Ellen listened for a long time as the angry, desperate sound of her parents talking- no, arguing- voices reached her ears from where she was curled up at the door to her bedroom. She covered her ears as she heard something break, and her father's voice escalated. After a while, she uncovered her ears as the resounding slam of the front door shook the house. She got up and moved to the door, hearing her mother's footsteps on the stairs. The door opened and the blonde woman in the hallway smiled at her.

"Where did Daddy go?" Ellen asked. Her question was ignored as her mother strode into the room towards the dresser.

"Let's get you some outfits packed, Ellen. I'm taking you to stay the night at Rachel's," she announced.

"But Mommy, Rachel didn't ask me to come over when we were at school!" Ellen protested.

Nicole Shepard didn't look at her daughter as she put an outfit into the bright red bookbag- Ellen had adamantly refused the pink one- and after a moment's hesitation, handed Ellen her stuffed doberman. The seven year old girl clutched the toy dog to her chest happily, still looking slightly confused as she watched her mother pack her sleep clothes into her bookbag with wide grey green eyes.

"Mommy, am I in trouble?" She asked softly from behind Barkley's head. Nicole forced a smile.

"Of course not. You're going to Rachel's house to spend the night!" She said, and Ellen hid her lower face behind the stuffed dog's shoulders, hiding her uncertainty from her mother.

"I'm really sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to do it. That big mean boy was hurting me!" She whined softly. "I didn't wanna hit the ground, and I thought it, and I didn't-"

"No, I'm well aware of what happened, Ellen, and we're not talking about it. Ever. Again."

Ellen bit back another whimper as her mother handed her the bookbag, and she followed her silently down the stairs and outside to the car. She said nothing as she loaded into the passenger seat, and they rode in silence. Ellen felt her heart race as she noticed the scenery was NOT what she was accustomed to when going to her best friend's house. The buildings were getting more and more decrepit, the streets in disrepair.

"M-mommy, where are we going?" She asked, clutching Barkley closer.

Nicole said nothing, stopping the car once they'd passed another few blocks. They were in a part of the city Ellen had never seen before. It was scary- a lot of the buildings were boarded up, spray painted or damaged. A couple- a man and a woman, both looking worse for wear- were warming their hands around a fire they'd built on the stoop of an abandoned apartment building. Both looked at the car, confusion written on their faces- a confusion that mirrored Ellen's. Ellen was terrified that her mother would stop here.

"Mommy?"

Nicole said nothing, getting out and walking around to the other side and opening the passenger door. Wordlessly, she unbuckled her daughter and pulled her from the car, setting her down on the crumbling sidewalk, then handed her the red backpack. Her eyes were cold as she shut the door, and Ellen began whimpering in earnest.

"Mommy, what's going on?" She cried, reaching out to cling at her mother's pant leg.

Nicole pushed away and headed for the driver's side of the car, not even flinching as Ellen began crying in chest heaving, shrieking sobs of terror.

"You're a freak. I won't raise a goddamn biotic. I won't be held responsible for your unnatural accidents," she said harshly as she got into the car, and driving away before Ellen could run in front of it.

Ellen stared at the taillights of the car, her chest heaving to the point that her ribs were aching with the effort, Barkley still clutched close, tears soaking his black plush coat. In the dim light of the flickering streetlight above her, his eyes seemed to be sad. Ellen crumpled to her knees, wailing with the abandon that only a broken child could muster as the red lights of her mother's car drove away, leaving her alone in the scariest part of town.

"I'M SORRY, MOMMY! I'M SORRY!" She shrieked into Barkley's fur.

A soft touch to her back made her leap up, whirling around in panic and fear. The woman and man were still by the fire, ignoring her, but an older girl, maybe about fifteen, was kneeling next to her, brown eyes sympathetic. Her black hair was in messy dreadlocks, and she wore battered jeans with scuffed leather boots. A filthy denim jacket hung on her bony frame, with holes in the elbows. She reached out to Ellen, a look of concern on her tanned face.

"Hey, kid. Got dumped like trash, didn' ya?" She asked.

Ellen hiccuped, tears dripping from her chin as she nodded. The girl's brow crinkled in sympathy and she held out her arms.

"C'mere, kid."

No one else to turn to, betrayed and abandoned by her own mother, Ellen ran into the girl's arms. The girl rubbed her back, making a soothing sound.

"Hey, easy kid. Don' worry. Yer okay. The Reds will take care o'ya."

She pulled back and wiped tears off Ellen's face.

"Why'd she leave ya, kid?"

Ellen hiccuped again.

"A big boy pushed me off the jungle gym and I thought 'I don't wanna get hurt!' and I started glowin' and kinda floated," She managed between hiccups.

The girl lifted both brows.

"Biotic, huh? Poor kid. Well, you'll have a place in the Reds as a biotic. We're all garbage and throw-aways," she soothed. "M'name's Jesse. What's yer name, kid?"

"E-ellen."

"Alright, Ellen. Come with me, hon."

Ellen glanced back at the road where her mother's car had disappeared. Jesse followed her gaze and sighed sadly.

"She ain't comin' back for ya, hon. I'm sorry."

Ellen sank to her knees, starting to cry again. Jesse shouldered the red bookbag and scooped the sobbing girl into her arms, then turned and walked down the street.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but ya have a new fam'ly to meet. We're a buncha assholes, and it'll be rough, but if you pull yer weight, you'll do fine."

Ellen sobbed into the shoulder of Jesse's filthy jacket as the older girl carried her to her new home.