her brother was beaten to death because he refused to do as ordered . i could n't find out anything that we do n't already know . it had been five days ago , but he remembered every exposed inch of her ivory skin as though he were looking at it again now , and his pulse kicked at the memory . `` easy when it 's someone else 's life . `` it 's not that big a deal , ma . the moment he stepped onto the sandy training grounds he knew he had made a mistake . 