“We’ll probably never know how it all started. Was it a concerted effort by a powerful country or the focused work of a small group of fanatics? Does it matter? What we do know is that by the end of the first month, almost all of mankind’s deadliest creations had been released.”

— Journal of Army Reserve Captain Jasmyn Starks, Army Research Lab, WSMR, New Mexico. Oath Keepers Archive of Truth, Volume 4

“Ah, at least the lot of you can be relied on to be punctual,” Gebi said as she paced back and forth in front of the stiff line of initiates, all standing in ready stances, eyes forward. “I hope you enjoyed your break and are fully recovered from this morning’s little warm-up.”

There was an almost inaudible snort from Jimu’s direction to her left, and Kiriai barely restrained a smile. Good thing, because Gebi’s head snapped in their direction as she examined faces, looking for the culprit. No one moved.

She charged in Kiriai’s direction. “You think this is funny, Initiate?”

“No, Trainer!” Kiriai belted out in the loud voice that Trainer Kakyo had instilled in her.

“Do you think being a brawler is something easy?”

“No, Trainer!” Kiriai steeled herself to keep yelling it until Gebi tired of harassing her.

“Is protecting Southern Burb from Western Burb a game to you?”

“No, Trainer!” Jimu’s words from breakfast echoed in her mind. Being a brawler might not be a game, but this initiation was . . . a mind game. They couldn’t do a thing to her, though, if she didn’t quit.

“During this month, we will train your bodies to be faster and stronger than they’ve ever been before. We will also drill basic principles into your thick heads until they are instinctive and require no thought.” Gebi stopped and looked at them with a warning glare. “If you think too much during a fight, you will lose. You will practice every one of these skills until you can do them in your sleep. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Trainer!” they all shouted in unison.

Kiriai was just happy to listen to Gebi drone for as long as possible. It gave her overused muscles more time to recover from the morning.

She is making some good points. Perhaps you should listen to her and focus on improving your foundation.

Yabban’s words startled Kiriai. She forced herself not to dismiss them out of hand just because she disliked the head trainer. While her crew worked to get reinforcements, Kiriai needed to do her best to improve her fighting abilities. If the battle for Jitaku made it to the burb level, she didn’t want to be left out of the equation because she wasn’t good enough. Besides, she’d seen a tiny sample of Gebi’s fighting, and she didn’t have to like the woman to want to move like her.

“All right. First things first. Let’s learn how to stand,” said Gebi with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Left forward stances. Whichever style you favor. Move!”

Kiriai barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she dropped her right foot back and braced her heel against the ground. She shifted her weight forward in the style of the beginning stance Yabban had taught her. Next to her, the other initiates all moved into their versions of the stance, weight shifting forward and feet turning at slightly different angles. Fighters of any caliber rarely used this type of stance in actual fighting because with the back foot braced firmly against the ground and the weight so far forward, it was immobile for all practical purposes. It was a perfect example of being caught flat-footed. Maybe Trainer Gebi wouldn’t teach them anything valuable after all.

“Trainers, grab shields. Line up facing the initiates.” The other brawlers hurried to obey and in seconds there was one in front of each of them.

A woman about Kiriai’s size faced her with a stony look on her face that promised little mercy.

“Your job, Initiates, is to stand there. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Trainer!”

“Do not move backward or sideways and whatever you do, do not fall down. Understand?”

“Yes, Trainer!”

“Well,” she said in a softer, smug voice, “let’s see how well you can follow simple instructions. Trainers, attack.”

The woman in front of Kiriai lunged forward and bashed her padded shield into Kiriai almost before Gebi had completed the order.

Taken by surprise, Kiriai felt the shield smash into her, the brunt of the force hitting into her front knee and lead hand. Thankfully, Kiriai had bent her knee and her foot gripped the ground. But it wasn’t enough. The force threw Kiriai back, her stance breaking as she flung her hands up for balance. She kept her feet at least. Barely.

“What kind of stance is that? Why can’t you hold a simple stance?”

Ignoring the yelling as best she could, Kiriai quickly moved into her forward stance again, raised her hands and braced her legs.

“Attack!” yelled Gebi.

The woman didn’t hesitate to slam the pad into Kiriai again with tremendous strength. This time Kiriai kept her feet in their position, but her whole body bent backward under the force of the blow. Her lead hand snapped back so fast she hit herself in the lip.

“That’s better. At least you didn’t go flying back like the first time,” said the trainer, facing her, already back in position.

Without hesitating, Kiriai shifted her weight forward, dropped her center of gravity lower and gripped the ground with her toes and edges of her feet. She sucked her lip into her mouth and tasted blood. She was determined to keep her stance intact this time.

“Attack!”

The canvas of the padded shield burned the skin of her forearm with the force of the blow. This time Kiriai barely moved under the bashing attack, but she felt the power of it ripple through her body and muscles, driving her rear heel into the ground.

“So you can learn! After only three attacks, you’re up to a beginner level of maintaining a solid base,” said Gebi, who had come up beside the other trainer, unnoticed.

Kiriai ignored the malice in the head trainer’s expression, instead keeping her focus on the trainer in front of her. She wouldn’t let her take her by surprise.

“Attack!”

Again and again the hated shield slammed head-on into her body. Whatever padding the shield had seemed to harden into something painful with each successive blow.

A different kind of weariness from this morning’s seeped into her muscles as the unrelenting blows continued. Kiriai’s rear knee wanted to bend, and her arms struggled not to droop with each subsequent attack. Just as her resolve wavered, Gebi called a halt, but not for a much-needed break.

“Neutral stances. Move!”

There wasn’t much pep in the initiates’ movement, but Kiriai saw them all obey, shifting their weight back to center and changing their foot positions.

“Trainers, move and shift. From the front and behind. Continue until I say halt. Attack!”

Like predators, the trainers circled the line of initiates, and Kiriai felt a blow slam into her back. She fought to keep her position, but couldn’t help letting her feet take a short step forward. Immediately, she moved back into position and worked harder to strengthen her stance. Kiriai bent her knees farther and pushed down with her legs, almost as if she were trying to drill her bare feet through the floor. Every muscle in her legs shook with tension, poised to resist the next blow.

The next one hit from the front, thrown by a female trainer who, while she hit fast, lacked the bulk of the others. It stung, but Kiriai held her position, unmoving.

She smiled inside, but was careful not to let it show on her face. There was no need to antagonize the trainers. This wasn’t that hard of a skill, after all.

Blow after blow smashed into her. The ones from the front weren’t so bad, because there was plenty of warning. But with the trainers jogging around them mixed with the grunts and blows all along the line, it was difficult to anticipate the ones from behind.

Kiriai snuck a quick glance behind herself, hoping for a little more warning.

“Eyes forward, Initiate!” came the command from the angry face of the trainer directly behind her. “If we wanted you to be looking back, we would have told you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Trainer!” Kiriai yelled as she snapped her eyes back to the front.

A split-second later, the trainer’s shield slammed into her back, throwing Kiriai’s torso forward and making every muscle in her back and legs object.

So maybe not so easy after all.

Smash!

Again.

The incessant punishment of the drill made her earlier strategy unsustainable. She couldn’t keep every muscle tensed and flexed indefinitely, waiting for the next blow. This was stupid. She never fought like this—standing still and letting someone hit her. It went against every one of her fighting instincts. Her strengths were in her speed, movement and making sure she never stayed still long enough to take this kind of beating. Kiriai’s strength slipped, every muscle in her legs down to her toes, burning and hot.

Out of necessity, Kiriai let her legs relax and straighten just a fraction. The relief was instant, and she almost groaned aloud. At the same time, she put her senses on high alert, striving for as much warning as possible to react when the next blow came.

Her break was short-lived. One trainer bashed into the initiate next to her and without pause jumped sideways to slam into her. By the grin on his face, he was enjoying himself much more than the initiates were.

Kiriai bent her knees, tightened everything to absorb the force and still felt her feet shift a few inches. This time, though, she kept her posture erect and stance balanced. As soon as the blow’s power was spent, Kiriai relaxed everything again and grinned at the discovery. If she stayed poised for action, she could save energy and brace herself only when the threat materialized. Her movement felt like a young sapling that absorbed a blow but immediately sprang back into place. Even as tired as she felt, Kiriai couldn’t wait for the next hit to see if she could do it again.

The trainer stopped and stared at her expression. Kiriai froze. His grin widened, and he tipped his head at her before jogging on to his next victim.

A quiet creak of a pad behind her and the quick intake of breath were her only warning for the next attack from behind. She was ready and coiled her muscles just in time. The pad drove into her back, but she absorbed the blow with her legs and feet, keeping her hands up and back straight. As soon as the incoming force stopped, Kiriai relaxed again and struggled not to smile. Sure, she hurt everywhere, bruises forming and muscles overused, but this was fun on a level only another fighter could understand.

She knew she still had a huge talent gap to overcome, but taking the first step gave her hope.

Another blow rocked into her as she flexed with it.

If I survive the training, that is.