THE HIDDEN RIVAL

BIG STEP

RIVAL’S POV

I woke up to the sound of someone screaming but it was not mine or that of Shadow’s,it was Someone else, Someone outside maybe a person they were torturing.

The sound drilled through the concrete walls like a dying animal choking on its last breath. For a second, I thought I was dreaming. But Shadow was already sitting up on his slab, tying his laces like he expected this s**t.

“What the f**k—” I started.

“Quiet.” I pinned my mouth immediately.

He moved to the door, pressed his ear against the metal, eyes narrowed.

“They’re dragging someone,” he muttered. “along the Left corridor.”

Another scream tore through the silence, and I got off the slab slowly, my heart was already beating abnormal. “Why?”

“They probably broke rule three,” Shadow said, straightening, like this was a normal thing.... father Lord what did I get myself into....

“What’s rule three?” I asked him.

“Don’t talk to ghosts.”

I blinked at him. “Come again?”

But he didn’t answer me Instead, he sat back down like hearing someone get tortured was a regular Tuesday morning event.

I stayed near the door for a while still thinking of how my life turned from grass to me becoming a grass cutter... cause it's not just grass now, with time the screaming stopped as suddenly as it started, Silence settled back like a wet blanket.

That’s the problem with this place, It didn’t just break your bones, it got inside your head and mess up with it... just like mine right now.

When the guards came to get us for the normal routine morning check up, Shadow gave me a nod. “Keep your head low. Today’s different", I would be an idoit if I didn't listen cause my knee was clearly shaking...it was so obvious and to make Matters worse today was just different like he said.

We weren’t sent to class, they didn't give us notification to come to class neither did they march us to the field like they normally did every morning.

Instead, we were taken through a section of the underground I hadn’t seen before since I came to base two, it had more Narrower halls, lower ceilings, and no windows at all, creepy I know . Just few red lights overhead and peeling metal walls that reeked of nonsense and blood.

There were only six of us, that were taken to the place me, Shadow, Redhead, and three others who looked like they'd been here too damn long to know what's happening but me being a new blood, I just stared and waited for what's next..

I didn’t bother to ask questions cause, my soul just kept telling me I wouldn’t like the answers.

We stopped outside something that looked like a steel door and One of the guards that took us here knocked twice, woah that's kind of fancy, then he pushed it open.

And we entered inside, I looked around and it was a different kind of room, it was sort of Clean and Clinical, they were Fluorescent lights and tiled floors. And in the center, what what's that a chair ? . Are you kidding me right now...hope we are not here for interrogation.

then I noticed a figured being pushed into where we are with cuffs on them.

“ah ah , Oh hell no,” I muttered.

Shadow’s hand brushed my elbow. “Relax. They’re not testing us.”

“Then who—”but I was cut off when they got closure and busted the door open.

The door behind us opened again, and a new recruit was shoved in, he looked… wrong, he was not injured or dirty at all which was new.

He Just... terrified and His hands trembled as s

he walked into the room and his eyes darted between all of us like he didn’t know whether to run or beg, this kind of looks like human trafficking s**t man.

“What’s this?” I asked under my breath though it was kind of inaudible only audible enough for rival to hear me.

“They’re testing him,” Shadow replied.

“What kind of test?”

“Loyalty.” oh s**t he's a goner.

I clenched my fists and stared calm, I already knew what that meant it's either he talks… or bleeds to death... I've heard about the test from most of the talkative when we normally take lunch, but why the hell did they bring us here to witness it.

The next hour was hell, they interrogated him right in front of us, some new guard with a file and a cold voice asked him questions he clearly didn’t know how to answer, I mean if I was in his shoes I'd be shaking like a wet foul.

“Where were you before recruitment?”

“Did you speak to anyone on the outside?”

“Are you loyal to Boris or still clinging to your old affiliations?”

he cried ,Denied and even Begged for them to spare him, that he didn't know s**t but I think that was a very wrong move, cause two guards grabbed him, and forced him into the chair, and cuffed him down.

“Don’t do this!” he screamed, voice cracking with sobs in between.

“Lesson one,” the cold-voiced guard said, looking at us, “Everyone talks. The question is when.”

He opened a metal drawer and Pulled out a long, narrow blade, that looked like that of Samaria rangers I've watched multiple times.

“Lesson two: There are no secrets in Base Two." And then he began torturing him, I looked away halfway through, it wasn't a nice sight at all with the way the hostage was screaming but Shadow didn’t, Neither did Redhead. In fact, the bastard smiled like they expected it... I felt bile crawl up my throat and I swallowed a lump I've been holding in ...am dealing with monsters in human clothes.

They let him go after twenty minutes of hell torture, he was Barely conscious, and then just like that we were dismissed, no moral lesson or explanation even warning, nobody needs to tell me to keep my mouth shut, We all walked back in silence.

“That was a message,” Shadow finally said as we reached our hallway.

“Are you kidding me right now?,” I asked bitterly.

“No, I mean it was the message, They didn’t care what he knew, They wanted us to know what happens when they even think you’re hiding something.”

I stopped walking and turned to face him “So what now?”

“Now,” he said, pushing the door to our cage open, “we keep pretending we’re not scared shitless.”

I couldn’t close my eyes for the rest of the night, I mean they practically tortured somebody cause they think he was hiding something not that they were sure yet....this is cruel.

My brain went back to something Shadow had said earlier to me.

“Don’t talk to ghosts.”What the hell did that mean?, I mean are there ghost here too ....foster would have been better than this...if my lawyer saw this he would have stick out his tongue and mock me more.

The next morning, we weren’t taken anywhere just like they did yesterday, We stayed locked in the cage they called room, they took Bread and water for breakfast, Boredom and silence was finishing me off.

Shadow was just sharpening something against the wall like a was going to fight or something, He hadn’t spoken in hours since we came back from the other place we went to.

“Do you know him, I mean the guy they tortured earlier,” I asked him suddenly.

He didn’t look up. “No.”

“You hesitated when she walked in.” cause I saw how his expression changed when they brought the guy in yesterday but ignored it, I notice every little things.

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

He finally looked up, eyes flat. “ fine, since you wanna know he was my roommate before you.” My jaw dropped and I wanted to feel sorry but it wasn't happening.

“Oh.”

He went back to sharpening the edge of a fork, then suddenly he spoke up, “he talked to someone in the hall, when he came here newly, it was just once but the cameras caught it so they assumed he was snitching but he wasn’t. But this place doesn’t care about truth just betrayals”

I leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the pounding in my skull and process everything he just said.

“Why do you stay?” I asked him. “You’re smart. You could escape.” I said dumbly.

He chuckled, low and expressionless, “Escape? That’s cute. You think there’s an ‘outside’ for people like us?, last time someone tried that s**t they hunted him till he was killed, you only leave here if you've passed all the test and they dim you qualified enough to be a great source of income then they let you free but you will still work as an assassin.”

I didn’t answer him because maybe he was right and if I wanna leave here, i need to make an exception.

Later that day, they called me alone and I followed the guard in silence, heart beating to the cloud and back, The halls felt longer like the place was too far, the shadows darker and we just kept walking.

The guard stopped in front of a different room, it seemed familiar then he Unlocked the door. I stepped inside, woah It wasn’t a cell, It was a f*****g office so they knew how to decorate a place but still gave us an Inhuman place to sleep at.

A man sat at the desk, back straight, suit crisp, He looked like a goddamn banker, not a mob commander, “Sit.” was the first thing he told.

I did as instructed last thing I wanted right now was for someone to dig knive into my throat for disobeying them, He slid a folder toward me and asked, “Your real name’s not Rival , is it?”

My throat tightened and I kept staring at him , then he continued “I don’t care what name you use, Just don’t lie to me, Ever.”

I stayed silent, I noted the word Ever into my skull then he opened the folder and flipped a few pages. “You’ve been watching and Listening, that's Good, That’s what survivors do.” he said and looked back at me, I was tempted to ask ...nah who am I kidding I asked him.

“Who are you?” courage from nowhere taking over me.

He smiled widely like he lived it when he was asked a question, “You already know." then I looked closer, oh s**t.

This was Boris, he was wearing a mask but I could feel it, “You sent me here to learn?”

“No,” he said. “I sent you here to earn, every single thing you want Respect name it Revenge and Even freedom.”

He leaned in slightly, “But to get that, you’ll have to do something for me.”

“What is it ?” I was suddenly interested cause I heard freedom.

His smile widened. “Kill someone for me, not in the arena and gloves on, I want it to be done clean, quiet and Untraceable.”

My mouth went dry, “Who?”

He handed me a sealed envelope, “You’ll know when the time comes. For now, consider this your promotion.”

I stood, slowly and took the file from his hand but my legs still felt numb, “Go back. Rest. Don’t talk about this to anyone not even to your brother very own shadow.” and that was it.

I stood up to leave, The guard excourted me back to the cage, I walked back to the cage like a zombie, if am not one already, Shadow looked up when I came in, eyes questioning.

“What happened?”

“Nothing important, just asked me to stop Snooping around,” I lied through my teeth.

He stared at me for a long time like he didn't believe me then finally, he just nodded.

But I knew he didn’t believe me which wasn't my problem right now, I just knew I’d just stepped into something way bigger than I thought.