I stumble through a forest the misty air thick and cool around me. Twelve weeks since I escaped Mrs. Atlas’ home for girls, where I had lived in for every second of my sixteen years of life, tortured with endless chores and other girls so rude it’s no wonder we all have so many mental issues. The so called ‘home’ is behind me but now I am alone in the woods living off of squirrels and berries. Lucky for me for my ‘fun time’ I always chose ‘how to survive in nature’ which turned out to be very useful even with all the comments from my roommates about what a waste of time it was.

“Waste of time they said” I laugh as I pluck a few black berries off a nearby vine popping the sweet fruit into my mouth. As I walk aimlessly through the woods with no idea where I’m going there’s a break in the trees. I break into a run and when I emerge from the dark forest I come upon a thin stone pathway lined with grass, browned from the turning of summer to fall. At the end of the path lies a village. A real village! I place a foot onto the damp pathway and run faster than ever before, beaming as I make it to the end. The land is flat and the village is quiet, not like the city I came from. I stop staring at the house infrount of me and contemplate knocking. In the end I have nothing to loose. Except my life, new freedom, and well everything, but there’s also so much I could gain, a family, love, a home. The good always outweighs the bad so I walk up to old wooden steps to the house, white paint peeling reveling the brown under. I lift my hand and hesitate before knocking three times but I can’t help but think that there’s something not so right about this place. There’s a rustling in the house and the door cracks open just enough for whoever’s inside to see out.

“You…” they gasp and their eyes widen “A girl!” The door swings open and they pull me in. What is happening? Did I just get kidnapped? No, I was the one that disturbed them. The person pulls me into a room and sits me onto an old red couch. A boy. They look to be about my age with blond curly hair and blue eyes. Wow.

“Stay.” They order running out of the room and up the stairs noisily. I’ve never actually talked to a boy now that I think about it, weird. Another thing that’s weird is the way that guy treated me. Or at least I think that was weird, maybe that’s just how guys are and I don’t know it. Before I can really think about where I am and what’s happening five more pairs of feet thunder down the old wooden stairs before entering the room. Holy cleaning lady. I think, a common saying in Mrs Atlas’ home. There are six boys in total, teh one from before and the fove others, all blond curly haired with blue eyes. The youngest looks to be about eight, and the oldest probably in his twenties, that is the one that steps forward.

“Hi.” He says keeping a distance form where I sit on the couch

“Hello” I respond studying the way he awkwardly glances at the others when I speak and all of them make a weird face bofore he continues

“Soo” he drags out the word “your a girl.”

Are boys always this stupid? I think to myself. That’s probably mean, but this is my first encounter with the creatures and it is not what people say it is, so you can’t blame me for thinking it.

“yes,” I say copying the way he held the word making it longer nodding my head before thinking I should probably explain how ended up in their house “I escaped from Mrs. Atlas’ home for girls and somehow ended up here, all I need is directions for somewhere to stay and I can leave you be.”

“NO!” They all yell at once causing me to flinch back into the old couch which creaks in protest of the movement. Yelling where I come from always ends in a beating and who knows if thats the same here.

“Sorry,” the oldest one takes another step forward “We need you to stay. You can save us” All the boys look to me and then out to the dreary little village where boys and men of all ages are starting to emerge from houses before looking back to me. That’s when I realize the thing that’s off about the village, there isn’t a woman in sight.