The Phylum

Chapter Five: Initiated

They'd gave us a choice before they initiated us. We could stay and use our 'gifts' to the best of our abilities, or we could leave. The Phylum would finance a home for two years, as long as it was a home far away from the area you were picked up. If you went back, there was no money or deal, you were on your own. Calico told me it would be a mistake to go back or leave. She told me that there were only eight TKs who chose to leave the Phylum, six died within the days that they left. One died within four weeks, the other disappeared. I asked Calico what she thought happened to the TK who disappeared, she wouldn't tell me. I think she knew him. I pondered for a few moments why only a small amount of people decided to leave. However, I remembered my experience and how close I had come to becoming dog bait. I decided that if anyone else's experience had been similar to mine, the unwelcoming world outside was reason enough to stay.

I stayed.

I had nowhere to be and no one to miss. It wasn't that hard of a decision, really. There was the occasional twinge of the conscious. But it didn't last.

Those who decided to stay were led into a large, almost spherical room. The room seemed to be made of a black, damp marble. The floor was covered in inky rugs, the impressions of thousands of feet obliterating any sort of appeal it could have once held. A gigantic podium was set up in the front of the room, behind it was a large, yellow statue. Despite the figure's long, wise beard and defiant expression, the statue looked cheap. Artificial light that rained down from the ceiling glinted off the statue's powerful stance, making it look like it was made of gold tin foil. I spotted open doorways that dotted the interior of the room.

It reminded me of a burrow, a burrow made by neophyte hands that didn't know what they were doing. It gave me an impression that with the rugs and statue the room was supposed to be homely, but all it just seemed like a gaudy imitation.

The initiation included rules being barked at us by a man on the unfriendly-looking podium named Legion. I couldn't really focus on much besides Legion's fiery orange hair. Calico nudged me every now and then, trying to refocus my attention on what was "essential", as she put it. I caught the important things, though. From that moment on, we were apart of The Phylum, we belonged to one body. We'd learn to fight like a body, we'd train like a body. I stiffened at the words 'fight' and 'train' and shot a brief look at Calico. Her face was blank, almost bored.

If we chose to run off, we'd be labeled as an enemy for the Phylum, society, and the police. We'd be caught and dealt with by one or more of those three groups. Harshly. This created a volcano of whispers to erupt from the crowd of 'barely' TKs. Legion waited, his hair flaring with his impatience. Once the crowd and his hair had quieted down, Legion continued to describe our living accommodations (which were very similar to old prison cells, with better beds), where we were (directly underground Central), who he was ('the man in charge and we should respect him as such'), who we were ("unappreciated kids with extraordinary powers that could be in terrible danger"), and who our mentors were (Calico was apparently here to better my abilities).

Once his well-rehearsed presentation was finished, Legion wouldn't answer the raised hands in the air. He simply disembarked from the high platform, and slipped through an open doorway.