PROLOGUE

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by -BELLSROVER

by -BELLSROVER

000.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Maggie ran on the tips of her toes through the halls of the Ark, like she had mastered from the countless times she did so. Every so often, she'd receive a bewildered glare her way, but nobody ever seemed too concerned by it. After all, not many people even knew the name of the low-life girl. If the person happened to know her, it was undoubtedly not her that they could name, it was her even lower-life parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Gray were notorious for being alcoholics and addicted to drugs. In fact, they even forced Magnolia to do their dirty work, which was only the start of her bad stealing habit which made her a wanted criminal.

That wasn't even the beginning of Magnolia's parents' issues. The two had a daughter for the sole purpose of getting extra credits— the chancellor was a bit measly when it came to being generous with food in their minds.

So Maggie not only stole things for her parents, but she began taking rations for herself. As a matter of fact, that was how she had met her best friend and partner in crime, Raven Reyes. She was a tad older than Gray, but the two of them had a bond like no other— like the siblings that their parents quite literally couldn't have because of the one child rule that was enforced.

The girl panted when she got to the corridor where she stayed— it was a lengthy run. Plus, her mind was racing a mile a minute. Before proceeding to open the door, she stood there with her back leaning against it. Was she really about to do this?

Maggie knew deep-down she couldn't live like this anymore. Happiness rarely came for her, and life would be better if she didn't have to constantly look over her shoulder, making sure her parents wouldn't beat her or pull some kind of bullshit. She looked down at the waistband of her jeans; the outline of her stolen toxins were noticeable, but only to someone who was looking for it. This felt like the only way out for her. But could she actually pull the plug and have the moxie to do it?

There were days where Maggie hoped she'd get caught— get thrown into a cell or floated, even though she wasn't of age just yet. Anything that permanently kept her away from her parents seemed like an upgrade. But that feeling didn't overpower her, apparently, because she'd do anything in her power not to be seen. Perhaps the girl felt as if there was something better waiting out there for her. Or maybe she believed that her parents were just misguided— that they were truly good people deep down, even though she hadn't ever seen an ounce of that in all her life.

Fortunately both her of her parents were knocked out cold— perfect. Sometimes, Magnolia would make them dinner, but recently, it was just all a part of her plan to make things seem ordinary.

For Maggie, it felt as if everything was going as she intended it to, but she was so wrong. So painfully wrong.

Good girl "Clarke Griffin" had witnessed the child wandering through the corridors, and something about her demeanor just seemed off. Nobody else would notice such a thing, but it might've been the fact that they were both just fourteen-year-old teenagers. People that age can just— pick up on the smallest of nuances when it's one of their peers. Maybe the blonde even saw the stolen items that were stuffed into her pockets, but it didn't matter.

The Griffin family was privileged, living on Alpha station. Clarke was no imbecile, so if she thought there was foul-play going on, then guards would go wherever she told them— a quick point of a finger and then poof! They would be off.

Maggie was standing there, the bowl of soup simmering on the stove, and the toxic chemicals right at her finger tips. She chewed on the inside of her cheek— one of her nervous habits she had unknowingly picked up over the years.

Everything had happened so rapidly. One moment, her thought-out plan was a-go, and then the next, guards were swarming her home. The shouting was enough to wake up Maggie's parents, but they weren't necessarily surprised when a pair of handcuffs were around their teenager's wrists. Both of them knew damn well that Magnolia had been caught stealing, but they didn't know all of the details. Neither of them argued or told the men to let their daughter free, even though they'd be the ones hurting in the long run from it.

Maggie had tucked away the small bottle— it was amidst the stolen rations, which were what the guards originally accused her guilty of. It wasn't until her hearing that her attempt of murder was revealed. Perhaps she had a small chance of getting reevaluated at eighteen, but once that new finding was made known to most, she got sent to another cell— this time with no escape. She was getting floated, and there was no stopping that.

Magnolia had mixed feelings on the discovery becoming known to numerous people— would they consider her a monster? All the girl wanted for her entire life was to be loved, and now there seemed like no hope for that. It was just a countdown until her eighteenth birthday at this point. That was pretty much what she was waiting for.

Being in the new cell was terrible for multiple reasons, but the one positive was that Magnolia would most likely never have to deal with her parents again. She knew that if they came into contact, they'd beat her to death. It wouldn't be a quick death either— they'd make her suffer. Big time.

Saying Maggie was tough would be the understatement of the century— she was completely resilient. But the constant abuse stayed with her—it haunted her every day. She just wouldn't let anybody see it.

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a/n: alrighty! here we are— i'm so hype to finally upload this story that has been a work in progress for a while! i hope you enjoy it as much as i've absolutely adored writing and coming up with it!

also: i don't have a strict uploading schedule, so expect a chapter about twice a week. and if i can't upload two chapters that week, i will 100% let you guys know in my announcements. always check there if you're looking for updates of the book!

love and appreciate y'all

ally <3