Forged in the Dawn

by Gavin Zanker

  ‘I can see how that would foster resentment in a man,’ Kane conceded. ‘Let me be blunt and stop wasting both our time. I think you might be Seeker material, son. I’d like to offer you a probationary contract. Two years service in the Seekers. Upon completion, your sentence will be considered served and you will be a free man in the eyes of the city authorities.’

  Aiden considered the offer, turning it around in his head. ‘Two years service and my record will be wiped clean?’

  ‘That’s right. With the possibility of permanent employment in my organisation if you prove yourself over the course of your contract.’ Kane looked around the torch-lit cell. ‘I think it beats the alternative, don’t you?’

  Aiden glanced around at the other fighters, most bandaged as they lay slumped where ever they could find space to rest. ‘Why offer me this deal? Why not any of them?’

  ‘I already told you. I’ve looked over your file and I’ve seen you fight. You’re capable of handling yourself.’

  ‘There are a lot of violent men in the world.’

  ‘True. But I need more than that. I’m looking for people with intelligence to back up their physical capabilities. I can’t have psychopathic morons in Seeker uniforms running around maiming people just because their blood is fired, you understand?’

  Aiden nodded. He had seen his share of needless violence since the Event. Ordinary people who had a switch flicked in their head, transforming from civilised people to rapists and murderers in an instant. He had never understood what drove them to such brutality.

  Leaning back, he studied Kane. The man wasn’t an intimidating figure at first sight, but once you heard him speak you felt the confidence he radiated. He had an angular face, stern looking and clean shaven. Aiden rubbed his own chin, conscious of the unkempt beard growing there.

  ‘All right, tell me more,’ Aiden said. ‘What would be expected of me?’

  ‘Like I said, it’s a private security force. So you can probably expect boredom interspersed with moments of extreme violence.’ Kane waved his arm around the cell. ‘Much like this place, I imagine. I will be your direct superior and you will follow my orders to the letter. While I appreciate a man who knows his own mind, any refusal will result in you being immediately transferred back here, with the contract being terminated.’

  ‘Dangerous then, this job?’

  ‘No more than a day in this pit with the psychopaths and the beasties,’ Kane said. ‘Frankly, I don’t see much of a choice for you. You could stay here, waiting for the fatal blow that strikes you down, or you could use this opportunity to get yourself back into the world of the living.’

  ‘There’s always a choice,’ Aiden said, looking Kane directly in the eye.

  ‘There is always a choice,’ Kane agreed, smiling faintly. ‘You should know before you decide. There is an initiation test. If you fail, the contract will be void and you will returned back here with no appeal.’

  ‘What sort of test?’

  ‘A test of your physical and mental capacity. I can say no more than that.’

  The Seekers were an unknown to Aiden, and two years was a long time to sign away. He had no desire to die in this pit though, at least out there might have the opportunity to go looking for Kate’s murderer.

  ‘Do I get to read the contract before I sign?’

  ‘I’ll be honest with you, not many ask that,’ said Kane, pulling out a sheet of paper from the file and handing it over with a pen. ‘I’ll leave you to read that over. I have some other business to take care of. I’ll be back soon to hear your decision. I’m sure you’ll make the right one.’

  Kane turned and strode from the cell, the metal door slamming shut with a loud clang behind him. Aiden glanced over the document in his hands. Having seen a few contracts in his years as a civil engineer, he recognised the usual waivers and declarations. Then he noticed a desertion and punishment clause near the bottom, stating that anyone attempting to flee while still under the terms of the contract would forfeit their life and be executed.

  Well, that probably ruled out his chance of using the situation to escape then. Still, anything would be an improvement over dying in this hole for the profit of others. Aiden signed his name, deciding he would take his chances with the unknown.

  It was not long before Kane re-entered the cell. ‘So what’s it going to be, son?’

  Aiden handed him the signed paper with a grim smile. ‘Sign me up.’

  ‘Good choice,’ Kane said glancing at the signature. ‘My men will take over now. I’ll see you after initiation, Aiden. Good luck.’

  As Kane left, two rough looking men in black uniforms entered the cell. Aiden rose as they approached.

  ‘So what happens now,’ he asked. ‘Any chance of a decent meal and a shower?’

  The smaller man smiled broadly at him, his missing teeth showing.

  ‘What’s the joke?’ Aiden asked.

  The second man thrust his fist into Aiden’s stomach causing him to double over. As he gasped for air, there was a flash of white as something hard struck the back of his head.

  Then everything went dark.

  CHAPTER 13

  AIDEN GASPED FOR breath as the water cascaded down over his face, filling his nose and mouth. Strapped horizontally to the table with his hands tied behind his back and his feet clasped, there was no getting away from the choking liquid. Just as he was on the verge of unconsciousness, the flow of water stopped and he was wrenched into a sitting position by large hands.

  ‘You can end this any time you like,’ the smaller man said, dropping an empty plastic bucket on the floor.

  ‘Yeah, just say the word, little man,’ the second man said, inches from Aiden’s ear as he held him upright. ‘We can toss you back into the fighting pit quick as you like.’

  Aiden forced shuddering breaths through his burning lungs. His left eye was swollen shut and his right was blind from the water. He coughed violently, no longer sure if he was choking on blood or water. The sound of a tap running came to him again as the bucket was refilled somewhere nearby.

  ‘So, ready to quit then?’ the man holding him upright asked.

  ‘Why would I want to do that when we’re having such a lovely time?’ Aiden said, his words coming in bursts as he still fought for breath.

  ‘He’s a brave one isn’t he?’ the smaller man said returning into view with a filled bucket. ‘Come on, let’s go again. Hold him down.’

  ‘Down you go, little man.’

  The man propping up Aiden lowered him back on to the table and stretched the sodden cloth over his mouth and nose, while the other slowly poured a stream of water over his face. Aiden began choking again immediately. Dancing lights appeared behind his eyelids as he struggled for oxygen.

  Once the bucket was emptied, he heard the men speaking over the sound of water dripping to the floor. ‘All right all right, let’s give him a break. You know Kane will be pissed if we kill another prospect.’

  ‘You hear that, little man? You get five minutes.’

  Aiden felt his leg restraints loosen as he was pulled off the table and shoved into the wooden chair in the centre of the room. The two men left without another word.

  Aiden had no idea how long he had been kept in this cell. It felt like days by this point, but without windows he had no way of gauging the passage of time. He slumped back in the chair, his head lolling on to his shoulder.

  First the beatings had come from the larger man while the little one with the missing teeth mocked him. After that, they had thrown him in the box. The physical assault he could handle, but the box had almost sent him over the edge of sanity. Locked in a tiny crate, completely devoid of light, unable to move or stretch his injured, cramped body for what must have been hours at a time.

  Aiden tried to sit up in the chair, but his strength was gone at this point. He wondered how much longer the torture would go on for, and if this was the initiation or just a cruel joke before they decided to slit his throat or tos
s him back into the arena. He could not remember the last time he had slept. Every time he drifted into the numbness of sleep, he was slapped back to consciousness.

  Whenever he felt himself losing the will, he thought of the man who had murdered Kate and repeated his name over and over.

  Trent Reid. Trent Reid. Trent Reid.

  The hatred that roiled up inside him and the thought of having his chance to take revenge against the man who murdered his wife was the only thing that gave him the strength to endure.

  ‘Aiden,’ her gentle voice said, floating around him.

  Aiden groaned, not wanting Kate to see him in this state. ‘You shouldn’t be here,’ he said, searching for her through his blurred vision.

  ‘It’s okay, Aiden. I’m here for you.’

  ‘But I wasn’t there when you needed me,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘I don’t deserve any help.’

  She shushed him quietly and he felt her presence move closer. Strands of her auburn hair fell across his face as he felt her hand touch his chest.

  ‘Don’t give up,’ she whispered in his ear.

  The door slammed open, wrenching Aiden back to the present, and his torturers walked back in laughing at a joke they had shared. Aiden raised his head shakily, watching them enter with a hatred he could not express.

  ‘Come on then Romeo, back to work,’ the smaller man said. ‘We can talk about your whores later.’

  The larger man laughed, then wasted no time in punching Aiden square in the jaw, slamming his head back against the hard wood of the chair. Aiden felt his mouth fill with blood, which he spat in what he hoped was the direction of his torturer. It was the only act of defiance he could muster.

  The large man bent down until his blurred face was level with Aiden’s. He rested his hands on Aiden’s shoulders, propping him upright. ‘Not there yet, little man,’ he said, as Aiden heard the sound of running water.

  CHAPTER 14

  AIDEN CRIED OUT, surging upright as he returned to consciousness with his heart racing. He raised his arms to protect his head, expecting someone there, ready to slam their fists down towards him.

  But nothing happened.

  He lowered his guard and looked around, finding himself lying in a bed in an unfamiliar room. It occurred to him that he might still be asleep, until a shot of pain ran up through his body telling him that he was very much awake.

  As his pulse slowed, and his breathing calmed down, he took in his surroundings properly. The walls were painted a light green and the room smelt of bleach and detergent. Ten beds in total, each like the one in which he was lying, were laid out in rows against the walls. All were empty save for one in which a figure was seemingly sleeping under the sheets.

  A round-faced woman with short blonde hair and an apron tied around her waist entered through the double doors at the end of the room. She noticed Aiden sitting up and flashed him a friendly smile.

  ‘Finally awake are we?’ She moved to a cupboard, her white trainers squeaking on the linoleum floor as she walked. She pulled down some things which she set on a nearby trolley before wheeling it over to Aiden’s bed. ‘I thought you were never going to wake up. How are you feeling, dear?’ she asked, taking his wrist in her hand with a gentle touch and watching the clock on the wall.

  ‘Where am I?’ Aiden asked, his voice hoarse. He glanced at the trolley with worry but his tension dissipated when he saw only a blood pressure monitor and some clean bandages.

  ‘You’re in Ward A where I’ve been keeping an eye on you for the last few days.’

  ‘Ward A?’

  ‘Sickbay. Inside the Church compound, dear. I suppose you probably won’t remember coming here, but try not to get yourself worked up. You’re going to be feeling fragile for a good while.’

  Aiden stared at the kindly woman in disbelief, struggling to believe this was not a trick designed to lower his guard. ‘Where are the other two men? What am I doing here?’

  ‘You’ll be speaking about Steven and Darren I suppose. I’ll let you in on a secret,’ she said, resting his arm back on the bed. ‘They’re a couple of softies really. They brought you here after your initiation. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that, most don’t. You’ve been sleeping for three solid days since then. I thought you were never going to wake up.’ She picked up the blood pressure sleeve from the trolley and began wrapping the blue band around his arm. ‘You know what this is?’

  Aiden nodded and let her carry on as she inflated the band. She was older than she appeared at first glance, carrying heavy lines in her face. The tracks of age. Unable to remember the last time he had seen his reflection, he idly wondered how awful he must look now.

  ‘How do I look?’ he asked, more to gauge her reaction than to get an honest response.

  ‘Well, everything seems to be healing fine. Blood pressure is a bit high, but that’s to be expected. More importantly though,’ she leaned in close and lowered her voice to a whisper, ‘I think you have things living in your beard.’

  Aiden watched her wry smile as he rubbed his chin. He had never gone so long without shaving before and it made his skin itch. ‘Could you get me a razor?’

  ‘I’ll do one better than that. Come on, I’ll show you to the wash room.’

  He climbed off the bed and rose on trembling legs. She helped guide him out of the ward as he limped along beside her.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, the words sounding unfamiliar from his mouth.

  ‘You’re welcome, dear.’

  ‘I’m sorry, you’ve been helping me and I don’t even know your name.’

  ‘Hah, not many people ask me that these days. I suppose I just assume everyone knows me around here. You can call me Louise.’

  ‘Nice to meet you, I’m Aiden,’ he said, extending his hand.

  She took it with an amused expression. ‘Well I see there’s at least one gentlemen left in the world. We don’t see many manners these days.’

  They exited the ward through the double doors and entered a corridor lit by bright fluorescent bulbs overhead. They turned left and stopped at the first door they came to.

  ‘Right, here’s the shower room. You’ll find everything you need in there. I left out some clean clothes for you too. I’ll be over there at my station.’ She pointed towards an open door along the corridor. ‘If you need anything, you just give me a shout.’

  Louise gave him one last smile, then walked away and disappeared into her station leaving Aiden alone. For the first time in months, he realised there were no bars and no locked doors around. No guards in sight to stop him walking out. Then he realised grimly that in his current state, walking was hard enough, running would be impossible. And if he could find his way out of this place, he had no idea what was waiting for him outside.

  He sighed and headed into the wash room. Inside he found a clean cubicle and took a long hot shower, scrubbing the encrusted filth from his aching body. When he was done, he stood under the jet of water for a while, enjoying the feeling of the hot water running over his skin.

  Finally stepping out of the shower, he found a fresh safety razor resting on a nearby sink. Wiping away the fog from the mirror, he barely recognised the man staring back at him. His face was thinner now, more angular, and his eyes had a hardness about them that was unfamiliar. By no means an old man, he was definitely starting to look his age with tiny flecks of grey appearing in his hair and beard.

  Aiden picked up the razor and set about shaving. He nicked himself a few times, but was satisfied running his hand over his smooth chin again. Looking around, he spotted the clothes Louise had mentioned, folded neatly on a nearby bench. He dressed himself in the plain shirt and simple work trousers, enjoying the scent of the clean clothes. He limped out of the steam filled shower room, a faint smile crossing his lips as he began to feel human again.

  A FEW HOURS AFTER his shower, Louise set a meal down in front of him. He sat up in bed and attacked the plate of cooked chicken and soft potatoes ravenously. The food
was delicious and he chewed it as quickly as he could. Prison had taught him that you there was always someone looking to try and take food away from you. He was unsure what the grey mulch was that they served there, but he was confident he had not eaten real food in months.

  ‘Slow down, dear, or you’ll choke,’ Louise said as she moved to the unmoving figure lying in the bed across the room. She checked his pulse, shaking her head with a worried expression.

  ‘What’s wrong with him?’ Aiden asked between mouthfuls.

  ‘I don’t think he’s going to make it,’ she said, looking down at the man. ‘Not everyone comes through initiation.’

  An athletic man burst through the double doors at the end of the room, causing them to slam against the walls. ‘Where’s my darling Louise?’ he demanded brashly.

  Louise sighed without turning around. ‘Jordy, what have you done to yourself this time?’

  ‘You know me,’ the man said, his face set in a sneer. ‘My boyish charm gets me into all sorts of scrapes.’

  ‘Boyish charm,’ she scoffed. ‘You got the boy part right. Come and sit down then, let me have a look at you.’

  He perched on an empty bed as she walked over to him and examined the blood on his ripped shirt. ‘You one of the new prospects?’ he asked, noticing Aiden.

  ‘I think so,’ Aiden said with a nod.

  ‘You think so? You are or you aren’t, pal.’

  ‘I’m supposed to be, but I’m not sure what’s going on yet.’

  ‘Ah that makes sense. No one tells you anything around here. Best get used to it.’ He winced as Louise began stitching the gash in his arm.

  ‘Oh shush, you big baby,’ she scolded.

  ‘How was initiation then? I take it you met the married couple?’

  ‘It was like taking a holiday in the Barren Expanse with a couple of cannibals.’ Aiden chewed and swallowed. ‘You say they’re married?’