"New girl!" The call rang through the camp. A woman with messy, dark hair was running down the ramp from her own home, waving her arms, trying to get people's attention. The people below her responded, first with whispers, then with an excited movement all at once to meet the small figure wrapped in a man's arms. The woman who'd started the call rushed out to meet him, kissing his cheek quickly before inspecting the teenager.

"Who is it?"

"Where's she from?"

"How'd she get here?"

"She's so small!"

"She doesn't belong here--"

"Shush!" The woman snapped. "She has just as much right to be here as any of us."

"Juliet's right." A woman agreed, pushing bright purple hair out of her face. "We accept everyone here. Any one who doesn't needs to get their priorities straight."

"Thanks, Sammi." The dark-haired woman, now identified as Juliet, gave the smaller woman a smile. She turned back to the man, still holding a small girl in his arms. Concern flooded her gaze and her voice. "Where'd you find her? Is she alive?"

"In the middle of the desert." He spoke for the first time since he'd arrived. Slowly he put the girl down where someone had been kind enough to place a sheet. He paused. "She's breathing."

"She's…she's wet?" Sammi frowned, stepping forward. "Someone find her clothes…" She ran her fingers through the wet mess of waves and frizz before her.

"Someone's going to have a bad hair day." Another woman joked softly. Her hair was straight and jet black, and she was holding something in her own arms.

"Lauren, you know where the spares are--" Juliet began.

"I got them." The woman with black hair stepped in front of the woman Juliet had been speaking to and handed the bundle to Sammi. "Figured we'd need it."

"Always good to be prepared." Sammi agreed.

"I'm going to go find the others." The man watched them. His shadow easily covering the scene. "Send someone for us when she's awake?"

Juliet nodded quickly, standing only to give him another kiss on the cheek before helping her friends. What seemed like dozens of kids watched with bated breath.

"Go on, you." Lauren remarked playfully. "Some of you fetch water. Whoever is on dinner duty, get on it." The women were standing up.

"Xander Truman?" Sammi called out hopefully, looking over heads. A boy around nineteen or so stepped forward. "Sweetie, could you carry her?"

The boy nodded, looking down at the small, crumpled form.

"We want to move her before we change her. She hadn't hurt her back or neck or anything. Nothing's broken, just bruised." Juliet promised him and he nodded, scooping the girl up and following the four women into a tent-like shelter made from boards and sheets.

"Lay her down on that pile." Ella instructed.

He placed the body down softly in the center, giving the small form one last glance over his shoulder before he left.

"He's so sweet, isn't he?" Sammi cooed.

"Don't let him hear you, the boy is nineteen, the last thing he needs is to be mommy-coddled by a woman not even ten years older than him." Ella laughed, helping the unconscious girl out of her blue cotton button-up.

"He's shy." Lauren now stepped forward, handing Sammi a new shirt as Ella worked on getting the ugly khakis off. "But he is sweet."

"Poor kid." Juliet sighed.

"He's like a little Andy." Sammi nodded, pulling a junky black t-shirt over the girl's head gently.

"Little? He's damn near as tall as him." Ella chuckled, pulling her hair behind her as she tried again to get the button on the pants undone. "I swear, this poor girl is going to wake up as I'm trying to undress her and I'm going to have a shitload of explaining to do."

Lauren let out a soft giggle.

"The kid is a beanpole." Juliet shrugged. "Andy at least has some muscle."

"He'll fill out. He's a late bloomer is all."

"Do you see how he acts with the younger kids?"

"He's like a big brother to everyone of them."

"Truly. He's got such a big heart. It's a pity what happened to him." Juliet shook her head.

"What happened?" Lauren asked quietly. "Does anyone know?"

"Andy does." Juliet shrugged. "I assume the other boys do, too. Poor kid, whatever happened must have been really horrible. Andy won't even tell me."

The others nodded.

"Got it!" Ella cheered, finally tugging the new girl's pants off.

"Oh, don't look now, she's waking up." Lauren warned.

"Shit! Sammi get some pants on the girl!"

Juliet, Sammi, and Lauren burst into laughter.

"Not funny."

"Yes it was." Sammi teased, pulling the pants over the girl's hips. "Oh, speaking of beanpoles. Pass her belt back, these are going to fall off of her right away."

"That beanpole has boobs!" Ella exclaimed. "She's hardly a beanpole!"

"How old do you think she is?"

"Did she have any I.D.?"

"I'm estimating eighteen." Lauren threw a guess out.

"Seventeen." Sammi countered.

"I'm with Sammi, she doesn't look that old." Juliet agreed.

"Nineteen." Ella shrugged. "Might as well go my own route."

There was a pause.

"Do you think the others will really accept her?" Juliet asked nervously. "She isn't like them at all. She's so obviously different, just in the way she dresses."

"It's a uniform, we don't even know a thing about her." Sammi scolded lightly. "Besides, we stand for individuality. The kids can't complain."

There was a rustle amongst the sheets surrounding them and they turned to the entrance where Xander had ducked himself into their shelter. He blinked once at them before focusing his green eyes on the sleeping body amongst the sheets.

"Marilyn and Madeline brought the water. They asked me to give it to you?"

"Those little devils." Ella smiled at the thought of their youngest members, twin girls who had wound up at the camp when their parents died and they were left with an abusive uncle. They'd found their way to the shelter of the camp through their wardrobe when they were hiding from the man's drunken, wandering hands. The girls had just turned six. "Here, I'll take that. Can you take these clothes back to the house?"

He nodded, taking the clothes in his hands and leaving again.

"I think someone has an admirer and she hasn't even woken up yet." Sammi chuckled.

"Maybe."

***Alyce***

I could hear voices, echoing inside my pounding head. The air smelled cold and dusty.

"She hasn't woken up yet?" A male voice asked.

"No, love. Maybe in a little bit." A woman's voice this time. Both were unfamiliar to me.

"Andy says she'll want something warm to drink when she wakes up. Maybe I should make some tea…"

"It won't be warm by the time she drinks it if she doesn't wake soon. Let's just wait."

"She didn't have any sort of identification?"

"No."

I struggled to open my eyes and finally succeeded in having my gaze focus on multi-colored sheets and wooden "frames" that looked like scrap wood carved and tied together at odd angles. I tried to sit myself up to get a better look around and maybe find the people who were talking.

"She's up." Someone behind me made a movement to come get me.

"Oh, no, easy, doll." The man had reached me first. His hands caught my elbows as I made movement to stand despite my dizziness and sudden nausea.

"Sweetheart," The woman rushed over in a flash of purple and immediately sat me back down. "Sit. It's fine, we aren't going to hurt you." She promised. Somehow, I believed her, but I watched the man who had crouched down next to her wearily. "Jinxx, get the hot water going…and then get the others."

He watched me for a second more before he nodded and got up, brushing himself off as he did so.

"I'm sorry," The woman apologized. It took me a moment more to register that the flash of purple had been her hair, despite the candle light, I could see it shining brightly in it's fairly random, unnatural shade.

"Where am I?"

"At the camp." She told me softly. "You'll get a full explanation later. How about you tell me who you are?"

"M-Mary," I stuttered out. "Mary Alyce Charpentier."

"Well, Mary--"

"Please call me Alyce," I cut her off quickly. "I'd much prefer Alyce."

She gave me a small smile.

"Of course, Alyce." She held the back of her hand against my head and frowned. "Don't mind me, I don't really know what a fever feels like. My mother told me when I had children of my own, I'd know. But I don't and if that's the trick, I won't know what I'm feeling-for for a very, very long time." She pulled her hand away again. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Falling down the drain." I answered honestly. "And then hearing you and…Jinxx?"

"Down the drain? That's a new one." She chuckled. "And yes, the man you just met is Jinxx. You'll meet a few more before the night is over."

I nodded hesitantly.

"They won't hurt you, I promise." She held her hand out. "Let's get you some tea, little Alyce."

I got up, with her help, slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm being so rude. I'm Sammi."

"When did I change clothes?" She looked back at me from where she'd exited the tent. I stood back nervously, hiding still in the shadows.

"Ella and I changed you into something a bit more comfortable. I'll have Jinxx help you get those pants fitted. I'd offer to do it, but he's much less likely to stick you with a needle." She took a pot off the fire and looked around. "Xander is supposed to be watching the fire. I'm so glad that he isn't taking his job seriously."

"I had to ask him a question, it's my fault." A deep, but soft male voice spoke calmly. Sammi startled and looked to her side. I shrunk back further into the tent, clutching the sheets over my lower face. "She's awake?"

"She's gone back inside, no doubt. You've scared her, Andy."

I stepped backwards again, entering the tent fully now and trying to find somewhere to hide. But, my head was still throbbing and I couldn't really make sense of anything before what sounded like hundreds of men's footsteps pushed through the barrier.

"Right. I always hate this part." The tallest sighed. "I'm Andy. You are?"

"M-M-Mary Alyce Charpentier."

"She likes to be called Alyce." Sammi pushed her way through with a small cup. "Here you go." She helped me to sit down and took her spot next to me. The men glanced to and from each other before slowly easing their ways onto the ground as well.

"Okay, good."

"I'm CC." Another man offered me a huge grin.

"Ashley." I'm pretty sure he was a man, too. He gave me a smaller smile than CC, but still a smile which is more than I can say for Andy.

"Jake." He looked tired, but he'd probably just been woken up.

"Jinxx, we met for a moment before." The last one spoke softly.

"Nice to meet you…" I bit my lip.

"Well, there's a lot of explaining to do, Alyce." Andy sighed. "But first…" He raised his hands up as if offering me the surroundings. "Welcome to the family."

Notes

Thank you Fallen Devil 14! :) I'm glad you like it!!

I decided to update today for two reasons:
1) I'm taking a break from studying for midterms
2) I had this chapter written almost all of the way, I was waiting until later to post it, but I figured what the hey.

So yup...comment and all. It does make me update faster, though usually not this fast :p

And I know anyone who reads this is probably thinking "then...why is the summary completely different?" it's not, we'll get there.