"Are you sure you're ready?" Xena asks, wrapping her hands with boxing tape.
I look down at my own hands, also wrapped. These past few months, Xena has been my trainer. I've learned so much from her, I've grown so accustomed to her presence that being away from her makes me anxious.
"I'm not sure." I say honestly.
Xena's red hair has grown more, just passing her shoulder.
She become the closest thing I have to a friend.
It's sad to think that my only "friend" is only here to teach me how to kill a primordial man who thrives off of death and resurrects the dead in order to create a brainwashed undead army.
"You better be ready. I didn't waste three months of my life on you for you to fail." Xena says.
I roll my eyes and look ahead of me at the doors of the Tempest building. It's hardly a building anymore. Just a single-level structure about the a size of a studio apartment.
"But, I have a question," I start.
Xena looks at me, "Yes?" She asks.
"You're telling me you trained me for an orientation duel, only for the base of this top secret organization to be the size of a studio apartment?" I ask.
Xena stops looking at me. "You will see." She says.
The doors open and a man walks out.
"Xena." He says. He has a deep voice, almost scary.
Xena bows her head in respect.
"Sir," she says.
"I see you've brought your trainee," he muses, looking me up and down with distaste written all over his face.
'Trainee'. He says it as if I'm not what he expected.
"You didn't tell me your 'highly intelligent trainee' was a woman," He says.
Xena crosses her arms defensively.
"What's your point, Chris?" she asks.
The man— Chris, steps closer. "My point, is that if you get in trouble, so do I. You forget that you are to answer to me before anyone else. Whatever you do has to be approved by me and if this doesn't blow over well I'm as good as dead." Chris says.
"Well damn. That seriously sounds like a you problem." I mumble.
Chris looks at me. "Look, I don't trust you as far as I could throw you." He says.
"That phrase makes no sense, no offense. Most people mean that they don't even trust me a little bit, but you seem to imply that you could throw me far. It makes no sense," I say.
Xena glances at me. "Please, for the sake of my marriage, shut up." She says. I glance from her to Chris. "Gross." I say.
"Just hurry up and go inside." Chris says. He steps out of the car ay and holds the door for Xena, and lets the door close on me before I can enter. I catch the door before it closes and walk inside behind Xena.
"Other than your husband, who else is here? When do I get to do the orientation?" I ask.
Chris glances back at me. "What do you think the orientation is? A quiz?" He chuckles.
I look at him. "My first thought was it's surviving your stupidity but I'm assuming it's having to stay in a room with twenty grown men and having to kill or knock them all out in order to leave?" I say sarcastically.
Chris grunts. "A smartass, nice to know," he mumbles.
I look around, intrigued.
"So what all do you do here? Kidnap and kill people?" I ask.
"Train people to kill and kidnap people for the sake of humanity," Xenia says.
I look at her. "Cool." I say.
Chris shakes his head. "You will face the utmost challenges through-in and throughout your entire Tempest career," Chris says.
"Then I will conquer them. Simple as that." I said, grabbing my rifle and handing it to the man at the door to the duel room.
"Simple? You're about to take on twenty grown, fully trained soldiers— men. No offense, but you're incredibly tiny, and young," Xenia asks.
"Doubting me?" I ask, taking off my shirt so that I'm only wearing my sports bra.
I raise my fists and stand in front of the twenty burly men, all looking like they're going to rip me to pieces at the first chance they get.
"I'm just saying." Xena says worriedly.
The first man charges at me, going for a double overhead blow.
I duck and roll between his legs and execute a single leg takedown, swinging my leg around his neck and throwing him with all the force I can manage. This guy is stupidly huge.
Much to my surprise, he lands hard on his back and groans in pain.
Here comes the next one.
He charges at me, yelling wildly like a barbarian.
I brace myself, putting my fists up and wiping the sweat off of my forehead.
"Ready to get your a** beat by a tiny little girl?" I ask.
He yells even harder, swinging at me. I duck and dodge, stepping into his throw and pulling his shoulder so hard it pop out of its socket. He falls to the floor in pain, kneeling.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with," he manages.
I look around at the eighteen other grown men.
"A bunch of undertrained men that think they're the best?" I ask, grabbing a handful of his hair and kneeing him in the face. He falls on his face, blood pouring out from his nose.
Chris and Xena step out and e door locks. I'm on my own now. Not that I wasn't before.
It doesn't matter. Kayden needs me.
I jump around a little, similar to a boxer in a ring.
"Puny little girl," one says, walking towards me slowly.
I smile and adjust the wrap around my knuckles. "Come on." I say.
I'm ready for this.
They all charge at me at once.