Permanence: A Story Of Survival and Power

Beginnings

The young man stumbled through the snow, gasping for air, struggling as he, disoriented, made his way through the mountain pass, not sure where he was. Still, he was confident the village was somewhere nearby.
His sister lay dead on the mountainside, still pierced on that jagged tree stump, his parents? Nowhere to be found.
He had to find help before crying out as he fell forward, tumbling down the mountainside, right towards the border into China.

Nicolay grunted as he slammed against a rocky outcrop, gasping for air when flashlights beamed down on him.
He looked up, wincing as he tried to figure out who was holding the flashlight, before grunting as someone kicked him in the back of the head.
His head slamming against the rock, gasping as Nicolay felt blood pour from his nose, strange voices snapping at him in Mandarin, he realised.
He didn't understand many words or could not speak the language, only knowing a few words.

"Friend, please" he managed to remember those only two words in Mandarin that only earned him more laughter.
One of them grabbed his hair, pulling his head back, studying his face, that damned flashlight still shining in his face, and all Nicolay knew was that they were from the Chinese side of the border and were not friendly.

They talked in Mandarin, making Nicolay nervous, not understanding as he tried in Russian. "Please, I'm not an enemy, I just want to go home, my family-."
One of the strangers cut him off, kicking him in the gut firmly, the male groaning in agony as one of them spat an order he understood.
"Stop fighting, you Russian mutt," the one with the flashlight growled.

Nicolay doubled over in pain but was cruelly dragged back by the stranger holding him by his hair. Breathing heavily as panic set in, Nicolay tried to calm his racing heart before reaching out and grabbing the one with the flashlight and dragging him close.
He was using all his strength to rip his head out of the other's grasp; sure, he lost a handful of hair as he slammed his head against the others before making a run for it, making his way to a frozen-over river that marked the border between Russia and China.

Gunshots rang out across the snowy landscape, the young Russian gasping as he felt one clip him in the side, stumbling and falling forward onto the ice-covered river, sliding across into the middle, breathing heavily.
Wincing, Nicolay touched his side, feeling the hot liquid ooze through his jacket; it was blood, he realised in horror, before looking up, seeing the two men approach him.
Nicolay held up his arms in surrender, shaking; there was nothing he could do.

Nicolay watched with growing fear as they approached him and tried to talk again, only to have one of them grab him by the collar of his shirt, drag him up and slam the butt of his revolver against his temple, everything going black within an instant.

~

"This? A Russian?" Zhōu Qiang sceptically asked as he looked at the unconscious Russian male who was semi-naked and tied up to a thick bamboo pole, grabbing his chin and tilting it side to side, his lips pursed.
"Yes," Táng nodded as he watched his boss study the young Russian male. "He was on the border, but he's strong, and he will be a perfect specimen, especially for what we want."

Zhōu looked up at his underling for a long moment before asking. "You'll train him?"
"Of course," Táng nodded, folding his hands slightly in front of him. "I see a lot of potential, and the clients will love him, especially with a face and body like that."
Zhōu had to agree, looking at the sun-bleached brown hair; the golden tints were beautiful before nodding. "Fine, break him in."
Táng gave a cruel grin at his master's orders and nodded. "With pleasure."

~

Nicolay woke with a start as a bucket of water was dumped on to his head, gasping, wheezing as he blinked rapidly, trying to get the water out of his eyes, unable to move his arms, looking up when he heard someone chuckle.
Swallowing, Nicolay saw the dark grin of a man staring down at him, and he whispered. "Where am I?"
"That is none of your concern," the male hummed, grabbing his chin, tilting his head from side to side, just studying him for a long moment. "Come, we are going to prepare you."

Nicolay frowned in confusion, his chest rising and falling swiftly with growing concern, trying to move his arms, looking down briefly to see a thick bamboo pole along his back and his arms were tied to it.
He kept trying to flex his arms to see if it would break, but to no avail; sure, he heard the other laughing at him.

Breathing heavily, panicking, Nicolay asked hoarsely. "I'm sorry, but prepare for what?"
The unknown male just chuckled softly. "For the cage fight, obviously."
He then turned and clapped his hands; a group of women came out of the shadows and started tending to the young Russian.

"Wait no," Nicolay stuttered, but the strangers ignored his pleas as the women tended to the wound in his side and stripped him of his clothes, cleaning his skin of any dirt and grime, the young Russian unable to do anything but watch with growing anxiety.

Wincing as they stripped his skin of any hair, hissing in pain, feeling the cold winter's air against his bare skin, sure he felt a couple of them grope at him with soft giggles coming from these women.

His face was bright red with embarrassment, struggling and trying to pull away until he suddenly felt a switch hit him across the head, causing him to gasp and look up to see the male who had been talking to him earlier still there with a dark smile.
"Don't be disobedient, Ikan; it will do you no favours," the male told him.

Nicolay frowned at the name but nodded before realising they were wrapping up the wound and watched them for a moment before another woman approached with a jar of some grease, which she rubbed on his chest, giving it a shine.

"Perfect," Táng grinned once the women had stood back. "The Russian fish is absolutely perfect, the Ikan."

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Word Count: 1046
Hey everyone! Here we are, the start of a journey of darkness!
I hope you'll enjoy it!
Love Gal