Helena woke up with a start. The moldy ceiling of the orphanage was the first thing he had seen every morning since he had opened his eyes to this new body. The smell of old wood mixed with dust filled her sensitive nose, and in the background she could hear the other orphans breathing heavily in their beds.

She had already been here for three months.

Three months since she was reborn as a five-year-old girl, but with the mind of a cold and experienced killer. At first, he thought he was dreaming or in some kind of purgatory, but he soon accepted the reality: he had been reborn in a new world, with a small and fragile body, but also with incredibly sharp senses and reflexes.

The orphanage was in a small town in the state of Texas, just outside Houston. It wasn't a well-known or busy place, which made it even worse. Forgotten by the government and any institution that really cared, it was just an old building where abandoned children and they expected an uncertain fate. Most of them were never adopted. And Helena refused to be one of those children. In the first months, she did not attract attention. She was a small girl, fragile in the eyes of others, but her mind worked like a predator's. The first rule was not to waste resources. Food was scarce. The older ones stole from the smaller ones. But Helena never let them steal from her. She ate slowly, hid pieces of stale bread in her pockets, and at night kept food under her bed in a small hole in the mattress. At the same time, he began to train his body. Even at the age of five, he did discreet exercises: push-ups against the wall, squats, lifting heavy objects. I never did this in front of the caregivers – I didn't want anyone to notice. The second rule was to understand the territory. The orphanage was an old building, with three floors and a basement that always smelled musty. The cracks in the walls let drafts through, which helped to know how where the winds came, and the floor creaked in specific places, making it easy to avoid being heard when she walked at night. The dormitories were on the second floor, the cafeteria on the first, and the principal's office on the ground floor, where she kept the few records of the children. And then came the most important discovery. Helena noticed that some children simply disappeared. The first was Lisa. Lisa was seven years old, scrawny and silent. One day, he disappeared. Caregivers said she had been adopted, but no one saw her leave. No cars arrived that day. No document was signed. Helena thought this was strange and began to pay attention. From time to time, children simply disappeared. Some were actually adopted, but others... No. She began to listen to conversations hidden behind doors. He took loose words: "payment", "no one will notice", "no one cares". Traffic. The orphanage sold children. Helena was not surprised. Just added one more rule to his list: not to be sold. That night, he began planning his escape. But fleeing without a plan was suicide. She was ten years old until the apocalypse. He couldn't throw himself on the street without knowing where to go. He needed money, weapons, allies. So, he decided to stay. For the time being.