Chapter Fourteen - Part Two: Training Plans

No 'congratulations' or 'welcome aboard'. She'd been to new hire orientations at fast food restaurants with more emotion in it.

Her expression must have given away her feelings on the subject, because the ginger giant gave her a warm smile, "Don' take it personally, lass. Atreus is a General, and that lot's known for being lackin' in the warm and fuzzy department. He's gruff, and he expects a lot from those under his command, but he's fair and will come to your defense if you're in need of savin'."

"Now!" He boomed, slapping his hands together so hard Leta jumped, "We be startin' tomorrow off easy. Assess yer current skills an' all. You, me, Koa, Hayato, an' Afra. 10 a.m. at the Gym."

"No…" Afra moaned. "I worked a double today and then cleaned up after Koa and the Greenhorn. Is passing out for 24 hours too much to ask for?"

"Ah, quiet you." Allister shushed, slapping at the air as if he were swatting away an annoying fly, "You love this kinda thing and you know it. Huda, do ya mind terribly doin' some research fer me?"

"Regarding her." Huda asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Aye, lass. Don' think anyone in this house knows what Leta is, an' I think it's in our best interest to find out so we know what to expect and how ta help."

"An you." He pointed a sausage sized finger at Leta, "You best be gettin ta sleep."

Leta looked at the clock on the stove, wincing when it flashed 4:13 a.m. Through the living room windows the sky was now closer to navy than black as the city just barely began to stir.

Leta moaned. She was absolutely exhausted but part of her was honestly scared to go back to sleep in her room. The memory of fingers like iron digging into her throat and cutting off her air was still fresh in her mind.

Dr. Annika's empty stare as she tried to murder her would be forever burned in her memory.

"I will accompany her." Koa said stoically.

Allister gave him a knowing look over his beard.

Koa shook his head, "She is new to this, Allister. Not long ago she was fighting for her life from her beguiled friend. I will stand watch for her own peace of mind."

He looked to Leta for her permission, which she gave with a thankful nod.

"Good lad." Allister said with his usual jovial grin. "Then we'll adjourn this meetin' till later. Leta Girl, we'll have a cover for you come mornin' for you to be missed for a spell. Jus' hang tight at your apartment till we come ta' collect ya. Aye?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Leta responded with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

She had always been the person that could acknowledge the seriousness of a situation when it was happening but still be able to act rationally and make decisions that was for the best.

When left alone, safe and with her own thoughts, was when monsters like terror and shock found their way into her mind.

Right now, she was reflecting on how the last 24 hours - heck, the last 12 hours - felt more like an out of body experience than real life.

She'd learned that there was not one but two crazy societies of supernatural beings that were only being quiet about it because a group of alien scientists told them to.

She nearly died.

Twice!

"You alright there, lass?" Allister asked, his eyebrows knitted close in concern.

"I…" Leta stammered, then stopped.

Emotionally speaking she was all over the place, boomeranging from shock that she'd nearly died by her friend's hands, fear that it could happen again, worry for her family and others that they would be targets, frustrated and angry that she was being forced to make such extreme and life altering changes seemingly on the fly, and wonder at everything that she was in the company of such amazing people.

These people - no, these Arisen - had come crashing into her life with the force of a tsunami. She felt as if she had been blindsided with mystery and danger, liquid steel hands like claws dragging her down, leaving her unable to rise above the surface to catch a breath.

Now given a chance to take a breath, all she could think about was those unfocused eyes looking down at her as her windpipe was crushed.

Reflexively, Leta's fingers brushed her neck, the ghosts of memories making her skin prickle with gooseflesh.

How do you simply close your eyes and go to sleep after everything that had just happened?

Maybe one day she'd fall asleep and this would all be a distant memory, but right now?

She felt so raw that sleep seemed like an elusive mystery she had no chance of understanding.

Leta nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She followed calloused fingers covered in scars up to muscled forearms, to a defined jaw and a nose with a slight bump on its ridge like it had been broken once before.

A crease had formed between thick eyebrows as he frowned down at her in concern. "Leta?"

"Yeah." Leta exhaled, "Yeah, um… right. Sleep."

Leta rose, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked more like a child that had come to ask their parents to chase away the monster under the bed and they'd told her to go back to sleep.

It was hard to just 'go to sleep' when the monsters were very real and obviously very willing to kill.

'Night, lass.' Allister said softly, seeming to sense her mental state.

The others followed suit, a chorus of 'good night's and 'sleep well's following her out the door.

Koa led her down the stairs that now seemed haunted in the ebbing night, the slight flickering of the utility light an S.O.S. of danger.

Outside the city was mostly dormant save for party goers drunkenly finding beds to sober up, taxis and buses taking tourists to the airport, and cafe workers preparing for the morning crush.

It all felt so… human.

The mundane actions of a young couple waiting outside on the street, rolling suitcases in hand as they waited for their ride seemed almost wholesome after everything that had happened.

Koa took her apartment keys from her limp fingers and did a quick check around the flat for any unwanted guests.

Leta peaked into each room and took a head count. Everyone was accounted for and seemed fine for the most part. Pilar was an absolute mess, seemingly to have been thrown on the bed by a drunkard without much regard. She had a lock of hair stuck to her lip and looked like she tried to pick a fight with her jumper only to lose the battle.

Leta paused at Dr. Annika's door, creeping close like a mouse that knew a tiger lurked nearby but couldn't see it.

Dr. Annika had been placed in her bed with the sheets pulled up over her pajamas. She looked peaceful, her breaths even and steady as she slept with ease.

"Leta."

"Jezzus!" Leta hissed, one hand on her racing heart and the other over her mouth as she whipped around to find that Koa had snuck up on her.

"A bell! I'm getting you a damn bell, I swear!" She growled.

"It was not her." Koa said softly, almost comfortingly.

"Huh?"

"Your friend. It was not her that hurt you." He clarified. "What is in that room is your friend and not the thrall from earlier. You must remember that come morning."

Leta took a deep breath and sighed, "I know that. I know she was under some kind of compulsion. It doesn't make this any easier."

"And yet, you must." His eyes raised. Though his gaze fell on Dr. Annika, his stare was far away as if he had dug up something dark from the sands of his own memories. "You will have to pretend that what happened that night was nothing more than a nightmare that will fade with the rising sun. You will get up, make breakfast, and talk about idle nonsense with someone whose face is the mirror of a monster that attacked you once before.

"But you must remember, your friend is not the fiend that attacked you. The woman in that room is your friend, and would do everything in her power to protect you. The spell she was under was broken, and she is safe right now."

Koa put a hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes with a kind but firm stare. "You are safe right now."

Leta swallowed, trying her best to take that to heart before nodding.

He squeezed her shoulder as if attempting to give her comfort before leading her back to her room. He allowed her a moment to check for herself that the window was locked and bolted, the curtains drawn tight, and that there was no one waiting in her closet to jump her.

Koa took a seat as Leta got comfortable, his eyes never leaving her as she climbed into bed and pulled the quilt over her.

"I'll be here to guard you, so get some sleep."

"You're not tired?" Leta asked quizzically.

Koa shook his head. "We are built to keep going. Warriors only need 2 or three hours of sleep. Rest easy. I will be here."

Leta wanted to ask about that, but the tightly wound ball of anxiousness that had been squirming inside her since she'd been attacked had begun to loosen, leaving her exhausted both mentally and physically.

She put her hand on the pillow, eyes heavy with fatigue. "You'll stay until morning?"

In her sleep-addled mind, she could almost swear that she saw a faint smirk cross his lips.

"Sleep, Leta Girl. I swear you have no reason to doubt me."

In the dark, she could almost make out a soft lullaby humming in the night from the Warrior sitting guard at her bedside. It's familiar melody was on the tip of her tongue before it faded into the blackness of her unconscious mind as she fell begrudgingly to sleep.