I woke up in a perfectly square, white padded room, bare footed and dressed in loose fitting white clothes. I immediately panicked. Where am I? What's going on? I tried to calm my breathing down but my heart was racing. I was shaking violently but I recalled how I got here.

My brother Edward and I had been walking back to the orphanage from school. He was comforting me after Ameilia Jones had called me a useless twit and had made fun of me because my parents had died. Then suddenly, Government vans came screeching round the corner. They knocked us out with drug guns and stuffed us inside the van. Edward had tried to protect me but he was shot first. The next thing I know, I'm stuck in here, locked up like a animal.

"Let me out!" I screamed. I slammed my hands on the padded walls, kicked and punched, shouted and sobbed but nothing happened. I crouched down, hugging my knees, trying to stop the the tears from sliding down my terrified face. What do the Government want from me? I didn't do anything, did I? And what about Edward?

"Edward!" I yelled, trying to make some contact with him but all I got in reply was silence.

I waited for at least half and hour (as far as I could make out with no clock.) I sat there, trying not to cry but all the while listening for any signs of life. There was a sharp hissing sound all of a sudden and I snapped my head up to see part of the wall sliding across. I jumped up as six men, all dressed in black combat gear, rushed in. Four of them trained drug guns on me while the other two grabbed my arms and forced them behind my back.

"Stay still and do not try to resist. If you do then we will not hesitate to shoot," one of them said.

"Where's my brother?" I asked, completely ignoring their warning. "Why are we here? Please, I don't understand what's happening."

"I have been ordered to escort you," the same guard said. "I have not been ordered to answer any of your questions. I suggest that you stay quiet." I did as I was told, not wanting any trouble.

The guards pushed me forward, out of the room and into a a long, white corridor. Everything was white and pristine, like my cell had been, giving the place a terrifying look. The guards' boots echoed around the corridor while my bare feet padded on the freezing cold tiles.

We passed lots of people, some dressed in lab coats, some in dull grey suits and dresses and the rest were guards in the black combat gear. As we passed, they all stared at us. I could feel their eyes on me as we marched down corridor after corridor, turn after turn. Some even pressed their palms to a section of a wall, a door slid open and they dived inside just to avoid us...or me.

We marched on for what seemed like forever, my feet were freezing and killing me. When I asked if I could stop, or even if they could get me some shoes, they refused me and even jabbed me with their guns. Finally we stopped and one of the guards pressed his palm against the wall. A thin blue line scanned his hand then the door slid open, hissing like a snake as it did so.

"In," the guard who opened the door ordered me. He grabbed my shoulder roughly and shoved me inside. "Your brother is in there. The Chancellor will see you in a minute," he said but then added more gently: "I don't know why you're here but I'm sure you'll be fine." Then the door closed, cutting them off from me.

I turned around, catching sight of Edward straight away and rushed into his arms. He was dressed the same as me in the white, silky clothes and, like me, he had black hair and emerald green eyes that sparkled with worry.

"It's okay Tess, it's okay," Edward whispered, hugging me tight.

"What's going on Ed? Why did they kidnap us?" I asked, unable to hold back the tears.

"I don't know, Tess. If I knew then you know I would tell you," he said, kneeling down to my height and wiping away my tears with his thumb.

"They...they locked me up in a white room for ages. I didn't know where you were and...and they wouldn't let me see you. I'm so scared Ed," I snivelled.

"It's all right," Ed said hugging me again. "They done the same to me. I screamed for hours for you when I came round from the drug. Then the guards came and marched me to this waiting room."

"What's going to happen to us?" I asked.

"I don't know. But I do know this, I'm going to protect you no matter what, okay? No matter what. I promise you," Ed said.

"Okay," I whispered. The door opened and a fat man in a grey suit walked in and sat down in the only chair in the so called 'waiting room.' He was fiddling with a packet of mints trying to tear the paper. He didn't say anything. He didn't even acknowledged that we were here. Edward pushed me behind him, shielding me.

"What's going on then?" Edward demanded but the man held up his finger, signalling for Ed to wait. Edward wasn't having any of that. "You can't just drag us here, shove us in a cell and then not give us a explanation!" He cried. The man ignored him. We waited in silence. A really unnerving silence.

 He finally managed to tear the paper with his chubby fingers and he popped a mint into his mouth.

"Right then. We can now begin," he said. "My name is Chancellor Steven Frost and I am the Government's main representative. As you know, we are fighting a brutal enemy, the Changed. They have been destroying cities and towns all over the world and we need to stop them."

"So you're just going to go straight into this topic then. Fine, I'll play along," Edward said angrily. "We know about the Changed. You guys always send out warning posters and adverts about them. Not that we see them around a lot."

"Well, we don't tell you everything," Frost said. "The meteorite a couple of years ago, what do you know about it, I wonder?"

"For God's sake, stop asking us all these questions and tell us why we're here!" Ed yelled.

"Please answer the question and I'll explain," Frost said calmly.

"It wiped out half the world, what else do you want to know?" Edward said.

"It was more then that," Frost said. "The meteorite let out a chemical called SRT. It affected the people who carry the H-code gene. At first we thought it wouldn't make a difference but then people started coming out with powers of unimaginable destruction. They try to fight us so they can take control. This can't happen. A world under their control...they would kill all normal people. We didn't say anything to the people of the world because it would cause mass panic. If people knew about some of the powers that the Changed had... Well anyway, us being a merciful and generous Government, we try to protect the people."

"Merciful? Generous? Have you seen the outside world recently? People are starving on the street, mobs run wild and schools are barely educating, more for kids to beat up one another. You call that protecting?" Edward shouted. I flinched at every word.

"Careful what you say Mr. Halister," Frost murmured. "You don't want to be saying things like that in our main base, especially if you want to protect your sister." His eyes burned into me as he left that last threat hang in the air.

"What does all this have to do with us?" I squeaked, trying not to look Frost in the eye. "Why did you take us?"

"It is quite simple really," Frost said. "We have been trying to fight the Changed ever since the meteorite crashed. But unfortunately we are losing the fight. Their powers are growing and are over coming our weapons. We need something that is just as strong."

"Please just get to the point," Edward snorted.

"You two were affected by the meteorite and have the H-code gene. You two are Changed and we need you to help us," Frost said. He didn't let us take that in and just carried on. "We plan to do some certain...tests on you. We would be able find out why the SRT affected you. Then we could amplify that so you could defeat the Changed and save the world."

"So your saying that we have powers?" Edward said. "And you want to experiment on us?"

"'Experiment' is a bit of a harsh word but yes, something like that. Nothing that would cause you serious harm," Frost said carefully but even I could tell that that wasn't all the truth.

"And what if we say no," Edward said defiantly. Frost smiled dryly.

"I don't think you understand. You could save the world if you help us. Your life would be so much better then the slum you live in now...you will help us," he said. Edward stood there in silence for sixty agonising seconds. He couldn't really be considering this, could he? He would never allow this to happen to us.

"No," Edward finally said. Frost sighed but then clicked his fingers. The guards rushed in and tore me apart from Edward. He tried to reach out for me but the guards pulled him back and pinned his arms behind his back. "Tess!" he screamed as the guard holding me pulled a real gun out and aimed it at my head.