Cynthia's POV

So this is really happening I guess.

I never knew that I would drop out of high school to go to the one that my mother went to. It seems ridiculous when you put it into words, but for me, it's just normal.

My mother and I move a lot because of her work. Usually we would only be in one place for 9 months, then be on our way again. I learned at an early age to not get attached to anyone at school because I'll just end up leaving them in the end. But now that I'm 17, in a year I'll be going off to college and not have to follow my mom everywhere.

Or so I thought.

When she announced that we were moving again, I wasn't very surprised until she told me I won't be going to college. I was in complete shock. I thought no one would ever say that to me, let alone my own mother. She told me that I'll be going to her old school, which I'll be staying there for the next 4 years. I was crushed because I was looking forward to going to college and getting into my dream school, Georgetown. My mom knew from my expression that I was heartbroken. She assured me that this school will teach me everything I need to know, and after school, I immediately get a well paying job. It still didn't make me feel better.

After a few days, we were on a plane heading to the rocky mountains in Colorado. It was a bit strange on the way there. I had no idea what the school was about, or their soul focus of learning there was. I tried to ask my mother on the plane, but she told me repeatedly that she'll explain everything while we're in the rental car.

"Sophia Taiman," she told the man at the front desk.

After a few minutes, the man got out from the desk and opened to door to the parking lot. "Right this way Ms. Taiman." We followed him out to a silver Prius. "Have a nice time in Colorado."

"Thank you," my mother responded. We drove out of the parking lot, but stopped on the side of the road immediately.

"Mom," I started, "What are you doing?"

She immediately shushed me with her finger as she got out of the car went to the back seat. She started to rummage around looking under the seats until she grabbed something that was under mine. I looked over to see what the commotion was about, but she held her finger to her mouth with wide eyes. I knew better than to irritate her.

She got out of the backseat with the thing in her hand. I couldn't get a good glimpse of it, but I saw it blink red a few times. It was probably some sort of device.

My thinking was cut off when my mom threw it with full force against the road, smashing it to pieces. Then put on her sunglasses and walked away. She got back in the car, buckled her seat belt, and started the ignition. "Now we can talk." Then she held up her finger before I could say anything. "I know you're curious about what just happened. I'll explain that later, but first I'll tell you where were going."

I fell silent and relaxed in my seat as we drove up the road. "The school that I went to was the ATP, or the Assassin's Training Program. Though, the more casual name is Warrior High. As the name says, the school trains assassins to take down terrorists around the world. It's a tough job, but it's very rewarding in the end. I would have enrolled you in sooner, but as you know, things came up. Anyway, this place is very secure and well hidden. There are people out there who want to expose us, and we have to take every precaution we can get. Which brings me to what I smashed earlier."

"It was a recording device," I blurted. I didn't even realized I said it until my mom looked at me. The news must be making my mind turn its gears.

My mom smiled. "This is why I know you're my daughter." There was a small pause. "But you are right, it was a recording device. There are a lot of terrorists who don't know who we are individually, which can make getting around easily. Though, there are some people in the world that will go lengths to expose us, including bugging random cars, just to get some bit of information. Some of which has led to lawsuits. Remember how Toyota was sued because several families found recording devices in their cars?"

It suddenly clicked in my mind. "That was because they were searching for you?"

"Oh yeah," she replied quickly, "In fact several car brands were sued because of it. Ford, Chevy, Audi, Subaru, you name it."

There was a very long pause. I looked out the window, looking at the dangerous terrain all around us. Then I looked at my mom. "What kind of people want to expose us, or you I should say?"

My mom looked at me for a bit, her sunglasses covering her blue eyes. Even with them on, I could tell she was hesitant. "It might surprise you, but most of them are just ordinary people. Almost all of them are conspiracy theorists. Their claim usually is that how can the world be this organized without any control that does not come from the government. The truth is that the world is not organized, it's far from that. Those people are only seeing that through what land they grew up in." She took a sigh. "The reason the program even started was because of an ordinary women, who lost her lover to terrorists, and children kidnapped to be raised by the terrorists. It's a sad but empowering story at the same time. She brought so many people together to make a difference. One of them was actually your grandfather." She took another pause. "I'm sorry if this is a lot to take in."

"No, it's fine - I mean it is a lot to take in, but - I just have so many questions."

My mother smiled. "Well, we have thirty minutes left before we reach our destination. I don't want to spoil everything for you, but you are welcome to ask questions."

I chuckled nervously. "Well, one question I have is what happens after I finish the program?"

"Once you graduate, you will get a few choices. One, you can stay at the program and train the newcomers. Two, you can become a spy and be one of the terrorists and report back your findings. Three, you can become a real assassin and travel all over the world to fight terrorists. You might have already guessed which one I chose."

I smiled at her. "You made a good choice."

My mom smiled back. "It's getting a bit stuffy in here. I'll roll down my windows if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's fine," I responded.

The windows rolled down a bit to release the dry wind from outside. My mom's red and black hair blew in the wind as she put her elbow out of the window. Her white streak was being covered by the red and black. Her beige sweater was being gripped to her body, revealing her petite stature. My worn out blue T-shirt was also clinging to my body, revealing my very tall stature. Sometimes I don't even get how my mom and I are related sometimes. I look nothing like her, so I have to assume that I look like my father in some way.

We spent the rest of the drive in silence. I was still trying to wrap my brain around that this is really happening. Then I realized that my mother never really talked to me about her job beforehand. All she said is the hours are crazy and her boss wants her to move around a lot. "One more thing," I started, "Why didn't you tell me that this was your job until now?"

My mom bit her lip as she continued to look at the road. "I'm not really sure why I kept it from you for this long. I was thinking of telling you when I contacted my boss, but I knew you wouldn't be all that thrilled with it, and disapprove of my occupation being shooting people that are bad. And I didn't want to tell you when you were little because you didn't have a moral compass back then, and I was afraid you'd tell everyone, including your teachers. I guess I chose to tell you now so that you can see where I spent my teenage years, and you wouldn't have a choice of going there or not."

"That's a bit hurtful."

"Well, it's the truth." The ride lasted for a couple of more minutes until copious amounts of fog were in our view.

"What the hell is with all this fog? I didn't this we were that high up."

"No," my mom intervened, "It means were here." Then she sped up the car straight into a mountain in front of us. I closed my eyes until the car slowed down. When I opened them, there was this massive building in front of us.

"Holy shit," I whispered. The building was huge. There were three sections of it. The tallest of the three being in the middle, the second tallest on the left, and the smallest being on the right. What made it more amazing was that it looked so clean and new. All the buildings were a shade of dark blue with what seemed to be floor to sealing windows. They seemed to be one sided ones, because you couldn't see what was inside them from the outside. Outside of the building, there were fields of the what seemed to be the greenest grass ever. In the middle of the field of grass was a fountain that was shooting crystal clear water in the air. It blew my mind that we were inside a mountain as I looked around to see the hollow interior. All across the mountain were several different lights, each one illuminating a certain area inside the mountain. My mother drove up to the second tallest building where there were already two people waiting. They seemed to be in contaminant gear that you would find in a pandemic. Each one came to a door and opened it for my mom and I. We stepped out.

I waited for my mom to take the lead because I didn't have the slightest clue where to go. One of the men handed me my huge backpack with all my stuff in it as we headed inside.

The room we headed into had a sign above it that said Infirmary. There was a circular desk with a woman in glasses that was typing on her computer. She looked up at us and immediately stood up. "Hello there," she greeted as she shook my mother's hand, "Welcome to the Assassins Training Program." She then shook my hand. The woman was tall but curvy with wide hips. She had golden brown hair that was tied up in a messy bun and had piercing amber eyes. "My name is Modesty Curtis, but you can call me Moth." I was about to comment on that name, but a look from my mother told my to shush. "I'm going to be your doctor, Miss Taiman. Now, your mother was kind enough to send us your medical records and your latest doctor's notes. We're going to give you a quick checkup to make sure everything checks out, and then you'll be on your merry way. Follow me." I handed my mom my backpack and followed to women to a doctor's room.

She measured my height and my weight. "Alright," she wrote some stuff on her notepad. "5 foot 10 inches, 145 pounds. Do you do any sports, Miss Taiman."

I didn't like how she called me that, but she was being polite, so I couldn't argue. "I do football."

Moth wrote some stuff down. "How long have you been doing football for?"

"7 years."

She wrote more stuff down. "Alright, will do a few more things, then will be done." I was seated on the examining seat where she took my blood pressure, heart rate, eyesight, ears, throat, reflexes, and spine.

"Everything seems very healthy, Miss Taiman. Let me escort you back to where your mother is so she can give you your name."

"My name?"

"Yes, every warrior that comes here gets a name from your parents that is similar to your real name. For example, my name is Modesty, and my parents gave me the name Moth. It's a very big honor to be named. Follow me."

I followed her to where my mom was seated in the waiting room with my backpack. "I'm happy to report that Miss Taiman is very healthy," Moth announced, "Now all that's left is to give her a name."

I felt a bit taken aback for the reason that I felt like I was being treated like a doll. Mom went up to me and gave me a big hug. I hugged her back. We stayed like this for awhile until she broke apart. Then she turned to face Moth. "Cinder," she said, "Cinder will be her name."

The doctor nodded. "I'll show you to your room Cinder. But you should say goodbye to your mother first."

I turned to my mother and gave her another big hug. We stayed like that for a little longer before we said our goodbyes to each other. She handed me my backpack as I followed Moth out the door.

Though I didn't know she would leave just yet.

Sophia's POV

I watched as my daughter went out with Moth to the main building. I waited there until they were out of site before I began to search the infirmary. Where is she, I though. I scanned several rooms and areas before I found who I was looking for.

"Leaf!"

A woman turned to face me and beamed. We ran up to each other and hugged one another. She still looked the same as she did back then. Her brown hair was still as long as ever and she still had those calm amber eyes. She wore a white labcoat and a subtle green dress with black heels. She was one of the only people who were shorter than me when I went to class.

"It's been so long since I saw you! How are you doing?"

I noticed that her face darkened a bit, but she pretended to not when she gave a small smile. "I'm doing well, how about you?"

"Good."

There was a bit of awkward silence before Leaf spoke again. "Are you here because your kids just got enrolled?"

Now it was time for my face to darken. I still haven't told anyone what happened. There was suddenly a pool of guilt as I left Cinder to tell everyone else.

Including him.

"Well yeah, my daughter, Cynthia, did get enrolled here." I tried to smile, but I knew that Leaf could see right through me. Though, she didn't answer, most likely thinking that she shouldn't ask more questions than that. "Anyway, I better be on my way. I just came by to say hi before I left for another mission."

"Where's your next mission at?" Leaf asked.

"Up in Ontario, apparently there's this group of people that's been blackmailing the government and killing politicians. Every other warrior is busy with that crisis in India, so I'm the only one free for it."

Leaf smiled. "Have fun out there, Sorrel." I tensed at hearing my name. "Do you want me to tell Bracken that you were here?"

I silently cringed inside at hearing his name. I haven't seen him in 16 years. Should I go see him myself? No, I have to focus on my mission. Besides, Cynthia would be confused why I'm still here. He'll figure it out eventually. "Tell him I stopped by for a bit, but have to go to a mission. Say hi to him for me, will you?"

"Of course. Bye Sorrel."

"Bye Leaf." I walked out of the room and through the hallway of the front exit. As I got to my car, the two people reported that there is nothing suspicious in the car, so I can be on my way. I thanked them and headed out the door of the mountain into the foggy area surrounding it.

Half Moon's POV

I waited in my room for my new roommate. I got here rather early today so my father can quickly check me in, and leave me alone for as long as he wants. I don't expect him to see me anytime soon. He's more than happy to send me to a school that I get to stay at for four straight years. He doesn't even know that this school is meant to train assassins. I didn't even realize that it was until the person that drove me here told me about it. The rest of the ride I was shaking in my seat, about to burst into tears.

The door to my room opened as I looked to see two people waiting in the front. One was my doctor, but the other one I didn't recognize. That's my new roommate. I looked on to see a tall muscular girl who had long silver hair that was pulled back in a long ponytail and long bangs that were just above her eyebrows. Her eyes are what caught off guard. They were a very bright blue color that looked as if they were photo shopped. She wore very ripped jeans and worn out tennis shoes with a worn out T-shirt.

"This is your roommate Cinder, Half Moon. Half Moon, this is your new roommate Cinder," Moth introduced, "I do hope you guys get along well. Since it's already 3 o'clock, you two don't have to go to classes today, but you do have to go to them tomorrow. You are welcome to explore the complex as we have much to offer here. We will see you girls in the dining area for dinner at 6." She walked out and shut the door to leave us alone. We looked at each other for a minute

Then Cinder walked over to the free bed. "Sorry that I already claimed one bed," I blurted. I silently cursed at myself for blurting out something so stupid. Gosh, why am I so awkward.

She looked at me in surprise, then chuckled. "Oh no, it's fine, I like this one anyway. Don't stress about it."

I squeezed my arms in between my leg, ashamed I asked. "O-Okay."

She set her backpack down before sitting on the bed across from mine. "What's your name, by the way?"

I was a bit confused. Moth did introduce our names to each other. Does she have short term memory loss? "Half Moon?" I tried.

"No no," Cinder corrected herself, "I meant your real name."

"Oh," it clicked in my head, "Sorry. My name is Hallie Marie."

"You don't have to apologize." She put her hand up in a kind gesture. "Cool name, by the way. It sounds very proper. I'm Cynthia." She put out her right hand for me to shake it. I timidly did, afraid she might crush my hand with those muscles of her's.

"Thank you. I do like your name as well." I smiled at her, the first time I smiled that day. "I apologize if my English is a bit off, I'm from France, so I haven't had much practice at all."

Cinder chuckled again. "I thought I recognized that accent. No worries at all, Half Moon." She got up and started unpacking her backpack. "How about we get organized first, then we can go explore the building. How does that sound?"

I nodded my head. "That sounds nice." I quickly followed her lead and started unpacking my stuff from my suitcase. We started to agree who should have what, what drawers to put our clothes in, where our toiletries should go, and what should be on our nightstands. Once we were done, it started to look more like home.

"Alright, let's go exploring," Cinder announced. We each took a key to our room just in case someone lost theirs. We started on our floor, which mostly just had dorms for the girls. We take the stairs a level up to find the boys' dorms. Another level up we found the pool and the gym, as well as the changing rooms for the genders. "There's the gym, I was worried that I wouldn't find it. I would just spend my time wandering around mindlessly." She chuckled at herself. I laughed a bit with her to make her feel better.

"How often do you work out?" I asked curiously.

"Everyday except Sunday. Usually they last two hours each. But I also play football, so the practices are sometimes pretty intense."

"You play football?" I immediately replied.

She smiled down at me. "Yeah, it's honestly pretty fun once you get over the fact that it's more than just tackling. Plus, I'm a wide receiver, which just makes it more exciting for me." She paused for a bit. "What about you, Half Moon? Do you play a sport?"

I put my hand on my neck uncomfortably. "Well," I stammered, "I wouldn't call it a sport, but I'm a dancer."

Cinder looked at me with fascination. "Really? That's pretty cool. What kind of dance do you do? Also, why did you say it's not a sport? It totally is one."

We continued to go through the hallway as I felt my face flush. "I don't really know. I just grew up believing that it can never be a sport." I paused for a little bit as I put my finger to my chin. "I can do different types of dances, but the main one I do is contemporary. I feel like I can express myself creatively when I dance like that." My voice grew softer as I realized I was babbling.

"Are you good?" Cinder asked.

I felt my face grow red with humiliation. "I'm fine. I just get embarrassed when I feel like I talk for too long."

"No, it's fine. I think it's kinda badass that you're a dancer. You could be like Ruby Roundhouse from Jumanji when you fight people. Dance fighting, that's what it called."

I felt a smile grow on my cheeks. "T-Thank you."

Just them, we heard a voice over the loudspeaker. "Attention Warriors! Dinner is now being served in the main lobby area! Thank you!"

Cinder looked at me. "You hungry?"

Bracken's POV

I was in the Infirmary with a student who got hurt during boxing. Mud was in there with the kid, tending to his wounds. That's when the announcement about dinner went over the intercom. I was about to ask Mud if he'll be fine without me, but Leaf came up to me before I had a chance.

"You heading to dinner?" she asked me.

"In a bit," I replied, "I'll have to get confirmation from Mud if it's okay to leave."

"Alright, oh!" she came to a realization, "I meant to tell you that Sorrel came by this afternoon. She said hi."

I suddenly felt myself face her. "Really?" I desperately asked, "Why?"

Leaf seemed a bit nervous that I asked that. "I'm a bit surprised that you don't remember because you got your new roster for boxing. Her daughter just got enrolled here. She only stopped by to say hi because she has a new mission up in Ontario." I was in complete shock about this news. It's true that I did get a new roster, but I didn't read the names close enough to notice anything peculiar. I cursed at myself for not making the realization. "Bracken?" Leaf asked, "Are you okay?"

I suddenly went into the room where Mud was in and asked quickly if I can be dismissed. He said yes and I quickly walked to the main lobby. "Jay!" Leaf called, "We're going to dinner, come on!"

The blind skinny kid came out from around the corner scowling at Leaf. I went out of the infirmary with Leaf and Jay close behind. We speed walked in the hallway to the lobby when I asked Leaf if she knows what she looks like. "I don't," she answered quickly, breathing heavily, "The only person I saw was Sorrel."

"Who the fuck are you guys talking about?" Jay asked, clearly annoyed.

I ignored him and kept walking until I got to the main lobby. I quickly scanned for anyone I don't recognized, but I knew everyone. I sighed until Leaf and I saw two people we didn't recognize come down the stairs. I immediately knew which of the two she was. "Oh my god," Leaf whispered and covered her mouth in surprise. "She looks just like her." I could tell that Leaf was on the verge of tears.

"Once again," irritated Jay demanded, "Who the fuck are you talking about?"

I looked on as she walked down the stairs with the other new girl.

My daughter.

Jay's POV

After dinner I went back to the infirmary where I located where Moth was. "Oh, hello Jay," she greeted, "I was just going to find you. We have two new students here and I was hoping you would help one with their medication."

I groaned, "Two? I thought there was only one."

"Well how did you hear about the one?"

I do somewhat like Moth, but I hate how she asks so many questions. I tried to show her that I was irritated by the questions, but I couldn't tell how she reacted because I'm fucking blind. "From Bracken and Leaf," I scowled at the name Leaf, "They wouldn't shut up about her. Saying 'Wow, she looks just like her', whatever the fuck that means." I made sure to do Leaf's impression in a high pitched annoying voice to scare away Moth and leave me in peace.

"They must be talking about Cinder," she paused, "Anyway, I was going to ask you if you can help the other one by chance. You see, Half Moon, the other new student, has type one Diabetes. I was wondering if you could help her with her medication."

I groaned in irritation. "Why can't she do it by herself?"

Moth sighed. "She doesn't trust herself with her insulin shots and blood sugar levels. She needs some mental support."

"So what am I? A support dog?" I shot back.

I could tell she was getting a bit irritated. She let out another sigh. "Jay, just please help her. She needs some support and since your blind, I'd figure you wouldn't judge how she's taking her medication. She has some personal issues, don't you understand?" She paused a bit before leaving. "She'll be here in a bit to check her blood sugar levels." I could feel a smile creep up on her lips. That's when I knew she was either going to say something positive, and get the upper hand with this argument. "Who knows, you might like her."

I snorted at that last remark. She'll just be like everyone else.

Pretend that I'm not fucking blind.

I let out another groan in frustration when Moth came back and set a small bag of supplies on the front desk where I was still at. "Those are her medications. Make sure that you be nice to her, okay Jay?"

I rubbed my eyes. "Fine," I responded. I felt for the bag and picked it up. It was certainly heavier than I'd thought it be. Moth left as she had to fill out some wellness reports.

I sat down at the front desk and waited. This is going to be a long four years, I thought hastily.

Just then someone softly entered into the infirmary. "Hello?" they asked. I could tell right off the bat that it was a girls voice from its high pitch. Though what caught me off guard was the accent. "Are you perhaps Jay?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"I'm here to take my blood sugar," she replied. For a person who goes here, she's really quiet. I put her bag of meds on the desk. She quickly unzipped it and took out her blood sugar reader.

"Did you wash your hands?"

"Yes," she responded quietly again. From the amount of noise she was making, I could tell that she was being as quiet as possible. She quietly grunted as she used her lancing on her finger and put the drop of blood on the test strip. It took a bit of time before we heard a beep from the meter. After she looked at it, she started to quickly clean and pack up.

"What's your level?" I asked. I'd figure to make up for the awkwardness I'd ask her a question.

She froze as she heard my voice. "107," she quietly responded. Then she went back to cleaning up. Once she was done, she handed me her medication and was heading out the door.

"Hey," I called out to her. Her footsteps became silent. "Why are you in such a rush."

Even though I was blind, I could tell she was looking at me. "Well," she started, "I don't want to bother you or waste your time. It feels a bit rude if I started conversation before the other person. I don't know, that's just me." She then headed out the door. I felt myself still look at the door for a bit before grabbing her bag.

Huh, I thought. Maybe this won't be so bad.