or provide a nice ride for him to drive Gin to and from work in, as long as she was still alive. At that thought Jamie turned away from the cars and ran back the way he had come from.

He rested a hand against the alley wall as he looked out at the carnage that had taken place. Red was the most numerous color not because their were more bodies wearing it as their original colors, but because their original colors had been stained by it. Jamie saw there were several people wearing red and blue who were lying on the ground. The only yellow he could see was on the two who had been brawling with him, it annoyed him that someone else had killed the fuckers off. But here and there the color purple could be seen.

Whatever had happened here had obviously gotten out of control, he thought as he scanned the area to see if there was anyone still alive. Off in the shadows he saw some people moving but he couldn't tell what color they were wearing, not that it really mattered though. Any color would probably shoot him on sight. He stepped back into the alley and laid his head against the wall. If he tried to leave he would end up dead, if he stayed here he was dead. There was no way for him to know if Gin was alive or not unless he went to the churchyard, which was blocked off by the gang members still milling around. Jamie knew that taking a risk could end up doing more harm than good but at this point he was becoming extremely worried. The gunshot he heard before could have killed her or she might have been killed when the gangs were fighting one another. He sighed and ran his left hand through his hair, forgetting about the blood that had dried on his hand. Jamie was preparing himself and was about to sprint towards the wall when he heard crunching of glass from the parking lot.

A few people were talking as they walked along. "D'you think she was lying? I only saw two VKs'. She might have been with the Rollerz."

"Nah man. She didn't look like she was lying as she was shrieking for that guy."

"Maybe she didn't think they would be fighting while she was inside the church. Could've taken someone she cared about hostage and muscled her into working with them." another voice said as several gunshots rang out. Jamie tried to flatten himself as best as he could against the wall while he attempted to see whoever was speaking. "I ain't seen anyone out here who ain't wearing colors."

"Bitch could've been lying. Bet that VK was a Rollerz or from the Los Carnales dressed up and the reason she was so scared was because Johnny shot the fucker."

He finally saw them as they came into view, "No, the Rollerz don't take people like that and the LCs are more selective."

"Oh?"

"Rollerz like Asians and racers. LCs like people from their family. If they aren't from the family they are usually Hispanic. That man was definitely more VK style. Big and lumbering. Meant for muscle not speed." Came the response.

They were getting dangerously close to where Jamie was standing so he tried to move alongside of the wall in the opposite direction until he overheard a bit more, "Still, if she was lying I would bet she is Angelo's new plaything."

Several of them chuckled and murmured their assent. "Hell, I wouldn't blame Angelo, she is kinda attractive."

"You just enjoy fucking redheads." Someone responded and more laughter followed it.

Jamie froze. From what they had said before there was only one person who he could think they were talking about. He tried to listen to more of their conversation until someone walked into the opening of the alley.

"Put your hands above your head and come away from the wall." Whoever it was said, as they cocked their gun. He put his hands above his head and moved towards the voice, unsure of what would happen next.