I was walking down this alley for the ten billionth time in my life but for some unseen reason I felt terrified. I had no rational reason, of course, since I was clearly the only one in the short, dark alley, but I had this strange uneasy feeling that I have been getting more and more frequently. Ever sine my mother, Jane, left her abusive boyfriend, Derik, I have had the feeling of being watched.

Derik was not only abusive to her but to me and everyone else he knows. Since the time we moved in with him, three years ago, I have had a bruise and/or broken bone every day. My mother, to no avail, has always tried to stick up for me and to get in the middle. She loves me but she also loves him. Himwho beat her so bad she had to be in the hospital for two weeks, him who cheated on her with every very slut and whore in town, and him who also beat her only living child.

Up until a six months ago I thought she would never leave him but he finally went to far even for her.

There was a school dance I had planned to attend and I was going to go with the cutest guy in the eleventh grade, Jake Fuller. Derik was not so keen to that idea and as I went to leave my apartment he pushed me down the very hard, very metal stairs. I had to get thirty stitches above my left eyebrow and I also had the worst concussion my doctor had ever seen. I got lucky that I didn't have any brain damage.

That night while I was in the hospital my mom moved all of our stuff to my grandma's house. We haven't seen Derik since that night, or so I thought.

When I saw my grandma's house come into view relief swept over me. It was a nice house considering all the other places I have been dragged to since I was five, when my father kicked us out of his home. It is a two story brick building with two bedrooms, I had one to myself while my mom slept on the couch.

"Jane, honey, is that you?"my grandma asked from in the kitchen. I could smell her delicious homemade brownies, but as long as I have known her, all my life, brownies were her comfort food. Something was wrong.

"No gram, its me.", I replied, trying to sound cheerful. "I decided to come home early."

" Oh, well, Crystal dear, could you give me a hand here", she asked, sounding stressed.

When I walked into the kitchen she was juggling a pan of hot, fresh from the oven brownies, and a pan with still uncooked brownies. I reached for the uncooked pan and shoved them in the oven. Looking around a rush of panic hit me hard. There were brownies everywhere, something was terrible wrong.

"What's going on gram?" I ask, trying unsuccessfully to keep my voice calm.

"Oh, umm…" she hesitated. "I was just doing a little baking." She smiled nervously. "Has your mother talked to you yet?"

"Crystal" my mother called before I could answer. She came into the kitchen and in scanning my face her smile fell. "Crystal, why don't you come into the living room with me so we can talk?" She finally said.

"Ok." I answered passively though my mind was going crazy.

In the living room I sat in my favorite old, ripped up chair. My mother sat on the couch across from me. She sat there for a good two minutes before she looked me in the eye. I could see the conflict ragging and I became a hundred times more nervous than I was before.

"I've been speaking with Derik for awhile now," she heard the disgusted sound I made and held up a finger stopping my remark. "He feels really bad 'bout what happened before and wants to make up for it."

I sat there speechless while she read the horror on my now paled face. She waited for me to say something but when it dawned on her that I wasn't going to respond to her ludicrous statement she tried to explain.

"Crystal honey you know how much I love you but…" she was almost begging with me to understand, "I also love him." She was starting to get desperate now, "He really is sorry 'bout everything not just… well you know, but everything and he wants to make it up to us. He wants us to move back in with him." She waited to assess my reaction then added, "I accepted his offer, hon, and we're leaving tomorrow."

I sat motionless for I don't know how long before it all finally sunk in. My head swam with the words she just said and I was completely shocked. How could she really mean what she just said? How could she talk to him again? How could she … want to move back with him? How? I didn't understand her reasoning at all. All that pain he caused us and she wants to move back with him. And take me with her, back to that hell. No, I didn't understand. No, I was not going back.

"No!" I screamed breaking the long silence at last. "No, no, no, NO!" I screamed again.

This couldn't be happening? It just couldn't. One minute I was finally getting a little stability in my life and the next it was like a rug getting ripped out form under my feet. What did I do wrong this time? I was careful to do everything asked of me this past month, not one thing I was supposed to do was neglected, not one! I didn't understand.

I got up from my chair and ran out the door as fast as I could, all the while my mother screaming after me. I couldn't make out the individual words she was yelling, I was too angry and confused to even try.

I ran and ran and ran until finally I collapsed in an alley, unlike the other alley I was in before, this one was unfamiliar. I was in a place that I have never been before and even thought I should have been scared I was relieved. I wouldn't see Derik ever again. Nothing here could be as bad as what I would go through when we moved back with him. I was free of Derik for good; I wasn't going back… ever. This made me very happy.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Just as I finished that thought I heard a laugh that sent shivers down my spin. A laugh that I would, no could never forget, Derik's laugh. Fate could be so cruel, sometimes.

Derik started walking towards me talking to his friends behind him, I couldn't hear what he was saying but it amused them. I recognized his two of his friends, Dave and Bill, both just as bad a person as Derik.

"Well, well, well, what have we here," Derik laughed. "Crystal!" he said with fake surprise throwing his hand up in the air. "Aren't you glade to se me?"

"I don't think she is." Bill said also laughing.

"Hum, why don't I give you that wellcome home present early. I was going to wait for your mother to be around but…"he kicked me hard in the stomach and I cringed in pain, "This is as good a time as any. You ruin everything you do. See if it wasn't for you your stupid mother would have never left."

He kicked me again and a groan escaped my mouth. I could feel the blood rolling down my cheek and out the corner of my mouth. I ground my teeth trying not to cry. He didn't need that kind of satisfaction.

"She thinks I'm a gift from god you know." He continued. "That's why I have to get rid of you. You see I have been following you around for a while now waiting for the right time to get you, but then I ran into your mother, who like always, wants me back. All I have to do is get ride of you now."

Then all of them started kicking me as hard as they could, I gasped for air. Then just as suddenly as it all started it stopped. My head was pounding and I was barely conscious. I could still hear their laughter as they looked down at me. I could hear mumbling but couldn't make out any words.

I looked up to see that they had circled me and that Derik had a knife in his hands. Again instead of being scared I welcomed what he would do, end my pitiful existence. No one would miss me, I was sure of that. I felt my face go calm and my lips formed a small smile.

I looked away waiting for the end to finally come but instead I heard the three men start to laugh again. I couldn't understand that, yet another thing on my list.

I looked up again to see the most beautiful boy. He had black shaggy, but not long, hair, and piercing black eyes. His skin was very fair like he stayed away from the sun for to long. He was tall, at least six feet, and muscular but not excessively so. He was wearing a red sleeveless shirt and a pair of baggy denim jeans.

When I looked into his eyes he was looking at me and I saw anger burning there. He turned his attention to Derik and the other guys, who started walking toward him and his eyes turned to that of amusement, another thing to add to my extensive list of things I didn't understand.

As Derik and the guys lunged at him all at once I saw him smile, and just like that he was behind them his back turned towards me. The guys turned around with disbelief covering their ugly faces. I closed my eyes then, knowing that a fight was about to begin but not sure who I wanted to win. Who would kill me the quickest? I heard grunts and groans and all sorts of painful noises and then silence.

I lie there not moving; hopping my pain wouldn't be prolonged for much longer. When I opened my eyes the beautiful boy stood over me pity, anger, and something I didn't recognize, hunger maybe, shone in his dark eyes.

"Kill me quickly." I begged before I shut my eyes and let all my other sense go with my vision.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

--BREAK--

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I awoke in a dark room with throbbing pain all over my body. Panic took hold of me, where am I? As the incident of the night before came flooding back a new, stronger wave of panic hit me so hard it took my breath away.

I was still alive. How did I get here? Who brought me here? Who was that boy? And most importantly, why did who ever brought me here not kill me? What other uses could I serve?

Clam down, I told myself. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and tried to relax. I opened my eyes again and looked around trying to make out what was in this dark room. It was small, even by my standards. There was a bed on one side, which I was in, and a chair in the left hand corner across from me. Someone was in the chair but it was too dark to make out who it was.

Instantly I looked for an escape root, there was only one window but it was boarded up really good and a door right beside the chair that held the mysterious person. I debated if I should make a run for it or wait for the person in the chair to wake up. It took a whole two seconds to decide to dart for the door and take my chances.

When I reached for the door my heart plummeted. There were all kinds of locks up and down the whole door. How could I possibly make it out without waking the person in the chair? Try! I screamed at myself in my head. Try.

Just as I reached for the first lock a pale, strong white hand grabbed a hold of my wrist firmly but not painfully. I looked up to see the boy from last night. Pale, with dark eyes. I could feel my face turn in terror as I looked into his angry eyes. As he took in my expression his eyes turned to anguish. Something I had to put on my list. In the last twenty four hours I think my list doubled. How many more thing didn't I know?

"Wait until after sun down," he said in a stern voice, "You can leave then… I promise"

As I looked into his eyes I could see he was telling the truth. What's wrong with me, I just met him! How could I possibly know if he was lying or not? I stared at him for at least a minute before nodding my head.

"Please…" he struggled to keep a calm voice. "You can sit on the bed and wait." He looked away from me and I could tell he was pained and like everything else that happened today I added it to my list. "Please." he said softly, almost a whisper.

"Ok" I choked out and started to walk towards the bed. He seemed reluctant to let go of my wrist but at the last second he did.

I sat down on the bed and turned around. He was staring at me with the same anguish as before. My list just keeps getting longer. He finally looked away and went back to his chair. He sat down and closed his eyes. I couldn't tell if he was sleeping or even breathing for that matter. I stared at him like that until I reluctantly fell asleep.

I woke up for the second time in the dark room and like the first time very confused. I darted up right and looked around. My gaze stopped on the beautiful boy and seeing his face my memories hit me just as hard as before and again I gasped for air. As I did the boys face turned from anger to anguish, his two favorite emotions, to something else that looked a lot like pain to me. I added to my list, again.

"Don't be afraid," he almost said pleadingly. "I won't hurt you, Crystal; I promise… you can leave now." That was definitely not what I was expecting. List.

"How do you know my name?" I asked surprised.

"I heard that fool" he spat, "say it when they were kicking you." He seemed revolted by what he said. List yet again. Why should he care, he doesn't even know me?

"You should have let them kill me." I whispered so low I didn't think he would here me but as his expression turned from anger to deep confusion I realized he had. "At least my pain would be gone by now" I explained.

"Pain fades away with time." He said still confused

"Not if the reason for the pain never leaves." I stated, emotionlessly.

That seemed to confuse him even more. At least I wasn't alone in the confusion department any more. As I looked into his dark eyes and he stared back itently, I felt a connection to him. I was crazy! I had to be. I just met a guy who took me captiveand now I felt aconnection to him! Was I sick or what?

He seemed to be reading my mind because at that exact moment his face turned back to its angry, I guessed, norm. "You can leave now, like I said, the sun is down." He said as he turned his back on me to stare at an empty stone wall. I couldn't help but feel for him though I had no rational reason.

"What if I don't want to go?" I ask, again in a whisper.

"You have to." He answered struggling to stay calm, still staring at the wall.

"I have nowhere to go"

That got his attention. He was by my side so quickly I barely saw him move. He stood about three inches from the side of my face just staring at me. Then out of nowhere he was even close to me, not even half an inch away, and started to smell me. I closed my eyes for a second, listening to him breath in my scent, and when I opened them again he was in the corner that was the farthest away from me a possible, staring.

"Anywhere is better here." He spat angrily.

"No... That's not true."

"Yes it is. I could kill you right now."

"Hurry then." I said with a forced laugh. "Just make it quick."

He looked at me puzzled again. "You really mean that don't you?" he ask. "You want to die."

I looked him right in the eyes, "Yes," I answered flatly.

He stared at me in disbelief. "I can't, WON'T, do that!" He yelled. Then in less than two seconds he was gone and the door was open.

Why did he get so angry? It's not like he knows me. Another thing to add to my list. What should I do now? I can't go back home, back to Derik. I shuddered just thinking his name. Maybe I would wait here until the boy, I wish I knew his name, comes back.

Would he be angry with me for staying? For some reason the thought of him being angry with me hurt a lot. Why should I care about what a stranger thinks of me? I got up and walked out the door. Great another ally, I groaned.

There was no other door down this alley and as I started to walk out the homeless people, who were crowded around fires, started to stare at me cautiously. A couple even started mumbling to themselves, it looked like they were praying. The list just keeps getting longer.

As I stepped out of the alley I realized I had no clue as to where I was. I wondered around for about two or three hours before I finally decided to ask for directions, that is after I asked where the hell I was. There was a small group of guys just down the street from me so I decided to ask them. They looked like they knew their way around here.

"Excuse me, but where am I?" I asked as politely as I could. "I got separated from my family." I add so they wouldn't think I was alone.

"Well, honey, this is Johnstown," he said in an almost too calm voice, "Where you from?"

I remembered the name of the city from when one of my friends moved there. It was a long way from where my grandmother lives. How did I get this far north? I wandered.

"A little town 'bout fifteen miles south of here. I'm here visiting family in the west end, could you point me in the right direction please?"

"Sure honey, we'll point you in the right direction but why don't you stay here for a while, first, and hang out with us." It was more of a command than a suggestion.

"Sorry, but I can't. My family is probably going crazy looking for me." As I said it the guys started to walk slowly towards me.

"That's to bad." The one guy said. But he didn't sound disappointed, he sounded happy.

Then for no reason they stopped in their tracks. They stared towards me terrified. The next second they turned and ran. That was definitely going near the top of the list.

I suddenly got an uneasy filling and turned around as fast as I could, but no one was there. I was definitely going crazy

I stood there for a while trying to get my head straight until I decided to go left, another ally. I really didn't want to go down another alley but I couldn't go back and I didn't want to go towards those guys so, I really didn't have much of a choice.

When I got to the end of the alley I took a right and ended up in the middle of a fight. There were five very large guys standing in a circle kicking someone while another guy held the one getting beat. The six guys all looked oddly alike. They all had blue eyes, long hair, and were roughly the same height and weight. The only difference where their hair color black, bleach blonde, sandy, brown, red, and snow white.

I was about to turn and run but at that exact moment I saw the boy from before. He saved my life how could I just ignore this after what he did for me. Before I could talk myself out of it I screamed "Help" at the top of my lungs.

They all turned and looked and me. I ran right to the beautiful pale boy and simultaneously the guy with the snow white hair pulled out a gun and shot twice at the boy.

I felt a shock on right shoulder but I threw my body over the boy. The other guys saw this, looked at me in confusion, and then ran away.

"Are you alright?!" I asked, panic gripping my voice.

"I need to get out of the sun," he gasped. I hadn't realized the sun was starting to come up and with the little light I saw the boy had been shot. There was a hole in his shirt but there was no blood.

"You need to get to a hospital!" My voice was laced with fear and panic.

He looked up at my worried face and smiled. "No, I just need some place dark."

"Are you crazy, you could die if I don't get you to a hospital."

He laughed. "Please just trust me," he said serious again.

"Ok." I whispered after a moment.

I pulled him up with all my strength. I looked around and saw a door. I help him over to it and opened it. It was a small closet; probably use to belong to an old restaurant. There were no windows so I figured this would be perfect and helped him in.

"Is there anything I can I do for you?" I asked before I closed the door.

"Make sure no one opens the door." He gasped.

I nodded and shut the door. I sat down right in front of the door determined not to let anyone near it and to find out what the deal was with this beautiful, pale, bloodless boy.