Hey guys, I'm taking a break from the lemon requests for a while to do this. I actually thought of this story two years ago but never wrote it. A group of three high school students struggle with different situations. Kate and Lilly come from a rich family but struggle with abusive parents. Humphrey has no parents and lives with his drunken uncle in poverty. They've all had it, and want nothing more than a fresh start. Rated M for graphic descriptions including gore, violence including abuse and murder and lemons in later chapters (I already have a motel room scene and a twist on the popular box car scenes in a few one shots but they are obviously humans in this so... plot twist? I have those in mind but I'll let you all wait). This is the kind of story that almost hurts to read and I'm sorry I made something so depressing, but it sets the scene for the good in the story. Everyone is fully human in this, not anthro. Please review to let me know what you think.

Chapter 1: Panettiere Passing

Kate's POV

As I lay in my bed after a typical Friday evening with my family, I don't hold onto my dreams like a normal seventeen year old teenager might. I hold onto my stomach so I won't get sick hearing my fifteen year old sister's sharp cries. Pain throbbed through every part of my body from the daily beating I had just received from my mother and father. If only his damn empire of a company knew what he did to his own children, they'd burn him to death with cattle prods like he deserved. A particularly blood curdling scream made me wince: she probably begged them to stop. I could feel the boiling tears drip down the sides of my face. She was just fifteen! What could that innocent girl possibly have done to deserve this? There was then silence. My heart raced in my chest and I felt my blood heat up. I knew that if they killed her, I would make sure their bodies couldn't be identified! Seconds passed, than minutes. I opened the drawer in my bedside table and grabbed the knife I had taken from the kitchen a few weeks ago when our father threatened to kill us if we told anyone about what happened. I refuse to call him our dad; he will never mean anything to me alive. Before I could even slide the blade from its compartment, the door burst open to reveal Lilly. I gasped: her shirt was torn mostly off and was stained with blood. Tears covered half of her face while her white hair covered the other. She was such a skinny girl; I was too, but not that skinny. How could anyone blame her though? I can hardly eat knowing our parents could have poisoned our food or anything else. How did all of this start? I can't remember. It has been most of our lives but it became really horrible when I got to middle school. I can never forget the answer to why they do it though. It was when I was laying on the floor next to Lilly when our dad finished kicking us with his cleats. I simply asked why he and mom did this to us, which earned me an answer.

"Because seeing you two squirm brings me more happiness than my money!" he answered before cracking two of my ribs. They did it for the sick thrill, that's it.

Now of course they had to keep their loving parent status, meaning when things got to that level, we were somewhat cared for. Showing up to school on Monday morning with two untreated broken ribs would look suspicious, so they took me to the hospital. Those clever bastards had it all figured out. Lilly and I played rugby as forced by our parents so our cuts and bruises would make sense, but this was one that they weren't going to get out of easy.

"Th-they know a knife is g-gone! Our m-mother cut me up!" Lilly sobbed at the door. I gasped and went over to her, helping her take the mangled bloody shirt off. I could see her boobs in the open so she obviously wasn't wearing a bra, but that hardly mattered at the moment. Three cuts were still bleeding on her back, obviously being from a knife. I felt a pit in my stomach that made me sick. She got punished for what I did.

"I d-did this to you." I said sorrowfully while I felt tears start to run down my cheeks. Lilly shook her head and clenched her fists in a rare sight to see with her: rage.

"No, our demented parents did this!" she whispered with agony. I knew she was right, and causing my little sister so much pain was the last straw for me. My teeth gritted together and I looked into Lilly's eyes with the most loving look I could give.

"We're leaving tonight. We're running away. Find anything you can to patch yourself up and pack us a few things. There's something I have to take care of first." I said bitterly, turning to leave the room. Lilly put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a desperate pleading look. She knew what I was doing.

"Kate, y-you can't..." she said. I sighed and gave her a tight hug, making sure not to touch her injuries.

"If I don't, we'll just get sent right back home. I have to." I explained. Lilly whimpered and nodded. I saw tears dripping down her face from her deep lavender eyes.

"B-be careful, I can't lose you." she said softly. I nodded and gave her cheek a kiss.

"I'll be back, just relax here and pack." I said, making my way down the dark hall.

It was nearly midnight now and our parents had retreated to their room with the doors locked of course; the fucking cowards. The room I once feared the most was about to be my best friend. Two halls down from my room was the room I almost died in. It was when Lilly and I were being punished for trying to sneak a phone away by being starved out for five days. On the fourth day, Lilly started passing out from not eating, so I had to do something. I tried to sneak a few slices of bread and two cups of yogurt to help us out but just like the phone, I was caught. The next thing I knew, I was on my knees in a red room lined with guns, feeling the cold ring of a twelve gauge shotgun against the back of my head. I was so afraid, but not for my life. I was afraid that Lilly would be left to face the wrath of our parents alone if our father pulled that trigger, but he didn't and gave me a warning by extending the starvation another five days. Lilly and I survived by eating small wood chips, paper, dirt, carpet and whatever else we found to be remotely edible. Our only water came from Lilly and I's urine which we slightly filtered with paper since our water was turned off. Now I was glad I knew that red room existed. It was locked of course but the door wasn't tough. I took all the strength I had and kicked the handle, bending it and breaking the lock. The inside smiled like whisky and copper, fitting for my father. Turning on a light would be dangerous, so I squinted to see the weapons. I doubted my body could take the recoil of a shotgun or rifle, so I chose a low caliber pistol instead. The rounds were already loaded in, so I just turned back around with it in my hand. I had never actually shot a gun, but I had looked up every step a long time ago just in case. My heart thumped faster with every step I took.

Two halls.

I could see the light from my parent's room reflecting off of the walls. My heard felt like it was going to explode but I had to go on. I had to do it for Lilly.

One hall.

My hands shook with uncertainty and fear. Sweat threatened to let the gun drop to the floor any second. My ears now picked up on the noise of their voices.

In front of the door.

I felt the need to turn around and forget that this ever happened, but I heard them talk.

"Did you see the look on that bitch's face when I sank the knife in? I thought I was going to burst out laughing!" my father cheered. My mother laughed like it was a hilarious joke. I felt the powder forming from my grinding teeth fall on my tongue.

"Yeah, it was great! But what do you think about my idea? I'm sure the sluts would love it if their father raped them!" she laughed. I gasped and felt my rage double. I would not let them use Lilly nor I as sex toys!

"Yeah, I'm sure that white haired slut Lilly would just be moaning and begging for more!" my father laughed back. That was it. That was the absolute final fucking straw! I felt my leg lift up and kick in as hard as I could. The rest was just in slow motion. I lifted the pistol up and turned the safety off; finding the center of my father's head in the sights before he could even fully turn around. My heart thumped with the thump I felt in my hands. For a moment I just saw a white flash and felt the heat of fire against my face. It was like an exploding sun that was up close, searing my eyebrows. Once the fire faded, I could see the spray of red across the previously pure white wall above the headboard of the bed. Just for a second, I could see the hole in his head before he started to fall. My mother started to scream but I lifted the gun again, this time not so careful about aim.

Bang!

A red mist sprayed from her shoulder, but she was not down.

Bang!

The spray came out of her back and made her fall to the ground in a heap. I could feel the soft, warm metal in my hands, smoke rising from the barrel. My mother whimpered and held her stomach: familiar much? Her next words made me so relieved.

"Wh-why?" she asked pitifully. I felt myself almost crack a smile.

"So you'd know what it's like to be me; so that Lilly and I NEVER have to live with it again!" I screamed as I placed the pistol right to her head and squeezed with no regret.

BANG!

The sound echoed through the halls but we were so far away from anyone else that I knew no one heard the shots. She fell slowly and I felt the hot metal slip from my hands. Tears streamed down my face slowly. I didn't look again, just picked up the gun and got out, running back to my room.

Lilly's POV

I shivered while curled in a ball on Kate's bed, feeling my heart thump hard against my chest. I felt the burn in my throat as I had just vomited on the floor after hearing four gun shots. Why were there four? Who was standing at the receiving end? Tears streamed down my face. It couldn't have been Kate. It just couldn't be.

"L-Lilly?" A quiet voice came from the door. I turned and saw my sister with a few splatters of red blood on her face. I felt like hugging her, but she feel to her knees and threw up before I could get to her. She shivered and curled up a little.

"Kate, w-we're g-going to be wanted for m-murder now, a-aren't we?" I cried. Kate looked up from being sick with glazed eyes.

"Y-yeah, but we are going to run." she said. I was slightly confused by this.

"But the police will understand why you killed them! We wouldn't be in trouble if we just turned ourselves in now!" I said. Kate shook her head slowly.

"Our father has too many connections. He had the police here under his thumb! If we get caught, we go to prison! Do you understand? We can't get caught, at least not here in New York. Do you have everything packed?" she asked. I held back the tears and nodded. Kate hugged me tightly.

"It will be okay, I promise." she whispered softly. I nodded and cried softly into her shoulder. I had already put on a new shirt but it was already soaked in blood. It would have to wait though, we had to get away. "Let's go." she said, lifting me up to my feet. I didn't even care where we were going, so long as it was away from this place. We walked through the silent halls and down the grand staircase to the door that leads to the garage. Kate grabbed a key on the way out and handed me a helmet that she picked up from the table by the door. She put one on as well and climbed onto the front seat of the moped we take to school. I climbed onto the back and held Kate's waist as she started it up and throttled us forward into the street where there was no sign of traffic.

Kate's POV

I felt the wind against my face where the heat of the blast from earlier had hit me. I also felt Lilly hugging at my waist. However, I did not know what to feel emotionally. There was one thing I knew for sure though. The one person that knew about everything was the only person that would help us now. The only friend I have in the world and the one person who might let us spend a night: Humphrey Long.

Well that was intense. I felt sick writing certain portions of that but I just want you to know that this story won't be all doom and gloom. The next chapter will be Humphrey's life story (and no, no one will die in the next chapter). I hope you... enjoyed isn't the right word. I hope you found the idea intriguing and wish to continue reading. Please review to let me know what you think of this story. See you all soon.

-GoldAlpha