I had no choice. It seemed as though there was nothing I could do to stop what was happening to me. Although I held my tongue to avoid worse punishment, I felt like I was screaming in a crowded room and nobody could hear me.

The judge glowered down at me, like I was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen in his entire life. "So," He asked, clasping and unclasping his fingers together. "The girl has no other family? Even extended?"

"N-n-no, sir." The social worker stuttered nervously, as she rummaged through her folder filled with important papers. It was like she didn't even know who she was advocating for, which was me. "The police found her on the corner of a hundreth and forth, by herself, with all of the stolen goods, and all she gave them was a first name and an age. Nothing else. We put it in the system, along with her DNA, but there were no matches."

The judge looked at her somberly, his face softening. "Well, then. I guess we have limited options. We can send her to ju-" He paused for a second, squinting at a piece of paper he was holding up to the light. "How old is she?" He asked.

"She claimed she was 18, Your Honor." She didn't know that I was only fifteen. I lied, hoping it would have helped me get out of trouble, but I was wrong.

"Well, I guess she's old enough to be on her own. But, it seems as though she has no home, or anyone that's going to miss her, so I guess there's a very good option for her."

I grimaced. The smile that was creeping on his face gave me a bad feeling.

"Alexandra Doe, age 18, I hereby recommend you to Eagle Nest Youth Homeless Center." The judge slammed his gavel down on the block, smiling tremendously. It was like he was in on some big secret. "Bailiff, will you please transport her to the Center." He declared, motioning for me to be dismissed.

Throughout the entire ride to the Homeless Center, I began to think about what the Center would be like. Every other place that I had heard about sounded like a prison. Barbed wire, security guards in every corner, security cameras in every room. At least, that was what it said on the computer at the public library.

The huge yellow bus that was taking me to the Homeless Center was unclean, as well as huge. I had only dreamed of being able to go on a real school bus, but this was not what I had imagined it being like. There was an overweight security guard sitting at the front of the bus, chowing down on a donut as he chatted with the bus driver. Every once in awhile, he would give me a dirty glance and sneer while he shoved another bite of the donut in his mouth.

I stared out the grimy, dirty window of the bus. We were on a highway, yet I didn't know which one we were driving on.

Pretty soon, we began to turn into a secluded driveway that was hidden by a grove of oak trees. I started to stand up from my seat, trying to get a better view of where I was going, but as soon as I could see over the navy blue leather seat, the pudgy guard began to yell at me.

"Hey, you!" He yelled, almost choking on his donut. "Sit the hell down! I don't want to have to go over there."

I started to sit back down, angry that I was being sent to this place in the first place. I doubted it would be different than any other foster home or orphanage I've been sent to. Instead of making myself known, liking introducing myself, I just hang low and then escape in the middle of the night. It's worked on seven different occasions, mostly with the crowded foster homes. I doubt any of them knew I was missing until I'd landed in another one.

Eagle Nest had sounded like a strange name for a Homeless Center, but I guess it fit the place. As the bus pulled closer, I saw that it was an old school with a two foot cement border around the perimeter. The actual building was made with old, mossy bricks, while the doors seemed like they were made off really thick, bulletproof metal.

"We're here, kid. Get your lazy ass up and get out of the bus." The bus driver yelled over the loudspeaker. His voice was throaty and deep, suprisingly. He had a thin frame and was very short. "I said, 'Move, your, ass." He growled again, rolling his eyes at the guard.

I stood up and began to slowly walk toward the exit, hoping that this place was as negligent as the other places the government had sent me.

When I finally walked down the three steps, after taking my sweet time, I saw a man in a sweatshirt that seemed three sizes too small for his pot bellied stomach. The guard waved me over to talk to the man.

"Sir, this is the delinquent I talked to you about." The guard talked about me as I if I was a wanted criminal. "So, don't let her looks fool you."

The man chuckled, as though the guard had just insulted him jokingly. "Don't worry, Derek. We'll take great care of her." He smiled menacingly before grabbing my left upper arm forcefully. His hands were callused and stiff, as if he did a lot of physical work. Judging by the size of his stomach, I highly doubted that was the reason his hands were so rough.

I squinted up at him, as he was about a head taller than me. "Let's go, sweetheart." He said in his deep, gruff voice. He had an ugly, orange-red receding hairline, and gray stubble on his upper lip. The wrinkles under his eyes indicated that he was in his late thirties, early forties, and his eyes were wild, with something I couldn't place. .

Great, I thought. I'm gonna get bossed around by a middle aged man. Nothing I haven't done before.

He dragged me towards a metal detector manned by another overweight guard. This place was going to be easy as pie to break out of, no matter how many guards they had. I just had to remember to lay low and try to stay out of the spotlight.

"Empty your pockets," The man instructed me, letting go of my arm.

I grudgingly shoved my hands in my sweatshirt pocket, pulling out a wallet, pair of car keys, and a flashlight, none of which were mine. While I was getting onto the bus, I "accidentally" bumped into the guard, shoving my hands in his pockets. There were only about fifteen dollars in cash in his wallet, but it was better than nothing.

I didn't have any pockets in my gray sweatpants, so I guess there was nothing I could hide there.

The man picked up the wallet, and began searching through the plastic cards. I had already taken all the cash and hidden it in the hood of my sweatshirt. Nobody ever checked there.

After a few seconds, I finally heard the gasp I was waiting for as the man realized whose wallet I had pocketed.

"You little thief," He muttered, turning around to go chase after the guard, whose name I guess was Derek. "Derek!" He called, sprinting after the bus, waving the wallet in his hands.

I guess he forgot about the car keys, because he didn't bother to bring them to the guard with the wallet. So, while the guard handling the metal detector and the man running towards the bus were distracted, I kicked the keys around the metal detector, making sure that I would be able to pick them up after I went through. They had a couple of useful things attached to the key ring, like nail clippers, two house keys, and a pen flashlight. I would need those for my escape later.

While I was kicking the keys around the metal detector, the man must have given Derek's wallet back, because when I turned back around, he was walking back. I prayed that he didn't see what I had done.

"Alright, thief. Walk through." He shoved me forward, almost making me trip. Reluctantly, I shuffled forward, turning my head around so I could see him. Secretly, I was just trying to hide the money in my hood.

As soon as I was through, and the alarm didn't go off, I bent down to "tie my shoe". I grabbed the keys and stuffed them in the side of my sneaker, tying my shoe messily, so it didn't seem too suspicious.

When I was done, the man walked up behind me and grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling me back towards him. "Ow!" I shouted, trying to grab his hand. "What the hell, man!"

He pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, "Don't try anything funny, girl. I know you're record, and you're not gonna get away with anything here. Do you understand, you little pig shit?"

I didn't answer right away, as I was trying not to laugh. He didn't know me. He had no idea what I'd done in the past, or what I was capable of. Adults were always threatening me with stupid things I had done before I met them, but I doubt they knew half of what I've done. I haven't done anything illegal, besides stealing. But, that was always for my own survival.

"I said, 'Do you understand me?'" He swung me around with his other hand so I was facing him. Before I could answer him, he smacked me, hard, across my left cheek.

I leapt towards him, a raging ball of fury, grabbing him by the collar of his sweatshirt. No one hit me and got away with it. "You will never touch me, let alone smack me, again. Do ya understand, you piece of pig shit?" I growled, pulling him closer. Although his outer face was smiling, I could see the true fear in his eyes, and it gave me a little taste of satisfaction.

Something grabbed both of my arms, forcing me to let go of him. I looked behind me and scowled when I saw that it was the overweight guard holding my arms behind me. I pulled against him, trying to reach the man who smacked. He was smiling the same smile he gave me when I first came.

The burning sensation from his open palm slap began to settle in my cheek, reaching all the way to my eye. But, I pulled through the pain. I tried with all my might to make the guard let go, but I didn't need to. I had already made my point to the man, and he would hopefully remember that.

As I was struggling, another man came over to the security checkpoint. He was shorter than the other man, but more muscular. He had broad shoulders that made his shirt hand over the rest of his abdomen. He had no hair on his head, but light grey colored stubble on his chin and the sides of his face. He had chestnut eyes that gave me the feeling he wasn't there to help me.

"What's going on, Devlin?" He asked the man calmly. His voice was throaty and very irritated, the same as the bus driver.

"I was telling her what I told all new recruits, and she attacked me, sir." He babbled, trying to seem tough, even though he was visibly shaken.

I stopped struggling, wanting to hear what this new man had to say about me. He seemed annoyed with the man he called Devlin.

"Well, we can't have that kind of behavior, can we?" The new man said, signalling for the guard to let me go.

After making sure that I was free from the guard, I looked over the man. He was very suspicious of me, yet he was still placid compared to Devlin. "Who're you" I asked, shoving my hands in my sweatshirt pocket.

He chuckled softly, before placing his hand on my shoulder. I flinched away, obviously still trying to decided if he was to avoid, or to annoy. It was always one of those two.

"Welcome to Eagle Nest Youth Homeless Shelter, Alexandra. We've been expecting you. My name is Robert Scovel , and I'm the owner and founder of Eagle Nest. This is my cousin, Kearsten Devlin. Now, as much as we love new people, we need you to understand that we have rules."

His face twisted into a contorted smile, allowing me to make the decision to annoy him. He seemed to like the fact that he was in charge and everything was going good. I was going to change that.

Scovel continued before I could say anything else. "You have no power here. You will accept what happens to you with grace, or you will be punished furthermore. " He paused thoughtfully. "Here, I have an idea." He looked at the guard. "Keep an eye on her for twenty-four hours, and place her in the same cabin as Marley Dreyer. She's a good influence."

"You callin' me a troublemaker, mister?" I snarled.

Snickering, he replied sarcastically, "You aren't the worst troublemaker I've had here. You'll be fine once you get used to life here." With one swift move, he slapped me in the same place that Devlin slapped me, but not as hard. It was more like a warning slap, instead of a disciplinary.

A growl came from deep in my chest, as my hands moved out of my pocket, ready to defend myself. But, I surprisingly didn't feel such an urge to protect myself.

"Call Buka, and tell him I have a female in need of a guard for the night." Scovel began to walk away, along with Devlin. I let my hands rest down at my side, and watched in disappointment as they both walked into the large building through an entrance to my right.