(The soldiers' tattoo design is above in the media)

Kat's POV

Each night, dreams arrive. Strange ones that I can't tell if they were real at one time or not. They seem hazy, like a distant memory. I know if I reported this to anyone that the surgeons try to fix it, no doubt about it. So I keep quiet, knowing that each has some truth in them.

This time, I dream of a boy. He's slightly older than me, muscular, and handsome in a strange way. He's not perfect, yet his crooked smile is more appealing to me than the straight, perfect ones I see everyday.

And then there's me. I enter the scene as well. It's like in watching myself through a window or something. We're both in a forest, I'm boating on the lake while he sits on a rock above. But suddenly I feel myself becoming the version of me in the scene. I'm seeing everything in her point of view, yet I have no control.

"I'm getting the hang of this, don't you think?" I say to him, awkwardly paddling the boat.

"Nah, you still suck," he replies.

"Then come down here and show me the right way!"

"Fine."

He jumps off the ledge of the rock, making me gasp. I peer over the boat, searching for him.

"Are you okay? Jason?" I call, leaning over farther.

He pushes the boat over, sending me into the cool water with the boat on top of me. He surfaces seconds later, under the boat as well now.

I grab on to him desperately. "I can't swim."

He smirks. "I know."

I feel heat creep up on my face as he wraps his arms around my small waist, still wearing that smirk.

The scene begins to fade just as his lips press into mine. I try to hold on to it, but it slips away, out of my control. I surface to reality, feeling someone shaking me awake.

"Wake up, Katerina! It's time for your first job," my new partner, Prosper chirps.

I've been assigned to a group of three other people, but today is the first time I begin working with them.

"Okay, okay. I'll be ready in fifteen minutes," I reply sleepily.

It doesn't take long to slip on my black uniform and pull my hair into a messy side braid. Being a soldier and all, they're not strict about the style or length of my hair. I stare in the mirror, watching the tattoo designs on the right side of my face flash black and red.

When I walk out, my group is waiting for me. Prosper, Alice, and James. They're all taller and stronger than me at the moment, but that's because the doctors haven't fully upgraded my body. If they did it all at once, my heart would stop, unable to take anymore. I go into surgery again next week, actually.

"The president wants us to patrol the outside of The Walls. That way we can keep those savages in place. As long as they keep their distance they can be left alone," Alice explains.

"And if they don't?" I ask.

"We kill them," James grins.

I nod. I study their faces for a moment. It's still hard to get used to. They're intimidating, but not just from their looks. All of our brains are programmed differently from the rest of the population. We have to be that way to do the things that we do. We need to be able to kill.

That means we respond to anger faster. Our senses are sharpened immensely, and our pride is as well. The things that I've considered flaws for so long are now suddenly okay. It's great.

We head out, gathering around the massive walls. Soldiers like us guard each side, but since the walls are so massive, we can't even see them from afar.

"You think we'll see any?" Prosper asks casually. He studies a dandelion in which he just plucked.

I shake my head. "Nah, they're smarter than that."

"We should send someone out into the forest to check if they're hiding."

I stare into the woods, knowing that my dream took place in there. I smile. "I'll do it."

Alice's eyes narrow. "Katerina, you're only on the first upgrade. Maybe someone who's stronger should go."

I shake my head in dismissal. "I'll be fine. Besides, they'll be too scared to come out of their little camp anyway."