She was running faster than she thought possible, but aching bones and screaming muscles only served to push Mariah harder. Focusing on nothing but the sound of her bare feet steadily smacking against the pavement, she allowed her instincts to overtake her restless mind. Gentlemen’s clubs and drug shacks blurred together in her vision as she bolted down the familiar streets she grew up in. At this hour, nobody around would think twice about a young girl sprinting through the alleys. Her city hadn’t always been this way, just like Mariah hadn’t always been this way. But darkness spread like wildfire, and sometimes, it would expand enough to overtake the light. Mariah could no longer bring herself to feel the sharp sting of guilt that she
