You walked through good luck alley on your way home after staying at the park for an hour. It was...safer there. But if you risked staying out past dark you'd have a new bruise by morning.

You were only about 15. Graduating high school at 13 was probably the best decision you'd ever made. Suddenly, no one cared to ask why you wore long sleeves in the summer, or why your cheeks were bruised from time to time. College was no option simply because you could hardly stay afloat at home already.

Your sneaker kicked a rock and it clicked against the pavement as it skipped down the alley a ways. And your mind went into autopilot as thoughts of your mother flickered to life. She liked long walks at the park. Before the disease caught her. Which disease was unclear to you since she had passed when you were young, and your father was never one to speak to you. Unless it was an order, or an insult.

You were an only child and helped your father earn money in little ways. Nothing illegal though. That only ever led to trouble. That didn't mean you never saw the wrong crowds though. They were always out at night. And that was when you got the most freedom.

A startled scream elicited a flinch and an annoyed look ahead. A girl a year or two older than you was backed against a wall. None other than Tony leaned against said wall with his pocket knife flicked out he seemed to be observing it.

"Ya know this knife was pretty expensive. Shop owner said it could even cut through bone..." Tony hinted giving the girl a sickening smile.

"Shall we test it?" He asked slowly pushing the knife towards her. You caught his arm.

"Don't touch her Tony. She looks clean. And heaven only knows where you've been." Tony growled and slammed his forearm into your collar bone. You stumbled back and hit the opposite wall with a painful crack resonating from where your head had hit.

"Hey punk haven't seen you around much." The girl still stood there in shock and you noticed her trembling. Tony stole your attention back by pinning you with his forearm across your shoulders.

"Guess I've been lucky." You muttered as Tony pushed the knife against your arm and ripped it downward viciously leaving a jagged slit. Your face contorted into a wince but you refused to scream.

"Guess your luck's run out huh punk?"

With a scowl you rammed your knee upward and Tony grunted before falling to the ground.

"Run!" You ordered grabbing the girl and taking off down the alley. You heard Tony shouting profusely as you pulled the girl out of the alley and hid her in a nearby store.

The girl waited clearly shaken whilst you inspected your injury. Then, after a few moments, you spoke up.

"You alright?" The girl seemed to relax some and nod.

"Who was that guy?" She asked putting his hand on her hip.

"Just a street punk. What were you doing in good luck alley anyways? I haven't seen you there before." The girl seemed to look embarassed before getting defensive.

"I could ask you the same thing! Haven't seen me there?! Are you there often? What are you some kind of criminal?!." You blinked at the girl before giving her a deadpan expression.

"You're lost, aren't you?

"That's none of your business." She huffed turning away.

"Alright, fair enough." You muttered uncaringly while purchasing a small set of bandages. The girl seemed to pause when she took a second glance at your arm.

"That looks pretty bad."

"Yep." You muttered only half listening. The girl watched you struggle to open the package while trying to keep pressure on the wound.

"Ugh here let me help." She huffed after a moment and opened the package seamlessly before proceeding to bandaging your arm. You watched her bandage your arm rather skillfully and took a glance outside. If you hurried, you could probably get home before dark. And keeping your sleeves down would prevent confrontation about the bandages.

"Where do ya live?"

"Excuse me-?!" The girl protested but you held up a hand.

"I'm not saying you're lost, but if you are I think I can help you get home if you let me."

The girl looked at you critically. After a moment she told you her address and you opened the door to the shop.

"Let's go then."

On the way to her house you two talked. It was sparingly at first. Muttered questions back and forth, then a bit louder when she spoke about college. And before long your conversation felt semi natural.

You found her name was Karmi and she went to the nerd school. A school you'd passed from time to time but hardly noticed. You asked about her major and projects. Karmi seemed to be especially excited to explain her projects to you, but she hardly got to explain them before you two arrived at her house.

"Oh we're...here." She said suddenly as you came to a stop.

"Seems so." You paused awkwardly. Karmi didn't seem to know what to do so you initiated the conversation. "Hey uh...your projects they sound... amazing. And I'd really like to hear more about them. Would ya like to text me if ya get time?" Karmie seemed to light up instantly.

"Really?!?" You smiled at her reaction and nodded.

"Bio tech is really interesting to me and I never find anyone on my level. I'd love to hear about your experiments. If that's chill with you?" You asked cautiously.

"Are you kidding?!? Of course!" You wrote your number on a slip of paper and waved goodbye before heading back. One glance at the sky and fading sun told you time was running thin. You hurried your pace realizing you were about to pass the nerd school around the corner. You just wanted to glance at the school and study how it looked a bit more in passing. That was until you turned the corner and froze. The school was encased in flames. The heat reached you from a distance.

The shock wore off after you realized you were still late, and the firefighters  would handle it. You speed walked towards the building planning on passing it when you saw man saying something to a kid before bolting into the flames.

You weren't sure why, but in that instant you took off after him. Once in the building the heat became unbearable, and the smoke filled your lungs. You eyes caught sight of someone in a mask about to shield himself with a mass of black but he froze upon seeing you.

Chosing to ignore it in a split second decision, you grabbed the guy who had rushed in earlier. Your fingers gripped his jacket then instantly you were swallowed by a black mass. Startled, and your balance lost, you fell backwards and dragged the guy down with you. A earth shattering explosion resonated around you just before your head hit the ground and everything went dark.