Day 2: B-Kill'd

Water was granted freely. After having chosen to adopt a "predator role" as he had put it, she had been granted a remarkable amount of freedom. Of course, it was not like there was anywhere else to go. They were surrounded by a deadly jungle, after all. She'd remarked to herself that it was almost comical how the jungle was not even used as a deterrent to keep her from escaping; it was simply for sport.

Why had she chosen this role, though? As easy as it would have been to submit and wait patiently for Spider-Man, she simply couldn't do that. She wouldn't rely on anyone here. She would get herself out.

The yet-naked redhead was confused, though. She was under the impression that she would need to fight Kraven every day for her water. As terrifying as that had been, the reality was far grimmer. She was to fight for her life in a one-on-one match every day for the right to eat and drink. She would be paired up with another random recruit and they would fight until only one of them came out alive.

She couldn't kill someone. No, that was the one thing she wouldn't do. She would find some other way to win.

"A foolish thought," a voice from behind her called out. She turned on her heel to see a young woman with porcelain skin and short blonde hair leaning against the wall, gazing at MJ. "I recognize that look. Many of us were like that once. Hunting animals is one thing, but humans... it is another matter entirely."

MJ was confused; this girl looked like a supermodel— granted with significantly more muscle and scarring. "Who are you and why—"

"Why is someone like me here? All you need to know is that I am here because I want to be. I wanted to be strong, so I found someone who could make me strong. Who I was before this no longer matters, just as your history is irrelevant. We are all equals here, aside from Master Kraven. But that is for good reason: he is unbeatable." She paused and moved from the wall, crossing her arms and looking almost expectantly at Mary Jane. "I don't care who you were or why you are here; you chose the path of the predator, so that makes you my equal. While we may differ in skill and rank, we are both predators. I am Volcania." The woman stuck out her hand.

Mary Jane hesitated for a moment; she could see the callouses on the woman's hands. She imagined their once-manicured state, but quickly let that fade. She took Volcania's hand and shook it. "I am M—"

"No. You have no name as of yet. When Master Kraven appraises your skills and deems you worthy to hunt with us, then he will grant you a name." She let go of MJ's hand and turned to leave. "If you want to survive, you will do whatever it takes. If you wish for the fighting over food and water to cease for you, you should hone your skills. Quick and clean kills get the attention of the Master quicker. The quicker your skills get noticed, the quicker you will grow in rank."

After she left, Mary Jane sat in a stunned silence. The others here... they had willingly come here? To be trained by this psycho? For that matter, why did he bring her here? To train her? To have her die in some fight she had no chance of winning? There had to be more here. Beyond that, though... Perhaps it would be wise if her to use all of the opportunities currently afforded her. If she could pick up a few moves, then she could ensure something like this never happened to her again.

She wasn't entirely sure how to train, though. She had been given almost complete freedom to walk the compound— minus the collar around her neck. Though, she came to find out that it was given to all new recruits so that they might have order in the camp. As for training, she could attend a training session with the others, but she didn't even know where to begin with that.

Then she had an idea. Bold as it was, she sought out Sergei. He was yet in his room, working on plans for something. "If you mean to kill me, you must do better than that." He called out as she stepped into his doorway.

"As much fun as that might be, no. You mentioned that I needed to choose to be a predator every day in order to get water... as well as food, apparently. But I'm not going to learn how to be an effective predator by floundering for my life against people at roughly the same skill level as me. So," she put her hands on her hips, ignoring her own nakedness. "Every day, I will fight you for my food and water. I know I won't win. But if I'm supposed to learn how to fight, it'd be better to experience it first-hand with you."

It was a bold proposal. In fact, it was tantamount to suicide. At the very least, she could scrape by with a rookie. With Kraven, though...

He thought for a moment before finally turning to look at her. "Every morning at daybreak, you will meet me at the training grounds. For every minute you last, I will grant you an ounce of food and water. I will not kill you, though you will certainly with for ****. There is a reason no one has been foolish enough to suggest this before. The pain I inflict is far worse than ****. I wonder... will the pain break you? Or will something else come from it?"