After a few months, some of the restrictions of the camp were lifted. Once they were, we were told that Camp Walker had a small library. I couldn’t remember if Sergeant Michel mentioned it during our tour of the facility. Still, I was determined to visit it at any cost. The months of monotony were draining, and I wasn’t the only one looking forward to going there.

On my first visit to the library, I saw Claire reading a book. After seeing Claire at the assembly, I was eager to learn more about her, but I only managed to discover her name. I was surprised to see her sitting at a table and reading in one of the corners.

I stopped suddenly to stare. My abrupt stop must have alerted Claire to my presence because she looked up. We locked eyes briefly, and I thought I almost saw surprise as she raised her eyebrows. I had seen her a few times in the months I had been there, but it was the first time she noticed me. I didn't have enough courage to say anything to her then, so I just went about my day. It wasn't until winter at the start of my second year in the camp that things drastically changed, and I drummed up the courage to talk to her.

I started going to the library as much as I could. Partly to break up the monotony of life at Camp Walker and partly to learn, but mostly to see her. Almost every time I went, she was there, sitting at the table in the corner, engrossed in a book.

After a few minutes of hiding behind a bookshelf and simultaneously panicking and psyching myself up, I turned the corner and power walked to the table. I kept my head down as I stepped forward to avoid making eye contact too early and aborting the mission. It worked because I quickly bumped into the chair that was pushed in on the other side of the table.

"Hey. Uh, I mean hi," I said, looking up at that point and smiling.

Claire was sitting at a small desk, her back to a wall with a thick book propped open. She looked at me for a couple of seconds, and just as I decided to turn around, she clapped her hands. I turned at the sudden sound. When I looked, her hands were moving in an intricate pattern. She could see I was confused, so she took a deep breath and wrote something on a notepad. She flipped the small pad around, and I read, "Can I help you?"

The Sirens were a fascinating group. They usually kept to themselves and were rarely seen around the camp. I didn't know how often Welders or cadre interacted with them, but we didn't talk to them at all as far as Carpenters go. This might have been why I forgot they don't speak.

They use the sense of sound for their ability. That isn't technically how it works. They use sound vibrations or the vibrations in the air, something like that. However it works, it's much easier to just say they use sound, and when they speak, that sound can turn deadly.

Unfortunately, that's all most kids know about them. The cadre probably knows more, but there are so few Sirens no one bothers to learn. I was perhaps the first Carpenter to make contact; however, since I wasn't really a Carpenter, I guess it was okay.

"Uh, no," I stammered. "I just wanted to say hi, and er, yeah." I was failing hard at this, and I could feel it getting hot in the library.

"Hi," she wrote to my relief. I ignored the eye roll as she turned away from me and began rereading her book.

"My name is Aidren," I said. She didn't respond. I knew her name, but I was hoping she would introduce herself. However, when she didn't, I got the hint. I mostly got the hint. I figured I would give it one last try before giving up. "So, what are you reading?"

Going up to her and saying something was probably the bravest and dumbest thing I had ever done. She couldn't really respond verbally, but to my relief, she did write her answers. The book she was reading was on sign language. I knew that the intricate pattern she made with her hands was sign language, but I didn't think she wasn't proficient.

However, it made sense when I thought about it. Claire had her powers just as long as I had mine, so she was most likely still learning. I decided then to learn as well. She lent me the book. I learned all I could and practiced with her every chance I got. For a while after that, being stuck in the military camp turned prison for children with weird powers wasn't so bad.

Even though some days didn’t seem horrible, the monotonous repetition caused the days to blur into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years.

During that time, I practiced my powers if I wasn’t too tired from my daily activities. After accidentally manipulating my bed and sheets on the first night, I decided to see what else I could alter. I tried my pillow, the blanket and the mattress. I made them softer, but I put them back before anyone noticed. I also practiced on other materials when I could get a hold of them. I wanted to see if there was a limit to what I could change and to become generally better at using my ability.

I only practiced in my room at night when everyone else was asleep, so I didn’t give away my ability to the cadre or the other cadets. I didn't think they had cameras in our rooms, but I also didn't know what type of monitoring devices they had. Everything I did was either in my bed or in the corner so no one could see me. I didn't use my powers for anything other than wood during the day, as it would have been too tempting if I had started using it for anything else.

I was able to fool everyone since I still had to touch things to manipulate them, yet I wasn’t confined to the same elements as Carpenters or Welders. I found that I could manipulate anything, and it was almost an automatic process. Once I looked at something and concentrated on the object, I could see its vibrational signature. Once I noticed that my hand automatically matched the signature. Then, I could manipulate the object. It took time to change the matter in a way I wanted, but I became reasonably quick compared to most other kids, and the more I practiced, the faster I became.

The downside was that the scope of what I could do wasn’t as prominent. Carpenters could make living matter grow, change apples to oranges, or do a few things that I couldn't. The scope of my ability just caused people to think I was weak, so I kept manipulating wood, and I didn’t get discovered.

Through practice and experimentation, I found that my particular abilities were wholly different than everyone else. Still, I continued to look for anyone pretending to have different powers like me. However, if I hadn't been discovered, others might not have either.

I just couldn't understand how the cadre didn't know about this. Unless they did? But that didn't explain why I was placed with the Carpenters.

It also left a lot of other questions that needed answers. Like if there were other kids like me, where were they? Were they not dangerous? I seriously doubted that because then I should have been there. All that speculation led me to the same conclusion I had after being told about my parents.

I concluded that the cadre was lying to us. If they lied to us about why we were in the camp, what else did they lie to us about? I became obsessed with finding the answer.

I knew that the only way I would be able to find the answer and live was to be as proficient as possible with my abilities. Because once I found out the truth, I was going to get out of there. To do that, I needed proficiency in every ability I possessed. Although, first, I had to devise a plan to get the information I needed.