Chapter 7

Tony

I stayed huddled up in my room once Greg was done with me, free of tears but full of fear. What scared me the most was what they done to Greg after, I could take the beatings no matter how much they hurt but seeing how easily they killed him. I could die here; die if I did anything they didn't like.

I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be with my daddy. I was safe with daddy.

I had to stay in the room for a few days recovering, visited by non-threatening nurses until I was able to feel better. It didn't matter if my face was all bruised, they didn't care about looks in here.

"How are you today Tony?" The woman who called herself my grandmother asked as she came into the room.

"Okay" I lied.

"Good because you start tomorrow" She stepped into the room and handed me a photo. "I know you don't believe that I am your grandmother but look at the photo"

It was a picture of my dad's dad with his arm around my 'grandmother' they were smiling and laughing. "We are not biologically related or by law. Your grandfather hardly had any money but because of me your father got everything he wanted. He was ungrateful" She shook her head with a sigh and pinched the photo back. She turned to leave but then threw me a photo. "Here's one of your father, keep it, it will be the last you see of him"

She banged the door shut and I looked at the photo. It was a recent one; I hugged it to my chest.

For what seemed like hours later food was brought to me which I tried to eat but couldn't. The people that brought me my food in came back half an hour later and sighed when they saw I hadn't eaten it. I looked down feared that they were going to hit me.

"Are you not hungry?" The first man asked.

I shook my head.

They picked it up and took it away. There was three water bottles lining the side that I chucked back, starving for food. I thought that I might pass out when two men came to the door and removed me.

They took me across the corridor and into the opposite room when on entering I noticed it was bigger with two mattresses and there's a boy lying on one of them.

"Get him to eat" One of the men said to the boy passing him something and then left us alone.

"What's your name?" The boy asked.

"Tony"

"I'm Christos" Christos had a deep scar going up his left cheek. He caught me looking at it and grinned. "It was an accident, this scar was. Car accident, my parents died in it, I just got this scar and a broken leg. Leg's okay now, sort of"

"I'm sorry"

He waved his hand away. "It's fine, sit Tony"

I sat down on the opposite mattress. "What happens here? I was told I start tomorrow"

Christos touched his leg. "Like I was saying about my leg. Sometimes it lets me down in the fights otherwise I'll probably beat all the others out there"

"They make us fight each other?"

"Yeah I know right? It's fucked" He shakes his head. "Please eat, you need to keep your strength up."

"What do you get for winning?" I asked him and look down at the food.

"To be left alone." Christo shivered then muttered something too softly for me to hear.

"From what?" I leaned forwards and whispered.

Christo sniffles. "From being experimented on."

Now I couldn't eat the food. Feeling sick I leant up against the wall, folding myself into it. "Are the experiments bad?"

"What do you think?"

"Sorry"

"No, I'm sorry"

000

"Why are they doing this?"

"Because there sick?"

"No I mean, what's the experiments for?" I watched Christo's face, clearly no-one had ever asked this question before.

"None of us question it. Why do you?"

"My daddy tells me I'm too smart for anyone, in all different ways."

"Well I'm smart" Christo told me. "Just ask me to describe something."

"Just ask me an equation" I smiled back at him.

"New boy," One of the men flicked there hand towards me to walk over there. I do, making my way out to the drop. A girl faced me around my age, crouched on the floor and she bared her teeth at me when she noticed me looking, she was feral. I took a glance at all the other's held captive but none of them looked like her.

"This is our best" The men sneered. "Have fun" He pushed me forwards too forcefully that I fell to my knees and the girl leaped at me. I tried to scramble backwards but she was too fast for me and on me in seconds. I tried to fight her off but her teeth were already sinking into my shoulder, her long nails pricking my skin and her legs kicked out at any attempt I made to get her off.

I screamed, the pain running through my body.

She removed her teeth and nails from my skin and sat back on the balls of her feet. She wanted to chase, catch and release, she was waiting for me to run so she can do exactly that. To fight her would be crazy; she's gotten so feral she's almost animal-like.

I stayed where I was. Remembering what Christo had told me last night, he had gotten me to eat my food by saying that he'd tell me stuff about the place, that when you were new you were tested out first before fighting others.

This was a test, Christo told me I had to get it right (but that was all he could share with me) and so I stayed right where I was.

It was like wasps when they buzzed around dad told me always to stay still so I do what daddy always says and I stay still, eyes closed. I always closed my eyes, trusting daddy to be right.

I feel one of the men's arms on me and open my eyes. They have to taser her twice and then it takes three of them to still take her away with two more hovering near. "You passed. You're less a fighter more a run-away though aren't you?"

I didn't reply with an answer. Daddy never taught me to fight. I told Christo that, back in our room. "Don't worry" He said to me. "I will"

A/N: Sorry for long wait in updates and shortness of this chapter.