Thick, black smoke billowed high into the summer night's air. Merciless flames ate at the small apartment complex at the corner of Center Street in downtown Manhattan, New York, started by a single overturned candle in an upstairs room. The smoke nagged at five year old Michelle Johnson's nose and throat filling them with the black killer.

"Michelle? Michelle where are you?" Her mother's voice pierced through the hazy cloud of smoke and was relief to the frightened child's ears. Getting up she ran towards her mother's voice, choking on the smoke as she did. The fumes stung at her eyes and gripped her throat. Finding it easier she got down on her hands and knees and crawled towards the kitchen. "Michelle?" Her mother's voice sounded more desperate and anxious with every passing second. She could hear her father in the background urging with her resistant mother to leave. She eventually felt her way to the kitchen and flung her arms around her mother. She had hardly opened her mouth to speak when the flames began to enclose around them. Anne Johnson grabbed her only daughter in her arms and ran towards the door. She screamed in pain as she grabbed the red-hot doorknob, burning her hand badly.

Screams from the hallways and the street echoed back to Michelle's ears. Anne turned and ran back towards the only window in the kitchen and first placed Michelle through the window, making sure that she got down safely. Anne watched as her daughter safely made it to the street and started to climb out of the window. Suddenly a loud snap and the sound of wood splitting began to come from the complex's foundation.

"Mommy!" Michelle screamed as she tried to wiggle free of a fireman's grip on her. Glass began to shatter as the building struggled to remain standing. Michelle held her breath in horror, her eyes locked upon the building and unblinking. The world seemed to stop in that fateful moment, the moment the building was standing and the moment it wasn't. The moment when all the screams of the people inside were quieted into a deadly silence. The moment when all that Michelle knew vanished into the smoke and flames. The moment that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

The early streets of New York flourished with people as they made their way to work and the younger kids made their way to school. Penny eyed the crowd as she stood off to one side in an alleyway. The sixteen-year-old pickpocket with wavy copper colored hair, which gave her her nickname, too was now at work.

"Mother of four found dead in guttar!" Penny turned her attention to the Newsie who was across the street. She smiled to herself as a man in a gray suit and shinned shoes bought a paper from the boy, handing him a penny for the pape, which the boy stuck in his pocket. It was now time to go to work. She quickly ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it out as best she could and walked over towards the boy. She walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder at one of the papes. "Dead cat found in guttar, four kittens left to starve…interesting." The sandy haired boy whipped around to look at the girl behind him.

"Hey, don't be sayin' that kind of stuff out loud. Its bad for business." Penny laughed lightly and flashed a flirtatious smile at him. "Who would want to read that story anyways?" The boy's blue eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "That's the whole point. No one wants to read those stories so I make them sound more interesting, so people will wanna read them."

Penny looked at the boy for a moment. He stood 3 inches shorter than her and had ear length sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a pair of brown pants that were too short for him and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up a quarter of the way up his arm. Penny smiled again at him and started to walk away. "Well have fun sellin" The boy watched Penny walk off and yelled out to her. "Hey! Aren't ya even going ta tell me your name?" Penny kept walking but yelled back "Penny…that's all you need know" The boy smiled and shook his head and went back to selling.

A few minutes later he began to notice how much lighter his once heavy pocket felt and reaching into it he found it empty. His blue eyes now were wide with rage and he angrily looked about for the girl who called herself Penny. She was easy to spot within the crowd, her red locks standing out against everyone else. He began to push his way through the crowd towards her, but was having some difficulty. "Hey you!" He yelled in Penny's direction, "stop!" Penny looked around and spotted the boy, her face draining in color when she also noticed the Police man standing not ten feet away from him. The boy, too, spotted the Bull and began screaming at the top of his lungs while pointing straight at Penny. "Thief! Thief!" The Bull's whistle sounded and two others appeared from around a corner.

Penny stood there frozen for a moment in fear. She then began to run, pushing through people who got in her way. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, but the Bulls continued to gain speed and distance. Panicking she ducked into an alleyway, that too her horror gave way into a dead end. She was trapped. Rain had begun to fall, splattering against the tin roofs of the houses around her and drenching her clothes. She hid within the shadows, trying to catch her breath and praying that she wouldn't be seen. She held her breath as the footsteps drew nearer…and nearer…and nearer. She pressed her back firmly against the brick wall, quivering in fear. "I know I saw her come down this way." One of the policemen whispers. "She couldn't have gotten very far." Another replies. After a few minutes they begin to give up. "Come on, lets get out of here. I'm getting soaked." A shakey breath slipped past her lips as she watched them leave, when suddenly one stopped. "Did you hear that?" The others paused as well and listened. "Yeah I did." Another replied. Penny froze in fear and barely moved a muscle as they moved back towards the shadows in which she was hiding. A large policemen with a roughly, unshaven face peered through the shadows with squinted eyes, a look of shock coming over his face when Penny shoved him violently back with a scream. "Why you no good little bitch!" He screamed as he got up. Grabbing her by her hair he yanked her from the shadows throwing her into a mud puddle. The others rushed to get her up, each grabbing a leg and arm. Penny squirmed about kicking and lashing out at all of them. Her nails dug into ones arm and he cried out in pain as she dragged them across his forearm, drawing blood. He dropped her back to the ground, Penny hitting her head hard against the cobble road. She winced in pain as she looked up at the policemen circled around her. Her mouth dropped open to scream as a club was brought down upon her head, but it was too late. The darkness had already enclosed around her.

Penny awoke in a daze, her head pounding from the large bump on her head. She glanced around the room with the one eye that was open and discovered herself to be in a large room filled with bunks. Her other eye snapped open and she sat dead up right, hitting her head against the top bunk. "Careful, you'll quickly discover that to keep in one piece around here you have to take it slow." Penny looked to her right to see a tall, lanky burette playing a game of solitaire. "Where am I?" She said noticing the bars on the windows. The girl didn't look up from her cards but kept on playing. "The House of Refuge" She said simply. All the color seemed to drain from Penny's face. She had heard of this place many times before, mostly horror stories from other runaways and orphans. Kids and teenagers were sent there when they were caught stealing or if they committed any other crime. It was a jail for kids.

The girl was losing her game and became frustrated and quit. She took a drag off her cigarette and handed it to Penny who did the same. "I'm Glory. What do they call you?" Penny handed the cigarette back to Glory. "I'm Penny." Glory smiled at her noticing her copper locks. "I can see why. So what are you in here for?" Penny sighed and laid back on the bunk putting her arms back behind her head. "I was a pickpocket…but the bulls finally hunted me down." Glory nodded. "I killed my cousin Bryan with a kitchen knife…." She glanced over at Penny who was now staring at her wide-eyed. "I...I did it in self- defense. He was drunk and was beatin' me for having dropped a glass. He said he was goin' to kill me. So I grabbed da knife just to scare him a bit but he kept comin' at me. I only meant to get his arm but he moved too fast and I got his throat instead. My aunt came home with my uncle, they discovered him slowly dying and had me arrested. I convinced them that it was only in self-defense but they still put me here." "How long have ya been here?" Penny asked. Glory took another drag off her cigarette and put it out in the ashtray beside her bunk. "A year…but my sentence is for a year and a half."

Suddenly the door opened and a boy who looked to be about 17 walked into the room, making Penny's heart stop, it was the Newsie. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her, rage building up in his eyes again. "Not you again!" Penny rolled her eyes. "Well its nice to see you again too." He walked over towards her and shoved an open palm under her nose. "I believe you owe me 30 cents." Penny shook her head as she looked at him. "I don't have it anymore." "Why not?" He growled. "It fell out of my pocket sometime during that wonderful chase you put me through." "Well I wouldn't have put you through the chase if you hadn't stolen my money in the first place!" Penny became silent searching for a great comeback but came up with nothing except "So…" Glory glanced from one to the other before deciding to say something before they tore out each other's throats. "Hi" she said looking at the boy. "I'm Glory, the leader 'round here. What's your name?" He glanced over at Glory. "Dodge." Glory smiled. "Its nice to meet you Dodge. Well I have to be getting to my chores or else the warden will have my ass." She gets up and walked out of the room leaving Penny and Dodge alone.

Dodge and Penny sat for nearly two hours in silence, glaring at one another in pure hate. Finally Penny had had enough of the silence and broke it. "So what are you doing here anyways?" Dodge crossed his arms over his chest as he eyed her. "That's none of your damn business." Penny was taken back by this remark and blinked for a moment. "I'm sorry, Jesus you don't have to be so mean about it." He sighed, his face softening up a bit. " I just don't wanna talk 'bout it, ok?" Penny looked at him. "That was all ya needed to say before." Dodge ran a hand through his sandy locks, which kept falling into his eyes and tried to slick them back.

Suddenly the door burst open and a girl with long dark auburn red hair appeared in the doorway singing her heart out. "Hello, my baby, Hello, my honey, Hello, my ragtime gal. Send me a kiss by wire, Baby my heart's on fire! If you refuse me, Honey, you'll lose me, Then you'll be left alone; Oh, baby, telephone, And tell me I'm your own. Hello! Hello! Hello there." She noticed the others in the room and flashed them a very infectious smile. "Hello there. You two must be new. I'm Raz Ma Taz." "I'm Penny and dis is Dodge." "I'm so glad to meet you both! I just love meeting new people." She walked over to her bunk and sat down. "I'm a true people person, just give me a spot light and an audience and I'm very happy. So very unlike Crow, she's so timid and quiet that you hardly know she's in the room." Penny blinked curiously at her. "Crow?" Raz Ma Taz nodded. "Yeah she's one of the youngest here, only 10 or 11 I think." Sorrow filled Penny's green eyes. "But why is she here? Someone that young couldn't possibly…" "Looks are deceiving Penny, she was a pickpocket for three years before getting caught." Penny shook her head in disbelief. "Its true" Raz cried. "People at first didn't believe it could have been her until one day she was caught red handed and sent here. I didn't believe it either myself, until she fully admitted it to me. She's been in here about a year now. Warden won't let her out, thinking that she wont "fit into society" because she's…well…" Penny looked slightly anxious. "She's what?" Raz glanced around as if fearing she might be over heard. "She's a Cherokee Indian." Penny, who had only seen Indians in books was immediately memorized and suddenly wanted to meet this girl firsthand. As if Raz had read her mind she smiled, "Right now Crow is doing her chores but she should be done soon. And speaking of which I should be doing mine! It was nice meeting you both." With that she turned and walked out of the room.

Dodge had left, leaving Penny all alone for a while. She knew that soon she would be taken down to meet the Warden and after what she had been told by some of the other girls she really didn't want to meet the man. The sun was beginning to set when she heard the thundering of feet as everyone marched back upstairs after a day of chores and lessons. Penny turned when Glory walked back into the room, a sullen look upon her face. "The Warden wants to speak to you." Penny sighed and got up. "Where is his office?" "Downstairs and to the left." Penny nodded and walked out ready, or at least she thought she was, to face almost uncertain doom.

She walked slowly down the stairs. How should she act? Should she speak at all, or just nod or shake her head? Or maybe she should be sweet and smile at the man…nah that wasn't her at all. "Ill only speak when I'm spoken to." She decided finally. The Warden's office was right where Glory said it was. The hallway seemed long, and dark and just the door to the Warden's office seemed intimidating. Penny swallowed hard and wiped her hands on her pants. "This is it," she thought. "No turning back now." She quickly opened the door while her confidence was still high and walked in shutting it behind her.

The Warden stood with his back to her, staring out of the closed window at the streets below. "Miss Johnson I presume." He spoke without even stealing a glance in her direction. "Uh yes sir." The Warden turned slowly to look at her. His face was rounded, cheeks plump. His eyebrows were furrowed together, and little frown lines were creased into his skin at the corners of his sagging lips. He looked her over and then motioned towards the empty seat in front of his desk. She obediently obeyed and sat down. He sat down at the desk in front of her, which was littered with papers. He picked up his glasses and perched them on the end of his nose. He scribbled something down on a sheet of paper and then looked up at her. "So you're a pickpocket eh?" Penny didn't move or acknowledge him for a moment. The Warden became impatient with her. "You will answer when I ask a question." "Yes sir", Penny said quietly. "Good now answer my question." Penny swallowed hard, feeling a lump growing in her throat but she managed to answer him softly. "Yes sir I am." Again he scribbled something down on the sheet. Penny became very curious but managed to keep her eyes from wandering down to the paper. He finally finished and looked up at her again, his eyes scanning her for a moment. "How old are you?" "I'm sixteen years old sir." He dropped his gaze from her to write this down and without looking up he runs on to another question. "And how long have you been on your own?" She sighed deeply and began to fidget with her hands. She has now dropped her gaze to the floor and is examining a long crack in the middle of a floorboard. "For about five years sir." Again she heard the sound of the pen moving across the paper. "And what of your family?" Tears were now brimming Penny's green eyes. The memory of that night came flooding back to her. All the sounds, the screams, the smell of the smoke and the face of death looking her in the eyes. She closed her eyes fighting back her tears. "They are dead sir." The sound of the marks he was making was loud in her ears causing her head to pound nearly as hard as her heart in her chest. The room felt much smaller than it had when she first entered, she felt trapped, alone, and terrified. How long was this man going make her stay in the Refuge? Would he ever let her out? Would she end up in rags, cold, hungry and rambling on incoherently?

It was a long time before he spoke again. He just kept writing, scribbling nonsense down on a clean sheet of white paper. It seemed like an eternity before he finally set down the pen and took off his glasses. He leaned back in his chair and clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth. "I need to talk to others to determine just how long you should be in here. Some more examinations need to be conducted as well. Until such time you will remain in the House of Refuge. You will be given chores just like everyone else and will need to follow the rules like everyone else. I do not like it when people break my rules and severe punishments will follow them. Do you understand?" Penny nodded slowly still not looking up, her eyes frozen on the crack in the floor. "Good you may return to your room and I will assign you chores in the morning." Penny nodded again and slowly got up, her body feeling like led. She walked to the door and opened it, just enough to slip through. She closed the door behind her and walked up the seemly long staircase to her room. She collapsed down on her bunk and slipped quickly into a deep slumber, entering into her own dreamworld, to a place where she was free.

The sun had just begun to rise over the tops of the houses, spilling its tawny rays onto the cobble stone streets. Penny lay asleep in her bunk, her chest rising and falling with her deep breaths. Suddenly the bunkroom door swung open and a tall man entered, scowling. He was missing part of his right arm from his elbow and a patch was over his left eye, which added to his fierce appearance.

"Get your lazy asses up out of bed! Come on move it!" Penny's eyes snapped open and she sat up, once again hitting her head. The other girls quickly got up without a groan or a sigh, each knowing what awaited them if they mumbled even a word of complaint. Penny followed suit and too got up. As she was getting dressed the man walked over to her.

"So your the new girl I've been hearin' so much 'bout from The Warden huh?" He slowly looked her over, sending a shiver of fear up her spine that caused her skin to crawl. Penny didn't look up at him or even acknowledge him, but continued to work on buttoning up her shirt. He grabbed her chin and roughly pulled her face over so that it was just inches from his. His hot, revolting breath made her stomach turn in disgust. His lips turned into a sneer as he looked at her.

"So your not so tough after all huh? Just what I suspected, nothing but a lousy, good for nothing but crawling into bed with men, redheaded slut." Penny's green eyes were now blazing with fury and her muscles tensed up. The man held her chin tighter, digging his long, filthy fingernails into her skin. After a moment he let her go but not without spitting into her face. Penny's stomach lurched and she could taste vomit at the back of her throat. Her muscles relaxed as soon as he left and she reached up and whipped away the spit from her face with the sleeve of her shirt before rolling them up.

Glory who had been watching the whole ordeal take place walked over to Penny, a solemn look upon her face. "Don't worry Mr. Riley is a bastard to everyone in this place, and I swear he gets a hard-on from scaring the shit out of the new girls. When I first came here he went so far as to grab my ass. God I wanted to kick him in the you know where so badly, but I knew that it would get me into hotter water than I was already in." A smile tugged at Penny's lips and she glanced over at Glory who shrugged innocently and smiled.

Downstairs the morning bell sounded, signaling the start of the workday. Penny followed Glory and the others downstairs where they all received their schedules for the day. Penny groaned when she looked at her schedule. "Not the floors. God I hate mopping floors."

"Well at least you don't have to clean the toilets."Penny turned to see Raz Ma Taz standing behind her with a disgusted look on her face as she was looking over her schedule. She rolls her eyes with a sigh."I'm always assigned to clean the toilets. I swear to you that they hate me for some reason." Penny couldn't help but laugh at her comment."Oh don't you worry pretty soon its gonna be me that they hate. It always ends up that way." Raz opened her mouth to say something but was silenced by the Warden who was yelling at them to get to work. Raz grabbed her bucket and sponge. "Well I guess I'll talk to you later." With a final smile and salute to Penny she turned and walked off in one direction while Penny walked in another.

As Penny rounded a corner with her mop in one hand she found herself bumping into someone. "Oh my, I'm so sorry. Are you…" She stopped dead in the middle of her sentence when she found herself looking at a young girl, probably only around 10 years old, with long, straight black hair and dark, mysterious eyes. She looked nothing like the people Penny was use to seeing and she immediately knew that it had to be Crow. She was captivated by the child who stared up at her with unblinking, terrified eyes. "Are you alright?" Penny asked again. Crow swallowed hard and looked as if she were searching for her own voice. Instead of answering her verbally she nodded slowly. Penny smiled at her, still unable to believe that this sweet girl standing before her could possibly be a hard criminal. Crow still didn't move and didn't take her eyes away from Penny's. Penny slowed reached into her pocket and pulled out a peppermint. She extended her hand towards Crow, who was now staring at it hungrily. "Here, you can have it." Crow timidly reached towards the peppermint, hesitating slightly for half a moment. She then wrapped her slender fingers around the peppermint and took it from Penny's hand. She placed the mint in her mouth and smiled up at Penny, and from that moment on Penny looked closely after Crow, becoming a second mother to her. Glory and Raz were amazed when they saw how close Crow was letting Penny to her, something she didn't do to anyone. They both agreed that there was something definitely special between the two of them, something that no one else could touch.

Penny was worked hard the next few weeks, to the point where she was bleeding sweat. She was at work each morning well before the sun would rise and wasn't back in her bunk until after nightfall. Her hands had calluses all over them from scrubbing floors and sweeping hallways. The only break they were given was one in the middle of the day for lunch. Penny knew that somehow this had to be against the law and knew that if she didn't get out of The Refuge soon she would probably be worked to death. Her mind began to form a plot as she finished sweeping the main hallway. The bell finally sounded for the end of the workday and Penny quickly rushed up the stairs to the boy's bunkroom. Over the past several weeks she and Dodge had become extremely close, each watching out for each other. She knew she could trust him and she knew she had to trust him.

She glanced down the hallway to make sure no one was watching her before she knocked softly on the door. Dodge opened the door a crack and peered out at her. "Is it safe to come in and talk to you?" He nodded and opened the door wider for her. She slipped in and sat down on his bunk, her face growing serious. "We need to get out of here. I don't think I can take one more day of being worked like I am." Dodge studied her for a moment. "You wanna break out?" "Well if that's what its going to take, then yes I wanna break out of here." For a moment he just stared at her, as if he were prying through her mind to see if she was truly serious. Suddenly a sly smile broke out over his face. "If your truly serious about breaking out then I think I know a way that we can do it."

Penny's green eyes were wide and cautious as she looked up and down the hallway in which the Warden's room was. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the handle of the mop. She glanced over at the clock in the lobby. 1:29 p. m. Penny knew that every Thursday at one-thirty the Warden would go to meet with the mayor. She also knew that he had a second pair of keys to the main door and gate which he hid in a small box in his desk drawer, for she had been in there cleaning one day as he was putting away this second pair of keys. She jumped as the grandfather clock in the lobby chimed 1:30. She backed into a corner and watched as the Warden walked out of his office, adjusting his white gloves and hat. She had taken the liberty of placing a small block of wood in the doors way so it wouldn't close all the way. As soon as the Warden was out of range she crept over to the door and slowly opened it, slipping inside. She walked over to the desk and went to open the desk drawer but to her horror it wouldn't open. She tried again, still it wouldn't budge. She then noticed the keyhole on the desk and groaned. Her mind began to race as she tried to come up with a way to open it. An idea suddenly struck her and she began to rummage through the things on the desk. After a moment she found what she was looking for, a paper clip. After straightening it out she slipped it into the keyhole and began to twist it about, listening intensively for the pop. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was silently praying that no one would decide to stop by the office while she was in there. Finally, after five minutes the lock popped and she opened the drawer. The small white box was at the very back of the drawer, half hidden beneath a stack of papers. Penny stopped cold at the sound of footsteps heading towards the door. She found she couldn't move, or even breathe. She clutched the key in her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The sound of the doorknob turning was deafening in her ears. The door creaked open and then…"Mr. Warden sir…" Relief flooded over Penny at the sound of Dodge's voice. The Warden stopped and looked at Dodge. "What is it? I'm very late for my meeting with the Mayor already." Dodge paused but quickly came up with an excuse. "Well I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful job you are doing with us kids and all. I really appreciate all the hard work and disciple, and I really think its helping to shape me into a better human being." Penny had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she slipped out of the door while the Warden's back was to her. The Warden was beaming with delight and almost blushing. "Well thank you my lad, you see that was my whole goal, to take the lives of those who have gone off track in life and…and put them back on track." He nodded as he said this and puffed out his chest with pride. Dodge, too looked as though he was about to burst into hysterics. "Well I best be getting on with my chores now." He turned and followed Penny down the hall, both of them bursting into laughter as soon as they reached the stairs.

The House of Refuge was dark, not even a single candle lit as Penny and Dodge slowly crept through the halls. Penny slipped her hand into her pocket to make sure the key was still there and gripped it tightly. They both slowly began to descend the staircase. Half way down the stairs a loud creaking made them both stop and hold their breaths. Dodge, who was in front of Penny, turned to her and whispered, "Be careful of that step. If you can hop over it." One hand gripping the banister she stretched her leg down over the creaky step and hopped over it. Still holding their breaths they walked as quietly as they could muster over towards the front door. Dodge stood watch as Penny slipped the key into the hole and turned it to the right. The clicking of the locks were deafening in Penny's ears and save for the sound of her own heart pounding that was the only sound heard. She opened the door as slowly as she could, but not even that could stop the loud squeaking of the old hinges. Both Penny and Dodge froze as a light turned on upstairs. Mr. Riley's sneering face peered over the banister and glared at them. "Hey! Just what in the name of hell do you two think you're doing!" Penny's face had gone sheet white and she found her mouth hanging open in horror. "Run!" Dodge's voice sounded distant in her ears and without realizing what she was doing she found herself running out of the front door. Dodge had grabbed the keys and was close behind her. Inside lights flipped on as Mr. Riley sounded the bell that was a warning that a break out was in place.

Rain had soaked the ground into a muddy sludge and the half frozen droplets of water pelted both Penny and Dodge as they made their way towards the gate. Penny glanced back to make sure Dodge was still behind her. "Keep running!" He urged her on. Penny rounded the corner and had the gate in sight when she felt her feet slip from under her on the wet gravel. The world seemed to move in slow motion as her body hit the ground, pain shooting up her side. She winced and tried to get up, thankful to feel Dodges strong hands pulling her to her feet. He grabbed her hand and half pulled her to the gate. By this time they both were soaked, Penny's clothes clung to her body and her red hair stuck to the side of her face and neck. Dodge took the keys from her and searched for the one to open the gate. "Come on Dodge." Penny shook with fear and kept glancing back to where at any moment the Warden and Mr. Riley would be coming. She nearly choked with fear when she heard their voices around the corner along with the baying howls of the Wardens Bloodhound, Fang. Dodge too seemed to hear this and worked more frantically to find the key, trying to stop his hands from shaking.

It was in the moment that he found the key Fang, loose from his collar burst from around the corner. Penny screamed and pushed Dodge out of the gate and slammed it behind them. Fang jumped up on the gate as she was closing it, pushing it outwards. "Dodge! Help!" Dodge whipped around and ran back to help her shut the gate, having to put all of his weight against it to push back the snapping dog. Fang's snout appeared though a place in the gate suddenly and his teeth and jaws enclosed around Penny's upper arm. She screamed in pain and with Dodge's help pulled her arm away from the animal. Part of her sleeve was now missing, and blood dripped from the bite mark down her arm. Dodge grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the gate and down the street, both of them disappearing into the darkness.

The next day the newspaper headlines read: Search Continues: Two Prisoners Escape From House of Refuge. And as the Warden walked down the street, a newspaper tucked under his arm he didn't seem to notice the girl standing on the other side of the street smiling at him from under her heather gray Newsie cap, the girl with the copper red hair.