NAOMI

I woke up in a strange white room with bodies pressed against me in neat, tidy rows. The dragon's roars and the sound of its wings still battered at my ears, and when I let my eyes close all I could see was the woman in the white suit, with her gun-thingy. MEA... Monster Elimination Act. Why didn't they come before? Didn't Alex say the Trials were full of monsters?

More importantly, where are we?

The lady had a syringe with her, and she shot us all with this weird-looking liquid to put us in a deep sleep. To protect the location of the headquarters, she said. At least she didn't bonk us on the head or anything...

I sat up, and the girl beside me shifted her right leg and murmured something. I tried to shake her awake, but she only muttered, "Get off of me, you annoying brat." But then something clicked in her mind, and her eyes flew open. "Wait, w-where are we?" she spluttered, sitting up. "Is Alex okay?"

"Um..." I glanced around the room, straining to see our leader. He was a few yards away, sleeping peacefully with the rest. "Yep, seems fine to me."

"That woman..." The girl put a tanned hand to her black hair. "MEA... no one's ever heard that name before. Why didn't they kill the monsters in the Trials if they stand for Monster Elimination Act?"

I shook my head and whispered, "I don't know."

She tapped her wide lips thoughtfully before kicking the boy next to her. "Ashton, wake up, you big baby. We're in a strange room and need to get out of here ASAP."

I wouldn't want that to be my wake-up call, but Ashton popped up with a determined glint in his eyes. I could tell he's been in the Above for a while by his alertness.

"Is Alex okay?" he repeated the girl. What are we, servants to him? I didn't think the Above was a one-man power system.

"Yes, and we need to wake everyone else up," the girl told him. "Get Alex first. He'll know what to do."

Yeah, well, I seriously doubt that, I thought, but stood up with the two anyway.

Isaac was stirring, and as I tip-toed to him his eyes drifted open. "Naomi?" he asked, and I held out my hand.

"C'mon, dragon-shooter, time to hit the hay," I mimicked a Southern voice.

He sat up and gazed at our surroundings, his hair downy and ruffled from sleep. A tugging came at me to feel it, see if it was as soft as it looked, but I shoved my hands in my pockets. Bad Naomi. "Where's Annabelle?" he inquired. "Is she gonna sleep for a year like when we first got to the Above?"

I grinned and tossed my blue hair aside. "I wouldn't put it past her."

He accepted my hand and pulled himself to his feet. "Why did that woman have to knock us out?" he grumbled as he toed a guy next to him.

"To protect their place," I answered, shrugging. "But we were literally in the clouds, not being able to go anywhere, so..."

"We need to find Annabelle." He searched for our cheerful red-haired friend while I went to the crowd that was gathered around Alex.

"Okay people, I know that you're all scared and confused right now, but I'm your leader, right? I'll make everything better." I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. Let's see what arrogant Alex has to say. "I propose we listen to what these people have to say, and when they finish, decide what to do. Simple. Any questions?"

The tanned girl from before raised her hand. "Yes, Trisha?" Alex prompted.

"What if these MEA people want to kill us?" Trisha asked. "They drugged us and put us in a weird place. I say we just escape!"

"Good suggestion, but if they wanted to kill us they would've when they put us under." Alex patted her hair before moving on.

An arm landed on my shoulder, and a cheerful voice said, "Listening to what Mr. Handsome has to say?"

I grimaced at her. "Annabelle, only you could tease in this situation."

She grinned and spread her hands wide. "What can I say? I'm an optimist. So, what's the plan?"

I tugged at my shirt collar and glanced away. "We're going to listen to what they have to say," I explained. "Kind of sketchy if you ask me."

"Tell me about it." She began twisting her red hair into a braid. She always carried around an infinite amount of hair bands back on the ground. Why not up in the sky?

Isaac frowned at her as he joined us. "How are you so calm?"

She tapped his cheek and smiled playfully. "Don't frown so much, Isaac, it'll give you wrinkles."

That made him scowl more, but our conversation was interrupted by an announcement. "Members of the Above, please go into the next room to speak with our scientists," a cool, robot female voice spoke.

Isaac crossed his freckled arms. "What if we don't?"

"Don't have a choice, sissy. Now come on before you get left behind." A guy with dark-brown curly hair dragged our friend through the opened door, shaped like a panel in the wall.

"Long time no see, Julian!" Annabelle called, jogging after them.

I followed, my brain feeling like a puddle in my head. "Wait, you know him?" I asked, but the question was lost in the sea of whispers that came behind hands and bent heads. It was just like a school cafeteria, not in the headquarters of people who kill monsters.

Once everyone was in the room, a chair turned to reveal the woman from before. "Thank you for your cooperation," she stated, running her hand along the futuristic gun on the desk. "We have information to tell three of your residents."

Alex shoved his way to the front, handsome features warped into solemnness. "Well, you can tell that to me, ma'am, because I'm the leader around here."

She regarded him with cold eyes before continuing, "Naomi Brackett, Annabelle Springer, and Isaac Clonder, please come to the front."

Annabelle's and Isaac's eyes were as wide as the moon, ready to pop out of their sockets. "What do we do?" Annabelle hissed to me.

I straightened my tunic and began to march to the front. "We go," I told them, and they followed in behind me.

Once we got to the desk, the woman smiled breezily at us while Alex gaped, dumbfounded. "Excuse me, miss, but these are newbies, arrived only today. What could you possibly want with them?" he blurted out.

Before she could reply, I shot a glare at him. "What, think we're too weak? Come on, lady, spill it and see how my friends and I handle it."

"Well, Naomi, is it?" the lady clarified. I nodded, and she went on pleasantly, "You and your friends need to go into the Trials immediately."