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I'm good at counting, but there's more to it than that.

There's also the way I notice things around the compound, like the guards. I know each of their shifts by heart now, and can recognize them from the distinct patterns of their footsteps.

Right now, Rick is walking up and down the rows of bunks lined with me and the other teenagers.

The latest, a pair of twins about the age of 16, lie in the same bed, holding each other

for warmth.

They keep their eyes closed and act like they're sleeping, and it would work if not for the occasional

twitch of their bodies.

The guards probably can't tell, but like I said, I'm good at noticing things and picking up patterns.

And many kids have come and gone through the bunks.

I want to tell them that they don't have to worry.

They still have another two years before they're old enough to sleep in the master's manner.

We don't undergo the special training until we're 18, which I won't be

for another year. I'm the only teen who's ever begun his lessons early before being moved

from the juvenile bunks. Because you're special. The master's whisper makes me shudder and twists

my stomach. My parents told me that I should be proud that he's taken such an interest in me.

...