Running Bear

Dan couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of freedom when he got out to the courtyard. It was a humongous place, barren and desert-like. Tyler was there, looking a bit tired, but other than that no different than when they'd gotten there. Dan raced up to him and engulfed the smaller man in a bear hug.

"Nice to see you too!" Tyler said, laughing slightly. Dan smiled. He knew his friend was safe- and he'd had no knowledge that he'd be training with another person.

"I don't get a hug?" Shane Dawson asked, walking on to the scene- embarrassingly the only one of them to have grown much facial hair.

"Fine," Tyler smiled, "C'mere."

Don't blame them. They hadn't seen another person in three weeks. It looked as though they'd all done a few push-ups and other things like that in their cells, but they were really, really malnourished.

"Okay, pansies! I am General Brant!" A male in a military uniform about a few inches taller than Tyler and with muscles and what appeared to be a basic need to yell everything he said strutted into the courtyard, "Reunion's over! Drop and give me twenty!"

"Wait-" Shane wrinkled his nose, "Here? Push-ups? Ew."

"Did I give you an option?!" Brant yelled. Shane sighed and got down onto the ground.

"Now, I know you're some internet heroes, or whatever," Brant paced in front of the three, "But that doesn't matter here."

"Shit," The color drained from Tyler's face, "I was planning on working on the Trevor Project!"

"What the hell is that?!" Brant ask-yelled.

"It's a- um-" Tyler didn't know why he was so nervous around Brant (it was the muscles. He had too many of them. And a vein that popped out on his neck.), "A suicide hotline for LGBT youths." He, Dan, and Shane finished push-ups and stood up, feeling mostly disgraced. They sure as shit hadn't been given a choice- about whether to go there, about whether to do the push-ups, about whether to even get super-powers in the first place.

"Well, isn't that just dandy?" Brant had a southern American accent, "The only demographic of people who don't need to be saved! The special snowflakes going through a phase."

This caused Dan, Shane, and Tyler to frown in an action so unanimous it was almost comical.

"Well, I certainly hope your kids don't turn out like you," Curse Dan's inability to stay silent around the people in charge of him, "That'll be the day I truly give up on the world."

"You sassin' me, boy?!" Brant did the teacher thing where he knew the answer, he just wanted to hear it out of Dan's mouth.

"And what if I am?" Dan crossed his arms, "We didn't ask to be here! We didn't ask for powers!" He grew angrier.

"Too fuckin' bad!" Brant shot back, "If you truly cared for the people in this world, you'd take it without whining like a brat. Now, do as I say, or your friend gets it!" A television screen flickered to life, revealing Phil, strapped to a table, blue eyes wide with fear. He was mouthing something Dan couldn't hear- the audio had been turned off- but he was breathing rapidly and looked like he was saying 'No,'

"Don't hurt him!" Dan immediately backed down.

"We won't. Just run." Brant said, "Fifty laps! Lose count, start over! GO!" Dan, Shane, and Tyler took off sprinting, tears threatening to spill. It had been a long time since Dan had cried- The Fault In Our Stars being the most recent occurrence- but he felt helpless, which was one thing he hated. It's a unique torture, watching your best friend in fear.

It was worse than Troye looking so young, back in the corridor. It was just a glimpse, but Dan could see the red rims of his eyes and the way his frame looked even smaller than usual.

Dan tripped over a rock.

He caught himself, which was lucky. He heard his wrist crack and felt a huge pain in his wrist, which was unlucky. It was almost as if someone had taken an iron fire poker and held it against his skin.

"Get up! Get UP!" Brant yelled. Dan picked himself up, struggling not to black out. He started to run again, jogging at a pace which was probably way too slow.

"Faster! Does this look like a gym class to you?" Brant really had this yelling thing down. Dan decided it would be best not to look at his wrist, and for now the adrenaline kept him from feeling too badly, other than like he was going to either pass out, throw up, or both. Dan focused his energy into his feet, keeping them steady.

"Keep it up!" Brant said, "You've got four more hours before dinner!"

"We don't even get lunch?" Shane gasped.

"Nope. Chin up, sunshine!" Brant said. Shane could feel himself sweating through his clothes- and it was not a good feeling.

.o0o.

After the intense workout, they were briefed on the facility.

"We have ten Levels, the system of ranking." The instructor, Mrs. Mac, said, "You are at Level Two, and everyone else is still at Level One. Level Ten is the highest Level of security, given only to the Director. I, myself, am Level 6. I expect you to respect that." She leveled a glare at them, revealing a dangerous side to her.

"In case you go against our wishes, I am told that we can hold some leverage against you," She had three screens, not just one, in the background. She clicked them on with a remote, and they revealed Phil, Joey, and Troye.

"Don't kill them," Tyler pleaded, words escaping from his mouth to fast for him to stop them. Dan's jaw did the thing and Shane's eyes grew desperate.

Those were their friends.

"Oh, we wouldn't kill them," Mrs. Mac's eyes gleamed, "We'll do something much worse. We'll make them beg for death. And then, you'll kill them."

There was a sense of panic in the air. The three knew on instinct that they'd never kill their friends. Not in a million years.

"Now, you can earn privileges by Leveling Up," She pointed to the board, "Which is granted when you become skilled enough to defeat someone of your Level. You will have a chance to defeat someone in the afternoon, after basic skills training and dinner." Shane's stomach gave a half-hearted grumble at that.

"But, before that, you three are stinking up my classroom, and un-cleanliness is not combat material. Take a shower." She passed out bags with a shaving razor, soap, and an outfit in it.

"I expect you back within the hour." She let them go.

.o0o.

Dan's suit was itchy.

It was a dark fabric- sticking with his aesthetic- black with some navy blue worked in and an insignia on the shoulder. He also had combat boots and a mask with a muzzle and what appeared to be goggles.

Dan got into the suit but didn't put the mask on. He didn't like uniformity and the mask was giving him Bucky Barnes feels.

"Last one back?" Mac grinned wolfishly, "One lash for Philip."

Dan was so grateful for the fact that the audio was off. Phil was shirtless and a whip came down, the flesh obviously irritated- putting it lightly, here- even over the poor camera quality.

"Don't!" Dan squeaked, seeing Phil scream in pain.

"You won't be late again, Mr. Howell." Mac stared Dan down with what we will now refer to as the 'Glare of Death', inviting any powers that be to strike the man down where he stood. Dan just shook his head, mortified, and sat down in his seat. Even without sound, it was almost impossible to ignore the monitors behind Dan. He knew what Phil's face would look like. Scrunched up, tears streaming down his cheeks, mouth gasping for breath.

"Understood?" Mac asked. Dan nodded his head frantically, getting the message.

Just a few weeks ago, Phil had been mad at Dan for making him unpack all of his stuff.

Dan was glad they hadn't been fighting when they were at Tyler's party. And hey, at least Tyler had gotten to celebrate. Now, it almost seemed like the last party they'd ever go to.

Maybe they should have cherished it more.

.o0o.

Lessons were boring. This was a well-known fact, but rule after rule after rule was thrown at the men so fast their heads were spinning.

"Dinner time!" Mac snapped impatiently, "And remember, step out of line-" She gestured to a sleeping Troye, a rather frantic Joey, and Phil, who appeared to be asking for help. There was a welt forming where the whip had hit his torso, bright red in color. Dan, Tyler, and Shane nodded before going off to the mess hall.

"I can't do this," Tyler said after about a minute of silence as the trio left for the cafeteria, "I can't do this." He turned around as if to run off.

"Calm down!" Shane nearly yelled, "Where will you go? You can't leave us! If not me or Connor or Joey, don't leave Troye!" He stared Tyler down, the other man breathing quickly and lightly, almost hyperventilating.

"He's having a panic attack," Dan noted, "I've had them. Are you okay with human touch?" He asked Tyler gently. Tyler shook his head 'no'.

"Okay." Dan said, "You're okay. We're okay. We'll get out of here. We don't know how or when, but we will. Just focus on the smaller things. Walking. Eating. Sleeping." Dan urged. Tyler calmed down. Shane really had to resist the urge to yell 'GAAAAAY', especially after he remembered that Tyler was actually gay.

"Let's go get some crappy cafeteria food!" Shane cheered instead, leading the trio to dinner.

.o0o.

Dinner was just about as good as they could have hoped for- and by that I mean it was terrible.

"And now on to the fun part- learning how to kill people using our skills!" Dan sighed in a defeated sort of way. The three made their way to the courtyard, where a bunch of dummies were set up, as well as some punching bags and some other equipment.

"Okay, boys," A young male with sandy brown curls and thick-framed glasses walked in. His face looked much kinder than their other instructors', "I'm Ben. I'll be teaching you how to fight."

"Please," Tyler started right away, "Don't hurt our friends. We'll do what you want."

"I won't," Ben said, "As long as you do as I tell you to." There was no real malice in his voice, and Dan realized that he didn't want to be there just as much as Dan himself didn't want to. He couldn't have been more than nineteen.

Dan and the others took turns learning hand-to-hand combat with and without their powers, and taking breaks.

"Hey," Shane greeted, sitting down next to where Dan had laid, looking at the stars.

"I'd almost forgotten they existed," Dan sighed.

"I know," Shane said, "It's almost like they're more beautiful now then they would've been before."

The courtyard was quiet except for the occasional sound of a blow landed or Tyler's heavy breathing. This session would be the longest of the three, but the least intense.

Dan thought he would like this one.

"I just hope they'll be ready to join us soon," Shane stared at his knees. He wasn't usually this thoughtful, or as kind in general. Also, he had a very fucked up sense of humor. It was really rare that people saw his serious side, even when he wasn't on YouTube.

"Me too," Dan said. The lights were dim, almost peaceful. If Dan listened closely enough he could hear crickets and frogs in the distance.

It was almost good.

.o0o.

An hour and a half later, Dan was called to the area with the equipment.

"And you punch like this," Ben struck the bag with wraps on. Dan tried to imitate, but his wrist felt like it was exploding from the inside.

"Are you okay?" Ben gasped, getting the wrap off of Dan's hand and wrist. He pressed his thumbs into Dan's wrist, and Dan gave a little yelp.

"Yep, that's broken," Ben surmised, "Take off your shirt."

"What?" Dan glanced at Ben.

"I know how to hide bandages," Ben rolled his eyes, rolling up Dan's sleeve for him. He took the wrap and a stick and made a brace around Dan's wrist, the stick prohibiting movement.

"Stay off this. Do one-armed push-ups. For all I know, Brant doesn't care. He'll probably congratulate you for not being a whiny bitch," Ben rolled his eyes again. Dan nodded, wincing at how raw his wrist felt.

"Anyway, can you strike with your powers?" Ben asked. Dan nodded and reached out with his right hand, letting darkness trail from his fingertips to the dummy. It gripped the dummy's neck, leaving indentations and even lacerations.

"That's so cool!" Ben smiled. Dan couldn't help but smile back.

Dan had to remember that even people at the Compound were people too.

.o0o.

Tyler was lying on his back, gazing at the stars. Dan laid down next to him.

"You okay?" Dan asked, remembering Tyler's panic attack.

"Yeah," Tyler said, "It's just- that's never happened before. Not on the Amazing Race, not when I was writing my book-"

"We all have breaking points," Dan reassured, "When I studied Law, I had a mental breakdown."

"We all know this story," Tyler rolled his eyes, and Dan playfully slapped his arm.

"And anyway, you had people like Korey and Connor and Troye to help you then, right?" Dan asked.

"Yeah," Tyler said, thinking about it.

"You've got me and Shane now, and the others when they join us," Dan promised.

"Of course," Tyler said. The two laid there until Shane had finished, then walked back inside. Guards found them and pushed them towards their separate cells- which seemed to be down separate hallways. They didn't question the fact that they'd never gotten the chance to spar- they were too tired.

The thing about being put in these situations is that you develop an extremely close bond to whomever you are with.

Dan, Shane, and Tyler could practically have a conversation in one glance. As they went around the corner to each of their own hallways, they shared one last look- a conversation that said see you tomorrow, be safe, and don't let them get to you, all in one breath.

Don't let them get to you.