Fate's Vinculum

Chapter 4.

There was also physical education. While that in it of itself seemed benign, it was the furious rigor that seemed off. Furthermore, he was told that he would have to take an exam after a week for placement.

"Placement for what?" he had asked his instructor.

The man had merely smiled, saying, "You'll see."

With that unknown floating through his head, he was forced to join a rigorous gym class. It was long-too long, in his opinion. It started with warm ups (which once again didn't raise any red flags). Einar was surprised when they were led outside, single file, out into the jungle.

His nerves went on edge when he noticed several men and women with police batons had joined their ranks. Everyone started running; his interpreter told him they would be running a mile. Einar was horrified by the fact that whenever anyone slowed down or acted like they might stop, they were hit by one of the adults with a baton. By the time the mile run was over, he was absolutely drenched in sweat; at least he had kept up and hadn't been beaten.

Afterwards they were led back into The Compound, single file, into another gymnasium. This one was outfitted with rock walls, ropes, and aerial obstacle courses. When they entered file and rank, Einar openly gawked at the ropes and planks hanging above their heads. Some of the students were running and jumping at breakneck speeds. What shocked Einar most, however, were those doing hand-to-hand combat. Some were fighting with wooden practice weapons. With seemingly no rhyme or reason, some students wore full safety gear while yet others weren't even so much in a climbing harness.

After being shown the ropes, literally (Einar was thankful he was rigged with full climbing gear, including a helmet), they left this area and were led to yet another gym. This was, to his shock and embarrassment, a ballet and gymnastics class. He was instructed on the basics; he balked at one point, declaring he wouldn't do ballet. Einar sang a different tune when, after his interpreter told the gym instructor this, the teacher pulled out a taser and powered it on.

Einar never knew he could be so physically exhausted. After the dance-gymnastics class, the group was led to yet another, final gym. This was a mixed martial arts class. It seemed like any and all kinds of martial arts were being taught, from boxing and wrestling, to qinggong and parkour. There was a corner of the massive gym dedicated to weapon fighting. One of the most infuriating things about The Compound was the lack of clocks; he had no idea how long they trained here for, only knowing when it was finally done he was instructed to shower for dinner.

Einar ate alone. Self-consciousness draped around him. His eyes darted around, hoping to catch someone speaking Icelandic, but that never came. The cafeteria was massive and all the voices blended together in one indescribable hum. So, as he ate, he looked across to Caesar, who was eating an apple and looking bored.

"What is this place?" Einar asked.

Caesar stopped chewing, giving him the side eye. "You really don't know?"

Einar shook his head.

Caesar seemed to be muling things in his head. Finally, he merely said, "That's odd. What are you doing here then?"

Einar hated the reminder that he didn't know the answer to that question. "I don't know. I was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Caesar, who had been leaning against his palm, sat upright in surprised attention. "What do you mean, 'kidnapped'?"

"I mean," Einar explained testily, "a man showed up in my bedroom in the middle of the night, snuck me out of my house, and I was brought here, blind-folded and gagged on a boat and then an airplane."

For a long while, Caesar made no indication he was going to do anything further than just stare at Einar with a look of disbelief on his face. Finally, he went back into his relaxed position and took a bite of his apple. "Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, I don't think it's my place to tell you."