Chained - Everything you know is a lie...

by Susanne Valenti

Chapter Ten

  On the fifth day, we were working on the mats. I was doing no better and my temper was rising after being thrown onto my back for the tenth time.

  "Place your feet and twist into the movement," Laurie said, exasperated.

  I got back into position and motioned Taylor forward. He grabbed me and I twisted, knocking him off balance but I didn't get my shoulder into place and he managed to stay on his feet.

  "Again," Laurie snapped. She was getting very bossy in her role as our trainer.

  Taylor lunged forward and I started to move but something caught my eye on the other side of the training area and I hesitated. He hit me hard in the shoulder and I was knocked off of my feet and flung across the mat. I scrambled to regain my balance and see what had distracted me.

  "Really?" Laurie began, but she was cut off as a scream broke out above the rest of the noise in the room. It was swiftly followed by the buzz of several tasers. The room exploded into shouts and chaos.

  Grey hit the floor with four Wardens piling on top of him, several taser cords were attached to various parts of his body. He was twitching out of control but his face was pointed in my direction and he was smiling. It was almost a snarl but I could see a light behind his eyes that hadn't been there before. He looked excited.

  The Wardens, led by Unibrow, dragged Grey out of the room, using metal batons to strike at him as he resisted.

  One of the time servers was sprawled on the floor, his arms were twisted at an unnatural angle and a training knife was protruding from his chest. The force it must have taken to get that plastic knife to cause any kind of injury was immense but, as I thought of Grey's hulking mass, it didn't surprise me.

  A pool of blood was spreading out from the man's body and his eyes were staring lifelessly at the ceiling.

  I felt cold. The sweat from my workout chilled against my skin and I shivered.

  A female Warden stepped across the room carrying a large blanket and covered him up as other Wardens started to segregate all of the convicts and check that there was no more trouble brewing.

  "Goddamn psychopath," Laurie muttered, ushering us back into the safety of our mat area.

  "What will happen to Grey now?" I asked her.

  "He'll be locked up in solitary when he's not training. But he's a lifer anyway, there's not a lot more we can do to him. He won't be allowed near the knives again though."

  I couldn't quite believe what she was saying.

  "But he just killed that man. He could have a family waiting for him back in the city," I protested.

  Laurie fixed me with a hard stare but it was Taylor who replied.

  "That's the whole point of SubWar, Maya. There's no guarantee you're going home."

  "But this wasn't SubWar. It's just stupid training, with a stupid plastic knife!" I shouted. Some of the other Wardens were looking my way.

  "Maya, stop." Laurie inclined her head towards the other Wardens. "Or I'll have to do something neither of us will like." Her hand was on the taser at her hip and I knew she meant it.

  I shut my mouth and forced my feelings deep down into a ball of rage inside my chest as I headed back to the mat.

  When Taylor swung at me I dodged his fist and, using his momentum, managed to send him crashing to the floor. It was my first win against him on the mat but it did little to improve my mood.

  I didn't sleep well that night, nightmares haunted me every time I closed my eyes until I gave up. I woke early and wanted to get to training as quickly as possible. Taylor tried to argue but eventually realised it was pointless and joined me for an early workout.

  There was no one around apart from a solitary Warden sat at a desk in the central corridor. He raised his eyes from his book to watch us pass momentarily but made no move to stop us. The corridors echoed with our footsteps as we made our way to the training room.

  The clock on the wall read five thirty.

  "Dammit Maya, I told you it was still the middle of the night," Taylor snapped. He strolled into the empty room and lay on one of the crash mats.

  I climbed onto a cross-trainer and started exercising. Taylor's snores soon filled the silence in the room and I upped the resistance so that I was working really hard.

  My skin gleamed and my breaths came in sharp bursts but I pressed on. Exercise had always been my favourite form of therapy. If I worked hard enough, I could chase the nightmares right out of my head.

  Slowly, the sounds of the other convicts and Wardens waking up started to punctuate my run.

  Someone entered the room and headed for the gun rack but I didn't pay them any attention.

  Green light flashed in my peripheral vision. Then again, and again. Curiosity got the better of me and I glanced up to see who was so proficient.

  It was a man I recognised from the time servers group. He had a mop of matted black hair and spent a lot of time hanging around Grey. He must have sensed me watching him because he turned suddenly to face me. I wanted to drop my gaze but held firm instead.

  The man raised his gun and pointed it at me. I shielded my eyes too late. He pulled the trigger and the red light of the laser beam shot towards me.

  There was the sound of running footsteps and I heard Taylor grunt in shock as something woke him.

  I stumbled to a halt and stepped from the cross-trainer. Red lines swam in my vision and made it almost impossible for me to see in the dim light. A hand curled around my arm, gripping me firmly and pulling me back towards the door.

  "Get off!" I yelled, trying to shake them from me but their hold was iron. I blinked furiously as I struggled against my attacker.

  "Come on poppet, no need to fight me." I recognised Dolly's voice.

  I dug my heels in and they caught on the edge of one of the crash mats. I stumbled to the floor, using my weight to stop her. My vision cleared and I could see her dirty fingernails digging into my skin.

  Taylor was struggling against the man who was using his training rifle like a bat.

  I kicked out towards Dolly as her face started to swim back into focus. She jumped aside and dropped her grip on my arm. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as panic started to take hold.

  Something buzzed loudly by my ear and Dolly collapsed, shrieking, to the floor. She twitched and jerked as the taser took full effect.

  I scrambled away and glanced up to see Laurie looking fierce. She had her gun drawn and pointed at the man with the matted hair. He stood slowly with his hands raised and dropped the training rifle.

  Taylor spat a wad of blood onto the floor as he regained his feet. He offered me a hand and I stood too.

  "Get back to your dorms," Laurie snapped at Dolly and the man. He stopped to help Dolly to her feet and they left.

  Dolly glared back at me as she went. Her hands were still twitching.

  "New rule. You don't leave your dorm until I come and get you," Laurie said firmly.

  I nodded in agreement.

  "Thanks, Laurie. I'm really sorry-" I began.

  "No you're not." She smiled in a way that made my stomach churn. "Not yet."

  If I'd thought the training was hard before then what followed was like some form of torture. Laurie made us defend ourselves against her on the mat. Trying to land a hit on her was futile. Trying to avoid getting hit by her was impossible.