Chapter Five

Chapter Five— Blood and Bone?

“What?”

“Are you deaf?” The guard took a step closer, his gun swinging by his side. “Take them off.”

Elena stood, rooted to the spot in embarrassment and fear. The rest of the girls around her stood in just their underwears—majority of whom looked scared and the others surprisingly composed.

“I can’t please.” A soft click sounded close to her head and something cold pressed against the side of her head.

“Take em’ off.”

Quivering, she slowly peeled her clothes off her body, starting from her jacket, her shirt and then everything else. The cold air licked her skin, goosebumps rose. She felt self conscious—exposed.

Instinctively, her arms wrapped around her chest. A wave of muffled chuckling quickly spread through the room. The guards stared at her in amusement, their eyes lust filled.

“Stand in line.”

She ignored the guards wandering eyes and moved to join the rest of the girls. Tears pricked at her eyes.

A man, seated at the end of a mahogany table watched, a plain icy expression in his eyes. “Let the evaluation begin. Start from the youngest to the oldest.”

The lady from the previous day stepped forward, assessing each girl. “Her breasts are too small. She's underweight too,” she heard her say.

“This one looks strong. We'll put her in combat training.”

“She's got a nice body. The men will love her.”

One of the other they assessed each girl, grooping, whispering and scribbling on a note. Finally, it was Elena's turn. She flinched under the woman's touch.

A glint of pity flashed through the woman's eye but she made no move to stop. She grooped and looked her over. By then tears had already began to stream down Elena's face.

The humiliation was too much.

“She's got a nice body,” the man said. “But she's stubborn. We wouldn't want complaints from our clients.”

He eyed her wearily. “She'll join the rest of the girls in the field unit. We'll watch her, see what she's capable of and if she fails, we'll move her to the entertainment sector.”

“And if she doesn't do well in either?”

“Kill her. She's either useful or she's not.”

She shuddered.

Silently, she followed the lady into a room where two small groups had began to form. On one side of the room, a group of ladies had been dressed up in a short silk robe whilst the other group of ladies had on combat clothings.

“No! Let me go!” A scream pierced through the hallway. Elena glanced behind her just in time to see it happen at the doorway.

A gun went off and the girl dropped dead—mute and free.

_____

“Harder!”

The training room reeked of sweat and steel. It wasn’t a gym—it was a forge. A place to beat softness out of flesh and sharpen fear into obedience.

Elena stood in line with a dozen others, now clothed in tight black uniforms. There were no mirrors, no water, no breaks. Just concrete floors, metal pipes bolted to the walls, and a handful of guards armed with batons and pistols.

The trainer stepped in—tall, lean, face like carved granite. His name was Viktor. Rumor had it he'd once pulled out a man’s rib to use as a weapon—that had to be a lie, right?

“Welcome to hell,” he said, pacing in front of them. “You were women yesterday. Today, you are tools. If you survive the sessions of training, you’ll be weapons.”

He stopped in front of a girl barely eighteen.

“Throw a punch.”

She hesitated.

He struck her—fast, brutal, a backhand that dropped her to the ground. Blood bloomed from her nose and dropped on the concrete floor.

“You hesitate, you die. Next!”

Elena’s fists clenched.

The session began. No instructions, no mercy. Just ordered violence. They fought each other. Wrestled. Kicked. Punched. The weak were dragged out by their hair. The quiet ones cried until their voices gave out.

Elena didn’t cry.

When it was her turn to spar, she was paired with a broad-shouldered girl who fought like she'd done this before. Elena ducked the first punch, landed a jab to the ribs. Her opponent retaliated with a knee to the stomach.

Pain exploded through her. She staggered.

But she didn’t fall.

She waited, then launched herself forward, driving the other girl onto the floor with a roar of fury. Fists landeds, saliva and blood mixed. Over and over. Someone pulled her off eventually, shouting orders.

Breathing hard, she sat back, blood in her mouth—hers or the girl’s, she wasn’t sure.

Viktor’s smile was thin, but approving. “This one’s got fight in her.”

High above, behind a reinforced glass wall, Matteo watched the session unfold. He sat alone, drink in hand, eyes unreadable.

He'd seen thousands of girls pass through these walls. Most were broken quickly, majority would never seem make it through the training. But this one… this one bled, but didn't beg. Fought but didn't lose herself.

Elena.

He leaned forward slightly as she stood, shoulders squared, defiant despite the crimson trickling down her cheek.

“She’ll be trouble,” said a voice behind him. “She's stubborn, hard to control. You know we don't need that.”

Matteo didn’t look away. He was intrigued, eager to know more about Elena—see what she was capable of.

“Good,” he murmured. “I’m tired of obedience.”