CASPAR'S POV

"Manny didn't tell you what gang she's with, did he?" Kelly asked as he jogged alongside me. I was about two and a half feet taller than the boy, so I walked at the same pace he would jog. I walked faster, hoping he would get tired and leave. He ran a little faster.

"No."

"It was Boss's gang."

"The Ragtags?" I stopped altogether. Boss ran the smallest, most pathetic little gang in all of New York. They only had about ten guys total, all living in one tiny little shack in the bad part of Manhattan. We called them the Ragtags because of it.

"Yep. So I don't think it will be too hard to get your girl back." Kelly sounded a little too confident to me. I grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him to my eye level.

"Rule One of being part of Manny's gang, never underestimate your opponent."

"Okay!" Kelly choked out. I set him back down so he could breathe.

"That's how you end up dead." I added for emphasis.

"What, underestimating people or being lifted five feet in the air by giants?" He laughed at his own joke. I didn't think it was very funny.

"Let's go."

BIRDIE'S POV

"Boss wants you." Keegan stood in the doorway again, the wood creaking under his hard-toed work boots.

"Now?" I asked, "I'm a little busy, could it wait?"

"Don't be smart, Boss won't like that." Keegan frowned.

"Maybe he should steal himself another girl then." I snapped.

"Get up." His voice went dangerously low.

"I'm rather comfortable." I shook my head a bit as I shifted in the increasingly uncomfortable chair.

Before I even knew what was happening, Keegan lunged forward and drove his fist into my stomach. The wind was immediately knocked out of me and I fell forwards onto the dank floor. I gasped for breath, clutching both hands to my gut and squeezing my eyes shut to hold back the tears.

Shutting my eyes was a mistake.

Now his boot collided with the exact same spot. The only difference was that my hands were there now. I suddenly had just enough breath to gasp in shock and pain as nearly every bone in my right hand was crushed and then forced into the quickly bruising skin below my ribs. I couldn't breathe yet again, and by now I was convinced my face was turning blue with the lack of oxygen.

"You should do what I say, girlie." He leaned down, hissing in my ear.

"Yes," I finally found the air and answered a few seconds later.

"Get her up and fix her up. Then bring her to Boss and make sure he don't know how nothin' happened." Keegan ordered two other boys standing in the doorway as he pushed past them and down the hall.

"You take care of her, man. I'm out of here." One boy said, and I heard him walk away too. I heard footsteps coming closer to me and I quickly curled up in a defensive little ball, putting my good hand over my hand and hiding the other between my knees and stomach.

"You can open your eyes, I won't hurt you." A soothing, gentle voice whispered. A hand carefully laid itself on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked at the boy. He was tall and lean with a long face and big blonde eyebrows to match his light sandy hair that stood straight up on the top of his head.

"Why did he do that to me?" I whispered back.

"Just a second." He said, shutting the door then returning to me. He sat down about two feet away with his legs crossed and one hand placed on each knee.

"Why did you do that?" I forced myself into a sitting position. For some reason, the severe pain I should have been feeling in my hand had disappeared for now.

"This crappy old house is surprisingly soundproof when the doors are shut." The boy said, "My name is Derek. Keegan's a jerk but I didn't think he would go that far. Are you okay? Your hand looks pretty bad, he must have kicked you really," The pain suddenly returned and I broke down, sobs wrenching through my body as I cradled my smashed hand and leaned forwards over the throbbing pain in my stomach.

"Oh my god, you're really hurt! Oh wow, geez, ok I'll be right back!" He jumped up and ran out the door, returning a moment later with a brown shoebox in his hands. He threw the top of it aside and pulled out a big roll of that stuff they use to wrap sprained ankles and things like that.

"Can I have your hand?" He asked quietly, holding out his own. Still crying, I held my hand out towards him and squeezed my eyes shut again. To me, crying meant you were weak. Even Carter had never seen me cry, and I didn't want this stranger seeing it any more than he had too.

I gasped and started crying harder when he took my hand and began to wrap it.

"I'm really sorry this hurts but I'm trying to be careful and it will help it heal I swear!" He blabbered as he wrapped the stuff around my hand and wrist. Finally a minute later, he took out a safety pin and pinned the end of the long strip he'd torn off onto another part of the makeshift cast so it would stay on.

"I don't think there's anything I can do about your stomach, but you can take one of these. Unfortunately we haven't got any water to wash it down with so you'll have to do without. The trick is to get enough spit in your mouth before you take it that you can just use that." Derek explained as I listened to him pull out something that sounded like a bottle of pills. I would have told him to just shut up about halfway through his explanation if I hadn't still been crying with my eyes closed, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

"Take these, wipe your eyes and knock on the door once you've got yourself together. Then I'll take you to see Boss. You can't tell Boss what Keegan did to you, you've got to pretend that your hand was hurt before you were brought here otherwise there'll be big trouble and I really don't think that there'll be any way to stop it before it starts so just pretend Keegan didn't even come near you and it'll be fine I guess."

"Shut up!" I finally managed to choke out. Derek stood and left, closing the door behind him. I pulled my knees up to my chest and cradled my injured hand in front of my stomach with the other.

"Carter," I whispered, no, I pleaded through my tears. "Please Carter, come save me. Get me out of here."

"Are you ready?" Derek's voice called through the door. I faked a few loud sobs to buy me some more time and also to shut him up. Although I was still crying, it wasn't nearly loud enough for him to hear anymore.

Finally opening my eyes, I looked around the blurred room. A blank bottle sat before me. I shook it. There was a fair amount left. I twisted the top and opened it, to see about twenty round blue pills rattling lying in the bottom of the white bottle. Carefully and quietly, I dispensed all but five pills into my hand and shoved them into my pocket. Then I replaced the top of the bottle and set it down in the exact same spot. I used the sleeve of my hoodie to wipe my eyes and sighed. There was no way around it, I would have to go see this Boss person, and I would have to go along with what these people wanted until Carter came to save me.

"Hello, I'm Birdie. I hate you. I hate everyone here. And I don't plan on being here much longer." I said aloud, pretending that I was talking to Boss. My voice sounded good enough. It was still a little weak but it made me sound like a scared little girl. Which I was, but I hadn't sounded like it before.

I got up and gave one solid knock on the door. Derek opened it, wrapped his hand around my arm, and led me to my fate.