Let's Go To War

Day one of being a rebel

You wake up sensing someone in the room. 

"Hello? Hello? Anyone there?", you call out. 

All of a sudden an attacker drops down from the ceiling. They start fighting you with skilled hand to hand combat. Eventually, the figure overtakes you and pins you to the floor

You hear him slip on a voice changer and say, "Pathetic. I want easy on you. You have to be better." 

I was scared for my life. Who was this person? 

As if reading my mind, he said, "It is me. James. Come on. Training starts now. Every day, I will wake you up like this. Sometimes with hand to hand, sometimes armed. You must be ready for every possibility."

I noticed that James had never shown his face to me. He had a mysterious mask on so only his eyes were visible, and a black cloak that seemed to engulf him

"Tell me about your training," he said. "I need to know everything."

I told him about my past, then asked him about his. His eyes turned bright with rage, and he said, "We don't talk about my past. Only a select few can know about it. The fewer questions you ask, the more I will like you."

I am utterly mystified. Who is this person? Why won't he show me his face? What is so bad or mysterious about his past? Am I a newbie, and he doesn't trust me? I am overwhelmed by questions about him. 

"Hey! Hey! Snap out of it! Don't get lost in your thoughts!"

I snap out of it, and my face flares red, "Sorry." I mumble.

James just grumbles and tells me it's time to eat.

When I got down to the eating area, I met some other people. 

"Hi, my name is Lyn."

"Hello, I am Midnight."

"Hey, I'm Clover"

I noticed one person said nothing to me. They just ate and walked away. 

"Um hi?" I said hoping she would engage in a conversation with me. But they just ignored me. I decided to drop it. 

"What's for breakfast?"  I ask.

"Be patient! It's coming!" grumbles James.

Lilly walks over to me and tells me, "Don't mind him. He is just a crank pot."

"I heard that Lilly!"

"And?" 

"Good point."

A few minutes later, breakfast is ready. I get some waffles, eggs, a piece of bacon, and a cup of milk. 

I notice James has something different. It appears to be a stir fry. 

"He prefers vegetables and tofu over waffles and bacon. He has been vegetarian for as long as I have known him." Lyn tells me

"Why?" Bacon is soooooo good." I say

"We don't know."

"Has anyone asked him?"

"No. Why would they? Do they get anything out of it? Does it help them in any way? Does it improve fighting? The answer is no."

"Um okay. I just wanted to know. Jeez. You people are so secretive and focused. How?" I ask?

"Because when you lose focus and start telling people about yourself, it will only lead to betrayal," said James

Was that why he was so secretive? Had someone betrayed him? Was that his painful past? Was there more? 

*Timeskip*

After breakfast, I noticed all the others go with Lilly. As I went to go with them, someone grabbed me from behind. It was James. "You're coming with me to train," He said. 

"Why?" I asked. 

"Those people are already trained. You're new here. You need training." 

"Where are they going?" I asked. 

"Why does that matter?" James said

"I'm just curious," I tell him

"The first person to jump off a cliff was curious about what would happen. Where did he end up? I'll give you a hint. He died." 

I was going to say that he did not give me a hint, and just gave me an answer, but decided against it. 

"You ate a lot today for breakfast. Three eggs, 2 waffles, and a strip of bacon, along with 2 cups of milk. For each thing you eat one mile. I don't want you putting on fat here.. I expect you to be back here in an hour and fifteen minutes."

"But that's so fast!" I say.

"Really? We have some work to do then. That's about a seven and a half minute mile. Should be easy."

I start to realize that this place will be a lot harder than I expected.

When I'm back from my run, I am gassed. Of course, immediately James starts fighting me, but this time, he uses a different style on me. This one is much more painful. Pretty soon, I'm on the floor writhing in pain.

"That was ikido. I used pressure points in your body, and applied slight pressure. It's a great defense martial art."

"So I noticed." I grumble

I could swear that he was smirking under his mask. But I couldn't tell for sure. It happened for about half a second. 

"When is lunch?"

"We don't have lunch. We have to prepare you for battle. You won't have much food, and you need to get used to it."

I grumble about me being hungry, but get ready for the next task. James rolls out a big dummy to punch.

"Punch the dummy." He says

As a joke, I try to punch him. In a swift motion, he grabbed me fist, and twisted my shoulder. I grunted in pain and yelled, "Stop! That hurts."

"No duh. I almost broke your arm. Of course it hurts. Don't try punching me. Or next time I'll break it. As I said before, punch the dummy. Give it all you got. Best combinations, hardest hits. I am going to film you. Then tomorrow, we will go to the video room and analyze your punching ability.

I gave it all I had for about 30 minutes before James told me to stop. He told me I had the rest of the day off.