"Alright, Aidren, I've put a lot of faith in you, so I think now would be a good time to tell us everything," Sarah said.

"Okay, but I'll have to give you the abridged version. I think we need to figure out how to defend this area. I don't think we have long before they come for us." I said the last part while trying to look as serious as possible. They must have all realized the same thing because they all looked down, lost in thought. "Sarah, do you remember our talk in the garden when I disappeared?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes," she replied, "But they didn't tell us you were missing that day. The day after, they gathered us all together and said they believed you were KIA. I would have believed them if we hadn't had that conversation in the garden. I still wasn't sure you hadn't died until you returned. They didn't tell us you were back either."

"Wait," John interjected. "You guys seemed to have a plan, and you weren't surprised like everyone else when you sew him at the arena. How did you know he was back? What did you two talk about in the garden?"

"I was asleep, and I suddenly woke up to this shit," she pointed at me, "shaking me and whispering into my face. It scared the hell out of me."

"Now I'm really confused," John said, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"I thought they captured you? Actually, I thought you were dead. But then they dragged you into the arena, said they captured you and that you were a traitor. Now I find out you were roaming the camp at night and went to see Sarah? I thought we were friends?" He belted all that out in a nonstop stream of words that got higher pitched as he failed to take a breath.

I thought it was funny, but it was a serious question, and I knew he was hurt. John was my friend, one of the only people who had consistently been so, but I never tried to get too close with anyone except Claire. I realized then that I must have seriously misjudged our level of friendship, and it made me feel even worse.

"I'm sorry, John," I said. "We are friends, and I didn't mean to do that to you. Please let me explain?"

After John nodded, I began my story. I told everyone about the discussion between Sarah and me in the garden and how the camp had only gotten Welders for a long time. I discussed my mistrust because of my power, how it was different from others, and how they told me I killed my family didn't make sense.

I mentioned my plan to go on a mission and escape, which was my whole reason for fighting. I revealed how I was attacked in the hallway by Jace and his friends, my break-in at Sergeant Michel's office with everyone's files. Then I told them about the mission, the scout, and how he cleared up my memories.

"How did he do that?" Sarah asked before I could get into my memories.

"From what I can tell, he had the same powers as me. I talked to the leader of the liberation group, and from what he told me, the scout's powers were similar to mine."

"What are your powers?" John asked. "You took Jace out with one punch and through his armor."

The thought of Jace hit me like a hammer. I hadn't thought about it, but I killed him. I was so angry; he was part of the whole system.

"John!" Sarah scolded. "Don't be so insensitive. Continue your story Aidren."

I decided to deal with that mess of emotions once we were safe from the camp and I was alone, so I continued my story. I told them how I could suddenly remember everything after he touched my forehead. I briefly went over what happened at home and how I was placed with the Carpenters.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Damn," Randy said, and everyone else nodded.

"That's not even the craziest part of this whole thing," I said, bringing everyone's attention back to me. "When I told Jace about remembering everything and that the camp was taking advantage of us, he knew what was going on."

"What do you mean he knew?" Sarah asked.

"I knew the camp had been lying to us, but I was floored when all my memories came rushing back in. I told him about it and thought he would be on my side. But he just smiled and said they never lied to him. After he killed the scout, he tried to kill me. That's when I ran."

I told them how I escaped, was taken to the liberation group, and met the leader. They were all very interested in that information. I mentioned how there were a lot of groups like Melody's that were dedicated to finding lost children.

We discussed my time there, how Melody was assigned to show me around, and her brother being a Siren. Then I talked about the attack on the campground and how the Welders attacked indiscriminately and killed everyone. Eventually, I got to my capture and how I woke up in a cell.

"So they did capture you, but they didn't know about your power, and you broke out?" John questioned.

"Exactly," I said.

"Then how did you get captured again?"

"I didn't get captured again. I went back to my cell. I was planning on breaking out the next night, so I coordinated with Sarah to have everyone gather together in the garden. Then I went to the garden to prepare our escape route. Unfortunately, Colonel Baxter decided to have a public execution. Since I didn't have much choice, I decided to not hide my abilities anymore. It was a good thing I talked to Sarah too, or else we wouldn't have been able to escape like we did."

"Speaking of escape," Sarah said. "You went back for Claire but came out with Melody and her brother." I could feel Melody's eyes bore into me at the mention of Claire. "What happened?"

I sighed, deep and heavy, "That's another really crazy part. I almost didn't make it. First off, Claire is the colonel's daughter."

Everyone was surprised at that revelation. Even if they didn't know Claire, the fact that the colonel had a daughter and she was in the camp was astonishing. Especially after the knowledge of how they were treating everyone.

I told them how she led me to the colonel's office and then turned on me. I touched on how the colonel said they were using Sirens to erase our memories and how mine had been problematic, and Claire was the main person who had done it.

"So, they used the Sirens to erase our memories?" Sarah asked with a thoughtful look.

"And they kept erasing them if it was needed," I replied.

After that, I told them how Sergeant Michel walked in and how he's basically the right hand of Colonel Baxter. This revelation really shocked them because we all knew him. We all knew that Sergeant Michel would display different aspects of his personality, but for the most part, he was fair and even seemed caring at times.

"The caring person that he had shown us is completely fake," I said.

I told them how they were about to kill me right there, but Claire stopped them with a single word. I didn't tell them how I still tried to get her to come with me, but she refused. I just mentioned that I left the room and went to rescue Melody and her brother, how we left the same way as the rest of the group, and we caught up to them.

Silence pressed down on the room as everyone tried to process all the information we had just covered.

"So, what are your powers?" Sarah asked. "We need to know what you can do to prepare for the cadre coming after us."

"Well," I began, "I think the best way to explain it is through senses. You guys use touch, the Sirens use sound, and I use sight. I can pretty much manipulate anything, but I have to see it.

"You only need to look at something, and you can manipulate it?" John asked. "Like, with your mind?"

I don't think I can do it with just my mind; at least I've never tried," I pondered aloud. "I still need to make physical contact with something to manipulate it. At least for now." I shrugged after the last part. "I also can't manipulate it as quick, and I can't make things grow like you guys can. Plus, I don't have any innate defenses like you guys or the Welders."

"How did you win your fights then?" Randy asked.

"I can't take a hit like you guys, so I figured out a way to win without getting hit. If we have time tomorrow or later today, I think we should go over some fighting strategies, but the best advice I can give is - we are not in the arena, and we are not Welders. We're in a forest and should use it to our advantage."

With those words, Sarah dictated that we should all get some rest if we could. Melody went to the room with her brother, and I went to my own place to deal with all the emotions threatening to overwhelm me.

Talking over everything helped me a lot more than I thought. While recounting my story and the chain of events was stressful, I expected my emotions to come crashing down like a demolished building as soon as I got to my room. However, expelling all the thoughts eased the pressure on my mind, and I fell asleep quickly in a dreamless sleep.