Chapter 2

The lights came back on with a vengeance. I hadn't slept very much drifting in and out of sleep, seeing the faces of friends and family in my head wondering who of them had betrayed me selling me to this place. Running over every offence I might have caused them that would lead to this level of retribution.

The slot in the wall shot out revealing it to be some sort of drawer.

'Just like they have in the movies to deal with dangerous prisoners', I thought then felt even more depressed at the implication.

I walked over to see what was in it. I found a tray with a plate of what looked like raw meat, a plastic spork, and a grey jumpsuit. I put the jumpsuit on the bed then took the plate out. The drawer slammed back into the wall the second I was clear of it almost causing me to fall over backwards from the surprise. I sat on the uncomfortable chair and examined my meal.

The meat was bloody and completely raw, I wanted to just throw it away but I was just so hungry I couldn't do it, besides I feared they wouldn't give me anything else if I did that. I tentatively sniffed at it and the sharp metallic smell of blood hit me. I briefly wondered if it was laced with any drugs but then dismissed that thought, they had already demonstrated control over in such a manner that they didn't need to drug me as well. I cut a small bite and spearing it with the spork gingerly put it in my mouth, my fearsome array of teeth made short work of it. It didn't taste too bad, it was like a very rare steak. I ate the rest of it and did feel better afterwards.

When I was done I examined the jumpsuit. It was some sort of modern fabric, the sort that looked insubstantial but was probably bulletproof. I took off the gown and slipped it on. It fitted like a glove covering my body tightly like it had been painted on. I wondered if they were going to give me shoes but realised my skin was probably tough enough now that I didn't need them for most terrain.

I sat wondering what to do next when the door swung open and Norton walked in.

"Good morning Farrah, time to begin your training, an auspicious day so much to do," he turned to the door and I got to my feet to follow but he stopped and turned back suddenly, "Oh I nearly forgot, I have a gift for you my dear."

He threw something at me, I caught it and discovered what appeared to be a collar with a plaque that read Farrah on it.

"A symbol you see my dear, a little reminder. Something to make sure you remember that you are on a leash even if it's an invisible one," Norton grinned at me.

I wanted to throw it back in his smug face but I knew what would happen to me if I did, so instead I fastened it around my neck.

"Excellent, what a good girl you are," Norton said and waved his hand in my direction and suddenly unbridled pleasure surged through my nervous system for a second then was gone again making me almost cry out for the loss, "A star pupil so far and there will be more rewards if you continue to do as you are told. Anyway now that you are properly attired we can begin."

He led me back into the corridor and through several nondescript white hallways. Yet again there were no staff or other people about, I could almost believe myself to be alone in the facility with Norton but for other indications. My more sensitive sense of smell told me others were here somewhere, someone had passed through here with a cup of coffee not long ago spilling it on the floor. A woman's perfume hit me as I turned another corner, a pungent flowery scent that might have been nice to normal senses but made me feel ill, the trail leading to one of the nondescript doors we passed as we continued through this maze of corridors.

Finally we reached our destination Norton pushed open one of the doors and waved me inside. I gingerly moved past him and found myself in some sort of exercise room. There were weights and a treadmill on one side of the room and climbing bars against the opposite wall. A large open area in the middle worried me most, the concrete there was patched with areas of dark colour, one sniff confirmed the scent of sweat and blood.

"Now then Farrah time to put that astonishing new body through its paces to see what your limits are. I can hardly wait to find out," Norton said and walked over to the treadmill practically jumping with excitement.

Over the next few hours Norton had me work through a series of exercises each one teaching me I was stronger and tougher than I could have imagined possible. He was relentless if I failed or seemed to be not trying I got the pain zap that was worse than any fatigue. I was foolishly glad when he gestured me over to the open area not realising what was coming next.

I was surprised when another two figures entered, one a young man maybe a few years older than me and a dark haired woman in a black suit. He was wearing a similar jumpsuit to mine and a collar that said Alex, he was tall, muscular, and pretty scary. The woman was short but very intense her suit hugging her modest curves, she looked at me with a smirk and malice burned in her eyes, she reeked of that floral perfume from earlier.

"Farrah this charming young lady is Mistress Hahn and this brute her animal Alex. He's fully trained and will be helping you with your combat skills," Norton said with a smile then produced two knives and tossed one to my feet the other to this Alex.

Alex picked up the knife and waited still as a statue, his eyes always on me. They were horrible eyes, dead, like there was nothing behind them, no spark of humanity burned in them.

"Now then pick up the knife Farrah so we can begin," Norton said firmly and I hurried to comply not wanting another pain session.

When I had the knife awkwardly gripped in my hand Norton gave a smile to Mistress Hahn, "Begin whenever you please dear lady."

Mistress Hahn studied her nails seemingly bored with the whole affair then said in a high almost musical voice, "Attack the girl, don't kill her but make sure she gets enough incentive to learn to defend herself."

Alex flashed into motion coming at me with his knife, I cried out in terror and backed away. I was soon backed against the wall. He came at me with the knife and I had to dodge like mad to avoid it. I dodged and ran to the best I could manage but it wasn't enough Alex was relentless and soon got past my meagre defences. My tougher than normal skin saved me for a couple of hits causing the knife to glance off due to the angle but eventually one of the strikes wasn't flat enough for this and cut into my flesh.

I cried out in fear and dropped the knife in shock at the pain. Alex was still attacking me though and I had to scramble like mad to avoid more cuts. I received a few more slices before I managed to grab Alex's arm to stop the knife which turned out to be a mistake as he in turn grabbed hold of me to stop me from escaping and kicked my feet out from under me. With me held down on the floor he poised the knife ready.

"Give her a nice reminder to do better next time," Mistress Hahn said a laugh in her voice.

Alex plunged the knife into my abdomen and a red hot lance of pain seared through me.

"Well that was at least quick, come along Alex," Mistress Hahn said walking past me as I lay on the floor clutching my wounds, as she passed she smiled at me and said something that chilled me to the bone, "See you again tomorrow dear."

She left the room laughing as I lay there bleeding from my many wounds.

I felt something prod me, possibly the walking stick Norton carried as I could hear him talking, "Oh dear me, this won't do at all, most unsatisfactory. This is Norton send in the repair unit."

A short while later a girl was led into the room by a white clothed guard, he looked like he might have been one of those I encountered when I first woke up. The girl was very thin and was chained up. She was dressed in a rough tunic and trousers, her blue hair was dishevelled. The guard pulled her over to me and she fell to her knees next to my prone form.

She reached down her hands shaking. As she came close to me I noticed that her nails were all chewed off right back to the quick. Her face was obscured by the long hair hanging down in front I could barely make out her eyes. She reached out and gripped my arms, there was an odd tingling sensation and my flesh felt like it was moving. When she took her hands away the knife wounds were gone. She pulled my hands away from my stomach wound then reached down pressing her hand over the bloody gash. It was like someone had stuck a stick in the wound and was stirring it. The sensation passed and she pulled her hand away revealing a bloody but intact abdomen.

She leaned forward checking the rest of me and I caught a glimpse of her face. She looked at me with mixture of sorrow and what looked like guilt as if she knew she was only healing me to be hurt again. She finished her inspection, stood up and was dragged out of the room without saying a word.

"Dear oh dear this will put us behind. On your feet!" Norton instructed I got up feeling a little unsteady almost dizzy I guess, although I had been healed I had still lost a fair amount of blood. He looked at me shaking his head, "My schedule is ruined."

"Wooo wa she?" I asked my words coming out slurred. I had forgotten myself perhaps due to the blood loss.

Norton looked at me with an annoyed expression as I swayed about then gave a sigh and said, "Some of our subjects don't develop the correct physical characteristics for use as weapons or they are not tough enough to survive the full implant procedure. Still they can occasionally be useful like that healer there, we use her to keep things running. Your astounding body has accelerated regenerative abilities far in excess of a normal human but it still pales in comparison to what that weak little healer can achieve. Most regrettably apart from her ability to repair bodies she is a weak and fragile thing, most unsuited to the tasks we require our tools to complete. So she is used as a repair unit and since units like her don't need to function outside the facility their control collars are simpler affairs. A small amount of explosive, a remote trigger lodged near their spine and so on. That way if they escape ... well you can imagine what would happen. It's much easier to install so even the weakest specimen is usable. Thus we make use of the useless."