Chapter 1 Just The Beginning

     "CC WE HAVE TO GO!" Julia shouted over the crowd screaming and the flames moving up the building's walls.

     "Just a sec," I said it more in the air than to her. I turned my head around to look at Marianne. Her fragile little body lay stuck behind a wooden beam that had fallen on her, and other pieces of wood were pinning her legs to the ground.

     "Oh baby girl. Go. Go with Julia. And go find Dr. Bial before anything happens." I leaned in and wrapped my arms around her. "Take this," she pulled out a locket and shoved it into my chest. "Now go! Baby girl, go!"

     I gave her another hug and kissed her on the cheek one last time. Julia was leaning against a nearby wall, agitation running through her veins. I shoved the locket into my jean pocket and ran with Julia towards the only exit.

     "Safe place my a*s," Julia mumbled under her breath as we squeezed through the crowd of people in front of the door.

     Light from the flames came through the door when we looked back at the building. Flames were coming out of the top of the Historical Museum's roof. We turned around to watch the building fall to pieces on everyone stuck inside. Sirens blared out of the silence. Many people lay outside injured, or crying and there were little kids who had no parents anymore.

     We jogged to the Millio Gas Station - the gas station got it's name from a billionaire who created all the Millio's out there, and he thought that millionaires were a piece of crap just as gas stations were - and paused just inside the front doors to catch our breath. Dr. Bial - he isn't a real doctor, he just has his PhD in medical science - was working the counter. I turned around to lock the door and turn the Open! sign to Closed.

     "The back. Follow me." Dr. Bial pulled a key off his key ring and unlocked the door.

     Julia grabbed a pack of gum and pulled a piece out. She threw the pack onto the counter and jogged around the counter to the back door. I followed behind her. Dr. Bial was packing up a bunch of tools and supplies when we caught up to him.

     "What are those for?" Julia was always asking questions - just like she was always mad at someone or something.

     "We'll need them. Now find yourself useful and start that car over there," Dr. Bial pointed to a red car that looked to be over 20 years old.

     She rolled her eyes at him, and walked over to the drivers door. "It's locked!" she said, while pulling and tugging at the door handle. I walked over towards her. I slid my hand over the handle. It opened - but I didn't pull the handle - and I jumped out of my shoes practically.

     "How'd you do that?" Julia looked at me like she had just met me for the first time. When actually, we've known each other since we were 4. That was back when it was funny to her to put gum in my hair, and to tie my shoes wrong so I would fall, and to put bugs in my sandwiches when I wasn't looking. How did we become such good friends?

     "I-I don't know. It just sort of opened!" I hopped into the drivers seat and made her walk around.

     "Well? What's your secret? Are you like a witch or something? Oh wait! I got it! You have special powers but have never shown anyone before? That's it, yeah!" she slid into the passengers seat just as Dr. Bial  jumped into the back with a back pack full of weird things.

     "Drive!" He shouted as though we were 100 feet away, when we were actually right in front of him.

     "But-" the can started when I put my hand over the steering wheel.

     "WOAH! Now that is freaky," Julia always seemed to talk even though no one - or at least me - is not listening to her.

     I put the car in drive and slammed on the gas.

     "Easy there! Haven't you driven before?" Dr. Bial seemed to be scared of my driving skills, even though I am the best student in my drivers Ed class - and already have my license.

     "Yeah," I eased on the gas after we crashed through what I think was a garage door, "Sorry. I'm a little nervous."

     I drove just at 70 when we reached Interstate 81. I went to turn onto the next ramp to head to my house to tell my parents where I was going - even though I really had no idea - and to get some money, when Dr. Bial said to continue on 81 until we reached the end. I think I was the only one who listened.

     "But why? My parents are going to be pissed when they find out that I'm driving with miss crazy over here! And I have to check in with them in," she looked at her phone, which was dead, "Great! My phone's dead! Do you happen to have a charger in this piece of crap?" She opened the glove compartment, to find a very odd object lying in their. "YOU HAVE A GUN?! NO! PULL THIS CAR OVER NOW!" She seemed to be more concerned about the gun than the fact that Interstate 81 was completely empty - except for us - when it's usually lined up with cars that are in a rush to get home.

     My retarded self not thinking, grabs the gun out of the glove compartment and sets it under my left leg.

     "You are stupid! You're going to get yourself shot with that thing!" she panicked and closed the glove compartment's door.

     "No I'm not. Plus the safety is on." I lied. I really didn't know if the safety was on or not. But I wasn't worried about that.

     The longer we were sitting in this hot car, the faster the car seemed to go - most likely because I was tired of this heat and wanted to get to somewhere cool - and the more worried I became. It was only three hours after we had left the Millio Gas Station and we were almost to the end of Interstate 81.

     We had reached the end of Interstate 81, which lead out into the middle of a desert, "Where to now?" I asked Dr. Bial, as he was scrounging around in that bag he brought along.

     "Straight," He replied, and pulled out a weird little toy that made a beeping noise every few miles.

     "Into the middle of nowhere?" Julia was talking to me now, "Are you really going to take directions from a guy who claims he is a doctor? I mean, he doesn't even look like a doctor!"

     I drove straight, just as Dr. Bial told me to do. I could tell that Julia was mad at me now. She always seemed to get mad when no one answered her questions. Which meant she was mad most of the time because everyone learned to ignore her stupid questions she seemed to ask.

     The beeping noise from that toy Dr. Bial has, started to get louder and seemed to beep more. When the beeps were one after the other, the car suddenly flipped over and skid on the roof for about 3 yards. The car came to a frightening stop and the three of us climbed out, brushing dirt off of our clothes.

     "Is everyone alright?" Dr. Bial seemed more worried about the toy being alright than me and Julia.

     "What was that?" I was curious as to why the car had flipped out of nowhere.

     "It was an electromagnetic pulse," Dr. Bial banged the toy on his hand, which seemed to not be working anymore, "A wave of electric energy caused the car to flip. And another wave caused it to stop."

     "But why would there be electromagnetic waves all the way out here, in this desert?" Julia grabbed the broken side mirror and set it on top of the car so she could fix her pony tail.

     "There is a camp sight, just a few miles farther out. The waves are to stop any electronic device from being able to work within a five mile radius of the camp," Dr. Bial threw the toy back into the bag and tossed the bag over his shoulder, "And this tracking device was supposed to help us to the camp. But it's broke." He started walking.

     "What is this camp, anyways?" Julia ran up to Dr. Bial's side waiting for an answer.

     "This camp is for special people like Claudia," we were walking in a line now, both Julia and I were hoping to find out more about this camp.

     Julia stopped. "Wait. Are you trying to say that CC is retarded or something?" She started laughing and bent down to put her hands on her knees.

     "What I'm trying to say is that Claudia is a test." Dr. Bial was the only one walking now.

     "A what?" I couldn't believe what I just heard. A test? Did Dr. Bial really say that I, Claudia Emily Yearnst, a 16 year old girl who goes to Downell High School, was a test?

     "A test." Dr. Bial repeated.

     We had reached the camp - which looked more like a white building that was meant for the criminally insane, considering how many guards were surrounding this place. The guard standing in front of the gate asked for my identification.

     "Your arm," Dr. Bial told me.

     I reached my arm out in front of the guard - a black and white robot that had the worst robot voice anyone could think of - and he snatched my arm like it could come right off. He took his scanner, which seemed to be his eyes, and the light ran over my star birth mark.

     " Su-b-je-ct 0-0-0-0-0-0-1 we-l-co-me." The robot let go of my arm and the gate behind him opened.