A Loucura

Chapter Two

I spent the next few weeks continuing my training with Rhys. I could feel myself growing stronger both physically and mentally. Rhys was a tough trainer, and seemed to derive some sort of sick pleasure from knocking me on my ass at least three times a day. Sometimes, when Rhys was busy with God knows what, Nate would take over my training.

Training with Nate was a lot more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, he knocked me over just as many times as Rhys did, but he seemed to derive a considerable less amount of pleasure from it. When Nate and I would train, it turned into a friendly competition. Whereas Rhys would just pressure me to run faster or watch my form, Nate would joke around and trash-talk me. We would push each other out of the way when running, or kick one another's legs out of the way as we were doing push-ups.

Rhys has also begun to trust me more. He has let me venture outside to work out in the yard or just get some fresh air. Still, it's pretty clear his trust in me is limited. He only lets me out with Nate as subtle supervision, not to mention that there is a huge barbed wire fence that surrounds the entire warehouse.

Nate and I had just finished up a workout together and were planning to take a walk outside to cool down. I showered off quickly and changed into a clean pair of workout leggings and one of the sweatshirts I borrowed from Nate. I threw my sweaty workout clothes in the laundry piled, tied on my sneakers, and went to find Nate in the backyard.

The air was crisp with the feeling of fall. Most of the leaves had fallen off the trees and lay on the ground in a collage of red, orange, and yellow. The sun was beginning to set earlier and earlier, so that six o'clock felt like ten. I found Nate waiting for me outside, leaning against the back wall of the building.

"Hey," I greeted him with a smile. Nate grinned back.

"Hi. Ready for our walk?" He asked.

"Yup," I agreed. Nate and I started walking.

"So you never really told me how you came to be here," Nate said.

"Oh that's a fun story," I muttered sarcastically. Nate raised an eyebrow.
 "Oh? What is that supposed to mean?" He wondered.

"Do you really not know?" I asked, fairly surprised. "I thought Rhys would have told you or someone else would have."

"No," Nate shook his head. "And don't be fooled- we may spar against each other, but Rhys and I aren't really friends. In case you haven't noticed, he's kind of an asshole."

"Yeah, I got that part." I assured Nate. "It was so weird though- how Rhys abducted me, I mean."

"Abducted?" Nate asked incredulously. "You're actually joking, right?"

"No," I said slowly. "I was on my way home. It was dark and raining pretty hard, so there were not a lot of people on the road. All of a sudden I heard a siren and saw the flashing lights behind me, so I pulled over."

"Where exactly is this going?" Nate asked a little suspiciously.

"Where do you think this s going? Just let me finish, Nate. Okay, so I pulled over and the Rhys got out and came over to my car."

"Why was Rhys driving a cop car?" Nate asked.

"Rhys was the cop," I said.

"Rhys isn't a cop," Nate protested.

"Nate, I'm telling you, Rhys was dressed in a police officer's uniform."

"No, that's not-"

"Dude, shut up and let me finish!" I admonished Nate. "You're the one who asked how I got here,"