A New Life | A New Plan

Her world was lit on fire.

Harley Hunter. Abducted. Escaped, sad memories. Now, I know I notified you about who Harley is. One of the rare kids who escaped from one of the world's most confidential government faculties. Sorry, I never informed you how Harley and her friends got into a government facility in the first place. You may have many questions about what the L.O.P wants to accomplish. What the code L.O.P even stands for?

Furthermore, I'll initiate this story from the beginning. I will let you answer these questions yourself—Harley's dawn of an impressive, quite twisted start.

Today was the day, yay! (Note the added sarcasm). Harley was being moved to an available orphanage. Exactly a week ago, Harley had lost her parents to a fire. If you were to ask Harley how she remembers the event. The ability to quickly describe the tragedy as something she wishes she would never have to go through again.

A fear of fire was obtained from that tragic event. Harley can remember how the smoke filled her lungs, her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes closed with the light of fires falling around her. Just a memory brings back the pain of that day. Although, Harley was more intelligent than regular kids. Being at the age of fifteen and already graduated. Harley was now fourteen years of age, and by law, she could not take care of herself independently. Her only additional family, her aunt Sue Strong, and her husband had also passed away. No relatives were able to become her guardians for her since the now-called "Hunter fire tragedy."

Now Harley is heading toward some "glamorous" orphanage someplace in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of New Jersey. "I will be treated like Annie, but I will never end in such a good position as she did. Just stating facts," Harley aims her irritation toward the driver who has been trying to ignore her the entire ride (note the keyword TRY). "Shut up already, kid!"

I mean not going to lie. Who would want to end up in an orphanage? And out of all the orphanages she could end up in, it just had to be one where kids were fading away like ghosts—still freaked out about that scary-old orphanage because they won't shut it down.

When the transport ended, Harley knew she had arrived at an available orphanage to take in a new kid. Harley grumbled to herself when she saw the orphanage. Lamentably, that one attainable orphanage just happened to be The Harvey Loved Children's Orphanage; she would have to waste most of her existence. But, Harley already had plans to run away rather than spend her life at that orphanage knowing she wouldn't get adopted due to others thinking she started the fire. that she would be a "trouble child." Afterall, that's what people began calling her; if she were to get adopted, it would be into a crooked, messed-up family. Either way, she didn't want to live the rest of her life in pain.

Harley tried to run once the person had driven her to the orphanage, opened the door she endeavored to do, and noted the word "tried." Unfortunately, the vehicle driver caught Harley right before she could race her existence straight out of the thresholds of the broken-down orphanage. Harley lingered for approximately three minutes for a pretty unusual woman to arrive; she was stocky and had some unique glasses; she reminisced of a more repulsive version of the obnoxious principle in Matilda.

The lady's name was Mrs. Averno when she spoke. As she told Harley, she had a raspy voice, more of a demand to "follow her." Mrs. Arverno gave Harley a tour of the institution, which was more corrupt than she assumed. Even Annie cannot express this. After the course, she gave Harley the restrictions. As if Harley was going to listen to the limits without sensible reason toward it. Harley was questioning some of the rules in her mind. Why can't we leave the orphanages' double doors? Why can't they go to the bedrooms for some water at night, let alone never be fully awake?

At the end of the tour, Mrs. Averno escorts Harley to her appointed room number. Room number 107. Harley then withdrew to bed. The following day Harley then prepared her getaway. Harley will never know when she may be able to put those plans into action, but as Harley remembers her father's words, "Always have a backup. That way, there is no use to being sorry in the end."

Harley stirred up to a bell ringing in the orphanage. This was Harley's new wake-up signal. Harley had to agree it was better than her parents jumping into her room and banging their cooking pans together. Harley missed her parents, wishing to have them yell over the dumbest things again, for her mother to be sarcastic towards her father, and to miss the regular daily things. Like when her father accidentally got locked in their greenhouse's cleaning closet, where he had been stuck for three hours. Instead, Harley decided that if it were not an accident because she knew she hadn't started the fire, and she could swear that while her eyes were shutting from the smoke, she saw a man dressed entirely in black. Harley would do everything in her "power" to figure it out herself if the police enforcement wouldn't believe her. Harley got out of bed, wondering what plays ahead for her life...after she ran away.

Harley planned to try and get out of the run-down orphanage in three to four days (it didn't go to her idea). After getting directions, Harley was on the way to her first and most-hated class, math number 106. There she noticed that there were no cameras in the hallways. Despite all the kidnappings, they didn't have cameras, which is pretty suspicious to Harley if you'd ask. Maybe they couldn't afford cameras. The only thing about the orphanage is that they had education...but stupid teachers. After Harley's math class, she went to the next class on her list, class 102, history. Her parents taught her everything they could remember about history. Important history that Harley would one day understand why it was so important.

Since Harley had to learn where all of her classes were, she knew where everything was in a matter of two days tops. Harley had noticed during her two days that this orphanage had something wrong with it than just kidnapping. She felt like there was...something up. Harley saw that the teachers would leave the classrooms entirely and lock every door as soon as the time hit precisely midnight. By exactly midnight, as one teacher or staff would stand outside every door, then once it struck midnight, you could hear complete in synch the locks of the doors clicking closed. And the kids seemed as if they were brain-washed, as they lay on their beds there like it was natural with their eyes fully open, all of them lying on their backs staring up at the ceilings. Harley turned to her friend Roxanne Hack. A girl who was known as the orphanage's "sarcasm major." Roxanne had light-brown hair and pleasant blue crystal eyes. Harley and Roxanne became instantaneous friends with the same plan. Get out of the awful orphanage.

"Why do they do this every night? To be specific, every midnight. Isn't it too much? We all know they have enough money to buy cameras. Why don't health inspectors or building inspectors ever come to check out the orphanage? It's driving me insane!" Harley asked with much questionable thought.

"The truth is when people talk about Harvey's Loved Children's Orphanage, they think of ghosts and sorts. But what happens every night is a kid gets kidnapped—every single night. Not one night goes by where a kid disappears out of thin air. At least that's what I think." Roxanne continued, "Every midnight, kids are scared to sleep. The adults say, 'don't worry.' Well, news flash, they are Dirty Liars."

A loud creak caught the dorm's attention as they turned to the most prominent window on the triangle-shaped ceiling. As Roxanne said with a final, "It's life in the orphanage. No one ever comes to adopt. You either disappear without a trace and are never seen again."

Kids and teenagers started flooding out into the hallways. Morning is here, whereas Harley decided to continue her conversation with Roxanne last night.

"Here's the issue: the staff and the teachers' way of doing things make no difference. They don't check to ensure no kids are missing from their dorms when it hits midnight. They lock out and never let in whoever is not inside the dorms. I believe they don't seem to care that kids are missing even though they know it."

"That's why my brother and I are helping you with your plan to get out tonight. So you think that this orphanage is helping kidnap kids? Like if they are, what does that get them?"

"Nothing talks more than money and power. In this case, it's the money. How does a broken-down orphanage have enough staff and many teachers if they can't pay them? How can they feed a bunch of orphans every breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Who would want to stay up until midnight to lock a door? What teachers do that? Why don't they pay for cameras if they have enough money for that many people to cover every door? It's money. The world lives off of money, but how else would they get that money exceeds me."

"Finally, I understand your weird logic. Yeah, money makes it far, but who would want orphans...?"

"That I don't know. It's got to be something different than that because apparently, when I searched up on the court's computer...which I wasn't allowed to do. I found absolutely nothing about this orphanage. I looked up the address and got nothing. I looked up the name I got nothing. It's like it doesn't exist. But only those living in the area know about this place. Some or something is hiding the fact that this place exists, most likely for their doing."

"Once again. Makes a lot of sense. Also, that's really...creepy."

After being called out of the single file to get to the cafeteria, Harley and Roxanne knew they shouldn't be seen together, especially not wanting to be seen as friends by the staff or the teachers, in case they would be the next disappearing and not on their accord but something else's accord.

"I will see you tonight."

"Got it. Let your brother know what I said."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye, and be safe, you guys."

After a hard day of work, night came. Their plan was to be set in motion. Harley Hunter, Roxanne Hack, and Preston Hack never knew what was coming, but not everything was going to plan.