(Drew)

I crouched down on the roof, throwing my hood over my head. It was late at night, dark and cold, the wind whistling and howling through the trees and fences, which kept on rattling continuously throughout.

"First mission..." I breathed out quietly, checking the note in my pocket. I knew that something was wrong with this group I had joined. I was essentially going rogue instead of being with the rest of the gang, but it was for one reason of course.

Protecting May.

I jumped off the small roof and rolled onto my feet quickly, crouching through a bunch of containers silently. I peeked around the corner and headed straight for the open container, right in the middle of the yard. I stepped inside and grabbed the box that was inside. This was my mission, to take this package. Illegal, yes, but worth it? 

Definitely.

I quickly picked up the package and ran back out, swiftly moving to the fence before hauling my ass over it and heading to the nearest alleyway, where my pick-up was supposed to be waiting. 

However, a man was there, staring me down suspiciously and as soon as I saw the glinting metal of his blade in the moonlight, I knew he meant trouble.

"Think you can steal our package, little boy?" he grunted at me and looked menacing, stepping closer with the blade visible. 

I immediately thought of May in that moment and I stared him down intensely, much to his surprise. I said no words at all while he continued to move to me. 

"Confident little boy, huh?" he grinned and pulled the knife up more to make me notice it clear as day, although I already did. "You'll regret that little boy." 

I casually turned around and stepped out into the busy street behind, walking down the road with no worries. The man of course never expected this and he just stopped at the end of the alleyway. I knew he wouldn't be willing to wield a weapon in public like that, so I continued walking, pulling out my phone and calling the guy that was my pick-up. I assumed he probably knew about the guy with the knife.

"What does the little cub want, failed the mission? Got caught by the guy with the knife?" he asked through the phone cockily. 

"Yeah no, I'm waiting for you on the corner of the street right by the alleyway..." I said slowly, looking around. "The only person that could be failing right now is you for being late."

"Now don't get cocky with me kid," he snarled through the phone and I just laughed. 

"Yeah well, the "guy with the knife" wasn't a big deal. I just walked out of the alleyway and onto the street and he crapped himself," I explained, much to the liking of my pick-up.

"Pfft," he barked out a laugh, before straightening his tone up. "I'll be 30 seconds, hold on."

With that, he hung up and my first mission was as easy as that. I didn't know how it would help me protect May, but I was sure that finding that out would come soon.

(Ash)

We had all convened at Kenny's Flat. He wasn't old enough to live there but his Parents had spent a fortune on buying it ready for him to move in as soon as he could. He had the keys so he could go in if he wanted and the "school" didn't have this address.

"It feels so bizarre that we won't be at school," May was still surprised. "We need to get Misty and God knows what will happen to her now."

"Everything is going to be set straight as soon as we look over the things that Clemont found," I said, all of us standing around him while he scanned through the data files to see if they were safe to view and not corrupted in any way, something Gary couldn't check quick enough while inside the school.

 "The files are all safe, so are we ready?" Clemont span around and looked at us all.

"Shouldn't we get Misty?" Dawn asked, looking at Iris first and then Cilan.

"After," they both said simultaneously.

"Simple explanation for that is we risk not being able to find out everything first and also the information might help us plan," Gary explained to Dawn.

"What he said," Serena nodded in agreement and Clemont turned around to the laptop again.

"I'll take that as a yes," he laughed quietly to himself.

"I bet they are crapping themselves right now," May grinned and then she pulled out her phone, probably to message Drew, but she didn't mention him at all. 

Clemont pulled up the files and opened the first one, marked "Punishments". 

[FILE: #001 --- Punishments ---]

As per request of the school board, punishments are not required unless they deem it necessary. All rules that are broken by a specific student must be known to the school board for any punishment to be done. 

END. 

-----------

Then he opened each one in silence and let us read them all.

[FILE: #002 --- Letter from School Board ---]

Dear Sycamore, 

                                As per request of us, the school board, you must allow any violence/bullying to continue within the school, however, you have permission to take minor action, such as a one-two week suspension or after-school detention. This allows the school to be more competitive and will let the smartest individuals breakout into the world as the brainiest kids of our generation. We know that the doubled pay-rise will make this possible for all teachers in the school. You get more money and we achieve great results. Just be sure to keep all Student documents clean as to make it seem like no such violence or bullying occurs in the school. 

Keep our records and reputation clean. 

Regards,

                 The School Board.

END.

  ----------- 

[FILE #003 --- Current Update of School ---]

No students are allowed to leave this school. Once joining, they are committing their adolescence to us. We will be commencing our scientific tests in the next few weeks so make sure that the students are prepared. 

We suppose that the school is not really a school, but more of a testing ground to produce the best possible breed of teenagers for future generations to consistently produce a smarter breed of kids within our country for the years to come. 

Any students that commit any illegal action within our school (see FILE #004 for details on "illegal action within our school") will be punished in accordance with our testing. Consider them the first subjects for testing. 

School shutdown will commence in two weeks time, to prepare for the tests. Students will be prepped for the tests in accordance with our policies (see FILE #005 for "our policies") 

END.

  ----------- 

[FILE #004 --- Illegal Actions Within our School ---] 

This is a list of current illegal action that can be punished severely within our school and the punishments they can bring:

- Stealing, corrupting or copying data from within the school database - Priority test subjects and/or "suspension from school" 

- Hardcore violence and/or anything on that level of illegality - Beta test subjects (earliest test subjects) and "expelled from school"

- Failing an exam or assignment - Dispose of the test subject on a "school trip", leave no traces

We have since tripled your pays and so we hope the school staff act in accordance with our demands. Your own lives are at risk if you try to do anything that does not meet our polices (See FILE #005 for "our policies")

END.

----------- 

[FILE #005 --- Our Policies ---]

Policies as stated below:

- All staff must act in accordance with the demands of the school board if they wish to reap the rewards we set out for you.

- Any students that are linked with the school board are exempt of testing and are above you as members of staff. Anyone that they deem above you are also exempt from testing. 

- Failure to keep data and/or exempt students safe will come with severe punishment, unless a back-up plan can be used to help keep our reputation in place.

Now testing is only two weeks away, so be sure to prepare all students in a weeks time and keep notifying them about upcoming "tests" so they work their brains hard before the real testing begins. 

We will be holding the scientific tests for a week outside of school so the parents think they are on a school trip. 

Here is the address for future referen----

DATA CORRUPTED.

END FILE DOWNLOADS.

TERMINATING PROGRAM...

END.

  ----------- 

"Erm..." Clemont looked at his computer as it shut down completely. 

"So we don't know the address now and these secrets seem pretty...bizarre?" May folded her arms curiously. 

"Does no one else realize that Misty will be possibly the only priority subject that is in that school?" Gary pointed out and we all froze, the air becoming severely cold for a moment. 

"What I find weird," Clemont was trying to make sense of everything that he had found. "Is that there was still 5 more files to look at, full of more secrets, but we only got to see 5 of them overall."

"So we probably haven't actually discovered the main secrets, just what they are doing in the long term," Cilan scratched his chin. "I imagine they probably brainwashed some of the kids, using the tech they have for these so-called "tests" and that is why Dawn was able to be planted in the classroom and pose as Miette so easily. That must be why the prefects work so well with the teachers and act like they do when it comes to "punishments"."

"Still the biggest secrets are being hidden from us, which is annoying" Iris puffed out a sigh and folded her arms too, clearly annoyed.

"Seems like we are running in circles then," Kenny piped up.

"Yep," Gary sounded out and we all sighed in unison.

Clemont began typing away frantically on his laptop, bringing up binary codes and multiple programs, working so fast no one could even understand his computer work. 

"I'm going to try and restart the programs I used for the data transfers and then using the binary patterns that the codes are written in, I may be able to translate some of the corrupted data that we lost..."

"But?" Iris prompted him to continue and he looked at us all again. 

"It may be very very cryptic and messy, so hard to read and also I will need to work in silence so if all of you could take a trip somewhere or something so I could work...please?"

"Save Misty?" Serena asked and Kenny opened the door to the other room, gesturing us inside. "Yes or no?"

We all stepped inside while Serena continued to ask, looking around the big room. It took me a moment but it completely resembled the club room we used to have before high school came around...if it ever did come around. 

"Once Clemont gets the rest of the files sorted out, we need to think about what to do with it all. Could we take it to the news and police and get the tests shut down or do we keep it to ourselves and try to shut it all down?" Kenny prompted the ideas to us and then continued on. "What about Misty? As Serena mentioned we need to save her and we have the time while Clemont works, so let's start planning shall we?"

"I remember the whole interior and exterior of the school," Cilan stood up next to Kenny. "Well truth be told, my drone took pictures of everything inside and out and I mapped it on my computer, so the file is on this USB."

"I have my laptop in my bag," Iris got up and placed it on the desk, plugging in the power supply and turning her laptop on. 

"Well it seems like we can get a plan together, but there is one thing missing you guys," Kenny looked at Gary, who was begging to let us all know about something we hadn't thought about yet. 

"They mentioned prepping test subjects in a week...but also how will they keep Misty in school without sending her home or her parents worrying? Something else to think about is the fact we don't know the address for the testing place and what if they move her there now?" 

With plans being laid out for Misty's rescue and some more work being done towards the secrets being brought out into the world, we had a lot to consider and think about. 

I for one also wanted to know where Drew was and what was happening with him. Was he in danger? Was he helping behind the scenes somehow? Only time could tell how everything would play out.

But time was running short...very short. Acting fast is the only priority for us all. We had to give it our all in order to save the other students in danger and unaware of these troubles.

It was all or nothing now.

With personal problems shoved to one side, we prepared for a journey that may just put us in the most danger we have ever been in.

------------------

I hate the fact that I have just abandoned writing but I decided to just keep writing this book until I finish it because y not.