Shifters

Chapter 2

I followed the lady past monotone white walls and black doors until we reached a set of red double doors at the end of a hallway. The lady swept through and I trailed in after her. Spotting something, she made a beeline toward the far corner of the room.

"Theodora, may I introduce you to your new friends!" The two boys sitting at the table looked up at me curiously. The one closest to me had medium length sandy hair and brown eyes. As he turned around, I caught a glimpse of the other boy. Bright green eyes watched me from behind a mess of wavy black hair. Both looked surprised to see me.

The sandy-haired one stood up and shook my hand. "Hello, Theodora."

"Just Thea." I corrected.

"Thea, then. I'm Luke and this is-"

"I'm Will," the other boy cut in, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Hi Luke. Will." I replied tentatively.

Luke grinned. "Welcome to the club," he joked. We all sat down around the table and my escort breezed away.

"If you're hungry, you can go over to the counter over there and order lunch. I think the choice today is hot dog or pizza." Luke informed me. I thanked him and went over and ordered a slice of pizza from the lady behind the counter. I was reminded of the school I used to go to as I waited for my meal.

When I got back to the table, Luke eyed my tray enviously. "Lucky. They gave you a 'please forgive us for kidnapping you' and 'enjoy you first day'  cookie."

"I know. Is this place messed up or what," I agreed.

"We're actually not sure," Will murmured. "As far as we know, science might actually be this advanced, though it might not be common knowledge." I sat back in my seat. The way Will said it, in his quiet, confident voice and the sincerity in his tone forced me to realize that these people might really be telling the truth.

"Maybe..." I admitted. The cookie wasn't half bad and my lunch was gone before I knew it.

"Soo, where ya from?" Luke inquired.

"Govenment-run girls' home in what used to be North Dakota." I replied. "You?"

"I lived at a citizens' orphanage before I was shipped here. Wherever here is," he said. "Coincidently, Will and I both came from the same town formerly-Missouri." Will nodded in agreement.

"Here's almost better than our old home. The place's probably just glad to be rid of us. They never had enough money to begin with, and they just kept having to take in more and more of the orphaned Fallen," he agreed.

"The girls' home was pretty well off, seeing as the government provided funds, but nobody really cared about any of us," I said. I could still see Mrs. Thorn's wicked smile as she let me be dragged away. I shuddered.

"Though we still don't know what's in store for us here," Will reminded us.

"You're about to find out!" The lady who had brought me here was back.

"Good morning Ms. Merriweather," Luke greeted her, his voice full of sarcasm. Apparently, he didn't like her any more than I did. Ms. Merriweather didn't pick up on the sarcasm.

"Why hello, Lucas!" she said brightly.

"Luke," he corrected.

"Of course. Now, today you kids will have places to go around the facility throughout the afternoon. Seeing as you don't know your way around, you are receiving these." She handed each of us a thing that would have looked like a rock if it hadn't been glowing blue. "Just say your destination and these will lead you there," Ms. Merriweather told us.

Luke, looking skeptically at the gift, ordered, "Cafeteria." The blue gadget flashed and began turning in circles on the table.

Ms. Merriweather continued, "You can name them if you like. When you want to go to your room, say 'Home.' Here are your schedules." She handed us each a sheet of paper. "Make sure you're on time," she added over her shoulder as she walked away.

Will was watching Luke's gadget as it spun. He pulled his gaze away and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you guys later." He pulled his gadget out of his pocket, set it on the floor, and said, "Home." The blue rock flashed and zipped off, Will hurrying to keep up with it.

"I guess we should go too," Luke suggested. "Home."

His gadget stopped spinning, hopped off the table and made its way toward the doors. I got up and threw out my trash before following my own little blue guide back to my room.