28 slowly opened his eyes. They seared with pain at the sudden light, causing him to flinch, but adjusted soon after. He was in his cot, his clothes had been stripped and a fresh set was folded at his feet. With the grace of an elderly man he rose to a sitting position, the blankets fell away and the cool air felt good on his bare skin.
"Hey hey hey, take it easy there."
82 was walking towards 28, "You took a hell of a beating back there, best to take it slow."
28 shook his head groggily. Then he remembered what happened. His hand leapt to his face, feeling his nose.
"Yeah, apparently being perfect means you heal quick. You can hardly tell she caved in yer face. Speaking of which."
82 gestured towards a chair that had been dragged up beside 28's cot. In it sat 78, her head bowed in sleep.
"She's hardly left yer side, save for when forced to. What happened back there really tore her up, and her reluctance really pissed off Rinzlo."
'She's been here this whole time? But how long…'
"How long have I-?"
"About six hours or so, but you didn't even get the worst of it. That was poor Thirty-six."
For the first time 28 noticed the other occupied cot, in it lay Subject: 36. His face was a swollen mess of purple and green and his bloody clothes had been left in a heap on the floor.
"What the hell happened to him?"
82 chewed his cheek for a moment before responding.
"Well I came to about halfway through your match, got to see the bloody bit at the end. And then Thirty-six was practically dragged up there for his match. He got paired off with Rinzlo, and he was too afraid to fight back. Rinzlo didn't take too well to that and beat the everloving shit out of him. By the time he was done we were sure he'd killed him, until we noticed his chest start rising again. I swear he was about to do the same to Seventy-eight after she told him no. But then he said if she didn't finish you, then he would. He's brutal as hell."
28 nodded his understanding, his mind full of pity for the beaten boy and new understanding for 78. 'She was trying to spare me?'
"Now I wish I'd just been paired off with Ninety-nine, at least you got taken out clean."
"Y-yeah, I did."
82 flushed and turned away abruptly, offering no further comment. 28 fell back into bed for a moment before turning to look at 78. She was fast asleep, salty stains streaked down her cheeks. 'She was crying?' 28 couldn't help but feel some lingering resentment for the beating she gave him, but now it pained him to feel it. He rose from his cot with a groan. 78 didn't stir. 28 dressed quickly, wincing as his clothes brushed over the still tender bruises that remained of what had once been serious injuries.
As he stretched his tired limbs 28 locked eyes with 99, he seemed to have something to say. Curious, 28 approached the other boy.
"What?"
99 shifted in his seat and nodded towards 78, "She's in for it, Rinzlo writes a report after every training session. His report on her wasn't good, I could see it in her face."
"What do you mean?" replied 28, fear gripping his heart.
"What I mean, is that other than Eighty-two's initial outburst we haven't had any major incidents. Today we had two. Both Seventy-eight and Thirty-six refused Rinzlo. Punishment is certain, and it won't be pretty. Just you wait."