Claire looked around the school hallway, making sure there was no one around to see her. Certain she was alone, she took a step toward the double doors in front of her and held out her right hand. A rush of energy flooded her body as the door opened, seemingly by itself.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Claire's shoulders sagged. She turned around to see her sister standing, arms folded, a few feet away. The door fell shut with a loud thud that echoed around the empty hallway.

"Victoria," Claire said.

"Well?" Victoria asked. "Where were you going?"

Claire winced at the accusation in her tone. All she wanted to do was eat alone, away from the noise and chaos of the lunchroom. But looking into her sister's piercing green eyes, her voice faltered.

"I—I don't know," Claire stammered. They may have been twins, but they were far from identical. Victoria's jet black hair was practically the opposite of Claire's shorter, light blonde hair. And as she'd been told countless times, Claire had their mother's pale blue eyes.

"You were using your powers," Victoria finally said.

"Yeah," Claire replied, looking down.

"You know we're not supposed to," Victoria said. "What if someone saw you?" She glanced behind her, clearly getting impatient. Their friends were waiting for them in the lunchroom. Well, they were more Victoria's friends. Claire barely spoke to them.

"Come on, let's go." Victoria turned around and walked away. Claire sighed and followed her, defeated. What was she supposed to do? Their father wanted them to stick together. And Victoria would never hurt Claire, but she could create copies of herself and outnumber her in seconds.

An explosion of sound hit Claire as they entered the cafeteria. This was the reason she hated eating in the lunchroom. She glanced at Victoria as they approached their usual table.

Claire had spent hours trying to figure out how to tell her family that her powers were more than just telekinesis. But she could never find the right time, and now it felt like too late. Victoria would be upset she hadn't told them sooner. Claire wasn't sure how their father would react.

Ugh. Looks like Rose went to lunch with Kate again.

Claire flinched when her sister's thought echoed in her head. Mind reading might sound cool, but it was just one giant headache. She had gotten better at blocking out people's thoughts over the past few years. But when there were too many people, or when Claire was tired, it was difficult.

The chair squeaked as Claire pulled it away from the table and sat down. The others didn't give her a second look, too deep in conversation to notice her arrival. Claire did her best to block out their minds as she ate. She succeeded for the most part, but snippets still slipped in here and there.

This pizza is disgusting.

Claire tried to focus on something else. Her own thoughts drifted to their dad. He had powers, too. Super hearing. When she was younger, Claire thought she and Victoria had inherited their abilities from their father, but he told them that wasn't true. Apparently they hadn't even been born with their powers.

Did I leave my math homework at home?

But their father had never explained where they got them. Maybe it had something to do with their mom's death. Dad never explained that, either. It was what, ten years ago that she'd died? Eleven? It would be eleven years in May, Claire realized.

I need to remember to reload my gun.

Claire frowned as she realized what had just heard. A gun? She looked around, trying to figure out who the thought came from. It sounded feminine, but that wasn't much to go on.

The bell rang, making her jump. She was vaguely aware of the other girls saying goodbye to Victoria, of Victoria saying goodbye to her, of the countless students pushing past. It took her a moment to get going, and her head pounded as she was hit yet again with the inner thoughts of everyone around her.

Claire shook her head and walked to class. She slid into her seat seconds before the late bell rang. Mr. Allen began the lesson as she pulled out her notebook, not really listening to what he was saying.

"Can anyone tell me what current events we discussed last time in class?" Mr. Allen asked, his stern gaze moving over the students.

Please don't ask me. Claire racked her brain, but she couldn't remember what they'd talked about.

Mr. Allen looked down at his seating chart. "Claire Foster?"

Claire flushed as everyone turned to look at her.

She didn't like listening to people's thoughts intentionally. It was a violation of privacy. But she was grateful when someone's voice spoke loud and clear in her head, giving her the answer to Mr. Allen's question.

"We talked about that lab accident that happened here in California," Claire said, trying to ignore the fact that everyone was looking at her. "It was eleven years ago, right?"

Mr. Allen nodded. "Correct," he said. He turned to the board and continued to speak. "An accident at Tyche Laboratories caused destructive energy to spread in a five mile radius, leaving the nearby town of Cladis Point with excessive damage..."

While Mr. Allen continued to drone on about the accident, Claire doodled in her notebook. She'd found that concentrating on drawing helped tune out the voices. Occasionally, though, a thought or two would still find its way in. As Claire moved her pencil across the paper, she heard a familiar voice in her head.

No survivors? Hilarious. I can't believe what the government's telling these people.

Claire looked around. It was the voice she'd heard at lunch. Her gaze rested on a girl who had transferred into class a few days earlier. Claire narrowed her eyes and concentrated, trying to determine if the voice was hers.

A flood of thoughts rushed into Claire's head. And they weren't just words. Claire was looking at the whiteboard and the classroom from where the girl was sitting. Her vision shifted as the girl turned to look at Claire.

The scene changed. Rows of men in red armor stood in front of her. She saw a helicopter approaching her, her arm out in front of her holding a gun, her brown hair and dark eyes staring back at her in a mirror.

Claire's eyes flew open. Her vision blurred in front of her and there was a ringing in her ears. It took her a moment to realize she was lying on the ground. She looked up to see her classmates surrounding her. Staring at her.

"Claire, are you all right?" Mr. Allen asked as the ringing faded away. She groaned in response and sat up, grabbing a chair leg to steady herself. Her hand drifted to her shoulders and touched the ends of her hair. It was hers. She was back. Claire looked around, trying to find the girl whose mind she'd read.

"What happened?" Claire asked as she looked around. She winced as a pounding headache started to set in.

Mr. Allen turned to the other students. "Someone should take her to the nurse's office," he said.

"I'll go," someone volunteered. The new girl stepped forward, her long braid swinging behind her.

"Thank you." Mr. Allen turned to Claire. "Wren will help you get to the nurse's office."

Wren. That was her name. Claire nodded and pulled herself to her feet.

"What happened?" Wren asked as they entered the hallway.

Claire shrugged, not sure what to say. She couldn't tell Wren that she'd been reading her mind. "I don't know," she finally said. "I was sitting there and then I saw these images."

She had never seen thoughts before, she'd only heard them. And she had seen memories this time, not just whatever Wren was thinking at the moment.

Wren frowned. "What do you mean, images?"

Claire folded her arms. Wren's questions were beginning to irritate her. "I don't know," she answered, trying to sound polite. "I just saw random stuff. Like people, I guess."

Wren didn't say anything, and Claire was grateful for the break. Her headache made it hard to concentrate, and it didn't take long for Wren's thoughts to find their way in.

She's an Altered, I can feel it.

Claire glanced at Wren out of the corner of her eye.

Telepathy, maybe? I could find out, but I don't want whatever happened to her to happen to me.

Her voice grew fainter, and Claire realized she was losing her connection. She instinctively reached out, trying to maintain her grasp on Wren's mind.

The pain in her head increased. Claire frowned. What what was she doing? Grimacing, she let go of Wren's mind.

Wren stopped abruptly. Claire paused, confused, as Wren reached into her jacket and pulled something out.

A gun.

Claire's heart skipped a beat when Wren pointed the weapon at her.

"You have powers, don't you? What are they?" Wren demanded.

"I—I can move stuff with my mind," Claire said, unable to stop the words from tumbling out. "Telekinesis."

"And?"

Claire swallowed. "I can read people's minds." Her voice was shaky.

"Interesting," Wren said, a smile tugging at her lips. She lowered the gun, and Claire breathed a sigh of relief.

Wren pulled a cellphone out of her pocket. As she held the phone up to her ear, someone walked around the corner behind her. The school principal.

"Hey," he said. "What are you kids doing in the hall during class? Is that a gun?"

Wren looked over at the principal. "This old thing?" she asked as she held up her gun.

His eyes widened. "Weapons are forbidden—" he began, but he was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Wren slid her gun into her jacket and broke into a run.

"Come on!" Wren shouted at Claire.

Claire glanced at the principal and was relieved to see he was okay. Intentionally or not, Wren had missed him.

A bullet whizzed past Claire's face.

"Hurry up," Wren said. "We don't have all day,"

Not seeing any other choice, Claire hurried over. Wren led her outside to the front of the building and returned to her phone conversation.

"Is the Overseer available? Good, put her on." Wren tapped her foot against the pavement and threw a glance back at the high school.

Claire's hands trembled. She forced herself to take a deep breath, but she couldn't undo the knot forming in her stomach.

"Claudia?" Wren said. "I found an Altered. Telekinesis and mind-reading." A pause. "Listen, the police are probably on their way. I need a jetchopper now."

Police sirens came on in the distance. Nausea washed over Claire. What was happening? Would Wren shoot her if she tried to run?

Victoria was going to be furious.

"Colorado? That'll have to do. Who's there?" Wren asked.

A police car came around the corner and flew toward her and Wren.

"Ash?" Wren exclaimed "Fine, whatever. Just tell him to get here fast." She hung up and shoved her phone back in her pocket.

"Our ride's in Colorado, it'll take them about fifteen minutes to get here," Wren said.

"Our ride?" Claire asked. What kind of ride could travel across three states in fifteen minutes?

"Great, the police are here." Wren let out a heavy sigh as two more cars appeared at the end of the street. The first car parked in front of the school, just a few hundred feet away from where Claire and Wren were standing. "Come on," Wren said. "Follow me."

"What's going on?" Claire asked, struggling to keep up with Wren. They jogged around the corner to the back of the school. Wren sighed again.

"Look, you're an Altered. It means you have powers. An organization called Scorpion is sending a jetchopper to pick us up and take us back to headquarters."

What if I don't want to? Claire opened her mouth to speak, but changed her mind. Shouting came from behind them. The police were getting closer. Wren grabbed Claire's arm and dragged her across the schoolyard. Claire struggled to keep up, almost tripping several times.

They reached the other end of the school. Claire risked a glance behind her. The police officers were gaining on them. They disappeared from view as Wren pulled her around the corner.

"We need to get to the roof," Wren muttered. She glanced at Claire. "Do you think you can get me up there?"

Claire stared at her. "I don't think I can lift you that high," she said.

Wren rolled her eyes. "With you powers, moron."

Claire tried to find a way out, but she was too panicked to think straight. Biting her lip, she nodded. "I think so. But how will I—"

"Once I'm on the roof, I'll pull you up," Wren said. "Come on."

Claire swallowed and focused on Wren. Inch by inch, she moved up toward the roof.

"Faster," Wren hissed. Claire put all of her energy into moving Wren, trying to raise her faster. Finally, her feet were above the building. Claire moved her over a few feet and let go. Wren landed on the roof with a thud.

"Okay, I'm going to pull you up now," Wren called down.

"Do you have telekinesis too?" Claire asked. There was a weird tugging sensation in her gut.

"Not exactly," Wren replied. Claire felt her feet leave the ground. She was moving a lot slower than Wren had. At one point, Wren almost dropped her, but she managed to get Claire safely to the roof.

Wren turned and walked to the middle of the roof. Claire followed, ready to collapse. Wren's phone rang and she answered it as Claire reached her.

"How far are you?" Wren asked. Claire looked out at the city, listening to the sounds of the police below. Next to her, Wren gave the school's address to whoever was on the other end.

Wren hung up and turned to Claire. "Just a few more minutes," Wren said.

Unsure what to say, Claire just nodded and folded her arms. A few more minutes until what? She wanted to go back inside. Actually, she just wanted to go home and see Dad, but her gaze drifted to the gun at Wren's side. She had no idea if Wren would actually shoot her, but she didn't think she wanted to find out.

Claire heard something in the distance. An airplane? It was loud. She looked around, trying to find where it was coming from. On the horizon, a small black speck appeared. A jet, Claire realized, approaching them unbelievably fast.

It slowed down as it got closer. Claire caught a glimpse of something red on the side of the jet. Then the wings folded in on themselves, and Claire watched, amazed, as the walls of the jet shifted. Something rose out of the roof and expanded into blades. Helicopter blades.

The chopper descended and touched down on the roof. The door slid open, and Wren walked past Claire. "Come on," she ordered.

Claire swallowed and followed her to the door. She climbed inside and looked around. The interior was black and white, with a window opposite the door. Sitting on a bench were five people in full body armor, and a girl.

Claire glimpsed some sort of movement out the window and looked up. Police were climbing up a ladder onto the roof.

"Soldiers," Wren barked. "Three of you need to go take care of those police. Distract them so that we can take off."

Without a word, three of the soldiers stood up and hopped out the door. Claire looked away from the window and back at Wren, who was talking to the other girl.

"Is Ash in the cockpit?" Wren asked.

The girl nodded. Wren turned to Claire. "Sit down, we're taking off," Wren told her before disappearing into the cockpit. As the door slammed shut, Claire looked over at the two remaining soldiers. After a brief moment of hesitation, and a flicker of guilt, she concentrated on their minds. Maybe they could help her figure out what was happening.

Nothing. Claire couldn't hear any thoughts coming from them. Weird. She was too tired, she supposed. Her stomach lurched as the helicopter lifted off the roof.

Wait, were they leaving the other three soldiers behind? Confused and exhausted, Claire looked over at the other girl. Maybe she knew what was going on. Claire took a deep breath and took a seat, still trying to stop her legs from shaking.

"Uh, hi," Claire said. "I'm Claire."

The girl looked over at her.

"Ivy," she said. "My name's Ivy."