There were a lot more People than Claire had seen.
That was obvious when a group of twenty Warrior-Hunters arrived to guard the Artisan-Laborers as they pilfered whatever they could from the Wal-Mart. A man, almost as big as Ajax, was handed the command of the operation by Shaka. Achilles had informed her that the man in question was Alexander. Claire spotted pairs of Warrior-Hunters on the roofs of houses as Shaka's force trotted back to the Home Depot. Groups of Artisan-Laborers waved to them in greeting as they pushed wheel barrows and carts down the road. The sun was high and beat down on them with oppressive heat but everyone seemed very cheerful.
All of Claire's cheer evaporated when Achilles team came within sight of the Home Depot.
Boss Richardson and six of his cronies were standing there glaring at Athena. The slim girl had her signature grin on despite the profanity that was undoubtedly pouring out of Richardson's mouth.
He won't recognize me in my armor. I can just walk right by him.
Claire ducked her head to do just that but Achilles grabbed her elbow and headed right for them. She managed to unlatch her faceguard but not before they had reached Boss Richardson.
"What the fuck do you want?" Richardson snarled, turning in their direction.
Achilles removed his faceguard, "It's okay, Claire Marie."
Claire's mouth twitched into a small smile when Richardson's eyes bugged out of his head as she bared her entire face.
"What the hell did they do to her, Boss? She's covered in blood!" Jake said, his forehead wrinkling in disgust.
"I can see that, stupid motherfucker!" Richardson spat out of the corner of his mouth without turning his increasingly narrowed gaze from Claire. "I thought I told you to come back in the morning. A man's hospitality only goes so far, you know."
Claire's mouth worked but nothing came out. Achilles put a hand on her shoulder and suddenly Richardson wasn't so terrifying.
"I'm not coming back."
Now Richardson's eyes really bulged in their sockets. His complexion reddened so fast that Claire thought he would start whistling.
"What?"
"She said she's not coming back, Boss," Rick said, thumbing his thick moustache.
"I heard what she said, goddamnit!" Richardson's face was nearly purple. "Don't worry, bitch, I know just how to fix this problem."
Claire held her ground as Richardson reached out to grab her by the throat. Before his hand moved more than a few inches, Achilles had grabbed it by the wrist and his spear-club's point was nestled in the hollow of Richardson's throat. All of Richardson's men had shotguns and all of them were pointed at Achilles in seconds. Athena had an arrow nocked and sighted at Jake's chest before the man got his shotgun up. Then the entire little confrontation was surrounded by silent Warrior-Hunters with bloody weapons clutched in hands well-versed in their use.
"Claire Marie has made her choice, Boss Richardson," Achilles said, his voice quietly earnest. "Go back to your hotel. Live out your life as best you can but she is now an Initiate of The People. Her life is no longer yours."
Richardson swallowed and glared at Achilles, "That bitch has been eating our food and drinking our water for months! She owes us!"
"You bastard! I think I paid enough!" Claire took a step forward, stopped, and looked at the tomahawk clutched in her fist in puzzlement. She didn't even remember taking it off her armor.
"You really think I'm afraid to die," Richardson asked, sneering down at the shorter Achilles, "You think I'm afraid of your little knives? My dick's bigger than that thing!"
"Even if you could beat us," Achilles shook his head slowly, "-the noise would attract all of the Risen in the next town. This place would be crawling within a week. Is that what you want? Also, the punishment for killing one of the People is either slow impalement or DBR, which stands for Death By Risen. That's when we chop your arms and legs off. Make sure you live just long enough for a Risen to start eating you. Guts first usually." Achilles lowered his spear-club and stepped right up into Richardson's face. He had to look up but Claire didn't think that really mattered. "So ask yourself one question, Boss. Is it worth it?"
The blood had drained from Richardson's face and he looked white as a sheet. Claire thought that Rick might have pissed his pants.
"What's slow impalement mean, Boss?" Jake asked, sweat thick on his brow.
Athena giggled, "It's where we lay you down and shove a nice, thick, pointed pole up your ass, through your guts, and out your back. Very, very slowly. We have to cover your mouth up most of the time, but when we have an indoor place with thick walls we let you scream. Man, it's enough to make your balls shrivel up. If you have balls. Hey, remember that guy in Maryland? How long did he scream?"
Someone in the crowd answered, "Thirty seconds. Continuous. Right until we pierced one of his lungs."
Now Claire was sure that Rick had pissed his pants and it looked like the rest weren't far behind.
Richardson snarled, "Fine, take the bitch! Her cunt's all used up anyway!"
Richardson backed away, turned, and stomped through the gap that the Warrior-Hunters had left in their line. As soon as Richardson and his men were out of sight, the Warrior-Hunters dispersed without a word. Athena waved to them and climbed up a rope to the roof.
"Come. We have to pass the Rite Of Entry before we bathe."
Claire followed Orion up the rope and was so anxious about standing naked in front of total strangers that she was at the top before she realized she had managed with the pack on. It was a lot lighter now but she was amazed she was capable of the feat. Claire was sweating and her muscles felt a peculiar sort of wobbly but she wasn't dying. A small smile of accomplishment graced her face as she followed Achilles and the others down the stairs and into the breakroom. The guards said nothing to them and only gestured for them to stand in line for the Rite of Entry. They came upon a scene that was almost identical to the one last night except that Ajax and Athena had changed places. Claire turned away instinctively but Achilles gently lifted her chin up.
"Nudity is something you will have to learn to become accustomed to, Claire Marie. It happens a lot among The People."
Claire nodded and looked straight ahead at Athena's naked body but her eyes kept going out of focus. It was like she had no control over her own body and it was annoying.
Focus, damnit! I can look at another woman naked without being weird about it!
Slowly her eyes began to focus better and she saw that she had been right about Athena's breasts being only slightly larger than an A-cup. They were pert little things though. Her abdomen looked tight enough to bounce a brick off of. Both arms and legs were corded with muscle. Something dark and slightly raised was on her left shoulder. Claire craned her neck and gasped quietly. It was a brand of the letter W.
"What's that on her shoulder, Orion?" Claire whispered.
"Part of her Warrior-Hunter Mark. You get that once two Leaders deem you worthy of becoming one."
"She's fine," HawkEye said, and Athena did a little skip before turning to retrieve her armor. "Next."
Athena moved off closer to the door to the office to change, but she didn't go inside. Achilles stepped into the circle and held his arms out to the side. HawkEye quickly began to remove his armor and a couple minutes later Achilles was totally naked.
Wow! I thought his penis would be a lot bigger! It's only three inches! Maybe he's a grower. Okay, stop thinking like that, damnit. He's supposed to be your Trainer, not your fuckbuddy. Not yet.
Claire's nervousness grew as Achilles was replaced by Artemis, then Chun Li, and finally Orion. Orion was almost done when Achilles came back to her side.
"Don't be nervous, Claire. No one will touch you inappropriately. Just breathe and everything will be fine."
"What if they know I was bitten?" she asked, sweat beading between her breasts.
"Then you would be shot twice. Once in the chest and then once in the head while you were dying. Honor, duty, sacrifice are inherent parts of being one of the People. This Rite Of Entry is only good for Initiates who we are unsure of. Most of the seasoned Warrior-Hunters would tell of confirmed bites in the field and be dealt with by the team leader." Achilles patted her on the shoulderpad, "But you weren't bitten. Only bruised. So don't worry."
"Next."
Claire stepped into the ring of light and her knees nearly buckled when she raised her arms. HawkEye was a cute teenager with startlingly blue eyes and chubby cheeks.
"So," she spoke as she removed Claire's armor, "You're that new Initiate, huh? Achilles' Initiate, too. Goddamn. I almost squirted when I heard that."
The girl's vulgar commentary totally distracted Claire, she couldn't even remember or hear most of what the girl whispered, and she was standing naked before she realized. She had to resist the urge to cover herself up as the relatively cooler air of the breakroom caressed her sensitive nipples. HawkEye circled her and stopped at her left hand. She didn't touch it, just brought her face so close that Claire could feel the heat of her breath.
"And what the fuck happened here?" HawkEye said, her voice sharp.
Claire looked to Achilles, who simply nodded, and took a bracing breath, "I got bitten. It didn't penetrate my gauntlet."
HawkEye nodded and stood to her full height, "She's fine. Next."
Claire moved into the office as another team began the Rite of Entry. She replaced her armor and backpack with Achilles' assistance before they moved back down to the main floor. The Artisan-Laborer who had given her the pack was waiting for it at the bottom of the stairs. She took it with cheerful wink and a shooing motion.
"Hey, Achilles," Shaka jogged up to them with two Artisan-Laborers behind him, "I talked to your prospect and I figured we might as well get through the Rite of Initiation as soon as possible. What do you say?"
"Claire Marie?" Achilles turned to her, "Are you sure you want to do this? Once you do, you will be one of The People and, as you have seen, we do not live a safe or peaceful life. Would you like more time?"
"No, Achilles. I know what I want. What do I have to do?"
"Just repeat after me in front of these witnesses." Shaka opened up a notebook and began to recite, "I, Claire Marie, have observed the Path upon which The People tread. I have seen the Truth of what being People means and it is with whole heart that I accept the responsibilities that come with that Truth. From this day onward, I will put the well-being of The People above my own personal safety, above my feelings, above the safety of my loved ones. I will put the welfare of The People before those things and those things above the concerns of all Others."
Claire Marie repeated the Leader's words and a strange tingling sensation spread through her fingers.
"I, Claire Marie, am now of The People. Always and forever."