The cold, dark , and rainy night was lit up by the flashes of red and blue. The powerful engine of the patrol car maneuvered the driver down the dark strip of the road. The driver, a female in her late thirties, gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as she leaned forward against the steering wheel, trying to peer through the rain and the fog.

Sheriff Jody Mills had been with the Sioux Falls, Iowa Sheriff's Department for ten years , but she could never get used to being woken up in the dead of night to the report of a found child.

She had just gotten to sleep, trying to wind down from a disastrous first date -a reminder to never to let her friends set her up ever again. So, when she went to bed with a half of glass of wine, she had tossed and turned, feeling something wasn't right. Call it instincts, but Jody had a feeling she was going to be getting a call. And sure enough, several hours later, she found herself driving down the dark road with her heart in her throat.

The call was about a girl, no age was given, who was found wandering the road. A couple had found her after almost hitting her. She was dirty, her jeans torn, and blood covered her face. The couple took her to a local diner, where Jody was to meet her.

At three in the morning, Jody wasn't expecting too many people in the diner , and as she pulled into the parking lot, her theory was proved true. A single truck sat in the stall, its body a rusted blue color, and it looked tired and busted.

The bell clanged above her head as she pushed opened the glass door and was immediately greeted by Roger, the owner of the diner. He was an older gentleman with stark white hair that stood up on his head. His round face was red as he extended his hand.

"Sheriff Mills, thank you for coming. Wasn't sure what to think when they walked in with this girl. She hasn't said a word to anyone."

Jody took off her leather gloves and tucked them into the inside pocket of her jacket. "Where is she?" She took her hat off and ran her fingers through her short dark hair and looked to where the diner owner was pointing.

Jody wasn't prepared for the sight before her as she looked over at the corner booth. The girl had her knees tucked into her chest, her feet resting on the cracked leather of the booth and a nail in her mouth. This child, in all reality, was a girl, who Jody guessed, to be around 15 years old.

Her features were hard to tell underneath all that grim covering her face. Her hair was so caked with mud that it was hard to tell what color it naturally was and her face was streaked with dirt. The girl was looking out the window, with the tip of her nail between her teeth. Jody could sense this girl's nervousness, so she decided to take things slow.

"Has she eaten anything?"

"No." Roger nervously looked over at the girl. "I...I didn't even think about..."

With a smile, Jody raised her hand to silence him. "Bring me two cups of coffee and one special." When Roger nodded his head, she turned away from him and walked over to the booth, trying to think of something to say, so the young and obviously scared girl wouldn't bolt. "Hi there." When she spoke, the girl turned her head and for the first time, Jodi saw the color of her eyes. Underneath all that muck, was a pair of dazzling, sapphire colored eyes. "Mind if I sit down?"

Jody pointed to the seat across from the girl and watched as her eyes widen in surprise. Her muscles were tight and her eyes flicked over to the door, and Jody knew she was looking for an escape route. Whatever happened to this girl, made her nervous.

The girl fixed her blue stare on, Jody and for a few heart beats, they stared at each other. Finally, the girl slowly nodded her head and returned her gaze back to the window.

Roger arrived at the table and sat the first cup of coffee in front of Jody, hesitated for a second, then sat the other cup in front of the girl. She didn't look at him as he sat the plate of food in the middle of the table.

The girl was trying so hard to ignore the woman who had sat across from her. She thought it was extremely rude that the woman just sat down, not that the girl would tell her. She was trying to ignore her surroundings, but the meaty aroma of bacon wafted into her nose, making her stomach growl.

How long had it been since she had eaten?

She ran away from that awful place she called home, a week ago. She had no idea how much time had passed. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember ever leaving. The only memory she had, was the blinding flash of headlights and the screech of tires on the asphalt, finding herself in the middle of the road.

How had she gotten there?

"I thought you might be hungry," the woman spoke, making the girl turn to look at her. She nervously flicked her bright blue eyes down to the plate of food, then back up at the woman, and was immediately met with a kind face and a soft voice, "Go ahead, take it."

The girl wanted to refuse, but the woman was being very kind to her : something she hadn't experienced in such a long time. So, with shaking hands, she grabbed the white plate and slid it toward her. She took the fork that the woman handed her and tucked into the eggs, bacon , and hash browns. She ate with ravenous hunger, stuffing the eggs and bacon into her mouth as fast as she could, fearing this would be the last meal for a long time.

After a few minutes, the girl looked up and noticed the woman was staring at her. She felt her cheeks grow hot as she carefully sat down her fork and looked down at her plate, feeling the food churn in her stomach.

"So, it's pretty late and the gal over at the child services doesn't like to be woken up," the Sheriff started slowly, "So why don't I take you some place safe, get you some clothes and a shower? How does that sound?"

The girl kept her eyes on the plate, feeling her emotions bubble underneath the surface. She had learned years ago that emotions got you in trouble ; act like a robot and everyone would leave you alone. But something about this woman seemed nostalgic to her, like she reminded the girl of her long lost mother.

Jody watched the young girl sitting across from her as she looked at her plate, pondering the question she just asked her.

What the hell had happened to this girl?

Underneath the dirt on her arms, Jody caught glimpses of scars along her forearm. Self inflicted? Or had something happened to her?

So many questions she wanted to ask this girl, but instincts told her that she had to take it slow.

The girl needed to earn her trust.

"The place that I'd like to take you is just a few miles from here," Jody started again, He's a friend, and it's safe there. But I've got my)cruiser, so you'd have to sit in the back." She watched the girl nervously look at the green and white car, seeing the fear flick across her face. "It's OK. You can trust me."

At the mention of trust, the girl turned her head and looked at Jody. A few minutes passed by, then she lightly nodded her head. Jody took out her money, sat it on the bill, raised her hand in thanks to Roger, and then escorted the girl to the car. When Jody opened the door to the backseat of her cruiser, the girl hesitated, but after a smile and a gentle nod from the Sheriff, the girl climbed inside the car.

From the back of the cruiser, the girl was quiet as she watched the scenery whiz past her. The woman lived on the outskirts of town, from bricks and asphalt, to dirt roads and corn fields.

This was foreign to her, or was it?

She tried to reach into the deeps depths of her memories, but she came up blank. Who was she? And where did she come from?

Did she even want to remember?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the car slowed down in front of a two-story farm house that seemed to sag under the weight of the roof. Sitting behind the house and around it, were several cars in different stages of disrepair. Parked near the house, was a black car, dust coating its frame and windows. The girl felt curiosity prick the back of her neck, sending chills along her spine.

After parking the cop car under the carport, Jody turned and faced the young girl who was sitting behind the metal cage. "These people are friends of mine, OK? You can trust them, just like you trust me. They want to help you."

The girl sat like a statue as she looked at the house, feeling the fear worm its way back inside of her. She hated feeling like this and wished she knew what it was like before all of this happened to her.

Not wanting to scare the girl, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, Jody asked softly, "Did you want to come inside?"

The girl shook her head, her dirt-streaked hair moving along her head. She ached for a warm shower, some clean clothes and a good sleep. She was afraid that if she went inside of that house, they would find out who she was. And for some reason, she didn't want to remember her life before she woke up alongside that road.

"That's okay," Jody said gently, and then pondered something. "Did you know that the back doors of cruisers and squad cars don't open from the backseat?"

The girl nodded her head with her eyes wide.

"I'll open the door for you and just leave it open. That way, if you change your mind, you can come into the house. I'll be right inside, but you have to promise me that you won't run. Can you do that for me?"

Once again, the girl nodded her head, and her eyes were like saucers.

Judging by the state that the girl was in: dirty and worn clothes, nervous and scared of everything, she probably wouldn't run, but Jody still said, "You're safe here. These are good people and they want to help. I'll be back as soon as I can."

The girl nodded her head. After the driver's side door was closed, the back door on the same side was opened, and she watched as the woman walked in front of the car, up the wooden steps to the porch and then inside of the house. Alone inside the car, she sat and looked at the house, seeing shadows pass in front of the closed curtains. She counted at least six different shapes, one belonging to the woman.

She wasn't sure how long she sat in the back of the cruiser, but the sun was rising hight over the house and the shadows began to vanish across the yard. Her fear was consuming her ,and she figured that she'd be safer inside of the house than instead of the car. . She pushed the ajar car door open and walked up to the house.

The door was unlocked, and she twisted it open, grimacing at the squeak of rusty hinges. Most of the voices were coming from the back of the house and the girl smelled the meaty aroma of something cooking on the stove as she stepped into the sad shape of a dusty living room.

Books covered every square inch of the room, cluttered on the sagging dining room table and stacked in every corner. The girl slowly walked over to a bookcase, running her finger along the wood, clearing a clean streak in the dust. The books were old, and she itched to her hands on one, craving to smell the musty smell that she loved about them.

"We have a huge selection," a boy's voice sounded behind her.

The girl jumped to see a boy standing in the threshold of the living room and what she assumed was a hallway. He was about her age, light brown hair, long and shaggy along his head. He was tall, stretching high in the door frame, but his face was softened into a smile. She backed herself tighter against the bookcase, her eyes darting around the room, trying to find an escape route.

The boy lifted his hands and slowly walked into the room. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to scare you." His voice was low and soft, hoping to calm the girl.

Her eyes were wide with fright, and they flicked around the room. Her hair was caked with mud and stuck to her face ,making him unable to truly see her features. Her blue sweater was torn along the shoulder, her jeans had a huge hole in both knees, and he could see the bloodied skin underneath.

"Jody wanted me to come see if you were still in the car." He smiled at her, but he didn't move any further into the room, letting her have her space. "I thought maybe you'd want to clean up."

That's when the girl noticed he was holding a towel in his hands and stacked on top of the towels was a pair of jeans, a red tee shirt, and a plastic bag filled with toiletries.

"Sam! What's the hold up!"

The girl flinched at the deep booming voice, and her eyes widened with fear as she saw the boy walk into the room. No, not boy, he was several years older than her, and his presence seemed to fill the room.

He was several inches shorter than the first boy, but his lean, muscular frame seemed to make him that much bigger. She instantly did not like him. Her fingers clawed along the bookcase as she slowly moved to the right, wondering how long it would take her to reach the front door.

Something about this newer boy made her body tremble with fear. Maybe it was the way his green eyes squinted at her as they raked over her filthy body. She had met several men like her and not once had the encounter been good.

As she looked at his face, she wondered where they had met before ; he seemed familiar to her somehow.

The younger boy, who the girl had gathered was Sam, turned back to the green-eyed man. "Dean," Sam said and raised his hands, halting the other man. When he stopped, Sam turned back to the girl.

"It's OK. He's my brother, Dean." He smiled at her and put his hand on his chest. "My name is Sam. What is yours?" He watched as the girl kept her gaze on Dean, seeing the fear in her blue eyes. "Hey, it's OK. Listen, I'll set these things on the chair over here, and then we're both gonna go back into the kitchen. The bathroom is right up those stairs." He pointed behind him where a set of stairs led to the upstairs part of the house. "Second door on the right. Take your time, OK?"

She kept her hands on the bookcase, watching the younger boy as he carefully walked over to the chair and sat the items on them. She then watched the older one as he stared at her, his green eyes dark.

Sam led his brother, Dean, out of the room, then, it was just her in the living room. The grandfather clock that sat in the corner, chimed the hour as she took the towel from the chair. The stairs creaked under her weight, and she paused, her body tense as she listened to hear if anyone was coming for her.

When everything was still quiet, she turned her head and looked up at the landing, the images of her under the warm spray urged her on as she climbed the rest of the stairs. She pushed open the third door on the right and stepped into the room.

For the size of the house, it was a pretty large bathroom. A claw foot tub sat in corner of the room, a blue shower curtain pushed open. She shut the door behind her and placed the towel on the wicker hamper.

She slid the mud caked jeans off of her hips and carefully placed them to the side of the hamper, her tee shirt, bra, and panties soon followed. She hugged her arms to her bare chest as she slowly made her way to the faucet, feeling the soreness creep in along her muscles.

She placed the stopper, turned on the faucet, poured some soap into the hot water and watched as it filled up, the bubbles popping and releasing their scent. She let out a small sigh as she dipped her toe into the water, grimacing as she slid her body down the ceramic and into the hot, sudsy water.

She placed her back on the back of the tub, letting the warmth and fragrance relax her tired and sore body.

Run! Lilly!

She sat up from the now lukewarm water, her chest heaving up and down as she struggled to know if the scream was just in her head or in real life.

Lilly.

The name bounced around in her head, and she whispered it in the quiet of the bathroom.

Her name was Lilly.

A light knock sounded on the other side of the door.

"Hey, I was wondering if you were OK?" The woman's voice, Sheriff Mills from what her tag had said, sounded concerned. "Do you need some help?"

"I...I'm f...fine."

The small voice surprised Jody and she wanted to exclaim with a happiness, but she knew she had to stay calm.

"OK, we..uh...are waiting for you downstairs if you want to talk." Jody felt silly talking to a wooden door, but she wanted the girl to act on her own. No matter how long it took, Jody was hoping to break through the thick wall that the girl seemed to have built around herself. She heard the squeak of the door handle and took a step back as it swung open. The girl that emerged from the other side, took her by surprise.

Her hair was towel dried and Jody could see how light it was, she would guess honey in color. Gone was the dirt from her face, and Jody could see light freckles that dotted her cheeks and nose. Her blue eyes were framed by thick, dark lashes and her lips were pink.

"My-my name is Lilly." Her voice was breathy as she kept her eyes to the floor.

Jody smiled at the girl as she extended her hand. "Lilly, my name is Jody. Now, why don't we come on downstairs and meet these friends of mine.