Alone: Chapter 3 Training Part 2

For the next two days at the compound were break days, I guess, because I neither saw Kane not Cruze, I was expecting Cruze to come up behind me with a great smile and say something witty, but he never did. I tried to leave the maze floor but my hand was not accepting by the scan. I practiced molding clay upon my face and disappearing into the shadows, there was but a single laptop in the room which I practiced the skills I learned from Henry Chase. On the computer I noticed the date, June 4th, I was taken from my home on the 25th of May, tomorrow was my birthday, but I am not the type of person to tell people about it. The following day I woke up and I tried the hand scanner again, this time it worked, I stepped into the elevator and it took me down to bright hallway I had first entered I walked down the hallway to the exit where a man stepped in front of me blocking my way, it was the same man who punched me the first day in building two. I smiled at him, he did the same, my smile was fake I bet his was too. "I heard it was your birthday today," my smile faded, how'd he know? He kept on smiling and took a step toward me, "Happy Birthday," he punched me again, this time I was knocked out.
I woke up, at least I thought I did, but I could see a thing only darkness, I felt alone in the world and there was nothing I could do, for some reason I left sad.
Then a light turned on as a black cloth bag was taken off my head, its official I hate that bag, the room was not quite as bright as the one I was first placed in, a single light bulb was screwed into the ceiling above me. My hands and feet were tied firmly to the chair; I guess they left my feet untied the first time on purpose. Now what? I looked around the room for whoever took the bag off my head. I turned my   head to my right and my eyes met those of the man how knocked me out. I have him a deep glare as he walked in front of, my glare never left him.
"You need to stop staring at me like that," he punched me in the stomach and gave a slight chuckle. After collecting myself I looked back up at him with the same look. He immediately punched me again, this time in the face. I wasn't scared of him or his punches, and so my glare continued and so did his punches, until finally I blacked out again.
I awoke again, this time the bag wasn't on my head, I remembered the number seven, seven punches is how many it took to knock me out, I could I be so weak, I want to be strong, I will be strong. I lifted my head up again this time the man was leaning against the door in front of me, "I'm impressed, I was betting you would get knocked out after the second punch," he stared at me and I at him. His eyes looked down I followed them there was a tank of water in front of me when I looked back up he was gone. I felt the violent thrust on my neck pushing me into the tank of water then violently lifting me then back down staying under longer each time, on one my eye sight began to be clouded with black dots until they completely consumed my sight.
I awoke once more with the heat of the sun pouring over me; I quickly scrambled to my feet circling around looking for the man, but nothing he wasn't there. Instead there was a new man a younger, tall, slender man, the man I knocked out when I hit him with the door, I readied myself to fight him, he didn't, he walked over to an oil drum and picked up a gun and tossed it to me. I caught it and stared at it for a moment then quickly at him, I have never held a gun before, it was so foreign to me. He gestured me over to the oil drum, I went warily. "My name is Robert Conley," he said as he picked up a gun of his own I jumped back and pointed my gun at him, he took his and pointed out in the distance where multiple oil drums were set up, they had cans, cups, and bricks on them. He fired his gun so quickly the sound of the shots blurred together, but I knew he shock five because five cans were missing from an oil drum about thirty yards out.
"That is your goal shoot five item at that speed without missing a single one," I nodded and stepped up to the oil drum and fired five shots, I missed one. I reloaded "stay calm, cool, and collected," I told myself, I fired five more rounds witting every single target.
"Good, for now focus on accuracy, now again," that last part was an order. I fired five more, upon five more, upon five more, until the day turned to night and even then I practiced, I never missed each time I could feel myself getting faster, but not fast enough. It took me three full days to get to the speed of that man and even then I didn't stop.
On the fourth day I exceed the goals set for me being able to shoot farther and just as fast, that's when a man approached me, I pointed the gun at him out of reflex then lowered it when I realized what I was doing. It was the third man from the room, "My name is Jason Heart, I will be your physical trainer," he said then he turned and began walking away, I followed.
We walked a ways from the building until we reached a thin trail, that's when we started running, and we kept running. I hurt, terribly; the thin souled shoes were now beaten up, I felt really bad about it too. Suddenly the man stopped, so did I, he turned and faced me, "take off your shoes," he said, I did so without protest, once I did we began running again; this was even worse. We ran for hours and hours I wanted to story but I couldn't in fear of what would happen.
I couldn't take the pain anymore and I gave in, into the pain.
I awoke again I was outside but this time I awoke not because of the sun but because of the rain. I was greeted once more by the man who I ran with, I stood up and we walked out to the trail. "This time focus on your breathing and only that," I nodded, this time I ran by myself, and this time I didn't stop, I didn't give into the pain. All day and all night I ran around the complex refusing to stop for the slightest thing, my feet would get cut and bleed then callus over, and I kept running.
"That's enough," I heard as I passed my running mentor, "You are finished."
I was able to sleep that night, really sleep, I have no idea how long I was asleep for just that I was asleep and that's all I needed to know.
When I awoke the man who punched me and downed me was sitting that staring at me. I got up out of the bed as anger filled me, I was ready and this time I wasn't bound. "Oh calm down," he said in joking manner with a smile on his face, I didn't, "Listen I am here to teach you and that's it," I believed him; I don't know why I just did.
I took Tae Kwon Do when I was younger from kindergarten to 3rd grade and earned a first degree black belt but because we were in the military me moved and I never found another master who could compare to old one. He began to circle I tracked him with my eyes but did not move, "My name is Henry Lane, from here on out you will address me as Master Lane or just Master," he had a serious expression but there was a slight snicker there, "I will teach Martial Arts and you shall become my one and only successor, I will teach you everything from the ever so famous Karate, Judo, Kung Fu, Jiu-Jitsu, Capoeira, and Arnis all the way to less common Hapkido, Silat, Ninjutsu, and S.C.A.R.S." He stopped circling me and turned and faced me, our eyes locked, "Are you ready?"
"Yes, Master."
Day in and Day out I trained and learned everything he said and more, hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, and weeks began to blur together. Time no longer mattered only training, training to become strong, training to work past the pain, and I did. I learned how to use weapons from swords to nunchucks all in different styles. I was able to switch styles of fighting with during a fight in perfect fluidity. At the end of a day Mast Lane said, "I have taught you everything that I know, I can teach no more, you have surpassed my expectation the expectations of others, we are finished, you should be proud." I looked at him and bowed slowly.

*****

I returned home one the 27th of July that was the same day I officially ended my training. We pulled up in front of my house, on this ride I wasn't drugged, bound, or even masked, I simply road in the back of a van that read Corn Mill CO. of America with some contact information on it, a good cover seeing how I live in corn country. I stepped out of the van, "Hey Morgan, catch," Cruze said, I turned around a caught a cell phone, "That's for business use only, no personal calls, understand?"
"Yes, and besides I already have a phone," I padded my pockets then looked at Cruze again to be greeted by another flying cell phone, my cell phone. I caught this one as well, "Thanks," I smiled, a real smile, and I must admit I have become fond of Cruze and my other mentors, even though they punched me, drugged me, and made me run till my feet bled, I looked up to them and strived for approval.to
I have now completed my training and now I wait to answer the call.