• Carly sat in the back of the heavily armored and guarded SWAT van, the shackles that fastened her wrists to the bench too short for her to even scratch her neck. She was scared as she glanced around at the guards sitting around at a safe distance, their cold gazes making her tremble in fear before she heard the vehicle stop. The back door opened and the men filed out silently, the last one uncuffing her from the metal seat before leading her out roughly. Carly looked up and shivered at the sight of the building before her; A large stone building with high razor wire laced fences, guns on towers silently threatening her as she walked in terror, guards holding smaller weapons scowling down to her. "Oh... God..." she whimpered, knowing that this would be her home for many years, but better this than the federal prison.

    They took her to the main area where she was then asked to strip by a very kind looking woman, though the gun within her reach didn't look so inviting. After being searched for weapons, Carly then was handed a pair of black jeans and a dark blue dress shirt, putting them on in a sort of confused silence. The woman handed her a small stack of other jeans, three more dress shirts, four white men's tank tops with a soft apology. "We don't get many girls here, so it's only men's clothing." And five pale blue button down shirts that she guessed were for more casual wear. The shoes were a simple black boot, but they were comfortable to her. "Come now, we have to get you set up." the woman supplied gently and ushered her to an office.

    They sat across a desk from each other and began the long process of filling out paper work. "Alright honey, I'm Mrs. Jenkins, and I'm the female student's principal. You are going to be with us until you get your degree and we can assess that you are going to be a constructive member of the society. Your room is doom ten on the right upper wing, and your room mate is Joanna Kellner. You are to report for your first class at nine tomorrow morning in Mr. Darnell's classroom. Your schedule is on your bed, and you will be helped around by upper-class men. Any questions?" Mrs. Jenkins asked finally.

    Carly shook her head and stood, a bit shocked when she was simply waved out and allowed to roam freely. She had been in the system for five months and she had never been allowed to go anywhere without someone watching like a hawk. As she walked down the tile halls, a boy stepped out and looked at her, his brown eyes lingering on her gentle blonde curls and bright green eyes. "Well well.. Looks like we got us a new chick... Hey girly, I'm Kevin, wanna have a bit of fun?" He asked a few other boys walking out to block her in.

    As she backed up against a wall, the young adult began to tremble in fear. "Please.... I don't want any trouble.." and flinched at a second boy's laugh. "Kev, looks like she ain't got a back bone! She's a wimp, man!" and the others seemed to grin more as she cornered herself against the wall.

    Just when they were almost within reach of her, a girl with long dark brown hair pulled up into a pony tail came and gave the Kevin boy a good solid blow to his gut, bending him over and the others paling. "Hey! Leave the new girl alone, or I will remind you all why I am here." She demanded and saw them rush off, then turned to face the cornered female. "Hey, you okay? What dorm you got?" She asked Carly, her dark brown eyes gentle as she helped to collect some of the fallen clothing.

    Carly looked at the girl, seeing the short but stocky build, her stubborn chin, expressive eyes, slightly tanned skin, and very masculine attitude. The way she wore her clothing was even boyish, the white ribbed tank top completely visible over the white sports bra, her jeans a bit baggy, and the dark blue shirt completely untucked and unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. "U-umm... D-dorm ten?" She replied nervously, then saw the girl grin. "You got my dorm then. Come on, I'll get you settled in. I'm your roomie, Joanna. Call me Jo." she said and gave a dramatic sweep of her hands to indicate their surroundings. "And welcome, to HELL!!! HAHAHAHA!!!" She said in a loudly mock sinister voice, before laughing at her own joke. "Lighten up kid. You're gonna be here a while, so you just gotta take things in stride. Laugh, it's all you got before going nuts here."

    Carly smiled and began to follow the girl, enjoying the explanations of the places they passed until they got to the girl's dorms. "Okay, you got the left bed Carly, and your things go in the tiny dresser by the bed. You do good, you actually get things here. You do bad, they throw you in the Pit and you can hang out in the darkness for one hour to seven days. Not fun. Oh, and welcome to Iron Castle Academy. And trust me when I say, you will be begging to see your old bullies again after two days." Jo told her finally, flopping down on the double bed on the right side of the room, picking up a book and reading it as Carly took in the actual meaning. That this was a pretty prison, like a military reform school, but much more deadly. All these kids were criminals, herself included, and in this school even though they dressed much like an actual academy student, they were still in a jail of sorts. One that would mesh all the dangers of prison with all of the daily issues of high school. Great.... why the hell didn't I choose prison? Carly thought bitterly.