After my meeting with Silas, I found my way back to Michelle and the rest of the girls in our group. She continued on with the tour of the compound, showing us each floor and every room. The walk was long and exhausting, and her lectures were extremely boring to listen to, especially since this was the second time I was hearing her rants. My legs trudged along the red carpeted floors as my black shoes dragged lazily. I desperately needed this day to end, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for tomorrow's adventures to begin.

As I moved along slowly behind the group of girls, I noticed Zara fall back so that she was walking beside me. We walked alongside each other in silence, while Michelle spoke to Bree and Eleanor, who were ahead of us.

The Asian girl kept her black eyes forward and her hands tucked in her pant's pockets. I could tell that she wanted to say something, but it seemed that she was contemplating her own words.

Zara sighed softly before she finally spoke, "I just wanted to say that you're not as awful as I thought you were."

"Thanks," I said with a small shrug. "I think." Zara nodded and we continued to walk down the hall together. The silence between us was becoming rather awkward. I felt my fingers begin to tap along my leg as I grew more and more uncomfortable. I could tell that she had more that she wanted to say, but Zara wasn't exactly one with words. I glanced up at her and quirked my brows. "Was there something else you wanted to say?"

Zara refused to look at me as she added onto her previous statement, "No one has ever stuck up for me before—not that I need someone to—but it was.. nice knowing that you had my back." The older girl stumbled on her own words. I had never heard her so vulnerable, if you could even call it that.

"It was no problem," I assured her. "Besides, Leo is an ass. I would've fought him just for fun." I laughed softly to myself and could almost see Zara's lips pull upwards slightly into a smile.

"You know, I always thought that you were just some weak, crybaby," Zara admitted with a smug smirk on her face. My eyebrows pulled together as I frowned at her assumption of me. Sure, I've woken up in the middle of the night with tearful eyes from another nightmare, but I didn't think that made me a crybaby. Even without powers and training, I still had strength too. I was never weak, at least I thought so. "Then, the Order came that one night and ever since then you just seem so different than before."

"Different how?" I asked.

"You just changed a lot overnight," Zara explained. There was quite a lot of truth to her statement. One night I was holding Five's hand and time traveling to the past, and then I was teleported back into my own-personal hell. To say that I changed a lot overnight felt like an understatement, considering I had already lived through these exact events, well, except for this conversation and the meeting with Silas. Somehow, I had already managed to mess up something and effect the future. Looks like I'm off to a great start. "Also, if I'm being completely honest, you seem a bit," Zara trailed off as she pointed to her head and twirled her finger in circles.

"Are you calling me crazy?" I asked in shock.

Zara chuckled and shook her head. Her jet black her swayed slightly as she moved. "You said it. Not me."

"Now, I know how Five feels," I said with a sigh. I missed him and his rants.

"Who's Five?" Zara asked.

I hadn't realized that I said that out loud. "Oh, no one," I quickly rebutted. Zara glanced over and gave me a confused look, but I ignored her and just remained quiet.

I am not really good at this whole 'protecting the timeline' thing.

★・・・★・・・★

Michelle had us walking around the compound all afternoon, showing the girls group the entire building, along with talking our ears off with her lectures and rants. Eleanor quietly listened and payed attention, while Bree and I were counting every minute that passed until the tour was over. Zara, of course, just stayed towards the back of the group and wore a mean look on her face as she ignored everyone around her.

Once Michelle was finished showing us around the building, she dropped us off in the dining hall with all of the other kids from Miracle Home. I saw the familiar faces of the orphans that I grew up with, especially the other half of our group. Once Adam dropped the boys off in the dining hall, Henry noticed that we were here as well and dragged Leo and Asher along. Leo fought his only friend, Henry, into joining us, but eventually the stubborn blonde boy gave in. Asher was always quiet anyway, so it didn't take much convincing for him to tag along.

After everyone was reunited, we walked into the kitchen and stood in a line as we all waited with strays. The cooks were serving chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and corn. Everyone was so fascinated by all the food since Miracle Home didn't really have much of a selection to eat. I began to notice all of the little details about the Order that I hadn't took note of before. For instance, the glamorous rooms and gourmet food. It seemed like Silas and his workers were trying to impress us and make everyone feel at home here before beginning their experiments and sending us on killing spree missions.

I walked beside Bree and the rest of the people in the Section A group with my tray full of food. We set out for an empty table to sit and eat at until we finally found one. I crossed my right leg over my left under the dining hall table as I twirled a silver fork in my food. I mixed my untouched meal together in boredom. I was way too distracted by my own mind to even have an appetite. Between the hum of chatter from other kids and the clinking of silverware against plates, there was just too much going on around me.

"Hey Blondie, are you gonna keep playin' with your food or can I have the rest of it?" Leo asked rudely.

I glanced up and saw that his plate was already finished, so I rolled my eyes and pushed my tray towards him. "All yours, buddy." The blonde chuckled and immediately dug into my untouched food.

I could feel Bree's concerned eyes on me as I shoved my food away to Leo. I had a feeling that she would ask about my strange behavior later, but I will probably just deny it anyway.

When Bree didn't receive a glance back, she frowned subtly and looked away. "So, what did you guys think about the tour?" She changed the topic.

"It was very informational," Henry said with a shrug. He took a bite of his chicken, which was covered in an abundance of salt.

"Our guide wouldn't shut the fuck up," Leo complained. He held up his fork as he emphasized his annoyance with Adam. It seemed that all of the guides were sharing the same talkative personality trait.

"Language," Eleanor whispered.

"He kept going on and on about the history of this place and all of the 'wonders it has to offer' bullshit," Leo continued. His select hearing never failed to amaze me.

"Ours was the same way," Bree agreed. "Alexa's lucky that she got to miss part of the tour." Leo and Henry gave me a questioning look, until Bree added onto her previous statement, "Silas called her into his office."

"What happened?" Henry asked in curiosity.

Leo breathed a laugh. "Shit, Blondie, we've been here for one day and you've already managed to get yourself in trouble. I'm blaming it on that big mouth of yours!"

I faked a laugh and rolled my eyes. "Oh, you're one to talk, Leo." The blonde boy smirked and sent me a wink, which I ignored. "Silas just wanted to talk."

"That's it?" Henry questioned me. I could tell that no one really believed what I was saying, but I didn't want to talk about it any further.

"Nothing more, nothing less," I said simply.

Everyone seemed to be disappointed when I ended the conversation, until Henry spoke up again, "I've been thinking a lot about that video we watched earlier today and the tour."

"What about it?" Bree asked.

"Well, don't you guys find it weird that all of the scientists here specialize in topics related specifically to the human body?" Henry asked as his eyes met each of ours.

"I guess," Bree said with a shrug. "I didn't really think about that until you mentioned it though."

"You know what I find weird?" Leo spoke up. He hadn't said anything in awhile—since he was stuffing his face with my food—and I had almost forgotten that he was still sitting here.

"Your inability to keep your mouth shut for more than a second?" Zara proposed. She put on a fake smile as she humored all of us. That was probably the closest to a real smile she'd ever get to.

Leo sent her a mean glare. "What's your problem, woman?" He spat angrily. Although I could understand Zara's strong hatred towards the boy, she was being a bit harsh on him, especially when he was just trying to voice his opinion too.

"You're my problem," Zara exclaimed. She pointed a finger at Leo from across the table. "You're racist, sexist, and you think that you always have to be the center of attention. News flash, asshole, no one likes you! Not even Henry, whose been forced to put up with you all your life."

Eleanor covered her ears to try and ignore the fight, but Leo and Zara's shouting was becoming increasingly louder. Bree watched with wide eyes as her head went back and forth between the two, while Asher remained unbothered and unmoved. I just sat quietly, waiting for my turn to speak up. Living through the past was like reciting lines for a movie or play, and it was becoming really repetitive.

Henry's brows furrowed as he attempted to cut into their argument, "Wait, that's not-"

"You know what?" Leo interrupted. "All that might be true, but at least I keep it real."

"What the hell are you even going on about now?" Zara hissed.

Henry tried to speak up again, "Guys, I really think-"

"You're just a heinous bitch!" Leo shouted. Suddenly, the whole dining hall went quiet as everyone turned towards our table to stare at Leo and Zara. I felt myself sink down in my chair slowly to avoid their wandering eyes.

Zara appeared taken aback, much like the rest of us. No one had ever stood up to her or voiced their opinion our her in fear of the repercussions from her wrath. Her face was turning red from all of the sudden attention. I felt bad for the girl. Sure, she wasn't the nicest, but she still had feelings like the rest of us.

Zara stood up and scrunched her face in anger. Her shoes tapped along the tiled floors as she swiftly walked out of the dining hall. Everyone's heads turned as she moved past, until she stepped out and into the hallway. As soon as she was out of sight, everyone returned back to eating their meal and chatting with friends. It was astonishing how nobody seemed to care after the drama was all over.

"Maybe someone should check on her," Bree hesitated. Eleanor nodded in agreement as she pulled her blue eyes away from the door Zara had stormed out of.

I felt like I should be the one to run after the girl, but Leo spoke up before I could, "No, she got what she deserved."

"No one deserves that," I disagreed.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Come on, Blondie, I know you've always hated her."

"I've always hated you too, but you don't see me parading my feelings about you in front of everyone," I stated.

"Whatever," Leo muttered.

"Can we just get back to what we were talking about before?" Henry asked. His eyes circled around the group as we all just shrugged and nodded in agreement. "Leo, what were you going to say?"

"Well, before I was so rudely interrupted, I actually had a valid question," Leo remarked. I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness. "What do a bunch of scientists want with orphans?"

"That's what I wondering too," Henry said. "Especially, scientists who study humans."

"I don't like where this is going," Eleanor spoke to herself quietly.

"The only explanation I can think of would be human experiments," Henry suggested. Eleanor's blue eyes went wide.

"Human experiments?" Bree repeated. She shook her head in disbelief. Her golden hair swayed as she moved. "That can't be right."

Henry put his hands up in defense. "Look, I know it's sounds like a long shot, but just think about it. Orphans are basically disposable, so we're the perfect cover up. Also, biochemistry, biology, physiology, and cytology are all topics related to the human body, DNA, and cells. If I didn't know any better, it sounds like we're being used as lab rats." Bree and Eleanor couldn't wrap their heads around the idea Henry was proposing.

"He's right," I said. "Silas told me that his mother was fascinated with the reconstruction of DNA. Maybe she inspired him to create the Order."

"I don't know," Eleanor said unsurely.

"Yeah, this seems a bit too futuristic to me," Bree added. "What kind of experiments would Silas even want to perform on us?"

"Judging by the name of his facility, nothing good," Henry replied.

"What should we do?" Bree asked. Her voice wavered slightly in worry.

"I don't think there's anything we can do, except go along with whatever Silas has planned, and try to figure out what his motives are," Henry said.

"There's a library on level four," I spoke up. "Maybe we can find some answers in there."

"Good idea," Henry said. "We'll start searching tomorrow."

"Wait," Leo interrupted. "It'll look suspicious if all of us go."

"You're right," Henry nodded along.

"Eleanor, Asher, I will sit this one out then," Bree offered.

"Alright then it's settled," Henry confirmed. "Leo, Alexa, and I will meet at the library tomorrow after breakfast. Let's hope we find some answers."