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small, and isolated.
    I lay on my bed, trembling from exhaustion, confusion, and fear, shivering as tears uncontrollably ran down my cheeks. I couldn’t think straight. Everything I had known was a lie. I didn’t know what to believe because nothing seemed right. What was I doing here? Where exactly was here? I was lost. I was on my own. Exhausted, I curled on my bed, too uncomfortable to get under the covers. I closed my eyes and cried myself to sleep, unable to hold it in any longer. I knew I wasn’t going to stay here very long. I wanted to go home, wherever that was, but the world seemed to be disintegrating, slipping through my fingers.

    “Wake up call!” It was more of an order than anything else.
    I slowly opened my eyes, and the blurry world became visible. A piercing light blinded me for a second. I figured it came on automatically, because I scanned the walls and still couldn’t find a switch. I thought everything was all a bad dream, but as I stared at the bare walls of my room—my cell—I realized that it was a reality. My head was spinning and my cheeks were still wet from tears. I was tired. My legs collapsed beneath me as I tried to get up. I leaned against the wall to keep myself from falling as I made my way to the closet.
    I found two pairs of pants and three shirts. They were all black with red stripes along the sides, and a silver “M” was embroidered on the left breast. I slipped them on as quickly as I could and ran downstairs. I was surprised to find the door opened, but I didn’t think twice before leaving. I wanted to escape.
    Soldiers were everywhere and stood with authority. Every exit and entrance was blocked, while windows were nonexistent. There were over a thousand students walking down the stairs in a perfectly straight line, like sheep being shepherded by soldiers dressed in blood.
    I felt as though everyone was staring at me, their gazes following my every move. The students started to whisper and point at me. I hated it. I felt like an animal in a zoo. Not only was I the center of attention, but I was the shortest and the youngest by at least eight years. My stomach felt like a rock. We made our way to the cafeteria. The smell of omelets infiltrated my head and made me realize that I was hungry. Every part of me wanted to eat. My stomach growled, and my legs moved faster. The thought of food was all that swam in my mind. I hadn’t eaten dinner the night before. I stood in line for an omelet.
    “That’s for the teachers only,” said a man behind me as he slapped my hand when I reached for a plate. He pointed to a line of students, then shoved me off in their direction. My breakfast was a fruit smoothie, which was terrible, and sausages. I drank the smoothie as quickly as I could, holding my breath as I swallowed. We were then hurried to go to class.
    Battle Class was first. I learned how to fight. It wasn’t like the martial arts I had studied; it was more combative and aggressive. The teacher was tall and built, and his voice was powerful, which made me feel tiny and weak. He made us do over five hundred push-ups, but it felt like nothing because the S.S. Pill had kicked in.
    The instructor had us do core work as well as running. Apparently, I was in an advanced class, so he picked on me a lot because I didn’t know how to stand when fighting, punching, kicking, blocking, or anything else. I was ignorant of everything, and I was sure he thought I was a moron.
    “Alexia!” The instructor’s voice was sharp.
    “Sir!” I quickly responded.
    “Step forward.”
    I did as I was told and then he called out a couple other students. He went over some sparring rules and then had us fight. I was first against another girl, Torin. She didn’t hesitate to attack first, and I was forced to lunge back to avoid a powerful kick. Her techniques were similar to Miles’s, but I quickly realized that she was defter at fighting. Her training had conditioned her marvelously. I was hardly