Chapter 3-Needles and Tags

"Kaylee! Cammie! Wake up!"

I lifted my head groggily. "But it's not our turn for watch, is it?"

Taylor's eyes were filled with panic. I got up. "What's the issue?"

I had only known them for maybe half a day, and already they had taught me a lot. The holding centers also had testing labs, to see if us Runners had any traits that could be carried over to Norms, or regular people. The people who hunted for us, ran the holding centers, or worked in the labs were called Snatchers. Safe houses were abandoned hotels, houses, any shelter that wasn't occupied. Lodges were occupied houses, but the owners would house Runners for a given amount of time.

Kaylee growled in her sleep. When Taylor went to shake her, the girl jumped up and kicked with both her feet. When he fell back, she covered her mouth.

"Taylor! Oh, gosh, I'm sorry!" She got up and offered her hand. Taylor took it and got up.

"It's alright, but find your stuff and get ready. Mellie spotted a group of Snatchers near the hiking trails." He looked over at me. "You, too. Meet me by the pond in five minutes."

I didn't hesitate. Taylor had to know what he was doing, right? My stuff was over....by the hiking trails.....I cursed under my breath and ran. I wasn't going to leave my stuff.

Making sure I didn't make too much noise, I sidled onto the path. I couldn't see anybody. I went left, hoping that the Snatchers were on another path or already past.

I saw my bag, tossed down beside a clump of grass. Picking it up, I heard gravel crunching. And it was close. I turned to run, and something sharp hit my back. I felt myself grow weak, but not blacking out. The crunching sound stopped, almost next to my head. I heard a door open, then close. Footsteps coming towards me. Clicking. Something pulled my arm out from under me, then put a band around my wrist. I let out a whimper.

"Oh, don't worry," a man's voice coldly said. "As long as you don't give us a hard time, you'll be alright." His voice reminded me of someone running their fingernails along a chalkboard. I cringed.

He took my bag. I was still face-down, so I couldn't tell where it went. I heard another door open, then close. Someone pulled me up halfway, enough to let me see blood on the gravel. I was bleeding an awful lot. I was set in something hard, maybe a wooden stretcher. I was face-up now. I saw the stars, the trees.

And I saw the jeep, next to me. I bit my lip. The man I could see carrying the stretcher had short, light brown hair, but I saw part of a scar reach from his cheek next to his eye. He glared at everything-the truck, my feet, the sky. He had serious issues.

They set me in the back seat. I could barely move. The part of my neck where the sharp thing had hit me hurt like heck. The car started, and we drove off. I saw images of Taylor, Kaylee, and Mellie run through my head. I hadn't been able to warn them. Why couldn't I have screamed? It would have at least warned them away from the location, even if it didn't mean anything else.

I fell asleep. What else could I do? I doubted that either of the Snatchers would be friendly towards me, and I didn't have enough strength to look around for my backpack.

When I woke up, I was in a room. It was painted white. When I propped myself up onto my elbows, I saw that there were two raised cots, a pair of wooden crates, my backpack, and another backpack.

And I wasn't alone.

A boy sat on his cot, which was moved over to next to the far wall. He was fidgeting with something in his lap. I looked up to see what, and he looked over at me.

"You're the new girl." he flicked his head, and his long, dark hair fell in front of his eyes. I nodded, and he smiled. "I'm Cody. I'm a pyrokinetic. And you are?"

My second introduction in twenty-four hours. "I'm Cammie. I don't know what I am, really. I just started running, earlier this week. I know I'm not a shapeshifter, or a teleporter."

He thought for a minute. "And you can't read minds, can you?" I shook my head and smiled. "Maybe it's something we haven't seen recently. It happens sometimes."

I got up. Cody reached down and handed me my backpack. "Just to let you know, they search these before they put it with you. For knives, and stuff." Sure enough, my books were messed with, and I didn't have any pencils. Only crayons. I sneered and pulled out a random book. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I sat on my cot, on the wall next to Cody's.

I didn't notice my roommate slide in next to me, until he pointed to a word.

"What's that?"

I blinked, then looked closer. "Alchemy.Haven't you learned to read?"

He shrugged. "A bit. They took me in third grade. They have a test there, they say it's a vaccine. They try and get us early, before we get too independent. So I didn't learn big words, really."

I frowned. The government needed to learn a lesson. A big lesson.