Along the path Mariana had taken hidden by the woods was just a few traps Carter had set up. A protection from creatures, and today of all the days. Where Mariana knew she had to make pace-she took her time-checking each trap even though she knew, they'd all be empty. But not one. One held a fox covered in orange, white and black fur. A calm creature that lay still in the trap as she walked by. She looked to the creature and began to untie the knots around its legs.

"I've got you, you're all right now," She whispered to it. As the knots undid themselves she left some water and kept going. Only to be stopped by that same fox. It yipped at her and began dragging over a blue cloth in its mouth. A cloth from the uniform her Mother made her when she was younger. The uniform that defined her to this day. She picked it up and tied it around her eyes. Clouding her vision as she reached out for the trees along the path to lead her. The fox yipped again and pushed against Mariana's legs. Leading her left and right until the end of the path. "Thank you Foxy." She said petting it and walking off. The fox didn't follow, it ran home to try and find its family and tell them about the girl.

Away from the path, away from the house, from the attackers, from Marcus, Diego and all she ever knew. Mariana flipped on an old brown coat, covered her face and kept going. She stepped up to an old and large wooden platform made from oak. Her bag in one hand as she was slipped a ticket for the 3:25 am train to Hollow Brooks. She walked away stiffly as the man at the counter had his voice echo- "She'll have one. Just you wait." Mariana turned back towards him, but instead of returning, she turned away. Suddenly a large iron train flew on the tracks-starting like a bulldozer, ending like a ballerina. The doors let out an ear bleeding creak as the cracked open. With pace blurs of people left the iron machine and wandered off. Mariana dug herself into the crowd once a couple of ear bleeding cries caught her ears.

"There!" Called out one. A voice as deep and darkly shaken as Mariana at the sight of her bloody house.

"Don't let that drive escape!" The other called. The same level pierced Mariana's ears as she dived onto the train. Turning back only to see small black blurs through her covered eyes.

"All aboard!" The conductor shouted as the doors shut. His blue figure swung from the outside to the inside of the train, closing his door with ease as the train moved away. The two black figures were left outside. One with a deep bleeding scar across the right eye. He dressed in all black with blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and pale skin-causing a large contrast to his dark, cunning, and deadly personality. Next to him stood a man much like him-pale, dressed in all black, blonde, but only half blue eyed. The right was blue, the other a deep and muddy brown. To match for the other's scar, this man had a blood red handprint in his hair. As the two stood outside the train. The one motioned to Mariana that she would be found and broken. Mariana only smiled kindly, waved goodbye and went to take her seat.

Five minutes into the ride, it was easily noticed that parents and older siblings were pulling the little ones away from Mariana. Her scared body, bruised, cut, and bloody figure was not the "PG" appearance most people wished to see. But it was the truth, and most people couldn't hide that. Everyone feared Mariana from the second she got on, to the second she got off. But not one little boy. One little boy, about five years old, walked up to her. His black hair and burnt blue stripe across his bangs, unreal bright green eyes that shimmered in even darkness, his pale skin with even one single faded scar across his left cheek. He wore an old blue coat that was too big for his body, a muddy white shirt, and torn up blue jeans. His feet were bare, cut, and muddy from his lack of shoes.

"M-M-Ma'am..." He stutters standing back from Mariana. Everyone stares as she's already digging into her bag.

"Food?" Mariana asks as she peers up to the boy watching him nod, "Sit here." She slides down and bit and drops one of the brown bags of food she had brought with her. The boy walks over stiff and tight and sits down. He sets the bag on his lap and looks in it. "Allergies?" The boy shakes his head and stuffs a hand into the bag. Pulling out a PBJ and unwrapping it slowly and carefully. When it's unwrapped, he moves the sandwich around in his hands. "I didn't do anything to them. I was going to eat them earlier. But I wasn't hungry." The boy nods and takes a bite of the sandwich smiling back to Mariana with a mouthful of peanut butter and grape jelly. Mariana watches him as he goes for another bite but he stops and stares back at her. "Name?" He stays quiet. Mariana keeps her gaze on him as he takes another bite and swallows it hard.

"E-E-E-Ethan..." The boy stutters again. Mariana nods and says nothing more. Ethan keeps his eyes on her figure but soon, turns back and focuses on the sandwich partially filling his starving thin body.

The rest of the ride Mariana and Ethan sat together. One-word questions were said resulting in head nods or-rarely-one-word answers. When the train pulled to a stop Mariana stepped off, fully aware that Ethan was following behind. She turned her head back every so often, but he hid too fast for her to see. She still knew and every time she turned away, she'd smile.

Mariana had found her way to a hotel in the center of the town she had come across, she ignored it and kept going towards the back of the town. Seeing how long it would take for Ethan to stop his following and go to the hotel to rest. But he never quit. Not until the library. Where Mariana slipped in and he stayed outside. Ethan cocked his head at the tall stone building. He stared so long and hard at the words his head began to hurt. As he held his head, the two men that had chased Mariana at the last station approached behind him.

"Hi little boy," The one with the scar said. Ethan turned, scared to see who he saw and jumped back into the man with the red hand print in his hair who grabbed him and threw him over to the other one. "Why don't you come with us, eh?" The man with the scar grabbed him as he screamed, Ethan's voice quickly being drowned out by large hands. His body frozen as he passed out from the struggle for breath. The two men were on their leave until the one carrying Ethan had been hit in the head by a large, thickly covered book. "Who threw that!?" They snarled. The two men turned, eyes widened at the figure standing in the doorway to the library.

Mariana.