Alix woke with a start as a surge of energy coursed through his entire body. A slight yelp escaped his lips as he was dumped out of his bed and onto the floor. Everything around him was blurred and he rubbed at his eyes trying to clear the haze. When his vision had cleared he opened his eyes just in time to see a boot coming toward him. A sharp pain shot through his side as the steel toe connected with his ribs.
“On your feet!” someone shouted above him. Alix gasped for air, and fought his way back to his feet. His lungs burned and his legs were shaky, he felt as if he may collapse again. Gasping for air he lifted his head and searched the room for his brother. The barracks expanded over the size of the football field, and was full of other kids and a few stern looking men. The commotion of everyone moving about gave Alix a headache. After scanning the room twice over and not seeing Xander he opted to go look for him. He donned the gray sweat suit from his locker and slid into his boots. Before he got more than a yard away from his bunk he was ushered into a line and marched outside into the cold.
Then line moved slowly giving him time to look about trying to spot his brother. As he neared the front of the line the savory smell of bacon and eggs filled his nose making his mouth water. His stomach rumbled, this was the first time he had realized how hungry he was. Upon reaching the front of the line he saw several older men eating a big breakfast. He was upset when he was handed a brown paper bag and pushed away from the line into a large field. He walked out to the center of the field, took a seat in the grass, and dumped the contents of the bag into his lap. An apple, a ham sandwich, and a pint of milk was all he got. He wiped the apple on his shirt and took a bite, opening his milk to wash it down.
He sat in the field, enjoying his breakfast while looking around, scanning the area for Xander, whom he had yet to see walking about or in line. As he was beginning to take a rather large bite from his apple he began to feel enclosed. He became dizzy, and felt as if he were looking down a long tunnel. Then as suddenly as the attack began, it ended. He had been experiencing these attacks the entire week, starting around the time he and his brother were separated, but he had always been at the facility. They had only gotten worse since then, although he felt as if he were getting used to them. He noticed a small concrete slab, off to the right, with a single podium in the center. To his left sat four large sandboxes with grassy expanses in between them. Finally Xander showed up in line rubbing his temples. Upon seeing his brother Alix grabbed his milk and paper bag and threw them into a garbage can along to way to meet up with his brother,
“Alix, where have you been? I looked everywhere for you but I couldn’t find you anywhere.” Xander said as his brother neared him. Alix opened his mouth to speak but he was interrupted by the sound of a microphone being tapped.
Attention!” The voice seemed to be coming from the concrete slab. Everyone in the field turned to look. There was a short well dressed man standing behind the podium, he had short gray hair that was receding a fair amount. He smiled and waited for everyone to be quiet. As the last voice faded, his voice seemed to boom in the silence as he began to speak.
“Hello, my name is Dr. Eli Syphyr. I would like to welcome each and every one of you to ‘The Facility’. You all have been hand selected by some of the best men and women I have had the honor to work with. You have met very specific qualifications and the two-hundred of you here today were chosen out of many others, like yourself, from all over the world. I am proud to inform you that after nearly half of a century in the making, you are the one and only recruits into The Vanguard Program.” The mass of children were silent, while the older men and women in the crowd clapped.
“As of this moment,” Dr. Syphyr continued. “You do not exist outside of this program. There is no record that you were ever born. To the rest of the world you simply never existed” Upon hearing this many of the kids began sobbing, others did not know how to react and fell to the ground in disbelief. Alix and Xander stood firm, feeling secure in knowing that they had one another. They looked at each other then back to Dr. Syphyr. He caught their eyes, smiled and nodded his head. “Do not fear my children; you will be well taken care of here. So long as you follow the rules. We do not wish to harm you, we wish to mold you. You will become the strongest, most able force the world has ever seen. Your training will be extensive and challenging both physically and mentally. Sadly not all of you will make it through this program, which is a great disappointment to us all. If you are determined and give it your all I can assure you that you will succeed. Now look around you.” He gestured to the whole of the crowd. “This is your new family; these are your brothers and sisters! Learn to love and trust them, for on more than one occasion you may find your life lying in their hands. I wish you all the best of luck, your training begins NOW!”
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