Nine

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Dedicated to DarkPhoenix21

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Dedicated to DarkPhoenix21

It was starting to get dark outside. They were back in the van with Liam driving this time. Ruby was sitting on the passenger seat while Chubs, Zu, and Luce were in the back.

"All three thousand of them got out?"

"You had three thousand kids at your camp?" Liam asked.

"Why?" Ruby looked at him, unnerved. "How many were in your camp?"

"Three thousand at most," he told her. "Are you sure? Three thousand?"

"Well, it's not like they gave us an official number. There were thirty kids per cabin and about a hundred of those. There used to be more, but they sent the Reds, Oranges, and Yellows away."

Luce let out a low whistle. "Oh my gosh. What camp was it?"

"It's none of your business," she told her. "I'm not asking you where you were."

"We were in Caledonia, Ohio," Chubs said, ignoring a sharp look from Liam and Luce. "They stuck us in an abandoned elementary school. We broke out. Your turn."

"Why, so you can report me to the nearest PSF station?"

Luce snorted. "Yeah, because, clearly, we'd be able to stroll up and lodge a sighting report."

After a moment, Ruby blew out a hard breath. "Fine. I was in Thurmond."

"Are you serious?" Liam asked. "Crazy Thurmond, with the FrankenKiddies?"

"They've stopped testing," she said, feeling strangely defensive.

"No, I just—I just..."

"Use your words, buddy," Chubs told him.

"I thought it was all filled up, you know? That's why they bused us to Ohio."

"How old were you when you went into the camp?" Chubs' voice was measured, but Ruby saw his face fall all the same. "You were young, right?"

"The day after my tenth birthday."

Liam blew out a low whistle.

"How long were you guys in Caledonia?"

Chubs explained, "Zu was there for about two years. I was there for a year and a half. Lee was there for a year or so."

"And I was there the longest," Luce said. "I was there when I was twelve."

"They're still creating new camps and sending kids to them?" Ruby asked.

"Not so much anymore," Liam said. "The youngest set—Zu's age—they were hit the hardest. People got scared, and the birthrate dropped off even before the government tried banning new births. Most of the kids that are still being sent to camps are like us. They escaped detection during collections or tried to run."

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