Alex awakened huddling in the corner of the cell trying to conserve body heat. He was still naked, the cell was cold, and he hadn’t been given any blankets. After a short while, Alex begins to walk around and do arm pumps to get warm. He progresses onto seated crunches and then he hears footsteps approach. He remains sitting on the deep shelf and continues his crunches. The wall with the door remains transparent so Alex notices the two guards appear outside the cell. He immediately remembers what Candy had said, about manners and kneeling, so he quickly gets down on his knees. The guard opens the door and waves his baton indicating Alex is to leave the cell. The first guard heads back the way he had come, so Alex stands and follows, then the second guard falls into step behind him.

He walks confidently with his shoulders back, not showing any weakness or concern at being naked. He is led to an open area where Candy is kneeling in front of two further guards. She glances at him before swiftly averting her gaze. The tallest of the guards turns to face Alex and says something, which Candy interprets. ”You’re here to begin training. This will be the first day of your new life. You will start by running around these guards until you are told to stop. Now begin.”

Alex begins running around the guards at a slow jog. Then one of them shouts, “Tharaes”, which Alex takes for faster and so he increases his pace.

After a few minutes, Candy shouts, “Begin counting in Elven whilst you run.”

“oli, sai, si, thys, tholi, mos, maelael, ael, boli, sael, aelaelael, saeli, sosael, thysael, thorael, mozael…..” Alex calls out.

Candy shouts again five minutes later, “Stop, do twenty pushups, then continue running.”

Alex does the pushups and then continues his run, logging quite a few miles by his estimation. He’s not sure his cardio endurance will keep up and so he tries to stay focused during the long session. The guards vary the exercises by getting him to do pushups and situps. There are regular breaks during which Candy teaches him more Elven and the guards give him water. By the end of the day, he can barely stand and he stumbles back to the cell where he receives his daily orange bottle of basic.

Alex wakes the next day, again huddling in the corner of the cell, but this time not only cold but also aching all over. He again spends time warming up and trying to get his limbs as flexible as possible. When the guards come they toss him an orange sleeveless tunic, which he catches. He puts it on and it falls to just above his knees. “Well, it beats being naked I suppose,” Alex mutters.

The guard signals him to follow and he departs the cell. They take a different route this time and when Alex arrives at the open area, he sees a large assault course laid out.

Candy is kneeling in front of two guards and she smiles when she notices him. “You look much better now I can’t see the dangly bits. You must have impressed them yesterday.”

“I’ve nothing to be ashamed of, but yes, I feel more comfortable wearing the tunic.”

A short guard says something to Candy and she looks at Alex. “They want to see what combat skills you have. They want you to fight one of the guards with wooden weapons. He wants to know what weapon you want for the fight?”

Alex ponders. “Can I see what’s available?”

Candy relays what Alex said and the tall guard standing next to Candy steps forward carrying a large canvas bag. He lays it on the ground and unfastens a strap and unrolls it, it holds wooden weapons held in pockets. Alex looks over the options and picks up a pair of wooden batons, sixty centimeters long. The guard reaches down and selects a wooden sword, one meter long, and places it next to him. He then says something to Candy and she scrambles forward rolling the bag back up.

Alex stands holding his hands out with each gripping a baton. He begins to go through a series of moves involving wide-sweeping swings. This progresses into a series of short moves that resemble someone playing the drums. Then he goes back through another series of wide moves before coming to a stop and nodding.

The tall guard stands patiently with the wooden sword in his hand. When he understands Alex is ready, he enters an open stance. Alex instantly attacks. Swinging the batons rapidly, swapping between targeting the head and knees in an intricate pattern. The guard parries all of Alex’s attacks causing the rapid clack of wood on wood, as he gives ground. The guard abruptly counter attacks with an overhead swing. Alex drops and slides backwards blocking the guard's attack with a resounding crack, as the sword hits the crossed batons. He holds the sword only centimeters from his head, panting as he resists the downward push.

Alex grunts and breaks to the side and his baton streaks forward. The guard deflects the blow with a loud smack using his arm and then lunges. Alex twists throwing himself back, barely evading. He drops and rolls toward the guard then springs forward charging. The guard sidesteps the rush and counters with a slash. Alex dodges, then again springs forward, swinging his batons. The guard flicks the sword to block and then strides headlong at Alex punching him in the face, causing his head to rock back, and knocking him to the floor.

The guard with the wooden sword steps back and speaks to Candy who then calls out. “Alex, he’s seen enough. Leave the batons on the ground and step back.” Alex drops the batons and rubs the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing bright red blood onto his cheek. The guard says something to Candy who requests, “Alex, come here. I need to check your injury.” He gets to his feet and moves over to Candy who whispers. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“Four years of martial arts, three times a week, with plenty of practice, and no social life,” Alex responds quietly.

“Well, he seems pleased. Now, how’s your lip?”

Alex uses his tongue to probe the injury and tastes blood. “Sore, it’s just split.”

“Well, it doesn’t look too bad and the nanobots will fix you up in no time.”

“Can we talk sometime? I need to understand what’s going on.”

“We can’t talk now. I’ll try and see what I can do.”

“Can we talk soon?”

“What do you want to find out about?”

“I need to know how we got here and what they want. Then I need to work out how to get us home.”

The guard calls over to Candy and he starts to approach as he speaks. “He wants you to block a series of single strikes, he will make at you. You’re not to retaliate under any circumstances. He wants to assess your performance, now just focus on what you need to do. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand. It’s just hard to concentrate with my head ringing.” Alex says before walking over to retrieve the batons. The next hour was taken with Alex parrying sword attacks, aimed at different parts of his body, and from different directions. He continues at a punishing rate, sweating heavily until his arms begin to go numb from the force of the blows. The guard steps back when Alex begins to repeatedly stumble and calls to Candy, who moves forward offering Alex some water.

“Here, drink this. It’s been fortified and has glucose. He wants to do double attacks next, which you are to still only to block.” Alex drinks thirstily then nods.

The guard starts the second round at an unhurried pace that slowly increases in speed and force. After thirty minutes Alex is breathless and he has been hit multiple times on his arms and legs, but thankfully not his head.

The guard again steps back and calls to Candy who interprets. “He says that you will be sparring every day, and that tomorrow he will be instructing you in how to use a sword. You will drink some water and then run around the outside of the course. Do you understand?”

Alex nods and reaches for the water bottle Candy holds out to him. He takes a drink before jogging towards the assault course. He guesses that runs twelve kilometers in under an hour and he is struggling badly towards the end. He drinks more water and rests for five minutes then the tall guard indicates for him to start the assault course. The course includes a mix of climbing, crawling, running, jumping, and balancing elements that vary in both length and difficulty. The guards repeatedly shout ‘Tharaes’ at Alex as he progresses around the course. Candy tells him, during one of the breaks, that it means faster.

Alex struggles with several obstacles, but especially the ten-meter rope climb. He has to climb by scissoring his legs, however, the rope is rough and this causes abrasions on both his legs and feet. After the rope climb, he is escorted to a series of large pools filled with water. The pools are connected by two-meter wide pipes that are submerged, which increase in length between each subsequent pool. He has to wade through the first pool and use the pipe to get to the second. The water is very cold and it saps his strength. When he emerges, he is told to immediately return to the assault course. He runs back very cold, wet, and dispirited.

After he completes the assault course Alex again rests and is approached by the tall guard and Candy. The guard speaks and Candy frowns before interpreting. “Your next task is to run around the outside of the assault course for a single circuit, but carrying me the whole way.” She looks at Alex in concern. Alex makes eye contact and nods before standing and indicating for Candy to approach.

Alex places his knee between her legs, grabs her right hand with his left, and drapes her arm over his shoulder. He sticks his head under her armpit and wraps his arm around the back of her knee. He then squats to let her drape over his shoulder. While squatting he shifts around until he has her weight distributed evenly on his shoulders and upper back, then he stands. The guard grunts in approval.

Alex starts to jog with Candy on his shoulders, who emits small squeaks as he jostles her, and he then increases his pace. Alex manages to complete three-quarters of the circuit before his legs began to give out and he stumbles before falling heavily. He does not try to break the fall, but tucks his chin to his chest as he grips tightly onto Candy. He hits the ground belly first with a thump, and the side of his face scrapes along the floor before he comes to rest.

Candy scrambles off Alex and shouts, “Alex, are you alright?” She kneels next to him and tries to roll him over. Alex groans before pushing himself onto his back and Candy gasps. “You’ve got a bad scrape down the side of your face. Does it hurt?”

“Of course it hurts, everything hurts. But, are you okay?” Alex mutters.

“I’m fine,” she reassures him.

“Any thoughts on how and when we can talk?”

“Not yet.”

The tall guard walks over to them carrying a pack. He says something to Candy and then drops the pack next to Alex. Candy turns to Alex saying regretfully, “He says you need to do the assault course and the carry again. This time wearing the pack.” Candy stands, lifting the pack. “well, it’s not too bad, it weighs maybe five kilos.” Alex groans again.

Alex completes the assault course, including the visit to the pool. As he is trying to recover, the tall guard approaches and again escorts him back to the pool. However, this time he has to swim through three pools. He staggers out of the third pool shivering violently and barely able to stand. The tall guard talks to Candy who interprets, “He says that every time you fail or are too slow, you will be bought to the pools as punishment. Each time you visit, during the same day, the number of pools you must go through increases.”

Alex slowly begins to recover and the guards watch until he can stand properly. The tall guard then indicates that he is to pick-up Candy and to begin the run again. He manages to complete the run a second time without falling, although at a much slower pace than the first time. There are no immediate consequences due to the delay, but the guard does speak to Candy who says. “The next time you’re that slow, it's back to the pools. You can now go back to your cell, we‘re finished.” Alex nods and then turns to walk back to the cell followed by two guards.

Alex hobbles down the corridor still shivering and he is abruptly pushed by the guard behind him who barks, “Tharaes.” Alex stumbles barely catching his balance as he hits the wall. Then he is hit in the back with the baton. He feels the excruciating pain and his body goes rigid, then he starts to slide down the wall. He freezes for a second, but manages to remain upright as the guard yells, “Tharaes,” again and waves his baton. Alex again hobbles forward, but this time as fast as he can and this seems to appease the guard.

When they arrive at the cell a second guard is waiting with an orange bottle, which he hands to Alex. The guard indicates for Alex to drink, and he promptly complies, whilst standing on unsteady legs. After he finishes the first guard pushes him roughly into the cell and he collides with the wide shelf and grunts.

After the guards leave Alex manages to sit down. He realizes that there was no way he will be sleeping in his cold cell wearing his sodden tunic. So he pulls it off and tries to wring the water out of it. He then throws it over the shelf before he huddles in his usual corner to try and keep warm whilst he tries to sleep.