After Sergeant Michel told me about my parents, I couldn't accept the information. I decided that my best chance of finding the truth was escaping. If I made it out of Camp Walker, I would find the closest populated place and learn what was happening. I mulled this thought over for a long time, considering how to do it. I could have just tried to escape one night by using my abilities. Although, I would have to learn every place the camp had a camera, the location and paths of roving guards, choose the best place to get out, and then deal with whatever was outside.

Unfortunately, I still had trouble remembering all the dining facility's steps. Messing up the actions caused the whole line to shuffle backward. This lessened the time allowed for eating. I wasn’t the only one to mess up, but I did it a lot, and it didn’t make me any friends. If I couldn’t remember those steps, then remembering all the things I needed to escape wasn’t going to happen. I decided that escaping was highly improbable. I would need to continue training, learning and gathering information.

Even though I determined escape wasn’t likely to happen, I continued to ponder other actions I could take. One day, while going about my regular business, I came up with an idea. I saw Sergeant Michel walking around with a clipboard with some paper. I couldn’t tell what was on the paper, but I could see that it was printed, not lined.

I thought about how he was always writing notes. He also seemed to have a lot of information about the camp and the people on his clipboard. I wondered where those papers were stored. I wondered how I could get to them. I decided that I needed to know what he knew.

After that, I tried to be more observant around the camp, which paid off but not how I expected. I didn’t see Sergeant Michel much, but I discovered the cadre area. I couldn’t believe I didn’t know where it was, especially after being there for years. I chalked it up to how I just focused on going about my day and trying my best to keep my head down.

The cadre area was behind a set of thick double doors that required a code to get through. I couldn’t do anything about the passcode, but I thought I could find a way through one of the other rooms. However, I didn’t know the layout passed the door, so I needed some more information.

After a few more days of observance, I found that cadets were allowed back there, but only with a cadre escort. I even saw a few Carpenters go back there. I decided that I needed to enlist some help from my fellow Carpenters, but I had to make sure I could count on them. I figured Sarah would be the best person to discuss my plan with, so I waited for an optimal opportunity to talk to her.

Now that I was paying more attention, I realized that the Carpenters only received additional members after a month and then only one or two times after that. It seemed the Welders received more people every week. It wasn’t a lot, but it was noticeable. I used that information to create an opening when discussing the cadre with Sarah. I didn’t want to just blurt out my plan and have her get upset.

I came in late from a detail one day and caught Sarah sitting at our designated table in the mess hall. There were others at our table, but she was separated from them, which I thought was the best chance I would get to talk to her. I turned to Sarah between quick bites of food and asked, "Have you noticed that the majority of the kids that have come in lately are Welders?"

"Duh, of course I have," she answered tersely.

"And that most of the kids here are Welders too?"

She just nodded her response.

I just asked the question because I needed a good opener and segue to my next question. But, I wanted to know if it bothered Sarah as much as it did me. It bothered me because they treated us all differently, and I was technically more different. Additionally, it was a legitimate question, and I was curious about her answer.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"It's just that they keep increasing, and we don't, but our food production requirements keep going up, forcing us to work harder,” I continued.

"Is that what you’re worried about, having to work more? It's not like you’re that useful in the garden anyway. You can't even do half of what everyone else can do. You’re always running off to the library every chance you get, too. That place isn't even that good anyway, maybe you could stay longer in the garden sometimes and help us out. Or at least socialize more with us."

I was taken aback by her tone. I knew I wasn't half as good as anyone else, and I wished I could tell her why, but I didn't think I wasn't useful. I was always in the library because it was one of the only places where I could not only learn but be myself.

Of course, there was the fact that Claire was there, but that was just a bonus to going there. I was also shocked at her mentioning that I didn't socialize with anyone, but when I thought about it, I realized she was right. I thought about her words but didn't know what to say. Everyone in our group was friendly, but I didn't feel like I belonged there. I felt like an imposter. I began to speak, but she cut me off.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just been a long day, and I have a lot on my mind, okay?"

This time I was the one to nod. Sarah grabbed her tray and got up to leave. I ate slowly so she had time to go with another group before I got up.

I usually went to sleep early to wake up when it was dark and practice my abilities. That night, I sat up and listened to the chatter in the room. As I listened, I noticed that the kids actually seemed happy. I didn't understand how they could be, though. We were prisoners in the camp.

We were forced to live like this because the government couldn't trust us. They said we hurt people, and at least according to Sergeant Michel, I was no exception, but I was sure they were lying to me. How could I be happy when this sickness caused me to kill my parents, or I was being lied to? Were others content here? I decided that Sarah was out of line.

She and the other cadets could fool themselves into thinking this place was terrific, but I wouldn’t let that happen. However, if they all thought this place was great, then I didn’t really know with whom I could discuss escaping. With that thought, my second plan for finding my needed answers was discarded. I wouldn't bother getting close to anyone; that way, no one would miss me when I was gone. I turned on my side and went to sleep, hoping that the nightmare of my father wouldn't visit me that night.

During that time, the Welders had started sparring against each other regularly, and they seemed to enjoy it. Their lead cadre member had instituted the practice, and it was even catching on in my group. However, there were no such things as sanctioned matches. Still, there were rumors that some type of evaluation and grading system was being developed in the camp. Once the matches and ranking system were formalized, we were told that the matches would get us more privileges.

A lot of cadets were interested at first, and many signed up. I didn’t care about extra privileges, so I stayed out of it. When the matches started, everyone discovered that compared to the Welders, the Carpenters weren’t as strong, and combat was challenging. Both types have inherent capabilities that the others don’t. With wood types, that intrinsic power comes with manipulating plant matter.

This was on a scale that was much more than I could do. When it came to living matter, I could make it move and change shape, but true Carpenters seemed to be able to do far more. They could make fruit bloom constantly and easily crossbreed different types of plants. A couple of people could completely change the type of plant growing into another. However, the wood types were severely outmatched when it came to combat.

Both types were physically tougher than average humans, and Welders were even tougher than Carpenters. Metal almost always beats wood because it can be made into sharp objects. Then it can be used to hack away at the wood. Also, the Welders always made armor with metal, and Carpenters couldn't compete with it.

About a year after the official matches started, they announced the formation of squads based on ranking. I still wasn’t interested until they mentioned that those squads would get to go on missions outside of Camp Walker. I was focused on getting through each day, but a fire lit up the spark of hope inside me after that announcement. If I could get outside, I could escape with minimal risk. After that, I began training my powers and body to win in the matches. Once I felt I was ready, I signed up for a match, and a few months later, I faced my first opponent.

Sitting in my bed, I smiled at the simplicity of my plan. All I had to do was win a few more fights until I was on a squad and then disappear when I went on a mission. Easy Peasy.