Lucy twisted her arm behind her back, rummaging around in her backpack for her keys. Mumbling to herself about never being ready when she got to the door, her fingers finally rested on the cool metal, and she pulled them free with a small sound of victory.

She quickly let herself into the apartment and threw her hefty bag on the chair beside the door, rolling her stiff shoulders to ease the tension. The walk home from school always took forever, and left her with a sore back from the heavy weight of her textbooks. Honestly, why was it important for every subject to have its own book?

She ran her hand through her chocolate-colored hair as she walked into the kitchen for a snack. A lone piece of paper on the fridge door caught her attention. Mom's latest list of chores.

Lucy,

Here are the things that need to be done while Steve and I are away. We're spending the week in Washington. Have fun.

-Mom

Signed just Mom. Typical. Not like she would ever say 'I love you' to Lucy; so why would she sign it?

So she was taking a trip with Steve. Again. This had to be the third one in just that month. Lucy hated Steve. He was nothing but a drunk that charmed her mother into thinking that he loved her so he could continue to get free booze and a house.

Lucy took a deep breath before even glancing at the list. Her jaw nearly met the floor. The list was massive. It would surely take her all week without break to finish everything. The fleeting thought of just not doing it crossed her mind, but she quickly cast it away.

Punishment was always worse than spending a whole week cleaning. She wouldn't go back to sitting in her room for days on end without anything to while the hours away. She needed freedom like she needed air.

Tugging her scarf and jacket off, she started on the list of Death.

Three hours into cleaning and Lucy was truly exhausted. She had dusted every inch of the apartment and vacuumed until she was sure she was going to suck up the carpet, and still she had so much left to do.

But despite how tired she was, she couldn't regret staying up all night studying for her math test. Math was her weak point, and she needed a good grade to keep HOPE. She couldn't afford to lose it. She didn't have the money to pay out of pocket.

She was abruptly thrust from her thoughts when something loudly beat on the window, causing her to almost jump out of her skin.

Lucy cautiously crept to the window to see what hit it. Lying at the base along the narrow fire escape was a small Robin.

"Oh no!" Lucy cried, covering her mouth with her shaking hand, opening the window and crawling out so she could crouch beside the bird.

The robin looked up at her, clearly in pain. It tried to get up but quickly found itself back on the ground when it put weight on its leg.

Lucy bit her lip and glanced around. She hadn't done this in a long time, but it was like riding a bike: you never forget how to do it. Deeming that the coast was clear, Lucy laid her hands on the bird and closed her eyes with a deep breath.

A second later her eyes shot open, revealing the glowing white orbs instead of her usual emerald green. The warmth spread from her chest down her arms to her hands and into the bird. In her mind she saw everything.

She knew that its leg was broken, given that she could see the jagged dark line in the white bone and the torn tissue around it. Concentrating the energy there, she slid the bone back into place and mended it together.

The bird shot out from under her hands chirping as it flew away. Lucy smiled a little to herself despite the bone-deep exhaustion she was now feeling. Healing others was always worth it.

Suddenly a dark hood was thrust over her face, sending everything into darkness. Arms grabbed her from behind and pinned her hands behind her back while she instinctively flailed.

"Let go of me!" She screamed but to no avail. The arms held tight. She kicked and twisted wildly. This was a rough part of town, and all kinds of thoughts were firing through her head.

"Careful. We need her alive," A male voice said form somewhere to her left. The person holding her arms loosened their grip slightly, giving her her opportunity. With all her strength she shoved herself backwards into the person who, taken by surprise, stumbled backwards.

They hit the flimsy railing of the fire escape and broke through it, sending them both over the edge. The feeling of falling was interrupted by an agonizing force slamming into her, then there was nothing.

Oo-_-oO

I know what y'all are thinking. Why is she starting a new story when she should be updating her other one. For one, I'm sorry for the delay. Two words: college and writers-block. They don't mix together well. I'll try to update my other one soon, but for now I would love to hear your feedback on this story. Good, bad, changes? Hate it so much you broke your computer? Any feedback at all would be really helpful to me. Feedback helps keep me motivated. Thanks for reading!