I stood in a long line outside of the large training room with the orphans from Miracle Home, along with all of my friends. We were about to begin our training for the day, but there were guards positioned outside of the doors, stopping every lettered section of kids and talking to them about something. I wasn't close enough to the front of the line, so I was unsure about what was going on.

"Did you guys find anything in the library?" Bree asked, breaking the silence between our group.

"Not exactly," Henry said. "We found a bunch of newspapers, but one date is missing, along with a couple cutout articles and pictures."

Zara rolled her dark eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "So, technically, you guys found nothing."

"Well, I wouldn't say-" Henry sighed as he struggled with his words. "See, when you put it like that-"

"Yes," I cut him off. The brunette boy sent me a look but I just shrugged. "You seemed like you needed some help."

Henry shook his head and returned to the previous topic of our conversation. "Alexa believes that the missing information is stored in Silas' bookshelf," he spoke quietly.

"Where's that?" Bree questioning him with a skeptical look on her face. I could already tell that she wasn't fond of the idea.

"His office," Henry replied. "She'll be sneaking in with the help of Leo and myself as soon as we find some free time."

Bree glanced between Henry and Leo before her eyes landed on me. "You trust these two enough to help you sneak into the office of the man with 'evil' as his last name?" She asked as if I was crazy. Maybe I was because of this idea and the two boys I was taking with me.

"Henry is smart and Leo is experienced," I said simply. "Besides, I know what I'm doing."

"What are you talking about?" Bree exclaimed in a hushed voice. She was trying to remain calm and quiet in an attempt to not cause any commotion or attract any unwanted attention for us. "You've never broken into anything before!"

I chuckled softly and sent her a look that said otherwise. "Yes I have."

"When?" Bree asked in disbelief.

I was about to give her an answer until I remembered that the current Alexa hasn't broken into anywhere or snuck into any places. I couldn't exactly tell her that I have—or will—in the future, which is technically my past, but I'm living in the actual past that is really just the present. That wouldn't make any sense at all, so I just went with an irritated huff, "Just trust that I know what I'm doing."

"Alright," Bree gave in. "I trust you." I sent her a nod and a small smile and she returned the gesture.

We all moved forward in the line as kids began to enter the training room. There were two guards standing by the door. They appeared to be the same ones from the night we were all taken from Miracle Home.

"Section A, is up next," the guard on the right informed the other.

Eleanor was the first to step up to the guards. She wore a frightened face as she peered at both of the uniformed men with her glassy, blue eyes. One of the men grabbed her wrist, while the other one wrapped a paper bracelet around her. "Eleanor, A1," the man spoke firmly. Eleanor remained quiet and didn't ask any questions as she quickly shuffled into the room.

Henry was next. He walked up to the two men with a skeptical look on his face. I could tell he was taking mental notes as he watched with careful eyes. "Henry, A2," the guard confirmed after placing a similar bracelet around his wrist."

"Hello boys," Leo greeted the guards smugly.

Both men ignored him and continued on with their duty. "Leo, A3." One of the men shoved him inside the other room, and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"Zara, A4." The Asian girl glared at the guards but stayed silent.

"Asher, A5."

Bree walked hesitantly towards the men in black uniforms. "Bree, A6." She waited behind them for me to enter the training room with her.

I was the last person in my group to be called, "Alexa, A7."

I walked up to the two men and held my arm up for them to wrap the bracelet around my wrist. I glanced at the barcode and tiny letter and number, A7, that was written below it. "What's this for?" I asked.

"No questions," the man on the left replied. "Move along."

I sighed and walked through the door, joining Bree again. The two of us walked back towards our group and waited for further instruction.

My eyes wandered around the training room in remembrance of all of the days I spent in here. I could spot different sections of the room that held various equipment for different styles of fighting. Surely, I'd be redoing all of the exercises and learning what I had been forced to do before. I wasn't looking forward to the repetitive, long hours, but since I was already experienced, I'd be able to keep up with the better fighters.

I noticed Silas speaking with another guard in the middle of the room. Once he was finished with his conversation, he turned towards the cluster of kids stood in front of him. "Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Order's training room," Silas said with enthusiasm. He seemed excited to begin training, which didn't surprise me because he was probably just anxious for the experiments and missions to begin. "Each Section will be assigned to one of my guards, who will show you how to use every piece of equipment in this room," Silas explained. The men in uniforms were all sporadically located around the room. "Each of you will learn a different fighting style, and perfect your technique every day for the next few months."

My eyes widened suddenly. I had almost forgotten how long I had been forced to stay at the compound. This meant that I wouldn't have a chance to escape and reunite with Five and the other Hargreeves for at least a year.

"This is so weird," Leo whispered, interrupting me from my thoughts. "We're basically being forced to work out."

I smirked and elbowed his arm. "You look like you could use the exercise," I remarked quietly.

Leo snickered with a sly smirk on his face, "Ironic coming from you, Blondie." I rolled my eyes but smiled nonetheless.

Once Silas was finished talking, a guard came and whisked each Section of kids away. I trailed behind my group as we were led to a series of black punching bags that were hung from the ceiling. Each of us divided into pairs: Henry with Leo, Asher with Zara, and Bree with me. My hands were wrapped loosely around the punching bag as I held it for Bree. She began hitting the bag in repeated motions. I rested the side of my head on the course leather that covered the piece of equipment. I gazed at the kids around me, who were beginning to unknowingly train for cruel missions and their own demise.

It was upsetting how no one seemed to care about Silas' true intentions. He may have provided a new and beautiful place to stay in, along with fresh food and clean clothes, but he doesn't care about our wellbeing. We were all just pawns in his game of human experiments, later to be used as weapons against the other corrupt people of the world. To Silas, we were still just those weak, deposable orphans that would do anything for a better life. I had to admit that the way he went about this whole ordeal was quite clever. He was basically brainwashing these kids with luxury in exchange for us to do his dirty work. I remembered that the first time I had lived through this I was just as naive and vulnerable as the rest of my friends. It wasn't until my very last mission with all of Section A that I realized everything about this place was wrong. That was when I knew we had to escape.

"I wonder what we're training for," Bree spoke up randomly. Her voice was soft and curious as it broke my through my dazed thoughts. I hummed in response, still not fully paying attention. "Do you think this has something to do with Henry's 'theory'?" I shrugged absently as I watched Eleanor talking with one of the guards. What was she doing? "Alexa?" Eleanor showed the guard her wristband, specifically the subject letter and number written on it. My eyes instantly widened as I watched the two begin to walk off, realizing what was about to happen.

Suddenly, I was knocked off my feet from the punching bag as it swung towards me and collided with my body. My hand moved to rub the back of my head, where I hit the hard ground. I heard Leo's laughter from beside me, while everyone around just watched in concern. "What was that for?" I exclaimed, turning my to Bree.

"Sorry," Bree said. She quickly walked over to me and extended her arm. I grabbed her hand and she helped pull me back to my feet.

"It's fine," I sighed. "I wasn't paying attention."

"What's wrong?" Bree asked. Her question made me glance over her shoulder to see if Eleanor was still in the room, but she had left with the guard by now. I was too late. Since Eleanor was labeled as A1, she was the first to endure the experiments. I hadn't realized how quickly this process was since the first time I was here. Soon enough, everyone would be experimented on and receiving their powers. "You haven't been acting like yourself lately."

I met Bree's worried eyes. "I've just got a lot on my mind." That was a huge understand statement. I had so much to think and worry about in regards to the past, present, and future that it was starting to cloud my head in a storm of different thoughts. I couldn't bare the awful headache that sent sharp jabs to my skull.

She sighed, "Then, talk to me about it."

I frowned and shook my head. "I can't."

"Why not?" Bree asked. She was becoming frustrated with me and I didn't blame her. "And don't say I wouldn't understand because I'm just as smart as Henry."

"This isn't about him," I huffed. "This is about everyone. If I tell you what I know, I'm putting all of you at risk."

Bree's brows furrowed in confusion. "At risk of what? You're not making any sense!"

"Please, just trust me," I pleaded. I tried my best to remain calm and keep my voice down, but Bree's outburst was starting to catch a few eyes around us, which is the exact opposite of what I need right now.

"You've been saying that a lot lately," Bree muttered. She was right though. I probably sounded like a broken record, but there was nothing else I could say to her without exposing my own secrets. "How can I trust you when you won't even tell me what's going on?"

I shrugged and shook my head as I spoke, "You're right. I don't know."

Bree studied my my eyes, searching for some sort of answer and coming up with nothing as she sighed. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "Well, when you do, let me know," she said. Then, Bree walked off and left me standing alone by the punching bag with everyone staring at me.

I glanced around at the people watching me from nearby before throwing my arms up in the air in frustration. I turned on my heel and stormed off in the opposite direction as Bree. "Trouble in paradise?" Leo asked, chuckling softly.

I just ignored his remark and flipped him off as I passed.