Dawn Breaks. She now lies on a bed, her head covered in a bandage, her body wrapped in a blanket. Her eyes open slowly to reveal to her a pale blue ceiling with a small hanging lamp right above her head. "How in hell did I get here? better question... where was I?" She rolle out of bed and found the slippers that were laid out for her on the floor. She shuffeled over to the table where her clothes sat and took them in her hands. She shuffeled back over to her bed and sat down with the clothes in her lap. As soon as she did so, the door opened up. It was a woman who walked through it.

"Your awake. That's great to see. Is there anything that I may be of assisstance to you with?" The lady approached her with caution, unsure of the girl would lash out at her. Her eyes were hazel and blank. They glared at her, as if she was trying to read her mind.
"Don't come near me. I don't know you... and I really dont want to know you." The girl began to shift on the bed, moving away from her. The clothes began to bunch up in her tightly-clenched hands. She was afraid. All she could remember was that she was running and then it began to rain. Sh blacked out. SHe couldn't remember any thing after that, except for waking up in her current place. "First off, who are you? And where am I? I want you to answer my questions before I answer any of yours. At least give me that much." The girl sat there, returning the glare that the woman was giving her.
"Your in a safe house. People... like yourself are taken in whenever they are, how you say, found... we help them to get on their way... or they might continue to reside here if they feel fit to. Me you ask? I'm just one of the many people who work here. My name is Jenn�. That's all you need to know. If you have anything that you nee to ask, just call for me, and I will be glad to assist you. There are others here also; they will be intorduced to you later... but you need to change and come downstairs to get some nourishment. You need it after a long night like that." The woman, Jenn�, walk away, her steps silent on the tiled linolium floor. The girl was left sitting on the bed, still absent-minded about everythign that was happening just then and there. She decided that she would just as well do what "Jenn�" said... she didn't know what kind of place this really was, or what they would do to her if she tried something sneaky.
She found that her clothes had been washed. They smelled fresh and did not have the heavy-feeling that it had before; She guessed that all those many layers of dirt were what was making it heavy. Her freshly cleaned clothes felt soft on her skin. She felt as if she was doing wrong by not bathing herself before she dressed, but she did not want to impose and ask for a bunch of stuff... she did not know how long she would be staying here anyways. She walked over to the mirror, where she looked at her reflection. Her hair had been pulled back into a somewhat ponytail. The front part was still there, but not as noticable as it was the other night. She began to think to herself just then: my face... my hair... my features... I don't recognize them. They seem as if... as if they were distorted. I am not me. I don't know who I am. Where do I find the answers? I have no idea. I don't remember anything... only just running adnthen blacking out. But, What was I running from? Was someone chasing me? Was I trying to get help for someone? Or was I just late for something? I need help. And fast.

Downstairs, there was a bustle of movement and sound. Laughter could be heard from all around, and yelling to combat it. There was the sound of chairs moving back and forth; Directions were being given and not taken. Rules were stated but not followed. She hung back at the stairs, unsure once again if she should continue down the last few steps or if she should just turn back and hide in her room until evening came so that she could escape through the window. Hesitation hit her big time, and it made her head spin and her heart race. Think. Think. Think. She told herself, but her thoughts were clouded with fear. All of a sudden a hand touched the small of her back and she jumped. Turning around fast reveild to her a small boy, maybe about ten years old, who was a few steps higher than her.

"Lay-dee! I hafta goo-ooo! Can you please move! thank you-thank you!!" And with that the boy pushed her to the side gently and ran down the last few steps and around the corner. She was still gripping her chest, trying to calm her racing heart down to it's regular pace. Breath, girl, breath! Okay, I can't do this... I'm going back. As soon as she thought those words she heard a familiar voice behind her. It was Jenn�.

"Ahh... so you have decided to join us... or are you going to make a permanent camp-out space of the stairs? Please... do not hesitate, we have enough food for everyone. And if you don't see anything that you like, we can easily adjust to you needs." She then held out her hand to the girl, as a sign for her to follow her. "Do not be afraid, we won't hurt you... Maxx."

Maxx? Maxx? Who is that? Is that me? I think it might be. She was looking right at me when she called that name... Maybe I should just ask her. Yes, that what Im going to do. Maxx was then following her down the stairs and around the corner. The kitchen was still full of people and busy, but as soon as she walked in they all went quiet and their attention was on her now. Jenn� was smiling then, her brown eyes seemed to be illuminated with the morning sun comming through the window and lighting up her whole face. "Everyone, I would like you to meet our newest guest, Maxx. Please, make her feel welcomed... nobody wants to be an outcast-- just remember that you were all outcasted once. Paul, Nia, could you please make some room so that she can sit beside you? that would just be superb." Paul and Nia both made a space between themselves and loked up at Maxx and smiled. Nia waved her over to sit. "I don't bite... much!" She laughed at the lame joke that she made, trying to make Maxx feel more at home. She sat down and looked nervously at everyone at the table. They were all looking at her, also, but whenever she made eye contact with another, they would look away quickly and she would move on to the next set of curiosity-filled eyes.

"Hey... I'm Paul, well of course." He turned to face her just then. He had jet black hair that was messed and all over the place. His narrow eyes had a single upper lid and they were light brown speckeled with green. He had a small nose, that fit his face, and dimples that were extra deep and came out when he spoke certain words. His lips, though were different; they were narrow and dark, like her was sucking on licorice candy and did not wipe the residue off of them. They were what she noticed fist of all. "So... how did you get here, eh? Or better yet, when? Couldn't have been this morning, cuz I ws up early doing drills... oh, wait... you don't want to hear about that. I want you to answer my questions." He fixed his eyes so that they were staring dead center of her face. She stared. Her mind was blank; she didn't know what to say to him. She just said whatever was on her mind right then and there.

Well, ummm.... ummm... I think I came in here last night. I'm not too sure. I think I was unconcious. I don't remember much of anything before now. I think I might have amnesia. It's the only possible answer that I could reason to." He moved his eyes to hers now and then his lips parted slightly. He laughed quietly. "That's possible... or, you could have been abducted by creatures from the far-beyond and had your memory wiped because you did not provide them with the sufficient information that they wanted. There are many possibilities..." Paul made his voice trail off as if he was telling a ghost story and needed to add an extra level of fright. Maxx stared back at him and then realized that he was joking and decided that it was best if she laughed alongside. "Oh! You are a funny one, aren't you!" She forced a smile and then sighed slightly. She thought that Paul so far seemed to be a fairly nice guy. She wouldn't mind staying if she was around him more often.

Later in the day, she found herself alone again. The place seemed to be deserted, but there was still a slight hush of noise all around, as if they were all hiding.Where is everyone? This is really strange... they take me in and show me a few faces then just leave me to fend for myself? If that was the case, I should have stayed with my worthless father or the crappy foster care place. She walked outside the back door of the kitchen and found herself staring out into a large, orchard-like backyard. There wer trees everywhere and a gazebo in the center of it all. A hammok hung from two nearby trees, and there was also a large sandbox with a jungle gym in it. This ain't no ordinary place. These people are rich... holy crap. This place is big. Maxx turned around, still shocked by what layed before her, and went back inside. The house was still silent, but something was different. Hse could hear something moving around her. They sounded like tiny thuds against the wall. They wer gettikng louder and faster. She clenched the side of her skirt, afraid of what it was.

All of a sudden a small boy jumped off the wall and landed next to her and shouted "I won! You lost! Hahahaha!!! Now you have to spend an extra hour in the training room Joee!" The kid turned around, startled by Maxx's presence. She saw that it was a little boy, around 9, with bark brown hair with odd silver streaks in it. One eye was more opened than the other, but she could plainly see that they were a different colour than normal eyes would be. They were green, but they had a tinge of yellow in it ; When he moved, the light shone on them and the yellow reflected it, making them look animated and alive.

"Holy crap lady! you gotta watch yourself! You can't be walking around my place like this alone! Im gonna tell on you! Jenn�! Jenn�! That strange girl is walking around!' The kid scampered off, his feet hitting the ground hard against the tiled floor. What the hell is goign on in this place?!?! This isn' normal... I've heard of kids being so hyper it's like they bounce off the walls, but this kid came right ot of it... like he was invisible and then became visible! Maxx was in complete shock now. She twisted the hem of her shirt and walked back and forth, afraid of what would happen next. She wasn't used to anything like this. She was a simple little poor-punk girl who just had tendencies. Tendencies to set things on fire. She didn't mean to, but she did. Maxx then decided to make a run for it. She walked around, trying to find the front door-- or any door that would lead her to a safe escape. She turned the corner and came into a small dark room. She turned around to get out, but right before her stood Jenn�.

"Oh... so you've decided to take it upon yourself to take a tour of the facilities? That's great." She sounded insincere, but she had a small smile on her face. Her hair was long and dark and in a pony tail; Maxx could not tell if it was a deep crimson colour, or if it was just really dark. Her skin seemed to become more pale in the dim light of the room. Her eyes were ablaze though. SHe walked aout and made a small hand gesture for Maxx to follow her. She hesitated, but slowly went out. Where is this freaky chick taking me? Oh god... she gonna kick me out! And I thought this could have worked out. Well, there goes my happy future. Maxx was surprised when she stepped into an office and saw a high-back swivel chair turned away from her. Jenn� walked up to it and bent over and began to talk quietly to a person who was supposedly sitting there. She could hear murmurs and certain sounds like the letter 'M' or 'P'... the harsher, stronger letters. Then the chair turned around. A set of eyes fixed itself on Maxx's form. They were almost as strange as the little boy who jumped out of the wall earlier. They were not a 'normal' kind of colour. They were grey, but had flecks of purple or something in it. They absorbed the light from the room and became lighter, but made the room seem darker. Her hair was short, just abbove her shoulders but it was all white. All white except for a streak of black off to the left side of her head. Her skin, though it was hard to tell, was a light olive colour, as if she had been born with a slight tan. She wore a grey skirt- suit and had a white collared shirt on under neath it. Her face was sullen and somber. She stared at Maxx for the longest time, Jenn� standing off to her right dilligently waiting for her next task.

Jenn�fer, dear, please go and see how the others are doing in quadrant 4... you know you cannot leave them alone for such long periods of time. They are young and full of energy." The way she enunciated the word 'energy' made Maxx slightly uncomfortable. Jenn� turned and replied "Yes ma'am" and walked slowly and silently out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Maxx and the ohter lady wer left alone now. They looked at each other, straight into one another's eyes. Silence. Not even the sounds from the other side of the closed door could be heard. Finally the lady made the first move.