A female 7 wakes me up early the next morning. She has dark brown hair and pale skin. Her brown eyes have circles under them from just waking up. "You have five minutes to get ready before we go to the lab. Be quick", she tells me in a hoarse voice.

"A lab?" I mumble, still groggy from my sleep.

"Five minutes!" she reminds me, louder this time. Forgetting my curiosity, I pull the covers off and crawl out of bed, my bed, and walk to my bathroom, quickly brushing my hair and teeth. I stare hopefully at the bed as I come back out and head to the closet.

"No point in being fancy. Just grab some sweats and a t-shirt." The girl says when I pull out a white blouse. Putting it back, I search the closet for the outfit she suggested and put it on. I pull it on swiftly. They feel like pajamas and I am instantly comfy, though still tired. She takes me to the elevator and presses thirty. I lean against the elevator railings and stare at the numbers ascending on a tiny screen.

"I'm Larissa", she tells me on the way up.

"I'm-"

"I know who you are" she cuts me off. Of course she would. She was assigned to take me to look after me during training. Besides, everyone in the city must know the name Hayley McCray now after the sorting ceremony.

We ride up the elevator without speaking after that. The elevator doors open onto floor thirty. It is a lab filled with level 9s dressed in lab coats like the ones at my Intellect Exam. I feel out of place in these sweat pants and my plain shirt. I see one of 16s who made it as a 9 in the ceremony working on a computer with who I assume is her mentor. I walk down a path that is filled with tables and experiments being done. I stare at coding being done on computers and strange liquids being mixed together. At the end of the path is a metal door. Conrad comes out of the room behind the door.

"Good morning Hayley!" he greets me happily. "Ready for training?"

I nod and follow him through the large door. Any exhaustion I had disappears and is replaced by excitement. My training is about to start. The room we enter is another lab with only a few 9s in it, prepping the room for some sort of experiment. I assume they are important to be conducting this. The room has the same artificial lighting as the Intellect Exam room did. In the middle is a reclining chair with multiple wires and electrodes connected to it. A heart monitor is beside it. Larissa nudges me forward to the chair and gestures for me to sit without saying a word. I take a seat and wait for the training to begin.

One of the scientists grabs my arms and straps them down onto the arms of the chair. I am skeptical about this. Why would I need to be pinned down? I feel trapped and struggle, trying to free my arms, but the scientist gives me a stern look. I stop, clearly thinking better of it.

Conrad stands in front of me. A curious gleam is in his eyes. "We're just about to start your training", he says. At this I feel a sharp pain in my arm and turn to see a needle with clear liquid being injected into it.

"What are you doing?!" I scream at them. I squirm and try to free myself from whatever training this is supposed to be. "Stop!"

None of them answers and my body goes completely still. Oddly enough I can still see and hear everything. It is a strange state. Terror surges through me. I cannot feel anything. I stare at the ceiling as the chair is reclined into a lie down position. My heartbeat quickens and I am breathing heavily. I try to move. I try to make out words. I try and plead for someone to stop this but nothing escapes my mouth. I panic as a scalpel is brought to my forehead and my surroundings go black.