Chapter forty one:Getting Broken and Tormented

**LITTLE RAYAN'S POV**

After Mr Lance's 'advice' I stopped holding back, I started telling myself that I deserved to win and my opponents didn't because their loss didn't result in a brutal ass kicking or their flesh getting fried.

And after the next week, the ten who didn't perform satisfactorily, well they received the same treatment as the ones before, a shower of arrows piercing their bodies, the scene before us was still as horrifying as before but this time I didn't close my eyes even when my mind begged me to even as the memories kept creeping back, I forced myself to watch until the last kid drew his last wheezing breath.

That was when I turned only to see that I was the only one who hadn't shut my eyes, I let my eyes pass through the remaining nine, John Smith, Darla Hayes, Bruce Carter, Saul Woodman, Harley Quinn, Solomon Parker, Richard Jackson, Mercy Monroe and Eliza Denver. The nine of them and myself included were the ones who escaped death, sure there was guilt in all of us but there was also relief that at least it wasn't us, even if it was selfish, we just didn't want to die.

The leader stood up and gestured at the supervisors to clear off the bodies from the arena, the supervisors did as they were told and some came with buckets of water to wash the blood from the dirt. As soon as they were finished the leader started his speech.

"the ten of you have fought for your lives and we'd like to say that it was fascinating," the leader said as he smiled at the word fascinating.

"I bet you are all wondering why we did this to you," Riven said as he let his eyes pass through us.

"the answer is simple, money," Mr Lance shouted.

"yes as our drunk bastard as eloquently stated, also the hound of war gave us this task," Oliver said.

"all you recruits need to know is that he is a really influential lord and an uprising general, his request was for us to create a regiment composing of people who have nothing to lose, you, and who are willing to do anything to survive," the leader said.

"now today marks the beginning of your training, Riven will be training you in close quarters combat, Oliver will train you in archery and conditioning while Lance will train you in the use of swords, daggers and knives, also starting today you will address your teachers as sir, you will listen and obey their commands at all time understood! "

" yes sir! "we shouting in unison.

Oliver took three of the recruits while Riven took another three myself included and Mr Lance took the remaining ones, in that group was John Smith thank God and Darla too. I wasn't sure if Riven would be different from Mr Lance but I was willing to find out.

The first Riven did was to tie rocks on our arms and ankles, he told us to run around the entire area for three laps the area itself was thirteen miles in a circular or oval type terrain, there was one kid who whined that it was too difficult which earned him a kick right in his mouth, the kid fell down and spat out a mouthful of blood and three of his teeth.

"anyone who else think it's too difficult," Riven said his voice low and his eyes filled with venom.

"no sir!" we said so did the kid on the ground he woke up, dusted himself off and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth.

"stop standing around and start running, also the one who's lagging behind will meet dire consequences,"

After what felt like hours we finally finished, after the third lap we collapsed on the ground mostly because of the fatigue but also to curb the dizziness, sweating buckets, gasping for breath and one of us threw up. I knew I wasn't the last one but it didn't really matter Riven ordered us back to our room for rest. As we entered I couldn't help but notice the four who were training with Mr Lance were nursing cuts on their face, arms and backs, I knew how his training usually was but others didn't and if one of them was as stupid as the one who whined about something as trivial as a run then, I just shuddered thinking about what he was capable of with a knife.

The next day we were woken up even before the sun had risen, this time everyone was trained together, we spent four hours with Oliver, who taught us something called parkour,

he said "an archer's best ally is distance and if your target manages to close that distance then the best thing to do is create it even in the worst terrain,"

After his training was an hour rest before we went to Riven for another four hours who did the same thing as yesterday and finally after the hour rest we went to Mr Lance who handed all of us a four inch knife and taught us how to hold the knife, well more like beat and cut it into us.

This went on for a month and by that time, I was among the best in close quarters combat, dagger fighting and archery, I wasn't the best in using a sword but I was still good. We all had gotten used to the training that it didn't matter anymore, but like everything in my life it was about to change.

I remember that day very well, the leader came into the room, everyone stopped what they were doing and stood attention, this was odd cause the leader never once entered our room. We couldn't decipher the emotions on his face because he was more stoic that everyone here excluding Mr Lance who didn't bother hiding what he was thinking or feeling.

"follow me," he said in his timbre voice. We did as he said and he led us to a really dark hallway, there were torches that hang on the wall which was how we could see our way, he then stopped and turned to a fairly large metallic door, he knocked on the door thrice and we heard someone from the inside open it as soon as the door was open I tried to look inside but it was too dark I could just see outlines of a rope hanging from the walls and also a man standing behind some chair.

He stepped aside and gestured for us to walk in, we were hesitant but like dogs, we were systematically trained to fear them. So we entered only to find Mr Lance wearing a butchers gown, in front of him were knives, screws, salt, a hook and tongs laid on on an animal's skin a top of a table in the middle of the room, but what made the send chills down my spine was that the tools were covered in blood some fresh some had already dried up. There was the chair that was in front of him it had some sort of leather straps at the arm rest, a place I assume was for the waist and at the legs of the chair.

"today am going to teach you something new today and I'd like the silver haired boy in the back to come forward, he will be helping me with the lesson today," he said even with the darkness covering his face I could see his smirk. I walked over to where he was knowing that what was about to happen would be extremely brutal.

He pulled the chair back and gestured for me to sit, I did as I was instructed, I would be lying if I said that this wasn't scaring the shit out of me, he then tied my arms and legs with the straps that I could barely move.

"now today's lesson will be something I've already taught our seated fellow here," he said as he ruffled my hair.

"what did I teach you oh priced pupil?" he asked as he leaned over I could feel some of his hair graze my cheek.

"I don't remember," I said.

"yes just what I was hoping for," he said as he moved over to where those tool were and picked the hook.

"wait, wait, wait, wait... I remember! I remember!" I shouted as he kept inching towards me. Sweat started forming on my forehead and armpits, he didn't say anything he only placed the hook on my left shoulder, I was about to beg but instead of words a loud yell escaped my mouth as the hook sunk in my shoulder, the sensation felt like a slight burn as the hook broke the skin and flesh as blood started dripping out of the wound down to my stomach.

"remember now?" he asked. "something about emotions,"

The moment he finished the word emotions he slowly pulled the hook in the direction of my right shoulder making sure the hook doesn't leave my flesh, I could feel as the hook pulled the flesh from where it passed to where it was going, I screamed out in pain as my hands and feet tried to break off but to no avail, the only thing I was accomplishing was hurting my wrists and ankles, hot tears were now falling from my cheeks or was it sweat I wasn't sure, I kept screaming and I could feel the spots where the hook had passed was filled with blood.

He finally stopped halfway across my left chest, he pulled the hook from my chest and placed it on the ground, making me take in a huge breath, I hadn't even realized that I was holding my breath, he walked back to the table and he took the salt that was on the table, he took a finger full of the salt and he pressed it on the bleeding spots, the salt stung as it dissolved sending a fresh wave of pain.

"now recite what I taught you," he said his voice shining with amusement, "as for you don't worry there's plenty for everyone," he added as he turned to the others.

I'll tell you what you taught me, it's sometimes death is a mercy, I wish I could say that I really wish I could but I didn't want that hook piercing my flesh anymore.

"emotions show vulnerability, vulnerability shows weakness, and weakness is exploited." I said as I crunched my face in pain.

"good, and so students what did we learn today?" he asked as he faced the others no one mustered a word but maybe that was just the pain that was blocking my ears,

"if no one answers in the next two seconds I'll pick someone to replace him," he said as he grabbed a fistful of my hair and tugging it up along with my head.

"emotions show vulnerability, vulnerability shows weakness and weakness is exploited," the others said in a shaky voice.

"wrong!" he yelled as he pushed my head, at this point the I could assume that half my gut was a canvas of blood.

He moved in front of me and he picked up the hook and this time he didn't give me a moment to beg in a split second he plunged the hook in my right shoulder, this time he didn't pull it slowly, he just roughly pulled it across as fast as he could until a piece of skin pulled along with it.

"say it again!" he yelled.

"emotions show vulnerability, vulnerability shows weakness, and weakness is exploited." I said in a loud shout or yell as more blood came down, I tightly shut my eyes and they shot open as I felt him add salt.

"say it again!" he said.

"emotions show vulnerability, vulnerability shows weakness, and weakness is exploited." I yelled again, he placed both of his fingers in the wounds and twisted.

"the lesson here, is that torture makes you compliant and it makes you give out information. And we don't want that now do we," he said.

"that will be all for today, someone untie him and take him back," he said as he pulled his fingers from the wound, he the took off the gown and hanged it on the wall before walking out. The pain I was feeling must have been too much that it made me pass out as someone untied the straps holding me in place.

You know the thing about torture is that what worse than the physical torture itself, it was the psychological form of torture, the three teachers waited for my wounds to partially heal just enough so that I could get back to training but that wasn't the psychological torture the torture was that Mr Lance said that ever four days he would teach us on how to 'endure a slight amount of pain.'

So after the four days of intensive training what would follow was the torture training, at least now I wasn't alone in the pain, he asked the supervisors to help him everyday and he was creative with the torture everyday it was something new it would be drowning us by placing a cloth over our faces and emptying barrels of water on them or sometimes they wouldn't use the clothes they would just dunk our heads in the barrels.

Or they would sink needles under our nail or pull them out with tongs. I don't know if it was after thirty tortures I sat down on my bed, I was angry and tired as iasked myself, why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why is this shit happening to me? Why did my family leave me? Why the fuck did they leave me to be treated like this? And Sarah why did she decide for me? She should have just left me to die like the rest of them! She should have been the one getting tortured by Lance not me!

"hey Ray come here," a memory of Sarah came in my mind and with it came sadness and shame. No it's better that it's me not Sarah.