The next morning, Axia and I both woke up at 3 AM and packed our things so we could leave the Training Academy. Neither of us own many personal items, so it only took us thirty-minutes to get everything together before going to pack it into our rover. Once done there, we head to the mess hall to meet the boys.

"This is going to be a long day," Axia yawns as we walk, "I just hope they don't load us with work as soon as we get there."

"Yeah, it's too early to be up. 24-hours ago we were in the jungle, they could have at least given us a full nights sleep." I reply, fighting the urge to also yawn.

"Maybe they need you exhausted for whatever that experiment is." Axia jokes, laughing gently before she stops abruptly, "I'm sorry. Too soon?"

"No, honestly, at this point I would not be surprised if it ended up being some sort of sleep thing." I laugh for a moment before continuing, "Maybe it's because I'm just naturally better than Alaric even while sleeping, so they want to study my super brain." I shrug jokingly and push open the door to the cafeteria and hold it for her.

"Oh yeah, they're totally going to dissect you." Axia nods while she laughs, giving me a big smile as she walks past to head for the breakfast line.

"Oh, shut up. That'd be too weird." I grin cheekily as I follow behind her, and after we grab our trays we head an empty table. The room is far from empty, but neither of us saw the rest of our team when we came in, so I guess they're just running late.

The large mess hall is full of round tables, each consisting of 5 chairs. While not every branch of the Guardians has teams, the Academy did this for the Elitists-In-Training. It's nice for us, really. We were able to discuss our training tactics and tests without other teams listening in. Most of our drills were competition based; every team for themselves.

I look down at the tray of food when I sit, and sigh. I figured that after graduation they'd gift us with a decent breakfast, but they still gave us the same old eggs and biscuits. It's a bit of a disappointment, but I start to eat anyway.

"The guys are here." Axia nods towards the entrance of the cafeteria, and I turn to look. All 3 of them are rushing into the line, all clearly aware of their tardiness.

"At least all of them are actually in a hurry today." I say, laughing softly as they practically bump into each other upon stopping in the line. Usually, Alaric is always early, but if they are late, Oliver doesn't care to speed up, making them even more late. Today's a bit different, especially since we're going to our first real station. Soon, all three of them are sitting at the table with us, all eating quickly so we can leave on time.

"Morning, you guys." Axia says, chuckling at the fact that all of them had been silent upon approaching. "Oliver, I have a question." She then adds, glancing at all of us before her eyes then fall on him.

He raises an eyebrow, just as confused as the rest of us. "Okay, what?"

"I'm sorry, I know it's random," She frowns slightly, "I couldn't get it out of my head yesterday... Your parents are both Elitists, both on the best team Viadon has right now, and your father is on the Council. Why didn't you know about Lexa's situation?"

My eyebrows raise in surprise, and I look at him with furrowed brows. I hadn't even thought of that.

"I.. am not sure." He glances at each of us with a frown, "Could it be because neither of them are Commanders?"

"Kind of, it's because you're not a founding family." I cut in, having suddenly remembered my conversation with Mom and Dad. "My mom said that the Chieftess didn't want anyone to know I was supposed to become Elitist Commander until we graduated. Usually the honor goes to a founding family member. Your parents are neither, so they didn't know about their future Commander either. I don't know why the Chieftess is so worried about that."

"Because they don't want the people to start doubting the government. Everyone had so much faith in the Founding Families before some of them started stepping down. Now the Elitist Commander position, which is just under the Chieftess, is going to a simple farmer. 2000 years of the same thing, over and over, and now it's changing. My mom is worried about people not liking the change." Alaric explains, shrugging his shoulders. "It's why they opened the base of the Fence to the public. Those stairs weren't there a thousand years ago, but the people started doubting that there were actually dinosaurs out there. They opened it to the public so the citizens could see the importance of our Guardians."

"Yeah, well, why have a council if you're just going to keep secrets from them?" I ask rhetorically, scoffing before going back to my food.

"I don't think it's fair either," Quincy chimes in, "From an outsiders perspective, anyway."

"Mom says secrets save lives." Alaric replies, also shrugging his shoulders before also beginning to eat.

I have nothing left to say to him, or about how the Chieftess seems to rule things. What else are they keeping from us? Are there other, more dire, situations we should know about? It doesn't seem right for them to keep secrets, especially not from the Council members. They're supposed to work together for the safety of our city and the human race... if they don't know all of the information, how can they make good decisions?

After we all finish eating, we put away our trays and head for the Rover. Once we're all packed, Alaric starts the vehicle and we head for the East Station. The ride is 45 minutes from the Academy, close to the southern gate, to the eastern side of the city. Once we get the our station, I'm hoping we'll just be shown the barracks for the day. I want a day to get used to the place, and learn the area. I've only ever been in the Southern part of Viadon, since my family owns their own farm and grow the food, there was no reason for us to ever leave. Even the Academy is in the southern region, so I sheltered in place up until now. I'm excited about the change in scenery.

The farms in the Southern part of Viadon are full of animals as we drive past, giving us a beautiful view. From my understanding, the south farms are responsible for livestock and the occasional plant, while the others around the city grow mostly plants and keep simple animals like chickens and hogs for meat. Since the Guardians use their rovers to help transport goods, each section can focus on its own type of farm. The city is so big that I'm surprised we have to do it that way though. If it takes 45 minutes to get from the South Gate to the East Gate, I could only imagine how long it'd take us if we had been stationed at the North.

"What do you think is going to happen when they investigate that dead Carnotaur?" Quincy suddenly asks from the back seat, 30 minutes into our ride.

"I'm not sure.. to be honest, Commander Riley didn't seem as concerned about it as Chieftess Hunts..." Axia responds.

"He said it would be investigated, but we should ask him about it again when we see him." I add, turning around from my front seat to look at them.

"There is definitely something weird going on," Oliver says, "Those Carnos being in the mountains, the way they acted so aggressively."

"They were probably starving." Alaric reminds us, "They probably couldn't hunt properly in that area."

"No, they were all healthy, even the juveniles. They still resorted to headbutting the tree to get Q and Lexa out of it though." Oliver replies, shaking his head at Alaric's words. "Then the Utah Raptors, they were healthy too. They were still hunting in a pack though, which is very unlike them according to my training. They usually hunt solo or maybe in pairs, but never in a pack." Once he's done explaining, his eyes fall on me, "Usually Carnos, even juveniles, won't injure themselves to get a meal. They're not the smartest but they at least know that."

I nod in response, thinking over his words. "I wonder why they're being more aggressive. It doesn't make sense. Aside from the bullet wound in the Carno, there were no signs of disarray in the area. At least not enough to make them angrier." I say, shaking my head in confusion. It all makes zero sense.

"If someone was out there with us, we would have seen their rover on the tablet. I don't know how we missed someone else out there." Axia says with a defeated sigh, "Each rover has a tracking device in the engine, so rescue teams can be sent to find them."

"I don't know how we didn't hear a gun shot, unless there's a device to somehow silence lethal ammo." Alaric chimes in, laughing slightly.

"It'd have to be alien technology if so," Axia stifles a laugh in disbelief before shaking her head, "They'll get it figured out. We'll ask Commander Riley when we get to the Station."

"We're about 5 minutes out now." Alaric informs us, continuing to focus on driving.

The rest of the ride goes quickly, and soon we're pulling into a parking lot in front of the stations doors. The building is massive, though not as big as the academy, and made out entirely out of stone. Most of the buildings in Viadon, by now, have been replaced by newer, safer materials. Our ancestors took a lot of time building the original structures, but after the first 200 years, we had to start making them stronger.

Quetzalcoatlus' have always been the main reason for building destruction. Their aggressiveness and size make it pretty difficult to combat them, so our peoples only defense is just to tranquilize them and re-release them farther away from the city. Not even the pistols we use for lethal ammo would harm one of those beasts, but we don't believe in killing unless we have to anyway. Thanks to large flyers, Viadon's officials installed underground bunkers throughout the residential areas of our city. Our citizens can be safe while the Guardians and Elitists fight alone without the thought of harming our own.

Just as we're all getting out and unpacking our rover, a young man comes from the entrance of the building, rushing over to us. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I was supposed to be here when you guys pulled up, but I totally slept in this morning. Please don't tell the Commander, he'll have my ass for it." The man begins to talk quickly, causing all of us to turn his way with questioning glances amongst ourselves. He then clears his throat and starts over, "I am Elitist Red,"

"Wait, you mean like the color?" Oliver snickers, then covers his mouth to hold back an even harder laugh. I don't get why its funny, but to each his own, I guess.

Elitist Red deadpans at Oliver, then laughs mockingly, "My name is Billy Red. Elitist Red. It's my last name." He doesn't seem as amused as my teammate, so I quickly elbow Oliver to tell him to shush.

"It's nice to meet you, Red." I reach my hand out in greeting, and in turn he shakes it. "We're Team 5. I'm Lexa O'Neil,"

"Oh, I totally know who all of you are," Elitist Red replies as he lets go of my hand, "You're the top team of this class, with the future Chieftain, Elitist Commander, and some members of the next generation of the Council. Not to mention, you'll be the last team to partake in Experiment D, so you're all pretty famous around here."

"Experiment D?" My eyebrows furrow at his words, "Why would we be the last team to participate in it, if it's successful?"

Billy Red seems a bit taken back at my question, mimicking my facial expression before then waving it off, "That's not important." He hesitates for a moment, "Don't worry. They wouldn't have your team do this, if they believed it wouldn't be successful this time." He looks at Alaric now, giving him what seems to be a reassuring nod. However, I don't feel reassured.

"That doesn't give me much hope. You said this time... does that mean the experiment failed in the past?" I cut in, "If I'm going to be the main person in this experiment, I deserve to know if my life is going to be in danger."

"I said it's not important. Commander Riley believes in you all. You'll be fine." Elitist Red turns his attention back to Alaric, again, clearly trying to avoid this conversation all together. "Anyway, I'm supposed to show you all to your dorms. Tomorrow morning, you'll meet the Commander in the court yard, which I'll point out to you on the way. That gives you all day to unpack and get comfortable in your new home."

I push the thoughts of the experiment away as Red leads us into the building. We all carry our bags and luggage as we make our way through the corridors, turning left and then right and then left again. The whole building seems like a maze and I'm worried I'll never be able to learn them all. Soon, he stops us in front of a large window.

"This is the court yard. It's just around the corner from the barracks, so you shouldn't get lost on your way back here." Elitist Red says, gesturing towards a large outside area on the other side of the glass. It's a giant, open square with the rest of the building surrounding it. Each side has a door that I can see, which gives me a bit more hope that we actually won't get lost trying to find it.

"I'm glad we have today off before starting work," Axia whispers to me, "We'll be able to unpack our things."

"Yeah, really. I am gonna take a nice long nap." Quincy whispers in, leaning towards us so we can hear better.

"That sounds heavenly." I reply lowly, giving them both smiles before then continuing to follow Elitist Red on to the barracks.

Soon, he takes us down another long corridor, and at the end he stops in front of a door. "This is all of yours." He says, giving us each a key. "Here, we all share with our teams. There is a common area and separate rooms for each of you. You'll even have your own kitchen."

"Wait, we have to live with the girls now?" Alaric groans out, clearly disappointed that we'll all be spending even more time together personally rather than just for work.

"You sure do," Elitist Red nods before then opening the door for us. Inside is a large square room, equipped with couches, a computer, and a kitchen. "Each room already has your names on the doors. Each one is the same size, so no arguing over the bigger rooms."

"Thanks for showing us." I say, looking towards the other Elitist with a smile, "I think we can take it from here."

"Have a good day, you all. I'll see you tomorrow for the start of Experiment D." Elitist Red waves and then retreats down the hall, going into what I assume to be his own dorm.

I enter the common room and look around excitedly. There are 3 large couches surrounding a smaller table, and on the back wall between two doors labeled "Lexa" and "Axia" is the kitchen. It's equipped with a stove, a sink and even it's own refrigerator so we can store fresh vegetables and fruit. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was a dream. We didn't even have a refrigerator back at the farm. We always made everything fresh, or we stored it at Mom's shop. She has a freezer there for preserving meats.

"This is amazing!" Axia exclaims as she enters behind me, dropping her luggage onto one of the couches before practically sprinting to the kitchen. "This stove is better than the ones at the Academy! The kitchens there were primitive compared to this!"

"It's so weird that we share one big dorm like this." I say aloud, figuring they would have separated us like at the academy.

"Well, now that we're graduated, we'll be going out on missions a lot. Having this big shared area is good us so we can plan and talk things over." Alaric explains, "If, say, I was to get married, I'd be moved out of this dorm and into a private one close by with my spouse. It's really in case of an emergency."

"Alaric's right. Growing up, my parents and I always lived in whatever station they were assigned to at the time. On the hall over, there's a whole area for people who are married with kids." Oliver adds in, giving me a slight shrug before turning to check out one of the two bathrooms.

"Guys, go check out your rooms." Quincy yells from the other side of the common room, and I turn to see him staring into his own personal room.

I do as he says, and head for the door on the right side of the kitchen, which is labeled with my name. Upon opening the door, I immediately see a large bed. "Oh wow, this is the biggest bed I've ever seen." I sigh before quickly approaching and falling flat onto it face first. "The bed is so comfortable!" I yell out to my teammates after turning my head to the side.

"This is amazing! They stocked the closets with more uniforms!" I hear Alaric yell, presumably from his own room.

"Do you all have computers too?" Oliver's voice is barely heard over everyone else's yelling, but I turn to see a desk, completely set up with a computer.

"Yep!" I call out, standing up from the bed and going to the desk. Computers in Viadon are used for emailing family, if your family has a computer anyway, and for information about the creatures outside of the Fence. Axia should have access to the tracking database even here, this'll give us a chance to check up on the dinosaurs we, personally, tracked if we want to. We'll also be able to see texts from every educational book in Viadon, in case we ever need a refresher on our training. It's hard to believe that there are 6 between all of us.

"Guys, I'm going to go down to town and get us some kitchen supplies. Anyone want to join me?" Axia's voice grows closer as she leaves her room and I quickly meet her in the common room. "We should get some food and some cooking utensils. I have plenty of coins saved up from training." She continues as she sees me.

Soon, Quincy, Oliver and Alaric are all following us out of the barracks and through the building. Instead of heading straight for town, however, we explore the place a bit. East Station is the biggest station in Viadon. It's equipped with all of the normal station facilities like the mess hall, rover mechanics bays, an interior hospital where only retired Elitist Medics work, and everything to do with our weapons. There are weapon storage rooms, weapon repairs, weapon inspections rooms. There is an entire floor dedicated just to guns. It's all very different than the rest of Viadon. If I didn't know that we were the only humans in the world, I'd believe they took me to a whole different city.

The main difference between East Station and the other three, is that here, there's an "experiment sector." We were able to find the entrance to it, but were immediately stopped as we tried to enter. It's actually a restricted area, and the only people permitted there are ones invited by Commander Riley, himself. I assume that means that Commander Riley will be taking us there tomorrow once we start Experiment D, whatever that is.

Eventually, we make our way into town, which is right behind the Station building. The town is bustling with life as Axia buys us all food to stock the kitchen with. People are everywhere and it's almost hard to walk through the little shopping area. Soon fresh vegetables, fruits and even meats fill the trunk of the rover, so we head back to our new home to drop everything off before exploring the rest of Eastern Viadon.

I'm surprised that the farms on this side of the city are so small, despite the amount of crops that seem to be growing. It makes a bit more sense why my parents were paid so good when it came down to transporting goods across to the other areas. Not only do they have the largest farm in the south, but they also have the most resources for meat, and my mother dries meat for long term storage as well. They're one of the wealthier farming families, which is surprising because they're still considered one of the least wealthy throughout the city. Poverty is a very real thing in Viadon, even amongst the ones who make a decent living.

For the rest of the day, we all explore and learn the area, trying to pass by the time. Despite the fact that the day off was needed and welcomed, we were bored and ready to go back home by lunch. Once we're all back in the barracks, Axia cooks us an amazing meal and we all spend the rest of the day relaxing. Tomorrow things will come to light, so for now, it's best we just keep our minds off it.