"Beat it, bitch. I'm working and don't need any of your bullshit," Juju said nonchalantly.

"Ha! You're fuckin' kiddin' me, right? You think you gonna get away with the shit ya pulled on us a couple of weeks ago? Nah, that ain't gonna happen," Legacy told her.

Juju finished her sale and turned to face Legacy. "Look, it was nothing personal. You ganged up on my friend, and I was just levelin' the playin' field. Two against one ain't so fair. Ya know what I'm saying," Juju said, sizing up both girls.

"Yeah, but ya know, that ain't how me and Froggie see it. You ambushed us, took us by surprise. We don't like no surprises. You feelin' me?" Legacy asked with unnatural calm.

Juju started to back away. Legacy's posture signaled that something bad was about to happen. Just as Juju started to go into her stance, she backed into two overgrown men. Juju spun around, taking in their size, and dread washed over her. She looked around for someone she could call on to help, but no one was there. One of the men seized her shoulders. She tried to pull away, but he was too strong. She looked into his face to try to talk her way out of it, but words escaped her as she became blinded with fear.

"What? You ain't got nothin' to say now? You were a real big ass when ya assaulted us, but now ya can't do nothin'. Now it's your turn to see what it feels like to be surprise attacked," Froggie rambled in her raspy voice.

Legacy struck the first blow to the side of Juju's face. The two girls took turns hitting her while Shrek I and Shrek II kept her from getting loose. When the girls were finished letting off steam, they turned to the Shrek twins. "You know what to do now," Legacy commanded.

One of the men put out his hand, and Froggie laid a one hundred dollar bill on his palm. Juju was beaten and sobbing, her head hanging. Legacy bent down and looked up into Juju's face. "You real ugly when you cry, bitch. You better cut it out before the boys here decide to kill ya after takin' what they want from ya," she tormented.

Juju didn't have it in her to beg. She had never begged for anything in her life, and she didn't plan to start now. Instead, Juju pulled strength from deep within and spit in Legacy's face. "Fuck you," Juju said breathlessly.

Legacy wiped the spit with her hand and swiped it across Juju's shirt, "No, baby, it's fuck you. Enjoy it now," she sang and walked off with Froggie.

The two Shrek's pulled Juju to her feet. "We gonna have a real good time tonight. Don't worry," the smellier one promised.

Chapter Seventy-Four.

The men shuffled Juju along to a condemned house on the next block. One of them kicked in the plywood covering the back door. Once inside, they turned on a flashlight and pulled Juju into what looked like an old living room. In the middle of the floor was a dusty, old rug, "Put her over there," said the man with the flashlight.

The other man, whose grip was like a vise on her arm, walked her over and pulled her arms behind her back. Before she knew it, a rope was tied around her wrists. One of the men forced her down onto the carpet. Crazy thoughts ran through her head...they were going to shoot her, slit her throat, burn the house down with her in it. Her chilling thoughts were endless and scared her more than she wanted to admit.

She felt herself sliding across the floor as one of the men pulled the rug to the other side of the room. Then, her legs were forced apart and tied to a radiator. She was lying on her back, and now, as the reality of what they might do to her began to seep into her brain, she started to panic. The sound and feel of her clothes being torn from her body made her blood run cold.

When she finally dared to open her eyes, the two men were standing over her. One was already naked from the waist down. He hovered over her for an extended period before he straddled her torso and finally sat his big, fat ass on her abdomen. He began to pull on her nipples while the other one talked.

"Here's how it's gonna happen. We're gonna get what we want from you. If you act nice, we'll let ya live. But if ya act like you don't want us, we gonna kill ya. Now, when we finished playin' wit' cha, you ain't never gonna bother Legacy or Froggie again. You understand?"

"Yes," Juju managed. "Please, you don't have to do this. I'm gay, all right?"

"Oh, well, that's very special. You gay! Well, tonight you straight, and tomorrow you can be gay," he told her, laughing.

The man sitting on Juju's abdomen reached behind him and shoved his fingers into her vagina. Her attempts to free herself only enhanced the sexual experience for the two men. When they finished raping her, the men left her lying on the floor without a saying word.

Juju lay still, shocked and traumatized, unable to move a muscle. The only thing she was capable of doing was willing Maggie to find her.

It was midnight when one of the other drug pushers found Maggie and told her about Juju. "Yeah, they took her into an abandoned house. They came out, but she didn't. Do you want me to show you where?" he asked.

Maggie ran at top speed to the house where they'd left Juju. She crept around to the back of the house and, seeing the opening, she entered. Maggie moved through the darkness until finally the boy who was with her struck his lighter. They moved slowly until they came upon Juju.

Maggie rushed over to her friend and put her head on her chest to listen for a heartbeat. "Juju, it's Maggie, I'm here. You're going to be OK," she assured her. They untied the ropes that bound Juju, and the two of them helped her out of the house.

Once they were in Juju's apartment, Maggie turned and hugged the boy who had helped her. "Thanks," she told him and softly closed the door.

Turning her attention back to Juju, she helped her into a loose T-shirt and got her into bed. Maggie slid under the sheets with her friend. She held Juju tightly and stroked her hair. After a few hours without any response from Juju, Maggie got out of bed. She rolled up a towel and placed it under Juju's knees to elevate her legs. She had read that it enhanced blood flow to the brain for people who are in shock.

Maggie carried a pot filled with water and ice cubes over to the mattress. She grabbed a T-shirt from the closet, soaked it, and then began to run the wet shirt over Juju's face. She massaged her temples and finally, she forced Juju to take small sips of water. After what seemed like an eternity, Juju began to respond. She was blinking at a normal pace and turned her head to make eye contact with Maggie.

Tears streamed down Juju's face. "It was horrible."

"I know it was. But you're going to be OK. You need to give yourself time. You're going to heal from this," Maggie promised.

"I was a virgin. I messed around with a couple of girls before, but I never had sex," Juju wailed.

"I'm so sorry, Juju. The price you paid to defend me was too high."

Juju closed her eyes and embraced the clutches of sleep that comes from pure mental and physical exhaustion. Right before she dozed off, she mumbled, "I would do anything for you, Maggie."

Maggie kissed Juju's cheek and climbed into bed next to her. Tomorrow, we will start over again, Maggie told herself.

Chapter Seventy-Five.

In the months following Juju's rape, Maggie spent hours trying to help her overcome the mental anguish of the assault. It made Maggie wonder how she, herself, was able to cope with being violated at such a young age. She knew that her abduction had tainted her view of the world, and after months of trying to talk Juju off the ledge, she finally opened up and confided in detail about her own experiences.

Juju had heard bits and pieces of Maggie's story, but now she heard the whole, horrible truth. Maggie shared things with Juju that she never thought she'd tell anyone. To hear of the ongoing horror Maggie and Seth had endured gave Juju strength and put her own circumstances into perspective. Juju never realized how bitterly awful Maggie's life had been. As Maggie recounted the past five years of her life, it was simply devastating. But it was this intimate information that made Juju feel as though someone understood the depth of her own despair.

Over the next month, Juju slowly came out of her funk. The experience would change her forever, but she was well on the road to recovery. With the worst behind them, the two girls fell back into their "normal" routine.

Maggie's own situation at the house of whores had become more tolerable. With young girls coming in and older girls moving out, she found her place among them. A few of the new girls even looked up to Maggie. She was pretty, smart, and carried herself differently than the other prostitutes did. Maggie still had that special something about her, and as she came into her own, a certain charm and sophistication prevailed. As time went on, Armando allowed her to take more liberties. He even let her sleep at Juju's every now and again, but only after dropping off her nightly earnings.

On the flip side, Seth seemed to be sinking into a deeper, darker state of mind. Seth had violent thoughts about Thelma, which he shared with them when they met him before school. He began to talk more openly about the abuse Thelma laid upon him. Thelma either treated him like an animal or she completely neglected him. Seth talked about running away, but Maggie knew the risk was far too great. He wasn't old enough to make it on his own, and if Rock caught him, he'd kill him for sure. Maggie wondered if there was a way she could find Seth's parents. He was still young enough to be reunited with his family, although he didn't remember his parents. But if she could locate them, maybe they could get him out of his ruined life.

Maggie spent hours at the library looking through all of the Philadelphia newspapers, starting on the day she and Seth met in the back of John William's van. There was nothing on Seth. She searched the whole year he was kidnapped. Again, nothing was reported. It was as if Seth never existed. She thought that was odd, since she was able to find her own story so easily. Finally, letting go of the possibility that Seth could return home, she turned her attention to another idea: maybe she could convince Rock to allow Seth to live with Juju. After all, Seth was unwittingly a drug runner for Rock. He wasn't a pusher on the streets, but he did provide a valuable service to Rock.

Shortly after Maggie's sixteenth birthday, Seth's situation became desperate. The girls met up with him on his way to school. Seth was holding his right arm up with his left hand and walking very slowly. The girls rushed to him, and their mouths dropped open when they spotted the arm he was holding. It was broken three inches above his wrist, making his hand sit higher than the forearm.

"Seth! What happened, sweetie?" Maggie asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide the alarm in her voice.

"Thelma caught me stealing food from the trash can in the kitchen. She said I'm a thief and a sneak. She told me I had to be punished. Then she made me put my hand on the counter and she whacked my arm with a baseball bat. It hurts so much, Aggie." He cried in her arms like a newborn baby.

"I know it does. But don't worry; we're going to get you taken care of," Maggie assured him. Juju hadn't moved. Her eyes were locked on the mangled arm. "Juju, I need you to go find Rock. Fast!" Maggie commanded.

"What? Sure," she said, coming to her senses. She ran down the street in the other direction.

Maggie helped Seth sit on the sidewalk under the shade of an old tree. She wanted to hold Seth, but was afraid she'd hurt him more. Instead, she rubbed his small back with the palm of her hand. "Everything will be OK," she said in a calming voice. "Things are going to change. I promise."

Seth looked up at her, his face displaying nothing but sadness and defeat. "I hope so, Aggie. Thelma keeps sayin' she's gonna kill me someday." He paused and swallowed loudly enough for Maggie to hear him gulp. "I think she is going to kill me. She's the meanest person ever. Even meaner than John William."

In that moment, Maggie wished she possessed magical powers so she could wipe Thelma off the face of the earth. To get Seth's mind off his pain, Maggie reminded him about Harold and the Purple Crayon. "If you could create everything you ever wanted, what would you draw?"

"I would draw me living with you somewhere safe. We could play games and eat," he said.

Maggie thought about how simple it was for Seth to define happiness. Safety, love, and food were all he wanted. Not too much to ask. Most kids his age wanted things, but all he wanted was stability. His idea of getting everything he wanted had nothing to do with desires but rather, with the purest basic human needs.

As Maggie reflected on Seth's wishes, Rock pulled up next to the curb with Juju in the passenger seat. He got out of his car like a slug and walked over to them. "What's all the fuss about?" he asked, eyeing Seth's arm.

Maggie had already decided to take the high road. Pissing Rock off wouldn't get Seth the immediate help he needed. "Well, we need to get Seth to a doctor. As you can see," she said, pointing at his wrist, "his arm is broken."

"What did you do now, boy? Man, you're a pain in the ass," he hissed at Seth.

Seth remained silent, his fear of Rock transparent.

"Come on, Rock. You know Seth didn't break his own arm. He needs help," Maggie persisted, wanting to relieve the child of his suffering. "Besides, if he goes into school like this, they will send him to the hospital. The doctor will call protective services. Then, they'd go out to your house, and you could get in a lot of trouble. I mean, it's not like you have adoption papers for Seth or anything. You'd have to explain why he's living with you. They'd want to question Thelma, too." Maggie knew that he paid off the principal at Seth's school, but she was gambling that he wasn't paying off anyone at the local hospital.

"Oh, yeah? How do ya know all this stuff?" Rock asked, intrigued that she would consider the outcome.

"Because I read. There are all kinds of things in the newspaper. The point is, Seth needs to go to a doctor."

"Yeah, I have a fella. He's a doctor. He helps when I need him. We can take the pain-in-the-ass there; see if he can fix him up," he yammered.

Maggie spoke with urgency. "We need to get him there now, Rock."

"OK, get him in the car. You're coming too," he said, looking at both girls.

Maggie sat in the backseat with Seth lying across her lap. Forty-five minutes later, they pulled into a long gravel driveway, and Rock parked the car. As they walked to the front door of the house, Maggie noticed that trees surrounded them. The last house she'd seen was more than a mile down the road. Definitely not in the city anymore, she thought.

The two girls helped Seth into the house. Maggie didn't know what to expect, but it was a very normal, well-kept, two-story house, not much different from the house in which she'd lived with her parents. Rock's friend, George Percy, who was referred to as Dr. Purse on the streets because of all the money he had, led them to a bedroom on the first floor.

"What's your name?" Dr. Purse asked, bending down to talk to the boy.

"Seth," he whimpered.

"Nice to meet you, Seth. My name is Dr. Purse. Seth, I'm going to get your arm all fixed up. You'll be better before you know it," he said in a voice that gave Seth comfort. "Let's get you up on the table," he instructed as he pulled over a step stool.

Seth climbed up on the stool with help from Maggie and sat on the edge of the gurney. Maggie looked around the room, which had been turned into a mini trauma center. Dr. Purse, who had worked in private practice for many years, ran a business out of this house that catered to pimps from the surrounding area. Dr. Purse had convinced himself that he was doing something good for mankind by helping people who needed him the most, but the vast amount of cash he made treating his patients also gave him a very comfortable lifestyle. George Percy lived in a two-million-dollar house in a ritzy neighborhood in Villanova, Pennsylvania with his wife and five children.

Maggie and Juju shared a look of relief as Dr. Purse talked to Seth in a reassuring voice. He left them in the room, and when he returned, his nurse, a thin, pretty woman was following him. After the nurse cut Seth's shirt away, Dr. Purse looked at the fracture carefully. Looking up at his nurse, he said, "It's obviously broken. Let's get an x-ray and we'll take it from there. Let me give this little guy something for the pain." It took only seconds for Seth to ease into la-la land after Dr. Purse gave him an injection.

The nurse turned to Maggie and Juju. "Do you want to help me?" she asked, her smile lighting up her face.

Maggie and Juju nodded and stepped to either side of the gurney to help. They both silently wondered where they were going as they passed several closed doors. At the end of the hallway, which ran the entire length of the house, the nurse opened a door, revealing a stark white room with a large x-ray machine in it.

It took a couple of hours for Dr. Purse to do his magic, setting the bones just right, and then the three of them left the house with a groggy Seth wearing a hard cast on his arm.

As they drove back to Kensington, they were all silent. Seth slept peacefully. After twenty minutes, Maggie finally asked the question that was burning inside her. "Rock, Seth really isn't good for Thelma. I mean, this time it was only a broken arm, but you never know what she'll do to him next time. Seth knows Thelma hates him. Thelma told Seth she was going to kill him someday. I was thinking maybe he could move in with Juju. He could still work for you. At least you'll know that he'll stay alive, and he is good for your business. No one would ever suspect a kid." She held her breath.

Rock pulled over to the side of the road and came to a screeching halt. "Bitch! Have you lost your damn mind? That boy belongs to Thelma," he growled. "Ya ain't got no right tellin' me what I oughta do!"

"Sorry, Rock. It was just an idea," Maggie said, hoping he would drop it.

Juju chimed in, picking up the slack and trying to divert Rock's annoyance onto herself. "I don't know, Rock. Sounds like it could be very profitable for you. Seth will be out of commission for a week or so. At least with me, you won't have to worry about this kind of shit."

Rock stared at Juju, and she watched him until she saw his face soften.

"I'll think about it. Now shut the fuck up," he mumbled, turning the volume up on the radio.

Chapter Seventy-Six.

A week later, Rock found Maggie working on Kensington Avenue. He rolled down the window of his car and glared at her. "Get in!"

Maggie's heart seized. She wondered if she was in trouble for something. She quickly got into the front passenger seat.

"I thought about what you said about Seth. I think ya might be onto something. So here's what we're gonna do. I'm taking you out to one of those houses, like the one you lived in with Seth. We're gonna take a look at some of the kids, and you're gonna pick out a kid for Thelma to replace Seth," he said, a smile forming on his lips.

"But...but...Rock, why does Thelma need another kid-"

"If you want Seth to live with Juju, that's what ya gotta do. Besides, I need to make sure to keep my business a secret. So the way I see it, if you do the pickin', that makes you as guilty as me. I consider it insurance," he explained cynically.

Rock had realized that by letting Seth live with Juju, which was no problem with Thelma because she hated the kid, he would lose leverage with Maggie. He needed to ensure that Maggie was in the game. Otherwise, she could easily take the boy and run.

Maggie hesitated for a brief moment. If she did what Rock wanted, Seth would have a chance at a better life. But in the process of saving Seth, she would be putting another child in danger.

"This ain't rocket science, girl. Ya either want to help your little friend or ya don't. Besides, Thelma wants a girl this time. The choice is yours. I'll give ya 'til tomorrow to decide. Come find me before noon. Now get your ass outta my car and get back to work," he said coldly.

Back on the street, Maggie staggered around in a daze, forgetting she was supposed to be working. The dilemma of saving Seth's life at the cost of another child's was staggering. She couldn't wrap her mind around having to make such a horrible decision. Finally, after a few hours of self-torture, she went looking for Juju. When she found her, Maggie broke down into tears.

"What's wrong?" Juju asked, worried.

Maggie explained the proposition Rock had offered. "How can I make this decision? If I choose to leave Seth there, Thelma will eventually kill him. But if I pick another kid for her to destroy, then it will be my fault. Rock said it would make me part of his disgusting business. I don't know what I'm supposed to do," she wailed, throwing herself into Juju's arms.