CHAPTER 10

Krantz explained one morning that the next level of training consisted of each of them improving on their skills individually. The news produced an unexpected feeling of gratitude in Takeo. Training individually meant he won't be forced to spend every single day in a metal box with the three lunatics who called each other colleagues while beating each other to a pulp.

He had about enough of being coerced into "sparring" matches and if he had to look at the smug scared face telling him how breaking bones is a best team building exercise, he'll lose his mind.

Staying in their proximity meant giving in to rage and violence fuming inside of him. It would be so easy, with Kratz being the big bully. The leader was ruthless to them all, but he did enjoy picking on Takeo the most. If that was not enough there was always Shark's fixation that was present from the get go. Hammer, on the other hand, never cared… until their last training session when he too had joined in "the fun". That was the first time all three of them ganged up on him and from the way their mad eyes sparkled it won't be the last.

Which turned out to be true. Takeo wasn't scared of them, no, he refused to be; but there was this general sense of fear bubbling up inside him that he couldn't get rid of.

Fortunately, the next team exercise a week later was switched with individual tests. Takeo thought he could relax, because if he was by himself, with no external influence, he had nothing to be anxious about.

Once again, he was proved to be oh so very wrong.

(When a man is isolated he tends to think more than usual.)

One morning, there were five scientists waiting for them. All familiar faces. They took care of their meals and did their physicals. This time, scientists informed them that they will be showed to their new "rooms".

(Takeo wished the infamous Dr Aris showed up to greet them, but he had no such luck apparently. He started to believe that woman didn't give a damn about the people she toyed with. Still not being terminated for his impudence, Takeo had thought it must have been opposite.)

Eventually, scientists split up and took each of them through different corridors. While Hammer and Shark were escorted to their quarters by doctors, Takeo had Krantz join his appointed escort. Clearly, it was too risky leaving Takeo with just one doctor by his side… With only one ordinary human to guard him.

(Yes, all of the scientists Takeo met so far were mundane, with no special powers at all.) This revelation only added to the hate Takeo harboured towards those bastards. (Willing enough to experiment on other people, but not brave enough to sacrifice themselves for the glory of science. Hypocrites…)

There was one more thing that vexed him. If there were people like Hammer and Shark who didn't mind being turned into weapons, why take someone who's definitely not ok with it? Why not use only those who actually wanted to be here? Wouldn't that be a win-win situation? They wouldn't have to deal with disobedience. (And Takeo would be back in Sapporo, taking orders at that crocked restaurant, still figuring out how to act normal around Rin-chan.)

It got to the point where it physically hurt him to think about home; how all of this would've been different if Shark and Hammer didn't get high on the sight of blood. If they had longed for freedom just a smidgen of how much Takeo did, they could have really teamed up and somehow clawed their way out of here.

Sure, maybe that wouldn't had made any difference because of Krantz, but it would have given him hope. It would have made him feel like he wasn't insane for feeling hurt and lost. If there was another human here who thought the Union – and everything it represented and did – was all horribly wrong, then Takeo wasn't imagining it.

Krantz and the doctor accompanied him to a sealed room. When the doors were opened they revealed an empty room with a big opening further down. Through it Takeo could see a lot of narrow corridors in a vast, white space that kept on spreading. The space had a low ceiling and too many walls popping up from all sides. There was no natural light nor was there a sound. It was just… white.

White walls, white floor, and white ceiling. The bright place chopped up into sections looked big, yet it was suffocating as if it was sealed in a vacuum till moments ago. It seemed crooked, yet it stood straight. The walls were bending, the space was shifting. It was moving in to crush. Claustrophobic.

A maze.

It was a large maze.

For a lab rat.

Takeo was so dumbstruck, he didn't even notice Krantz approaching. The man pushed him inside, and Takeo swirled around, falling into a fighting stance that in his current state of mind was anything but threatening. Judging by the way his smile curled, for a moment he was sure Krantz will enter the room with him. Instead, he stepped back behind the doors and let the doctor lock Takeo in.

While the mechanical doors slowly closed, Takeo watched the eyes of the brawny man squint in a cold, hungry stare. Takeo's insides twisted in pain and terror. He bolted towards the doors, but it was too late.

"Ugh!" Kicking the metal doors he could hear the two men breathing on the other side. The doctor flinched and squealed in surprise when Takeo continued to bash on the doors, while the arrogant prick didn't move a muscle. Krantz didn't have to, the blasted doors didn't even bent and Takeo was putting everything he got into smashing them to bits.

Takeo turned his head when the wall near him opened and revealed a small arsenal of guns and rifles. Among the ten waiting on the stalls he recognised the two he used for the first time a week ago. He then realised he could tell what each weapon was and how it's supposed to be used. It was not something Tama-san ever taught him. The expert knowledge of guns was something these psychos embedded into his mind with short lessons and a week of forced practice. (It was no rocket science, but Takeo was never a good student and here he tried extra hard to fail.)

There were no bulky guns, no lasers or death rays. Such heavy artillery for mass destruction was reserved for Hammer. It didn't matter, he preferred bullets; he knew what to do with them.

Bullets made palpable damage. They were so little, yet they could make scars, they could disable or kill hitting only once. They flew clean and precise. They sometimes stayed forever with the victim bearing the fingerprints of the killer, too arrogant or uncaring to put the gloves on before loading them up. You take time to aim, you stalk and wait. You can be close, yet you can be far away not letting the victim ever know what hit him. Bullets made things more personal and this… this was personal enough for Takeo to imagine a bullet getting stuck into Krantz's skull.

Takeo wasn't aware he was holding his breath when a voice pierced through the rifle fire of his gun. He couldn't even remember the moment he picked it up and started shooting at the doors. When the smoke lifted and when the last bullet hit the ground, Takeo heaved not letting go of the grip. None of the bullets made a dent, let alone a hole.

"… save the ammo, you'll be needing it." A composed voice said from the other side of the doors. "This will be your new home for a couple of months or more… We'll let you out when the time is right, but… Who knows, you might end up wanting to stay in there forever. Ever played video games? I hear it's quite addicting. It's gonna be so fun, I almost envy you."

"Open it," he snarled in Japanese. Like an animal. The ferocious beast that kept crawling his way out of him. The one Krantz loved to probe with long sharp sticks and dangle the bait in front of its nose. The beast was so strong, so hot and loud, and so close of bursting out.

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't speak trash?"

"I will kill you!" Takeo slammed the gun into the doors breathing heavily. His voice sounded strange to his ears. If he didn't know he was the one spouting such hateful words, he wouldn't be able to recognise it.

Takeo was quiet by nature. Even when he was overpowered by emotions his tone was steady and controlled. He couldn't remember if he ever screamed before he got here. This was a second time he made such an ear-splitting cry, but it was the first time his voice completely shattered. (It shattered him to pieces.)

The silence of the maze helped emphasise every single word he spat. The worst threat he ever uttered. The violent thought he let escape his lips. No matter the situation, he knew how wrong it was, how sick it was to be saying such things and actually wanting to be true to your words, and, oh, God, he wanted to care, but he just didn't.

That made everything so much worse. So much, his stomach was cramping.

"If everything goes according to plan, I might actually believe you," Krantz said and then added dryly. "Imagine how amusing that would be, Takeo: you becoming a man."

Takeo's arm felt heavy; the gun was heavier than it was at the beginning and he realised he was panting. His hand slowly returned by his side still holding the gun in now a shaking, sweaty palm. There was so much more than anger here.

He was terrified.

"Happy shooting." He heard from the outside.

The shoes moved. The footsteps grew weaker, while his breathing got louder. It was the only thing he could hear and it made him sweat like crazy, even though the room was chilly. He bowed down his head, staring at the empty gun and a heap of warm bullets that stood in such a high contrast to the white.

White… a red dot. It moved quickly over the floor, jumped to his gun and continued to go up his arm.

There was a sizzle.

His leg twitched, pushing his body to the wall on the side, barely avoiding a laser bullet that scorched the doors. The impact of the laser was not strong enough to blast the door open, but he had a feeling it would have hurt like a bitch if it had hit the flesh. Another red dot appeared in the middle of his chest. And then he saw it. The white walls and the ceiling had little holes that opened and shut whenever the lasers came to surface to fire on the target. And the target was…

Takeo instinctively aimed the barrel at the laser that was sizzling, heating itself up for another try. His gun clicked reminding him there was no ammo left. Like on a command from a conductor, fifty more holes opened.

Red swarmed around him.

Fire at will.

The lasers were shooting in random order, carefully following his heat signature. The lasers – or whoever handled them – were smart and experienced. Takeo was dodging the best he could. He managed to swipe another gun and make some damage, even succeeding in destroying a couple of lasers, a deed way more difficult than one might expect.

The lasers were vulnerable only when they popped out of holes. Once they finished shooting they'd go back in the holes and the holes would be shut with the wall that already proved itself to be impenetrable. There was no concrete pattern in firing, and as the time went by, Takeo realised every single wall in this maze was completely weaponized. To destroy one laser, Takeo had to avoid the others that came at him and use a less than a second opening to hit a laser before it was protected by the wall. The only good thing was that apparently if he does destroy one, the hole never reopens again.

So shooting non-stop was stupid and useless, because he was, as Krantz warned, wasting ammo. Takeo only had ten guns. Judging by the number of bullet casings laying on the floor and the experience he gained from his short training, all of the guns had approximately thirty rounds. If he was lucky, that would probably be enough to destroy all the lasers in the first room. Even so, Takeo was weary about using all of his weapons at the mere beginning of the maze, especially since he still didn't exactly know why he was in it. (Or for how long.) The smart move would be to take two or more and run further down the maze until he finds the way out.

Carrying more than two guns proved to be useless. There was nothing with which he could strap it on himself and holding it in hand only obstructed his movements. He tried to make every bullet count, but it was more than challenging with new walls popping up all over the place and the ceiling expanding. New flat surfaces – new lasers. To make matters worse the laser shower made it extra challenging to go back for another gun from the arsenal.

After a week of constant fire, he managed to take a look in about a dozen nearest rooms that were as empty as the first one. He was still reluctant to go too far into the maze. It was illogical to forsaken his only means of protection, mostly since there was no sign of a new one. If it was still early for him to stumble upon the exit, then Takeo at least hoped there would be another small arsenal waiting for him somewhere. They were serious enough to leave him here for a week, who knows how long he will truly be trapped in the maze. It could easily turn out to be more than a week. Krantz did mention a couple of months, but even with the way Takeo was sparing bullets, there was not enough ammo to last him for that much time.

As far as the training went, however, Takeo sure was improving. His sensitivity skyrocketed after a week; he wasn't just shooting, but using the gun and rifles themselves and his own body to approach near enough to the lasers and break them. He used the wall to push himself and jump, and also hide from the attacks long enough to take a breather. Till now, it never crossed his mind to throw or swing a gun at something. Now it was a part of the way he fought.

It seems that "annihilate without debate and think outside the box" was the first lesson.

Despite feeling pressure in his stomach, despite his mouth being dry like sandpaper, the thought of him being hungry and thirsty slipped his mind. (Which wasn't so surprising considering he was running for his life the whole time.)

Nearing the end of the first week of imprisonment, he once suddenly decided to stop moving, thinking if maybe he got hit, they'll have to terminate the sequence, or at least make a break to scold him, which he'll use to rest and close his eyes for a second.

(It was strange how they didn't give him time outs to sleep or eat or drink. Before the maze they had always done so following a precise schedule. The small part of him – that still believed they at least cared enough not to let him die of thirst – was telling him that they must have forgotten he was here. Aside from the bullets and lasers and his panting this room was dead silent, so maybe it was also sound proofed in the way you couldn't hear anything from the inside. Out of sight, out of mind… or something.

Whatever, if he doesn't sleep… if he doesn't drink…)

He let the laser hit his thigh.

(Yep, it hurt like a bitch.) It burned through his uniform and through a couple of layers of skin. It bled profoundly and the pain stung his entire body, not just his leg. It felt as if the laser kept going through his flesh, grabbing his nervous system, setting it ablaze. He fell to his knees, grinding his teeth in order to suppress a gasp. Takeo squeezed his wound waiting for it to regenerate like all of them did. Unexpectedly, it kept bleeding and hurting.

After a five seconds of seize fire, the red dots covered the whole of his body. Takeo wheezed and reluctantly moved. The training continued.

He tried to push away the mind splitting headache and his loud stomach and think.

(Just think. Forget about the limping leg. Think.)

If this is a maze then there had to be a way out. And he had to search for it even if he had to do it barehanded. Being in the proximity of the gunnery was not necessary anymore since it was almost empty. If they were not stopping this experiment due to his injury then they won't ever end it if he stayed put. Takeo had no other choice but to risk it.

Alright, the plan was to clear the path as much as he could with the rifle, go back to take the two last guns and explore the deep of the maze.

More walls, empty dead ends and lasers. What a shocker. He used his abilities to the fullest and tried to remember the paths he took. He marked them with blood, used bullets and wrecked guns to make signs. After two or three days he made a blueprint in his mind.

There was absolutely nothing in the maze. Forty six walls, so many rooms… There was no way out.

The sleep deprivation took its toll on him. He was way past hungry and thirsty at this point; he didn't even feel the pain from it anymore. The lack of sleep on the other hand… It was tormenting.

The enhanced senses he improved over the fortnight were out of control. He started hearing echoes, voices and sounds he wasn't sure were really there. The red trails of beams stayed in the air, moving in slow motion. He wondered whether everything was slow because he was moving too fast, but his body felt so groggy and alien it couldn't have been the reason for the strange movements of the space around him.

That he was losing his grip on reality – the laser assured him when it nicked his shoulder. Takeo almost fell from the impact. He huffed and raised his hand, aiming through the haze at the machine. His hand was empty.

"Right," his mind pulled itself together, "I lost the gun in the left dead end."

The red dots shivered as if they were laughing at him.

The lasers were ruthless, but not blind. They still fired at him, not letting him rest; their aim, however, was less precise and there were less lasers shooting at the same time. If they happened to hit him they would only sting him strong enough to shock him awake from microsleeps.

(A few seconds blackouts started occurring some time ago, which was expected and easy to handle. The lasers… The people behind them were swift and knew what they were doing. The lab rat wasn't even aware it was falling asleep and when he entered the blackout, they would immediately react not even giving enough time for his knees to give out under the pull of gravitation.)

These types of inflicted wounds were not serious. They only served as a way to keep the rat's attention and make him defend himself… Fighting with his wobbly body was not possible anymore, so it was about time to enter the second stage.

It kinda should have happened earlier. Humans collapse after a few days without sleep, but he was a super soldier now. Still very human, unfortunately. On the twentieth day… He counted that much, but wasn't sure anymore…

The twentieth day was a day he lost his mind.

Or so he thought.

Takeo was convinced the walls were moving on their own. All of a sudden he couldn't recognise the place, despite it being white as always. The blood stains that helped him figure out the layout of the maze were either gone or in the entirely wrong place.

His wounds scabbed, while the small cuts he gained bruised. It took longer for the laser wound to heal, but the regeneration was still noticeably faster than in a human.

(Where the hell was the blood?)

(Where did the arsenal go? Uh… no, never mind… it was empty. Right?)

(These walls were not here.)

"Where am I?"

(Is this a part of the maze I didn't discover while exploring? No, I searched every inch of this place.)

(A secret part…)

(This place… is moving.)

His mind was playing tricks on him.

Takeo was certain he was hallucinating. It would be a miracle if it was not true. (Nah, not a miracle… odd… it would be odd, but there was nothing strange in a crazy place like this. Crazy…)

He was crazy.

His mind was screaming, his ears were buzzing. He forgot where he was, and when he remembered he didn't know why he was here.

A lab rat.

And he was now officially useless as an experiment.

They broke him.

Everybody knows what happens to broken toys. You either glue them, or throw them in the garbage. Takeo was one of those who saved their toys. Since he never had many of them, he treasured them like they were living beings, a fact in which he wholeheartedly believed until he turned ten.

These people were the other kind.

(Well… maybe that's a good thing…)

He was really tired.

The wall behind him moved and bumped into him. It pushed him on the ground, making him hit his jaw hard on the metal. He saw dark dots and, in a rare moment of peace, he closed his bloodshot eyes.

Despite losing the sense of time, his gut knew the lasers should be firing right about now. They didn't. A cold sigh escaped his pale, dry lips. His trembling body became heavy. He was numb and out of strength, his mind shutting down.

A wall carelessly ran into him and shoved him to the side. He rolled over, his heart pounding quickly in shock. His eyes opened on their own and saw all the walls dancing in some complex choreography, passing each other, taking their new positions. Making almost no noise, while gliding on the floor.

(Wait… Was this for real?)

A large wall flew behind others and revealed a strange black box. At first, Takeo didn't know what to do about it. One part of him begged him to sleep while he had a chance; the other urged him to get to the box.

Where did it come from anyway? There were no boxes last time he checked. Was someone else here? (Did someone enter the maze and I didn't notice? Are they still here? Did they leave?)

"… Hhh… Hh-hello?" His voice cracked. It was weak even for a whisper.

(What am I gonna do with it when I get to it? Were there more than one? Where did it come from?) His brain was too fatigued to give him any proper answer.

Takeo tried propping himself up, but failed, so he crawled his way to it, touching it cautiously upon reaching it. It was a firm cube with an open top, like a basket. He grabbed on its edge and tried to pull his upper body up. The cube was big and heavy, but it didn't help him. Instead, it flipped over dropping its contents on Takeo.

A gun and a bottle with transparent fluids.

Water.

With his eyes wide open, he snatched the bottle with such force the plastic crunched beneath his fingers.

"Easy, don't break it. Control yourself," he ordered himself while his trembling fingers pulled on the bottle cap.

Despite the note of caution, he crushed the cap in his palm, and without a second thought started drinking. His throat closed up in the middle of swallowing and he gagged, almost dropping the whole bottle. He was choking on his own breath while coughing up the water, which was stupid and embarrassing. (He shouldn't waste it.)

Not fully recovered from the fit, he pressed the bottle to his lips.

"Steady, swallow slowly, don't rush."

It was ironical, having super hearing and being completely deaf at the same time. Takeo sucked on it, as if the gravity was not doing the good enough work by itself. His gut was tied in a knot, but he couldn't stop drinking.

"That's enough," his mind reminded him, "save some for later, who knows when you'll get more. Save it for later, you had enough."

That was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

Takeo came to when he started coughing again. He was heaving with his back bent over, leaning heavily on shaking hands. An empty bottle was squeezed in his palm. There was nothing left in it, not even a drop. (How stupid…) It gnawed at him making his lungs shrink, his chest too tight to breathe.

Takeo was so happy… and hurt in so many ways. The emotion was deep and sharp. It stabbed his entire being.

He was gonna throw up.

"Mmf!" Clasping his mouth with both of his hands he clenched his teeth. The hold on his jaw was so strong he tough he'll break it.

(It doesn't matter, it will heal. Don't you dare vomit! You need that water!)

Takeo curled up with his forehead on the cool ground. All of his muscles tensed up while his stomach churned and churned… and churned. A painful reminder that he was starving. He could taste the drool forming in his mouth, coating his warm tongue. It made him even more nauseous gulping it down.

Takeo, perhaps, didn't know what his limit was, but his body certainly did. His body also knew how to survive and what the priorities were in any given situation. (It was fascinating how sturdy a human body is, how decisive and sacrificing it can be. How it could turn the tables around and overtake the control of the mind.)

There was a pressure in Takeo's head. All of his blood drained from his limbs and went to his brain. The familiar numbness enveloped him and the pressure kept him down on the floor. His breathing slowed down, allowing some oxygen to his brain. It finally began working again. It gave one order only.

(Sleep.)

Takeo was out in an instant. The walls were still moving around him. The lasers were observing him, flashing him with red dots. He didn't react to any of it. He didn't stir even when a part of the floor on which the box was on, opened up and took the box under the surface. The hole was quickly closed with a floor panel, not leaving a trace of once being opened.

The walls were really moving on their own. The only time they were totally still was the first sixteen days of torture. Takeo vaguely remembered them changing positions when he woke up. He had no clue why he was so confused by it. It was obvious the maze was made by the Union, which meant this was the ultimate maze with the walls that never truly stayed frozen. In other words, the path to the exit, if it existed, was never the same. It was constructed to keep the subject inside no matter how many times the subject blueprinted it.

As more time flew by, Takeo found out there were holes even in the ground. The box and many other things came from the underground. The ever shifting walls would conceal the packages and release them when the people behind the controls deemed necessary. Or entertaining.

There were many strange things coming from below the surface.

But not food.

Not the pills they fed the enhanced humans. The tasteless substitute for food that Takeo loathed because – beside the fact that it kept him fed and energised – taking them was nothing more than being drugged on daily basis with something you knew nothing about. Who knew what kind of poisons and steroids were inside those pills?

Before the maze, among other things, he dreamt about the restaurant's special cake, about the curry he left in the fridge, about ramen and cup noodles, and Umaibo and all the other snacks he normally didn't eat.

In the maze, he dreamt about the pills.

He lay passed out on the floor, dreaming of the pills, when a laser decided three hours was more than enough sleep for the little lab rat. Takeo jumped screaming in pure agony when the broiling beam of red tore through his calf. (That was an awful way to make someone fully awake.)

Whoever was behind it didn't care. The red dots surrounded him while he twisted in pain, blood oozing between his fingers, as if they were ordering him to stand up. He might have obeyed sooner if they hadn't hurt his leg. Another laser shot at him and he had no choice but to move. He grabbed the gun he got from the box and ran.

Something was different. There was a weird sound in the room. It was like a scene from one of those horror movies Mimi-sensei pestered him to watch with her, because she was too afraid to do it alone. She was terrified, yet she loved them; she loved the feeling of terror and Takeo was perfect company because he found such movies boring and unconvincing. Her brave knight in shining armour. Takeo never viewed himself as brave, more like someone lacking considerable amount of imagination.

That's why when a robot leapt from behind the corner, he knew it was real. It was a real threat with real big guns.

Many types of robots came from the underground. As the days went by, beside the lasers and walls that were keen on bumping into him, he had to deal with robots too. More than one at a time even.

During the first month of imprisonment he demolished more robots than he could count. He used weapons that occasionally appeared in the boxes, his own fists and kicks, he even used the simple-mindedness of machines to make them crash into walls or destroy each other.

He sometimes stole the rifles from the shutdown robots because boxes were a rarity. And it was only worse when he realised he was not the only one after them. Whenever he'd see one he would have to be faster and smarter than his enemies in order to protect it from the beams and bullets. He lost one because of his negligence, and saved the other two. No matter how much he needed guns to stay in one piece, every time he searched the box he prayed he'd find water and some pills in them. But those things were never there.

It was happening all over again. He was swaying and aching because of lack of sleep. He was thirsty and starving like never before. It was worse than that fateful night many years ago behind the dumpster in a small alley when Tama-san picked him up.

Tama-san… Did he ever try looking for him? Did he know he was living peacefully in Sapporo? Did he ever miss him like Takeo missed the fearless boss of the Yakuza?

Did he know Takeo was missing? Did anybody?

Has anyone in the neighbourhood asked: "Hey, where's that skinny kid that smells of soap?"

Who was in charge of the dishes now? (Not the washing machine, right? Not a machine… no…) Who bought breakfast for lazy grandpas at the park? Who helped old lady Aki down the stairs? Who were the kids gossipping about right now? Who was sneaking a peek at Rin-chan every time she walked by the store?

Did anybody notice something was wrong? Takeo did. Everything was wrong.

"Why… Tama-san, why…? Where are you? When will you come? You always came for me. You. Only you."

(The boss gave up on you. You said it yourself.)

"No."

(He did.)

"No, he let me stay in Sapporo where I was safe and happy, not in this hell, never in this hell, he'd never abandon me here. Not him."

(He did.)

"… I need to wait for him."

(For how long?)

"Until he comes."

(No one is ever coming for you, Takeo. I thought you figured that out long ago, I thought you dealt with it. No one is coming, ok? And that's for the best.)

"How is that the best?!"

"Aaargh!" He kicked the robot off of him with such strength it flew in the path of the laser that split it in half. The robot exploded sending its sharp parts and wires flying all over the place. Its head hit the laser before it could contract to its hole. The laser blew up with it.

Takeo saw the shrapnel coming at him, but he was too dizzy to dodge and it stabbed him in the collar bone. He slumped against the wall wheezing, closed his eyes and yanked the shrapnel out of his flesh. The fast healing failed him once again. Days have passed since it stopped being surprising; the wound bled and stayed open as a wound should. (It was ironical how in these moments Takeo missed his cursed abnormality.)

He covered the injury with his palm while inspecting the damage he had made to the robot. The remains of it were burning, and the warmth felt unusual in the room because it felt good… And cosy. His eyelashes were fluttering, reminding him how hard it was to stay awake. It was thirty days since those three hours of sleep. Since the water.

What was the point of it all?

Something was burning. There was a smell. A smell… of meat.

Takeo must have been hallucinating, yet his mouth was watering without his consent. As if he lost all reason, his body moved on his knees closer to the flame. Among the rubble of mechanics laid something of a familiar shape.

The robots were not robots. They had flesh. This particular robot had a human hand. It was the strongest one he faced, extremely stubborn and a bit smarter than the rest of machines he had destroyed. It was not a machine that attacked him. It was a cyborg. (Takeo knew that; he recalled Krantz talking about them in one of his lessons.)"

Cyborgs were once humans. They were still part human, just like Takeo.

He killed a living being. And he didn't even notice.

"Oh my God…"

"Ah… ha…" Takeo pressed his stomach in revulsion, not only because he was now officially a murderer who felt almost no remorse, but also because he was still drooling like a dog.

(It wasn't really alive.)

"What are you talking about?"

(It attacked you first. You had no choice.)

"I don't feel anything!"

(Because it was a thing. A test subject. Not a real human.)

"Stop calling it that."

(It. You see? And what if it was a real human? It still attacked you with intent to kill. Why are you freaking out? It's not like you never wanted to murder other people.)

"… What?"

(Your pledge to Tama-san. About being his brother. Wasn't it about killing people?)

"… No… But, that's… It's different…"

(How so?)

Takeo hugged his chest so tight he was suffocating himself. He was always on the lean side, but this was the first time he could feel all of his ribs. His messy hair was falling in his eyes. The bags underneath them were in stark contrast to his pale complexion.

I'll be your bullet then. You don't need brains to shoot.

"O-open it…" He stuttered. "Open the door."

I turn eighteen in two months.

Imagine how amusing that would be, Takeo: you becoming a man.

That's still a brat in my book, you little shit!

A gun, ha? Ha! Could have guessed the princess was too bashful to get her hands dirty like a real man!

To become a man... Showing bloodlust... There's no harm in surrendering to it more often.

You're becoming a man, Takeo.

"Open it, Krantz, open the door!"

Click.

A hole in the floor opened and a black box resurfaced. Takeo looked around in haste searching.

"Hello?" He called examining the walls and a ceiling. "Is anybody there? Answer me! There is someone!"

He surprised himself when he stood up hurriedly. It was spinning in his head, but that didn't matter right now.

Someone was in the maze. Someone alive. He was watching Takeo. Listening. There had to be a camera here somewhere, except there wasn't because he did everything he could to find it ages ago. Maybe it was hidden in a hole like everything else was, but there was no way to check it now when he was at his wits' end. And even if he wasn't how was he supposed to check? But, there was a camera for sure, because of course those sick bastards wanted to see him suffer and break apart.

And then just like the floor panel, something clicked inside Takeo's mind. He kneeled before the box and saw a gun and a bottle of water.

This was a reward, wasn't it? For putting up with this shit, for killing the half dead beings, for being such a docile pet. In the end, there was no food, which meant the hell was not done with him yet. They were planning to keep him here for a long, long time. They will throw more robots and cyborgs and God knows what else at him and he'll slaughter them all, half dead, half alive, just alive, you name it, because that meant water and sleep.

The point was training. The Union was training him to do as told. They've already displayed a dozens of ways to punish him if he refuses and they also implanted the idea into his mind that if he follows the rules without unnecessary questions he'll be cared for, because no matter how inhuman the treatment here was, they were still heedful to his limits. They didn't want him to die nor get damaged beyond repair.

They were also teaching him the limits and forcing him to surpass them, setting new goals and records. It must have looked very impressive on a medical chart.

You don't need brains to shoot. Just kill the enemy and the enemy is whoever the Union says it is.

And that was the whole point. You do that and you'll live. It was an imperative to stay alive. Why? Because it was only natural. Everybody wants to live. That's the last fight you lose. You never want to lose it, do you?

For how long?

You're no good to me, brat.

"I can't…" Takeo was whispering absentmindedly, while his hand hovered over the panel. There were no cracks, no lines that separated the panel from the rest of the floor. The structure felt the same. There were no dents, no… nothing. Maybe if he waited for the panel to move and jam it somehow… Perhaps he could see what was down there.

Imagine how amusing that would be, Takeo: you becoming a man.

"I can't do this…"

Was there just a hole or was there a tunnel? A system of tunnels? Did they lead further outside the maze? Could he get out if he went underground?

He couldn't. He can't. He was weak, pathetic and out of his mind. Krantz wouldn't have to move a muscle.

(For how long are we gonna wait for him?)

Takeo dragged the box sluggishly and placed it in front of him.

He felt so sick he wasn't even thirsty anymore.

Author's notes – chapter 10

Some fun facts (that you probably already know):

Microsleeps occur when a person has a significant sleep deprivation. They usually last for a few seconds and happen most frequently when a person is trying to stay awake when they are feeling sleepy. Microsleeps are similar to blackouts and a person experiencing them is not consciously aware that they are occurring.

Generally, sleep deprivation may result in: aching muscles, confusion, memory lapses or loss, depression (heavily on the D), development of false memory, headaches, malaise, eye bags, mania, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), increased blood pressure, increased stress hormone levels, and many other things. Not to mention death.

Starvation: Early symptoms include impulsivity, irritability, hyperactivity... Atrophy (wasting away) of the stomach weakens the perception of hunger, since the perception is controlled by the percentage of the stomach that is empty. Individuals experiencing starvation lose substantial fat and muscle mass as the body breaks down these tissues for energy. Catabolysis is the process of a body breaking down its own muscles and other tissues in order to keep vital systems such as the nervous system and heart muscle functioning. The energy deficiency inherent in starvation causes fatigue and renders the victim more apathetic over time (apathy is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, and concern. It is a state of indifference.) As the starving person becomes too weak to move or even eat, their interaction with the surrounding world diminishes.

Victims of starvation are often too weak to sense thirst, and therefore become dehydrated. All movements become painful due to muscle atrophy and dry, cracked skin that is caused by severe dehydration.

There is insufficient scientific data on exactly how long people can live without food. Although the length of time varies with an individual's percentage of body fat and general health, one medical study estimates that in adults complete starvation leads to death within 8 to 12 weeks. There are isolated cases of individuals living up to 25 weeks without food. Starvation begins when an individual has lost about 30% of their normal body weight. Once the loss reaches 40% death is almost inevitable.

Some drabble:

So, yeah, this was a long chapter. There's also a large author's note at the end.

You'll probably notice I didn't use all of the above said truth while writing this chapter. The reason is: Takeo is a super human soldier. He can withstand more than average humans and some of the symptoms will never show up on him. That being said, he's still part human, and he's not a bloody noble, so yeah, he'll be fucked after this little game. Not to mention he's going through all three types of torture while bleeding and fighting (for 50 days, which is more than 7 weeks (till now)).

Thanks for reading and see you next time!