Part One - Chapter 3

She was late today. I tried asking the human who brought my food where Lita was, but he just stared at me in shock and hurried to get away as soon as he finished putting the plates on the table. I could sense his horror, which was actually rather funny, considering I was supposed to be their prisoner, and not vice versa!

I managed to study all the plants in my room and do more than twenty laps in the pool before she finally appeared. She was calm, I couldn’t sense nervousness or irritation coming from her, and by now I could feel her much better than other humans. Her tranquility meant the reason for her absence wasn’t too bad.

“Come on,” she called me. “We’re late!”

I didn’t specify why we were late and swam to the edge at a relaxed speed. That made her raise an eyebrow at me:

“Subject 2-2, will you please hurry up?”

“Rey,” I corrected her automatically.

Not that I really loved that name, but her accepting it would mean accepting me �" as a person, not her work tool. That was the success I reached yesterday, and for a sufficient price I might add, so I wasn’t going to give it up that easily!

She paused to look at me, but said nothing. I could only hope she understood me, I'd need  to check for that later. For now, I had to follow her.

I understood that we weren’t going to the stadium when she pressed the button to an even higher floor. I knew that route by now. That’s where we went on the day I met King and Kathy.

“Planning to make me run after that ball again?”

I wondered what the actual assignments were like if the preparations for them included chasing a rubber toy!

“Not exactly, though you’re going to compete with other beasts again. There will be plastic rings hidden in the water, all of them have special weights on them so they won't float away by themselves. There will be fifteen of them. The one who collects more than the others wins,» Lita explained.

The task sounded too simple. Humans just didn’t like things simple. I’m not even mentioning the fact that it was unbearably stupid, since “stupid” is something humans actually like.

“What’s the catch?” I asked. “There has to be one.”

“The training will take place in the same hall where you played the previous game. The concrete platforms are still there and still working.”

“You’re kidding me? Passing around over them is just too easy!”

“Don’t be so sure about it,” she smiled mysteriously.

I expected her to say something else or at least hint to the traps I was surely going to face. But Lita wasn’t planning to make my life simpler. I preferred to let it go. I’ll find out on my own anyway, whether I like it or not.

“Who are my opponents this time?” I asked instead. “An aggressive female and a half-dead male?”

“King is still in the Infirmary, his treatment is not finished yet. Yes, Kathy is going to participate, but she's not as aggressive as you might think. Leo, one of your other rivals, is a different story. Be careful with him. I don’t like that beast and I like his watcher even less.”

I don’t like humans in general and I don’t really care about beasts. But who gives a damn? I preferred to concentrate on the situation at hand. The “one step at a time” strategy seemed like the best option now.

I’ll escape someday, but right now my goal is to cope with all the training.

“One of my other rivals? So it’s not two of them this time?”

“Three” my watcher specified. “Kathy, Leo, and Cerberus. The latter is no threat for you in a direct sense: he’s not aggressive. But I still believe he'll be your main rival, because as it stands right now he's believed to be the most intelligent beast among the Line One species.”

“Oh, I’m so excited,” I said impassively.

When we reached the platform, only humans were waiting for us there. The beasts had already entered the water.

I could see the greatest catch that Lita omitted, just as I suspected: the humans put a dye into the water. It was pitch black now, though the water didn't look any thicker than usual. The paint didn’t hamper my movements and I didn’t think it’d prevent me from breathing normally, humans wouldn’t risk the health of the beasts like that. However, seeing inside it was impossible. A blind hunt!

Certainly not the worst thing I’ve dealt with in my life. Though this test is going to be… interesting.

Three pairs of dark eyes were watching me from the water. Kathy looked friendly, I think she recognized me. The male beside her, who was surprisingly large, larger than me even, eyed me suspiciously. The third beast didn’t seem to care who I was, he studied me briefly and turned to humans again.

This time I didn’t waste my time on remembering the humans, I honestly believed it was useless. I still think they’re all the same, even if they do look different. I took the upper part of the uniform off because it stopped me from raising the short fin along my spine properly and jumped into the water. I dove in gracefully without a single splash.

“Damn, that was good!” one of the watchers commented. “Even Cerberus can’t make it that smooth!”

Amateurs! That’s just a small part of what I can do.

Just as I suspected, the water had zero visibility, and the concrete plates continued moving, I could hear their dull screeches echoing through the water. Getting caught between one of those things and a wall would be an unpleasant experience to say the least!

I returned to the surface next to the other beasts so the humans could see me.

“We have already explained the rules to you,” said the man with the cane, Kathy’s watcher. “The one with most rings is the winner. Apart from that, you must remember that your time is limited. You are to return here as soon as you hear the sound signal. Be careful, the risk level during this training session is rather high. Due to the dark water we will not be able to ascertain if you need help, so the moving plates will not be stopped. You’re on your own there. Begin!”

That was all I wanted to hear. The fact there’d be no help no matter what didn’t surprise me. That was something I’d call normal human behavior. I just had to play by their rules for now.

I didn’t rise to dive again, instead I flipped head first as I descended into the depths. Since I can’t avoid this situation, I might as well have some fun while I’m at it.

I had been waiting for a chance to get into a large pond for a while now. Even my new pool (or my old one at the lab, for that matter) was much smaller than this hall! Too bad I couldn’t move freely because I had to remember about the concrete plates under me.

I started to get lower, concentrating on the movement of water since my eyes were useless. Something big passed by me, then I heard the sound of an impact. Charming. It looked like one of my opponents decided to break all the obstacles in the way to victory �" literally! Not exactly my way of doing things. I’d prefer my skull intact, thank you very much!

I learned to sense the plates after some time, the sound and the water flow were giving them away. I could tell where they were moving and at precisely what speed. Only once did I make a mistake, I became  caught and the plate began to crush me �" and man, that hurt! It just proved to me that humans were not going to help me, no matter how dire the situation. They weren’t kidding about it. I guess from their point of view, any beast who got crippled or died during the training was useless for their work, thus not worth saving.

I managed to get out of there in one agile movement, which as a result put my tail in serious danger, but I made it out in one piece and I wasn’t going to make a second mistake today.

I found the first ring by accident. They were actually very hard to search for, because they made no movement and emitted no warmth. I just had to move my hands through water, relying on dumb luck, and luck was ironically as blind as me at the moment.

When I reached the bottom, someone attacked me. It was one of the males, the stroke was too strong for Kathy. I didn’t expect it and took the full brunt of the blow since I couldn't block it.. I was thrown back into one of the plates, which split into two halves under my weight.

My armor saved me from most of the damage, but my head was spinning a bit. I tried to overcome it as quickly as possible, because a quick follow-up attack could surely be in the cards. I let additional spikes out of my skin in anticipation. I couldn’t see or feel anything. I was swallowed by the darkness.

It took me a moment to realize the fight wasn’t going to continue. They attacked me only when we collapsed accidentally, they had no intention of hunting me down. It reminded me of the previous game where Kathy threw King out of her way. She didn’t want to harm him, he was just an unfortunate obstacle to her in that moment.

My situation was a bit different though. What I felt was an attack meant to hurt, not an absent-minded shove. They wanted me to know that being their rival was dangerous, and they knew how to make a point!

I carefully moved forward to the area where I was able to feel the flow’s direction once again. From what I could tell, the three beasts were stuck at the bottom. I didn’t feel like joining them �" I had enough bruises for one day! I moved my tail in irritation and hit something light. And that was how I got my second ring.

I didn’t stay on the lower levels, not only due to the danger of another fight, but because I was certain that humans wouldn’t have just left all fifteen rings in one place. The fact I already found one on the plate mere moments ago strengthened my confidence in this assertion.

I stopped on the plate that, according to my theory, wasn’t supposed to get closer to any other platforms in the meantime.  I started my search there, but I came away empty handed. This realization neither upset nor surprised me. I knew humans wouldn’t make it simple. To get the remaining rings, I'd need to take a risk.

I was right once again. The third ring was stuck between two platforms. I had to use my tail to get it out. It wasn't that hard once you learn to anticipate the plates’ movements.

But despite my increasing understanding of the game, I grew tired of it rather quickly. In all my cautiousness I still managed to inadvertently hit some plates and I sustained more bruises under my armor than I'd care to admit. Plus, the thick dye in the water was taking its toll on me, I could already feel something sticky covering my gills, and that made me feel nauseated. Why did I have to go through all this trouble? To become a jester for these humans? Or rather, a trained lapdog they could use.

I'd lost track of the time I had spent in the water when I suddenly heard a weird sound coming from the surface. I took it as the signal we had been notified about. I had four rings by the time the training finished.

The first thing I did after reaching the surface was take a deep breath. Never before had breathing through my mouth been easier than using my gills! A part of me wanted to fill the noses of those humans with that black dye and see how they would like breathing it in!

The other beasts returned to the surface later, which made me believe they’d been stuck at the bottom all this time. The humans were waiting for us, and I couldn’t help but notice that Lita preferred to stay away from the other watchers. That was unusual. She hadn’t acted that way before. I wonder why? Nah, it's none of my business.

Another watcher emerged from the group and approached the beasts. He was younger than the one with the cane, but still sufficiently older than Lita. Unlike the others, he wasn’t wearing a business suit, opting for worn out jeans and a dirty t-shirt instead.

“Okay, time to show us what you caught,” he said lazily.

The three beasts demonstrated their catch. Kathy managed to find only one ring, but she was still beaming as if she’d gathered all fifteen. The largest male had three rings, but noticing his opponent had more made him lower his hand.

The second male whom I assumed to be Cerberus proudly showed the humans his four rings. He wasn’t as happy about it as Kathy was, but I could see the look of superiority in his eyes.

“And what are you waiting for?” the same watcher snidely addressed me. “I know my orders were loud enough! Are you deaf, monkey?”

Not funny and even ridiculous. I don’t look even close to a monkey. In all honesty, he held a stronger resemblance…

“He takes orders only from me,” Lita interfered. “And check your eyes, the monkey is closer to your right with three rings in his hand”.

The watcher looked at her and laughed, but said nothing. I didn’t like that kind of laughter, it was far from being friendly.

“Rey, what’s your result?” she asked me.

Ignoring the ladder that led to the platform, I jumped out of the water and hung on the platform’s railing �" directly in front of the man in jeans. Four rings fell to his feet. He looked me in the eye, attempting to read my thoughts  and understand what was going on in my head. Stupid �" didn’t he get that it was impossible to understand a beast’s thoughts this way? Our scales cover our eyes too much once they’re out, hiding our gazes.

I didn’t stay by his side for very long. I lowered myself off the railing and moved closer to Lita.

“That is a sufficient result,” the man with the cane said. “Only three rings haven’t been found this time, while the average for the four beasts training session is five. One for Kathy, three for Leo, four for Cerberus and four for… Rey, isn’t it?”

The man was looking at me, not at Lita. There was no hostility or contempt in his eyes, he spoke to me as if I was his equal! Surprised by this, I nodded. I wasn’t used to being treated this way.

“…And four for Rey. I believe our game is over.”

We were the first to leave this time, Lita and me. I could feel that she wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to bring it up. Maybe she wasn’t even allowed to say something like this to an animal!

I waited patiently, because I knew that trying to pressure her would result in potentially not hearing anything at all.

“You weren't acting like a beast,” she had finally announced in her evenly toned voice.

“Yeah,” I agreed, though it wasn’t really necessary to agree with the obvious. “Is that wrong?”

“I guess so. But I’m glad you’re behaving this way.”

***

I was so tired I could barely raise my tail off the ground. It was hitting everything in its way. I wasn’t sure what humans were trying to reach through this, but I was positive about one thing: I wouldn’t be able to handle it for too much longer. Lita had warned me the training was going to be intense, but this was a bit overboard! First they keep me locked in a cell for half a year and then they expect me to turn into some kind of a superhero in a matter of days!

Lita was watching me. I think she noticed that I was out of shape to say the least! But I wasn’t blaming her for this. I knew she was just following the orders someone else had given her. Still, I’d be grateful if she tried to make the training less Spartan!

“You’ve done well today.” Her voice was softer than usual.

Sure I did! Why even bother responding to her?

“Your results are superb,” my watcher continued. “You’re missing the strength of the Line One beasts, but your brain and stamina give you an advantage over them. Your trial period still isn't over, but so far you’re surpassing our expectations!”

“Oh joy,” I sighed. I didn’t even try to pretend it mattered to me. “Can I go to sleep now?”

I think she became a bit offended by my lack of emotion, but I was too tired to care or even give it a second thought. People don’t give a damn about me, why should I be bothered with what these humans  feel?

Lita led me to my room and held the door open for me. She was avoiding my gaze alright. Yep, she was offended. I passed her in silence, demonstrating that I was not going to be their little bundle of sunshine or whatever it was they wanted me to be. I didn’t care about what happened tomorrow, all I wanted in that moment was to get into the water and fall asleep.

But I did notice something new on the table immediately. I never can fully relax on human territory. The last few months taught me not to put too much trust in them. I needed to watch my surroundings at all times. It helped.

The table was normally used for putting my food there, but today I had my meal earlier in the common hall, so I wasn’t expecting to see anything there. The plants’ leaves stopped me from getting a better view on the new object, and I had to walk closer.

It wasn’t a single object, more like a set of them and I knew them all: those were my books! The ones my friend made for me! Every page of these books was cast in a laminated plastic cover so I could read them underwater. They were all left behind back in the lab. I never thought I’d see them again!

That wasn’t part of my training, couldn’t be. I knew humans wanted nothing but my strength, they weren’t planning to aid me in further intellectual development. Besides, only one person was aware of the fact that I knew how to read �" my friend! That meant he didn’t forget me, he was going to help me!

I took the books to the pool with me. My drowsiness was gone and my future didn’t seem so dark anymore.

Maybe my friend would get me out of here! He’d tell me where I came from and where my home was! He’d show me the way there!

I wanted to see him again, to talk to him, to ask him why he had abandoned me and how he could allow these people do this to me. But so far it was impossible. Most likely I’d never get such a chance. If only…

If only Lita could help me. She was the only one who could organize the meeting with my friend in such a way that no-one would know about it. But would she want to help me? I wasn’t too sure about that.

In any case, I had to ask her. I wouldn’t be able to do it alone.

***

I saw the sea in my dreams, that was all I could remember. Which was actually rather funny, since I’d never seen the sea before. I've only just read about it... but in my dream I was inside its waves, I was part of this world. And it felt natural to be there.

Awakening brought me back to the hell I was engulfed in, which was a sharp contrast with what I saw in my sleep. Suffice to day, it was more than depressive. But then I remembered the books, and my friend, and I calmed down a bit. It wasn’t that bad! There was still hope left for me.

This time Lita came without delays. She walked in without knocking; I guess she knew I could sense her at a distance. I didn’t make her wait either.

She was frowning, and I didn’t like it. As well as the wrath in her eyes. Something must’ve really upset her!

“Is something wrong?” I dared to ask.

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just that I don’t like the test they assigned you for today. That’s all.”

I simply shrugged, because I frankly didn’t like a single one of their tests.

I needed to talk to her before the training. When it was over, we’d most likely be out of time or I’d be too tired for discussions, but I had enough patience to wait for the moment when we were in the elevator. I remembered she always used this place for serious talks... probably because there weren't any listening devices in there.

“Can I ask you of something?” I even wagged my tail, trying to be more persuasive. The lab assistants used to say it looks cute. Not like I really want to look cute, but sometimes such things can be convenient. 

Even if she was intrigued, she didn’t show it, remaining completely indifferent.

“What?”

“I’d like to see my friend. The man I mention before, Dr. Strelov.”

“That's impossible.”

Well, I didn’t expect her to agree at once. Still, I wasn’t going to give up that easily!

“Yes, I know about the restrictions and your superiors' attitude to me. But I think it’s possible! Dr. Strelov  is somewhere close, and if you manage to settle it…”

“He’s not close, I assure you,” Lita interrupted me coldly.

“He is,” I could be stubborn when I wanted to.

“What makes you think so?”

“The books he made for me… I found them in my room yesterday.”

“So that’s what it's about,» she smiled bitterly. “Serves me right. Next time I want to give you something, I’ll leave you a card. I brought you those books. I found them in the archive, not in the laboratory. You told me you know how to read, so I decided to search for your belongings. They were brought here after the lab was vacated and shut down.”

“It was you?” I was grateful to her, but a bit disappointed. I wasn’t going to let go of my idea yet, it was my only chance to escape! “I’d like to see Dr. Strelov  in any case!”

We arrived to the floor we were supposed to be at, and the automatic doors prepared to open. At that very moment, Lita pressed the emergency stop button, and the elevator stood still.

“Rey, I’m really sorry, but you meeting with Dr. Strelov is impossible. You must accept this and move on.”

“But why?” I wasn’t willing to move on. I’m not going to give up on my friend just because she said I had to!

“Because Dr. Vladimir Strelov died seven months ago,” she turned to me, and her eyes were filled with a kind of rage I never expected from her. She barely reached my shoulder, but at that moment this fragile creature was much stronger than me. I wanted to disappear. The energy coming from her was overwhelming, I didn’t know how to deal with it! “Do you really believe he could have left you if he was alive? That he’d allow them to take you? You were his favorite creation, you idiot! No, even more than that �" you were like a son to him! And he protected you until his last breath!”

She closed her eyes, still tense, but trying to get a hold on herself.

That didn’t make things easier for me. I couldn’t even imagine this! The reality without him was just not… real. He was one of my first memories, one of the most basic and fundamental elements of my world. He couldn’t just disappear!

But he was dead. I buried this new knowledge in my mind, among the other memories I hated. Humans wanted me to work now, and if I let myself fully understand the catastrophe that had happened, I wouldn’t be able to obey.

Because I could never obey the ones that allowed him to die.

Lita started the elevator, she controlled herself perfectly once again. We got out of the booth on the stadium floor, but didn’t go to the stadium itself. Instead, we headed for the small room where I had been tested some time ago. Much to my discontent, I saw Leo and his watcher, the young man in dirty jeans, waiting for us by the door. The guy didn’t even bother to change his clothes!

“About time!” he grinned. I didn’t like the look that appeared in his eyes when they were directed at my watcher. “Lolita and her pet hamster!”

I had no idea what a hamster was, but I felt I was being insulted.

“You can keep your brilliant jokes to yourself, Nikita,” Lita replied. “Rey, today you’re going to fight Leo. It’s a banal test of strength and fighting skills. Just like with other tests, you can stop it any time you want.”

I didn’t like the implications of this new task. The little room left me with almost no chances to win over that huge killing machine, my agility wouldn’t help, not with such an obvious lack of space. Humans knew this. The only thing that brought me a bit of comfort was that Lita didn’t like it too. She was in the same position as me: forced to obey. I wonder what they were using to coerce her into complying with their instructions.

It was useless to argue, so I just shook my head and went into the room. Leo looked at his watcher briefly and followed me. Once the door closed behind us, I heard Nikita’s voice:

“Fight!”

So he’s not a fan of long speeches...

His voice and that one short word was enough to trigger the beast’s almost instinctive reaction. Leo howled and jumped at me. On one of the rare occasions when I was allowed to watch TV back in the laboratory I saw a documentary about bull fights. Well, my opponent made the memory come rushing back to me. His attacks had the grace and the vigor of an outraged bull.

I managed to avoid him without damage as I moved into another corner of the room. The odds were against me. Humans simply wanted to see how long I’d be able to stand against him, and I wasn’t going to disappoint them. I didn’t care of what they thought though. This was for me. Because otherwise I’d be left alone with the truth Lita informed me of Dr. Strelov. These nagging thoughts were worse than any physical pain I could have endured. I’d rather just pass out right here!

Leo had no special technique, and I doubt he knew what strategy was. His ingenious plan was all about catching me with his huge arms and strangling me. Which wouldn’t be too hard with strength like his.

My size wasn't particularly a drawback in this case, it had its advantages, too. I was much faster and more agile because of it. The question is: where can you move if you’re stuck in a room the size of a shoe box? I almost had to swirl out of the way, but it worked, he couldn’t get me. He hit me only once, with his tail admittedly, but that wasn’t enough to make me lose my balance. And that new bruise was just another addition to my rich and growing collection!

My defense scheme was perfect, but I was running out of energy. I didn’t have enough rest after yesterday’s exhausting training and I needed to think of a new plan quick! I had no idea what I could do against him. There was no weapon I could use and even worse, no place to hide!

I made a misstep and slowed down accidentally, and Leo for once managed to use this opportunity. He grabbed me and proceeded to crush me in his iron grip. My vision became dark and blurry. I couldn’t breathe, I felt like one of those concrete plates was pressing down on my chest! In order to recover, I tried to switch to breathing with my gills, but it was too hard in the open air.

To end this torture, I needed to say I had had enough. The problem was that I couldn’t speak in such condition! Plus, losing was humiliating, so I wasn’t sure whether I wanted Lita to stop this or not.

And then something weird happened. Like a flash of light before my eyes, too fast to register or identify, but it worked! Leo whined and let go of me. I fell to the floor and crawled aside immediately, coughing as I tried to catch my breath. My body was sore and aching all over. Strangely enough, Leo didn’t attack me anymore, he was standing on the same place and shaking his hands painfully. I didn’t do anything, but he was clearly hurt!

Water started pouring from the ceiling; it made me feel a bit better. A second later a voice came from hidden speakers:

“The fight is over. You may now vacate the room.”

Somehow I managed to get up to my feet and walk to the door shakily. The watchers were still in the hallway, and Nikita  looked displeased.

“You were lucky, hamster,” he growled. “Be careful though, luck won’t always be on your side!”

My knees were shaking with tiredness, but I made myself walk evenly and confidently. I wasn’t going to let them see my weakness.

Only in the elevator, the good old elevator, I collapsed, taking deep gulps of air.

“Try to walk to your room as perfectly as you made it here,” Lita instructed me quietly.

Easy for her to say! My body was protesting against any movement at the moment, but I had no choice. I knew it was necessary.

Lita didn’t turn around at the threshold this time, she followed me inside. Without paying any attention to her, I fell on the floor, enjoying the long-awaited rest. All that was left to do was to crawl into my pool, and then they wouldn’t make me leave it until my energy was back!

“Are you that exhausted only after your fight with Leo?” Lita reminded me she was still there.

“Not only that.” I admitted. “It just… piles up I suppose.”

Instead of asking anything else, she told me:

“Remove your armor”.

I remembered full well that the last time I did this resulted in two bombs implanted inside my body! Naturally, I wasn’t going to comply that easily. I just watched her wearily instead.

I expected her to repeat the order, perhaps even adding a threatening spin on it. But Lita clenched her fists, as if that allowed her control herself better, and pronounced her words more slowly:

“Rey, remove your armor… please.”

Theoretically, I could deny, since a request provided such a possibility, unlike orders. But in my case denying her request would mean worsening my only line of communication with her. So against my better judgment I decided to do what she wanted.

I got up and started to hide the scales slowly, trying not to hurt the inflamed areas of skin even more. I didn’t actually have to stand up for this, but I wanted it to be that way. I don’t like looking at her from the floor like a dog!

Her eyes traveled along the bruises on my ribs, the one on my side looking especially nasty �" it was large and almost black. She saw the red spots Leo’s hands left on me; those would surely turn into bruises tomorrow.

“I thought your armor protects you!” she finally announced.

“It does. Come on, any of those blows would have finished off a human.”

“How much time do they take you to heal?”

Oh, I was an expert at this! During the six months spent in that cell, I managed to experience all kinds of wounds on my body, including acid burns I might add. Anton was a very attentive teacher! But at least now I knew the exact time my body needed to recover.

“This one will be gone in a week,” I pointed at the largest bruise. “I'd guess the small ones will take about three days.”

“You recover fast, and that's good. Unfortunately, we don’t have those three days you'll need, and I’m not even going to entertain the idea of a week! But I can give you one day off �" tomorrow. You’ll stay here for the whole day, no tests, no training sessions.”

“But you said we were out of time!”

“It’s true”, she nodded. “But I think I can negotiate this with the management. We have our final trial planned for the day after tomorrow. After this, we’ll start getting real assignments, though you’ll still be in the trial period. And this day off… I can get it for you. You’ll need your full strength during this last test anyway. Your recovery is more important than having another training session. Rest will do you more good.”

“Thank you…”

What else could I say? Those training sessions weren't doing anything for me other than giving me bruises. And on top of that, I can’t possibly imagine where I could use the new found ability of spelunking for toy rings in dark water!

I wasn’t going to say no to that day off, especially after what happened today. But it was sill unusual to receive such help from a human �" from my watcher no less!

There had to be some gain for her in it, or else she wouldn’t care about me at all. And I wanted to know what it was.