Bloodstained Orchid

Trainee 4186 glanced at the dull grey wall in her room and she imagined herself living normally in the outside world. Trainee 4186 often wondered if the recent events in her life were all just part of a nightmare that would soon end once she woke up. However, the sound of that blaring alarm bell, which pierced through her ears like a knife, brought her back to reality. 

'Back to training,' she thought with a groan as she stood up from her metal bed and headed towards the door. Trainee 4186 only had one hour per day for rest and she got to decide when to use it, meals and treatment of wounds included. The deeper her wounds, the harder her training got. She was in a place where weakness meant death, and so blood gushing out of her body was never a big deal for her and her trainer. Pain had become so normal for her that she had started to crave it. Trainee 4186 jogged back to the training area (more like "her" training area since nobody ever used it except her). It was a large room, like a gym with training equipment—more like torture devices. There she met the same muscular tanned-skinned man with cold eyes and furrowed thick eyebrows.

"You're 35 seconds late, you puny bitch!" he said in an angry voice. Trainee 4186 wanted to protest because she knew she arrived right on time, but talking back was never a good option in here. The long scars on her back were evidence of this.

"Give me 60 push-ups! Now!" he yelled while spit fell on her face. 

"Sir, yes, sir!" she said with power in her voice before dropping to her knees.

Every day for Trainee 4186 was hell, no matter what angle you looked at it from. The training sessions were awful, the brief resting time was frustrating, the food was terrifyingly worse, and she could never sleep at night without a woman in a lab coat entering her room and injecting her with sedatives. Trainee 4186 had already stopped counting the days she had been in that place. And despite her long stay, she still didn’t know a thing about the people who had caught her and held her captive, along with hundreds of other trainees her age. 

It was already past 9 pm and everyone was fast asleep, but Trainee 4186 was still wide awake with her eyes glued to the grey ceiling above her. Then, as scheduled, she heard the lock that barricaded her door slowly release the metal frame as the same blonde—who had blue eyes, pale lips, and a huge mole in her cheek, which she tries hard to conceal with concealer but failed—entered her room. Trainee 4186 did not say a thing as the blonde wearing a lab coat walked towards her bedside and placed the metal tray in her hands on the table. She waited as the nurse prepared the sedatives that would soon invade Trainee 4186’s bloodstream and finally put her body and mind at rest after all the hard work she had done that day. A few seconds later, Trainee 4186 felt the small prick on her forearm. Then everything went black.

Trainee 4186 thought she would get used to that irritating alarm bell, but every single day, she failed to do so. She dragged herself up and dressed in the only kinds of clothes she had in her cabinet: grey V-neck shirt and black leggings. Before heading out, she pulled her brown hair into a tight top bun and placed her dog tags around her neck. Like every other morning, Trainee 4186 rushed towards her training area to meet her grumpy trainer. 

“Before we start training, 4186, I'm going to read you the memo given to us this morning,” her trainer said, addressing her with the number that was assigned to her when she first got there. She dreaded that number because it was solid proof that the people who kidnapped her had robbed her of her name and identity.

“To all trainees of Project A4156, Section C, Batch 7, be aware that the tournament will be held next Monday, which means you only have six days to prepare to fight for your own survival. The rules are simple: Only one out of thirty trainees will remain standing. The winner will be given a chance to go to the outside world and come home. Best of luck, my children,” he ended the sentence after folding the paper back into its envelope as if he had already memorized what was written there. 

“Any questions, puny bitch?” he continued. Trainee 4186 had a lot of questions, but she knew full well that they would only lead to more punishment.

“What do I need to do to win?” she asked, determined to see her family again. 

“Do exactly as I say if you want to see Tuesday's sun next week,” he said malignantly in close range of her face. 

~*~

Six days had passed and it was already time for the tournament. While everyone was taking care of their last-minute preparations, Trainee 4186 sat in the corner of her training area with her legs pressed against her chest. 

“Hey, puny bitch! The tournament will start in one hour,” her trainer said, walking towards one of his greatest protégés since he first got there a decade ago. 

“Are you okay?” That was the first time he had ever used a worried tone, so it sounded weird at first, but Trainee 4186 tried not to laugh.

“This is what you have been training for these past three years.” He tried again to show his concern, but it did not budge Trainee 4186’s nervous and frightened heart. However, his last words lingered in her mind for a while. 

'Three years, huh? That’s how long I have been in this hell hole,' she thought.

“Sulking in the corner won’t get you anywhere, puny bitch,” he said, crouching near her this time to see the look on her face, but he only saw the brown strands of hair covering her face.

Trainee 4186 raised her pale face to meet her trainer's before nodding weakly and standing to her feet.

“You can do this,” he stated, placing his large firm hands on Trainee 4186’s shoulder blades. “Go get them, puny bitch.” 

“Thank you, sir, for everything,” she said, trying to sound confident. Her trainer for the past three years guided her towards the high-tech doors of their training grounds down to the gloomy, metallic grey hallways.

 

After a few minutes, they had reached their destination, which was the size of a football field. The spectators were raised about ten feet above the whole arena, circling its width behind a glass window. The arena was empty, though, and there were only a few spectators, which made her wonder who would be watching them. She thought of the other batches of trainees and wondered if they were done with their tournament and would all be there to watch hers. 

Trainee 4186 never knew where this facility was located or if she was even still in America. She had her wild guesses, but her theories were always disproven by areas like this, which she had never noticed before.

 

“We still have a few minutes to spare. Do you want to eat something first?” Her trainer asked, stopping a few steps before the door to the arena.

“Like my last meal? No thanks,” she said in a raspy tone before marching to the entrance of the empty arena.

Grumpy Toad wanted to follow her, but he couldn’t because trainers were forbidden from entering the battlegrounds. A sudden punch of guilt hit his stomach for not even giving Trainee 4186 anything before she walked to her own grave. 

As soon as she got inside, metal doors shut and blocked the entryway where she had come from. She looked around and there seemed to be no exit to the arena. She was trapped. She had nowhere to run as she waited for other sections of the arena to open, revealing the people that would kill her if she doesn’t kill them first.

Once those doors opened, Trainee 4186 knew it would be chaotic; they would all be fighting for their lives like animals in the wild. This place would be drenched in the blood of those who only wanted one thing: to go home.

She sat on the ground with her legs again pressed against her chest, thinking about what would happen in the next two hours of her life. Would it be her death, or her rebirth? Two hours was how long she thought this tournament would last—maybe less based on the rate of training they all got in this place. 

'How did it end up this way?' Trainee 4186 thought, looking at the steel ground underneath her.

'Right, it all started one autumn night,' she answered herself, reminiscing on her memories of October 18. Three years ago...

The autumn wind was not very harsh throughout the day, so by nightfall everything around the house seemed still and in perfect harmony with nature. Trainee 4186 was busy setting their table for dinner while her brother Kyle was on the couch reading a book that mainly discussed modern classical musicians. Her mother was still putting some last-minute touches on her five-star restaurant style dishes while her father was watching the new football game on the television. 

“Dinner time!” her mother called out, placing the dishes on the table. 

As if on cue, the two men in the living room stopped whatever they were doing and started heading for their seats at the table. 

“So how was school today?” her father asked like he usually did once they got settled in their seats.

“It was fine. I got an A+ on the paper I submitted yesterday about how the minds of an adult, a teenager, and a kid really work according to some theories,” Trainee 4186 reported her accomplishment for the day to her father, which she and her brother were required to do.

“That’s good. How about you, Kyle?” he said, turning to her brother this time.

“I also got an A++ on my report explaining every single theory throughout the past century on the laws of thermodynamics,” her brother said, not showing even a single ounce of proudness in his voice.

“Wow, the two of you are such geniuses!” their mother said with a bright smile on her face.

“Hey, Kyle, can you help me with my mathematics report due this Friday?” Trainee 4186 asked, not wanting their usual family dinner conversation to end.

“Yeah, sure, as long as you help me with my homework for English Literature,” he said as if dealing with a banker. 

“Like always,” she answered with a smile before eating a spoonful of the delicious mash potatoes her mother had made. 

“So, Kyle, you will be a senior next year. Have you chosen a university yet?” their father asked before drinking a glass of water, but before Kyle could answer, men started to pour out from every direction. Armed men entered through the front door and the kitchen door—some even came from the second floor. 

They were all wearing black uniforms that were the same as those of a SWAT team, except these people didn’t look like they were working for the government. Before the family could even utter a single word, they were all pointing their rifles and guns at them from every direction.

Instinctively, the four of them, being weaponless, raised their hands above their heads before anyone even said to. Trainee 4186 and her mother started crying while Kyle and their father glared at the men around them.

Suddenly, a man in a white suit entered the room as the men in black uniforms cleared a path for him.

“I sincerely apologize for disturbing your humble dinner. I would very much like to explain this whole ordeal to you, but that would just waste my precious time. And so, I’m just going to take my package and let you go back to your meal, okay? Are we clear?” the man said with a thick accent. Trainee 4186 recognized it from the movies she used to watch with her father, where the enemies were all Russian. 

She wondered why these Russians were in America, let alone in Pennsylvania. 

“Bag her,” the man said before exiting the area and heading towards the back door. 

No one knew who 'her' was until a few guys grabbed the only daughter in the family, tying her up and placing her in a body-sized black sack.

She heard her dad screaming and scrambling to his feet, trying to stop the men from taking her away. She knew he had failed when she heard a loud thud and a scream from her mother. After that, she was knocked out of her senses; the last thing she remembered was the feeling of being thrown into the back of a vehicle. When she woke up, she was in the same room she had been staying in for the past three years. 

“ATTENTION! THE TOURNAMENT WILL START IN ONE MINUTE. GRAB YOUR WEAPONS. AND FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE!” a robotic voice said through the speakers, making Trainee 4186 stand to her feet and prepare herself for the battle of her life. 

“Hey, doll face! Wake up!” an angry man yelled in my ears, making my dreams—more like memories—stop playing in my mind.

“I’m no doll.” I snapped back as I opened my eyes and glared at the man with a long face, pointed nose and round spectacles beside me.

“Let’s go.” He said, ignoring my protest about me being a doll. He stepped out of the black vehicle and so did I, taking in the outside world.

I have been imprisoned for three years and seeing the warm bright sun while feeling the cold winter breeze again gave me the feeling of nostalgia.

I looked around and saw a huge field before me surrounded by huge trees, blanketed with snow, as if I’m in the middle of forest in who knows where.

They have been careful, putting me to sleep during the transportation and waking me up upon arriving the destination just to keep me from using my brains and running away.

My eyes grew wide as it landed on the thing in front of me; it was an enormous baroque styled building. Like one of the villas of the royal family in the United Kingdom. Wait. Am I in the United Kingdom? How the hell did I get to Europe?

“Welcome, Mister Tow” a man with a stern face, that wears a black suit along with a dotted black necktie, greeted us as we enter the huge two door wooden entrance. The man beside me gave him a quick nod.

“I believe that this is your niece, the one that would be joining us this year?” the man said with a delicate smile now on his white, almost pale, face.

“Yes, she is.”

“This way please.” The man with a suit and a dotted necktie said as he led us to the grand staircase towards the fifth wooden door on their left.

“This is my office, please have a seat.” He said sitting behind his table and motioning to the two wooden chairs in front of it. His office is a bit small, with only one bookshelf, a glass window, a small fireplace, a wooden drawer on the side and his table at the middle of it all.

I saw the golden name plaque near the edge of his table that read James Corvort, Secretary.

“Since we spoke over the phone, I’m sure you are aware of my niece’s condition.” Tow said in a serious voice.

“Don’t worry, Mister Tow, your niece is in good hands here at our academy.” Corvort said with reassurance in his voice.

“This girl had been through a lot with her family in Russia and it still haunts her memories, I would really appreciate it if nobody asks her anything about her past life. She doesn’t deserve to relive that pain.”

“Of course, sir, we would make sure that she will be able to start her new life here, now can I please have the papers?”

Tow gave him my papers, fake to be exact, forged in many different ways, to make me appear like a broken child who was abused by her parents and accidentally killed them one day with knives using her telekinetic ability.

“Now, here is your class schedule, your dorm room key and your text books.” Corvort said handing me the things he just recited with a smile. I did everything I could to hide my irritation on this guy. His smile just ticks me off; it makes me want to punch him in his butt hole.

I took everything with ease and a fake smile plastered on my face.

“Your luggage is already in your dorm room and you could start going to class by Monday so you still have the whole weekend to get yourself used to the surroundings.”

“I don’t need a weekend to blend in.” I muttered standing up and heading for the door with Tow behind my back.

“Nice touch on the ‘I don’t want her to relive her pain’, you deserve an Oscar award for that.” I teasingly said with a grin as we reached the hallway.

“Shut up, doll face. You can get to your room on your own; I’ll see you when I see you. Good luck.” He said going back to the direction where we first came from.

“I don’t need luck.” I shouted back but he didn’t even look back so it’s either he didn’t hear or he doesn’t care. I think it’s the latter.

I placed the key on the keyhole and opened the door; it was an ordinary dorm room. Two beds with white linens, and posters of music groups that I never heard of on the right side which means my side of the room is on the left. There’s one wooden cabinet drawer with five sets of uniform inside which is a black knee length skirt, a white long-sleeved shirt, and lastly a maroon colored necktie. There’s also a wooden desk along with a chair on each side of the room. On the left side of the room was another wooden door, opening it revealed a simple bathroom with a tub, shower, sink and a toilet.

With my luggage, on top of my bed, I placed my textbooks on my desk and started unpacking my monochrome clothes. I only had two pairs of shoes, one black boots in which I’m already wearing and a grey sports shoes for my training. My wardrobe choice is boring, I know, but then again it wasn’t really my choice because even my clothes were decided by someone else.

After emptying my black luggage, I placed it underneath my bed, grabbing my black school backpack I put inside the things I need for studying or to look like I am studying.

This academy that I’m about to attend is different from any other academies in the world because of their peculiar students. They all have extraordinary abilities that normal human beings don’t have. Like the Justice League or the X-Men, except these people are not heroes. They are not here to train their abilities in order to save the human race. What they teach these students is how to control their abilities so that they would not pose a threat to the human race.

And the truth is, I am one of them—well, almost.

The sun has set and my dorm mate hasn’t return yet not that I care, just curious. The schedule says that class should’ve ended about two hours ago, looks like my dorm mate, Andrea, is doing something TGIF worthy. How did I know? Well, let’s just say I did some research.

I was about to go out for a late-night run when the door opened to reveal a girl with dark skin, curly black hair and a huge smile on her face. A blonde tall man wearing a black sleeveless shirt followed her who also has a smile on his face.

Why the hell is everyone smiling in this place? Am I in an amusement park? It’s so disgusting, it makes me want to puke.

“Oh!” the girl screamed while losing her balance but the guy caught her.

“You scared me!” she said holding her chest and standing up again.

“Are you my new dorm mate?” she asked closing the door with the guy behind her looking at me from head to toe, and cringe when he finished investigating my look.

“Yes, I am.” I said in a fake Russian accent, gazing down at their feet to look innocent and fragile just what I was instructed to be.

“Oh my gosh! I’m sorry I was late! I didn’t know you were coming today! I could’ve welcomed you and showed you around!” she said with an apologetic smile.

“Yeah and somehow introduce you to the world of color! Like what are you wearing? Last time I checked Halloween is over.” The guy said in a sassy tone as if imitating a fashion icon or a celebrity from Hollywood. If it wasn’t for the stupid mission, I wouldn’t be resisting the urge to pull out his tongue and cut it off.

“Harry! Be nice, she’s new.” Andrea said throwing a glare at the guy now beside her.

“New to the school or new to the world?” the gay man said in his sassy tone again, making me think of about a hundred more ways to kill him.

“Harry!” Andrea yelled at him in an irritated tone.

“No, it’s okay; I’m actually used of people criticizing my fashion sense.” I said still looking down, acting innocently. I hate the way I am acting right now; all this kindness makes me want to puke.

“Sorry, Harry is just a total fashion critic, a perfectionist when it comes to clothes and stuffs.” Andrea said in an apologetic tone. “What’s your name by the way?”

“I’m Calanthe, but you can call me Cali.” I said with another fake smile. After the tournament they changed my name from 4186 to Calanthe, it’s my assassin name, I have no idea why they want me to use it in this mission though.

“Calanthe? So elegant and sophisticated! I wish I have your name!” Harry added in a happy tone as if a kid just found another kid who likes unicorn.

“So…Calanthe – I meant Cali” Andrea said, sitting on her bed with Harry beside her while I sat back on my chair.

“Where do you live?” she continued with a friendly smile that makes me want to grab the scissors on her desk and just stab her in the heart.

Why are they always smiling? What is there to be happy about?

“I came from Chadan.”

“Where is that?”

“It’s in Russia.”

“Oh, that explains the sexy accent! I’ve always wanted to learn Russian. Their language is just so harmlessly sexy.” Harry said excitedly bouncing up and down on the bed like a baby on a crib.

“You’re disgusting Harry. Don’t mind her Cali, just tell us more about your hometown!” Andrea said thrilled to hear whatever word I will say next.

“Uhm…can we not talk about it? It’s a really sensitive and traumatic topic for me.” I said looking down at the floor.

“Oh my gosh…..I’m so sorry… I totally forgot what Corvort said about not bringing up your past life.” Andrea said in a sad tone, crap she looks like she’s about to cry any moment right now.

If she starts crying, I’m going out of this room and find a freaking punching bag.

“Andrea! That was so insensitive, we’re really sorry Cali.”

Next thing I knew the two of them are hugging me and squeezing the life out of me. I wanted to kill them for just touching me but then I remembered my mission, my purpose for being here. After a few dreadful minutes, they let me go and changed the subject to remove the sad atmosphere.

“If you’re new here, I think you should know the social standing rules here.” Harry is back with his sassy tone again.

“Social standing rules? I thought this is an academy that supports equality and such?” I said, raising an eyebrow as if I really care about that load of crap.

“Of course, this school does, but in reality, there’s only one rule here that you must follow no matter what. Harry, don’t exaggerate.” Andrea said, rolling her brown eyes at Harry.

“Sorry I just feel like we’re in a coming of age teen movie or something.” Harry said with a giggle that sounded like a pig’s cry.

“The only rule you have to remember is to stay away from Professor Alexander.” She said in a dark cynical voice.

“Why? Is it because he’s strict? Don’t worry I can handle strict professors.”

“No! Of course not! He’s the nicest, kindest and sweetest professor in the entire galaxy!” Harry said with his cheeks red and his voice high pitched.

“Then why should I stay away from him?” I asked curiously, now I’m interested, maybe he’s a kind professor in the morning and a psychopath killer at night. Interesting. The reports said nothing like that about him.

“He’s actually so popular with girls and gays,” she said glancing at Harry. “but there’s one girl who’s obsessed with him to the point that she’s ready to ruin anyone who gets close to him.”

“What do you mean by ruin?” I asked becoming more interested in meeting this girl than the professor himself.

“Irene. She is a telepath so she can read people’s mind, find out their secrets and use it against them.” Harry answered my question in a voice that he probably uses for gossiping.

“That’s scary.” I said faking nervousness in my voice but deep inside I feel like smirking, I think I found someone who has the same grit and devious mind as I am.

“Yes, so you better watch out.” Andrea warned, widening her eyes at the same time.

“That’s easy,” I said, crossing my arms and leaning on the headboard of my bed. “First of all I would never have a crush on Professor Alexander and—“

“You can never tell, girl, you can never tell…” Harry said, shaking his head slowly.

Andrea changed the subject and suddenly we are already gossiping about some girl named Jessie and her boyfriend Timmy. I tried to stop myself from rolling my eyes every time they say stupid things, which is all the time.

This is going to be a school year full of fake crap, bullshit lies, and whole lot of damn things I hate.

Getting away from jolly land was harder than I imagined, I was forced to use excuses after excuses before they let me wander around the campus on my own. Students are not allowed to walk around the school grounds when the clock strikes 8:00pm so I still have about a half an hour before I completely break a school rule on my first day which is cool but totally not what little miss innocent Russian girl Cali is expected to do.

The campus looked like a ghost town even though it’s still allowed to walk around the area, seems like everyone is busy enjoying at their own TGIF activities. It’s been exactly 24 hours since I felt pain in my body and I miss it. As I crave it, I look around to see if anyone is around, when there’s none I turned to the hard cement wall beside me.

I stared at it for a while and noticed its uneven and rough texture. It’s perfect. Without hesitation, I started punching the wall with my bare hands and I didn’t stop despite of the numbing sparks it sent through my knuckles and the blood splotches on my hand.

“You don’t punch walls; you punch people because walls don’t get hurt.” A man’s voice said a few feet behind me, I stopped, with my knuckles still hanging midair. Crap! I was supposed to be an innocent Russian girl not some wall punching bitch! My cover’s blown! What am I supposed to do?

My heart is beating hard against my chest and I was finding it hard to catch my breath. I need to calm down. I took three deep breaths, like how my trainer taught me. That’s what he always used to say, “When you find yourself in a difficult situation, take three deep breaths and go back to your center.” Now that I think about it, he sounded like a yoga instructor.

I slowly turned around to face him but made sure to look down at his feet to keep my innocent girl profile.

I took another deep breath before saying the words I never thought I would still be able to say after all these years.

“I’m sorry.” I almost vomited these words out, but I still tried to sound convincing because I have to. I need to do this for the mission.

“Look at me.” I heard him say, I looked up and let my eyes meet his deep blue ones.

“What do you have to be sorry about?” he asked, furrowing his thick eyebrows at me. I remained silent.

“You don’t have to be sorry about wanting to feel pain, especially when you craved it. I think cravings are things that you can’t control.”

I laughed but I made sure it didn’t sound sarcastic which is surprisingly difficult to do, it burned my lungs so much I felt like I was back at training.

“That’s absurd! Why would I crave pain? It’s not chocolate cake!” I laughed again but he didn’t seem to be buying it. “Craving pain. That’s a good one. I didn’t know that this academy has a bunch of comedians. That was really funny mister stranger, you just made my day! I’m Cali, by the way.”

“Diversion technique.” he uttered those words so effortlessly as if they flowed out of his mouth like how water flows in a river.

“What?”

“That’s what you’re doing, you’re trying to divert my attention from the previous topic so as to not involve yourself with it.” He cynically said, looking at me with those piercing deep blue eyes.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m guessing you’re drunk from all the partying you’ve been doing tonight. So, I’ll just be going ahead.” I said before walking away, I can’t stay there anymore. My cover’s blown!

“You did it again.”

I stopped dead on my tracks as I heard him say those words.

“Don’t worry it’s normal especially for those who are so cruelly played by fate to the extent that pain feels like gratitude.”

He figured me out. He saw a part of me. A part of me that no one has ever seen before. And if that is not the most terrifying thing in the universe, I don’t know what is. My heart started beating fast against my chest again, I couldn’t breathe and my hands started shaking vigorously. At that moment, I did the most logical action I could think of, I ran away.