Brianna Acero and the Second One's Return

31. I am iron knuckles

"Well, it looks like you guys are fired up today," says Daniel, as he comes up to us. The team he was just with had left the training room, which means it was just us left.

"That's good. I have something new scheduled for you."

We stop warming up, and I grab my towel from my bag to wipe off the sweat that is running down my brow. Daniel walks over to the weapon wall, stopping and turning to us with a serious look on his face.

"I think it's time for you to choose," He says, spreading his arms. Most of the other teams still haven't gotten their weapons yet, and I'm excited to think that we are one of the first ones to receive our own.

"Alright!" Says Cassie. "Now we're talking."

Daniel smiles before schooling his expression.

"Mara, Jayson, Kalen; you three have already chosen weapons during your previous years. If you want to change now is the time, otherwise, you can come up and take them from the rack."

They seem to weigh their options, and it looks like the three of them decide to stay with their current method of defense. Mara goes up first, picking up a small metal tube that seems to fit perfectly in her hand. I briefly wonder what it is before she presses a button on the inside of the rod, extending it to its full length. The six-foot-long pole seems to belong with her, as if it were an extension of her own body.

The rod itself is nothing too exciting, with light gray coloring and a couple designs decorating either end, it looks more like a walking stick than a weapon. It's definitely subtle, which is probably what Mara was looking for in a weapon. Nothing flashy, just something practical and efficient that gets the job done.

"The titanium-alloy staff, good for close-range fighting," says Daniel, probably for those of us who have never had the chance to pick up a real weapon before.

"This one is specifically designed to have a retractable hook on one end," he continues, as Mara demonstrates by pressing the second button on her staff, making a miniature hook pop out of one of the ends.

"So that the user can inflict the most amount of damage. It can also be used to escape when tied up. This can cut through our metal infused threads, which you must have seen when you interrogated Jade."

Ah, so he heard about that. I wonder how he felt about her betrayal. She had been one of his students for a brief time, after all.

"It's a nice fit for your style, as usual, well done Mara."

She nods, retracting her staff and coming back to stand with Cassie and me.

"Can I hold it?" Whispers Cassie and I try really hard not to laugh at her. She looks like a kid in a candy store, except this is very dangerous candy.

Next up, Jay. He knows what he's looking for straight away, as he picks up twin handguns from the different selection of firearms lining the wall.

"Your usual guns, modified to shoot THV bullets as well as your regular ones."

He shows us the guns, demonstrating how to load and fire. He handles them with the practiced ease of someone that has worked with firearms many times before. He twirls them around his fingers, dismantling and piecing them back together in mere seconds. He definitely knows what he is doing.

And next up, Kalen.

He hesitates before heading to the left side of the rack. He grabs a strap with five throwing knives, all the same size, all with the same jagged edges. They are not very big, fitting perfectly into the palm of his hand. The blades are well kept, you can tell by the way they shine in the light, and I can't find a single scratch decorating their surface. They look brand new. But the thing that stands out most about them are the fire red pommels, matching perfectly with Kalen's suit, the one he wore the day of our initiation.