Thanks for the reviews; I really appeciate them.
School starts this month, so my story might come later in the month, but hopefully still every month.
He's the next chapter, hope you like it:
Judgment: Exile or Fellowship

"I have to go now," Annie said to Shelby.

"Fine, just stay away from Scott!" Shelby yelled as she walked off. She didn't see the tears that welled up in Annie's eyes. Nobody likes me. They all tease and mock me. Why don't they like me? Why did God put me on this Earth? I hate life!

Annie cried out loud as she entered the deserted cabin. She felt so isolated from everyone, so different. Even when she made friends, she lost them. Or nobody wanted to be her friend at all. Annie went into the bathroom and took out a sharp, pointed rock. She slipped her jacket off so she could put the marks where they couldn't be seen. Annie softly screamed under her breath as she cut her upper arm. Then her other arm and legs. The loss of blood, lack of food and sleep and heroin withdrawal made her feel weary. She put the last cut near her waist. After putting it away, she went to lie on her bed. She put her jacket back on before going to sleep.


Peter went into the dorm, wanting to talk to Annie.

"She sleeps too much," He noted, seeing her. Annie shifted her arm, revealing the red gash on her waist. Peter got closer to inspect it. She's cutting herself? He shook her, hoping she'd wake. She just moaned in her sleep and moved away.

"Annie, wake up. I want to talk to you." He shook her a bit more. She didn't respond.

"Annie, I'll go get a cold cup of water and spill it on you." Annie just breathed deeply. Peter figured she was trying to get out of the talk. He carefully took her jacket off, reviling more cuts.

"No, Annie," Peter whispered quietly. He sat on the bed, examining them, studing them, so he could find out how long ago she had done it. They looked fresh and bleeding, so Peter figured within minutes or hours.

Annie's eyes flicked open as he touched near one wound. She quickly sat up, away from him. She swayed as she watched him stare at her.

"What are these?" Peter asked, taking the arm, which had a gash on its waist. She weakly, but stubbornly pulled away. He let go. He had no emotion in his eyes, but he was mad at her and scared for her life.

"Okay, then. Why?" Annie stared at him angrily.

"Why did you cut yourself? What's wrong?" She didn't answer. Peter knew she wasn't going to, but he was trying any ways.

"What's bothering you?"

"You," she answered.

"Me? Why? What did I do?"

"You won't leave me alone."

"I'm making sure your okay."

"I'm fine"

"Apparently not if you're here and cutting yourself," Peter explained, "There's more. What is it?" Annie kept her gaze on a certain spot on the bed.

'Annie?" She didn't look up.

'I called your previous schools."

"What?"

"I've figured out why you were expelled: You brought a gun to school. Why?" She looked away, angered.

"Why?" He repeated.

"Stop asking me that!" Annie yelled.

"Annie, is there a reason you brought a gun to school?" Peter waited for an answer, that never came,"Answer me please."

"These boys wouldn't leave me alone," She replied quietly.

"What did they do?"

"Made fun of me, trying to cheat off my tests, and taking my things." Peter saw a few tears slide from her face.

"Did you tell any one? The teacher perhaps?"

"Yes, but after a while they threatened me."

"How did they threaten you?" Peter asked, concerned.

"To beat me up and . . . and rape me."

"Did they ever do those things?"

"No, after a week, I brought my dad's hand gun in." Annie broke into sobs. Peter went to hug her, to show it was okay now, but she moved away from him and into the bathroom.

The three girls walked in, wondering why Peter was sitting on Annie's bed.

"Don't ask. Just leave Annie alone for a while." With that, he left.

They watched him leave and then gazed at the closed bathroom door. Within the room came quiet weeping.


Everyone looked up when the doorknob to the bathroom door moved. Annie slowly came out after the long while. She didn't look at anyone as she went out the door.

"What do you think is wrong?" Juliette asked.

"Don't know," Daisy answered.

"She was trying to take Scott and I told her off. The cry baby," Shelby explained.

"Did she kiss him?" Jules asked.

"No."

"Did she touch him inappropriately?"

"No."

"What she do than?"

"She kept following him around all the time," Shelby told them.

"Annie followed Ezra once." Daisy pointed out.

"She follows me, too," Juliette said.

"She'll be after Ezra next and then Auggie," Shelby warned, "As for following you, she just wants us to think she's not after them."


Annie walked around the school, feeling very sad. She figured when everyone went to dinner she'd kill herself. She'd make everyone feel sorry: her dad, mom, siblings, and those so-called friends.

As she sat down, she heard something: It was Ezra.

"Hi," He said.

"Hi," She said back, but turned her head away from him.

"Something wrong?" He asked, sitting beside her.

"Nothing," She answered untruthfully.

"You sure?" He asked again.

"Yes, I just want to be left alone."

Ezra asked Annie a question, but than Daisy came out of now where.

"What are you two doing?" Annie and him stood up.

"Talking," Ezra answered.

"About what?" Ezra shrugged.

"I don't want you near her. She'll try to take you away from me." Ezra looked confused, while Annie had a mixture of emotions.

"Go away. Leave us alone!" Daisy shouted. Annie walked away slowly and then turned around and ran.

"I wa-" Ezra started to say, but Daisy gave him a kiss.


Peter noticed that Annie wasn't at the dinner table with the other Cliffhangers. He didn't know if she had ever came out of the bathroom.

"Where's Annie?" He asked. He wondered if he'd be saying those two words for the entire time Annie stayed at Horizon.

Scott and Auggie shrugged.

"She was trying to hit on Ezra and I told her to get lost," Daisy answered.

"What?" Peter looked at Ezra.

"She didn't hit on me. I saw her alone and wondered if she was okay."

"She just lied to you," Daisy said.

"She didn't really say a thing. Except that she wanted to be alone."

"Do you know where she is?"

"No."

"Daisy, next time don't jump to conclusions," Peter left to find Annie.

He searched around the school, then went to search the dorm. The bathroom door was closed. He knocked.

"Annie, you in there?" No response.

"Annie, can you answer me? Please, Annie." He didn't hear anything. He tried the handle; it was unlocked.

"I'm coming in."

Annie lied sprawled on the floor, very pale. A small pool of blood lied near her left arm. Peter quickly knelt on the ground to check her vital signs. Her pulse was irregular. Someone then came into the dorm.

"Call an ambulance!" He yelled at who ever it was. The person rushed out the door. Peter checked her pulse again. He then tried to wake her. She just moved limply to his shaking. Sophie rushed in after a minute.

"An ambulance is on its way," She told him. She saw Annie.

"What happened?" Peter thought the same thing. He spotted the rock and picked it up; she had cut herself seriously.

As they waited for the ambulance, Peter and Sophie worked on stopping the bleeding and cleaning the wound. After a long while, it finally arrived. Sophie went outside to direct them to Annie.

They came in, immediately checking her vitals. One paramedic put an oxygen mask over her face.

"We'll have to take her to the hospital to heal her wounds," Said Austin, one of the paremedics. Peter nodded, understanding the need.

They got Annie onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. Peter followed them in his vehicle.


Annie heard the sound of a siren and voices. Her eyes flickered opened, seeing a very blurry blob. Someone at her side gently touched her. The person said something, but Annie couldn't make out the words. Annie's eyes closed as she passed out.
Peter waited beside Annie's bed. She was still unconscience. One of her arms was stitched and wrapped up in a cloth. The other cuts were covered with bandages. She had blood and water being pumped into her body. There was also an oxygen mask over her mouth to help her breath easier.

Peter heard someone behind him; Annie's nurse.

"Visiting hours are almost up," She said.

"Just a few more minutes." The nurse nodded and left.

Annie heard silence and felt weak and very cold. Slowly she opened her eyes.

Everything in front of her was a big blur. She couldn't make out any objects or colors.

"Hello." She barely heard Peter say beside her. Even more slowly, she turned her head, still seeing blurs.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her. She didn't attempt to answer.

"Ok, your probably too weak to say anything right now," Peter guessed. Annie took a deep breath, ignoring what Peter was saying.


Peter got out of his car and strolled to his office. He saw Scott walking towards him.

"What happened? No one will tell me anything," Scott asked.

"I'll tell you. Go get the other Cliffhangers; we're having an early group."

"What is this? I was busy," Auggie complained as the whole group sat down.

"Settle down," Peter ordered the group of teenagers, "You all know that Annie isn't here."

"Yeah, where is she?" Ezra interrupted.

"I was getting to that.'

'She hurt herself and is in the hospital."

"Is she okay?" Juliette asked.

"She's fine for now."

"What she do?" Shelby asked.

"If she wants to tell you, she can. It's not my job."

"Fine, I'll get it out of her if it's the last thing I do."

"Shelby," He scolded, "I want you all to do something for me. When Annie gets back, she'll need to be watched at all times. Okay? You think that one of you can always be with her?" He studied the Cliffhangers. Some of them looked a bit worried, like Scott and Juliette, and some didn't look like they cared, like Shelby.

"Sure," Some answered.

"I want you all to think about this whole thing. We'll discuss it tomorrow."

"Think about it? What are we supposed to think about?" Shelby asked everyone as they sat on the porch.

"How we've been treating Annie," Scott answered matter-of-factly.

"How about how she's been treating us?"

"She hasn't done anything to us, but hang around for attention," Scott shoved at her.

"He has a point Shelby," Juliette pointed out, " She just wants to be friends, but we've been too busy or paranoid about her."

"I think she's trying to take our boyfriends away and you two can't see that," Daisy spat out.

"She hasn't kissed any of us," Ezra explained.

"Not yet she hasn't. She's probably waiting for the right time," Shelby reasoned

"When? In the hospital?" Scott asked.

"Maybe," Daisy said and sat down next to Ezra.

"Your just paranoid," Ezra said to her.

"You should be too."

"I think we should take this the other way then what we've been doing. We've done this with other members and what happened to them? They committed suicide, remember? We should spend more time with her and see what she's like, instead of guessing what she's like."

"Scott's right," Jules and Ezra agreed with him, but the other three didn't.

"Let's just try it out and then we can judge her. Okay?" Scott asked.

"You do what you want, we'll do what we want," Daisy told him and, along with Auggie, got up to leave.

"So you're going to allow Annie to be your friend? You like her don't you?"

"Shelby, no. We've judged too many people too quickly and they've died because of it, don't you see that?"

Shelby got up and left.

"Shel," Scott said desperately. He looked back at Juliette and Ezra. They smiled weakly at him and left as well. Scott sighed, closing his eyes.