“We all want to leave, Beast. You can’t just keep running.”
A dull squeak sounded from the metal door which enclosed the cages that they kept us in when one of us would break a commandment. They’ve always taken their commandments seriously, I just liked pushing the boundaries. And if I got free, the punishment was always going to be worth it. Jada’s eyes shot up to the sound before she ducked under the metal bed that they kept me on, sliding over the metal plate that laid underneath where they would keep the utensils.
“Beast,” Kurr, the sergeant major said from beside my bed. He runs the operation, the person he was under was the government itself. This fucker had the nerve though, the shit he’d put us through, I lived for the day that I could put those black depths to sleep once and for all.
Bending down, bringing his face level to mine, he smiled. “You just never learn do you, 316? Maybe…” he pulled out his silver and gold switchblade which had Chief engraved onto the base—I was all too familiar with this knife, he and I were on first name basis, “…I should just, slide…” he trailed off pressing the cold metal under my ear and slowly sliding it down my neck. The cold air piercing into the wound like salt. Once the sting disappeared, it left the dripping and trickling of wetness sliding down the back of my neck. I knew it was bad.
“There, much better.” He laughed, putting the blade back into the back pocket of his suit pants.
“One hundred mills of Schyronide, Robert. Put the Beast to sleep.”
“No, no. No more fucking Schyronide,” I screamed as the two sets of large hands gripped me around my shoulders, pinning me down to the bed.
“This won’t hurt, Beast. You’re all too used to it by now.” Robert laughed, bringing the sharp silver needle down to my temple. Like every time this happened, the pain shot through me for the worst three seconds I’d ever felt until my world went black.
“Say it, Beast. What is the fifth commandment?” Brian, the second chief commander’s voice came blaring through my ears. My wrists stung as if bracelets of fire were pulled around them, and once I peeled my eyes open, it was more than obvious why my wrists were the first thought that crossed my mind once I awoke. I was hanging by my wrists only and wearing nothing but my jeans.
A sharp pain sliced through my left shoulder blade and a scream roared out of me until my breath couldn’t take anymore.
“Say it!” Brian repeated after whipping the long leather slit across my back.
“Thy shall not escape,” I answered with a snarl. Pulling myself in, I began to recite the six commandments in my head as the punishment continued…
Commandment 1 – Thy shall not speak of any activities that are conducted on the premises under any circumstances.
Commandment 2 – Thy shall not participate in any sexual activities unless approved by Sergeant Major Kurr.
Commandment 3 – Thy shall not speak to outsiders.
Commandment 4 – Thy shall not dishonor or disobey orders given to thy by Sergeant Major Kurr.
Commandment 5 – Thy shall not escape.
Commandment 6 – Thy shall not repeat to any persons what thy experiences are while being held in the dungeon.
By oath, you are solemnly swearing your loyalty and respect toward The Army and you pledge to live out the rest of your days serving under the Agent number you have been assigned.
If you break any of the rules stated above, your punishments will be as Sergeant Commissioner Kurr sees fit. This is The Army, not to be confused with the army with soldiers and marines. This is the genetic version. We aim to breed an army of men that we can use as weaponry. We will breed you to fight, to kill, and to train in all ways of fight: arms, combat, sword, jujitsu, and the power of a patient man. We will break you, shake you, and bleed you out until you have nothing left to give. And then just when you think you’ve given up and that you don’t want to live anymore—we will create you as one of our own. Your Agent number that is stamped behind your neck is a code to live by. It will give you meaning and purpose. The meaning of hate and the purpose to kill.
The rough sound of a blade being pulled out of a metal socket rang through my ears, bringing my consciousness back into the now. I squeezed my eyes shut at the knowledge of what was about to come.
“Would you look at that…” Brian laughed from behind me, “…your back is almost covered. Where will we start once I have no space left on your back?” He laughed again. “You know, for a fourteen-year-old boy, you sure like to cause a lot of trouble, Beast,” he sneered.
I picked my head up, wrapping my hands around the chains from which I was hanging. “What can I say…” a smirk appearing around my blood ridden teeth, “…I’m a glutton for punishment.” I liked to break the rules because I hated authority. The life I’d lived confined in this community had been hell, yes. But because I was raised in it, and not recruited, so hell is the only place I’ve known. My eyes shut as thoughts of who my mom may have been came flooding through my brain like a rush of false flashbacks, whizzing past my very eyes at one hundred miles per hour.