CHAPTER 1
Alan's P.O.V.
"Run!" I yell. I take off toward the city, and can hear Cassie following close behind. We've gotten pretty good at running away in the last four years. I look back at Cassie and see the bag full of fruit. She truly is talented for a 10 year old. When I was her age I could barely steal a hotdog without getting caught. But she could steal a boat without the owner noticing for hours. I slow down and turn into what I call "My alley". We stay in an alley for about a week, or until people start getting suspicious, then we move on to another one to stay in. "Bad boy" I pant weakly but loud enough for my friends; who are hiding behind trash bags and boxes to hear. That's our password. If they hear someone coming than they hide until they hear someone either say the password or continue walking past. They all come out of there hiding places and smile when they see what we've brought. "Did you bring anything for me?" the littlest one; Danny asks while rubbing his bony belly. "We did" Cassie says with a smile. She ruffles his greasy, dirty hair and hands him an apple. Danny's eyes light up and he takes a surprisingly large bite. "Yum!" he says. He's not used to such high quality food so this is a treat.The rest of my group gathers around in a circle to give in the small portion of food found. Including the fruit, there is enough food for everyone to have 1 piece of fruit, a slice of bread, and a stalk of celery. Some days there is such a scarce supply of food that we just give it to the littlest ones to eat.
The kids seem oddly quiet as we eat our food so I decide to break the silence. "Good job Cassie, that was a close one" I say. "Thanks, you did a good job out there too" Cassie responds inbetween bites. Cas and I have gone through a lot together. We met when she was 6 and I was 11. She acts like I'm her big brother. We met this group of kids just days after Cas and I met, and they took us in immediatly. When their old leader, Kaitlyn, got arrested for being caught stealing, they immediatly came to the oldest, wisest person in the group. Guess who that was. I've been the person that they come to if they have a boo-boo, or there stomach hurts for four years. Even though I'm only fifteen I have to act like their parent to all twelve of them. But it's not as hard as you would think. After we wake up in the morning, everyone goes off on their own to get breakfast; if they can find it. Then we meet up at our alley to eat lunch and dinner. The kids promised that they would never eat any of the food they found until it can be split up evenly between all of us, but I've heard rumors about the second youngest one Olivia, eating the food that she finds whenever she wants. I look at my large group of kids and smile. I'm so proud of them. They are so brave, and have strong hearts. "So" I say "How was everyone's day?" I continue.
