Chapter 1

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The girl turned the corner sharply, eyeing every sickly human being as they passed her, staring at her as if she were a dog walking on his hind legs. Sheesh! It's just a perm! She kept walking, rather quickly, and passed by a window. The window was some-what reflective and she looked into it. She gasped. It wasn't the perm people were staring at. It was how his mark was permenantly on her face. So, in a way, it was like a perm. A horrible, uneeded perm. She sighed and continued speed-walking to her community college. No need to think about the past. The very near past. There was no need to think about the future, either. Just the present, the rather tragic present. She had no friends, no family, and no hope.

Born an orphan. How is that possible, you ask? Well, her mom died the instant she was born. Her father had already died just days before, so the girl tried to not reflect on the fact she had never met her parents. She had no idea if she had any grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins, and didn't intend to find out. She was fine alone, on her own, however.

The girl was not strikingly beautiful, even less so with the hideous mark on her face. But, it was all a reminder about how he could control her, use her. He was in jail now, but was still a threat to her being.

And then there was that mysterious man. The one who had given her the strength to fight back. The one who had made her stupid enough to believe him. She hated that man. He was the reason for the mark. But, although she hated him, he was also the reason why "The Marker", as she liked to call him, was in jail. This gave her a bit of reassurance, but not enough to want to think about this mystery man, or to feel safe alone.

She needed someone who wouldn't control her, abuse her, or laugh at her when she was down. She needed someone to stay true to her.

She needed love.

-Libby .

anyone??????