“Where’d that little brat go?”

“How did she out run us? She hasn’t even hit puberty yet!”

I crouched underneath a desk, trying to control my breathing so I wouldn’t be heard. I had picked a wad of cash out of a man’s pocket, not realizing he was part of a gang. He and a few other members chased after me when they realized I lifted their money. I had run into an abandoned home and hid under a desk, trying to lose the men. I could feel the men’s bloodlust and I knew if I were to get caught I was dead.

The exiled area was full of gangs now. Gangs of people who had powers and would prey on the weaker people or children in order to gain control of territory. Normally, they didn’t mess with kids like us, but Seth had been targeted for recruitments a few times because of his power. Due to that we were back to moving our camp to different spots on a weekly basis just to stay safe and avoid any run ins with the recruiters. I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts when I heard one of the gang members speak up.

“She has to be hiding in here somewhere. I saw her run in here.”

A year after gaining my power of empathy, I’d gotten pretty good at using it. The biggest advantage was that I could sense people nearby by how they were feeling. Now, I could sense someone different from the other men that were chasing me. This person was almost void of emotion and that freaked me out more than the bloodlust the others had. I’d never run into someone that didn’t feel anything at all. I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but it was clearly another person.

“Who’s this punk? Are you with the girl that stole our cash?”

“Girl? I don’t know any girls.” This voice was different. It was younger, like someone closer to my age. I felt bad and came out of my hiding spot. I didn’t want this person to get hurt because of me. I crept over to the doorway and I could see the four men’s backs to me. They were facing a boy with black hair and he was dressed in all black.

“We don’t believe you. We’ll teach you what happens when you lie to adults, kid.” One of the men started to glow and wind started to pick up around the house. He must have the power to control wind. He sent a blast at the boy, but the boy didn’t even flinch. “What? My wind didn’t work?”

“Who cares. We’ll just do this the old fashioned way.”

I was about to step out and get their attention, but the boy made eye contact with me. He had his left eye covered by a black headband, but his other eye was a brilliant golden color. His glare froze me in my spot. It was as if he was telling me to stay hidden.

The men rushed him and I felt my anxiety spike. I watched in shock as the boy dodged all the punches and kicks the men threw at him. It was a clumsy display of him stumbling around to avoid the attacks, but I could tell that it was actual skill that helped him. He was just acting clumsy to give off a different impression of himself. They couldn’t lay a hand on him.

“Stupid brat! Hold still!”

The boy ducked as one of the men threw a punch. The man’s hand connected with the wall behind the boy and he cried out in pain. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at the display and I could tell that hurt by the intense emotion coming off of the guy. One by one the men were losing stamina and the boy stood there, looking at all of them as they panted from being out of breath. They were worn out.

The boy then turned to look at me once again and I jumped in surprise. He started to walk over to me and I ran, not wanting to get caught by either the boy or the men. He didn’t look too much older than me, but if there was one thing I learned over the past couple of years was to only trust my brother. Plus I couldn’t feel his intentions because his emotions were still completely blank when I tried to sense them.

I was in a study and I went to the window to climb out of it. It was on the second story, but I clung to the little ledge trying to get to the roof of the garage that was a few feet away. Even a few feet seemed like a big leap when I was so far off the ground.

“Are you the girl they were looking for?” The boy was leaning against the windowsill, resting his head on his palm. He looked so casual as he examined me as if he didn’t just outsmart four grown adult men moments ago. His expression was calm and he looked so innocent with a gentle look in his golden hazel eye. I got scared, moving slightly and my foot slipped. I was going to fall.

The boy’s reflexes were incredible because in that second he reached out and grabbed my arm just before I was out of reach. I stared up at him, worried that he was going to let me drop so I gripped his arm as tight as I could. There was a bush underneath me that could break my fall a little, but if I broke my leg then there was no way Seth would be able to help me. It’s not like there were any doctors out here to patch up a broken limb.

“Where did that stupid boy go?” The voice of one of the gang members rang out and the boy looked to be annoyed.

“I’m going to swing you over to that roof. Think you can handle jumping to that?” The boy asked motioning towards the roof I was trying to get to before. I nodded and he swung his arm. I started to swing back and forth until I had enough momentum. “Jump now!”

He released my arm and I threw myself onto the roof. I tumbled, getting scraped up, but I was safe and not going to fall at this point. The boy followed after me, jumping from the window to the roof, making it look easy. I was barely getting to my feet when he grabbed my hand and forced me to run. A gang member was looking out the window and yelling at us to stop.

“Hey, wait!” I said when I noticed we were running out of roof to run on. The boy didn’t even hesitate. He swung me over his shoulder and jumped off the roof. I screamed even though we landed without injury. This boy’s athletic ability was amazing. He set me down and continued to pull me around the abandoned houses until we were a safe distance away from gang territory.

“Geez, how are you not even breaking a sweat right now?” I asked as my chest heaved from running so much. I stared at the boy, finally able to see what he looked like. He was cute and slightly taller than me. His black hair was shaggy and had a slight curl to the ends. He had dirt on him, but then again so did I as baths were hard to come by in the exiled area. Underneath the dirt I saw that his skin tone was darker than mine and it wasn’t because he spent more time in the sun. He was wearing black boots, pants, a shirt, and a bomber jacket. He looked very dark and mysterious with one eye covered and wearing such dark clothing. His eye held a maturity that his face did not show. He looked young, but I could sense that he had been through some hard times.

“Why are you stealing from grown men when you can’t protect yourself?” The boy asked.

“I can protect myself. I’d just rather run than use my power,” I stated wiping the sweat off of my forehead. I didn’t want him thinking that I was weak so he could take advantage so I fibbed about my power a bit. It could help if I sent the right emotion out to my opponent, but it was just an illusion. It wouldn’t actually do damage to anyone once they realized I was forcing the emotion on to them. “Since you helped me, I assume you want some of the money I stole.”

“I wasn’t really expecting anything. That house you hid in was where I was sleeping so I just need to find a new place to live. You got a place?”

“Like I’d share it with you,” I snapped. “Abandoned houses aren’t the safest place to live anyway. Especially in gang territory.”

“It’s safe as long as no one finds out.” Then a serious expression came across the boy’s face. “Oh no. I forgot Blue!”

“Blue?” I inquired confused.

“Blue is my dog.” Then he let out a loud, long whistle. “He’ll find me eventually if I wait here. He’s quite attached to me and will probably sniff me out.”

“Well, thanks for the help. I’ll get going now.” I gave a small wave and started to walk off.

“You could at least keep me company while I wait for Blue,” the boy said and gave me a goofy smile. Regardless of how he was presenting himself, I couldn’t sense his feelings. He seemed clumsy and childish, but he got rid of all those men without even hurting them. Something was weird about not being able to sense his emotions since I had gotten so used to it with everyone else.

“I have someone waiting for me,” I stated.

“A boyfriend?” He laughed.

“Gross, I’m 11. I’m talking about my brother.”

“11? No wonder you’ve got no boobs. I’m 13.”

I felt my face get hot in anger and I instinctively covered my chest. “It’s not my fault I’m flat chested! Why are you looking anyways? That’s disgusting.”

“Like I said I’m 13. Boys my age and older look for boobs no matter who it is. For a girl that’s on the streets you sure are naive.”

I was about to retort, but a big white dog with blue eyes came running up to the boy. It had been a long time since I’d seen an animal. The majority were killed three years ago during the tragedy. This dog looked happy and licked at the boy’s face.

“Calm down, Blue,” the boy laughed. His carefree nature made me a little jealous. I wished I could relax instead of worrying every minute of every day. “Meet our new friend. What’s your name? I’m Liam.”

I was caught off guard by that. “I’m Ash.” I knelt down and Blue came over to me. I patted him on the head and he licked at my arm. “You’re quite cute.”

“It’s getting dark. We should get you home soon,” Liam said. “I’ll help you get there.”

Since Liam saved me from those gangsters, I decided to trust him and let him escort me home with Blue following behind us. I had no idea that Liam would stick around and join us, but that is exactly what ended up happening.