A shudder went through me when I remembered the strange creatures emerging from the shop with a bucket of blood. I knew it was blood because I’d watched them drink the stuff. That was an image I wouldn’t soon forget.
The thought of spending the night out here alone drove me to my feet. I brushed off my jeans and put my water bottle into my pack as I walked across the parking lot toward the street. Someone had said a lot of kids liked to hang around the mall. I’d go there and try to make some new friends. It was the only thing I could think of right now.
I was walking past the dumpster when I discovered I wasn’t alone. Shane and Lana stepped out from where they’d been hiding on the other side of the dumpster, and their smiles told me I was in trouble. I didn’t see Kevin and Ash, but they were here somewhere. Shane knew I could take him alone, so he’d bring his whole gang. I was pleased to see his right eye was almost swollen shut.
“Well, hello, J. Fancy meeting you here,” Shane drawled in a smug voice.
I held my chin up, hiding my fear. “I don’t have any food left if that’s what you’re after.”
He sneered at me. “I don’t want your crappy sandwich. I’m here to teach you that you don’t mess with me and get away with it.”
“You messed with me first.”
“You were in my building,” he said as if that made it okay.
Lana huffed. “Can we just do this so we can go get a pizza?”
Shane turned his head to say something to her.
I ran.
I made it to the end of the strip mall before Ash leaped out in front of me, shoving me to the ground. He was twelve, overweight, and stronger than he looked. I’d wondered how he didn’t lose all that weight living on the street. We didn’t exactly get three square meals a day out here.
I rubbed the back of my head, which had hit the pavement. It hurt so much that tears pricked my eyes. I blinked them away, refusing to cry.
Footsteps approached. Shane and Lana loomed over me, grinning.
Shane kicked me in the thigh, and I couldn’t stop the small cry of pain that escaped me. His grin widened, and Lana laughed.
The voice in my head growled like an alligator I once saw on a nature show. It was madder than ever, but I didn’t think it could help me this time.
Lana bent down and snatched up my backpack, which had fallen off my shoulder. “Let’s see what you have in here.”
“Give that back,” I demanded. There was nothing of value in the bag, just a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and my water bottle, but it was all I owned in the world.
Ignoring me, she dumped the contents of my pack on the ground, making sure to step on my toothbrush and grind it with her foot.
“Junk,” she muttered. “Not even a few dollars.”
Shane crossed his arms, wearing a triumphant look. “Tell me you’re sorry, and beg me to let you go. I’ll go easy on you this time.”
“No,” I said defiantly.
“Suit yourself. But this is going to hurt.”
I glared at him, refusing to be cowed. “You’re nothing but a bunch of sissies who have to gang up on people. One of these days, I’ll be big enough to kick all your asses.”
The three of them laughed, and Shane kicked me in the leg again, harder this time. He stared at me expectantly, but I refused to cry out again.
“What’s going on over there?” called a woman’s voice.
Shane, Lana, and Ash turned toward the street. I couldn’t see what they were looking at, but I heard them swear under their breaths, and Shane hissed, “Let’s get out of here.”
The three of them took off running, and I eased myself into a sitting position on the ground. My leg and head hurt, and I could feel a bad headache coming on. On top of that, my change of clothes were on the ground and Lana had made off with my backpack.
The tears I’d been holding back threatened again, and I swallowed past a lump in my throat. Why did everything have to be so hard?
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” asked a gentle voice.
My head jerked up in surprise, and I stared at the woman I hadn’t even heard approach. She was tall and pretty with kind blue eyes and long blonde hair in a ponytail. She wore jeans and black boots, and I thought I could see the hilt of a knife peeking out of the top of one boot.
I didn’t speak as I watched her come closer until she was only a few feet away. I let out a soft gasp when a strange sense of recognition filled me. I’d never felt anything like it before, but I knew instinctively that it was something big.
The woman’s eyes widened, telling me she felt it, too. She crouched in front of me. “I’m Paulette. What is your name?”
“Jordan,” I whispered, unsure of why I was telling a complete stranger my name. But something about her told me I could trust her.
“How old are you?” she asked gently.
“Ten.”
Shock flashed in her eyes before she smiled again. “Where’s your family, sweetheart?”
“Got none,” I replied defensively. My mom had given me up when I was four, and none of her family had wanted me. As far as I was concerned, I had no family.
If Paulette was surprised by my answer, she didn’t show it. “How long have you been living on the street?”
I shrugged. “Not long. A few weeks.”
She laid a hand on my foot, and a strange emotion that felt like joy surged in me. I knew in that moment Paulette was like me.
“Do…you have a voice inside, too?” I asked her breathlessly.
Her smile grew brighter. “Yes, I do.”
My chest tightened. All my life, people looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned the voice. Paulette acted like it was perfectly normal. And she said she had a voice, too.
“Do you want to know something else?” she asked softly.
I nodded.
“I’m from a place where everyone has a voice in them, just like you and me. And we have children your age. Would you like to live there?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. Paulette seemed nice, but every adult I’d met had acted like I was crazy and shoved me in one awful home after another. I’d rather take my chances on the street than go back to living like that.
“Is it a foster home?” I asked.
“No. It’s kind of like a little town. There’s a playground and a school, and you’ll have your own room in a nice house.”
“I don’t like school.” I rubbed my hands on my jeans, remembering the fights, the taunts, the suspensions.
She smiled. “I think you’ll like this school. It’s a special one where you’ll learn all kinds of cool stuff, and you’ll train to be a warrior like me.”
My whole body perked up at that. “A warrior? For real, like with a sword?”
“Would you like that?”
I nodded eagerly. “Yes!”
“Good.” Paulette stood and held out a hand to me.
I stared at it for a long moment before I put my smaller hand in hers and let her help me up. I stumbled when I put weight on my sore leg, but she caught me and kept me from falling.
I looked down at my pitiful possessions strewn across the pavement. Maybe I could get new clothes and a toothbrush where I was going.
Paulette squeezed my hand. “We’ll get you all new things when we get home.”