Chapter 1 - Home Sweet Home

The phrase human lab rat echoed in Bella's head as she stepped off the bus and peered at the buildings in front of her, the words bouncing around her mind, blocking other thoughts and emotions. The pale seventeen-year-old welcomed the numbness of that single thought, because without the distraction, she might actually have to face the fact that her mother and father had signed over their parental rights to the government and agreed to no contact for the foreseeable future. Renee and Charles tried to appear heartbroken when Bella was escorted away from their Phoenix home, but the relief in their eyes was undeniable. They would no longer have to be afraid of their own daughter.

Bella could sense other bodies exiting behind her, but paid them no attention as she preferred isolation. She had luckily been the first one collected at SeaTac airport and had used an iPod and closed eyes to avoid any interactions as the other teenagers trickled aboard the bus from their respective airplanes. Bella had remained in her bubble, absorbed in lyrics, for the duration of the nearly four hour drive over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and then north to their current location deep in the forest outside of Forks, Washington.

Of course like all of the passengers, Bella didn't know exactly where they were. She hadn't even known she was flying into Seattle until right before she boarded the plane in Arizona. Although an unwelcomed thought, she couldn't help but wonder - for probably the hundredth time - how her parents could say good-bye without even knowing where their only child was going. But Bella needed to ignore those kinds of thoughts for her own protection, so she shut them away and tried to empty her mind once again.

Unfortunately, Bella's mental state as she slowly walked forward over the gravel driveway was too distracted; she didn't realize until it was too late that someone had entered her personal space, which was completely unacceptable. A casual brush of shoulder on shoulder caused Bella's mind to rage, and she fought impossibly hard to control what was usually uncontrollable. In order to close off that part of her subconscious, Bella focused on her other senses with a fierce intensity. Pine and dampness. Bird song and cool air. The elegantly lettered sign on the front of the nearest building.

Olympic Academy

The reality of where she was and why she was sent there shot to the forefront of Bella's mind, and for once, that dark part of her inner self retreated without demanding an appearance.

The campus laid out before her did appear from the outside to be like any other school. From Bella's vantage point, she could make out the tops of four buildings formed around what appeared to be a grassy quad. The structure on the left was the most modern and had the distinctive feel of a sports facility. The central building, the one with the sign, was the most impressive though. A tower rose high above its five stories giving the place an almost ominous feeling.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen," a soft voice rang out. "My name is Mrs. Cope, and I would like to welcome you to your new home."

Home had been making brownies with Renee and watching football with Charlie, at least before the darkness took over and both of them avoided being in a room alone with her. At any rate, this collection of classrooms and dormitories, and probably laboratories, would never be home.

"If you would please follow me," the grey-haired woman in front of her continued, unaware of Bella's inner turmoil, "there will be an orientation in the main conference room."

Never the leader, even before everything changed, Bella now fell back and followed her peers into the building. It appeared that she wasn't the only loner in the group considering that most wore closed expressions and gave each other a wide berth. The few that were conversing did so in low voices, the fear of the unknown rolling off them in more obvious waves. Bella was scared as well, but focused again on numbness instead of letting the fear control her. She walked with her head down and eyes unfocused.

Edward couldn't help but watch the brown-haired girl as she walked past him, soft curls spilling out from under a baseball cap, falling like a curtain around her face. He had first noticed her on the bus, or more appropriately, he noticed the absence of her. Edward couldn't figure out how or why she was different, but considering everyone on that bus was probably as fucked up as him, the teenager wasn't sure he wanted to know. All he wanted was to return to Chicago and continue his self-imposed exile in his grandmother's attic.

As the last student to enter the conference room, Edward was forced to sit in the one remaining seat. As he folded his long, lean frame into the small chair, the body of the petite girl beside him went completely rigid and her eyes glassed over before those same orbs snapped up to meet his. She gave him a sad shake of her head before speaking.

"Don't decide to ignore her. Things were better before."

Before Edward could process the strange comment, his attention was focused once again on Mrs. Cope, who lightly tapped a microphone at the front of the room.

"Students, I would like to introduce to our lead scientist and the de facto principal of Olympic Academy, Dr. Carlisle Cullen."

A distinguished looking man stepped up to the podium, but pushed the microphone away, giving the older woman a look of incredulity that she thought his voice would need to be artificially amplified to a group of only twenty or so people.

"First, it is important that you know how excited I am to meet each and every one of you. That said, I feel it is also essential to acknowledge that most, or maybe even all of you, are not here of your own volition." He paused to scan each of their faces, and as much as she didn't want to, Bella could already feel herself soothed by his demeanor. "Each of you has a gift, whether you choose to see it as that or not. We want to help you explore those gifts and as needed, control them. You will attend classes with each other as well as meet individually with members of my team on a daily basis, six days a week. Sunday is your day for relaxation and personal pursuits, although you will need to stay here on campus. You each have…"

"So we are basically prisoners then?" a large boy with an angry voice interrupted. The tone immediately put Bella on the defensive, even though the question wasn't directed at her. Making a mental note to stay away from that particular student, she pulled her hat lower over her forehead as if it was a talisman that could protect her from this nightmare.

"Mr. McCarty, as you know, your family has chosen to enroll you in our program which means you are expected to follow all of the rules. It is not unusual for boarding schools to have closed campuses."

"Are you really going to stand there and pretend this is a normal school?!" McCarty was now standing and his voice had taken on a mocking quality in addition to the ever present anger. "Fucking bullshit. If I am forced to be here, let's call a spade, a spade. My dear, loving parents have shipped me off to Freak High."

"I can completely understand your reaction, but if you'll just take a deep breath and just try to cool off..." Dr. Cullen requested from the front of the room.

"No, I think you're the one who needs to cool off," McCarty replied icily as he scrunched his brow in a focused glare.

Suddenly, a glass of water leapt off the front table and spun through the air, drenching the front of the doctor's shirt. Everyone in the room froze, shocked and amazed at the scene that just played out right in front of their eyes. They were all considering variations of the same thought.

Maybe, just maybe, there were others with more frightening secrets than their own.