My fingers grip the sides of the chair that I was tied to, my eyes squeezed shut, trying desperately to block out the grunts of Josh's pain as they beat him senseless. I could feel every one of those punches land. Every one of those kicks connect. The pain Josh was in was the pain I was in, not as much as he was as mine doesn't last. I feel the pain he first feels then it goes away, just like that but it carries on hurting for him.

The room was that dull concrete grey you have in multi storey car parks. There was a single bright white light in the middle of the ceiling, shining down on Josh, tied to a chair like I was only I was in the corner of the room. Around the top edges of the room was the balcony where members of Triple stood to watch and cheer.

Two big, burly men dressed in black stood facing Josh, each taking turns to slap him around. At every punch I flinch and gasped, taking the blow for myself.

"You know, Josh," one of the men, Steve, said, pulling off the wraps he wore around his knuckles then grabbing Josh by the hair, pulling his bruised, bloody face back. I bit my lip, trying not to cry out as I felt the tug on my own hair. "I don't know why you take these beatings when all you have to do is do as you're told or let the girl take it. You comply to us most of the time and yet there is always something that causes you to get shoved in here." The crowd taunted with their howls of laughter.

"You know...exactly...why..." Josh panted. I knew too. Josh always took the beatings. Even when it was my fault we were in here, he always made sure he took them...to protect me. This time it was my fault we were in here. Triple sent us to kill this important government guy, I don't know his exact title, but Josh and I found him as ordered. But I couldn't kill him and I told Josh not to either. Instead, we took him back. He was in the dungeons right now. But Triple wasn't pleased and this is how they punish us. If I protested, they only hurt Josh more.

"Oh yes I do," Steve replied. He nodded to his friend, Greg, who smashed a deadly roundhouse kick into Josh's ribcage. We both cried out as I felt his ribs snap. My ribs were perfectly fine and the pain for me was gone as soon as it came but I knew Josh's were broken.

Steve raised his hand to silence the crowd. They did so, waiting in anticipation for what he was going to do next as Josh wheezed in the chair. Then he started clapping, a slow rhythmic clap. The crowd followed his lead and they got faster and faster. The build up to the finale.

Greg pulled a knife from his belt and passed it to Steve. "No!" I screamed, knowing that I would probably make things worse but I couldn't help it. "No please don't stab him!" That earned me a slap from Greg and a massive roar from the crowd. They had got faster now and were jeering. Greg held up his fingers signalling for a count down. "Three!" the crowd roared.

"No!" I cried.

"Two!"

"No please, I'm begging you!" Josh locked eyes with me. In my head I could hear what he was saying:

'Don't look.' But I couldn't tear my eyes from him.

"One!" Steve threw the knife and it thudded into Josh's shoulder. Pain exploded in my own as Josh groaned. Then it was gone for me, but not for Josh. The crowd were going mental. Steve went over and yanked the knife from his shoulder. Then the deafening sound stopped. I looked up and saw the Master, standing in the doorway. The crowd silenced immediately and all went on one knee in a show of respect. Steve and Greg stood back, their heads bowed to the leader of Triple. No one knew his real name or how he got the three long, white scars that ran parallel to each other from his ear to his nose. He was a thin, tall man with greying hair but he radiated authority. If fear was a person, the Master was it.

"Given up yet, Josh?" he asked cruelly. His fingers brushed a purpling bruise on his cheek before he smashed a punch low into Josh's stomach. The crowd went through the roof as Josh gagged and struggled to breath. I could feel the pain he was in and it hurt so bad.

"We...won't be...your weapon," he gasped.

"You will be what we created you to be," the Master said. "You were raised by Triple. Given your gifts by Triple. You will do what I say or suffer the consequences."

"You...can't make...us do anything," Josh said. "You...need us...so you...can't kill us... Or even...one of us... Kill one, you kill...the other."

"I know that perfectly well considering that's what I wanted," the Master said. "I wanted you to be so closely bonded that you felt the same pain." He leaned closer to Josh, pulling back his head and talking in a low voice in his ear. "You aren't protecting her, Josh. She is feeling the same you are."

"It stops for her," Josh said.

"Not if I put a bullet in her gut," the Master said, straightening up and aiming a gun at me. Josh looked at me, eyes wide with fear. Blood was flowing freely down his shoulder and I didn't have the time or the concentration to heal it now (healing each other was one of our gifts. All we needed to do was concentrate really hard but it takes a lot of energy.)

"No please," he said. "You said...you said you wouldn't hurt her."

"Well I lied," the Master said. "You should have thought of that before you brought back your target alive."

"We don't want to kill!" I cried. "You can't force us!"

"You know that's not true, Erin," the Master said calmly. "We can make you do whatever we like and you know it." Of course I knew; how could I forget? There was a reason why Josh and I didn't just run as soon as they let us out of the base. They had something, we didn't know what but we knew they had it as they spoke of it often enough. It was something that allowed them to kill us anytime they wanted, wherever we were, no matter how far. It was like their fail safe. If Josh and I ran, they would just kill us and start their whole sick experiment again. They'll just create two other kids and order them to kill people.

"So, what are you going to do?" the Master asked. "Comply to us, or face the consequences?" I didn't reply. "Answer me!" the Master roared, making me flinch. "Answer me or I shoot you!" I glanced at Josh.

'We have to do it,' he said in my mind. Even now he sounded like he was going to lose consciousness any minute. 'Erin, we can't lose each other...I- I can't lose you.'

'But is that enough reason to kill people, Josh?'

'You know they'll just make two more of us and make them do it,' he thought. 'It's a circle. We just have to find the way out. Till then, grin and bear it.'

"Three seconds!" the Master shouted. How could Josh say that we just have to kill until we figure it out? These are people's lives we're talking about. Josh looked at me with pleading eyes. No, not pleading, apologetic.

"We'll do it," he said quietly. "We've agreed." I hung my head in shame, hiding the tears that were glistening like diamonds on my cheeks.

"Excellent," the Master said, smiling evilly. The scars on his face seemed to bulge out with excitement. He lowered the gun and shoved it into his belt. "I knew you wouldn't let us down." The whole arena burst out laughing. "Now everyone, back to work!" he shouted. "We plan the next attacks! If I see anyone slacking, I'll personally feed you to the dogs right after I rip you to shreds!" Nobody doubted him; we had seen him do exactly that so many times before.

The Master turned and smacked Josh in the head one last time, making him groan in pain, before he stalked out of the room, leaving Steve and Greg to take care of us. Greg loosened my bonds just enough so I could struggle free and catch Josh just as Steve threw him to the ground.

He looked awful. He mouth and nose were bleeding as well as the cut on the side of his head. When Ii pressed on his ribs, pain flared up in my own, letting me know that his were broken. The bruises all over him were turning black. "Oh Josh," I whispered, burying my head into his chest. "This is all my fault. If only I had the guts to kill him..."

"It's not your fault, Erin," Josh murmured. "It's...it's Triple's..." Steve and Greg were leaning on the doorway, talking in low voices but watching us carefully.

"Oh God, I need to heal you," I said, pulling up his shirt to expose his blackened ribs. Josh caught my hand.

"If...you can't, then...don't do it," he gasped. I didn't have the motivation to argue with him because he was right, as always.

I hovered my hands over his ribs, careful not to touch them. Steve and Greg were watching me hard. Why did they have to do that? This was hard enough already. 'Don't think about them,' Josh whispered in my mind. 'You can do it, just focus but don't hurt yourself.'

'Shut up,' I told him. 'You're not helping.' I took deep breaths, closing my eyes and trying to relax my mind just enough to heal Josh. I visualised his ribs joining back together, the stab wound on his shoulder disappearing, the bruises fading. A roaring sound filled my ears, like a thousand waves crashing on top of me. I could feel my head going heavy as I drained my energy for Josh.

'Erin!' Josh yelled at me by thoughts. 'Erin stop!" Opening my eyes, I found myself shaking in Josh's arms.

"You did it too much again," he told me. "You need to control it." I looked at him. He seemed a lot better: the gash was healed as well as his ribs. Some of the bruising had faded but a lot of it was still there.

"I'm trying, Josh," I sighed as he helped me up. "But you're so much better at it than me. Even when I go full out, you've still got some pretty nasty bruises."

"I can live with bruises, Erin," Josh said gently, stroking my arm. "You healed the serious stuff."

"Oh, you two!" Greg yelled at us. "Get over here now!" We kept our eyes on the floor as we came over, letting them grab us by the arms to 'escort' us away.

"Why did you have to ruin all my good work, Erin?" Steve growled in my ear. "I spent ages on Josh this morning." I didn't answer, knowing that he was trying to wind me up. He wanted a reaction so he had the excuse to hit me but I wasn't going to give him one.

As we left the arena, Steve and Greg dragged us left instead of right where our dormitory was. I glanced at Josh beside me who seemed just as worried as I was. "Where are we going?" I asked Steve.

"Boss wants us to take you to the prep room," Steve said.

"Why?"

"Because you're going on a mission," Steve said. "Another hunt. And you're not going to like it."

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Hiya guys!!!

So I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I wanted to jump straight into the action but also a little explaining about who Erin and Josh are too just because I didn't want you to get bored straight away because that wouldn't be good. Yeah so I hope you don't get bored.

So comment and vote please if you liked it!!! I'm always open for advice, feedback and ideas because I love it!!! Any of that you could give me would be great!!!

So, I hope you enjoyed the story so far, thank you for reading!!!

CricketCat