Alex woke up in a groggy state. He could feel the chill of the floor and something around his wrists. He soon realized that he was laying on a gym floor and was handcuffed. Looking around he noticed a few others similar to him had limited movement. The atmosphere was tense. With the same black armor-clad men and women watching over him and many other children, Alex felt anger more than fear. He could fell his hairs standing on the back of his neck, and then they began moving.
How long had he been out for? Walking outside he noticed the sun had already gone down. He remembered being grabbed early in the day. The bus ride wasn't any easier than the gym stay. No one seemed to make a sound save for the few younger ones whimpering silently. Alex didn't know if he should feel sympathy or pity for them, but he knew this wasn't going to get better soon.
When the bus came to a stop and the small rays of sun peaked through Alex got a good look at his surroundings. There was no way he could count all the PSF's around him and the other children. The fences were taller than he could tell from the distance he was, but the barbed wire glistened as if asking for someone to get their skin caught on its sharp points.
Once in the building, the mixture of constant movement, the smell, and his grogginess caused his head to spin a little. When the lightning and fire started shooting around the room Alex quickly dropped to one knee to assess the situation. He couldn't find the source of electricity, but when he saw fire coming out of a boy's hands Alex thought of Sadie and how she had been lying on the ground when he passed out. He had zero time to worry when suddenly a piercing ring shattered through his head.
He fully dropped to the floor trying to cover his ears to no avail. He started to feel a gag reflex when the noise finally stopped. While on the ground he noticed the five perpetrators of the commotion, but once he was pulled to his feet he saw the Lieutenant Colonel. A look of sheer anger appeared on Alex's face at what the man said and had done to the five.
Before he could think of anything else Alex was jerked aside by a PSF and shoved into a room where a man seemed to be waiting. At the man's questions, Alex simply responded,
"Alex Hill. What do you mean by color?" The man waved his hand and pointed to a machine saying, "Just lay on that table over there."
Alex did as he was instructed just so that he could be done with this quickly. When the man handed Alex the gloves he eyed them with a look of confusion. He was even more confused when the man turned him around and marked the X on his back. Alex slowly shoved his hands into the gloves and left the room.
As he was being moved again alongside the others Alex looked around trying to get a feel for his surroundings. Alex didn't want to stay here long, but there really wasn't anything he could do about that. He just didn't know it. Once they were escorted to cabins and left unsupervised Alex began looking around the small room trying to find a way out. When he found nothing he turned to the others he was trapped with and he said,
"What kind of crap have we found ourselves in?"
Katie and her remaining schoolmates had been gathered in the school's auditorium to make it easier on the PSF's to get them at the same time. All the kids looked to their teachers with downtrodden faces and none of the school staff seemed to show any remorse.
In the community gym, they had been taken to Katie sat quietly among her few peers. They were among the first in this transfer group placed within the community gym awaiting transport. Two of the boys had tried to fight back but were shut down quickly and handcuffed. The whole time they were there it was agonizing to just have to sit and wait.
Once they were loaded into the buses Katie had all but lost hope that anyone would be coming to save them. All she could think about was if her mother and sister were safe and about the faces and actions of the school staff she and her peers had so deeply trusted. It wasn't gradual the speed at which she began to hate all adults. She had done NOTHING wrong, but they were treating her and these other kids like this.
A scowl was permanently on her face from the moment she stepped off the bus up until the explosion of chaos in the large room. A boy in front of her began running knocking her to the ground. It wasn't like she wasn't about to be there soon anyway. The sound that assaulted her brain at its very core was excruciatingly painful. Covering her ears didn't seem to help whatsoever.
When the noise finally subsided she slowly began to drag herself to her feet until a PSF pulled her all the way up. The sight before her was revolting to her. How could these people do this? And what did he mean by their old lives were now gone?
Katie takes a few minutes to try and locate her past schoolmates, but can't find any of them before she is rushed over to a side room. Before she can react a woman says something. "Name."
Katie scrunches her face in confusion and says,
"Katie Pruett." The woman motions to a device and says, "Lay there so I can scan you." Katie reluctantly does as the woman says in order to avoid punishment. Once the machine finishes the woman marks a Blue X on Katie's back which heavily confuses her then sends her on her way.
On the path to the cabins, Katie primarily eyes the various X's while also occasionally looking at a PSF's gun. Once inside the cabin, Katie watched as one of the handcuffed girls struggled to free herself until someone else decided to help her. She waited until they finished freeing everyone else then said to the group as a whole,
"I don't know where we are, but we should keep an eye out for each other."
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