Reading about fashion, movies, TV shows, and actors’ gossip entertained me. As I searched for news about my celebrity crushes, a word appeared on the bottom right of the projected screen.

At first, I thought Russ or one of my teammates from ISAN had messaged me, but their faces would’ve popped up. Puzzled, I debated whether to click on it. One of the ISAN leaders might have sent me a message to see if I’d break their rules. I didn’t want to find out or get in trouble, so I ignored it.

The screen shut down automatically. Had it been fifteen minutes already? I cursed and commanded the voice-activator to open the door. When it slid open, I jerked back, startled by Brooke peering at me from under her long eyelashes.

Brooke and I had hit it off pretty well from the start. Maybe Brooke being the same height as me, same gray eyes, and having brunette hair just past the shoulder blade like mine, bonded us. From behind, I could pass for her twin.

Being new together at ISAN also made a difference. She would stick up for me, fight for me, and even get in trouble for me. She wasn’t like that with everyone, but working as a team built trust between us. Brooke still kept her guard up, though—like everyone else, she pretty much kept to herself. I understood. I’d been burned before.

“Hey, Ava.” Her gray eyes beamed and she flashed her white teeth.

“Hey. Did you need something?”

“Nope, just waiting for you.”

“You hungry?”

“Starving.”

“You want to move out of my way so we can go to dinner together?”

She blinked, stepped aside, then cruised down the hall with me. I veered right, then took another right, and came into view of the cafeteria door.

“I wonder what we’re having tonight,” Brooke murmured.

The aroma of pot roast and mashed potatoes spiraled through my senses when I stepped in, replacing the sterile scent of the hallway. My stomach churned, reminding me of my mother’s cooking, reminding me of my home before. For a second, I let myself feel the pain, and then quickly shut out my thoughts. I inhaled again, moaning, my mouth watering.

“Don’t have an orgasm over food, Ava.” She chuckled. “Better yet, go ahead. It’s the only one we’re getting.”

True. So damn true. I snorted as I picked up a tray and got in line. For Brooke’s ears only, I moaned longer.

I giggled when she moaned loud enough for everyone to hear. Brooke, on the other hand, not only made her audience bellow a laugh, she caught the guards’ attention.

Two guards stood at the front entrance with their hands behind them. Tasers hung from holsters on their belts. Shaped like a gun, the Taser was silver to distinguish it from a regular firearm. It had one purpose: to incapacitate an opponent for roughly thirty minutes.

The Taser had a laser attachment to allow precision accuracy when shooting from a distance and fired an electrically charged pellet that stunned on impact. Since the Remnant Councils had a no killing policy, guns had been outlawed. Only the most elite possessed them.

One of the guards looked away when no problem arose, but the other one surveyed mine and Brooke’s bodies from the corner of his eye. He tried not to make it obvious, but his eyes did not lie.

I wanted to say, “Do you like what you see, or are your eyes burning from staring at our asses?” but I held my tongue in check. Asking guards questions or even talking to them was prohibited. And I didn’t want to find out what my punishment would be. Rumor said it had something to do with our fears, and that alone hit the brakes for me.

Brooke tapped my tray with her spoon to get my attention. She smiled giddily while piling mashed potatoes on her plate and mine. Then Brooke groaned when the girl in front of us took too long scooping pot roast.

I snorted. “The food isn’t going anywhere.”

“I know, but it’ll be on that girl’s face if she doesn’t hurry.”

I knew she meant it, so I tried to reason with her. “She’s probably deciding how much to take. What’re you going to do, start a food fight?”

Brooke’s eyes twinkled, and she flashed a wicked smirk. “Not a bad idea.”

I chuckled, catching the girl’s attention in front of Brooke. She glanced over her shoulder and scowled. Brooke gave the girl the finger after she turned and held it up longer than needed, so I crushed it down. Sometimes Brooke’s temper flared from something small—unpredictable.

The girl whirled, fury in her eyes. “I saw that, bitch. I’ll break your finger next time you flip me the bird.”

The clanking of the utensils stopped and the room went silent.

Brooke parted her lips to say something, but I stepped between them when the guards focused their attention on us again, their hands on their Tasers.

“Stop. Enough.” I said it more for Brooke’s sake. I didn’t want her to be sent to isolation over something trivial.

They both cursed and then went back to minding their own business. I looked at the ceiling and released a long breath.

Finally, I passed through the line and searched for empty seats. The tables were full—not that there were many of us. There must’ve been fifty girls from different cultures. I knew only a few by name. Selected groups trained on different schedules; not to mention girls were regularly shipped in and out unannounced. I hoped Brooke stayed in the same group as me for the sake of my sanity.

Brooke picked a seat across from Justine. I sat between Brooke and a newbie.

“Hello,” the girl said. “My name is Tamara Lee. I mean Tamara. Just Tamara. I was told I don’t have a last name anymore.” She twisted her inky hair with her finger, and her brown eyes beamed when she smiled. “I’m new here ... well, since last week, but I’ll be easy to recognize since it looks like I’m one of the few Asians here.”

“My name is Ava. And you’re in good company. I’m actually half Asian myself, on my mom’s side.” I pointed to my teammates. “Brooke and Justine.”

“Hi,” Brooke said, her mouth stuffed with food.

Justine jerked her chin, a way of greeting.

Tamara forked a portion of roast beef, and her eyes glistened with excitement. “I may be new here, but I know who you three are. Russ used your MM training video as examples to follow.”

“Oh?” My interest piqued, I soaked in her enthusiasm.

Mr. Novak, the head of ISAN, had introduced the five newbies the week before. For the first five to seven days, the newbies were confined in one area for further testing.

I remembered my first day—more blood tests and mental mission training to determine my level of tolerance and my capabilities. The grueling testing exhausted me. After tests, I had been sent back to my room.

Mr. Novak had prohibited me from mingling with other girls and I’d realized then ISAN wasn’t a place of comfort and home. My destiny had been set. They owned me. They would use me. I had no choice. I had no money, no friends, and no family.

Russ preached I would be somebody important one day and make a difference in this world. I held onto that thought and reminded myself why I had committed to ISAN in the first place.

I took a gulp of my vitamin-laced water and almost gagged.

Justine grimaced. “I don’t know how long I can drink this awful protein shake.”

Brooke tapped Justine’s cup and almost knocked it over. “You drank it all.”

“Well, I don’t have a choice, do I?” Justine gripped her tray until her knuckles turned white.

“You do.” Brooke stared, eyes unblinking, challenging. “You could’ve opted not to sign your contract. You knew what you were signing up for, so stop complaining. We’re all going through the same shit.”

I scrubbed my face and sighed, preparing for anything to happen. Justine jumped out of her seat, her fingers flexing, and her eyes cold as stone.

What the hell? Not again.

“Stop.” I held out my hand. “You’ll be deported.” I shook my head. Then I snickered at the image of pot roast and mashed potatoes on Justine’s face and hair. Oh, how I would love to dump food on her head one day.

Justine sat as if nothing had happened. Brooke gossiped about what she’d found on the net, telling us all about fashion dos and don’ts. Tamara smiled. As for me, I exhaled in relief; my team hadn’t disturbed the peace. I took my last bite of broccoli as I thought of the weird message I’d received on my TAB.

After dinner, I went to the meeting room as announced during meal time. When I arrived, Russ and Lydia stood side-by-side on a raised podium situated in the center of the room.

“Good evening.” Lydia spoke through a tiny microphone clipped on her red, long-sleeved shirt.

Lucky Lydia. As a superior, she wore any color shirt she wanted. Even without makeup, she was beautiful. Her smooth skin appeared soft, and she looked as sweet as her voice, with a friendly smile and dimples.

Lydia waited until the shuffling stopped. “Tomorrow, some of you will be in session with Russ and some of you will be with me. Then we’ll switch, depending on your last score from this point. The two teams with the most points will be on the next special assignment.”

Cheers filled the room.

Russ raised his hand and the noise faded. “We have a big assignment next week. I’m not authorized to say more, but know I’ll be picking the best of the best. Also, I’ll be adding one more person to each team. You’ll be notified tomorrow. Don’t forget to do your homework. Good luck. You’re dismissed.”

“I hope I get to be on yours. I heard your team was the best,” Tamara said.

“You bet it is.” Justine raised her chin, slinking past me.

“Is she always this cocky?” Tamara kept her steps even with mine.

You have no idea. I raised a corner of my lips. “Always.”

Brooke took a step to the other side of Tamara. “Who told you we were the best? We were short by one second. Surely some other team made it. But, then again, we never know the other teams’ scores.”

“All the newbies know. Russ, the cute instructor, said so.” Tamara twisted to find Russ.

I did the same in curiosity. I was sure he’d be gone, but when his eyes locked on mine, my face warmed. I pivoted away. Surely, he wasn’t just focusing on me, rather making sure everyone headed to their rooms.

“Wow. That’s awesome.” Brooke almost ran into the wall when the hall split east and west.

“I’m going to the left.” Tamara waved her hand. “See you guys tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Tamara.” I smiled.

“See you tomorrow, newbie.” Brooke rounded the corner with me.

I really liked Tamara. Rarely did I meet an amiable newbie, especially in this environment. ISAN encouraged competition—something you didn’t do with friends. For this reason, I understood the hostility among peers. I just hoped Tamara would remain the same after the hell she would have to go through. She had no idea what was in store for her.

She’d be fine, right? She’d come out of juvie or from foster care, like all the rest of us had, and she still acted bubbly. But deep in my gut, doubt grew—she wouldn’t be fine.

I had been in her shoes once—compliant, hopeful, and gullible—but now I questioned everything. After all, I had become a weapon—an assassin. No matter the reasons for my killing, I would be playing God and taking people’s lives. In the end, I would become a darker version of myself.

“Who do you think will be on our team?” Brooke asked.

“No idea. Do you know something I don’t know?”

“No. Your senses are better than mine. I thought you could read their minds or something by now. I would love to have that kind of power. I’d especially want to know Russ’s thoughts.” She waggled her brows.

I snorted. It felt good to let out some stress. Sometimes Brooke knew just what to say. Brooke seemed to be the go-getter type, but she never judged or competed with me.

I shrugged. “Sorry. I have no idea. Wouldn’t it be great if I could read minds? Maybe I could eventually with Helix.”

Brooke’s eyes sparkled. “Maybe you should try it. It might work if you use a higher dosage.”

The sound of the footsteps dissipated around us.

“Why just me? We can both try it.”

“You and I both know you’re special. It’s why you’re the team lead.” Brooke stopped at my door. “You think faster, move faster, and hell, you have a map in your mind. You can see it in 3D, can’t you?”

“I can.” I dipped my head, shuffling my feet.

Brooke had never raved about me before. I didn’t like to brag, and I didn’t want to admit aloud to being different or special, but secretly I agreed.

“That’s so freakin’ awesome.” Her eyes scanned my name on the door. “Well, here we are.”

“Yup.” I lowered my voice. Any louder and my voice would have reverberated to the guards. “The halls are so dead quiet and freaky like Mr. Novak.”

“He definitely creeps me out. I don’t like the way he scrutinizes us, like we’re his pets.”

I gasped at her boldness, even though I felt the same way. He reminded me of my foster father, especially around the eyes. His bottomless pit coal eyes impaled me like spears.

I wished I could’ve defended myself from my foster father when he’d come at me with a belt, since my foster mother hadn’t done anything to stop him. But he would’ve beaten her, too. Helix would’ve been good to have then.

“Pets? Don’t think like that.” I frowned. “He’s probably shaking because if given a chance, we could beat the crap out of him with Helix.”

“I guess.” Brooke lifted her shoulders. Her scowl replaced her somber expression. “He reminds me of one of the people who killed my parents. I never told anyone how my parents died. They were murdered in our house right in front of me when I was a little girl. Men in dark clothes came during the night when we were asleep.”

“I’m sorry.” I thought about what my mom had done to give me comfort, so I wrapped my arms around her. It was the first time I’d shown her affection. Then I immediately regretted my action and stepped back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

I tensed. First, I didn’t know how she’d react since she hadn’t returned the hug. Second, I didn’t know if anyone was watching us besides the guards. Not that showing affection was a crime. Cameras hung from the ceiling, but I didn’t know where, exactly.

Brooke squinted her eyes, then eased back a step. “Anyway, I’d better go. I need to finish my homework.”

“See you tomorrow morning.” I placed my hand on the scanner.

“See ya.” Brooke headed toward her room as I entered mine.

I gathered my supplies to wash up at the community restroom. After I did my business, I went back to my room and finished my homework. Once in a while, I’d run my fingers along the length of the three faint scars on my body, wondering how I’d gotten them.

One spanned my lower back and another my left rib. The third scar was a burst of distorted streaks that might have once resembled a sunrise on my right side. I might have gotten these scars when my foster father whipped me, or when I’d been wounded in fights at juvie. No matter how hard I tried to recall, it remained futile. Dismissing the thought, I got into bed.

As I stared at the ceiling, I replayed the day in my mind. Today had been better than the day before. Brooke and I were getting closer to developing a real friendship; albeit it had taken us six months.

It had been so long since I’d had a friend. Ever since I’d gone into foster care, I’d hidden my life from everyone else. I made sure I stayed invisible, especially when it came to making friends.

Many people stayed away from me, anyway. Everyone in our small town knew about my alcoholic foster father, and they wouldn’t allow their children to come over to my place. Couldn’t blame them. So, when I ran away, I hadn’t missed anyone and no one missed me.

I’d also met a potential new friend. I hoped Tamara stayed as sweet as she’d seemed. With real friends, I might actually like it here after all. Though I complained about ISAN, it beat sleeping out in the streets, stealing food, and being utterly alone.

The stranger on my TAB came to mind. All sorts of nonsense invaded my thoughts. What if one of the girls had pranked me? What if Mr. Novak had tested me? Violating a rule would likely result in harsh consequences, but I had no idea what. Surely ISAN wouldn’t just send me back to juvie knowing what I knew.

Too tired to think, I drifted away to my fairy dream world—a place where my mom was alive. A place where I had a family, friends, and even a sister and a brother ... and I was happy.