Chapter 3

9 years ago

SLAP! Enyo fell to the floor. She could feel the pain in her cheek fading already, the perks of fast regeneration from her experimentation. Above her stood her mentor, hands on his hips. "Get up!" he barked. 

Enyo stood up on shaky legs. She was seven and had been training with Atlas for three years now. Atlas was senior by many years. He was 22 and was the first surviving experiment. He was the 4th experiment out of 48. 

He glared at her with his dark red eyes. They were slightly darker than hers. All the surviving experiments had red eyes. No one knew why. Maybe it was because of that red liquid that they had injected them with at the end. 

"Again!" he shouted, bending into a ready position. 

Enyo sighed. She jumped at him with inhuman speed. She punched at him but he grabbed her wrist and twisted. CRACK! He broke her wrist and dropped her to the floor. 

"Ow!" Enyo yelled, gripping her swollen wrist. She could feel it healing already, the broken bones slowly moving to snap back in place. Not yet though, it would probably take a while to heal completely. 

She waited until the swelling went down, then she kicked upwards. SLAM! Atlas slammed his palm into Enyo's stomach and she flew backwards very far. Due to the experiments, Atlas had been given 'superstrength.'

Enyo grabbed her stomach and shook in pain on the floor. "Get up!" shouted Atla, then he sighed, "Never mind, if you don't get up, the others are coming and they're not as nice as me. All you need to do is land one hit on me and we're done."

Enyo winced and stood up. She ran at Atlas and… tripped. Atlas sighed and walked away, leaving Enyo lying there… again. 

"Enyo!" shouted a sing-song voice. 

Enyo groaned and rolled over onto her back. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Come one," said a kind voice, "Let's get you patched up." 

She limped over to a cut tree trunk and sat down. A teenage boy knelt in front of her. "Atlas really needs to stop beating you up…" he said. 

"It's okay," smiled Enyo, "He's just doing what's right, you know, Asclepius." 

Asclepius sighed, "I can't heal everything." 

Asclepius's eyes were the palest shades of red. He was 15 and the 23 experiment. He could heal people, but it was a combination of his experimentation and herbs. He rubbed a bit of fragrant herbs on her wrist She winced as he bandaged it, then moved onto her cheek. 

"All done," he said, "Thanks for letting me practice on you!"

"Thank you…" said Enyo. 

But, the moment Asclepius left, someone else appeared. "Weakling!" they laughed. 

"Go away Hemlock, Anaya…" muttered Enyo. 

Hemlock was 10 and one of the younger experiments. His eyes were blood red. His experiment was probably one of the most painful. Half of his face and body were scarred. He was immune to poisons and could release some… if he ate it. 

Anaya was 9. Her eyes were a dull mute red. For some reason, she hated Enyo. Her name meant graceful, but she was the opposite of that. She was bulky and clumsy but an excellent shot. So good that older soldiers and mercenaries liked to compete against her. 

WHACK! POW! BAM! The two of them hit and kicked Enyo repeatedly. She refused to cry. She curled up and used one of the first moves Atlas had taught her; Rolly-polly helped her defend herself by curling into a ball and protecting her head. 

Finally, they left, but the damage was done. Enyo's back would ache for a while. Bruises would definitely form. 

… 

Enyo snapped out of her flashback. "Enyo," said the teacher, "I asked you a question!"

"Sorry," she muttered, Valerie and her friends snickered, "Could you repeat the question?" 

Mr Kim rolled his eyes, "Valerie asked if you would like to spar with her."

Enyo looked at the teacher, then at Valerie who gave her a sinister smile. She smiled back, "No thank you." There was no point in revealing her abilities, not even for a spar. 

"You scared?" challenged Valerie. 

Enyo smiled, "Wouldn't want to waste my talent on a weakling like you!"

Valerie growled. "Enough!" shouted Mr Kim, "Max, why don't you spar with Valerie instead?"

"Ummmm, I don't think that's a good idea…" said Max. He looked down at his feet. 

Valerie gave Enyo another smile then nodded, "I would love to, Mr Kim, Max, let's spar!" 

"I-I don't want-t to…" muttered Max. 

Valeria looked at Enyo, fight me or I'll beat his ass, her eyes said. 

Enyo sighed and raised her hand, "I changed my mind! I'll spar against Valerie."

Max sighed with relief and walked away. Rude, thought Enyo, at least thank me for saving you…

She and Valerie walked to the center of the mat. They both prepared. Enyo could tell Valerie was experienced, her form was flawless. 

"Nice form, both of you," said Mr Kim. 

"Form means nothing," said Valerie, "Let's see how well our newbie is." 

"Three… two… one!"

Valerie swung her fist at Enyo. Dodge and grab her wrist, said Atlas in her head, but control your strength, regular humans are really fragile. You shouldn't beat them the way I beat you…

 Enyo sighed. Valerie's fist was really slow. She dodged right and Valerie's punch missed her. She walked backward, putting space between her and Valerie. 

"Beginners luck," crowed Valerie. The crowd ooohed. 

"Keep going," said Mr Kim. 

Valerie nodded and turned to Enyo. Enyo smiled, let's end this already.