Alex at Brecon Beacons

Chapter 4

His head hurt. Bad. It's what he got for not dodging a direct punch to the face. He looked around the dark room, the only light coming from a dim bulb hanging in the corner. He was laying on the floor with his four unit mates next to him. Sitting up he saw the room was completely concrete except for a door that was metal with tiny crisscrossing bars at the top so people could see in. The bars were too thick to move and the gap was too small to get out of even if the bars weren't there. He leaned against the cold wall and waited for someone else to wake up.

He was rewarded a few minutes later when Ben woke up, Snake and Wolf followed. Eagle was last but only woke up because Wolf was impatient and smacked him. They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Cub voiced his uncertainty.

"Does anyone know why we are here?" Cub asked, his voice quiet but echoing in the room.

"RTI" was his only response and he couldn't even tell who it was from, probably Snake.

"Oh, ok. That's fine." They looked at him like he was insane and Ben just laughed. "What?" He asked, confused by their expressions.

"We're about to be beaten senseless and tourchered for so called 'practice'. And you just said it was fine. What's wrong with you?" Eagle asked, for once calm and serious.

"It's RTI. They can't truly hurt us. Yes, we'll be beaten, partially drowned, and most likely electrocuted. But they can't do any true damage because what good would a camp full of soldiers do if they'd be injured for a month after? This will last for a few dozen hours, a day or two tops." They seemed to find reason in his words and calmed down a bit.

They lapped into silence once more only to have it interrupted by the door banging open. "Grab the little one. Time for some fun here." A male figure stood in the door, leaning against the frame to give off an air of importance and nonchalance. It was working. "Let's see how long his confidence lasts." He left the doorway but his laugh could be heard still. Five men walked in and all forced Cub to his feet.

"Aw. Look at that. I have you worried. Really 5 men for a little old me?" Cub stood and walked slowly simply to annoy them. He paused to consider something, "Well, it did take four of you to get me here in the first place." His unit could hear his smirk and smile. That smile faded a moment later when they watched their youngest member get punched in the gut before pushed into the wall with one of the man's arms at his throat.

"You're going to regret that little boy." The man holding Cub sneered at him, spit hitting his face.

To the unit's horror Cub just smiled, "Wanna bet on that?" Cub got punched again before yanked out the door. This time it was Cub laughing down the hall.

"What the heck just happened? Is he trying to make his situation worse?" Snake asked, worried about the future physical health of their youngest member as well as the current mental health of him.

"Nah." Fox said, grinning despite the situation. "That's just Cub. His coping mechanism is sarcasm and winding up the people against him. He's absolutely terrified right now."

"How do you know he's scared? Why would he be scared, he made perfect sense earlier. They can't hurt us too bad." Eagle spoke up.

"He's not scared of them. He's scared of his own mind. He's been in a lot of situations similar to these ones, only they weren't fake. They were very very real, he fears his own mind and what he might be forced to remember during this time." Fox paused, wondering if he's shared too much about his friend. "I know he's scared because no matter how good you are at hiding things. You can't hide your eyes. His eyes are cold, empty, dangerous. But a few minutes ago they were scared, you can see his whole life through his eyes, they hold no secrets. He was tapping his leg with his fingers, he was releasing his stress in the least damage creating way. He was rubbing the side of his hip where one of his holsters normally rests. He doesn't have his weapons and he doesn't like being defenceless, yes he himself is a weapon but he prefers his things. He was noticing so many little things at the same time, it's the spy in him, having to know everything and it overwhelms him. He was showing stress and for him being stressed means being afraid." Ben finished off, once again feeling guilty about telling his friends tells the unit.