I'm in my own room now. I can't believe it's three in the morning already. The plane ride just seemed to whizz by. The Black Order is actually a huge cathedral. When the plane landed on an airstrip, Bookman and Ray left me and went inside. At the door of the cathedral, I was met with this pretty blonde woman, with long, curly hair, brown eyes, and glasses. She wore all white and welcomed me with a soft half-smile.

We shook hands and she said in a British accent, "My name is Lisa Turner. I'm chief of this organization. Welcome to the Black Order, Justin."

Leading me inside, she asked if I was hungry. Despite how empty and weak I was feeling, I said it could wait. So, I was given a tour of the Black Order. Lisa said this cathedral had been here for over a century, locked away from the world up until seven years ago when the first Exorcist came along.

"What do you mean by 'locked away'?" I asked her, looking around the fancy building with gray, stone walls and too many hallways.

"I mean that when Hiroshi Ito traveled to this island, there was a barrier around the whole cathedral." My eyes widened with interest. "Of all the people that had visited the landmark, only he was able to break it. And that was because he was an Accommodator. It was Innocence protecting this place, though we don't know how that one fragment remained active while the others deactivated."

I stopped in my tracks and glared at her skeptically. Who was she trying to trick? "Wait a second, seven years ago, I was nine back then, but I'm pretty sure I would remember seeing it on the news," I snapped accusingly. "A phenomenon like that would definitely be all over the media."

"Except it wasn't," she said calmly. "The island went unnoticed for Lord knows how many years. When people finally found it, no one said a thing to outsiders. If tourists asked about the forest, locals would tell them that the island had been scoured before, and there was nothing beyond it."

"And they believed them? But why?" I asked. If I had discovered something like that, I would want to tell the world! "Didn't people at least try to explore?"

Lisa shrugged. "Those who ventured into the forest came back confused. Said that they don't remember a thing of what happened in there."

I squinted at her, feeling suspicious again. "Wait a second, how do you know all this?"

She smiled and said, "My dear boy, I have lived on this island since the day I was born. I know everything about it."

"Oh…" I said, because I didn't have anything to say to that.

It was quiet a few seconds before Lisa began walking again. I caught up to her quickly as she led me to a dormitory. She explained that this is where the Finders' bedrooms are. The next dormitories belonged to the staff, and then a whole other section belonged to Exorcists. Our rooms were bigger and more exquisite. I was listening to her, but a question nagged at the back of my mind until I finally had to ask it.

When she was leading me to the infirmary, I asked, "So, how do you keep out intruders today? Now that there are people living here?" Along our trip, I noticed there were many people living here – many wearing lab coats, or long, tan uniforms, but I hadn't noticed anyone else wearing Ray's black and red uniform.

To my question, Lisa said, "We have cameras watching our surroundings. If we spot anyone coming our way, we send out our guards to take care of them." When my eyes widened, she assured me that they didn't kill anyone.

The British Chief took me around all of the Black Order until my legs hurt. I was shown the infirmary, the lounge, the library, the huge-ass training room, Lisa's office, everything. When we stopped at the also humongous science division, I met Australian Section Leader Riley Taylor. He looked to be in his late twenties, blond hair, blue eyes, really nice guy. As we shook hands, he told me that I could be fitted for a uniform tomorrow afternoon. I didn't object, seeing how utterly exhausted he looked.

Last, but definitely not least, Lisa took me to the cafeteria. It was even bigger than the one at my high school, decorated with odd portraits, lit by chandeliers, and lined with benches. Once the aromas of various types of food filled my nose, my stomach let out a loud, annoying, and painful growl. The sandwiches on the plane definitely weren't enough. Blushing, I held my stomach and smiled sheepishly at Lisa.

She returned a smile sweetly and nudged me forward. "I had some chefs stay awake just for you. Eat," she said. "I'll send a Finder to lead you to your room when you're done."

"Wait, so, we're done for the night?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as she walked away.

"Yep!" she called back. "Sleep in as long as you want and find Riley after breakfast."

I nodded, and then jogged over to the counter. A man was waiting for me there. He was a brunette with dark eyes and light skin. When he spoke, I didn't hear an accent and assumed he must be American like me. He said his name was Johnny and that I could order absolutely anything I wanted. I told him I'd take two double cheeseburgers and French fries.

I didn't have to wait very long before I was presented with a tray of the most delicious-looking food I'd ever seen. And it tasted better, too! I couldn't believe it; better than any restaurant I'd ever been to. However, sitting alone in the quiet cafeteria with nothing but the sound of my chewing and the cooks cleaning up, I was left with a lot of time to think.

I was thousands of miles away from home, away from my mother, my sister, my friends. I even missed my stupid dad. My chewing slowed as I realized that I never even got the chance to say goodbye to him or my friends. My hands began to tremble against my will when I thought of what was going on at home. How would Mom explain this to everyone? The school would get suspicious, the authorities. Unless Mom came up with an elaborate plan to erase me from history, she could get into a lot of trouble.

I couldn't deal with the thought of Mom being taken away to prison. What if the police thought that she had killed me and buried me somewhere? Would she explain to them that she let me go to another country to be a soldier in a war that hadn't even started yet? Yeah, 'cause that would go over real well.

And Tyler, Oliver, and Adam – they're going to be so crushed when they find out I'm never coming back. I'm probably going to die before this stupid war is over.

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I set down the burger I was working on and buried my face in my hands. I don't cry easily – in fact I hate crying – but the weight on my shoulders was too much to bear. I tried to cry silently, but in the already quiet cafeteria, someone was bound to hear my sobs.

"Excuse me. Why are you crying?"

The small voice startled me. I quickly tried to wipe the tears off my cheeks as I turned and saw a little girl. She had abnormal white hair and eyes like rainclouds. Her skin was pale and flawless. She couldn't be older than ten years old. She wore pink button-up pajamas, and I had to admit she was freaking adorable.

I sniffled and rubbed my eyes. "I'm not crying, kid," I choked out. "I just have something in both my eyes."

She giggled and sat next to me. "You're silly," she said smiling cutely. "You're the new Exorcist, aren't you? I heard that you were coming. What's your name again?"

I swallowed hard and willed myself to stop fucking crying for, like, two seconds. "Justin. Justin Davis. Who are you?"

"I'm Nina Warren," she replied, taking some French fries. "I'm an Exorcist, too."

My eyes widened. "No way," I said. "You're just a kid."

"Hey! I'll be ten next year!" she proclaimed. She kicked her legs as she spoke. "Besides, as a Parasitic Exorcist, I don't really have a choice whether I want to be an Exorcist or not."

"Parasitic Exorcist? What's that?" I asked.

She giggled again. "You have a lot to learn, Justin. You'll find out soon."

Before I could say something, a man came in, wearing a tan uniform. He had a goatee and from what I could see of his face (he was wearing a hood), he looked to be in his thirties. "Nina!" he exclaimed, walking over to us. "What are you doing up? Please, go back to sleep Mistress Exorcist."

"Aw, but I can't sleep!" she objected.

The man shook his head. "Go back to bed, please. I will bring you a glass of warm milk."

Nina groaned and hopped off the bench. See wished me goodnight and then walked off. The man waited until she left until he turned to me and shook my hand. He said his name was Michael, and he was a Finder. When I asked what a Finder was, he said it was hard to explain. Michael said that when I was done eating, he'd take me to my new room.

So, I finished as quickly as possible, and then let him take me to my room. Which is where I am now. I'm all in my pajamas and I am more than ready to sleep. This room is pretty big; it's got a twin-sized bed, a dresser and a closet, a flat-screen TV, and my own bathroom.

It's comfy in this church, but I know I'll never be used to it. How can I like a place that's taken me away from my family? I guess I'll end this entry here, because I really don't have enough energy to write any more.

Good night, Mom. Good night, Kayla. Good night, Oliver and Adam and Tyler, and yes, even you, Dad.

I want to go home.