Alex

When Cadence reached the building that housed the gym, a steady stream of new recruits was headed down the hallway toward the showers. She looked for her sister among them but didn’t see her familiar face.

“Hi, Cadence!” Tara said seemingly out of nowhere, though Cadence realized she’d been so busy looking for Cassidy she hadn’t noticed the other girl. Her brown hair was in a ponytail and a few tendrils were matted to her face with sweat, but she didn’t look nearly as tired as the other kids—recruits—and Cadence imagined that was because she wasn’t. Another argument for going through with the procedure.

“Hi, Tara,” she said, pressing a smile to her face. “How’s it going?”

The other newbies in the hallway seemed to suddenly realize who they’d been walking past and there were some oohs and ahhs. This was an entirely new batch from what Cadence could tell, although she’d