PURE

chapter six. » the battlefield.

THE SOUNDS OF SOFT JAZZ RESONATED THROUGH THE BUILDING. The foundation vibrated under his feet as he was dragged down a dark and damp hallway. The strange but familiar smell of sewage pipes and rat feces clung to the walls around that seemed to spin around him. His head never left the unfinished cement floor as he kept his eyes closed avoiding to even glance at his fate.

His dirty jeans were now covered in mud and wet from the water that leaked into the underground tunnel. The grip the two guards had on him would later be the cause of many discolored bruises on his upper arm. His hair was extremely wet due to the large amount of sweat his body was producing. Seldom, sweat would drop onto the cement. The sound it made bounced off of the walls and interrupted less than a second of the music that played on the end of the tunnel.

His heavy eyelids constantly fell over his eyes everytime he tried to open them. He felt a sharp sting in his arm realizing he had been injected with something that caused him to lose part of his memory and feel drowsy. He was losing feeling in his body. He was losing feeling in his mind.

Approaching the light near the end of the tunnel, the light blinded him for a few seconds before his eyes adjusted to the brightness. Squinting at the shadowed figure, he looked away once he saw the infamous hair flip.

"Take him to the lab." The woman whispered to the guards restraining him. Taking a moment to put two and two together, he realized it was Mya, as she liked to be called.

"Yes, Mya." They responded in unison as if they were programmed robots obeying their orders.

Trying to spit out a few words, he opened his mouth to speak but was viciously pulled out of the light and dragged down a never ending hallway. Letting his eyes adjust to the lights, he quickly took in his surroundings. The mostly white walls seemed to get smaller with every step the guards beside him took. He saw the innocent people he used to know locked in rooms begging for a way out. The screams seemed to get longer as they neared their destination. Raising his head, he noticed the room at the end of the hallway had his name on it: Alexander Cuello. Squinting at the chains on its wall, he began to kick and squirm out of the guards' hold.

"Let me go!" He yelled as they stopped at the front of the door. The guard swiped a card and the door opened. Shoving Alex in the room, Alex stood unbalanced and started to charge toward the guard. Knocking him out of with the power of his iron fist, the guard chained him to the wall clanking the cuffs around his wrists and ankles. The guard smirked before walking away leaving Alex to face his demise.

***

Waking up to the repulsive smell of blood and sweat, Alex heard faint cries for help as he lifted his head up. He noticed the all white attire he was now dressed in.

"What the hell..." he trailed off realizing he was in pure uniform. Groaning, he tilted his head back as the same two guards came back to his cell.

"Rise and shine, princess. Time for your injections." One guard opened the cell door as the other walked in flicking the large syringe in his hands. Squirming, Alex tried to get away knowing he couldn't.

"What the hell is that for?" He almost yelled as the guard came close to his neck with the syringe.

"The fight tonight, of course." He stuck the needle in letting the clear liquid coarse through his blood. Feeling a rush of adrenaline, Alex's pupils dilated. Removing the needle, the guard smirked and walked out the cell as the other locked it behind him.

Alex sat paralyzed, unable to utter a word or move a muscle. Scared for his life, he thought about the good memories he had with Jordyn and Grace; even his mother.