Chapter 7: Training
My legs finally gave out as I fell to the floor a panting mess of fur. I was not the first to fall as Thassius had fallen almost 3 laps ago with splinter and sniffer falling 5 laps prior.
Slowly pushing with my arms I raised my weary body and pushed my legs under me managing to rise back to my feet with a shaky posture.
Limping I slowly made my way to join the rest of my troop now having their brief rest in the centre of the room.
collapsing next to Thassius who through pain I had slowly begun to find a sense of solace in. Although still pig-headed and a brute he sucked up to me less and unlike sniffer and splinter did not call me master.
Through the corner of my eye, I spotted him. If evil was personified it would be him. A whip in one hand and a large spiky stick in the other General Itch sauntered over.
"What are you lazy bastards doings lying downs? I thought I told you to run 50 laps"
A distinct sense of joy seemed to adorn the rat's face.
He enjoyed our pain the sick bastard.
It had been a week since we had begun our training and yet we had been taught nothing but pain and misery. 50 laps, 1000 sit-ups, 1000 push-ups and various other monumentous tasks. All of this must be done on our hind legs which to many of the rats was the toughest challenge. However, we had begun to get used to the pain.
If one was to fail one of these tasks Itch would have no choice by to convey his loving affection through the crackle of his whip and the sharp thuds of his spiky stick.
"We haves already finished" I stuttered out between baited breaths.
Barely a quarter of us had actually completed the task. Yet this vermin had no clue he had only arrived at the very end.
A look of immense thought appeared on the rat as suspense hung in the air. Many of the rats who had failed had a fearful look in their eyes as they concentrated on the now thoughtful rat.
Itch began to scratch his chin as if in deep thought.
The gorydamn bastard was making a mockery out of our petty attempt at evading his torture. Many of the other rats still had hopeful faces. These would soon dissipate upon the crackle of a whip ringing throughout the room.
"10 lashings for eaches of yous"
He cackled out.
Bastard.
We took our lashings with contempt. Many of us had thought to fight back but Itch's power comes from the lord, or the red Baron as Itch calls him, and none of us wanted to mess with that beast.
We could not beat him anyway his skill with the whip is immense and his ability to hit the most painful spots seemed to almost transcend the limits of skill.
After receiving our lashings we got no rest straight back into training.
Days more fled by us as we approached the last day of our second week under Itch.
The final rat finished his 50th lap. This was the second time all of us had finished the 'lights mornings jog' as Itch described it.
"Tsch, I was lookings forward to today's lashings"
An irritating yet satisfying response from Itch. He would not get his joy today.
Today would be the day we succeed in all our training.
We had come close yesterday a few of the smarter rats had not managed the 1000 pushups.
Trudging through the day we have finished all but our final trial. The 1000 pushups.
Finishing first I watched as the other 100 rats performed their daily chore. Thassius finished shortly after me and gave me an approving nod before joining me in observing the rest of the group. Next up were Splinter and Sniffer who finished shortly before some of Thassius's stronger members.
Before long several rats had finished the trial. more and more began to finish before only one was left.
Finally, the final rat pushed himself all the way up and rose to his feet. Wails could be heard throughout the crowd. For the first time in almost 2 weeks, we would escape Itch's whip.
Even myself and Thassius let out a long sigh of relief. No matter how noble of a rat you thought you were that whip would bring out the worst in you.
As the wails died down a slow yet deliberate clap rang out.
"Good jobs recruits, yous have finally dones it. May I says you were a lot faster than your predecessors"
He wriggled his way through the rats and took his stead at the front of the group.
"Looks at yous, your nothing likes the group of vermins that first pondered into my training ground"
He was right. Two weeks was a long time for a rat. Many of us had begun to reach late adolescence. Myself and Thassius had long since reached 5 feet and stood a few inches taller than Itch himself. Sniffer was the third tallest with splinter growing outwards more than he grew upwards.
We however all were much bulkier than the average adult rat we had seen in the culling just two weeks prior. Our training had seemed to pay off.
"Now Shoos all of yous, Tomorrow is a big days"
I shivered. A big day for Itch is never a good sign. However, sleep was a welcome embrace.
In a single file, we filtered out of the training ground and moved into a much smaller room. Cloth and hay had been laid out across the ground. The sleeping chamber was far from comfortable but damn was it better than the hard floor of the breeding ground.
Rats scuttled to try and find places to sleep, Many snuggling together using one another as sources of comfort.
I being the stained had long since comandered my corner of the sleeping room. Thassius had taken a similar approach to the other corner.
Although I dreaded the next day I dreaded being tired the next day even more.
Sleep came quickly. A fleeting yet beautiful embrace.
Dreams filled my mind of flowing forests and the glorious light of the sun which had only been described by Itch as an incentive to make us work harder so we could explore the verdant forests located above our clan hole.
The dream however changed. A group of attractive female rats slowly closed in on me and....
Clang clang
I awoke to the deafening and horrific sound of Itches 'concentration bell'.
Groggily I arose to my feet and hobbled to the entrance. A quick trip to the piss hole and I was stood ready in the training grounds.
"Im so proud of yous all"
Itch faked wiped a tear from his eyes.
"yous have finally finished my tests and are ready for battle training, but before that I haves a gift for yous"
A feeling of elation washed over me. Finally, it was time for him to teach us how to fight. Two weeks of pain had not been for nothing.
However, as the feeling of happiness filled my body Itch took his hand from behind his back. In his hand was a weapon of great beauty. A deadly yet stunning weapon. Its long rope moved like the snake we had found in our bedding area once. It seemed almost alive as it skidded across the floor. Spikes lined the tip of the rope.
"Meets my news whip"
I fucking hate Itch.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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