My eyes fluttered open to find about half a dozen standing over me, their faces puzzled and impressed, most of them expressing a tense smile. We were in a dimly lit room that smelled slightly of cigar smoke. I was laying down, staring up at a wood-beam ceiling.

"I hope she'll be able to help us," An unfamiliar female voice pondered out loud, a collective murmur settling over the group.

I groaned as I tried to sit up, only causing a small panic in the group. There was a small pounding in the back of my head, but other than that, I felt fine. I couldn't recollect how I had gotten there, but something told me that Jake and Marley had something to do with it.

The room began to spin as voices swarmed around me, proving me wrong. I wasn't fine, but they didn't need to know that. I already seemed weak enough.

"You need to lay back down!" A male voice cried out, a hand on my front shoulder pushing me back to the place I was laying on. "We gotta make sure you're not bleeding anymore."

"Bullshit." I dictated under my breath. I felt fine enough to at least sit up. Without thinking too much about it, I shoved the hand off my shoulder, sitting back up. "I don't need help." I grunted, looking back at the boy who had placed his hand on my shoulder. "I feel fine. There ain't no more blood, 'kay?"

I didn't wait for a response. I swung my legs over the side of whatever I was laying on, and lightly touched the damp floor with my toes, shivering slightly. The floor was freezing, and it felt like cement underneath my calloused feet. "Holy shit," I murmured under my breath, slowly letting my feet fall all the way to the floor.

A hand landed on my shoulder again, but I just shoved it off. "I don't need help," But, the hand went back to it's perch on my shoulder. "I said," I began, but another voice cut me off, one that I had never heard before.

"You need to lay down," It growled, deep and raspy. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

By the tone of his voice, I could tell this wasn't going to be a discussion. I sighed, swinging my legs back up to where they were laying, putting my hands behind my head. The ceiling beams above me began to swirl, and there was a very subtle ringing that began in my ears.

"I'm glad you chose the easy way." The same raspy voice said, but with a kinder tone. "Do you remember what happened?"

I sighed, things coming back in clips. I didn't need a brain to put the pieces together. "Yeah. I went batshit crazy and told a guard off, which made him mad and he hit me in the head. Okay, okay, I remember. Can I get up now?" I was beginning to get annoyed, but that wasn't anything new.

"No," The girl's voice said out of urgency. "We need to wait until Marley and Jake are back. They might have found some extra food."

For the first time since I got there, I realized I was hungry. The last meal I had was the day before I arrived, and God knows how long I was unconscious for. As if to prove my point, my stomach began to growl angrily, begging for the food I hadn't thought about.

"How long have I been out?" I questioned quietly, unprepared for the voice that answered.

"Only a night," A firm, familiar voice replied to my question.

Nick was here! I quickly became excited, sitting up. The room immediately began to swirl once again, a figure in the middle of line of vision swirling with it. I could only guess that it was Nick, as it implied that his voice had come from the direction of the figure.

I put my hand to my head, as if that would stop the spinning. "Okay," Nick trembled, his voice increasing in volume. "I think you need to lie back down."

Instead of resisting the suggestion this time, I followed his advice. I laid back down, putting my hands behind my bed as a pillow. The ceiling stopped spinning, but I felt the familiar trickle of blood on my hands.

"Am I still bleeding?" I inquired, starting to panic. When no one answered, I asked again. "Please tell me." My voice was trembling now, because I knew that if I was still bleeding, I would need stitches, and I doubted there was going to be someplace I could get stitches.

The silence confirmed it for me. I kept my hand on my head despite the warmness. I had heard somewhere that the head tends to bleed more than any other place on the body. It could just be a small cut that refuses to quit bleeding, or it could be this huge gash that's almost done bleeding. I prayed for the small cut, but I doubted that was the case.

A warm hand touched mine, and I shuddered slightly in surprise. "It's just me," Nick purred, his voice getting low. "You're head is still bleeding a little, but we've mostly got it under control. Now, would you mind telling us your name?"

"Al-" I paused, slightly, not wanting to be referred to as the name on all my court documents. That was the old me. Now, I get a chance to start something new. A chance to be braver than I used to be. "Ally. My name, is Ally."

A chuckle escaped from Nick. "What's a matter? Ain't you sure?"

"Yeah." I didn't want to admit the truth, so I lied. It wasn't anything unusual, or out of the ordinary. "My name is Ally."

"Okay then. Ally, I want you to try and sit up for us, okay? Just, slowly." I kept my hand on my head, using the other one to lift myself up again. The dizziness was starting to fade away, but it was still there. "Good," Nick praised my small accomplish. "How does your head feel?"

"It feels fine," I sighed, silently acknowledging that I was going to be known as the girl who fainted after a guard talked smack to her. "Can I eat something?"

There was some mumbling, and the tone of their voices were disagreeing. I couldn't dictate specifically what they were saying, so it came as a little shock what their final answer was.

"Well, we don't really have any food. The weekly rations haven't been passed out yet, and we don't have any left to share." The unfamiliar girl spouted, her voice cracking, as she was obviously very upset. "I'm so sorry. I mean, you probably haven't eaten for a few days, and-and-and…"

I stopped listening, the room fading out of my line of sight as I disappeared into my thoughts. They gave them food once a week? He's basically starving them! Well, I didn't know how much food they got, but I doubted it was enough since they didn't have any left. That was awful. I've had to do it before, but it was nothing I ever wanted to do again.

During those two weeks that I didn't have any food, my stomach had felt completely hollow, and when I finally could afford to buy something at the convenient store, I had to eat slowly, or I was going to get sick. The only thing I could even afford was two cheeseburgers, and a small box of chicken nuggets from a gas station. It was awful, having to ration that small amount of food, trying not to think about how long I would have to make it last for.

The emptiness of my stomach drove me out of my thinking. It growled angrily, desperate for food. I couldn't even remember the last time I ate. It seemed as though the last time I ate was when that really kind officer at the precinct gave me half of his Subway sandwich.

"That's awful," I absently said out loud. "He can't do that." I became increasingly angry as I spoke, realizing how wrong it was that he was doing this. In fact, he couldn't do any of this. He couldn't starve us, or beat us. It was neglect and abuse. "We need to do something." I thoughtfully acknowledged, staring at the ceiling. There had to be something that we could do about Scovel, and all the other adults here. It just didn't feel right.

"You've done enough. Now, stay still while Ethan changes the bandage on your head." Nick asked, politely. "It's gonna hurt, a lot, so don't fight, okay?" He didn't sugarcoat it for me.

"Okay," I reluctantly agreed, knowing that there was going to be no possible way I was going be able to sit still enough to let, what was his name? Ethan? To let Ethan fix my head.

I set my hands on my legs, already rubbing the nervous sweat off my palms. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, preparing for the pain.

Suddenly, a large, calloused hand was placed on mine. I opened my eyes to find Nick sitting next to me on whatever I was laying on, a genuine smile crossing both of our faces. A warm feeling began to glow inside my chest and stomach.

Something pricked the back of my head, sending waves of pain through the back of my neck. I took Nick's hand in mine, and squeezed it, hard. I closed my eyes, and let out a small squeal. It'll be over in a few seconds. Just hang in there. I kept reminding myself that it was going to be over in a few minutes, but those minutes felt as though they were hours.

Another prick followed, and this time, I whipped my head around. A boy about two years older than me was standing there, his face a blank stare at me. I took in his features, as long as I was turned around.

His eyes were a piercing green and blue combination, which was intimidating to say the least. He had light freckles dotting his nose, and his lips were a light magenta. His hair was like mahogany, and tousled, as if to suggest that he hadn't taken a shower in a few days, maybe even a week. He had a chiseled chin, and strong cheekbones that accented his dimples.

We locked eyes for a few seconds, before I swiveled my head to look at Nick. Who is he? I silently asked, moving my eyes toward the guy who had been pricking my head.

"That's Ethan. He's like the doctor here. He grew up in a hospital, so we hope he knows what he's doing." Nick explained, chuckling at his joke, before turning back to his serious tone. "You need to turn back around, and stay still so he can finish."

I turned my head back to Ethan, and the sight made me sad. His eyes were devoid of emotion, as was his face. I gave him a small nod, as if to show him my approval. If he really needed to finish, then I should let him. After all, he was just trying to help.

I turned back around, wanting to give him a chance to help me. Another prick to my head followed my obedient actions, making me close my eyes again. I continued to squeeze Nick's hand, until the point where I felt as though I was going to hurt his hand. "Sorry." I muttered under my breath.

The pricking sensation seized, giving me a feeling of relief. "Is it over?" I asked, excitedly. Please let it be over.

Before anyone could answer, my hand released it's grasp on Nick's, and lightly touched the back of my head. I couldn't feel anything except for my hair, which was tied into a bun. I pressed slightly harder, and winced when a small amount of pain washed through my entire head.

"What did you do?" I asked Ethan tenderly, curious as to why it didn't hurt as much as when he first began to touch it. "Like, what did you put on it to make it stop hurting?"

He walked around so we could stand face to face. The same blank stare was frozen on his face, abstain from all of his possible emotions or facial expressions. "It was nothing, really. I had given you some pain killers while you were knocked out, and then I stitched up the cut, and gave you fluids. Nothing too much."

"Thank you." I said gently, reaching my hand out so he could shake it. If he hadn't helped, I don't know what would have happened, but then again, I didn't know or understand how bad my injuries were. The only place of pain was in the back of my head.

He grasped my hand firmly, and a small smile showed up on his face, giving me a little satisfaction. Scovel hadn't taken all the joy out of Ethan's life.