The Beast (Alpha Trilogy #1)

Chapter 1

Beast

Unbelievable. He did it. He actually did it! It took him 5 years, but it’s done. I can’t stay here any longer now that it’s completed. He will destroy the little conscience I have left. I will finally become his unstoppable killing machine.

NO! I WILL NOT!

I WILL NOT BECOME HIS TOY!

NOT NOW! NOT EVER!

I look around my cage and check for the guards. Three... I can deal with it. From under my cot I take the little string I stole from one of the guests. Supposedly, it’s a piece of jewelry, but I can’t imagine what it’s used as. I have never had or seen any jewelry so I have basically no knowledge of it. HE never let me have anything that could be used as a weapon, forgetting that I was trained to be able to use ANYTHING as a weapon. Give me a string, I will strangle you with it, give me a shoe and I will make you choke on it, give me clothes, and I will find a way to use them to kill you.

That’s what I was trained to do since I was 6. At least I think I was 6, maybe it started even earlier at the hands of my “parents”. They don’t deserve that title. Not after selling me to this psycho.

My little inner monologue is cut short by a guard coming for a checkup. They know better than to try anything with me. I AM the Beast after all.

“Beast, you good?

I nod

“Cage zero. Check.

That’s the routine. The guard asks if “I’m good” and I answer him Yes or No without speaking. They don’t ask any other questions. Not that I would answer any. I haven’t spoken a full sentence for over 7 years. It’s always been one word answers or nods and shakes of my head. When I don’t feel well and answer the guard “no”, they send for one of HIS friends to check what’s going on.

As the guard goes away to check on another cage, I think of a way to get away. If HE succeeded, then HE will try it on me soon. I have a few days left at most. I have to be as far away from here as possible till then.

The string, or whatever it’s supposed to be called, is burning in my hand, waiting to be used. I have to be extremely careful or I will not make it. I tried more than once to run away from this place, and every time I faced a punishment, each one worse than the last. So I stopped trying. I’m not going to die at their hands.

NO. I am a survivor. I am the Beast. I am the one people have nightmares of. And no one is taking me down. No one CAN.

The guard is gone. I start my escape plan. For the first time I have something other than my bare hands to use. The electric door to my cage is mocking me, challenging me to open it. And I do. I have opened the door many times; I don’t have any problems with it.

I am grateful that the people in charge are stupid enough to not change the lock system, but simply increase the number of guards. As if those lanky idiots have better chances at stopping me than enforced steel. I have killed more people than anyone here. I have more experience than anyone here. They have nothing on me except for the ridiculous tasers they carry around.

I go down the dimly lit hallway towards the warden’s office. I have to take his card to the door leading to the arena. That’s my safest bet. From there I can choose one of the 4 exits. 2 of them lead outside. I heard one of the guards say that.

The warden’s office door is slightly open and I can see the silhouettes of the 3 guards and the warden inside. My whole body is coiled tightly as I approach, ready to attack. I toy for few seconds with the string in my hand then barge in through the door.

Everyone inside is beyond shocked. They reach for their tasers, but I’m faster.

I kick the first guard I see in the throat, crashing his trachea and larynx, but I can’t enjoy the sight of him choking on his own blood, as from my peripheral vision I notice the other guards getting ready to attack me. Idiots. There is no way they can beat me physically. They should’ve used the tasers instead. Morons. I knock out the first one with one punch to the back of his head, breaking his skull and kick the other in the groin before wrapping the string around his neck and quickly squeeze it around to slice his neck with it. I have to use a bit more force than I anticipated, but it still works. The warden stays behind the desk as if trying to shield himself from me. I can see he’s terrified of me because of the last few seconds.

I slowly approach him, scaring him even more to the point of pissing himself. I would’ve laughed, but I’m used to seeing this reaction in people. I go around the desk and corner him in front of the security monitors. It only takes one punch in the face to knock him out. I leave him and go to the computers and look for the exits from the arena. I skim through the images displayed and find my route. From the other end of the hallway I can hear the sound of footsteps of the horde of guards coming to stop me.

I head to the arena and using the card I took from the warden I open the door and lock it afterwards. Looking around the huge place I find the 2 exits I was looking for. I choose the one closer to me and immediately head towards it.

Again, using the warden’s card, I open the door and leave. I take a look of the place in front of me trying to find the best route out of here. Listening to my surroundings I try to locate the guards so that I can avoid them. Not that I can’t take them down, but I’d rather save my energy for later.

Next to the enormous door in front of me is a small hole in the wall that I can use. Someone must have crashed into the wall. I go straight towards it still alert of what’s going on around me. The wall is thankfully not made of concrete so I can simply punch my way through it. I would’ve wrapped my hands, but I have nothing to use for it, as I am only in a sports bra and shorts.

It takes 5 punches to the wall for the hole to get big enough for me to fit through. Once again I listen to my surroundings to locate everyone. When I hear them far away trying to open the locked doors, I make my way through the wall and leave.

This is way too easy. Something is wrong.

I run through the open space, not having time to enjoy the views, having to stay alert. Heading towards what looks like the gates, I look behind me to see the place I have stayed for years. It’s a pretty nice house, or should I say, mansion with white walls decorated with gold and black. No one would’ve expected what kinds of horrors take place in there. I notice the hole I left through. It looks like it leads to something similar to a garage, but there were no cars inside and no driveway outside of it. It’s probably a camouflaged entrance to the arena.

The closer I get to the gates, the more anxious I get. Something is wrong. This was too easy, like they’re not even trying to stop me. It’s as if they are letting me go. But why would they? I’m their best earner. I earned them a “shitload” of money. I learned that word from one of the guards, too.

It was kind of amusing to learn words and phrases from the guards. Some of them were pretty decent human beings, simply forced to work there. They were the only ones I ever talked to. But their boss, seeing as I was getting close to them, killed them in front of me, as a warning. Everyone I get close to will die. That was HIS message. So I stopped talking altogether. I haven’t uttered more than one word answers ever since.

The gravel road behind the gates leads only one way, so I make a quick decision to go through the woods.

I'm running through the woods for hours. It’s getting dark and cold and my legs start hurting a little. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I have had worse anyway.

I haven’t eaten anything for the whole day; I’ve never learnt how to survive in the wild. I can kill, though. Maybe I can catch something, but how am I going to prepare it... I may not know a lot, but I do know that I can’t digest raw meat. So starving it is. I’d rather stay hungry than end up sick in the middle of the woods.

As the sky gets darker I search the woods for a place to rest a little. In the distance I notice a huge tree, I don’t know what kind of tree it is, I was never taught that, but its branches look thick and sturdy enough for me to climb on it and rest a little. I head straight towards it, trying to avoid having my eyes gouged by some lower spiky branches in my way. Can’t end up blind, right?

I don’t know if I can climb a tree, but it’s worth trying. Who knows what lives on the ground. Also, with my feet bleeding from going barefoot the whole time I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay on the ground.

The tree may not be the smallest, but it’s pretty easy to climb, as the lower branches are about a meter and a half above the ground.

I climb up the tree quite fast, especially considering the state I’m in, going from branch to branch, reaching higher and higher until I’m satisfied. When I’m almost on the top, I look around to see what I can make out of the surroundings. I should be finding some source of water, or I will die of dehydration. I almost did once and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. But I don’t think any near death experience would be pleasant.

From the branch I’m sitting on, I, unfortunately, can’t see any source of water. Shit, it doesn’t look good. I may be a hardened fighter, but I still need water and food to survive. I’m not a robot, though I don’t know what a robot is. I learned that word from a guard when he told me to eat. “You have to eat something Beast. You’re not a robot. You’re gonna die of starvation, you know.” It happened after I stopped talking, so the only response he got from me was a grunt. Not that I care, he was an asshole. Another word I learned from guards.

Resting on the branch, I think about my life. I know nothing about “normal” life and I don’t remember a lot from my childhood. My most vivid memory is my parents selling me to HIM and I still dream about it a lot.

Flashback

“Mommy, daddy, I’m home” said the little 6 year old girl as she walked into her parents’ house. She was never driven to or picked up from school; she had to walk the whole way. Hearing some voices in the living room, she went there looking for her parents. Normally she would go straight to the kitchen to make herself something to eat, but today something fell odd. She didn’t hear her parents’ yelling and crashing sounds as they threw things on the floor. They were quiet. It was as if they were hiding their usual selves. Why though? What was happening?

Getting to the living room, the first thing she noticed were the guests. A huge man was sitting on the couch by the window with two men in suits standing behind him. The huge man looked her over a few times and she immediately felt uncomfortable. Something about them made her want to run away from there.

“That’s her. How much?” From her thoughts pulled her out her dad’s voice. What? What were they talking about? ‘How much?’ For what?

The girl was confused thinking what was her father talking about, but again a voice pulled her out of her reverie. It was the huge man sitting opposite to her father. The one that looked her over.

“She’s cute and shit, but... what can she do?

“Whatever you want her to. Again, how much can you give me? She’s healthy, obedient, maybe even smart, I don’t know...

Hearing that, the bulky man looked at her again. She wanted to run away, but her feet just wouldn’t move. They were frozen in place. That only scared her more. At least when her parent beat her, she could run away when she found a chance of escape. With the huge man, she couldn’t even move. As if his eyes somehow bound her in place with some invisible chain. She couldn’t breathe, paralyzed from fear of the dangerous man. She felt her eyes brim with tears, but still didn’t look away from his inquisitive stare. Then he spoke and her whole body went rigid.

“Undress her.” He told his companions, who immediately went to do their boss’ bidding. She didn’t even trash in their hold as they took her clothes off. Her young mind simply stopped working. The only thing she could do was to hold the stare of the huge man in front of her and listen to her parents while her world crumbled.

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