Hey, gurls!

I'm not going to waste any time by talking, so let's just get to the chapter!

*Raven POV*

I woke up to someone screaming.

I looked out the window to see the Squeaksville gate was open, and two Enforcers were dragging a girl through the gate.

Oh, I thought, another Banishment.

Banishments didn't happen that often, but they happened enough to where people didn't freak out about it.

A Banishment was when a Good was no longer fit to be in Squeaksville anymore, and had to be removed.

In other words, it's when a Good goes Bad.

I climbed out of my tree house, carefully making my way over to the gate. I made sure to keep in the shadows and made my footsteps silent. (I've been doing that since I was Banished almost 10 years ago.)

The Enforcers were now marching back into the town, and the gate closed quickly behind them.
The girl looked up, as if she was about to say something, but I interrupted before she could.

"Don't bother," I said, emerging from the shadows, "They won't let you back in."

As I'd expected, the girl jumped as she turned around, then she moved away quickly.

"Who... How..."

I rolled my eyes.
Goods are so predictable.

"I'm Raven," I said, "and if you want to avoid being mugged, raped, or killed, you'll follow me right now."

After that cheery little statement, I turned and walked away without turning around.

I knew she would follow.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

As we walked, the Good girl kept looking around, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I'll take you to an acquaintance of mine, and he can get you settled into your new home," I told her, "He'll give you some food, new clothes, and a job."

She nodded, still looking around.

"Once you learn your way around, you need to find something to do," I continued, "If you're good at a particular skill, you can find others like you. That way, the creeps and other Baddies can't touch you."

At that, her attention was back on me.

"People can..." she started to say.

I stopped walking, turned around, and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Get this through your empty little Good head right now," I hissed, "Out here, nobody's going to protect you. All that matters is what you can do and, more importantly, how you can survive."

I let go of her, continuing to walk.

"You're not in the bubble anymore," I finished, "Welcome to the real world."

☆☆☆☆☆☆

After I dropped the Good off at Carlos's house, I headed towards the Squeaksville market.

It was the only place that wasn't protected by a gate, but it also had the most Enforcers.

However, I was never caught in the market.
I was never caught anywhere.

Stealth was my talent, as was Thievery.
I had some other skills, too, but those were the ones that kept me alive.

I wandered through the market, examining the products and people, noticing the places I could get the most things with the least amount of people seeing me.

Suddenly, I saw something that made me stop walking.

In front of me was a vendor selling small boxes that smelled like medicine, like the one I'd found yesterday.

I walked up, and the Good man looked up at me.

"Can I interest you in some chewing gum, Miss?" he asked, holding up one of the boxes, "Now in two combined flavors."

This box had writing on it, so I could clearly see that I had been wrong about it.

It wasn't an antidote. It was just a small treat for the Goods.

I almost screamed, but I knew that would give me away.

"Certainly," I told him, forcing myself to smile, "How much are they?"

"Normally, they're sixty-nine cents each," he said, "but since I'm feeling generous, if you buy one box, you can get two more for free."

I examined the box, pretending to think about it, but I knew I would have to buy something to keep people from getting too suspicious.

It's been a while since I had something sweet. Why not?

I pulled out four quarters, deciding to be nice.

"Keep the change, please," I said, 'smiling' again, "I insist."

"Thank you," he replied, smiling as well.

"You're welcome," I said, then I walked away with the gum.

Okay, enough playing around. Time to get to work.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

I left the market with several purses of money, a few pieces of jewelry, my gum, and some more food.

I smiled as I walked, pleased with my work.

As I sorted through my new things in the Hollow, I happened to look out the window, and I noticed a flash of white by the gate.

I shrugged, turning back to my sorting.

It was probably just the moonlight, I told myself.

Goods don't willingly go near the gate.

A/N: Well, that made absolutely no sense.

But what do you guys think?

Also, when should these two meet? The time is drawing closer...

Luv you all! *blows kisses*