I never thought that this would be how it would end. It had seemed so easy; back at the beginning. I have become a rather adrenaline junkie, if you want to call it that. My mom's friend had come by earlier today from Paris, and they had spent the day talking and catching up. I didn't mind, really. If she was happy, that made everything better for the whole family. Just a general rule; if the mom is happy; everybody is happy. Sarah had come from Paris, where she had been in a school of design. Apparently, things were going well, since she was starting her own fashion line; right here in Calgary!

After lunch, they decided to go shopping downtown. I decided to tag along. I'm sure I could find something interesting to do downtown. We drove downtown in my mom's silver Volvo; brand new; she was very proud. We separated; with plans to meet again in a few hours. I walked along the sidewalk, hands in my pockets as I looked around. Despite the size of the city, I had already had most of the shopping places mastered. I knew every store in every mall; every street downtown; with the exception of a particularly dark part of town.

Every time I go downtown, it's usually with my family or friends, and going into a part of the city like that is just unheard of to them. So, today I took the opportunity and started walking towards the particular district. As I walked towards it, I could see the area getting more and more grungy and greasy. I walked a bit slower, feeling bright in my red sweater against the darkness of the streets around me. It was quite amazing, actually. The feeling of being somewhere so dangerous; where druggies and gang members walked the streets freely.

The street I was walking down, was more of a main street, and was quite empty. How boring, I thought. I sighed and continued walking. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through me with each step I took, and enjoyed every minute of it. I turned a corner, and there it was. The darkest, most dangerous alley around; not that I would know, but it sure looked that way. I immediately turned into it, and looked. It was dark, the colour of oil. The ground was covered in grungy looking water, and there were more people in here then I had seen since I entered this neighbourhood. However, that still wasn't saying much. There were only about ten people in this alley. I continued walking, remaining inconspicuous. Just because I like adrenaline, doesn't mean I'm stupid. I know better then to get into any sort of conflict with these sorts of people.

As I walked, I noticed that the alley went uphill. I was starting to get more cautious of the people around me. I could feel all of their eyes on me as if I was a threat to them. I ignored, but I could feel them beginning to circle in. I swallowed, and attempted to continue walking, only to realize that I was surrounded by rather mean looking people. I smirked. How interesting…

Meanwhile, a group of males were standing at the top of the hill, only a few metres away.

Kyo was standing at the top of the hill, watching as many people surrounded someone. Around him, stood his closest followers; whom he had known for years, and was very close to; though he trusted no one else. They had grown up together, on this very street; not knowing any other ways, other than to try and stay alive. Kyo had spent years reaching the top; nobody would dare to cause conflict with him. He continued to watch with interest as they started to circle in on the young woman.

"This is so boring! Can't we go home?" Shinya asked, looking down at the scene with little interest. Shinya was the newest to their family, if you would call it that. He met Kyo a few years ago, after a rough fight with one of the greater gang groups in the city. Kyo had helped him out of the mess he was in, and showed him how to survive under the tough conditions. He had taken him into their home, after the others had agreed.

Kyo spent much of his earlier life, working hard to afford the place they all stay in, with his control over the area still well under control. All five of them lived there together; it worked fine for them, despite the small size of the house.

"Shut up; we're here for a reason. If it's not interesting enough for you, then leave," Kaoru spoke up, glaring at Shinya. He had always had something against Shinya ever since he came, and Kyo could never figure it out. It was as if something had happened, before they had even met, that had made Kaoru hate the lovable character of Shinya.

Instead of debating this topic more in his mind, Kyo turned back and watched the scene play out before him. There was something different about this person; a fighting spirit. He continued to watch as she fought of a few of the men, frowning as she started to struggle.

"Get down there. Stop this, and bring her to me." Kyo said roughly; an order before he started walking towards his house.

I was desperately trying to fight of the men that were surrounding me, but my strength can only last for so long. It was getting to the better of me, and I had to stop to catch my breath. They were circling in tighter now, and I wasn't sure if there was anything left that I could do, except maybe give up. I was just about to scream when the men were suddenly pulled away by; you guessed it, more men. I was starting to get sick of it.

This group of guys however, seemed to not belong; in a sense. They were better dressed, clean, and seemed to have this aura that suggested that they were at a higher level then what was going on here. I thought for a minute that maybe there were saving me. However, I knew that couldn't possibly be the case when two of them picked my up, their grip on my arms so tight it hurt. I begged; pleaded, but they wouldn't let me go, dragging me all the way to a small house on the outskirts of the area. By this point I had given up on trying to get away and just attempted to not fall behind; scared what would happen if I did.

Inside the house, it was surprisingly clean and well looked after. I had thought that it would be dirty, and there would be needles and everything. Obviously, I had expected them to be druggies, but there was nothing to suggest that anywhere. A guy with black hair roughly pushed me down onto the couch. For somebody so strong and seemingly vicious, he had this expression that would make you think he was actually really nice. However, I didn't let this get my guard down about any one of them.

I looked up as a new, younger looking male entered the room. He looked strict and mean. I trembled where I sat, staring up at the man as he walked over to me and the group of men who I figured by now worked for this new man. He gave a short nod to the others behind me, and I heard them leave the room. I didn't look to see where they went.

Above all, I trusted the man in front of me the least, and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Good work, Emma. Only you would think that the most dangerous guy is cute when in a situation like this! He knelt down in front of me and smiled at me. I wasn't sure how to feel about that smile. Was it a smile to tell me that this day would be my last? That I had done something horrible, and now was going to pay for it? Or was it the kind of smile that said that I was safe? That they were actually paid to do this as a joke? That I was on a reality TV show and Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out of some window?

"What's your name?" His voice spilled from those lips like a song from an angel. I couldn't help but to take it all in, and relish in the beautiful sound; only hoping to hear it again. I must have forgotten that he had asked me a question, since he had to ask me twice.

"Oh, my name…my name? Um…" Oh my god, I felt so stupid that I couldn't even tell him my name. He had caught me off guard by how sweet and soft his voice sounded, that I had forgotten everything!

"You don't know?" He asked cautiously. Of course I knew my name! It was just…he made my mind blank. I almost sighed, but I caught it. I didn't want to look like a lovesick puppy in this situation!

"Emma. My name is Emma," I told him. He looked at me for a minute, probably to see if I was even telling the truth. Actually, I probably should have given him a fake name, but it was too late now. At least he didn't know my last name, but could he still track me from that? I swallowed hard and looked at him again. I didn't know what I had gotten myself into and I didn't know if I would live through it.

She seemed frightened. I could imagine why, but she had fought well, and captivated me; though I would never admit it. I had come to the conclusion that she must have been hurt since she kept staring at me vacantly and couldn't even remember her own name. Things like this frustrate me to no end.

I managed to get a name out of her; whether or not it was her real name or not, I wasn't sure, but I couldn't get anything else. She wouldn't talk to me. I couldn't tell if she was afraid of me, or if she just wasn't much of a conversationalist. Either way, it was annoying. I got Toshiya to watch her when I left the room. He seemed to intimidate her before, and I didn't want to risk her running off.

I rummaged through the remains of food we had left in the cupboard, and managed to find some Oreo cookies and a can of warm pop. Well, it was better then nothing. Walking back into the room, Toshiya left immediately. I guessed she was bothering him by the glare that she had shifted to my direction. I set the food and pop in front of her, and sat in the arm chair across from her. She didn't touch the food; she barely glanced at it. I looked at her curiously, a smile playing at my lips, though I would never let it show. What was she trying to prove?

"You got yourself into quite a bit of trouble back there," I said, watching for her reaction. She just continued to stare. "You're lucky that we stopped that." Her quiet façade broke then.

"You mean kidnapped me. Not like you did anything anyways; you weren't even there." I was quite surprised by this sudden outburst, but it made me smile. She had spirit for somebody who looked so weak, but fought so strong. I smirked, and leaned forward.

"Are you scared?" I looked her right in the eye with the most viscous of looks I could give. After all, why couldn't I have a bit of fun, now that she was here anyways? For a second, I saw something in her eyes; a sort of emotion that I couldn't place, before it disappeared and was replaced by a coldness that she tried to hide her true emotion behind, but I could see right through it.

"Of course not; why would I be afraid of you?" She said that with fake disgust. It made me laugh. Not a big laugh that people make when they see something really funny, but a short, kind of 'oh really?' laugh. She didn't see what was so funny but it wasn't necessary for her to anyways. Sort of an inside joke where I was the only person who knew what was going on. I liked that feeling, and could never understand people's need to tell the whole world what was so funny. As soon as they do, it's not funny anymore anyways, so why do it?

I didn't bother to answer her question either. There was no point. Either way, it was more of a question to hear an answer but not reply. I wanted to know, but it wasn't necessary for me to answer. I leaned back and watched as she looked at the food. She obviously wanted it, but it was just a matter of her not trusting me that she wouldn't take it. I found this quite interesting. She had no reason not to trust us; we had saved her. The others did not know why we did, and I could tell that they were a bit upset about being kept in the dark, but my ego would not allow me to tell them that I found her captivating; exhilarating.

She sat there quietly, obviously uncomfortable being here, but she could not leave now. She was here, and if she left, who knew who she would tell. She might just tell her friends, but then they could tell parents, and so on and then me and the others would no longer be safe here. Many people were looking for us; and not for good terms either. I felt bad now that I brought her here. I had forever altered her life, and she didn't even know it yet.