Prologue

The day Rey's new life begins...

Prologue.

The blow was strong enough to throw me a couple of feet back, which isn’t exactly easy when you’re hitting someone my weight. Perhaps in the past I would’ve been able to take it and remain standing, but not anymore. Try standing once there isn’t a single bone left unbroken in your legs! Plus, my jailers were experienced, they knew where to hit.

The wall ended my flight, it cracked and fell apart, and I remained to lie without motion on the pile of bricks and trash. I had nowhere to run �" I could see the earth behind the bricks. It was actually soft, easy to dig through, but I had no energy left to even try to escape. If I had known earlier what was behind the wall, I’d give digging a tunnel a try. Unfortunately, it was too late to think about it now.

It wasn’t even about the constant beating I endured that obviously made those two sickos, my jailers, feel more important. I can’t say it actually hurt me �" the humiliation was greater than the pain since they could hardly break through my armor. Sometimes they did because there was enough of my blood on the floor, both dry and fresh, but that's not too crucial.

The hunger has had a greater impact on me. I haven’t received any food for four days now, which is a bad sign. I guess that means their bosses made a decision, and it’s not in my favor. Which might be for the better… at least I won’t have to see their ugly mugs anymore!

I’ve always known that I can't manage to commit suicide.  Despite any logic or the plans they had for me, I still wanted to live. That’s why I didn’t finish it all six months ago, when the needle was already under my skin and all I had to do was inject the poison into my blood. I became scared of dying, and now I’m paying for it.

I was running out of air and they knew it. They brought me out of the water three hours ago, and I bet they were watching the time! They always do. It’ll begin now.

I gathered what remained of my strength and pushed myself up, trying to rise at least partly. My wounded hands were hurting, but I tried to ignore it. I didn’t even dream of controlling my legs and tail: I knew how badly they were broken. They crushed my tail in three different places…

I was moving forward slowly but stably, leaving a thick crimson trail behind me. The jailers didn’t try to stop me, they simply watched in morbid curiosity.

“He won’t make it,» said the short one. I don’t remember his name. There was another one before him, but I got that one! And I got him good since he never returned. At least some sort of vengeance for what they’ve done to me…

“He will”, Anton spit on the dirty floor beside me. “I know him.”

Sure he did! Anton is a local patron so to say. He’s been my jailer ever since I first got here. He was stronger than the rest �" because they just did their job, nothing personal. He hated me for real. Such pure, sincere hatred can be like a talent in a way. And he was one talented son of a b***h!

“Even with his veins cut?” the second one still couldn’t believe it.

“Even so.”

So they cut my veins. I wonder when… and how? And why haven’t I noticed? I guess they managed to hit a spot between my scales with a thin blade. Dumb luck! I’ve stopped feeling pain a while ago, now I couldn’t even register the blood leaving my body. All I wanted was to avenge myself at least on these two before I go. But I don’t think I can make that happen. Time's not on my side.

Anton was right �" naturally. I reached the water. The newbie might be surprised, but the two of us knew better. Your worst enemies are like your best friends in a way: they can see right through you. The only difference being that they don’t care.

I felt nothing when I fell into the dirty slush that used to be water. No pain, no disgust, no satisfaction. Just some emptiness inside of me. I knew that for some time the mixture of water, blood, sweat, and other liquids of which I didn’t even want to think about would hide me from them. I wasn’t happy about it �" I forgot what being happy was like. Emotions were something left in the past, my very soul was going numb in this place. I leaned closer to the brick base of the pool, hoping that they’d leave me alone.

They didn’t. In a minute a rusty iron hook entered the water, searching for me. I didn’t assume they would get their bare hands in here �" not after what I’d already done.

They dragged me to the edge of the pool. If they expected me to fight back, they were dead wrong �" I was too exhausted for it. I wanted to sleep, to eat, to get into fresh water.

I didn’t want to die. No matter what.

“Playing apathetic?” Anton squatted by my side. If only I had some power left… one blow would be enough! That desire must’ve been reflected in my eyes, because that b*****d just smirked. “Don’t even think about it, lizard, you’re powerless now. We learn from our mistakes.»

Yep, I knew that. Anton was a diligent student at that. He broke my tail after I got rid of his previous partner.

“You can wait all you want, that won’t save you. There’s a plan which we have to follow. If it makes you feel better, I can tell you that everything will end soon. I wasn’t allowed to kill you… sucks, huh? They’re planning a vivisection �" that’s just like an autopsy, but for better results you need to be alive during the process. Do you understand what that means?”

An autopsy… while I’m still alive?! He wasn’t joking. He was too happy while saying that to be joking. And humans were actually screwed up enough to cut me into pieces while I’m still alive! Just to prolong my agony while making me watch…

Now I wanted to die. For real.

“I can see you understand,” Anton laughed. “So enjoy the final days of our friendship. Now where did I leave that knife…”

A second later I could hear the door slam �" the very stone door on which I broke my claws. Somebody entered, but that didn’t surprise me, many came to see me. However, I was amazed by another fact: I could hear high heels clicking.

I know that male humans didn’t wear shoes with high heels. That meant the newcomer was a female. But why? That hasn’t happened before! And yet… did it really matter? I mean, whether the visitor was male or female �" a human is a human! They were all the same.

Anton got up and moved away from me to greet the visitor. I closed my eyes in exhaustion, I wasn’t interested in their talk �" until I heard the word “fund.” Now that certainly woke me up! I concentrated all of my willpower on hearing. Even the desire of fainting to alleviate my pain subsided.

I remembered that the words “accepted into the fund” meant life. My life! I wasn’t aware what the details were.

“It can’t be!” Anton was continuing with the speech he started earlier. “I saw the order signed personally! He is under my jurisdiction!”

“Not anymore,” the female replied. Her voice was calm and even icy, though in comparison to Anton’s barking it sounded pleasant to my ears. “I’ll be watching him from now on. A decision had been made about accepting him into the Fund; Line Two got a second chance. And him in particular”.

“Do you really think there’s any sense in it? He’s useless!” My jailer was refusing to give up. “That monster denies obeying! They’ve tried to work with him before, but it didn’t bring any results! That’s how he ended up here.”

Still, the female remained as neutral as she had been:

“I think things have changed”.

“I doubt it!”

“Why argue, Mr. Larin? We can check it right now.»

She came very close to me; the sound of her heels was clicking right under my ear. I was lying on the floor, my eyes closed. I felt like my body was made of stone and I simply couldn’t control it anymore.

“Subject 2-2?” she said in that emotionless voice of hers, “Do you hear me?”

I knew she was talking to me; they always used that weird name to address me. Only the human I tried not to think of called me anything different. Something was telling me I wasn’t going to see him again.

I nodded �" it was a very weak motion, but she saw it. She leaned closer, and I could smell the sweet scent of her perfume. It didn’t match the smells that already hung in the air inside my cell. To be honest, I was surprised I could even catch that slight aroma. I thought my sense of smell was gone after all these months in this stench!

“Do you agree to obey us?” she asked.

I’d been asked that question before �" a long time ago. In a past life when everything was different. I refused then. First of all, the thought of obeying anyone made me feel sick. Secondly, the one I called my friend told me not to work with them. He didn’t trust them.

I refused then �" and I couldn’t now. The thought of becoming their slave wasn’t exactly thrilling. But I tolerated too much and I knew they weren’t going to let me die in peace. I was left with no power to fight.

“I agree.”

My voice was weak and hoarse. It was damaged by hours of screaming and days of forced silence. And once again she understood me; she didn’t make me repeat that. Instead, she told Anton:

“You see? That’s the proof of his submissiveness. I am not blaming you, of course, because your hard work helped us in achieving such results. The Council is happy with your progress. You will be rewarded.”

Her intonation was the same as before, her interlocutor had no meaning to her. No-one did. I could feel myself starting to hate her, just like I hated the rest of them.

“Look at me,” I heard her say. That was clearly an order for me.

I complied, but only in order to let her see the hatred in my eyes; I wanted her to understand that breaking me wouldn’t be that easy!

And in return, I was met with the gaze of calm eyes that seemed eternally dark in the cell’s faint light. Calm eyes that viewed me not like an animal or an enemy, but as an object. A tool.

You can’t love a tool �" or hate it. Such attitude was something I wasn’t used to. The humans I faced before had always felt something towards me. Affection, sympathy, fear, revulsion, contempt, hatred… anything! She felt nothing. At all.

“Can you get up?”

”No,” I answered through clenched teeth. Admitting my own helplessness was humiliating, but what was I left to do? It's not like my bones can heal themselves overnight.

“I thought as much. Don’t worry, you’ll be back to normal very soon.”

Normal… the human version of normal was not me being healthy, but me being useful to them! Though I suppose it’s better than being cut into pieces… or left in this bloody cell with Anton!

While I was thinking about that, she moved closer, looking for an opening in my armor. I could feel a needle enter my neck; not really true pain, just the nagging touch of an unwanted foreign object.

And then there was nothing. 

Author's Note

Same as to the whole book - and thank you in advance :) (unless your advice is to kill myself or never to write again, that is :D :D)