RIVAL’S POVWhen the chants died down the guards excourted me back to the dorm, I walked back into the room they called a dorm like it was anything but a cage, I know I say it every time but that the reality.. The hallway was unusually cold not because the air was freezing or something, but because he wasn’t walking next to me. Shadow wasn’t humming some offbeat tune or wasn’t cracking a joke to cut through the tension and he wasn’t alive either he was dead and I was the one that murdered him. Because I made it that way and I didn't have a choice to begin with, the scent of sweat, bleach, and metal hit me like a wall the moment I pushed open the heavy steel door. My boots echoed across the concrete floor. I expected silence. But someone was already inside the dorm room, a figure stood in the corner, half-lit by the cracked overhead bulb. When he turned to face me, I didn’t even blink my eye. Just like I fucking thought, They’d already gotten a replacement, they've already given m
RIVAL’S POV I woke up before the guards opened our doors as usual every other day cause I couldn’t get myself to sleep, I mean not after the face I saw on the photo. Shadow was still snoring softly, one arm thrown over his face like it could shield him from whatever hell this place was cooking up next. If only he knew that his enemy was right next to him cause that's what I am. I sat up, pressing my back against the cold concrete wall for support at least for my spine to remain straight, My mind kept playing the same question on reverse over and over again. I mean how the fuck do i kill someone who made this place survivable me? I just can't not unless am a monster, I wasn’t sure what I was anymore cause seems like am gonna be the monster after all. When Shadow woke up, he strecthed and sat up, I turned my face into the normal, Same old me face with no bloodthirst or even guilt, Just another half-dead recruit trying to make it out alive. “You look like shit man ,” he muttered,
RIVAL’S POV Something snapped inside me the moment I walked out of Boris’ office, it was not panic or not fear, fear was the last thing I was feeling now, what I felt now is Focus, The kind that kicks in when you realize you’ve stepped onto a battlefield, and there’s no backing out. The only way out is through it and to even know that your enemy was watching your every single move. But for me to focus first, I needed to know what the fuck I was actually dealing with, I wasn’t going to kill anyone blindly, not even if it meant Boris would personally break every bone in my body, nah am kidding but I needed leverage, a plan or at least a truth I could twist into armor. So I waited until the next shift change when guards switched duty post, and When they got sloppy. When the lights dimmed, and most recruits passed out from fatigue or hunger, and when am sure the CCTV camera are turned off for thirty minutes like they do daily. Shadow had dozed off, blade still half-hid under his pi
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 shit. “What the fuck—” 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
RIVAL’S POV : The next morning slapped harder than a belt on wet skin. The metal door creaked open like it was groaning in pain, and before I could ask what now, a thick boot kicked against the bars. “Get your ass up.” Yeah, ‘good morning’ would’ve been too polite. I blinked, still lying on the cold concrete slab they called a bed, My whole body ached from the last match even my soul was limping, you don't wanna know how I walked like, But somehow, hearing my name chanted the other day was still litting a beautiful spark in my chest. Shadow was already up, lacing his boots like he’d been waiting since midnight. “Where the hell are we going?” I asked, voice scratchy from sleep and disuse. “Class.” I scoffed. “Class? What the hell is this? Murder University?” Shadow didn’t laugh, just stared at me, of course he didn’t. “They’ll teach you how to survive. Whether you listen or not is up to you.” He stood and tossed me a shirt. “Wear that and be fast we’re late.”
Rival’s POV : I swear if I spent one more hour staring at Shadow doing fucking squats in the corner like a prison monk, I was gonna bash my own head in. “This place is sucking the life outta me,” I muttered, kicking a bottle cap across the floor. It clanged against the bars like even it wanted out. Shadow didn’t flinch. Just kept going. Like he was built from silence and suppressed rage. “No fights today either?” I called over, mostly out of desperation. He didn’t respond. Cool. So I was stuck in the cage with a mute ninja. Great. The boredom was eating me alive. I needed something. Anything. Movement. Noise. Even a slap to the face would’ve been nice. So naturally, I did what any curious bastard would do. I got up and wandered. Shadow didn’t stop me. He didn’t even glance up. Just muttered, “Don’t poke the wrong hornet’s nest.” “Noted,” I said, already halfway down the hallway. The base was quieter than usual. No fights. No drills. Just murmurs and footstep