A/N: The power went out just before I managed to save this chapter, resulting in the loss of the enitre chapter. However, here we go again. Thanks for the support!

*Clay*

We all went to the hospital as soon as Kimiko called us. From the way she sounded, she was freaking out and I couldn't blame her.

"How bad do you think he is?" I asked Danny, who had a serious look on his face.

He shook his head, "From the way Kimiko sounded, he's probably close to death if he's not there already. The LAD don't take things lightly and I figure Raimundo will be lucky to make it."

"What if he does make it? Will he be able to leave the LAD?" I asked.

Again, he shook his head, "Raimundo belongs to them. If he leaves, they'll simply find him and kill him."

Finally, we made it to the hospital parking lot. Every one of us burst through the double doors and met Kimiko. Her face was ghostly pale and she was shivering, but it wasn't from the cold corridor. Danny hugged her comfortingly before holding her out at arms length. "What happened?" He asked her gently.

"I was just walking and found him beside the river." She stated after taking a deep breath, "God, I don't know how he's still alive." Only then did I notice there was blood on her shirt and hands.

Luckily, Danny noticed this, too. "Go wash your hands and try to clear your mind. We'll stay right here until you get back. Okay?"

Kimiko looked at her hands, flinched at the sight, then ran to the nearest bathroom. None of us knew what to do and I realized everybody didn't know Raimundo. Well, none of us knew him, but he seemed to be a nice guy running with the wrong crowd. Is there anything we can do to get him away from LAD?

*Kimiko*

I washed the blood away from my hands and stared at the red liquid mixing with the cool water. Never before had I seen somebody so sick, bloody, weak, and pale. I knew as soon as I saw him, he was nearly dead. However, I done the right thing by calling an ambulance and I even knew who nearly killed him. The LAD. I turned off the faucet and walked back to the others. "Danny, we have to do something about LAD. We can't let them do something like this again, can we?"

Danny sighed, "Listen. Raimundo is apart of their gang, not ours. There's no way we can force him to come into our gang, besides, the LAD will target him and most likely try to kill him. To them, if you leave, you're as good as dead."

"You made it out, though." I stated.

He paused and bowed his head, "Yeah. I made it out of there alive, but they still target us. Luck allowed me to leave, that's all. I figure they just want to use Raimundo for a punching bag to remind other members to not leave. That's what they were using me for." His anger began to rise and he turned his back on us, not saying anything else.

I put my hand on his shoulder, "We all know what you went through, Danny. But... if you saw him near death, you would remember your situation and how you escaped. You would help him."

"I want to help, Kimiko. I just don't know if I can. In the end, it's all Raimundo's choice, if he even makes it though this." Danny replied and sat down at the far end of the room, away from all of us.

(Three Hours Later)

I saw Raimundo's doctor emerge from the Emergency Room and he walked over to me. Everyone rose to their feet and stood behind me, waiting for the news. "Are you here for Raimundo?" The doctor asked.

Every one of us nodded.

He shook our hands, "I'm Dr. Thomas. As for your friend Raimundo, he had internal bleeding, but we found the source and immediately stopped it. Some of his ribs were broken and a lung was punctured, but he should be fine after he rests for a while. May I ask how this happened?"

I told him how I found him and who done it. Dr. Thomas went rigid when I mentioned the LAD. "I wish I knew how to help, but the LAD is a feared gang throughout California. I'm afriad, other than reporting this to the police, there is nothing I can do." He smiled, "Your friend is lucky. It could have been a lot worse."

"When will he be released?" Danny asked.

The doctor thought for a moment, "Well... Look, I'll let you go in and see him, try to wake him up if you can. He'll be in pain, but that's to be expected. While you're doing that, I'll discuss with more experienced doctors and see what they think about his release. It all depends on the patient."

We all hesitated, not really wanting to see somebody we didn't know a lot about. However, we followed the doctor to the room where Raimundo was and walked through the door.

"I'm not supposed to let all of you in here, but I'll only be gone a few minutes, so I don't see the harm." Dr. Thomas stated before leaving the room.

The first thing I noticed were the machines attached to the injured teen. A tube was sticking out of his mouth and IV's pumped medicine into his body. I took a step forward, again, again, until I reached the bedside. He was still pale and sickly-looking, but he no longer seemed to be at death's door. I looked at the others, wondering how we should attempt to wake him up or if we even wanted to.

Clay began talking, "Hey, Raimundo. You gotta wake up."

A machine beeped, but there was not other sound.

I carefully rested my hand on his bare shoulder, faintly aware of the boy not wearing his shirt. As soon as I touched him, Raimundo opened his eyes. He looked at us then slowly moved his hand. Gently, weakly, he used the palm of my hand as a paper and used his finger to invisibly write 'Who are you?'.

I introduced everyone, including myself, and he wrote on my hand again. What happened?

Shocked, I told the others then looked at Raimundo, "You don't remember?"

He thought for a moment then slowly shook his head and wrote on my hand 'It's a big blur.'.

I sighed, "You'll remember with time."

He barely grinned and wrote on my hand 'I'm not very patient.'.

Somehow, I managed to smile. After everything Raimundo has been through, he may have a sense of humor.

The doctor came in, "Ah, I see you managed to wake him. Are you in any pain?" Dr. Thomas asked Raimundo.

Raimundo shook his head slowly and he pointed at the tube in his mouth.

Dr. Thomas shook his head, "That has to stay in for a few more days." After hearing this, Raimundo glared at him. "Don't give me that look, kid. If I take that tube out, your lung will completely collapse. Just be a bit patient." Raimundo barely sighed and admitted defeat. "Depending on your condition, we'll let you out of here in three and a half weeks."

Raimundo's eyes widened in surprise and he wrote on my hand '3 weeks?! Too long!'.

I barely held backa giggle and told the doctor what he said, making him laugh. "Trust me, kid, if I let you out earlier than that, you'll be begging to come back."

The look in Raimundo's eyes clearly stated he doubted it, which only made the doctor laugh more. Dr. Thomas turned to us, "You can come back and see him later this evening, right now we're going to give him something to go to sleep." Raimundo glared again as the nurse shot more medicine through his IV, but he was soon asleep and we followed the doctor out of the room. "I've tried to contact any family members, but from the looks of it he has none."

"No relatives at all?" Omi asked.

The doctor shook his head, "None. After he gets out of here, it's hard to tell where he'll end up."

(Twenty Days Later)

*Raimundo*

I remembered everything that happened to me beginning with the death of my mother, my father becoming the monster I saw him as, and the injuries I sustained from staying with the LAD. Even though I dreamed of leaving, I knew it was impossible. I am their property and there is nothing that will change that fact. I became their property when my father gave me to them all those years ago. How I managed to survive will always remain a mystery. There was a knock on my door and Kimiko, Clay, and Danny walked through the door. The boys came first to make sure I was decent. Over the few days I was aware of everything (remember, I was doped up on painkillers for a while) the three teenagers had become my acquaintances. It didn't feel right to say friends yet and it was too early to know if they were going to ditch me after I get released from the hospital.

"Hey, how are you?" Kimiko asked gently.

I smiled, "I'm getting better every day, thanks." My voice was scratchy after having the tube down my throat for a few days, but I was just glad I could talk and breathe. Slowly, I sat up in the hospital bed, careful to not stretch or bump against the railing. My stomach still had stitches and my ribs were wrapped up, both still hurt, but not unbearably so.

They sat down in chairs and looked at the floor, then at me.

After doing this for five minutes, I sighed. "What's on your mind?"

Danny cleared his throat, "Raimundo, do you have anywhere to go after you leave here?"

I thought for a moment and a terrifying thought filled my mind. The LAD was the only home I had, the only place I knew. It was the dreaded home I always returned to, no matter what happened.

When I didn't say anything, Kimiko replied, "You were planning on going back to them, right?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it immediately.

"How can you think that after what they done to you?" Clay asked, surprised.

I sighed, "I... There isn't anywhere else I can go. The LAD... I've been with them for years, since I was a little kid..."

"They nearly killed you, how can you even think of going back?" Kimiko stated.

"Are you crazy?" Danny asked.

I put my head in my hands, "Look, I'm not going back to them. No way in Hell am I going back to them."

Clay asked, "Then where are you going to stay?"

I remained silent, unsure of what to say.

Danny sighed, "Look, after talking with everybody, we came to an agreement. You can stay with us and become one of our gang members or you can stay with us temporarily until you find another place to stay. However, if you betray us, we'll have nothing to do with you. If you decide to return to the LAD, there's no way we can help you. Do you understand?"

I was too shocked to even nod my head, "Wait a minute... You're going to let me join your gang even though I'm still, technically, a LAD member?"

Danny shrugged, "After they beat you, they probably no longer see you as a member."

I looked at the three of them, shocked at Danny's words. "Okay, I'll become a member of your gang."

The three of them smiled and rose to their feet. "The doctor said you can leave if you feel up to it. Of course, you'll still be on painkillers, but they can be prescribed to you."

I jumped at the chance to leave, "Yeah I'm ready!" Then, something dawned on me, "Wait... who is paying for all of this?"

"My father." Kimiko stated, "He owns a large gaming company and he's offerred to pay for everything."

Gratitude swelled in my chest, "Thanks."

Clay and Danny went to find Dr. Thomas, just leaving me and Kimiko in the room. "Kimiko?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

She looked at me, "Yeah?"

"Thanks. You know, for finding me." I stated.

She hung her head, "I almost ran away that day. If I had, you probably would have died."

I stared at her for a minute and realized she was crying. Carefully, I rose from the bed and put a hand on her shoulder, "You found me and that's all that matters."

Kimiko looked at me, smiled, and wiped away the tears that fell down her cheeks and filled her eyes. "What if I didn't?"

"You did, though. Look, I know I would have died if you hadn't came when you did, but... I don't know..." I stopped talking to think.

Kimiko said, "You would feel content?"

I shook my head, "No. I'll never feel content until I actually stand up against the Boss and the rest of the LAD. It'll come one day, I just hope I'll be ready when that day comes."

She smiled, "You will and the rest of our gang will support you until the end."

I smiled back at her. If you try to help me, you'll probably get hurt. I don't want any of you to get hurt, not like I did.