Winter's Burn

• IX •

Will groaned as he hit the ground again.

"Rule number one: Never let your guard down."

William was correct. The next few weeks of his 'training' consisted of torturous drills and tests, mostly conducted by the redhead since she had been assigned to him. He learned more about her through there time together, though she never really talked about herself. He learned that she was sarcastic and closed off, and Will guessed that she had been here for a while. Based on her scars and the way she interacted with the people in the building, it seemed that her status was high, but not the highest, and she most likely had had to prove herself in some way to get there. Most people he had seen her interact with called her soldier, though he had heard one interaction between her and a guard where he had called her 'A', though she cut him off before he could say more. She was strong and clearly powerful.

William's training had enhanced him physically, he was more muscular now than he had ever been. He wanted to resist what the people were forcing him to do, but threats and worries about what was happening to Senka plagued his mind. Whenever he showed resistance they brought her up, threatening to do things he couldn't even imagine. He stopped fighting after a while.

One morning after he had gotten dressed, he knocked on the door to his room, as had become routine. He would knock, the girl would open the door and lead him to a training ground. He would train until he almost passed out, recover, and do it again. This time, however, that was not how it went.

Instead of the girl he had grown used to opening the door, it was a man he didn't know. The redhead was nowhere in sight as the man grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the hall. The route they were taking through the long hallways was not the one to the training grounds he had used countless times. He grew afraid as he was taken to a new location and shoved into a new room. Will fell to the ground from the force of the man's push, knocking his head on the cement. His nose began to bleed as he looked around.

This room was one he had never seen before. It was Decently large, but empty except for a table and what looked to be a one-way mirror. Will looked into the glass, seeing himself for the first time in weeks. He looked awful.

His muscle had built, but he was now littered with scars from his various training sessions, the one across his cheek reminding him of senka, probably horribly weak, wondering what was happening to him. His eyes had large dark circles, his hair was longer and dirty from the lack of hygiene he had been allowed to maintain.

He crossed the room to the table. It was large, probably 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. It was made out of metal and incredibly cold. When will got closer, he noticed black straps on it, almost like the straps you would see across the tops of cars when they were carrying something large. He was always scared that those things the cars were carrying would fall off. He was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the door open with a large thud.