Caidoz

Chapter 34

"Are you tired little Maiden?"
The voice was talking to her, but Virgo ignored it. She had to ignore all of this if she wanted to survive. And she would survive. There was no question to the subject in her mind. She knew that she was powerful and strong, but toturous events she had lived through had severely weakened her. She had been burned, zapped, beaten, and almost drowned. The last had been an assignment by Scorpio, another Caidozian of which she came to call a coward. He was an amazing fighter, she grudgingly agreed to that, but he limited himself by following Leo.

"Release me!" She had gasped, panting for air as her head had been pushed beneath the water's surface.
Scorpio only sneered, his amber eyes narrowing as he shoved her harder underneath with the rising waves. "Not feeling so strong, are we now?"
She pushed herself to the top of the water, but he used his water enegry to cover her underneath. She took a deep breath as the next wave took her under. She would get through this, or she would drown. The chances were never against her for there was always a way. A way to teach that child a lesson. She surfaced again, her lungs screaming for oxygen and feeling as though a scorching fire was searing inside, to find his black boot on her head.

It hit her violently and she almost blacked out to the sheer pain. Her arms were getting tired of supporting her, and the Maiden was too weak to come through. For she had been through countless toturous cycles and used her enegry in every one. Even her secret weapon could only do so much as there was no time to meditate and remain herself between punishments. Her vision blurred as she lost sight of what little she could see of the rising bubbles and churching waves. She fell to the bottom, dying from exhaustion, the pounding that was occurring in her head from Scorpio's boot, and from suffocation as she inhaled, choking as she lost a visual and her lungs filled with water. She stopped breathing. Numbly, she fell someone dragging her to the surface. She felt life ebbing back into as she slowly opened her eyes and followed the instinct to heave, coughing up a foul liquid, stomach lurching in the twinging pain, as she supported herself on her elbows and focused on depleting her lungs of swallowed water.

A wet Scorpio knelt beside her, dripping over her. She couldn't even manage a large word of her impressive vocabulary to utter to him. He leaned closer and she could see the amber eyes again narrowed. "Are you dead?" He asked.

She angrily stared up at him, her hair matted and dripping wet.
"No." She choked mid-word, starting to hurl the little contents of her stomach.
"Good. We can do it again." He coldly watched her, offering no help.

She knew he was only there to observe to how she survived through the test and report her results to the man who had the audacity to call himself a noble Caidozian lord. He would only intervene if she was about to die from the test and she would then try again until she passed. They were curious about her strength and her beauty, constantly checking the monitors to see that they were correctly read.

However, every time she passed, it only got harder and harder. As she rolled on to her back in exhaustion, Scorpio gestured to a man behind the glass walls. This man was strong and muscular, carrying overlapping green armor on his body. He regarded Scorpio with stiff shoulders and a brief, small nod.
"Lord Scorpio, she's done for the day." He said.

"We have gathered enough information about her for the time being. We don't need another run."
The man that held her captive only smiled, to her disgust, canines still sharp and not sawed down like a good, civilized, animal Caidozian.
"Are you sure? I was just staring to enjoy myself. Besides, look at her. Still angry and alive, and that's what matters doesn't it?"
The other man only looked at him with a bored look, eyes staring.
"Ugh. You used to be so much more interesting in the past when Lord Aries was still alive."

The man only let out a loud snore, and Scorpio appeared shocked, eyes wide and lip curled in disgust.
"Are you sleeping?! With your eyes open, at a time like this?!"
The man was startled to alertness, his eyes blinking.
"I'm sorry," He said, scratching his hair and stretching. "Did you say something of any interest?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Scorpio sighed impatiently and shook his head, slick black hair sending droplets everywhere.
Virgo saw leafy vines push up underneath her, creating a small stretcher.