"Time to get going, men." Ryder shouts and the soldiers are on their feet in seconds. I reluctantly rise from my idyllic spot and I look down at my imprint in the grass. You can just barely see where my body once laid and I have to agree with Josh for a second. I am puny. My imprint is small and thin with barely any curves. They're there, trust me, but the uniform drowns them out. I turn around to face the group and I'm surprised to see only a few soldiers left.

    "Jenkins!" Ryder shouts and Miles stops running with the other soldiers. "Where do you think you're going? Parker stuck you with me, remember?" Miles's face reddens as he jogs back to Ryder. What? Ryder makes it seem like Miles's is on probation or something like that. This is the army, not middle school.

    I turn to Josh and raise my eyebrows but he shakes his head. Ty evades my questioning gaze when I turn to him. Fine. I'll find out on my own. Not that I want to be digging around these soldiers' business, but I don't want to be hanging out with someone who could potentially harm me or something like that. We start our run back and going back isn't as magical as running to the courtyard. I think it might have to do with the fact that a cloud has covered the sun and I have to go back in a dark compound with a bunch of men.

    And, let's face it, I don't have any friends.

    Sure I met some people today that were friendly but none of these men are going to sit and talk to me about all my problems like a friend would. None of these men are ever going to look at me and think of me as a friend. They're either going to look at me and think Freak or worthless, puny girl. That's the sad reality of my life and I came to terms with it a long time ago. No point in throwing myself another pity party.

    "Coming inside, Freak?" Josh asks. He says Freak like it's a nickname, not an insult. And I want to believe it is just a nickname but I can't. I've learned to hate hope because most of it is just false. I look around outside one more time before nodding my head and entering the gym. Josh closes the door behind me and all of it disappears. The sun, the wind, the birds, the smells, and the sounds? All gone. I stare longingly at the door until a heavy hand on my shoulder interrupts my yearning. I turn around to find Parker examining me.

    "How was it?" He asks quietly as the soldiers filter out of the gym and probably to the weight room. I meet his liquid silver eyes and feel my own eyes go wide in perception.

"It was probably the sole most amazing thing that has happened to me since I've been here." I answer beaming and he smiles at me. Actually smiles. Not a smirk like I amused him or even a pity smile. It's a real smile and it's contagious. I find myself smiling too and become very aware of his hand still on my shoulder. One of his fingers is dangerously close to touching the skin of my neck. I swallow hard.

"I should probably get going on the weights, right?" I ask and he nods his head. I step away from him and his hand falls from my shoulder landing motionless at his side. As I walk away, I glance at him once over the shoulder he touched before I jog after the rest of the men.

    "So, Freak, what's up with you and the General?" Josh asks after a while of lifting weights. At first we were doing well with small talk but I don't think guys go for that type of stuff. I roll my eyes at the question.

    "Nothing is going on. I'd die before anything did, too." I tell while lifting about 50 pounds. It's really wimpy compared to these guys who are lifting at least two-times my weight. "Parker's the guy who overlooked the torture sessions at the asylum. It's pretty easy to hate a guy like that." Everyone's silent for a minute, taking it in.

    "You got tortured?" Ty asks and I stare over at him.

    "Did you think we just sat in padded cells all day getting food breaks every once and a while?" I scoff and he hesitantly nods his head.

    "That's pretty much what we're told you do." He explains and I sigh loudly.

    "Nope. They lied. But, are you surprised?" I turn to face him on the weight bench next to me. He's not lifting a lot which probably explains why he's so boney.

    "I guess I'm not." He admits after an exaggerated sigh. "But I didn't think they'd torture you guys for something you can't even control. That's just not right." The conversation ends on that final note.

         We go back to small talk after that.

    As I'm heading towards the cafeteria after weights, I hear someone speak. I was all by myself in the hall because I told the guys to go ahead without me. I told them I'd be there in a second because I just wanted a few minutes to myself. But here I am, not getting the space I desperately need.

    "Enjoying your stay, Ms. Evans?" The voice is a low growl and I recognize it immediately.

    I whirl around so fast I stumble to the side a little. He's wearing a white suit which makes it easier to identify him. He's the man that killed the little boy in my box imitation. He plunged that syringe in the child's neck and walked away as the boy twitched and screamed on the ground. He turned his back as the boy was tortured to death. He killed a child for no reason at all. This man is a monster.

    "Sorry?" I somehow manage to say through gritted teeth, ignoring his question entirely. "Do I know you?" My eyes meet his for a second and I almost throw up. He's a disgusting child murderer. That child barely knew what was going on, didn't even say a word, and this man killed him like it was nothing. It's repulsive and horrendous.

    I feel nauseated.

    "No, I suppose, you don't know who I am." He ponders aloud, taking his time. Time that the child didn't have before this man killed him. "You may call me General Hawkins."

Wait. Hold up. Slow down. This filthy man is the renowned Hawkins? The frontrunner of the Prominence? And I actually thought he couldn't disgust me anymore. I can't even believe this. He must not be aware that I know of his murder, that I know exactly who he is. He must think I know nothing about him. I guess I have the upper hand then.

    "I thought Parker was the General." I assume and he tsks at me. He actually tsks his tongue as if disappointed in my assumption. This man is a ghastly human being.

    "He is the General of this Division, Ms. Evans." He corrects and I'm staring between his eyes, at his forehead, the tip of his nose, but I can't seem to meet his eyes. I know I'll throw up if I do.

    "I, on the other hand, am the General of the whole Army. I am the Leader of the whole Prominence." He says it like it's such a high honor. He says it like I should be beside myself in joy for being in his presence let alone speaking with him. Oh, trust me, I am beside myself with something. But that something isn't joy.

    It's resentment.

"Congratulations." I spit out and he smiles at me, not at all catching my sarcasm. My head spins when he takes a step forward. Forward means closer to me. One of the chocolates on the table next to use explodes. I have got to control that. If he notices, he says nothing, but I can see in his eyes something he had when he looked at the boy. Disgust. He's disgusted with me.

    A new wave of nausea rolls over me and I struggle to contain it. This man killed a child. This man is the one at fault for my years of misery. This man is behind the death of my family. He may not have physically pulled the trigger but, in a sense, he did. And here I am, chatting with him like it's no big deal. I have no idea how I'm keeping my face blank right now.

    "You're a smart girl, right?" He asks while I still don't dare to meet his eyes. His low voice is barely above a whisper and he's close. He's so close to me.  I nod my head slowly. "Then you're smart enough to know that if you mess up anything, I mean anything, I will not hesitate to eliminate the problem. And in this case, the problem is you." Oh my god, is he's threatening me right now? I have to get away from him. I need to breathe.

    I can't breathe.

    My face stays blank, my breathing stays even, and on the outside I'm the image of excellence. The inside, though, is a different story. He lifts his hand and brushes my cheek with his thumb. Bile rises in my mouth and it threatens to leave. I swallow it down while trying not to gag.

    "Productive discussion, Ms. Evans." He says softly. "I hope we get to chat again." And then he walks away.

I stand motionless until he's around the corner. The bile won't go back down. Even after that, I wait a few more minutes. Then I'm running. I need a bathroom. I need a bathroom right now. The hallways are a blur until I see a door that reads Restroom on it. I burst through the door just in time.

    What just happened?