Strenght and Escape

Have you ever wondered where confidence comes from? Well, I never did but I found the answer anyways. If you work towards a goal and make it through, your sense of accomplishment and your newfound strength raise your ego. How do I know this? I've been training for a week and a half under the supervision of Raya. Still refusing to tell her name, I eavesdropped at the cafeteria as she stated her name to the man who brought the food. Still not sure if this was her real name, but I'll just call her for now.

-Not even tired? Should I raise the amount? - asked Raya after seeing the difference between my energy levels after training.

It didn't take long for me to surpass her in sheer power. I still wouldn't dare to attack her, since her battle strength still overpowered mine, and we can't exactly say that difference was little.

-Please don't, I'll die if you do.

Raya sighed as she stood up from her usual spot. This is where she sat, making sure that my whole day was hell, in other words, she watched over me guaranteeing my hard work.

-Listen, as things stand we're gonna rot in this shithole, and on top of that, we'll be working and rotting in this shithole in a few days. We gotta take action y'hear me?

I nodded obediently.

-So what exactly are we doing?

-Sniff out their plans. And since you got something I can't have, I'll be bringing ya with me.

Frankly, I don't like where this is going.

-Did you train me, thinking of this from the start?

-I did need a man's strength, yes.

I couldn't think of another reason to get involved with me to this extent myself, but I was still a little disappointed. I mean, who wouldn't be after learning about being used as a stepping stone to a plan?

-What's the plan, then?

-Nothing in particular...

Did I just seriously got used as a stepping stone to a... not even a plan? Seriously, my built-up confidence was breached in a matter of a few seconds. Stepping on my previously crumbled confidence, I could see a new hill emerge in front of me. It was the hill off... planning!

-You know, I can cook up good plans.

-Hm? - she seemed somewhat interested.

A smile spread over my face. I'll show her that I can beat her ass in thinking-related actions! Wiping off the grin as fast as I could, I looked in the direction of the staff room. The guards met there in the evenings, presumably discussing something. They never let anyone near during that time, so much, so that they even shot someone in the arm for trespassing.

Talking about wounds, my body seems to have insane regenerative abilities. Even after all that training, the wound in my shoulder closed up nicely; it even stopped hurting after a few days during training. I asked Raya if he expected this, and she started quickly began nodding, but I could see that she didn't even notice the hole in the first place.

Turning back to trespassing, I have an idea.

-Hey, Raya?

The sun almost set, which worked extremely well with Raya's ability to fall asleep. Her silky black was tied back into a ponytail. Her features seemed even more beautiful when she was sleeping. I sighed as I carried her back to the cabin... not. Why would I do that to someone who was one of the biggest terrors of my life? Would you carry back a rhino back to its family if it fell asleep somewhere else? Didn't think so.

Being incredibly satisfied with my actions, I proudly walked away, in the direction of my cabin, or at least I wanted to. Raya fell down from the bench, now lying on the cold pavement. I looked back at her, as she looked so helpless as if she was doing it on purpose. At this point, I couldn't help it and...

-Hell no. Go fuck yourself.

Her eyes opened, and she instantly dashed in my direction. Beautiful kick... bang. I was out cold in no time.

[....]

Being left with no choice, Charles and his companions held up their hands in the air, dropping everything that could be seen as a weapon. They knew, that any further resistance would be futile while they were surrounded. All it took was one suspicious move, and they and up dead. However, because they were captured, not killed, they would probably still want to interrogate them at least, so they still had a decent survival rate. For now.

-You...

A soldier threw his helmet on the ground, revealing his face which was fairly handsome, but his expression of fury ruined it. He approached Charles and raised his gun.

-You killed him... my mentor... he was the only one who... - he muttered as his eyes started to get watery.

Rather than scared, Charles was annoyed. Someone having an emotional breakdown because of a dead mentor while doing his job was something that only happened in movies. A properly trained soldier would at least hold it back until they were done. It's like reality was a plot of a book, and the author was putting in clichés because he was running out of ideas.

[fuck you Charles.]

The already angered and grieving soldier saw Charles' annoyed face, resulting in him becoming even more furious. He stepped one step closer, now holding the rifle so close, it touched the face of Charles, who still didn't show any sign of being scared. The despairing soldier's teammates were standing there, dumbfounded. Clearly, the situation has spiraled out of their control a long time ago. And on top of that, the tunnel started moving below their legs. Everyone started looking for the source of the earthquake with surprised looks on their faces. Everyone, except Charles. Instead, he began to smile.

*T'was good working with you. Whenever you're in trouble, just gimme a call a'ight?*

Something exploded in the direction of the entry side of the tunnel. The sound of heavy vehicles could be heard coming from the entrance.

*I'll make sure I'll do.*

-SO SOMEONE TRIED TO KIDNAP BIG C HUH?

The shouting came from the top of a military-grade armored car with a charismatic guy with long blond hair standing on top of it holding an assault rifle. About four cars followed this uncommon sight, all armored, and weaponized.

-Jay, you have to stop exposing yourself for the sake of a dramatic entrance. One day, the element of surprise won't help you much and you'll be shot down. - sighed Charles after sighting his old friend, who hadn't changed at all.

-BUT IT WAS YOU WHO CALLED ME DIDN'T YA?

-For god's sake, stop shouting, you already managed to leave those guys without a hint of what to do.

-Well, we'll have to delay our reunion here. Got some work to do.

-Wai..

Charles couldn't finish the rest of the sentence, as his old friend already started shooting. He hadn't changed at all, since he was still a gosh darn maniac. It didn't take a minute for the units to dispatch; they either got a bullet in their chest or ran away.

-Listen, I was just about to tell you to leave a few of them alive. We could've gained precious information if it weren't for your firing frenzy.

-Too late now. - Jay responded, half laughing.

Still a bit disappointed about not knowing why they brought them here, Charles reluctantly hopped into Jay's vehicle, signaling the others to join them as well. He felt obliged to find out more, but he knew well he couldn't afford to force himself in the facility further. As they drove through the destoryed tunnel-entry gate, he gazed back for the last time. A lot of questions were left unanswered, leaving them with an uncertain future.

-I wonder why they tried to stop us...

(Author's comment)

Hey, thank you for reading my novel all the way here. At this point of time, no one is reading more than the first few chapters, so I think I might've messed up the beginning. Still, if anyone reads this, leave a comment, even a single letter, because that will result me writing more chapters. Thank you!

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