[i]The girl had just climbed through one of the mansion's windows, and found herself in an unlit hallway. She began to walk, searching for anything expensive. Soon enough she came upon a room which, upon further inspection, was home to several exotic animal pelts and golden statues. [b]A trophy room,[/b] the girl thought. Many of the statues were too large or bulky to fit into her backpack, so the girl continued to look through the room. Though it was dark, she eventually came upon a black safe labeled, "Stock". After several minutes, the girl managed to open the safe, but in doing so activated all of the lights and triggered a loud, piercing alarm. Reaching into the safe, she grabbed several handfuls of silver wafers and stuffed them into her backpack and pockets. She then ran back out into the hallway and leapt out of the window that she had entered, falling two stories. She landed on her knees, but slid for a few inches due to the knee and shin guards that she was wearing. She ran.

The girl had been running for several minutes when she finally looked behind her to see several men in suits chasing her. The girl had a significant head start, but was weighed down by the silver and would inevitably be caught unless she could devise an escape. She was still looking behind herself when a familiar voice called out her name. She looked up and found herself engulfed in a young man's arms, which held her tightly. The man asked what she was doing out running so late. Attempting to break free, the girl merely stated that she needed escape. The boy looked up and saw the running men, and looked back at the girl. His face quickly turned to disappointment. He let the girl go, but it was too late. She had only made it a few meters before she was tackled and restrained. The guards ripped off her backpack and began to search it, whilst also forcefully searching her pockets. When the girl resisted, they began to beat her down. The boy ran over and tackled one of the men, but then was pushed back and knocked down. The guard that had been tackled picked up a brick from the road and attacked the boy. Another guard got up and began to fight, leaving the other two guards to continue to assault the girl.

The boy was on the ground now, and one of the guards began to beat him about the face with the brick. Blood sputtered out from various wounds as the boy's resistance gradually became weaker. The man raised the brick high before striking down, causing an audible crack as the boy's head caved in a bit. He stopped resisting. The two guards then picked up the twitching boy's body and held the head in a nearby artificial lake. The boy tried to resist, but could not match the strength of the guards. His movements became more faint as blood seeped from his head into the water, dying it a deep red. Soon, the boy failed to resist at all, and the bubbles that had been coming from his mouth stopped. The girl was still held back as a pile of bloodied silver coins formed behind her. Her face a mess of blood and tears, the girl struggled against the guards to no avail. The two standing guards held the boy under for a few more seconds before rolling his corpse into the lake, leaving a trail of red ink on the lake's surface. The two then walked back to the girl and discussed what to do next. One of them simply looked at her agonized face and said,

"I think she's learned her lesson."

After a final blow to the girl's face, the men gathered the coins and began to head back to the mansion, straightening their ties and jackets. The girl lay there, soaking in a puddle of her own blood and sweat, defeated. She passed out.

A few hours later the girl woke up, and in a rush of emotion stumbled to the edge of the lake. She began to fumble about in search of a body, but found nothing. Knee deep in the water, the girl fell and began to cry. A few minutes later, she stood back up and began to head home. As she walked, she noticed a glint on the road. As she approached it, she noted that it was one of the silver wafers from earlier. It must have fallen under her back during the struggle. She picked it up and examined it. One one side, in the centre, the letters, "Ag." On the other, off to the left, the word, "Sterling®." She gripped it in a fist for a moment before shoving it into her pocket and limping off. [/i]

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In her sleep, Sylvia gripped her pillow fiercely, a solitary, anguished tear dripping from her eye.