ROMANOGERS: PAST TO PRESENT

Chapter Thirty One

Hope's POV

We had plowed through any opposing forces with ease. When we were told that almost the entirety of the skilled enemy had headed to the hangar I wasn't to sure. After fifteen minutes of weaving through corridors and slicing through our adversaries like bitter I realized James hadn't been kidding. We were nearing our destination, that barracks, when the noises started up. Faint cracks that grew louder and a chorus of voices that swarmed to a crescendo. Jerry took to the front halting us in front of a small door.

"This is the back entrance. Stay low and the guards shouldn't see you, it's fairly dark." With that he slipped a key card into a control panel and the whisper of a hiss signaled the locks had receded. Pushing the door open lightly the sound of cracks and yells filled the air. Voices in harmony to the beat of painful yelps. It took a while to gain my bearings, there was a railing to the left and a wall to the right. We were on a catwalk running against the far wall over some sort of large pit.

Peering over the edge my breath was stolen by the sight. Hundreds of children filled the large space, their skinny bodies, wiry and sickly looking except for a few. They were stopped over different objects. To the right children were in a circle being weeded out from the crowd and lifted against each other. In the far right corner a large group was struggling to perform simple exercise tasks. Lining the wall were work stations where kids were hammering long sheets of metal into particular shapes. They were inspected by a soldier and if it wasn't perfect the kid was kicked aside and to my horror some of them were flogged. In the center was a group of children wielding weapons and facing off against combat instructors. They were cut if they did not protect themselves. Other groups were lined up against the wall stripping off their clothes boys and girls alike. When undressed a powerful hose sprayed them, knocking some onto their bare bums. When finished they retrieved their clothes and immediately redressed. On the only open wall were bunks. They were embedded in the concrete traveling up the entire concrete expanse until they reached the ceiling. No railing was provided to keep one from falling out and the ladders to reach the top were dangerously long.

"What is this?" Clint gaped his eyes glistening in the dark. Jerry shook his head in disgust.

"They have been doing this for years. I remember when Sirus was a teenager." Jerry recalled the memory haunting his gaze.

"Who's Sirus?" I asked kindly. Jerry sighed sucking on his teeth.

"Viper." It took me a second to register what he had just said. Viper, the man who had tortured us and was about to wage war. Looking back at the terrible conditions I felt the slightest twang of sorrow for him. I imagined what it would be like, to have to work so hard and climb the ladder to get where he was. I wondered what he had to do to get there, but more importantly I realized why Natasha was haunted by her past. In a way she was similar to Viper, only she couldn't be, could she?

Suddenly a voice broke out from the crowd carrying words into the empty space. It took a little time before the others picked it up into a chant like I had heard from the hall. Only this time I could interpret the words.

You can break us down
Wound our minds
Break our bones

Sing your songs
Of glory and thrones
But we'll sing back
Songs of our own

Starve us
Chew us up
Spit us out

But some will rise
Above us all
Steal your glory
Break your throne

Build us up
Break you down
Help us rise
While you fall down

The world's power
Comes back around
To chew you up
Swallow you whole