<span style="color: #0000FF"><span style="font-style: italic">Ella walked slowly down the spiral staircase that led down from her tower. It was her secret place, somewhere to think without distractions. She was, after all, a fourteen year old kid leading a bunch of teenagers and kids through the tough life of having no adults to help you. She was practically all alone when she made the Sanctuary, and had only her brother to help her set the place up and gather enough food to last a year. Well, that year was coming to an end, and she had hardly enough food to support everyone for a month. She would have to speak to Aria about this. <br/><br/>As she walked along, she peeked into the small glass windows that allowed you to view the classrooms. Well, they weren't classrooms anymore but instead homes to those who lived here. She checked to make sure everyone was okay, and nothing going wrong. They hadn't been attacked by any gangs for a few months now, and surprisingly this worried her more than when they attacked her weekly. They were probably making plans, thinking of ways to get in. She sighed, shaking those dark thoughts from her mind. She was only fourteen, and yet was worried about everything all the time.<br/><br/>When Ella was finished making her rounds, she walked into the large cafeteria and up to some twelve year olds serving food from the kitchen. She smiled and thanked them as she took a bowl of cold Raviolli and sat down at one of the many tables by herself. She ate slowly, pondering everything that was going wrong with the Sanctuary, how to fix it, and who to get to help. She definately needed to talk to Aria about going to get more food. Perhaps Ella would go with her? And she couldn't forget about James, she had been needing to talk with him for weeks about being extra cautious but never had the time. <br/><br/>She also couldn't help but remember that they were running low on water. The plumbing went out a few months before, and now they were running out of what they saved. Ella would either have to get her brother or someone else to help her haul some from the well, and if nobody was available she would have to do it herself. Life was so stressful here, more for her than anyone else, and she was stuck taking care of all these people by herself. Sure, Kyle helped when he could. But, he was busy leading the 'Attack Squad', as he called it, and wasn't around to help very often. She sighed, thinking about everything and everyone like always.</span></span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00"><span style="font-style: italic">Kyle walked around the roof of the Sanctuary, running his fingers gently along the edge of the floor as he crouched, examining the perimeter closely from the safety of the roof. Older teenage guards, mostly around age sixteen, stood stationed at various intervals. The place was well protected, but like his sister he was worrying. There hadn't been an attack in a while, and so most of the people were getting a bit rusty in fighting. When they weren't guarding and protecting, they were sleeping until their next shift. Kyle was the only one who was up there at all times, and then running the perimeter himself. <br/><br/>He hardly ever got sleep, considering he was always either working or training. Ella was worried for him, but Kyle didn't notice his sleep deprivation as a big deal. More of a much needed sacrifice. With a sigh, Kyle stood to his normal height after circling the roof three times. He was so paranoid lately, mostly because of the lack of attacks, and really wondered what the gangs were doing. Nobody but the gangs lived in the neighborhood now, so it was possible that they moved to another, hoping to get lucky. The Sanctuary was only half full, but that was still a lot of people. Lately, some others from nearby towns who have heard of this place had come, and they were growing in size near daily. Kyle sighed, and crouched, looking out around him closely for any signs of danger. </span></span>