A/N: I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this, luckily this is just the prologue...so enjoy, guys. :)

Prologue

The puddle of rain splashed against her sole like paint against canvas as she ran for dear life. She could hear the sirens in the distance with every breath she took, every move she made. They were coming. It was only a matter of time before they would come and throw her in the place where she exactly belonged.

"Alison, hurry!" her little sister no older than the age of eight yelled. Emmy, too smart for her own good was the only thing that was keeping her from throwing in the towel and just surrender herself as well as the loaf of bread and cheese they had stolen from the local food mart. Her legs were tired and were nearly ready to give out on her despite being nearly five minutes away from the run down shack she called an apartment. The pouring rain didn't help, actually making her garments even heavier than before.

The sirens were getting even louder. The harsh tone piercing her ear, causing her to momentarily pause to block the deafening sounds that fill the air. She felt her sister grab her hand before looking in those blue-green orbs of hers. Fear so evident. In all of her eight years of living, Emmy had never been as scared as she was now. A soft whimper escaped her trembling lips, fighting so hard not to cry. Something she had fought for the past three years not to do.

"Al, we have to-", then a gasp escaped her lips. Busted. From the end of the alley they could hear the tires of the police car screech to a halt. The doors of the vehicle slammed shut, allowing an echo to be heard throughout the concluded space.

"Don't make a move!" One of the police officers yelled, a gun in tow, that appeared to be loaded just by the way he was holding the butt of the pistol. Obviously he didn't care if the two culprits were female, justice would surely be served tonight.

"Emmy, run!" the eldest sister yelled, her order a sign that the child needed to run for safe shelter.

Her sister didn't have to tell her twice before she took off running as far as her little legs could take her. Never looking back, the eight year old ran off as fast as she could. Rain mixing with the tears that finally managed to pour down her cheeks after refusing the urge to cry for so long. The last time she cried was at the tender age of five when she knew absolutely nothing of what she knew now, and here she was again letting the tears that dared to escape fall down her cheeks for the first time in what seemed like forever.

When Emmy was no longer in sight, the older sister of the two took one glance back - her hazel eyes meeting the cold, dark, furious ones of the police officer. Her gut instincts told her to just stay there, so furthermore trouble wouldn't ensue while her mind told her to just run. Run like there was no tomorrow. But then if she did, that would put Emmy in even more danger and she didn't want that. And of course if she decided not to take the latter, Emmy would be in that one-bedroom shack all by herself with not a crumb of food to eat but the little drop of crackers they saved for hard times...and possibly a dead sister.

Think, Alison. Think! her mind screamed. Time was running out and she hadn't made one move yet. Closing her eyes, a heavy sigh escaped her lips. She was going to go for it, take a chance. Her eyes narrowed at the dark figure at the end of the alleyway. If she was going to end up in jail for resisting an arrest or even killed, she at least needed to fight for Emmy, where ever she was by now. Inhaling all the air her lungs could take in, the young woman fled the scene.

But not for long.

Not even realizing it was there, she managed to trip over an old rusty can, lying about on the side of the alley. Instantly, the nineteen year old fell to the ground, muddy water and dirt splattering all over her face and tattered, wet hair. A soft groan escaped her lips once the dull pain finally kicked in through her aching body as she could hear the burly officer's heavy foot steps against the pavement - so daunting and obtuse.

She was out of options and the only thing she could do was lie there in defeat. Her body too sore to move and her mind too exhausted to think. She slowly lifted her head to take a good look at her surroundings, her vision blurry from the sudden impact. The first thing she saw when her vision returned, were his combat boots, his uniform, then that face. That cold, dark, stoneface and those pale blue eyes.

"What's it going to be?" his gruff voice questioned, making the hairs on her neck stand up. He no longer had his gun in his hand, but rather a night stick that he clenched as if it would disappear into thin air if he didn't hold it tight enough. His hard face grimaced when he didn't get the response he was looking for, or better yet a response at all.

She couldn't answer the question. In all her years of dodging cops left and right with a child who should've been in school, doing things a normal child should, she had never been more scared until now. It wasn't even the fact that he was an authority figure - there was just an aura about him that sent chills down her spine, making her completely inaudible.

"I said what's it going to be?" he growled. When he realized that she had basically shut down after that hard thud of a fall, he yanked her arms behind her back to restrain her.

Maybe if she had been a good girl he would've let her go just with a slap on the wrist, giving her the opportunity to find the missing child who ran off to God knows where. She always told her in case something like this did happen to run back to the apartment and she would be back soon, but things weren't looking too bright and the words 'be back soon' most likely now meant 'gone until further notice'.