I didn't know how long it had been since I'd last seen Nine. Time seemed to stretch, days blending into one another, until it was all just an endless cycle of observation, training, and more training. But now, standing in front of a small group of handlers, I couldn't ignore the looming reality of what I had become a part of.
The group I led was small, only a handful of handlers, each one more hardened than the last. They didn't speak much, their faces grim and blank, as though the weight of the work had already crushed any remnants of emotion. But I wasn't like them—not entirely. I was still hanging on to whatever shred of humanity I had left, though I wasn't sure how much longer that would last.
The creatures we were about to begin training were locked in holding cells just beyond the training area, their eyes flashing with primal hunger. Some were still recovering from their initial conditioning, others twitching and growling in anticipation, their muscles rippling beneath the skin, waiting for the signal to move. They weren't like the hybrids I had trained before. These weren't pets. These were weapons—beasts meant to kill, and I was their handler now.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself. This was my reality. I had no choice but to dive into it headfirst, even if it made me sick.
I motioned for the group to follow me as I led them into the training area. The space was vast, surrounded by reinforced walls and high-tech barriers to keep the creatures from escaping. The stench of sweat, fear, and raw animal power hit me all at once, but I swallowed it down, pushing past the nausea that gnawed at my insides.
Each creature was locked behind individual enclosures, each one a cage made to restrain and control. Some of them were pacing, others were staring at us with unblinking eyes, waiting for the moment they would be released into the arena.
"This is the first phase of training," I said, walking toward the nearest cage. "We'll start with basic commands—sit, stay, attack. They won't listen at first, but they will eventually."
I approached the first creature, a hulking beast with twisted, scarred skin. It growled at me, its teeth bared, its eyes glowing with an eerie, predatory light. I didn't flinch. I couldn't afford to. If I did, it would sense weakness, and weakness was something no handler could afford.
I motioned for one of the handlers to release the creature, and as the door slid open, the creature lunged at me. I didn't flinch—didn't even move—until the last second, when I gave the command for the handler to activate the shock collar around its neck.
The zap was immediate and brutal, sending a violent jolt through the creature's body. It yelped, stumbling backward as its muscles seized, its wild growls turning into a hiss of agony. I didn't pause. The pain would make it comply. It always did.
"Sit," I commanded, my voice firm. The creature was still twitching, but the collar kept it in check. It growled, but it lowered its body to the floor.
"Good," I said, though the praise felt hollow. I stepped back, nodding for the handler to return the creature to its cage.
The others stepped forward to repeat the process with their assigned creatures. Some were easier than others, but all of them resisted at first. They were dangerous—too dangerous to let their wild instincts control them. If I didn't train them, break them in, they would break me.
I moved on to the next creature, a massive, hulking beast with black eyes and drool dripping from its mouth. This one was already snarling, rattling its cage in frustration. I could feel the raw, untamed energy emanating from it, and I knew it would take everything I had to make it submit.
I motioned for another handler to release it, and the beast lunged forward the second the door opened. But this time, I was ready. I didn't wait for it to get too close before I pressed the button on the shock collar remote. The electric jolt struck it in the neck, the creature's body jerking violently, sending it crashing to the ground. It hissed, but I was on it in an instant, dragging it back to its feet.
"Sit!" I barked again, my tone sharp. The creature roared in defiance, but the shock collar pulsed again, sending another wave of electricity through its system. The creature screamed, but it complied, its body trembling in submission.
"Good," I said again, although I was almost numb to the victory. They were all the same. Pain was the only thing that would ever make them listen.
We continued the training for hours, moving through creature after creature. Some responded to the shocks quickly, some fought it with all they had. Some needed the electric prods, others didn't. But each one was forced into submission.
The prods were a constant—an extension of our will, a reminder that we were in control. We didn't care if it hurt them. They were tools, nothing more.
At the end of the session, as I walked past each of them, I couldn't shake the feeling that they were watching me. Not with the hunger of animals, but with something more—something far more dangerous. They were waiting for the moment when they could break free, when they could rip me apart. And I had to be ready.
This wasn't just about training. This was about survival.