"I don't know where she came from. She was just in front of my car all of the sudden. Said someone was after her."

"Poor kiddo. Is she awake yet?"

Jody opened the door quietly, checking on the girl, who was sleeping soundly. She shut the door and rubbed her forehead for a moment, bringing her phone back to her ear. "Not yet. The girls instantly pegged her for a demon. How messed up is that? I'm failing these girls, Donna."

"Oh, no you're not," Donna reassured her. "You're doing great. It's not your fault they grew up in this creepy crawly kind of world."

Jody had to agree with her. "You got me there. Alex didn't even want to go to school today. I made her, though, and Claire went with her to pick up her homework for her suspension, which is another thing I have to deal with."

"Want I should come down there for a few days? Help you out?" Donna offered.

Jody shook her head, then remembered she was on the phone. "No," she said. "Thanks anyway, though. I've got this. If I need anything I'll let you know."

"Alrighty, then, Jodeo. Call me later and tell me how things are going."

"Will do," Jody said, hanging up. She went downstairs, filling a pitcher with ice water and putting it on a tray, along with a glass, and headed back upstairs. She set the tray on the nightstand next to the bed, and was surprised when she saw the girl stirring.

"Easy there, kiddo," Jody said as the girl sat up in bed, gasping, dark eyes darting around. Jody swore she'd seen those exact eyes before, and for some reason they were extremely unsettling. Jody shook it off, and put her hand on the girl's shoulder, and the girl flinched.

"It's alright," Jody said softly. "You're alright. My name's Jody, you ran out in front of my car last night. Do you remember that?"

Slowly, the girl nodded.

"Here," Jody said, pouring her some water and handing it to her. "You gave me a scare. But you said no hospitals, so I brought you here to my house. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl drank deeply, and took a deep breath as she looked around. "Sara," she said cautiously.

"That's a pretty name. What were you running from, Sara? It's okay – I'm a cop."

Sara looked around some more, and down at her shirt, and back up at the window. "I – I don't know," she stammered. "They had knives . . . I think one of them got me."

"Yeah, I fixed you up," Jody said. "You'll be sore for a few days, but I promise no one can get to you here."

Sara looked relieved, and sank back into her pillows a bit. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"These people who tried to hurt you," Jody started softly. "Do you remember what they looked like?"

"I . . . it's fuzzy," Sara said, and it was obvious to Jody she was lying.

"Alright," Jody said with a gentle smile. The door downstairs slammed, and Sara flinched and stiffened.

"It's okay," Jody said quickly. "It's just my foster daughter, Claire. She got suspended from school, so she's home."

Sara smiled weakly. "I have some experience with that."

"Can you believe this?" Claire demanded loudly as she stomped up the stairs. "They gave me extra work. What kind of bullshit is this?"

"You shouldn't have hit that girl," Jody called back, and Claire opened the door.

"Oh," Claire said awkwardly. "Uh, hey.

"Claire," Jody said, standing. "This is Sara. Sara, this is Claire." She looked at Claire. "Sit with her while I go get her some Advil, okay?"

"Sure," Claire said, dropping her backpack by the door and plopping down into the chair Jody had just been in. "So, you ran out in front of our car."

"Sorry about that," Sara said, tucking some hair behind her ear. "But to be fair, getting hit by a car was better than the alternative."

"To what?" Claire asked, kicking her feet up.

"It's . . . a really long, crazy story," Sara told her.

"Girl, you have no idea." Claire crossed her arms. "So what're you doing here?"

"You foster mother . . ."

"No, like, America?" Claire raised her eyebrows. "You sound like someone out of Game of Thrones or something."

Sara laughed. "I'm from Leeds. Then Manchester. Then London. And then I guess New York."

"You've been around, huh?"

"Foster homes until I was sixteen," Sara admitted. "Then I ran."

"All the way to the ol' USA."

Sara laughed again. "Yeah, guess so."

"I mean, I totally get it," Claire continued. "Foster care is the worst. Well, it was."

"You like it here, then?" Sara asked.

"Heck yeah," Claire said. "Jody is the best. Some pretty crazy stuff went on in my life since, well, I can remember. My dad . . . well, he disappeared and it kinda drove my mom crazy, so she ran away to look for him. Then there were the grandparents, then foster homes, then last year, I found my mom but she died. But Jody? She took me in right away. Honestly, she's more of a mom to me than my mom had been in years. Same with Alex."

"Alex?"

"Oh, yeah. Jody's other foster kid. Her family was completely crazy and Jody totally rescued her. She does stuff like that. She's like . . . supermom."

Jody listened from outside the door, and tried to keep her eyes from getting too wet. She took a deep breath and entered the room, a bottle of ibuprofen in hand.

"These should help," she said.

"Thanks," Sara smiled. "You're being so kind to me. I appreciate it." She sat up, going to stand.

"Hey, take it easy," Claire said. "You just got stabbed."

"I have a pretty high pain tolerance," Sara said. "I need to go, though."

"Hold on now," Jody said. "I can't just let an injured teenager wander off by herself."

"I'll be okay," Sara protested.

"Stay," Claire said, grabbing her hand, and Sara looked at her. "For a night, at least. Then you can totally ditch the place, I'll help you make a rope out of clothes and escape and everything."

Sara smiled again. "Well, okay. Would it be alright if I took a shower, Jody? I feel a bit grungy."

"Of course," Jody smiled. "We just had a new shower installed in the downstairs bathroom, come on."

She started to lead the girls down the stairs when there was a knock. Jody looked at Claire, who nodded and helped Sara down the stairs while Jody went to answer the door.

Sara stopped, though, when she heard their voices.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked.

"Those are the men from last night," she hissed. "Don't let them see me. They might kill all of us."

"They can try," Claire grumbled, but listened.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anyone fitting that description, and I'm the sheriff," Jody was saying. "If any runaways come through town, I'll be sure to give you a call. Goodbye."

She shut the door, waited a few minutes, and called "Coast is clear!"

"Who were those guys?" Claire asked as they joined Jody.

"No one good," Jody said, frowning. "They're looking for Sara."

"You turned them away," Sara said in surprise. "Why did you do that?"

"I had a gut feeling," Jody said, crossing her arms and leaning against the door. "Sara, what kind of trouble are you in?"

Sara hesitated. "I really can't say. Please. You wouldn't believe me."

Claire and Jody looked at each other.

"Try us," they said in unison.

Sara shook her head. "For some reason, those men . . . they think I'm a demon."