| Ok so hey everyone, I've wrote fanfics before but I've never really been able to get into them. I've had this idea for a fic for a while now so I've decided to write it. It's obviously an Annie story but not the type of tale you're used to hearing when you think of Annie. This story is simply just using the characters. I don't own Annie even though I wish I did but I have created original characters for the story. I won't list them here as some people do as you'll meet thrm throughout the story. If you're trying to image maybe what some characters look like think the 1982 version of Annie |

Chapter 1.

The clock seemed to be teasing her no matter how long she waited, it didn't move quickly enough. The time was dragging in and Grace was impatiently waiting to ve allowed to leave. Only a few more minutes until summer break, two whole months with no school to worry about it was going to be heaven. She began tapping her pen against the desk, a slight glance to her side allowed her to see the same thoughts were going through Lucy's head as she sighed dropping her head onto her arms staring with almost no emotion towards the clock. They needed this break, it had been a long year and Grace knew that having two months would really allow them to clear their heads giving them the time they needed. The ticking continued and it seemed to get louder and louder as the arm of the clock moved further towards the 12, a half day that lasted forever Grace couldn't imagine anything that could possibly be worse than that.

A large crash, that could only come from a door being smashed it came from the corridor, it was followed by pained screams. Fear filled the facial features of the girls in the class. Mr Donovan rose from his seat behind the desk and moved slowly towards the door trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Once at the door worry consumsed his face as it was pushed open. Two men entered the classroom, one seemed to be in his mid 30's though he was already balding, he wore jeans and a baggy farm workers shirt, the other man seemed younger he had short black hair and both carried guns. The first man yelled at everyone to get down and no one chose to disobey them, no one wanted to be their victim. While everyone was moving of their seats and onto the floor the second man walked the perimeter of the room looking each girl up and down as of he was looking for someone. His eyes finally settled upon Grace who was holding Lucy tighly in her arms trying to calm her down.

"Them" His was coarse as Grace heard him say the word to the other man who simply nodded his head. The man walked over and grabbed both girls dragging them out of the classrooms. Their screams filled the corridors as they begged to be let go, Grace thrashed in the man's arms trying to get free but he simply hit her rendering her unconscious for the duration of the journey.

When Grace woke her eyesight was still a little blurry she hoped that everything she had been through had just been a dream though when rubbed her eyes and noticed the long dark room infront of her she knew it wasn't. The room was long and the two lengths were filled with beds which meant there had to be other girls here. She found that she herself was lying upon one of these beds and at the end of it was an old fashioned looking maids outfit with a note telling her to change into it. Grace knew that she would be constantly in danger here so if she did what they wanted there may be less of a chance of her getting injury more. Therefore she slid out of her school dress and pulled the outfit on, the material scratched her skin as it was extraordinarily rough. It was one of the most uncomfortable things she had ever worn though she knew that she had to get used to it. There was a small basket beside her bed so she placed her school dress into it before walking towards the door which seemed to be close to her part of the room.

The fresh air that hit her was welcomed as it cooled her down from the heat that had been present inside the room. It seemed that the room was an underground bunker probably something that had been on the property from the world war two era. As Grace's eyes danced along the landscape she noticed a small girl with her hands tied to a post, her dress had been ripped at the back and one of the men that had brought her and Lucy here was holding a whip. Everything that Grace had thought about, all the things she thought she had to do like obey these men to survive left her mind and she felt herself running over to rry and help the yoyng girl. As the whip came hurtling towards her Grace flung herself infront of it, turning her back so she could wrap her arms around the young girl and protect her. She winced as the hard leather ripped into the flesh of her back, though the pain was nothing as she knew she had protected a young girl that could be more than six escape this fate.

The man cursed once he realised what had just happened and another man came striding over. He wasn't dressed like the other men, he was in a suit to try and prove he was better than everyone else. He had to be the master of this place and the leader of what Grace could only assume was a slave dealers. She took a deep breath as she rose to her feet facing both the men, the other girls had seemed to stop what they were doing to watch the scene that was about to unfold. What she had done would gain her the respect of every other girl on the site though what the master would do to her was what she seemed to now fear. "Hmm..." His simple phrase practically vibrated of his lips as he stared down at her. Then a small smirk formed in its place. "You're a brave one aren't you?" His question caught Grace of guard so she stayed silent scared that she would say the wrong thing. Though her silence seemed to bother the master more than if she were to speak. "You will speak when you are spoken to girl" He yelled these words at her before slapping her hard across the cheek. The other girls quickly grabbed their buckets or shovels and get back to what they had been doing before, they themselves not wanting to face the master's anger. Grace's was weak but she was able to push out a reply that sounded stronger than she actually felt. "I may not be as brave as others are sir, though she is only a little girl and doesn't deserve to be whipped. None of these girls do..." As she saw him pull a gun out of his waistband she was quick to put together a small speech that would hopefully save her life. "I can cook and clean, I've looked after children during my summers so I'd be perfectly capable for assisting you in making sure these children are always strong enough to do the work set out for them. And I would take each whipping for every child here no matter what they do as no one deserves a fate such as that". A sigh of relief passed from her lips as she saw the gun being returned to its place, she knew that she had been able to buy herself some time. "Alright then, I like you. You are brave though don't get any ideas about running away I'll have my workers shoot everyone in this compound down if you even try. No one has ever escaped. The buyers come every Tuesday so I expect the girls to be clean then so I can sell them at a high price. If you do a good job I'll leave you in these horrible conditions and not sell you." Grace nodded not sure what to do now, she had just been able to save herself from death but the fate that now lay before her was extremely grim. She was a slave, though the police would be searching for her and Lucy which meant that if they were found this whole situation would be over. All Grace had to do was pray to God that they would be found soon.

After the conversation the master and the other man walked away clearly going to check upon the other work that the girls were be forced to complete. Grace untied the young girl from the post and helped her back into the room lying her on one of the beds so she could get some rest. "Thank you" the young girl's voice seemed so meek and Grace couldn't help but feel proud of what she had just done. She had practically just signed her life away to the devil but she had saved so many lives which brought a certain air of happiness to her, well as much happiness as she could get being in a place like this. "You don't have to thank me sweetie, I'm sure anyone else would have done the same", she gave the girl a weak smile as she went to leave. The girl shook her head before speaking "They're too afraid of the master so thank you. I'm Annie by the way", Grace turned back around "Well it's lovely to meet you Annie, I'm Grace, Grace Farell"

A smile filled Grace's lips as she made her way back outside something told her that she could make a small difference to these girls just by caring for them. No matter how hard times got here Grace knew she had to try and keep the girls hope up.

| Alright thanks for reading, I would love to hear what you's think and I already had loads of ideas for this story. I know how it'll end and everything so please review just so I know if it's good or not.

Grace = 17 years old

Lucy = 16 years old

Annie = 6 years old

The Master = 38 years old |