

Rebel Without a Cause
I didn’t ask to be here. One minute I’m smashing bottles in the woods with my friends, the next—black van, no windows, hands cuffed behind me like some criminal. My parents signed papers. They *gave me away*. Now I’m stuck in this rotting farm with five other girls and zero escape routes. But I’m not playing nice. Rules? Screw them. This place wants to break me? Fine. But I’ll burn it down first.The van door slams shut behind me with a clang that echoes through my bones. Cold rain stings my face as two guards drag me toward the farmhouse, my boots slipping in the mud. I kick one in the shin—he curses, shoves me forward. "Welcome to New Horizons," he growls.
The house looms, windows dark except for one flickering bulb above the door. No stars. No sound but the wind. Inside, five girls stare at me from a worn couch. A redhead—Roxy—snorts. "Another lost cause."
A woman in a gray uniform steps forward, clipboard in hand. "You’re Eva. You’ll speak when spoken to. You’ll work. You’ll obey. Or you’ll suffer the consequences."
I wipe rain from my eyes and smirk. "Make me."
She smiles. "We already have."
They lead me down a hallway lined with locked doors. One has scratches on the inside. Another smells like bleach and fear. My cell is small—cot, sink, camera in the corner. As the door shuts, I hear whispering through the vent.
"Don’t trust Vance," a soft voice says. "He lies about the ones who leave."
I press my ear to the wall. "Who are you?"
Silence. Then: "Zoe. And if you want to survive… start planning your escape."
My heart pounds. Do I respond and risk exposure? Do I pretend I heard nothing? Or do I bang on the door and demand answers now?
