Built to Slaughter

SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE

RAYO GRIFFIN WOOLRIDGE

We don’t know how long it’s been, but we’ve been stuck here in the enemy’s base for like forever.

They locked us up in a large igloo, at first we thought it was weird locking us up in an igloo because it’s an igloo like what the heck, it’s not so smart to put your prisoners in here, but then we saw our chains are buried deep into the snow, then the psychopath boss told us why he chained here in the igloo so we could freeze to death, we are only in our boxers because he never gave our shirts back. Then he left, we never see him come here again, only his guards check on us, like when it was time to give us food once a day or sometimes no food at all.

My body is working hard to recover and repair the damage. I was unable to move gracefully, and my movements were a little jerky. I had no idea how long the beating had lasted, every day when the guards come here to give our foods, they casually beat one of us to death but I get the beating part most often because I don’t want my friends to feel so much pain and I don’t want them to suffer much, My face wasn't too bad, with only a cut above my brow, a large swelling black eye on my left eye. It was my body that had been damaged almost beyond the point of repair.

One day we planned to escape because we figured no one is coming for us and we are going to die if we didn’t, it’s very hard to find this place without the trackers and as of now, we don’t even know where we are. We all know that the guards only come once a day at noon to give our food then they never come back here until tomorrow. It’s a good thing that our hands weren’t tied up like the first time we got here, right now we are long sitting, while chained on solid iron handcuffs that tied our hands in our back and leg cuffs that made us barely stand up that weighs about 2kg. At first, my friend thought I was crazy because it’s very impossible to escape through these chains but I told them that it can work if we have patience.

“Rayo please tell me you are kidding,” Maxwell said I can hear the fear in his voice, facing him, I could see a dark-colored bruising on his right eye, and dried blood on his wounds that I think is getting infected already “We can barely move right now and you are thinking to escape? I think it’s best just to stay here we are going to die anyway”

“You guys are giving up already?” I frowned “Look we have to get out of here if you guys are expecting the team, don’t, you guys are waiting for nothing, it’s been weeks or a month I don’t know!”

I yelled out in frustration, but then my right hips ached for yelling I groaned in pain for a second, I wish the pain just stop. Every time I move even just for a bit my body aches like hell. I can hear Maxwell scoffed.

“Look at you planning to escape and all but you can’t even control your own body right now Rayo” Maxwell rolled his eyes, an uncomfortable tension started to fill the air “You have a body of a Jell-O right now, one wrong move and you could break”

“Stop fighting guys, fighting doesn’t help our situation right now,” Walter said, of course, Walter our optimistic man always calm and positive even in the worse situation, even though his wounds are swelling so badly “We will get through this guys, just be patient”

“Rayo is right though we have to get out of here, the only hope is ourselves, no one is going to save us,” Walter said agreeing with me I can see a glimmer of hope in his eyes, “But on the second hand you Rayo are not yet capable of anything because your body needs to recover”

“I am recovering okay don’t worry about me,” I said flashing a small smile at my friend, even though I know to myself I need a long time to recover my body.

“Fine, so what’s the plan again?” Max sighed in defeat.

“Okay so these chains, remember one time my dad taught us that we could shatter a metal by freezing it since we are out here in the cold for like weeks I bet the chains are freeze enough to break, tomorrow we will try to smash our handcuffs first on the ground then once it breaks, hopefully, it will, and then we will proceed to feet. Will it hurt us? of course, it will hurt us, there is a possibility we could break a bone or something, but let’s try to be more gentle when breaking it, we can try for like at least once a day, we smash it for one time and then so on until it loosens so we could avoid getting hurt” I carefully explained to them in a low voice, of course, we have to be careful, there might be someone listening to us. I waited for a reaction but I got none so take that to continue my explanation. “And after we break our chain of course we still need to pretend to be chained so we keep our hand in the back until its food time, so one of us will wait for the guard that will give us a food, and snuck up on him and then kill him okay?”

“Okay I’ll be the one to do that,” Maxwell volunteered, and then he looked at me intently “and don’t even try to protest, or else we cancel this plan right now”

“Don’t worry I was going to assign that to you” I reassured him “I have to admit I couldn’t hurt an ant in my case right now so yeah I’m practically a feeble”

They both chuckled lightly finally the heavy tension that was filled in the air earlier vanished.

“Next is we use that guard's uniform as disguise especially the mask, and since you volunteer max you are the one who will go inside their territory, try to find an escape like a car or truck and things that we could use to defend ourselves, and also if you can find clothes get them, because we really need them too. So there it is a very dangerous plan but we have to take risk okay? just take extra caution”

“What about the body of the guard?” Walter asked, “And what if they get suspicious? what are we going to do?”

“We chain the guard’s body pretending it’s max, in case someone will check, but I doubt someone will because they are dumb, so what I’m saying is it’s like they are going to switch places, max is going to be the guard and the guard in Maxwell’s chain” I said, Walter, making an ‘oh' face, a sign that he was starting to get it “And if they get suspicious we are long gone by then, if the plan works perfectly then we can get out of here”

“It will take weeks to break out these chains but once we break it our escape will be much easier I hope,” I said while looking at them sternly, I could see their eyes filled with mixed emotions but mostly hope and fear.

“So right now try to regain your strength Rayo okay?” Walter said gently smiling at me, I am grateful for the expression of concern that shows in his eyes.

“Yeah I will”

-

It’s been a week, my body is finally coming back to its senses, I can finally walk around without falling my face to the floor, and finally, we broke out to our chains as planned, it wounded us but it’s just a little, also the handcuffs leave a large red mark surrounding our wrist, but so far we are grateful that we didn’t break our bones. As of now, Max is inside the territory of the enemy, hopefully he will be back with our escape. So far our plan has worked, After we broke out to our chains we waited for a guard to come, and finally the waiting is over, Maxwell snuck up behind the guard's back and killed him by breaking his neck in just seconds, Walter and I got a little bit excited but we don’t want to jinx it so we calmed ourselves down and got back to our usual spot, sitting down half-naked on the ice again.

“When we get out of here I’m going to shower for 10 hours and I will go to a massaging place because my body hurts like hell,” Walter says casually, he leans his back against the ice wall, crossing his arms over his chest “And I’m going to eat at a buffet, I’m going to pig out after we get out of here”

I can see that glint of excitement in his eyes again, I started kind of feel guilty because I don’t want to get his hopes up, I don’t want to bring him down either but we still aren’t sure that we can get out of here safely, fear still lingers in my mind, as long as we are here something could go wrong.

Man, I got to stop overthinking and start thinking positively like Walter.

“Well that is a good idea we can all go together” I chuckled at him, I stood up because I’m tired of sitting, my butt hurts and also I need these feet’s to get used to my balance again “and after that we can hangout to our favorite café place again, god I missed that place”

“You know I wish I can be like that,” I tell him, walking over to his side and I sat down beside him

“Like what?” Walter asked

“You being optimistic all the time, you can radiate the positive vibes everywhere you go, it’s like you are not scared at all,” I said, I look at him, I saw him face down to the floor and sighed.

“I am afraid too you know, out the three of us I am the most coward and pathetic,” Walter said meeting my gaze, I can see his eyes moisten “I know It doesn’t show, but don’t be deceive, I hide my fears, bury them deep down to my brain, fear can ruin you sometimes, it doesn’t do anything good in a situation like this, because when we are afraid, we are under stress, we can cause panic and we can’t think straight, things never end well when you began panicking right?, so instead of being afraid, I tell to myself that I have to be positive because everything is possible if you believe that something good will come your way”

“Yeah, fear is natural, it’s how you handle it, but you mister Walter you are really good at handling your fear!!” I said cheerily, I patted his shoulders “You certainly are not a pathetic or coward person, you are the bravest person bro“

“Thanks, Rayo, you are the best” He smiled at me

“No problem dude”

-

After a few hours, Maxwell came back with a key to a truck, he said that he already park it at the back of the igloo so no one could see since it’s night time no one could notice that. He also brought guns, grenades, and clothes like the guards wear, and especially first aid kits.

“Finally warmth” Walter said hugging himself; we laughed at the dork “This feels great”

“Come on guys hurry we don’t have enough time, we need to go a.s.a.p.,” Maxwell said he also change into new clothes because of the ones he used smells.

“Man I can’t believe we are doing this, they are jerks for not checking us” I mumble as I dress, finally getting the feeling of warmth that I’ve been craving for weeks.

“That’s because they underestimated us, thinking we are just kids” Walter shrugged “They didn’t know we are trained to kill”

“Oh hey guys I got a phone too” Maxwell announced “Looks like we’ve been here for a month”

“Damn,” Walter said shocked “time really flies fast”

“Well that’s great, why didn’t you call for help immediately?” I frowned

“Well, why don’t you see it yourself” Max rolled his eyes handing out the phone to me; I took the phone from him but groaned when I saw that the phone didn’t have any signal.

“Great” I huffed.

“Calm down, no need to be mad about it, we have everything we need okay?” Maxwell says as he c****d the gun he was holding “Now come on let’s get out of here“

“Let’s go,” I said

We quietly walked out of the igloo holding out our guns in our chest in case something will come, Maxwell leading us we are following behind him since he knows the whole place by now, he carefully checked if someone was outside when it’s clear he looked at us and mouthed us “clear” then we followed him until, we finally got outside, it was cold but we are already used to it perks of being locked up in an igloo. Finally, we got into our escape we all sighed in relief and started to jump inside the truck. The truck that Maxwell got is a UAZ-469.

“Man this is cool where did you get this?” I asked Maxwell, as buckled myself in the front seat behind him

“In there,” He said as he pointed at the territory of the enemy, I now realize that It’s a bit far away from where we are locked up “They have like a hundred of these”

“Oh f**k I forgot to tell you guys I have our things all gathered in one backpack, I left it in the igloo s**t” Maxwell suddenly said “Wait here guys I will get it”

“No, no I will get it “ Walter volunteered, he quickly unbuckled himself and jumps out of the car “Oh start the car already and meet me at the front of the igloo so we could go real quick”

“No it’s dangerous” Maxwell frantically said “They might hear the engine and if they check we are going to be doomed”

“It won’t take long though” Walter shrugged, as he faced Maxwell he can see his face dead serious “Okay fine I’ll come out for like 2 minutes tops”

10 minutes had passed, Walter hasn't come back yet, we grow more worried because we are not that far away from the igloo he was supposed to be here like 2 minutes ago

"Come on Max let's go check, I'm really getting anxious," I said, I've been fidgeting on the phone that max gave me earlier for the whole time.

"Fine" Max replied, his hand trembling for a bit, but he shook it off and started the engine making a roaring sound, he started to drive towards the front entrance of the igloo, and when we got to the entrance, all of our colors drained as we saw the Wesley guy standing in crossed arms, his eyes are seething with rage, from the back there is a guard is holding a beaten-up, Walter.

Talk about bad timing, we are really screwed f**k. I instinctively pointed my gun at Wesley's head while Max pointed his gun at the guard

“Do you think you can fool me?!” Wesley hissed, raising his arms up "Okay this is the last time I'm giving you guys a chance, I'm going to ask you politely, drop your weapons, and get out of the car and get back to your chains, maybe I'll forget about it or if you don't I'm going to kill your little wimpy friend here"

"Try touching him, I will blast off that big head of yours"

My words are harsh, blunt. I glared at him, my eyes shooting daggers through his.

He tried to step forward, but I shoot near at his foot, making him stumble backward.

"Ahh, you almost shot my feet," He sarcastically said pretending to be shocked, but I can see the fear in his eyes.

"Yeah, try taking another step maybe you will lose more than your feet" I threaten him, I feel the anger bubbling inside of me, I tried to take a step forward little by little every second and then stopped 3 feet away from Wesley. "Let him go and let us go, so no one will get hurt"

"Rayo just go and leave me please, it's no use" Walter interrupted but the guard told him to shut up

"You think I'm going to buy that?" Wesley said one eyebrow raised, challenging me, trying to press my buttons "I'm not afraid of you, you guys are just a bunch of kids"

"That's it" I couldn't take it anymore, I shot the Bastard's stomach and foot making him kneel down to the floor he winced then started coughing up his own blood, holding out his stomach in pain, While Max already shot the guard in the head before he could even try. "See this is what you get for underestimating us, you are a fool for not making a tight security on your prisoners just because we are kids, we are not just regular kids, we are trained to kill people like you."

He didn't respond, so I take that as our cue to leave before we get swarm by his pathetic minions here.

"Come on Walter hurry up let's go," I said, as I run back to our truck I glanced back to see if Walter is following me but then I frowned because I saw Walter just standing in his spot looking dreadful, and then I heard Wesley mumbled something.

"Have fun exploding" Wesley clicked on to something before passing out and then within a few seconds, I saw a C4 bomb's timer light up at Walter's body it was chained onto him, our eyes filled up with horror again and again.

"JUST GO, IT ONLY GOT LIKE 1 MINUTE SO PLEASE LEAVE ME! IT'S NO USE I TRIED TO TELL YOU EARLIER" Walter burst out now he was crying and screaming, he knelt down to the floor crying hysterically

"No, we will figure something out I know it," I said firmly trying to be strong but inside I am breaking the f**k down, Max and I tried to find something in the truck and in the backpack that we can use to remove the bomb. "Or we can cut the right cords right Max?"

"Guys, stop" Walter sighed deeply, as he started to wipe his tears and looked at us giving us a small yet convincing smile "It's no use I got 40 secs left, and even if you cut the cords there is no use because Wesley said cutting the wires will only make the time fast"

"When I came back here to retrieve the backpack Wesley was already here and his guard, he saw me and started to strangled me again and started to beat me up, he figures out that you two are coming, so he planted this bomb at me because he knew that you wouldn't go without putting up a fight, he knew that he was going to be doomed, and he knew we are smart kids you know, he was afraid of us to be honest, I can see it,"

I panicked and started pacing around, stress because I feel useless and hopeless, I don't want to lose someone right now, I just can't especially our best friend, Max on the other hand I can see him facepalming in distress.

"It's fun while it lasted guys see you around again someday" He gave us a small smile

"Don't say that please" I started sobbing, and suddenly Maxwell is now by my side comforting me, A single tear rolled down his cheek. "Where is the optimistic Walter I know?"

"Well he's going to be gone, we all know what is going to happen" he sighed heavily, letting his head drop, a blank expression plastered on his face, back then I can easily read him, but right now I don't think I can.

"I love you guys thank you for being there for me you guys are my family" He sniffled between words. "Go now, I only got 15 seconds, please do me a favor and don't look back okay?"

I nodded sadly, we finally said our goodbyes but I don't wanna go if he's going to die, I want to die too, I begged him that I want to stay, but Walter looked at max and he knew immediately what to do, Maxwell carried me inside the truck I tried to fight him to run back to our best friend but Maxwell immediately drove off at a high speed as tears welled up in his eyes, and then just a few seconds I looked back and saw a medium explosion from where we left Walter. I cried I let the tears streamed down my face, the feeling of my throat closing up suffocating me. I guess crying is natural and healthy for those who are in pain, so I let it all out crying my eyes out for hours until I got tired.

Goodbye Walter my friend see you on the other side soon and let's do missions together again okay?.

So long partner...