November air was settled on Maiseville Georgia, the trees starting to realize that it was, in fact, the middle of fall, and their leaves should be in the process of the season's main action. So they fell. But instead of turning rich, colored hues, Ash walked among a landscape of suddenly crisped browns, a frost from last week having scared all life from the trees above.

Thanksgiving break was around the corner, and then Ash would have to start borrowing her dad's keys and drive her brothers to school as the weather turned bitter and cold. But she wouldn't have to worry about that just yet. For now, Ash was relishing in the crunch of leaves beneath her boots and the feel of fall air on her skin, even if she could hear her brothers, ever the rascals, goofing off behind her.

At sixteen, and five years older than Josh, then seven older than Jordan, Ash was expected to accompany her brothers to and from school every day, except for the ones when she had track in the spring. Then, Dad would drive them, and she would jog the mile it between their house and the school. She was the eldest, she had the most responsibility. But right now, all Ash could think about was the fact that she had to get faster, she had to get stronger. She had settle out a plan, or all her past dreaming would prove to be fruitless.

Ash just had to make it until Christmas, and that was all. Then, she would get to spend the winter break with her mom in Atlanta, and finally get herself into a recruiter's office. Her mom was going to support her, she just knew it. If she could just convince her mom to let her join to Navy, to follow in her footsteps, then she could finally become a pilot, and Ash would fly.

But her dad would never let her if he found out. He didn't think Ash should be involving herself in the military, after all, that was what had broken apart his marriage with Ash's mom. Too much stress, not enough time together, and of course, the ever present knowledge her mom could have been deployed at any time. There was no way he was going to let the Navy take away his "baby girl", a matter he and Ash had argued over way too many times.

A yelp from behind her dragged Ash's attention back to the world around her, and she dropped to a stop, before pivoting, her hands on her hips, finding Josh holding Jordan in a headlock, the two of them shuffling as they tried to overpower one another. A sting of annoyance pulsed across her temple, and Ash strode forward to pull them apart. "Hazel! Peanut! Cut that out!" She tried to lace her voice with as much sternness as possible, but it didn't stop their little spat.

The boys resisted her, but only for a moment, pushing away from each other and settling on pinning Ash down with their glares instead. "I told you to stop calling me that," Jordan muttered, arms crossed. He was the shorter—and younger—of the two, but he made up for it in attitude. "Nicknames are for babies."

Josh, besides him, mimicked his pose. "Yeah! Especially dumb ones like Peanut." He nose crinkled, as if the word left a sour taste in his mouth.

Ahs sighed and bent over, propping her hands on her knees so she was eye-level with her brothers. "If you two are getting too old for nicknames, don't you think you're getting too old to rough house on the sidewalk? Can you not just wait until we get home?" The chastisement did little, and Ahs sighed, standing back up. "Besides, you know those names only come out when you two are acting a little nuts!" She poked each of them in the chest then started to jog, waiting for the to take the bait, backpack thumping with every step she took.

This was their favorite game, to think that they could beat their sister, and Ash always enjoyed playing along, letting them run a little faster than her every time, until she would rush to close the gap. That wad what would get them every time, their slow-motion movements as they were feet away from the door, cheering and yelling for their older sister as they neared. But of course they would always win. And every day of her life, Ash would let them.

It only took five paces, and then there it was. The pounding and yelling of two boys running after her, insisting that they would each have the honor of beating their sister home. Ash kept pace, the boys behind her slowly gaining as they jostled to be the one closest to her as they ran. A sudden separation, and they passed her, hooting and hollering for her to speed up, to beat them now. Except Ash didn't. She stopped, the November air burning as it slid into her lungs, and for umpteenth time, Ash regretted packing so many school books that day, the straps of her backpack digging into shoulders. She took in one,, last deep breath,, watching the boys turning that last corner before home. She would start back up in a moment.

A white van ambled along the

A crunch of leaves, a shape in the corner of her eye, the low gleam of something silver. A hand grabbed her ponytail, yanking her back, another hand slamming a cloth over her mouth, forcing Ash to swallow the scream that built up, the tang of something foreign and sickly-sweet on her tongue. The hand grasping her hair dropping, wrapping around her waist, jerking her closer, so she was trapped against her captor's chest.

Ash writhed in their hold, but fog was taking over her mind as they continued to clamp the cloth over her airways, either from lack of air, or from whatever drug it was soaked in, the taste making her want to gag.

"Ashlynn?

The word snapped through the muddled mess of her thoughts, the sound of her brothers' voices calling out for her. If she could just... get to him. Ash bucked, drawing her knees up, forcing her captor to hold her entire weight, before lunging forwards, her feet pushing off of what must have been have been their crotch, judging from the way they dropped her almost immediately.

"Ashlynn!"

Closer this time. If she could just make it around the corner—

Someone grabbed her before she could run, fingers digging her arm, the pain forcing a scream out, and this time, it wasn't stopped. The arm yanked her back, and a man with a deep scar across his face punched Ash in her stomach, a deep convulsion shuddering through her body as she coughed, choking the air in her lungs before she could draw in another breath, white spots dancing in her vision as it dimmed to black.

Her feet stumbled, toeing at the ground as the man grabbed her, lifting her over his shoulder, her hair swinging and sticking to her face, clinging to neck, tears dripping down her cheeks, his shoulder digging into her alrea6dy aching stomach.

Voices were muddled in her head, fading in and out and there was the sound of wheels screeching on road, the the thud of car door, the man shoving the cloth back over her mouth, a numb, cottony feeling digging into her senses, a headache throbbing in tandem with her stumbling heart. A bag was dragged over her head, the voices raising and Ash was tossed, landing hard on her shoulder, searing pain jolting up her shoulder.

Boots clunked on the floor of the vehicle, a rumbling echoing in her chest as the doors slammed shut. The white spots from before had dulled into the blackness that was forced upon her, and Ash could no longer tell the difference between her closed eyes, and the world outside. A silent sob wheezed out of her, and achingly, her body started to fade away, and Ash, feeling her surroundings crystallize into senses and sounds, let it all fall away.

□□□

Ashlynn woke up on a low cot, head throbbing, muscles aching, and her mouth as dry as a desert. A groan fell from her as she rolled over, nausea splitting through her skull, even the sound of her own heartbeat too much to bear. Bile burned up her throat, but she swallowed it back down, the taste of it lingering as Ash forced herself to sit up.

Colored spots danced across her vision, choreographed on a background of white as ringing pain echoed in her head. Slowly, the vision of snow and ice melted into muddled shapes, the meaningless sounds in deepening into voices, into words, and light split the world into people and shadows.

Ash blinked rapidly, the action sending tingles down her spine, her mind not yet comprehending all that she was seeing. A room, grey bland and filled only with cots. Her other senses started to catch up, information grounding her, bit by bit, to her surroundings. The air had a sharp taste to it, and vaguely warm, smelling almost of chemicals and cleaning supplies. Sweat was beading across the back of her neck, the feeling achingly familiar, and one that only served to make her more anxious.

This wasn't home. Why wasnt she at home? The headache from before threatened to overtake her, and Ash scrunched up jer face, as if this action would compell her confusion to go away.

The voices Ash had head before became more defined, and the muddled shapes that had taken up residence on the other cots in the room shifted into people, some laying, some sitting up, and all in the same state of confusion she was in. Her cot creaked as she sat up, and Ash pushed back the hair that fell in front of her face, squinting at the people that occupied the room with her.

Across the space on the far wall, a boy was sitting up and rubbing at his forehead, his brown hair sticking up in odd angles. A rumpled grey shirt hung from his slender frame, and, for a moment, Ash caught a glimpse of bruising at his collar.

The cot to his left was occupied by a girl with rich, brown skin, curled up into a tight ball, muttered words falling from her too quickly and softly for Ash to understand, her whole body trembling. It took Ash three whole seconds to realize the girl was crying.

Further down the wall was an empty cot, and beside it, a jacket fallen in a heap to the floor.

A disgruntled noise to Ash's right sent her whole body stiffening with awareness. The lights overhead buzzed as Ash peered at the person beside her, who sat up suddenly, making her flinch. Angry grey eyes met hers, and Ash felt her hands curl, fingers digging into the canvas of her cot.

"Who are you?"

Anger laced his voice, and he stood up with one swift motion, towering over Ash, his own hands in trembling fists.

Ash sat in stunned silence, her brain too muddled to process what was happening until his hands were grabbing at her jacket, hoisting her up and far too close to those hate filled eyes, to that snear that warped his features, the heat of his breath burning his skin.

"Hey!"

A voice split the hushed tension, and there was another boy suddenly behind the first, a hand on his shoulder tearing his attention away from Ash, still dangling from his hold, her toes swinging as she tried to balance herself, to find some sort of upper hand.

"I think you should let her go." His voice was low, but a thinly veiled threat was clear. Let go, or else.

Ash focused on steadying her breathing, the only thing she seemed to have control over in this moment. Yet her body was rebelling against her, her heart skittering like a mouse chased by a cat, stumbling and far too fast, her lungs unable to fully inhale.

The first teen, all darkness and rough edges, kept his gaze pinned on the second, but he didn't drop Ash. Instead, his grip seemed to tighten, and with her breathing hitched. She had to think. Her mother had always insisted in learning self defense, but everything was happening too quickly, there was too much, too much, too much.

Her foot caught the edge of her cot, sending a shock of electric nerves through her body. She was grounded now. Ash had control. She squirmed in his grip, situating, balancing herself on this tiny ledge, this miniscule foundation.

"I want answers," the boy growled, and for a moment, Ash visualized a bear, before it melted away. "And I'm not letting her go until I get them."

It was a standoff.

From the corner of Ash's eye, she could see the other teens drawing in close, leaving the shelter of their cots, a security that Wasson easily shattered by the one holding her now. A deep breath, a steeling of will, and Ash moved into action. She extended her legs to the fullest, using the momentum to arch herself backwards, her knees swinging upwards to collide with the teen holding her. He dropped her.

This felt too familiar. She had done this before, hadn't she? Why did this feeling, this rush of fear and adrenalin feel like something that had just occurred in her life.

The boy dropped like a sack of potatoes. Ash hit the edge of her cot and it flipped, striking her on the shoulder, searing pain flaring up in that spot, before it clattered away on the floor.

Hands were reaching out, touching her, and Ash jerked away, panic stopping up her throat. A girl, roughly her age with deep black skin as hovering just above her, face creased with concern, words forming on her lips, but Ash couldn't hear them. The only sound running through her mind was the boy, bare a foot away, groaning in pain.

She had done that. She had been the one to hurt him. The thought of it was both exhilarating and painful to realize. The hands were there again, the girl talking again, and this time, her voice broke through, low and soothing and beckoning her closer. "Hey, hey you need to come here. Come, come stand up now."

The girl took Ash's hand and carefully pulled her to her feet, pulled her away from the boy on the floor, pulled her to safety. Ash stumbled, her feet catching, and the girl caught her, hands supportive as she righted Ash. "Careful," she whispered.

The other boy hauled the first up from the floor, holding him by the collar of his jacket. For the first time, Ash got a clear look at him, one that wasn't obscured by fear. He was shorter in stature, dressed in ripped jeans, a black leather jacket, pale skin and a look of pure spite on his face. The other boy was much taller, with blond hair and a tan marking along his neck and arms.

"Get off of me!" The shorter one yelled, writhing in anger as he tried to get away. The taller one held him at arm's length, annoyance in his gaze.

"You're acting like an animal," he chastised, his voice just as even as it had been before. A glance over at Ash and the other girl, concern now softening his eyes. "Everyone ok over there?"

Ash nodded silently, still clinging to the balance the girl had brought. "Fine." The girl said, voice loud and clear. Then, softer, "My name's Kennedy. What's yours?"

Ash's mouth still felt like it was stuffed with cotton, but she managed to pry sound out of it. "Ash." The word sounded more like a croak, but at this point, Ash didn't care. "What's going on? Where are we?" Her voice trembled, tears stinging at her eyes. "Where are my brothers?"

The girl didn't get to answer. A door, off to the left, the one direction Ash hadn't gotten to look yet, opened with a loud creak, and a man in a long white lab coat walked in, followed by a woman in a military uniform Ash couldn't recognize.

The man didn't react to the scene unfolding in the room, only opened his arms wide, a grin splitting across his face. "Ah!" He exclaimed, the smile only widening as he stepped deeper into the room. "It seems everyone is awake. Now, the fun can begin."