As soon as Dr. Syphyr finished his speech the older men and women in the crowd began to gather all of the children into on line. They marched the line past the large sandboxes and into the grass field that extended as far as they could see. At the edge of the final sandbox a man in the front of the line began to shout.
"You will run, and you will keep running until I tell you to stop. There is a warehouse ten miles north of here, when we reach that warehouse you will be divided into eight groups. From then on you will begin training to work not only individually but as one unit. Alright boys and girls, let's move out!"
Alix and Xander started to run forward as did many other children, yet some faltered and fell behind. The handful of recruits that were slow to start were encouraged to move along by men with tasers  Alix could not help but notice the immense size of the grounds. He vaguely remembered the night he and his brother were brought to The Facility. One thing he did remember clearly was the massive stone wall and the wrought iron gate through which they entered. Looking about him now he could see no signs of the wall in any direction.
The run seemed much further than ten miles. Along the way a number of kids failed to keep up, some passed out, and others began to vomit. Alix and Xander were the first two recruits to reach the warehouse, where they doubled over with their hands resting on their knees. Every muscle in their bodies burned and ached. As more of the recruits gathered in front of the building, the man who led them began to seperate them into eight even groups. The man grabbed Alix by his arm and pulled him away from Xander to the front of another group.
"NO!" Xander yelled and ran towards his brother. Two men stepped into his path blocking him from Alix, but Xander did not slow. Instead he quickened his pace and veered to the left, watching as both men adjusted their position to intercept him. As the distance between them closed the men began to smile at Xander, he smiled back at them devilishly. One man lunged forward grabbing at him, only to miss his target. Xander threw his feet forward and slid on the ground directly between his assailants legs. Back on his feet he took three more steps and leaped into the air, smashing into the second man's chest, knocking him to the ground. Xander hit the ground in full stride, ignoring his aches and pains, and ran to his brother's side. Both men that Xander had caused to fall were now back on their feet and walking toward him, each wearing a malevolent grin. Alix moved in front of his brother and faced them.
"Smith! Degelmann! That's enough!" The man that had separated Alix from his brother shouted. "You two leave these boys alone, I'll deal with them."
"Sir, yes sir!" They said in unison, and walked away muttering to one another. Up close the man was much larger than he appeared. His towering stature, and wide set body was intimidating to the small boys. He stood over them, observing their faces with scrutiny. Both Alix and Xander worried what the man would do to them for acting out.
"What are your names?" he asked.
"Alix and Xander, sir" Alix said speaking for his brother.
"Well boys, what seems to be the problem?"
"You sir." Alix stated plainly.
"Me? What have I done to become a problem?" He asked sourly.
"You tried to take my brother away. You were going to separate us sir." Xander spoke up hoping to keep his brother from getting himself into trouble.
"I see now. Well don't worry, you two can stay together. I want the two of you with me. My name is Kevin Miller, and I am in charge of your physical training as well as the Alpha team. Get in line over here with me."
By this time all of the recruits had made it to the warehouse. Miller led Alix and Xander to a door on the far left of the building, and instructed them to stay put. The boys stood there watching as Miller walked around picking different recruits and bringing them one by one to stand alongside them.