Days Are Numbered

19. Broken

"Sir," he slurred, his expression holding no meaning, it was blank. For the first time since Avgustin met him.

"Perfect," Avgustin said, "to the lawn."

"Yes, sir," Noah responded while shifting his heavy body to the task while Avgustin shut the door behind him.

The boys, now outnumbered by three new faces, stared at him. Noah wanted to get over with and was careless about the new arrivals. Avgustin handed him the same knife as in his nightmare. Noah grabbed it with the same expression, not meeting any gaze, this time it was a piglet.

Why? God why?

Noah hardened his heart as if mentally shutting down all windows of emotion. He got to the task, blocking out the animal's shriek. He could picture himself mentally grabbing his ears while turning away from the scene. Noah did it quickly, blood gushed on him, and stained his hands. He gritted his teeth underneath his closed jaw. He rose up, wiping the blood on his already stained clothes before holding the knife out for Avgustin, who gave him a simple stare.

"You can keep it. I'll come for it when you least expect it and it better be clean and within reach," he said.

"Yes, sir," Noah answered emotionlessly.

"Clean up, you have some training to do," Avgustin said.

"Yes, sir," Noah replied in the same manner before retreating. The boys stared at him blankly while Dhakirah frowned at the scene.

******

In the unforgiving crucible of the training ground, Noah found himself among the other boys. He did notice that one of them had a twin; they looked so identical, their silence forged through the crucible of physical hardship. The training regimen was a relentless symphony of crawling through the mud, scaling imposing obstacles, leaping across chasms, and engaging in fierce hand-to-hand combat where you have to overpower your opponent and get to the next obstacle.

Under the scorching sun and the unwavering gaze of their relentless instructor, Avgustin, the air crackled with the echo of his relentless commands. "Move! Push harder! You call that effort?" His voice, a thunderous whip, drove the boys to the edge of their physical limits.

Noah, his determination etched into every sinew, pressed on with unwavering resolve. Despite the grueling demands, he fought through the fatigue, each obstacle only fueling his tenacity. The sharp pain on his side, a silent companion to the brutality he was going through, went unnoticed as he immersed himself in the crucible of the training.

Avgustin's barks echoed in the air, urging them to greater feats of strength, agility, and endurance. The collective breaths of the boys became synchronized, each heart pounding in unison against the backdrop of their shared struggle.

As the grueling session reached its end, Noah, though injured and weary, refused to yield. Ignoring the searing pain on his side, he pressed forward, navigating the final challenges with a stoic determination. It was a testament to his resilience, a silent proclamation that echoed louder than any command—no obstacle, no injury, could deter him from reaching the very end of the punishing training ground.

"Gather up!" Avgustin ordered, then he glanced into what seemed like an iPad, but with its breath and shape, Noah could tell it was another technology not released in the market just yet.

The boys all tried to fit in the position chest harving with tired breaths. Avgustin studied each boy and his gaze landed on Noah who fought the pain to keep his calm, "Any injuries worth looking into?" He demanded, the question directed to them all.

"No, sir," they all replied.

"Better, I don't treat cuts." Avgustin lowered his devices. Get cleaned, do the chores, and have dinner." He instructed and the boys replied as usual. He left their mist while speaking on his earpiece and the boys looked relieved afterwards.

"Awesome." One of the twins said with a heavy breath, it was obviously sarcastic. As they began to exchange with Dhakirah, Noah slipped away, going to the river with shaky feet, his vision was getting blurry so he lay still by the river to catch his breath.

Like a cloud of smoke, dark thoughts began to cluster in his mind, the pig, the knife, and his mum, what if it all backfires? Noah cringed. He sat up with a groan, the soreness in his muscles was slowly kicking in. He took off his shirt and then his cargo pants before slipping into the river, the cold water made his muscles tense up, so he dived deeper getting away from the surface.

You can let the water in and you'll be free. Or go back up and face the trauma and the demons of your dreams. Just do it already, get drowned.

Noah quickly swam up to the surface where he emerged from the water swallowing gallons of air. They were back again, those voices. He glanced at his wrists deciding he had had enough.

He swam to the bank and crawled out, feeling perplexed and cold. The wound on his side was a dark shade of purple and pink so was most of the skin on his body. Noah leaned forward to wash his hair. After the cool wind dried up his wet skin, he slipped on his clothes and headed off to the shelter. Roughly 15 minutes had gone by. He quickly got to the task at hand, taking care of the animals and keeping it clean.

Hands covered in mud he walked in on the twins waiting at the dining table while speaking with the other newbie.

"You lose again! Ethan." One of the twins said while clasping his hand with a smirk.

"How is that, Evan?" the other replied.

"He is dumb." the third boy laughed.

Noah walked past them attracting their attention.

Not bothering to whisper, Evan started, "He is the kid from this morning ritual scene." and his twin laughed.

Noah poured some water on his hands, washing off the dirt quickly while blocking out the world again. A hand on his shoulder made him tense up.

"Dinner is almost ready," Dhakirah said, earning a small nod from the boy.

They all walked to the table while Dhakirah and Rafael served the boys. Noah sucked in a shaky breath while staring at the meat in his bowl. The image of the pig and the piglet flashed in his mind. He shut his eyes tightly bringing a hand to rub his face.

Just animals, nothing more. Maybe a child. It had parents just like us. And- STOP IT! IT WAS A FREAKING PIG.

He whispered to his faint heart. Without a second thought, he started digging in, keeping his head low and his mouth out of any conversation. The newbies talked about their camp, which was no different from Avgustin's camp. They narrated stories of how their instructors were harsh and they had to transfer because he couldn't handle them. Browne bought it, and seemed to be good to them. It was a major red flag for Noah. He made a mental note to stay away from the strange boys. Heck, he had never taken a good look at their faces. He didn't know them and already hated their pep talk.

Noah was the first to finish so he retreated without a word, which was usual, for the sarcastic and sassy Noah. He got into his bunk bed pulling out his journal. He began sketching the view of the building like a tree that he had captured early that day with determination like a wildfire in his heart.

DREAD is not what people think it is, they use children for experiments, they shape them to kill, and I'm slowly losing all consciousness. They do us harm for the sake of science... I must leave, I can do it, even if it costs my life.

A/N

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