I heard the driver howl in anger and saw the van backing up. Breathing heavily, I pumped my legs as fast as I could and ran, not knowing where I was going. Leaves rustled behind me and I glanced back to see the man chasing me, his face red and a bruise already growing on his cheek while his nose bled. Thinking fast, I darted to the side and dashed between multiple trees and bushes and a branch tore open the skin on my left leg, some of the fabric on my jean shorts ripping along with it. I stopped as I came to the edge of a cliff.

     "Seriously?!" I whisper yelled to myself as my eyes darted around for an escape. The sound of the man's footsteps grew louder and I looked up, desperate. I spotted a sturdy looking branch and leaped up, grabbing onto the branch and lifting myself up onto it. I climbed another branch higher, careful to be as quiet as a mouse as I did. The man arrived below me a few seconds later, panting and clenching his fists when he didn't spot me.

     "Little Sparrow!" The man shouted. "We aren't going to hurt you! We're trying to save you! If you don't come with us, They will kill you." He turned his head as if expecting me to step out of a bush and run into his arms shouting "hallelujah! Save me o' precious savior!"

     I thought better of it and instead shouted, trying to make my voice echo off of other trees so that he wouldn't know where I was. "Who is 'They'?"

     He snapped his head up but by that time I had jumped to another tree. My actions reminded me of a monkey's, the way I was gracefully leaping from branch to branch. "'They' are Poison. We know all about that man that ran you over and talked to you in the hospital. He is a part of Poison, a dangerous group that is out to kill you, Natalia."

     "He said he was a part of the American Mafia, not this 'Poison' group."

     He looked around once again before glancing up and spotting me. "Natalia, he lied. Did you really think you could trust him?"

     "Do you really think I trust you?"

     "No..." he frowned and stepped closer to the branch that I was on. "But I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to trust us. Us as a whole. It's not just Ava, Earl, Trevor, and I. There's a whole chain of us. Not only across the country but across the world. And we want to help you. We want to help America. We want to help Earth. Poison is out there and they're killing people. Taking away their most valuable items. Taking away their families and homes. Destroying people's lives. And they're out to get you, Natalia Sporrow."

     These words made my heart skip a few beats and I could feel goosebumps running down my arms and neck. "Why are they out to get me? Why me? I have nothing valuable and my family is dead. No matter what that man said."

     "We can answer all of your questions when we get to headquarters," the man looked as though he was choosing his words carefully as he spoke. He raised his hand as if to help me down the tree.

     If I go with these people, I thought, I could get some answers. I don't care if that 'Poison' group is out to get me; I just need to see if my family is really alive. There's a low chance of it, but I would give anything for that chance... Though I need to make sure I'm safe if I go.

     "I'll go with you on one condition," I stated. "I want a gun on me at all times."

     The man nodded. "We can arrange that."

     Feeling powerful, I made a list. "Actually, I'm not done. I don't want to be treated like a prisoner. When we get to your 'headquarters' I want a room that is almost an exact replica of my room in New York. I want a warm, nice meal and a shower when I arrive. I want to meet the leader of your group and I want all of my questions answered. Every. Single. One of them."

     The man frowned. "I don't know if-"

     "I want proof," I cut him off. "With every answer I get, I want proof that it is the truth. I will not leave this tree unless all of my needs are met."

     With a sigh, he nodded in defeat. "I'll see what I can do."

     "Give me your gun," I said.

     "What?"

     "Did I stutter? I said give. Me. Your. Gun. The deal starts now."

     He crossed his arms and glowered at me. "Not until you come down."

     "Then I guess I won't be leaving," I said. I leaned back against the tree and began tearing a leaf, whistling loudly. He winced and with each beat, my whistling got louder. I figured that he hated that by the way that he flinched every time there was some sort of rhythmic pattern of sounds in the van or the woods. This meant that he didn't enjoy listening to most music, and I used that to my advantage.

     "Fine!" He shouted in defeat. "I'll give you my gun! Just stop that stupid whistling!" He raised his arm, the gun in hand with the barrel facing toward the ground.

     "You must be some peacekeeper if your weakness is music," I taunted. He only growled in response.

     Snickering, I reached down and grabbed the gun, examining it. Fulfilling my part of the deal, I jumped down from the tree. Silently, we stalked back toward the humming sound of the van engine. I could almost feel his glares as if they were sharp pins, stabbing into my cheeks. Ignoring him, I twirled the gun around with one of my hands.

     Once we arrived at the van, I caught my first glimpse of the driver. He was a tall, bulky man with a long black beard and no hair on the top of his head. He had strange tattoos running down his neck and arms and he was wearing a black vest with loose jeans. The driver was patching Ava's shoulder up tightly with a bandage. He glanced at me and shouted, "what is your problem, Sporrow?!"

     I stepped forward and aimed my gun at his head, clenching the handle tightly with my finger on the trigger. "My problem is that you and your stupid group killed my best friend, kidnapped me, tried to hold me hostage, and refuse to answer any of my questions! I made a deal with your little friend there. And part of that deal is not treating me like a prisoner! I'll go with you if you shut your mouth and drive the damn van to wherever your headquarters are. And note, if you say one thing that I perceive offensive, I have a gun and I am not afraid to raise it and shoot this bullet into your brain!"

     He raised an eyebrow at me. "Amos is going to like this one, Braxton. I know it."

     Braxton sneered. "He doesn't like anyone. But we'll see. Now let's get this thing on the road, I'll help patch Ava and Earl up."

     The driver nodded and walked around to the front seat.

     Braxton turned to me and pointed into the van, his gaze ever-so softer than before. "Get in the van, Little Sparrow."

     I glared at him before stepping between Ava and Earl, who were once again conscious and sitting up while Braxton began working on fixing their wounds up. Ava's shoulder had been shattered and Earl had merely had his head slammed against the metal. Nothing that couldn't have been healed quickly.

     Braxton helped Ava and Earl up and they sat in the van after closing the doors and locking them.

     "You all ready to go?" The driver asked, glancing back at us through the rearview mirror.

     Ava nodded and looked at me as Braxton wrapped the bandage tighter around her shoulder. She gave a pained smile, one of her lips bleeding. "Trevor is right. Amos is gonna like you."

     I frowned, noticing the blood on her lip. "I didn't do that, I only hit your shoulder."

     She tilted her head slightly and winced, pain slashing across her face. "You punched me in the face too. But my bleeding lip isn't from our complication."

     Guilt filled my chest and I murmured, "sorry about that."

     She let out a loud laugh that lingered through the air. "Don't be sorry, Little Sparrow! Once you get to headquarters, you'll be looked down upon for saying that word."

     "Yeah, I've heard of the famous 'headquarters' multiple times from him," I said, pointing at Braxton, the man who had chased me into the woods. "What is your group called anyway?"

     With a smirk, Ava answered. "Gunpowder."