Gem Stone by Dale Mayer

as that's what got him sent him to juvie.
    Â 
    He pulled something out of his pocket and two anxious minutes later, he popped the lock open. "Easy." He removed it and stepped back. The young deputy stepped forward to pull the door open. Flashlights lit up the interior.
    Â 
    Misty lay crumpled and bound, on the cold floor.
    Â 
    Gem cried out. Squeezing between two others, she raced to her friend. She placed two fingers to Misty's neck and was relieved to feel a strong pulse beating under her fingertips. Gem dropped her head in relief.
    Â 
    "She's alive!"
    Â 
    Chaos ensued.
    Â 
    The deputy tried to move Gem back outside but she refused. Instead she flattened herself against the wall, barely giving him space to check Misty for injuries. Someone else called for an ambulance. Gem took one look at what should now be considered a crime scene… She groaned. If there'd been any clues here, they were long gone. As characters on her favorite TV show would say, this scene was now beyond contaminated.
    Â 
    She picked up the flashlight and gave the small room a quick once over.
    Â 
    "Hey, shine that light back here," a deputy demanded.
    Â 
    Gem turned the light in the deputy's direction. "Sorry, I wanted to make sure there was nothing important here."
    Â 
    "I already checked. The place is empty.
    Â 
    "Except for us." Crouching, she lay a gentle hand on Misty's head. Somewhere inside, her friend slumbered. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe Misty would be lucky and not remember this night.
    Â 
    "Go back out and stay with the group. We're going to need to talk to everyone once we get this little girl taken care of."
    Â 
    Great. Like she wanted to talk to the cops about anything. Although, if it put these bastards away for what they'd done to Misty, she'd do it gladly. "No problem. You take care of her. She's not like the rest of us."
    Â 
    "The rest of you?" The deputy gave her a sharp glance as he pulled off his jacket and covered the prone girl.
    Â 
    "Yeah. Misty's sweet, naively so. She's friendly, bubbly."
    Â 
    "Oh. What are the rest of you?"
    Â 
    Mark answered from the open doorway. "Society's rejects."
    Â 
    The deputy stood up and reached for the flashlight. He shone it over Mark's grim face, then shone it on Gem's face, spending a moment longer, studying her. Then Reid and Stephen, crowding up against the door, were given the same cursory once over. "Why do you say that?"
    Â 
    "We're all from juvie. So's Misty, but she's different. We're finishing our time and learning to live in a society that doesn't want us."
    Â 
    "Is that right?" The cop glanced back at Gem.
    Â 
    She nodded. "Pretty much. We're the first place anyone looks if they want a scapegoat. But Misty's one of us. We would never hurt her."
    Â 
    "That may be, but someone sure as hell tried to."
    Â 

CHAPTER FOUR
    Â 
    G em hated hospitals almost as much as she hated authority. At the moment both were necessary parts of her life. The doctor had given her a clean bill of health although why she'd had to be checked over she didn't understand. Since when did anyone worry about a few scratches from running through the brush? It was Misty who needed their help. She was still out cold and wouldn't be released tonight. The nurses had assured Gem she would survive though.
    Â 
    Apparently, she'd been knocked out with drugs that were still working their way through her system.
    Â 
    The hospital teemed with extra people. Including the three men who'd arrived at the home, uninvited, earlier that evening. She'd tried to tell the young deputies the three men had been involved in Misty's kidnapping, but no one was listening. Figures. No one gave a damn what Gemma and her friends had to say.
    Â 
    "Gemma? We're ready."
    Â 
    She looked up. A very tired looking John stood in front of her. His world had been shot to shit along with everyone else's. Standing up, she followed the group to the van. A million questions buzzed inside her head.