Five of your compatriots have been taken by your enemy. They have not come back. But if they had been broken, your enemy would not continue. He would simply kill you and the other twelve. So once more you have the satisfaction that your captors are at your mercy as much as you are at theirs. They need you alive and you'd like to remain alive.

Of course, the one downside is that they need you alive, not healthy or comfortable. So when your enemy comes for you, you struggle. You kick and you swear and you make it as hard as possible for his men to take you, but one man versus six turns out to be odds that you can't beat. Who expects them to play fair?

By the time you reach the room, your ears are already ringing and there's blood in your mouth. Your enemy's men are not fond of those who struggle.

The room is dark and the captors are shadows that dart around you. The only constants are you and the man across from you. Both you and he sit- him voluntarily, you shoved into the chair and tied to it. All but one of the captors leave; the remaining one stands in the corner, out of your view.

Your enemy just watches you for a minute, and something about the way he's looking at you makes a shiver travel down your spine. He smiles slightly, noticing it.

"Comfortable?" asks your enemy, lips curling into a languid smile. You're surprised that he knows your language at all.

You say nothing. You will say nothing. This man cannot do anything that will make you betray everything you care for.

"I hope we can avoid the... unpleasantries I've had with your comrades. As you've likely noticed, they weren't willing to answer my questions. I'd hate to have to do this all over again."

You say nothing. You will say nothing. This man cannot do anything that will make you betray everything you care for.

Your enemy sighs. "I see. Fighter till the end." He nods to the man in the corner, and then it all begins.

Hmm... I'm not sure if I need an author's note at the end of every chapter (is chapter the right word?) but it feels right, so if you don't want to read these, skip them. Doesn't matter much to me. By now, you're probably thinking, Hey, didn't you promise me violence? Good news if you like violence: that's next chapter. Bad news if you don't like violence: that's next chapter. It's not super graphic (as I said earlier, I tried to minimize the gore for the sake of my poor English teacher) but if you are not good with violence, maybe this isn't the story for you.