The breeze blew Jaden's auburn hair in her face. She tucked it back behind her ears and sighed, looking up at the huge old house. It was old and drafty and had an ominous air to it, but at least it would be some shelter from the wind. Besides it was out of sight and way better than going home.

Home. Ha! That place was anything but a home. It hadn't been for years, but she had lived there. It used to be a place of refuge and peace, full of love and laughter, but now… Jaden shivered, trying to erase the last night's memory from her mind. With one last glance behind her she squared her shoulders and opened the door.

The house had been abandoned for as long as she could remember. Her mother had once loved the old house, gushing about how romantic it was and about how much she'd love to buy it someday. She never thought that she'd ever go inside it. The floor creaked as she walked in and closed the door behind her. Looking around she noticed a staircase leading down to a basement. That would work for now; it would keep her safe and out of sight until she figured out what she was going to do. No one would even know she was there. He would never find her. She was safe here. At least for a day or two until she had a plan.

After closing the door at the top of the staircase behind her, Jaden finally turned on the flashlight she had brought with her. At the bottom of the stairs she found an old abandoned couch and some chairs covered in white cloth and abandoned by the houses prior owners. She'd sleep on the couch. She pulled back the white sheet and sat down, sighing as her muscles relaxed. Digging through her bag she found her worn down Bible. She leafed through the worn pages until she found the passage she was looking for. Jeremiah 29:11.

"'For I know the plans I have for you' says the Lord. 'Plans for good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.'" Jaden repeated the verse over and over again, running her finger across the page. It was her favorite, no matter how bad things got, it always reminded her that God had a plan for her life, even if it didn't make sense at the time. She clung to that thought, that hope for a better tomorrow as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

…

"I don't know why I still take care of you, you useless tramp!" Darren, Jaden's stepfather roared. "You never do anything right!"

"Well you won't have to worry about that soon!" Jaden reminded him. "I'm 18 in a 2 weeks. I can legally live on my own and I am getting out!"

At that, Darren grabbed hold of her shirt collar and pinned her against the wall, his face just centimeters from hers. "Oh no you're not! You're not leaving me!" He roared. Jaden could smell the alcohol on his breath. He smacked her with the back of his hand, leaving her breathless, her face stinging. She struggled to get away from him but even in his drunkenness he was still stronger. "I promised your mother that if anything happened to her I'd take care of you, didn't I? What kind of guardian would I be if I let Sara's only daughter out into the cruel nasty world all by herself?"

Smirking, Darren released her shirt and grabbed the back of her head pulling her in for a rough kiss. His free had wound around her waist, locking her against his body. Jaden fought but he was too strong. His lips moved from her mouth and down her throat. She gagged, wanting to throw up at the feel of his foul mouth and hands on her body. "Darren stop!" she choked, trying to keep her voice calm but it squeaked, causing Darren to pause momentarily. The look in his eyes when he glanced up at her made her fight even harder to get away, but he was too strong. He pulled her closer and…

…

Jaden woke up screaming. She sat up and whipped her head around. She was alone in the basement of the old house; her Bible had fallen to the floor when she had bolted up. "It was just a dream." She whispered to herself. The part of her life was over. He couldn't get her now.

Jaden froze as she heard a sound from above. Her heart leapt frantically in her throat. He couldn't be here could he? How had he found her so quickly? Running footsteps came from above and she looked frantically for a place to hide in the dark room. She saw a wardrobe in a dark corner and leapt for it, closing the door just seconds before the footsteps came to a halt at the top of the steps.

"It came from down here" a male voice she didn't recognize said. "I thought you said you checked the whole house!"

"I did!" defended a second voice, also male. "The door was locked!" Jaden didn't understand. Had Darren sent the police? She assumed he'd look for her himself, not wanting to get to close to the authorities in case any questions about their home life came up. She shrank farther back against the back of the wardrobe as whoever was at the top of the stairs shook the door violently. She sent a silent prayer of thanks that she had thought to lock the door.

With a violent crash the door was ripped off its hinges and flung crashing down the stairs. A light was turned on. Jaden trembled, hardly breathing as the footsteps descended the staircase slowly. She heard the two men searching the room. She held her breath as a shadow blocked the ribbon of light through the door. Please God. She prayed. Don't let them find me! The shadow paused, made a sniffing sound and moved on. Jaden barely had time to let out a quiet sigh of relief before the wardrobe was lurched forward, throwing her to the ground in a tumble of clothes. She gasped, wincing in pain. Suddenly there was a blinding light as the wardrobe was ripped off of her. Standing above her where two, massive men. They each had to be at least 6.5 and their muscles stretched the tee shirts they wore almost to breaking. Jaden blinked up at them, hardly daring to breath.

"What do we have here?" the man on her left smirked, turning briefly to his companion. Turning back he reached down and pulled Jaden painfully to her feet. Not releasing his iron like grip on her arm, he looked once again at his companion. "Whatdya say we go show what we found to the rest of the boys?"

Jaden found her voice as he started towards the stairs, dragging her roughly behind. "Stop!" she yelled. "Let go of me!" he simply laughed and continued up the stairs. Jaden fought the whole way, 

grabbing on to walls and the door frame, fighting desperately to be left behind. Her struggle brought her face to face with her attacker. He looked down at her and paused for a brief moment. Something flashed in his eyes and he looked over at his companion. "You know Coop; we may be able to end this trip a bit earlier than expected. Look at her." The other man, Cooper, paused as well, glancing questioningly at her, and then his gaze intensified. He looked back at the other man. Jaden, previously frozen in confusion, took advantage of their apparent distraction and reentered her struggle with new valor. It was in vain. Her captor's lax arms retightened around her small frame. "Struggling won't do you any good so give it a rest." He leaned in closer, his gaze suddenly seductive. "Unless of course you'd rather just stay here with me…" his hand moved down her back and she shivered, shaking her head. He stared for another second and then shook his head. "No." he said. She wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or to her. He began walking again, this time with more purpose and speed.

They entered a lighted room and stopped in the doorway. Jaden's eyes widened as she took note of 8 pairs of eyes suddenly staring at her. All 8 of the room's occupants were man and every one of them was as huge if not bigger than the two men who had found her. Who were these people?

"Look what we found hiding in the basement." Her still nameless captor smirked. Men in the room looked around at each other and then back at Jaden, the same look that had crossed Cooper and her captors faces crossing theirs as well.

"Hey! What the heck is going on here?" Jaden demanded. Enough was enough. "And let me go!" the men in the room chuckled.

"Nice find Brendan." A man seated on a couch exclaimed, ignoring Jaden. "She's perfect!" the rest of the men nodded and mumbled their agreement. "Now we can all go home!" someone whooped. Jaden didn't see who.

"Right. Now it's almost sunrise. If we wait one more day we can have the cover of nightfall. It'll take way longer if we have to travel by car." The man on the couch said, appearing to be a sort of leader. Brendan, since you and Cooper found her, she can stay with you for the day. Watch her though. This one's far too perfect to risk losing." The men slowly dispersed, chatting excitedly and glancing back at Jaden as the left. Soon it was just Jaden, Cooper, Brendan and the man from the couch, who stood and walked slowly over to where Brendan still held Jaden. He put his hand on her cheek and moved her head to each side slowly, his eyes full of intense curiosity. "When Thayne told me what he was looking for I never thought we'd get this close… he was so specific…but she really is perfect, isn't she?" Not waiting for an answer he turned and left the room, leaving Jaden alone with the two men who'd found her. Brendan began pulling her towards a staircase at the far end of the room.

"Now wait just one minute!" she yelled, digging her feet into the floor. "Just what exactly is going on here?" she folded her arms and looked expectantly up at Brendan and Cooper. They glanced at each other, then Brendan looked back down at her.

"I think it's better you don't know for now actually." He decided resuming pulling her toward the stairs. Despite her continued protests he dragged her to the stairs and finally decided it best to just 

pick her up and carry her. He stopped when they reached a door at the end of a hallway. "I'll keep her with me Coop. I found her, and besides, I'm stronger than you." Cooper bristled at the dig but after a moment turned and entered the room across the hall, slamming the door behind him. Brendan shook his head and opened the door in front of them. He carried her into the room and shut the door behind him before dropping her on the floor at his feet. He stared down at her and she scooted backward away from him until she hit the wall. Only then did he move to follow approaching slowly until he towered directly over her. He scanned her trembling body, his forehead lined with thought. "We'd better get you cleaned up. You look terrible." Jaden simply stared up at him, unsure of what to think or do. This wasn't exactly what she had pictured her first day free of Darren to be like. Brendan sighed. Let's see if there's anything around here you could wear… we can't really have you walking around in that tattered outfit. That would not go over well with him. What happened to you anyway?"

Jaden blushed scarlet and looked away, blinking back tears at the memory of just what had happened to her clothes. Brendan stood there for another moment before finally sighing and walking across the room to a closet. He opened it and began digging through it. After a minute he stopped and grabbed something out of the closet. "Ok now, um, you can just wear this." He said, handing her a green sundress. She took it slowly, still terrified and confused but wanting to be out of the clothes from last night more than anything. She stood awkwardly for a moment while Brendan just stood there staring. "What?" he finally asked. "I can't really let you out of my sight now can I? Just change. It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Jaden's eyes widened for a moment. She stared at him but he just stared right back so she finally gave in. Turning her back to him she changed as quickly as she could. Once the dress was on she turned back around rubbing her arms uncomfortable as he stared openly at the bruises there. No doubt he had seen the one on her side as well when she was changing, though she'd tried her best to keep it hidden. They stood there for a few moments, him staring at her with new curiosity and her staring uncomfortably at the floor. Finally, Brendan cleared his throat and spoke "Um…well I'm beat. Long night and such. You'll be sleeping in my bed with me. And don't try anything, because I will catch you before you reach the door. Besides Cale is guarding the door downstairs and you 'll never get past him." With that he picked her up again and carried her over to the bed. When Jaden saw the direction he was headed she started to fight again. He pulled back the covers and dropped her on the bed. As soon as she was out of his arms she scrambled for the door, but she didn't even make it off the bed. True to his word Brendan caught her and held her prisoner against his abnormally warm body. "I told you" he whispered in her ear. "No go to sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Jaden lay there against his chest, barely daring to breath, praying to God that he would fall asleep quickly. Eventually his breathing relaxed and his arms loosened ever so slightly. She waited another ten minutes for good measure and then slowly and gently worked Brendan's arm off of her. She slide noiselessly off the bed and crept to the door. It creaked slightly and she froze, glancing back at Brendan. He didn't stir so she stuck her head out, looking both ways before stepping out into the deserted hallway. He walked down the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could and glanced around. To the left she could see a man, probably Cale, sleeping with his back propped against the door. The two windows that were not too close to him were bolted shut. So escape was out. Instead she snuck down 

into the basement and grabbed her bible off the floor, picking up the pictures and papers that had fallen out of its case when it fell. She didn't know who these people were or what they wanted with her but she wasn't going anywhere without her Bible. Jaden sighed and then stood back up. She had to go back upstairs. It wouldn't help to prolong the inevitable.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Cooper's voice came from right behind her. Jaden jumped at the unexpected sound and swiveled around.

"Cooper! I just came down to-" He shoved her roughly against the wall pinning her there. "t-to get my-" a slap to the cheek silenced her and brought tears to her eyes. This wasn't what she had left Darren for.

"We told you not to try anything." His voice was barely a whisper, but it was deadly. Jaden trembled. Still fuming, Cooper picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her up the stairs. Jaden hung limp, afraid of what would happen if she protested, or even moved. He carried her like that all the way back up to the room Brendan was in and knocked loudly. Jaden heard Brendan mumble incoherently and then curse. Suddenly the door flung open and Brendan was there with a panic written across his face. His eyes fell on Jaden and he sighed.

"Thought you said you were stronger." Cooper mocked before shoving her at Brendan and stalking away.

Brendan glared at her for a moment and she cowered in fear. He half sighed half yawned and gestured to the bed. This time she made no attempt to run. It was useless. Clearly God wanted her hear, at least for now. She'd just have to trust him. Brendan lay back down beside her and locked one granite arm securely around her waist. "Now go. To. Sleep."

Still clutching her Bible, Jaden repeated Jeremiah 29:11 over and over, willing herself to believe that God could use this as awful as things looked now and finally fell asleep.

K SO I HOPE YOU LIKED IT. I'VE BEEN WRITING THIS FOR A WHILE AND WANT FEEDBACK. SO REVIEWS WOULD BE FANTABULOUS!!

AIMEE