CHAPTER ONE
I tried not to look at the face screaming and pleading for mercy. Just a young woman and a child. ‘Have mercy, ’she begged on her kneels. I had no option, not a choice. I had to keep her silent, it was the absolute law. But why? I couldn’t understand why she had to die. My fingers were on the trigger, ever ready to snuff out a life at their command. I had to obey; I was taught and trained to do so without questioning. What has to be done must be done regardless of whatever we felt.
I turned and faced the child first; the little one must not feel the pain. It would be easier; I won’t let her feel it too. No agony of death, just relieve from life. One shot, that’s all. I took one last look at the woman, I could see the fear in her eyes, and they were cold. She could obviously saw death at her door now, then there was something else other than that. Something I must have missed, something I wasn’t used to. But what it was I couldn’t tell. With two shots, I ended their lives, pain voice was gone, and death had taken his passenger.
‘Very good Lase,’ he said. I sensed the pride in his voice. He was glad I could do it. ‘Welcome to the brotherhood’ he continued. But all I could feel was the rebound reaction, it felt like a stab in my heart. I felt pain, anguish in my soul. I felt bad, no worse.
I wanted to shed tears but I was stronger than my emotions. Show no weakness or strength lest you are known. We were watched always. I tried to suppress the pain, the look in the woman’s eyes as I took her life without mercy. It was sickening to watch life go from someone. But I remembered something; the last look she gave me wasn’t the look of pain. She was trying to say something, even though she was close to death. Whatever it was it was better than death.
‘You can go back to your quarters, Lase!’ he ordered. I quickly obeyed as I could no longer look at the dead people I had just murdered. I wanted to leave there so much that I didn’t realise I was running. I found myself gasping for breath. I was afraid. Scared of dying so easily, like the woman and her child.
I got to the quarters faster than expected. I stopped at the door, for how long I didn’t know. I felt scared and lonely. I moved forward and opened the door to my amazement no one was around. They should have been back by now; we were never allowed to leave our quarters except for classes or dinner. The less the better. I walked in and sat on my bed. I still felt sick to my stomach so I rushed to the toilet as it got worse with time. I threw up almost immediately, there wasn’t much to remove. We were taught how to survive in the worst conditions. We could eat anything from raw meat to insects to bugs, blood from our own body or even our own urine. Life was tough and hard, but we learned it all.
Just as I was going back to my bed, I heard a strange noise like movement in the room. ‘Stop there!’ the voice ordered. I calculated where it came from surprisingly it was a feminine voice. We were always happy whenever they sent girls to fight with us. I chuckled and I bet she heard as she hissed. She moved again towards my direction and before I knew it I stumbled to the floor. She was damn fast like lightening. I needed 1/5th of a minute to think before making my next move. I was overpowered before I could even think and I was held back by my legs. I had invented a move that helped even when you were held bound and I tested it on her as she fell backwards afterwards. She made no noise at all only a tiny gasp. I had never seen anyone so quiet during a fight that you wouldn’t know where she attacked, just stinging pain. I got up and tried to leave but she pulled me back quickly and then the sound of a gun clicking. I screamed ‘I give up’.
Like an impulse she let me go and the lights was turned on, and I realised we were in darkness all this while. Sad unimpressed faces stared at me and I knew I was toast. ‘He’s not ready’ the older man said. ‘He turned and looked at the girl ‘train him and get trained yourself too, you’re a bit slack yourself.’ ‘Stand up! ’The commander shouted and I got up quickly saluted and stood at attention. He was a huge man with large biceps and triceps. His face looked distorted like he had serious fights earlier in his life as his face was distorted with a broken nose and a short stitch across his left cheek making him look scary. ‘You are Lase right?’ he asked. ‘Yes sir,’ I replied. ‘6 to 6’he concluded facing the girl.
For the first time I looked at the girl, she appeared a little younger than me but she was far too serious looking to tell if she was even pretty. Blond, narrow eyes and thin lips, I couldn’t look much as I was drawn to the fact that she had turned her back to me as the men left the room. Still faced back she said ‘we start now’.
CHAPTER 2
My name is Lase Roon and I became an official member of RIMA brotherhood just yesterday. I’m twenty years old with no relatives and orphaned at 4 years old. I actually don’t know where exactly I am now but I am in a facility at one end of the earth. We have been undergoing training since as far back as I remember. We were trained as assassins and drilled in almost every fighting technique available.
Where exactly am I now? On the floor, on the first day of official training. Who is training me? Miss too serious Stacy, a senior trainer in my academy. Not exactly that senior but just more advanced and we always prefer to call it a better sparring partner. ‘Get up!’ she shouted. I stood up immediately but was as tired as hell. We’ve been going on like this for hours and I had landed on the floor more than 50 times. Martial arts were the toughest to learn and I desperately needed rest.
It was almost 4am in the morning and this girl really didn’t want to stop. I thought of using the technique I had used earlier on her and so I did as fell. ‘Damn you!’ she cussed. ‘Ok we’re done’ she said. Thank goodness was all I could say. Just like other kids it was the same story. Nobody knew their parents at all. We had a common enemy; the LUNA.
I went quickly back to my quarters; my mates were all there surprisingly as they left me to tackle such hideous monster wrapped in a girl yesterday. Two beds were empty, one was mine, and the other was Zack. He had gone for a mission away from here after being unfairly promoted thanks to his very accurate scores. Unlike him, I’m still in training and will be for quite a while. Zack was the best in my group; he was too great not just good at everything with no exception. He handled a knife like a fighter; he was fit and ready that I sometimes wonder if he was human. But particularly he was best at techno-craze. Yea it’s quite a funny name given but it talks about mad technology, not mad enough though.
Sometimes I feel they give our training funny names just to get us to hate it or fear it perhaps. Fear rules most of everything here, fear to live or fear of death. ‘Hey! Lase, how was training with that girl?’ Justin asked. ‘kinda frustrating but you know me I’m a fast learner. Where were you guys yesterday?’ I asked desperate to change the topic from any training related matter. ‘Oh we were asked to vacate the hall for you, you must be really special for the commander to come himself’ he said jokingly. ‘It’s not funny bro; I got a reward for my much undermanaged work, a trainer. Imagine me being but under a trainer that’s a very low demotion in ranks’ I answered. ‘So sorry for your loss. You’ll get over it. In the last 2 years I’ve been under a trainer and they are no nonsense people. You’ll feel like dying at first then you’ll live.’ he replied sarcastically. ‘I know you’re kidding anyway, she’s what they call my partner. You’ve got yours too so it’s nothing special. Her name is Stacy. A hell of a girl, she can’t even communicate effectively making me think they don’t teach them how to talk these days’ I answered back.
‘Anyway good luck with your love story, very touching. I’m going to bed now.’ he said and turned to the other side. Yea I’m still along my mates and I could still catch some sleep. After tossing and turning in my bed for two hours with no sleep our captain walked in and raised the stupid morning alarm. ‘Wake up sleepyhead. Your life is at stake’ he said. It was like there was no end to the constant reminder that we were on death roll already, literally speaking. Kill or be killed, I want to believe life’s more than this display of violence. An order is an order so I obeyed quickly, dressed up, and stood in line.
‘As you all know, from today onwards you are closer to leaving here than the earth is from the sun’ he continued. Can you even imagine the distance, such a kill joy every time like I’m shouting and no one hears? ‘You will be put under severe training for 180 days till your departure. This will be the toughest time for you and many do not make it this far. Here your friend ceases to exist. There all enemies that you will fight till you make it out here dead or alive. Your new schedule is as follows: 5.00am is the official wake up time……….
‘Do you understand Lase?’ he asked me. I woke up and realised everyone was staring at me as though I had committed a crime. ‘Sleeping on your first 180 days are you?’ he asked again. Mother Nature is sure very weird to put me to sleep at exactly the most important time. ‘No sir I was deep in meditation’ I replied and they all laughed. ‘Silence!’ he ordered. ‘Do you think this is joke or something?’ ‘Sir I was …..’ he interrupted ‘that was not even a question lase! Give me 20’he demanded and I went flat and did press ups. At the last time, he shouted again, ‘let this lesson to all of you. Nobody I repeat nobody laughs at any one or you’ll be like them, a weakling’ ‘up! We leave now’ he concluded and left with us tagging along.