The car stopped in front of the building. Jack was pushed out, and two men stepped out with him. Jack looks at both out of the corner of his eye, knowing that if he tried to make a break for it, he'd be grabbed. His hands were clammy and he felt a cold certainty that this was the end. He'd be sold to some slave organisation in Cuba, or forced to work in a mine somewhere. There was nobody nearby to ask for help, it was as if the entire block had been purposefully emptied, leaving nobody behind. Johnathan was pushed forward by one of the men, and he stumbles, falling to the ground. He quickly scrambles to his feet, however, and walks in through the building, barely refraining from squinting in the face of whatever horror lay beyond.
The other side was a lot less scary than Jake imagined. It seemed to be a normal place, with other kids. One of them looked like she'd been beaten. It seemed he hadn't been the only one taken from the street, but of all of them, he was most certainly the scruffiest. Adrenaline left him breathing fast, and his hair and clothes had been messed up by the rough ride he'd had on the way here. This was the first moment from the time of his kidnapping, twelve hours ago, that he felt conscious of all the tears and wrinkels in his shirt, and just how silly he must look.