Domo's POV
The training was brutal. Were they trying to kill us?
Was this their plan all along? Battle of the fittest. Those who survived training would be sent to 'murder island' to ultimately die anyway. What the heck is going on?
I feel worse for Eustace and Dax. They completed the least amount of tests which decided our training regimen, so while mine was hard, theirs was harder. I concluded that anyway from the state they are always in when we return back home.
Made me feel that persevering through the pain and suffocation on that initial day was worth it, if it meant training would be a little lighter.
I can't say the same about Tyro and King though, they completed all the challenges, yet I feel like we barely see them. I'm unsure what type of training they must endure but I do know that they come back late every night and leave very early every morning.
I always admired King, but she is only human – younger than me too. Their cruel regimen will 100% take a toll on her body, even if her training isn't as harsh this has to seriously be messing with her circadian rhythms. She has so many semi-healed wounds, and I haven't seen her eat or even talk since our training started.
The rest of us start training around 10 and then finish up by 9. It's long and hard but we eat and sleep as soon as we get back so our bodies can recuperate. The same cannot be said for the dangerous duo though [A/N: reference to book 1: King and Tyro].
Today was the last day of training. Every day, I had to work on my combat skills, strength, agility, balance and all my other weaknesses.
"You are due at the arena at 7 a.m., a car will pick you up. Be ready in your training gear" Blake had said last night, the first time I had seen King in 2 weeks. She looked exhausted, and though her eyes always had a sunken look, they looked worse. Tyro, I don't know why, but he pretty much looked the same – just angrier. I wonder what they went through.
I hugged her like I hadn't seen her in years and she let out a soft laugh which was followed by an airy cough. Was she sick? We ate dinner all together for the first time in a while and the table was pretty much silent. No one wanted to ask about anyone else's training, because we had no idea how bad anyone else's was. We just knew it was horrible for everyone, even people we once thought indestructible.
Yet, the tense atmosphere faded and chatter soon erupted. It was like we couldn't keep silent in this team, well more like family. I heard Tyro and King whispering next to me.
I just got dejavu.
"Let me see it later" Tyro whispered to King, "I'm not in the mood for you tonight, Tanya" was King's rebuttal as she rolled her eyes and ate her dinner. "Stop being such a baby, you know it's going to happen whether you like it or not, I just thought you would like a warning" Tyro voiced, before returning to his meal while King harassed him, verbally. However, she might as well argue with a wall because he was as unresponsive as one. She huffed before deciding to shut up as well.
No, no, no. Not again. My brain is coming up with ridiculous scenarios that I know cannot be true. Could it? I mean they were on an island together for a couple of days, and when the plane got attacked they were alone together for quite a while before we met again. We are all consenting adults, with certain... impulsive thoughts. No! I cannot even think about it without my stomach churning. I must be mistaken. I will find out tonight, for sure.
When we finished and cleaned up we all said our good nights.
It wasn't until a couple of hours after everyone's lights were out that I detected some light footsteps coming from around Tyro's room and slowly approaching King's. The door was opened and shut a few moments later and the footsteps ceased. He went inside. I waited a few seconds before leaving my room and creeping closer to King's door.
A dim light shone under the door and as I neared it, I could almost make out sounds and voices. "Stop, it hurts" King's angry voice whispered, Tyro's deep voice replied after a soft grunt, "Stop moving so much then".
I think I'm going to throw up in my mouth. Their voices sounded quite far away from the door though. So, I quietly opened her door and crept in. I could see the bathroom light was on and the door slightly ajar. But I couldn't hear them anymore, what was going on?
All of a sudden, I felt a sharp blade on my neck and the lights flicker on. "Oh my – it's just Domo!" King's voice said behind me, the blade was removed and I turned around to see Tyro by the light switch and King directly behind me with one of her throwing knives in hand and bandages covering her arms and legs. "What happened to you?" I asked, trying to keep my volume to the minimum yet, not doing as well as I thought when a harsh "Shh!" followed quickly. "Training happened" King replied, her eyes steeled and not as soft as they usually were. Tyro was also covered in bandages, though only on his torso. I don't even want to ask questions right now.
"Why are you here?" Tyro grumbled, probably annoyed by my presence. "I heard noises and thought King was in trouble" I replied. "You liar, if you thought she was in trouble, you wouldn't have come in unarmed and besides if King was in trouble, you think you could save her? You would've come to me instead and asked for my help" Tyro retorted, his dark eyes staring into mine, whilst I froze like a deer caught in headlights. "The real question is, why were you hurting King?" I voiced, deterring the attention from me. "He was helping me with my bandages, but he was being too rough with it, Sorry if I scared you" King replied, placing her hand on my shoulder. "You were being a baby and kept denying my help when you know I'm a better first aider" Tyro interrupted. "I don't need your help, you arrogant jerk" She bit back harshly. Damn, I thought they were friends.
"That's Mr. Arrogant Jerk to you, moron." Was his snarky reply, his head tilted up, whilst he looked down at her due to their size difference. A malicious vibe filled the room, and I regretted ever coming in. "Well, this was fun but" I faked a yawn, "I'm so tired so, see you later", my voice cut through the thick tension before I dashed back to my room.
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Our training gear was simply grey unitards, with a zip at the back and black gloves, paired with black trainers.
We never train in our actual costumes because they are being upgraded right now. After Tyro and King all but destroyed theirs, they realised instead of getting just them new ones, everyone should get new ones that are better and more suited to their skill set.
We were made to stand at the centre of the arena when we arrived. Since the initial test, we have had like 1 other one which was to test our progress midway, though King and Tyro didn't do it because they thought it was unnecessary. There were a bunch of people in the stands. More than I have ever seen before. It was like going to the Olympics, but we were the games. A loud voice through surround speakers hushed the chatting crowd and increased our anxiety. "Good morning, everyone," an unrecognisable voice said in the speakers. "Today is the Special Force Division's last day of training and we decided to come up with something that would truly test their newly learnt skills." Everyone in the stands cheered as if we're their entertainment.
Like always. We were.
"We decided to do 10-minute combat battles, where the one that knocks their opponent out of the ring wins and then after that a battle royale where they will be made to all fight each other in different terrains" the voice announced. If I hadn't pissed myself before, I was now. I felt even worse for Eustace as last time I checked she wasn't the most competent fighter.
"First rotation, Kingide versus Eustace Ring 1, Dakari versus Amour Ring 3, Domonic versus Tironai Ring 2" the announcer voiced.
I'm dead. I won't even survive till the battle royale.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he will go easy on you. Eustace placed her hand on my shoulder. But I saw Kingide and Amo's heads shake upon hearing Stace's words. Even I knew that he wouldn't. The best thing I could do was evade him or simply leave the ring myself.
"To your rings!" The announcer bellowed. We scurried towards our rings. It was like the type they had in wrestling. An elevated platform with 2 ropes around the border, makes it hard to fall off.
King's match with Eustace was right beside mine. Tyro stared at King, and she nodded to him. It's like they were speaking their silent language when Tyro held up 1 finger to her. She smirked and nodded.
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Soon we were on the final rotation. The first round went as you thought it would. Tyro was merciless, as soon as the round started he charged at me and tripped me over before I could evade his attacks. He dragged me by my ankle to the turnbuckle padding. Which was a black padding by the corners. I tried to resist but he was too strong. He lifted me by my throat so my back was against the padding and whispered to me "It's nothing personal Domo" before pushing me over the top rope which led to me crashing onto the padded mats below the platform.
To say it was scary would be an understatement. I was terrified as I fell what felt like 50m from the top rope onto the floor below the elevated platform.
It was the 5th and final round. "Final rotation: Domonic versus Amour Ring 1, Kingide versus Tironai Ring 2, Dakari versus Eustace Ring 3," the announced said over the speakers.
This would be the hardest round because the skill set of our opponents isn't that much different and we don't know how they would handle ties.
The audience had already gotten the gist of everyone's vibes so the ring to be watching was Ring 2. Kingide and Tironai. I went up against both of them and while King took it easy on me, I feel the difference in their fighting style makes up for them being matched when it comes to sheer power and conviction to win. An enthralling match was surely bound to happen if both were going to take it seriously. That's why everyone gasped in surprise as they looked at ring 2 when the announcer shouted: "Commence!".