[center][h2][color=F5EB58]Alyssa Jane Barker[/color][/h2][/center]

	[i]Breathe.[/i] Alyssa thought with her eyes focused on her dirty white converse. She rested her chin against her knees. Her arms wrapped themselves tighter around her legs. Where she sat on the floor, she was surrounded by a sea of other children just like her. She felt like she could drown at any moment. Her lungs would fill up with the stuffy air of the gymnasium and she'd be gone. [i]Breathe.[/i]

	Her eyes dared to look around her at the other kids huddled together. Each of them equally as anxious and scared as herself. One of her classmates sat a few meters away. Alyssa remembered her bright smile in history from the day before. She was always such a happy girl. Today her eyes were red and puffy, and Alyssa could see the dried tears on her cheeks. The girl was looking around too, but before their eyes could meet Alyssa averted her own. Back to the pair of sneakers that had once been clean.

	The black soldiers announced that it was time to go. Alyssa slowly rose to her feet and joined the shuffling mass that were also headed for the door. Her lungs took in a deep gulp of the chilly air as she stepped outside, and she felt much lighter than before. Her eyes scoured the buses before them before she found herself at the doors of bus number 264. She gingerly took each step, and as she looked the driver over her eyes rested too long on the pistol at his side. He shifted in his seat. His hand rested on the grip of the gun, and Alyssa met his cold eyes with her own wary gaze.

	She was fortunate enough to get a spot next to a window. She rested her shoulder against the cold pane and didn't look at the boy that sat next to her. She'd already seen his black eye back in the gym. A close up of the wound wasn't necessary. Instead, as the bus eventually took off, Alyssa focused on the route that it took. She already knew her way back home from the gym. If she could remember where the buses took her, she'd be able to find her way if she needed to.

[hr]
	Alyssa was jolted from her seat hours later. She threw out her arm to brace herself against the seat in front of her and her eyes were wide as they looked out of the window. She'd fallen asleep somewhere through the ride. [color=F5EB58]"No, no, no,"[/color] she breathed, her frustration growing more as she noticed that daylight was shining through the overcast sky. How far had they driven? Where was she now?

	As she disembarked the bus, she wore her emotions on her face in the form of a sullen frown. Another stern looking soldier pushed her forwards and she reluctantly joined the line of kids headed into the office building. The commotion inside reminded Alyssa of a processing center. She watched as the kids returned from the office rooms and noted the X's on their backs and various restraints. Her eyes lingered on each yellow X that left them. She figured that when she left the room, she'd be wearing a pair of rubber gloves as well. The muzzles were inhumane, and the handcuffs would definitely make the room feel a lot smaller. She was glad to be a yellow.

	Alyssa suddenly felt the air around her intensify. The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she held her hands up to make sure that it wasn't herself that caused it. Then the building descended into chaos. She ducked as lighting erupted from all around her, and she watched in horror as a nearby guard lit up in flames. [b]"Everyone RUN NOW!"[/b]

	A few of the kids around her bolted, but the rest ducked their heads as well. Alyssa was too dazed to do anything. Her eyes were focused on the burning woman yards away from her. A gun fired somewhere that made her jump. The sound that followed it numbed her senses entirely. Her head was filled with a searing pain as her ears rang. She cried out and fell to her knees, her eyes shutting tightly to block out the fluorescent lights above. It took all of her energy just to remain conscious. [i]What... What's happening?[/i] She grit her teeth together and whined. [sub][i]Breathe...[/i][/sub]

	The noise soon faded, but Alyssa still felt a dull pain in the back of her head. She remained on the floor and took deep breaths to keep herself calm. This was all too much. She wasn't sure if she could even stand at the moment. The hands that gripped her shoulders and pulled her to her feet moments later didn't care. She didn't fall, thankfully. It took her a few more breaths before she felt alright again. A man's voice filled the room. It was stern and commanding. Alyssa pushed her hair out of her face so that she could see what was going on. She had to rise up onto her tiptoes to see past the crowd that blocked her view.

	The voice now had a face. It belonged to a man dressed much better than the soldiers. Alyssa instantly didn't like him. Just because of the look on his face as he paced in front of five rough looking kids. One of them had a bullet wound, and she remembered the sound of the gun firing. As the man spoke, Alyssa lowered herself back onto her heels. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see what would happen next. The grunts and yelps that occurred a second later made her glad that she hadn't continued to watch. Her eyes stared at the floor and she frowned. The agents lied to her father. They said that the kids would be taken care of. Did her father know that this was what they meant? There was no way he'd have allowed them to take her. She certainly wouldn't have gone willingly if she knew that [i]this[/i] was what their protection looked like. [i]Pretty little white lies.[/i]

	[b]"I recommend you forget about your lives before now because that is gone."[/b] Alyssa's hands curled into tight balls. She felt her nails digging little crescent moons into her palms. [b]"Today begins the rest of your life. Get used to it."[/b]

	The silence that followed his speech was deafening. Alyssa could only hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She gradually rejoined the lines that led to the processing rooms. Her eyes remained on the floor. As she slowly made her way towards the door, her hands loosened to hang limply beside her. The wait was long, and her anger faded by the time it was her turn to go in.

	If she'd hesitated any longer, she would have surely been forced into the room. She stuck her chin out in a small act of bravery before she walked inside. The twenty something looking guy she found herself in the room with didn't look as mean as the armed guards outside. Still, Alyssa knew not to underestimate anyone that worked for this [b]Lieutenant Asshole Aiden Anderson[/b]. The guy gestured towards the machine next to him and Alyssa steeled herself before she made her way to the machine. Her actions were slow and deliberate as she lifted herself onto it and laid back. She stared at the metal above her and heard him ask for her name.

	[color=F5EB58]"Alyssa Jane Barker."[/color] Her voice was flat as she spoke.

	The scan was over in an instant, and Alyssa looked a little too relieved to sit up again. The guy handed her a light bulb. Alyssa took it with a frown and she stared down at it. Was this supposed to prove what the machine already told him? Didn't they already have a file with her name on it that told them this anyways? Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked up at him. Whatever information they wanted out of this little act, Alyssa wasn't going to allow them to have it. She held the light bulb out in front of her with one hand as her eyes were locked on his face. Instead of lighting the bulb, Alyssa let it drop. It fell to the floor and instantly shattered into a million little pieces.

	For a second Alyssa regretted the action. Was he going to hit her? Would a guard burst through the door to reprimand her? She remained where she sat, but braced herself for the man's reaction. He didn't budge. Steam didn't erupt from his ears and nose. He just stood there before reaching for a pair of rubber gloves. [b]"I don't get paid enough for this,"[/b] he muttered as he shoved them in her direction. Alyssa took the gloves and slid off of the table. The man moved her to face away from them and she felt him marking the back of her jean jacket in the infamous yellow X. Alyssa quietly let him. She was too busy looking over her new fashion statement to care. Without waiting for him to put the gloves on for her, if he was even going to try, Alyssa pulled them on. They felt tight and hot around her hands. She instantly wanted to remove them. Unfortunately she knew she didn't really have a choice in the matter. The man said a terse goodbye before opening the door.

	Alyssa didn't look at him as she walked past. She barely glanced back as he told the guard to find someone to clean up her mess. Punishment averted, Alyssa gratefully followed the other marked students out of the building. This time when she stepped outside, she didn't feel lighter than before. She felt the exact opposite, to be honest. Her body tensed as she laid eyes on hoards of what Lieutenant Asshole had called PSF's. The tall, sharp barbs at the top of the fences were menacing, and dread smothered out any hope of running away from this place. She was stuck here. Surrounded by black cargo with an arsenal of threats. She looked away and focused on the kid in front of her so that she wouldn't walk too far behind. How close was too close? What act of defiance was over the line? How trigger happy were these soldiers? Alyssa didn't know. Not all of them could be cruel, and not all of them could be smart enough to watch them like hawks. They would slip up eventually. Every human had a flaw. That was when she'd test her boundaries. She wasn't going to cower forever. She couldn't, wouldn't, stand to live in fear of the future.

	Before she knew it, she was put into a long cabin with nine other kids of varying colors. When the PSF didn't follow them inside she felt relieved. With a disgusted frown, Alyssa pulled the gloves off of her hands and tossed them onto a nearby bed. She would have thrown them as far as she could, but something in the pit of her stomach told her to keep them close by. Would they make her wear them forever? Or at least in the company of the PSF's? She knew it was for their protection, but did they really think that they would stop her? She'd have to test it out. Not now, but when she felt comfortable putting them back on.

	Now, with the door locked and surrounded by her peers, Alyssa felt like she could relax. Well, as relaxed as she could be given the last twenty-four hours. She sat down on the bed next to her gloves and pushed her hair back from her face. [i]In through the nose... out through the mouth.[/i] She thought as she followed her own instructions. [i]Don't lose your temper now. Not when you could electrocute the poor kid next to you.[/i] She looked up at the others in the cabin, resisting a frown as she watched the oranges remove their muzzles. The remaining kids in handcuffs lined up to have theirs taken off. She almost felt bad for not being the first to grab the keys and help them. Thankfully someone else had taken care of that. She could have said something at that moment. Maybe a joke, or a curse word aimed at the PSF's. She couldn't find the words to sum up what she was feeling, so she remained silent. Maybe someone else would do that for her, too.