“Are these the two we need? How on earth did they survive?” one man asked.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. The Lord said he needed them. One for stress relief and one for the Coffin,” the other responded.  His voice was coarse and rough like he had lungs full of smoke.

“Which for which?” 

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. You get the female, and I'll get the male.” 

“Roger.” 

With two siblings in tow, the mysterious men went back to the metallic box. The door slid open, and they veered inside. A small panel of buttons sat nestled against the corner. Each had a different number written on it. The man holding the brother pressed the bottom-most button, and a slight hum could be heard as the metal box descended into the ground.  

“Don’t forget to hit the cleanup button,” one man said.  

“I won’t. In fact, I’ll hit it now,” the other replied. The second man used his free hand to take a small remote from his pocket. It was all black and had a word written in a language that the two couldn't read. He pressed the button, and a loud noise sounded out. Though they couldn’t see it, a massive sandstorm appeared out of nowhere and laid waste to the area where the bodies were at. This was a sort of self-clean-up function that was solely made to hide any evidence. The bodies up above all flopped and flapped around in a tornado. The sand whipped against the run-down building causing more parts to fall. As if controlled by magic, the sandstorm and the tornado glided away from the building, no doubt set on a direct course to destroy the sibling's village.

The metal box stopped descending, and a hissing noise could be heard before the door slid open.  

Standing in front of the two men were more people in similar suits to the one they wore. Behind them laid a white wall with a device embedded into it. Two glass arches sat to the left and right. In front of them laid two stretchers.  

“No time to waste. You two put the bodies on stretchers and go get changed,” the man in front said. He had the letter ‘D’ written on his suit, but there was a crown above it. He gave off a sense of authority and righteousness.  

“Yes, sir!”  

The two men put the bodies on the beds. The people behind the stretchers grabbed the handles and ran off through the arches. The man went left, and the woman went right. With their job done, the two men walked over to the device on the wall. The man on the left moved his head to the device, and a red laser scanned the black dongle on his head.

“Authorized. You may enter,” a robotic voice said as the wall raised up out of the ground and into the ceiling. The two men passed through, and the wall promptly closed. To their left and right were two pipes with holes in them. A moment later, a clear thick liquid poured out, covering the two men. The gel didn’t stop coming out until the two were completely submerged.  

“This part is the worst, right?” one man said. 

“I don’t care about whether it’s bad or not,” the other sternly replied.  

“Yeah yeah. You don’t care about anything, do you?” the first man slyly asked, with a hint of humor in his voice.  

“Don’t have a reason to care,” said the man who didn't care.

“I know,” the carefree man sighed at his stubborn partner. The two could communicate thanks to a set of radios embedded in the suits.

A few minutes later, the robotic voice whirled to life.

“Sterilizing complete,” it said.  

“Finally! It took longer this time,” the carefree man didn’t get a response.  

Water sprayed from the two pipes, and when it came into contact with the thick gel-like substance, it instantly thinned out. After that, the gel drained through a set of holes on the floor. Once it was all gone, the door in front opened up, and it led to yet another room. This time, it was a large locker room. No paintings or stickers covered its pristine white walls and dark black ceiling.  

The two men walked in silence over to their respective lockers and began to take apart the suit. By speaking a verbal order, they heard an audible click. That allowed the top and bottom half of their protective garments to come apart like unclicking a seatbelt.

The carefree man uttered the command and removed the top half of his suit.  Cool air assaulted his sweaty face.  He was young, around the age of twenty-five or so. He had short black hair, and his skin was the color of almonds. He shook his head to shake away the sweat. Using his toned and well-defined arms, he sat the top half of the suit on a nearby bench and then did the same with the bottom half. The gear itself was made out of a very flexible material, meaning it was simple to put on and take off.

Now free of the yellow suit and naked, the man opened his locker and retrieved his standard-issued uniform: a grey button-down shirt and grey pants with black boots. He thought it was boring and plain, but he had no say in the dress code.

After getting dressed, he placed his protective suit in the locker and made way for the exit. There, he saw his partner. He was an older man, having been alive for nearly four decades. His hair was already turning grey, and slight wrinkles already showed on his white face. While he wasn’t as muscular as the carefree man, the stern man could still hold his own in a brawl.  

“Another day, another day, am I right?” the carefree man tried to joke, but all he got was a grunt from his associate.

The door to the exit couldn’t open until both people were ready to leave.  And even then, two people had to be in the command center to authorized the door opening. 

“Hey, sorry about the wait. We’ll let you two in now,” a female voice came over the intercom as the door opened.  

The carefree man smiled. “Ain’t nothing to worry about, baby girl. We know it’s busy.” 

The two walked through the door, and they entered into a long hallway. The walls, floors, and ceiling were as white as snow. 

“We gotta report in, right?” the carefree man asked.  

“That’s right. Follow me,” the serious man said as he started walking. His partner followed him. The way to report in was a bit of a ride. The two had to turn left, then right. Then they rounded a corner three more times, followed by two rights. It was a strange layout, but ultimately, it was a design choice meant to make it difficult for would-be intruders to find their way about the base.

They two eventually reached a room. There was a sign plate next to it that had a word on it, but neither could read it. Understanding the language was not reserved for the likes of them.  

The stern man knocked on the door and fiddled with his tired wrists while waiting for a response.

“You two can come in,” spoke the same voice the pair heard through the intercom.

The two walked in and saw an older aged man sitting behind a magnificent desk made out of mahogany, which was quite a rare wood to find nowadays. He had combed white hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Numerous scars visible on his face told a tale that needed no words. To his left stood a reliable-looking man in his young thirties. He was bald, but he wore a cap to hide it. To his right stood a woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail. Her skin was tan, and she wore two tiny earrings. On her left hand, she wore a ring that a certain young man stared at.  Tried as he might, he just couldn't break eye contact, thereby showing disrespect to the white-haired man.

An archaic painting of a group of dogs sitting at a table playing a card game hung on the wall. On the desk sat a framed picture of the old man with a young girl, his deceased granddaughter.  

“Thank you for reporting in,” the woman said, “What did you two see up there?”  

“After heading up the elevator, Aluan and I found the two our Lord was talking about. We retrieved them and handed them off to the Doctor and his team when we descended in the elevator,” the stern man reported. 

“No, Jamey, that isn’t what I’m talking about. Well, it is, but I want to know something else. What did you two see?” the old man emphasized the word as he talked to Jamey, the man with the stern attitude.

Jamey made a disgusted face and continued speaking. “We saw the sand covered with blood and guts. It was almost impossible to find a spot of yellow that wasn't corrupted with blood. Arms and legs were over here while heads and intestines covered over there.” Jamey made motions with his arms and hands to emphasize his point. 

The man behind the desk went silent and put his hands to his chin. He was in deep thought.  

“How did that make you two feel?” he asked.  

This time, Aluan, Jamey's partner, spoke up.

“Sir, I felt nothing but happiness. We’ve been at war with the savages for so long, and my people have suffered greatly. It felt good getting revenge. Sir.” Aluan gave a bit of an exaggerated salute, and the old man sighed. Putting up with the fiery attitude of the younger recruits always gave him a headache.  

“While that may be true, keep in mind that those that died today were civilians and nothing more. They weren’t part of the war. They only wanted to live in peace.” 

“Sir, with all due respect, my family were civilians when they were attacked. This is war, sir.” 

The old man rose from his seat and punched the table. The thick veins on his forehead became visible, proof an inferno of anger was igniting his heart.

“Don’t you dare fucking try to talk and lecture to me about what is war and what isn’t! I’ve been alive far longer than you! I've seen the shit people can do! I know what trauma these fucking savages can inflict on people!” The old man returned to his chair and noticed beads of sweat created from fear ran down Aluan’s face.  

“Now then, you two did a great job bringing us another candidate for the Coffin. I’m giving Jamey two days off and one day in Stress Relief, for a total of seventy-two hours. Your time starts when you leave this room.  Aluan, you get one day off and three hours in Stress Relief, for a total of twenty-seven hours. Your time also begins counting down when you leave this room.” 

“Sir!” The two saluted.

“Good. Any questions?” Aluan and Jamey looked at each other, then back to the old man.  

“No, we don’t have any,” Jamey responded.  

“You’re dismissed.” 

The two saluted again and turned to leave. When Jamey closed the door behind him and Aluan, they both started walking back to their room. The two were sworn partners, and they shared almost everything, including missions, food, and a small barrack.

“This shit sucks.” Aluan slapped his fist into his hand in anger. “I was really looking forward to some R&R. Hey, what're you gonna do?”  

“I don’t kn—”  

“You don’t know, and you don’t care,” Aluan finished Jamey’s sentence.  

“Look, why don’t you ever go to Stress Relief? You got a whole day, man! A full twenty-four hours!” 

“Because I’m not interested in that stuff. I’ll just sell my time to someone.” Jamey sighed as he spoke.  

“Man, why do you gotta say that? You know I can’t afford it.” 

“I saw that ring on Leica’s finger. How much did that set you back?” Jamey switched topics to avoid hearing Aluan annoying whining.  

“Way too much. Man, I don’t even want to think about that. Hey, you going back to the room?” Aluan asked.  

“That was the plan. I have some books I want to read.” The two stopped at an intersection. If they went down the left hallway, they would reach the residential block. If they took a right, that would come to Stress Relief.

Jamey veered left, and Aluan the right. Before they got too far apart, Jamey turned around and spoke to Aluan in a voice that was more of a stark warning than advice.

“Remember, three hours. No more, and no less. You don’t want to get in trouble again.”  

Aluan didn’t turn around. All he did was throw a hand up in the air as he kept walking.  

During the walk to Stress Relief, Aluan spoke to himself under his breath. He was coming to terms with his life and current position. Most of all, he was coming to terms with the enemy. A few years ago, a group of terrorists attacked his town and killed his family. He was held hostage for three days and three nights and was subject to unspeakable terror during that time. Even now, he still had nightmares about the torture he suffered, and he regularly woke up in the middle of the night, drenched by both sweat and tears.  

He looked at his right hand and formed a fist. To Aluan, Stress Relief was the best thing, besides Leica, that had ever happened to him. Now, he would be on the side that would inflict terror and pain, but the best part was that it didn’t even matter if he went overboard. Thanks to his Lord and his team, the Stress Relief's participants were healed every night. But even though their bodies were returned to a flawless state, the lingering pain and mental damage remained.

Soon, Aluan found himself in front of the giant red door that led to Stress Relief. The moment before he opened it, an announcement came over the intercom. It was a different voice from Leica as it was more robotic and artificial in nature.

“This is an announcement. We are happy to announce that our staff now has more options to choose from when they visit Stress Relief. That is all.” 

Aluan smiled and chuckled slightly as a sinister grin appeared on his face. With quickened haste, he took out his ID and slid it through the scanner. The door beeped and slowly hissed open. Aluan walked through the threshold, and he walked up to the desk situated in the back of the room. This room was small, too small to be nothing more than a bedroom or living room. The floors were the same pearly white as the hallway leading to this room. The walls were white as well. Written above the desk was a sort of menu. It listed all the different ways someone could relax. To the left and right of the desk sat four doors, two on each side. Each path led to a separate category of Stress Relief.  

“Hello there, how are you today?” a cheerful voice asked. The receptionist was an older woman, around fifty or fifty-five, with a pair of plastic spectacles around her wrinkled face. There was nothing too special or odd about her as she was just a worker, nothing more and nothing else.

“I’m doing good, how about you?” replied Aluan as he stuck his hands in his pocket. His eyes were darting back forth across the menu.  

“I’m doing very well. Is there anything I can help you with?”  

“As a matter of fact, yes, there is. There was just an announcement about a new addition. Could you tell me more about it?” 

“Yes, I can. The Doctor brought a young man to us a few minutes ago. He said that he was ready to provide relief.” 

“That sounds like the guy I brought back. Did he have dark skin and a missing foot?” 

“Yes for the skin, and no for the foot.” 

“Ah, that’s right. I forgot how capable the Doctor is. A missing foot to him is like a paper cut. Hey, just between you and me.” Aluan leaned in closer to the receptionist. “How does the Doctor do it? I mean, when I brought him down here, he was in bad shape, and it looked like he was about to croak.” 

The receptionist put her hand to her chin. “You know, I’ve been wondering that myself. No matter how rough and violent everyone is or the state they’re in when I leave for the night, they're always healed when I come back. No cuts or bruises. Or in his case, the missing foot is back and healed.” 

“That is a bit strange, but I’m getting off-topic. Give me three hours with the new boy,” Aluan handed the receptionist his ID, and she swiped it through a nearby machine. She handed it back to him and pointed to a door that was on his right side.  

“Go through that door, enter the elevator, and press the button that has a seven on it. Your relief is in room 701. When you enter the room, there is a slot on the wall next to the door. You need to put your ID in that slot. It’ll ring and buzz when you have ten minutes left.” 

“Alright. Thank you. Oh, do you know what happened to the girl that we brought in as well?” 

“I’m told that she is being prepped for the Coffin.” 

“I see. Well, thank you again.” 

 Aluan took his ID and headed in the door she pointed at. Into the elevator and down some floors, Aluan found himself in front of his assigned door. He felt a burning sensation in the lower half of his body.

To him, the best part about this time was the chance to do to others what had happened to him. To him, it was an excellent way to boost morale and keep fights down. To him, it was a place to relieve himself from the stresses of the war. The man with the almond-colored skin thanked the Lord for giving him the chance to exact revenge in the prayers he said every night before bed.

Aluan licked his lips, and he held his ID up to the scanner beside the door. The red light blinked once, then turned green, allowing him access to the room. The door slid open, and Aluan walked through. The darkroom made a quiet buzz before becoming bright.

“HHMMPPPP!” A frightened, muffled scream came from a person chained down to the bed in front of Aluan. The restrained boy had a gag in his mouth, and he was unable to produce any coherent words. Aluan took this chance to slide in ID into the device. It beeped, showing a timer counting down from three hours.

Even though he had lived eighteen years of a hard life, hearing that futuristic noise sent a flurry of fright through his mind.

Not wanting to waste any time, Aluan stripped his uniform off until he, too, was as naked as his 'prey.' He walked around the bed and slowly slid his finger up and down the poor bastard's chest. It had no hair, only soft skin smooth to the touch. Such a smooth texture forced blood to run to Aluan's lower body, slightly enlarging his manhood.

“Damn, the Doctor does good work. I can hardly recognize you!” The plaything stared hard at Aluan's face before his eyes moved down his body. He stopped when he got to his waist, too afraid to search any lower.

Aluan raised his hand and smacked his toy, shouting at him. 

“Hey! Eyes on me, you hear?! I see that you have your foot back? Well, that’s too bad. I liked you more when you didn’t have it.” 

The restrained man rapidly shook his head in fear as Aluan walked over to the wall and retrieved a saw. Its blade was brown with rust, and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. Aluan held it up for him to see, which elicited more fear, and he struggled to get free from the chains binding him to the table. The metal links only scuffed skin, grinding against his nipples and chaffing his inner thighs.

“Hey! You better stay still, or else your sister might have to take your place. Just between us, I do hope you stay quiet. I like you more than her. Nod if you understand.” 

The poor, traumatized boy did all he could to nod.

“Good. It appears that you can understand me. I’ll tell you what, I won’t remove your foot.” Of course, as he said that, Aluan slammed the rusty saw down on the newly regrown foot. Its teeth were dull, not at all prepared to cut through a dead stick, let alone a foot.

He struggled and screamed out from the pain as he tried to jerk his foot away. Aluan kept sawing, but after five minutes of doing so, he had barely made any progress. On the topic of pain, however, the one restrained had never experienced anything like it before. The agony just kept coming and coming and intensified with each back and forth movement of the saw.  

“Finally! It’s time!” Aluan screamed out as he threw the saw to the floor. Blood splattered about as it smashed into the ground. “I’m about to bust!” His impressive manhood had grown until it had reached its limits. Thick, veiny lines ran up and down its shaft, giving it a monstrous appearance.

Aluan went over to the bed and pressed a button that was a nearby console. Two robotic arms came out from the floor. They shattered the chains binding the restrained man, flipped him over, and proceeded to rebind his body with thicker restraints. Aluan walked up and took a stance. Two uncontrolled legs sat to his left and right, but Aluan didn’t care. Using his monster grip, he took hold of both ankles, making sure to grab the spot that he injured earlier, and readied himself.   

“Please struggle. Show me the fear that can only be conveyed by your body.” That was all Aluan said before he filled his relief's inside with his massive girth, stabbing it in with a quick motion. There was a struggle, and he violently thrashed around in response to the unwanted flesh-rod, which thrust in and out multiple times a second. 

It was hopeless.

Due to the strength of the reinforced chains and Aluan’s own twisted-up personality and unique pleasures, the unlucky fellow was in a situation where no matter what he did, it was going to be futile.

The torture continued for three solid hours. The painful assault, the throbbing pain in his foot, the rough texture of the chains... Like an alchemic creation, it all combined together, creating a personalized hell. For Aluan, he experienced true pleasure, far surpassing any drug he had ever ingested. For the other person, he experienced something far worse than simply dying. Crawling over his dead parents, scrounging up the strength to abandoned Yaddie... None of it compared at all to what was happening to him.

Eventually, Aluan collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Silky sweat glistened his hard abs and toned muscles while a white substance dripped down from the engorged head of his manhood, staining the tile flooring.

“Man, three hours without a break is a new record.  It's a good thing to be enhanced...” he looked at his relief, who had long since stopped moving. His back was covered in a mixture of gross white fluid and blood. Aluan got up off the ground and stepped into a nearby little shower. He took a quick shower, rinsing off the accumulated sweat and by-products of relieving his stress. He dried off and dressed in his uniform. The moment he did, the device that held his card beeped, signaling the end of his time. Aluan grabbed his card and went over the table, whispering in his ear in a voice that could frighten the devil.

“Now, it’s time for the sister to experience the fun as well,” Aluan said.  He was waiting for a response, but he didn't get one.  The person he looked at had already passed out an hour ago, blanking out the world in an attempt to save his sanity.

“Damn, it’s more fun when you’re awake."

Aluan took a final moment and punched the unconscious fellow in his face before walking out of the door. He could not wait for the next time. As he was walking to the elevator, he wondered if there were any way he would be able to take Jamey’s Stress Relief time. He could not afford the going rate, but maybe he could trade for it.  That would be something to consider.