"Come, let me show you around," Claire said to Nathan.
They went out where several carts were parked. They got into one and drove away. As Claire drove she gave Nathan a tour.
She drove past a warehouse but did not say anything.
"What was that building back there?" Nathan asked.
"That's the training building," she replied.
"You guys train? I thought this place was about information gathering," Nathan asked.
"Yeah, we need to survive to collect the information," Claire explained.
"Can we check it out," Nathan asked.
"I don't think it's a good idea," Claire advised against it.
"I just want to look around," Nathan pleaded.
"Okay, just a quick look, and we leave," Claire said.
They went inside and men built like Greek gods stared at them. Some were bench pressing over two hundred pounds.
'I can't even do ten reps of 50 pounds,' Nathan thought.
The men stopped whatever they were doing and watched them. Nathan greeted but no one responded.
"Okay, we should leave now," Claire said.
When they turned around to leave, a man approached them.
"You must be Nathan. Three of our brothers went on a mission and did not return," the man said as he got close and personal.
Claire reached out her hand but fought her urge to touch him. She went around him and dragged Nathan along.
"I knew it was a bad idea to go on a mission with amateurs," the man complained.
"I don't know what you are talking about but I'm sorry for your loss," Nathan immediately stopped and said. As he was about to walk away he noticed a picture of Nathanial.
"Yeah, he was my brother," the man said as he saw Nathan's face fall.
"I understand how you feel. I have lost people too," Nathan explained.
"That's not surprising, but Nathanial, Yuri, and James trained consistently for years. They have fought wars, how do you get to be here when they are not?" the man said on top of his voice.
"Gideon, that was uncalled for," Claire said, and grabbed Nathan. She was dragging him away when he yanked back his hand.
"I get your frustration but it's not my fault they died. I fought to stay alive like anyone else," Nathan said and Gideon lunged at him.
He grabbed him by the shirt, he heaved as he breathed. He let go of him and grabbed a baton from a bucket of wooden weapons.
He tossed it to Nathan and grabbed another for himself.
"Show me," Gideon said.
"What?" Nathan said.
"Show me how you fought," Gideon explained.
"Nathan, you don't need to prove yourself to them," Claire said.
Nathan looked around at them, then he took a step forward.
"Don't be afraid I'll go easy on you," Gideon teased.
Nathan lunged at him and swung his baton.
Gideon swatted it away effortlessly. He swung again at him, this time in different combinations of attacks.
Gideon dodged and blocked and swung back. The baton hit Nathan in the face and he stumbled backward.
After he gained his composure, Nathan spat and it was blood red.