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Prologue

BLACKBURN, CALIFORNIA

The building was in sha a toll on the exterior It had started out as a town hall, back when theco since passed Now it stood alone, withering away in the dark of night--the sole lasting reminder that the area had once flourished

What had been a place of asse, oneabout for the first tis shook and sto, staying on his heels but doing her best not to step on his shiny black shoes

They walked down a dark, narrow hall, passing a few aze on the floor, the sound of their voices as they greeted her ht down her back These were new ers, people she hadn’t known existed

He led her through a door at the end of the hallway, and what met them made her stop in her tracks The stale scent of sweat andher nose Masses ofechoed off the walls, hitting the child like a freight train to the chest She gasped, her heart racing as her eyes darted around looking for the source of the pain, but she couldn’t see past the sea of bodies

Herher in front of hied as his hands claain at his co the two a clear path, and Haven obediently , their eyes like lasers that burned down deep, ht red

In the front of the roos were pinned to their ragged clothes, a number scribbled on it in black nore her master’s touch, and watched as the crowd tossed irls were auctioned off to the highest bidder, tears staining their cheeks as ed them away

"Frankie!"

Haven turned at the sound of herHis face was like cracked leather and led with scars, his eyes a blackened pit of coal In her frightened rip on her, locking her in place as he greeted the irl," Carlo said "You getting rid of her? Because if so--"

Frankie cut hiht it would do her soood to see her own kind"

Her own kind The words fascinated Haven She looked back at the stage as a new girl caht with some scissors Dozens of holes peppered her clothes, and her blonde hair was haphazardly chopped in a pixie cut She was gagged and shackled, the number 33 affixed to her shirt

Haven wondered--Was she like her? Could they be the saripped her ared everything as she pulled away, theescape difficult She jued to stay on her feet, bolting for the crowd

Chaos erupted like a volcano, violent and sudden Men shouted, and Haven held her breath as Frankie reacted, his un A shot exploded beside Haven, and she ju Nuh her forehead and splattering Haven’s blue-jean dress with fresh blood

Hyperventilating, Haven’s chest painfully heaved as she stared at the body on the floor by her bare feet Blood strea the girl’s blonde hair a deep shade of red Her icy blue eyes reh her skin

Frankie returned the gun to his coat and bent down to Haven’s level She tried to turn away froripped the back of her neck and forced her to look at Nuet their place," he said, his voice as cold as the dead eyes she stared into "Re his earlier position as he clutched her shoulders The auction continued as if nothing had happened--as if an innocent girl weren’t slain in front of them all Nuave her a second thought

No one, that is, except Haven The vision of it would haunt her forever

TEN YEARS LATER

1

The hot, dry air burned Haven’s chest She gasped, struggling to breathe, as the dust kicked up by her frantic feet made it hard for her to see It wasn’t as if it would help anyway, since it was pitch black out and she had no idea where she was Everything appeared the sa but desert all around

Her feet felt like they were on fire as every rew harder and harder to continue with each step, her strength deteriorating as her adrenaline faded A bang rang out, her footsteps faltering as she swung in the direction of the noise, spotting a faint glow of light in the distance A house

She darted toward it, trying to yell for help but no sound escaped her throat Her body revolted against her, giving out when she needed it hter the harder she ran until all she saas a flash of white Blinded, she tripped and collapsed to the ground, pain running through her in waves as the light surrounding her burned out entirely

The basement was dark and damp, the only exit a set of metal doors locked with heavy chains With no s, it eltering, the air polluted with the stench of sewer Dried blood tinged the concrete floor like old splatters of red paint, a grotesque canvas of prolonged , except for the subtle rise and fall of her chest Her long brown hair, usually soth By society’s standards, she was as sickly as they cos, her ribs could be counted through her bruised and bloodied skin She thought herself to be healthy, though She’d seen people worse than her before

The day had begun like every other Haven woke up at dawn and spentIn the afternoon she spent soainst the side of the old wooden house Neither spoke as the sound of the television filtered out of an openabove the in the south and a aging in Iraq, the significance of both lost on Haven

Herto it was a waste of time, because their slice of the world was barely a blip on the big radar, but Haven couldn’t help herself The five o’clock neas the highlight of her day She needed to feel like she was real, that so--or someone--she’d had contact with still existed out in the world, so the news as fightingrooht eavesdropping, when she heard soone!"