True to their word, they came to get me early the next day. I didn't get much sleep due to the stench and hard ground, but with my power, I could make my area more comfortable throughout the night. As soon as light peaked through the small vents on the top of the room, I changed it all back.

To my great relief, they were much more cordial when coming to get me. I still had to have the sack over my head, but they let me keep my hands unbound. The walk to the leader's tent was short but meandered a bit as it followed a dirt path free of obstacles. We paused for a moment, the sound of rustling cloth and a moment of darkness before the sack was removed.

As the course sack was removed from my head, I was surprised to see the same old man who had taken me into this place.

He let loose a short, grunting laugh, "Surprised I'm the man in charge?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I replied tersely. My training these past few years caused me to be tactful and polite regardless of the situation, but I decided to show this man extra deference and use extra caution in what I told him.

"Why, because I'm old?" he asked.

"No, sir. You're no older than-" I paused. I didn't want to give away information that could get anyone hurt, especially my friends. Still, I already almost screwed that up. "-than others, I have seen," I added, not really doing a decent job at hiding that I was withholding information.

Standing in front of a collapsible camping chair, the old man sat down slowly, leaned into the chair's back, and studied me. "So then, why are you surprised?"

"Sir, I'm unaware of the forces you command, but it seems irregular for the commanding officer to be on patrol." While the sun was in my eyes when I was captured, I did get a couple of peeks around before the bag went over my head; I remembered he was there, and when he talked, my suspicion was confirmed.

"You sure are smart, kid. I see what you're doing here," he said with a grin.

"Sir?"

"The name is Enzo, kid. Yes, I'm in charge, but you can cut all the sir and commanding officer crap. What's your name?"

"Sir-" I stumbled over my words, habit warring with his request. "It's Aidren." He nodded, and I stayed standing, rigid at attention, just as I was trained.

"God damn it, kid, would you sit down and relax?" He pointed to a chair similar to his own, only folded up and leaning against the wall of his tent. "Grab that and bring it over here. I think we might be here a while." I did as instructed and sat down in the chair, facing him a few feet away.

"I don't like playing games, son. I'm going to lay all my cards on the table- wait, do you know that reference? Never mind. I'm going to tell you what I know because after I lay it all out, I think you're going to help me." He paused for a moment, seemingly to gather his thoughts. "I'm not the enemy, son, do you know that?"

I took a moment to respond. "I don't know what you are, sir," I said. I didn't feel like he was the enemy, but I couldn't be sure. They told us in the camp that everything they did was to protect us from entities that might attack the base and try to harm us.

"Okay, good point. Now, before I get to what I am, I'm going to tell you what I know about you," Enzo began. "I will also tell you what I don't know about you. That way, when I get to who I am and what I'm here for, you'll feel like helping me." He paused then, probably to see if I was going to say anything, but I didn't. So, after a moment, he continued.

"I know there's a military camp not too far away from here, and you were there. I also know that you escaped. That isn't an easy feat, so I believe you're either smart and resourceful or hellishly lucky.

"I know that look on your face, and don't worry," he leaned forward, "I know a lot more. I don't know how long you've been there, but our intelligence suggests that the camp has been occupied since before the U.S. government collapsed." My eyes widened at that comment. "I can see they didn't tell you that. I'm sure there's a lot more they didn't tell you. Not a good practice with people you're training to be soldiers and weapons, is it? It's especially bad when they're training you to be a soldier for a government that no longer has power. How long were you there?"

Whether he was telling me the truth or not, I didn't think that information would hurt. "Four years," I said.

The old man shook his head with disgust on his face. "For four years, at best, you were told you were a cadet in training, and at worst, they treated you like a slave. Either way, you were effectively a prisoner there, unable to leave. They constantly trained you and any others there with you, made you grow their food, clean up after them, follow all their rules, and probably told you that it was to protect you."

I didn't say anything, but he was right. As he talked, I could feel pinpricks of moisture gathering in my eyes. I took slow, deep breaths to control my emotions.

I think the old man could tell he was getting to me, but he didn't stop. He told me Camp Walker wasn't the only one doing those things. There had been dozens of other military camps across the nation that had been set up by the government. All of them had the same goal: to train future soldiers.

"There's still a lot more camps that we don't know about, but with every military camp we liberate, we get more intel to track down additional camps. That's how we came to Camp Walker," Enzo said.

"You mention 'we' a lot. Did this group here do all that?" I asked.

The old man smiled. "See, I knew it wasn't just luck. The whole 'we' thing is complicated. Once word began to spread that the government lied about the number of people that died and that the training camps existed, lots of different groups took up arms and made it their mission to find and liberate the camps.

"Most groups, like this one, are made up of family members who have lost someone. I'm the leader of this group, and there are others out there. We often work together. We have a man on loan from another group much larger than our own. At least, I hope we still do. He was scouting your military camp, and we haven't seen him since."

I felt a hollowness in my chest that expanded at the mention of a scout in the area. The old man must have guessed I knew something from the look on my face. "Did you see him? Is he okay?" he asked.

"I saw him," I said and nodded. "But, I'm not sure if he made it." I didn't want to say that I knew he was dead out of fear of what they would do to me. This old man spun an incredible tale, but I wasn't about to blindly trust everything he said.

"Damn," he mumbled, then looked down in thought.

"Sir, he did something weird to my head?" I lightly broached the subject, not wanting to give away too much, but I needed answers.

"I'm not surprised. I saw him do things that no one else could. He could manipulate wood and metal. I've never seen anyone else like that."

"We don't have anyone like that at the camp either," I lied. "The cadre mentioned that the disease and side effects are genetic. Perhaps other people with similar genetics can do that?"

"Maybe, genetics does cause the type of abilities, but do me a favor. Don't call it a disease again." He looked at me sternly, and I could only nod. "While what happened to everything was a travesty, and many people died, it wasn't a disease. We found out that people weren't the only things to die of change.

"Diseases usually only affect one plant or animal species, and if it does jump to another species, it's a slow process. Whatever happened to the world changed everything. Did they tell you that at the camp?" I shook my head in the negative. "The world is a much more dangerous place now and not just because of the governmental collapse."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well-"

"Uncle Enzo?" A girl's voice interrupted the old man's explanation from outside the tent.

"What is it, Melody?" he asked.

"Lunch is ready."

"Lunch already? I swear, I never know what time it is anymore. Come on, son," he said, rising from his chair. "Let's go get some food, and I can show you around the camp without a bag over your head." He laughed and led the way out of the tent.