Manny wound up in the back, seated next to Jonathan. The young Martyr patted his leg. “Don’t worry, brother,” he said. “It’s gonna be rough for us to earn their respect, but once we’re all out in the field together they’ll stop caring about your skin.”

“You sure about that?” Manny asked, happy he was never going to wind up in “the field” with any of these people.

“Course I am,” Jonathan said. “I grew up in Atlanta, y’know. I knew it was gonna be rough coming out here. But that’s the sacrifice we make for God. I know He’s gonna bring this nation back together. Tell you the truth, I’m honored to be a part of that.”

Jonathan’s eyes shone when he spoke. He’s a true believer, Manny realized, there’s not a doubt in his mind that he’s doing the right thing. That was scary. And things got scarier still when their next instructor stepped into the amphitheater. This man was old and grizzled too. He had both of his legs, but his right arm was missing below the elbow, and a jagged scar ran up the left side of his face. The skin on most of his forehead was bald and mottled, as if he’d been badly burned.

“Afternoon, boys, and God bless you. I’m Martyr Carruthers. Today you’re going to learn how to assault a fortified position.”

Most of the strategies he walked them through began and ended with the application of shoulder-fired rockets and incendiary grenades. Manny couldn’t help but notice that no time was spent talking about how to avoid civilian casualties. He wasn’t even sure Specialist Carruthers knew how to pronounce the word “civilian.”

“Remember what it says in the book of Samuel, boys,” the older man drawled: “‘Now go and strike, and devote to destruction all that you have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” He laughed, which made a few of the young Martyrs comfortable enough to laugh too.

“I don’t expect you’ll run into any camels or donkeys out in Austin. But there’ll be men, women, children, and infants. If they stand in your way, they all equally deserve to be purged.”

Manny didn’t like the eagerness he saw on the faces of his fellow “students.” The pit in his stomach grew throughout the day, while Martyr Carruthers explained how to use the various heavy munitions they might be called upon to deploy. There weren’t enough rockets or mortars for them to actually train on any of those things. Manny wasn’t sure how good a gist anyone really got. He wondered how much that would matter when these men took to the field.