Prologue

Rain pierced against the window like spears flying in battle. Dragging a warn out, faded yellow blanket, little seven year old Tessa wandered up to her brother Brett who stared out the window with clenched fists. Their parents were screaming in the background, adding to the chaos of the house. Tonight an innocent sixth grader was the victim of the unstable parents' rage.

The shattering of glass echoed through the house and soon the child emerged out of the terrifying bedroom in tears. Brett and Tessa turned wide eyed to see their sister bruised and shaking with fear.

"Kasey, what did they do to you?" Tessa asked horrified.

"I'm through with living here. I'm telling somebody. We shouldn't be treated this way." Kasey cried while collapsing to the floor.

Kasey was the oldest of the three children and had always been the strongest. To see her break down made Brett shiver in trepidation. He was only ten years old himself, but with the instruction of his sister, he had been forced to raise Tessa for the past few years. He had been deprived of a childhood full of fun and laughs, and instead was trapped in an eighty year old house with rotting wood, spilt milk and vermin who had well made themselves at home.

"Where would we go?" Tessa asked with tears filling her eyes. She knew of homeless children who wandered the streets, begging for food. Living that way was the last thing Tessa wanted.

"Mom and Dad are all we got. We can't just leave them!" She pleaded with Kasey.

Kasey picked herself up and wandered to the other side of the darkening room. The light bulb had burned out and they weren't in any position to purchase or install a new one. Grabbing a pair of tattered tennis shoes and an oversized sweatshirt, she glared back at Tessa and sneered,

"Then you can stay by yourself here. But as for me, I'm sick of this." Kasey pushed her way through her startled siblings and made her way to the door.

Instinctively, Brett followed, unsure of what was going on.

"No, Brett. You have to stay with Tessa. I'll go find someone and send them out to help you. I promise."

Brett never spoke much. His lack of confidence only encouraged him to keep silent. It hadn't mattered much though. Kasey had always seemed to know what he was thinking. He looked up at his older sister who now was preparing to yank the front door open. Their grey-blue eyes met and Brett stepped forward as if to announce something, but he quickly took back his words and looked back down at the floor. In annoyance Kasey looked down and shot,

"Brett, Grow up."
She then vanished out to the battlefield- an unknown world that had never been visited. The sky fiercely threw its spears down upon her, cautioning her to stay away. But Kasey was finished giving in to threats. Convincing herself that the first steps were always the hardest ones, she schlepped her way through, bracing herself for an arduous journey she knew awaited her.