Alex Rider: Training

Chapter 10

The van stopped in front of a building that Fox did not know about and they dragged Fox inside. They chained him to a wall in a room with Alex. Alex still was unconscious. They still chained him to the wall. Fox sat there which seemed like hours when the guy named Yassen walked in and checked on Alex. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Fox asked Yassen. The man did not answer but in Russian.

"Он - возвращается в нормальное русло." (He's back to normal.) Yassen said. Fox sighed. "Давай немного Alex. Проснитесь. Они собираются убить вас в любом случае." (Come on little Alex. Wake up. They're going to kill you either way.) Yassen said. He was in the room for a bit.

*****

Alex was still in his dream seeing the horror of his friends dying in front of him. Then he heard a voice. It was Russian. Alex thought that he would not be dreaming about Russian people talking to him but he easily knew what the man was talking about. Come on little Alex. Wake up. They're going to kill you either way. He figured out that he was dreaming. Everything turned black from his nightmare. He could smell someone's cologne. He also felt someone's hand on his neck. Alex slowly opened his eyes to the man he thought was dead, Yassen. The assassin looked at Alex and smiled.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." He said. Alex heard chains rattle.

"Cub, your awake." Alex heard Fox say. Alex turned his head to him to see he was chained to the wall.

"I'm awake." Alex said very softly. Then he went into a coughing fit. Yassen helped him sit up.

"It's alright Alex. It's from the tube." After a minute he stopped coughing.

"Tube? What tube?" Alex looked around. "Where are we, all I remember is being blind."

"It's alright Cub. You fell alseep at the tree again and I found you. You had no pulse so we rushed you to the emergency room. They put a tube so you could breath cause your lungs were weak. This morning 4 guys came and took you and me." Fox said. Yassen silently thanked Fox for not saying one of the men was him.

"Okay. Yassen? Why are you alive?" Alex said harshly. He was breathing heavily from the coughing.

"Cause I never really died." He looked at his watch. "I got to go. I'll be back in an hour." Yassen said and he left the room with the two.

"You should get some sleep." Fox said.

"I would say the same to you. Let both get some sleep." Alex said. Both of them curled up in a corner to sleep. With in an hour two men walked in and grabbed Alex. Fox was still asleep. Alex didn't yell out cause they could kill Fox and two they had his mouth covered. For once in Alex's life he could not get out of the men's grips. They brought him into a room and hung his hands from the ceiling. They even took his shirt off. Alex could see all his scars an the one 2 cm above the chest. Their was a mirror in front of him. A man walked in with Yassen and three other men. Alex didn't show that Alex knew Yassen he sure did know the main man. Deathstalker. Alex got mad cause he's the reason that he's two best friends are dead.

"Nice to see you again Rider." He said walking around him. Alex gave him an evil eye.

"I see that your not dead." Alex said with venom in his voice. Deathstalker snapped his fingers and on of the many men in the room handed him a whip.

"Welcome Rider to my torture class. Sadly your the one that I'm going to be torturing." He walked to his back and started whipping him. 10 times to Alex's calculation. He didn't cry out in pain. All he showed was his broken eyes. Yassen watched but he didn't like it.

"At least I won't be bored." Alex said. Deathstalker smiled.

"Who wants to try?" Everyone raised there hand but Yassen. "Yassen why don't you try?"

"I'm an assassin. I don't need to torture. I just kill them cause they know too much." Yassen said.

"Just a little cut then." Death stalker took out a knife and handed it to Yassen. Yassen walked up to Alex. Alex didn't look at him. He hesitated at first.

"Just do it. I'm bored." Alex said. Yassen took the knife and cut very slowly on his bicep which made Alex wince. He mouthed sorry to Alex. Once he was done he handed the knife back to Deathstalker.

"Very good. The bicep can be very painful. Next." He said. Everyone raised there hand but Yassen. Deathstalker picked several men to do what they want with Alex that meant harm. One of them punched Alex in the gut several times. Another whipped him. Others cut his arms. The one that hurt the most was when one of them was able to crack a rib.

"I could keep going all day." Alex said. Deathstalker smiled.

"Well class is almost over but I do have one more thing to add to your scars." Some one handed him a branding iron with the shape of a scorpion. Deathstalker went to the back of Alex and put it on his left shoulder. It made an imprint and Alex was almost in tears from the hot pain of it. Once he was done Alex was almost unconscious. The whole class left but a few guards to take Alex back to his cage. Fox finally woke up when the guards walked in with Alex. They chained his hand to the wall again. Fox crawled over to him and sat him up. He got blood all over his hands but Fox didn't care.

"Cub. You awake?" Fox asked him.

"Barely." Alex said quietly.

"What did they do to you?" Fox asked Alex.

"Torture class." Alex said opening his eyes slightly. Then the door opened and Yassen came in with a first aid kit.

"Deathstalker asked me to bandage you up." Yassen said. Fox helped.

"What a nice guy. At least he concerned." Alex said.

"Well no. He does not want you to get infected cause he wants you for tomorrows class." Yassen said clean up his wound in his chest. They turned him over and Fox saw the scorpion on his back from a brand iron.

"Oh my God. Your back. Cub." Fox said. They cleaned him up and let him rest while Yassen left silently. Fox was thinking that tomorrow was going to be Alex's birthday. Then Fox remembered that he had a homing beacon that could get them here before tomorrow. Fox hoped Alex would make it.

*****

Wolf, Snake and Eagle were waiting around to see if something would show up. Then Eagle's computer went off and they knew it was from Fox. They started to get ready to do a rescue op. Snake got plenty of medics cause they did not know what conditions Alex and Fox were in. Wolf was ready to get them back.