Taken (Erin Bowman)

from the overcrowded library shelves.
    “Most of the stuff in this room is documentation of the Rebel formation,” she explains. “Forces aligning, plans of attack, defensive strategies. But these”—she raises the pale journals overhead before plopping them on the desk before me—“these are the goods.”
    “Proof of the Laicos Project?”
    “Proof and then some,” she says. “Notes and commentary written by Frank himself.”
    I run my hand over the cover of the top journal. The material is soft, like worn leather, and the corners curl toward the ceiling. A single, handwritten 1 sits on its center. This is the first of many. I take a deep breath and flip open the cover.
    The words inside are too uniform to be written by hand. They remind me of the records Emma and I had found in Taem, each letter evenly spaced, each line precisely parallel. I lean over the bound pages and read.
    Five test groups have been set up across AmEast, labeled, for now, from A to E. As the nature of this project is to create durable and tough soldiers, we need a range of subjects for experimentation. Each test group will be presented with a different scenario, ranging from most desirable (in A) to least desirable (in E). My initial prediction is that the most successful soldiers will be created from those groups in the most challenging of environments, but only time will tell.
    Each group will be enclosed by a wall and supplied with basic tools for survival (axes, saws, knives, etc.). Some groups will even have existing shelters in place—with so many communities deserted or left in ruin after the Second Civil War, it seems foolish to waste these resources. We will raise walls strategically, so that our cameras and monitoring systems can ensure observation from Taem’s control room.
    Test subjects will be a mixture of boys and girls—all fifteen or younger—acquired from institutions overcrowded in the wake of the war. Decisions are still to be made regarding when test subjects should be removed and transferred to Taem for further research.
    There is a blank page before the documentation picks up again. I look to Bree, but her nose is buried deep in a book, and so I continue.
    Test Group Breakdown:
    Group A, Western Territory. Most ideal of living situations. Functioning farms, factories, and food supplies already in existence. Fruitful soil, fair weather. Civilian houses in existence and supplied with electricity.
    Group B, Southern Sector. Comfortable living conditions. Existing homes. Large freshwater lake, plowable fields, warm weather.
    Group C, Capital Region. Base-level conditions. Fair weather and terrain. Collapsing but salvageable cabins. Water resources: small lake and rivers.
    Group D, Seacoast. Rough living conditions. Limited freshwater; rocky, dry land surrounded by salt water. No prebuilt structures, harsh sun, exposed to wind and other elements. Cold winters.
    Group E, Northern Realm. Survival-of-the-fittest conditions. Cold, long winters. Short, cool summers. Heavily forested. No prebuilt structures.
    The next several pages talk about the project’s early days and Frank’s initial observations. All five groups go through a phase he refers to as hysteria , where, regardless of the conditions of their environment, the children panic. They know their own identities, as well as basic knowledge acquired through schooling, but are completely unaware of an outside world, nor do they remember people from it. This convenient situation is the result of memory work conducted in Frank’s labs prior to placing the subjects behind the Wall. When the hysteria passes, the real show begins, and the next phase takes up a handful of Frank’s journals.
    Interesting developments in groups B and C. A leader has emerged from each and attempted to divvy up roles and responsibilities. Each leader has named their land, Group B going by Dextern (the last name of the leader there) and Group C by Claysoot (selected because of the appearance of the location’s soil). Group A is in a state of constant bickering and chaos. E struggles due to weather exposure. . . .
    Group D, finally named Saltwater, has followed suit by producing a leader—surprising twist: a female. Group A remains unnamed and in conflict. Group E has nearly died out. Perhaps conditions there were simply too extreme. . . .
    At six months, all groups have now discovered the Wall. Only some have climbed. All deem it unsafe due to the bodies we return, and have been