“Don't even think about it!” Jabic snarled through savagely bared teeth. 

Avaria had always thought of him as something like a statue, hard and unaffected by anything in the world around him. However, at that moment, there was a crack in his armor. Beyond the anger on his face, she glimpsed the fear in his wide eyes.

She released her hold too. There was no way his body was going to be made to collapse enough to fit. It just wasn't possible. But he was one of them, a member of their unit. Without him, they would be weaker. Beyond that, guilt welled up inside of her, the very non-Chorlak part of her insisting that they couldn't leave him behind.

“There's nothing we can do for him now! It's done! We have to go now! Right now! We'll all die here, and that won't do any good for anyone.” Korbak yanked her back, emphasizing his point.

She could see the Enforcers not far behind Jabic; they would be here within seconds. She pushed sentimental thoughts from her mind, narrowing her focus only to the strength of the unit, as a Chorlak was expected to do. Korbak was right, there wasn't a thing they could do, and they would be a far weaker unit if they all perished here than if they only lost a member. 

Gasmi and Tarr still held Jabic's arm, although they were no longer pulling. They both locked their eyes onto her as if her agreement would somehow factor into their own decisions. She looked at Jabic; the fury on his features was interrupted by flickers of desperation that took increasing prevalence. She bit her upper lip in consideration, stress welling inside of her as she was forced to make an impossible decision in an instant. Her brows pinched just slightly in turmoil as she made her choice. 

“Leave him. Let's go.” Her voice didn't crack like she would have expected, and it was good that it didn't. Emotion wasn't encouraged among her people. 

Tarr and Gasmi hesitated, but they released their grip. She could see on their faces that they were hiding unwelcomed emotions, just as she was. She had seen Tarr's facade waver before, but seeing Gasmi experience a moment of vulnerability was strange and somewhat eerie, like something that would only happen when the world was ending. 

Jabic started to shout at them hysterically; it was the most sound Avaria had ever known him to produce. Enforcers were now holding him in place on the other side, they were, without a doubt, about to open the door.

Korbak started running, immune to Jabic's anguish, and it was enough to prompt Gasmi and Tarr to follow suit. Avaria lingered just a moment, looking straight into Jabic's eyes as the rage reflected there faded away to acceptance. 

“Forgive me.” She spoke barely above a whisper, shame for her sentiment softening her voice.

“Go.” His tone was flat, his features neutral.

“I'll never forget you.” It was a promise that she knew would be easy to keep.

The door rumbled to life, and she burst out running, completing the abandonment even as her heart clenched protestingly in her chest. She dared a glance over her shoulder in time to see the Enforcers had fully surrounded Jabic. They threw his body to the ground, and the 'thud' that echoed into the night etched itself into her brain forever, just as a similar 'thud' had done all those years ago.

*

It took over an hour of weaving between buildings and climbing over fences for Avaria's endurance to prove superior to that of the Enforcers pursuing her. She was so exhausted by the time she got back into the facility that she'd slept through the sunrises for the first time in years and barely made it to the meal. 

The group that had gone out with her didn't speak to each other very much for the rest of the day, only congregating a moment to decide amongst themselves whether or not Enforcers had ever gotten a good look under any of their hoods. They concluded that it was unlikely. 

No one spoke of Jabic, but the very real possibility that he would reveal their identities to the authorities hung in the moments of silence. It was the only chance he would ever have to exact revenge on them for leaving him behind. In truth, none of them knew Jabic well enough to determine whether or not he possessed such a vengeful nature. They only knew that he was a man of few words. Chorlak rarely became close to one another. Instead, they tended to simply coexist in the world.

Even though Avaria didn't feel any significant personal bonds to Jabic, her insides began to churn violently as dusk approached. Jabic, who she had known for nearly ten years, would be executed before morning if he hadn't been already. She barely slept that night, although she'd never admit it.

*

Several days passed before her fingers could stop their new habit of anxiously drumming on any flat surface available, and it was several days after that before tension finally surrendered its hold on her body. No one had come to the facility in search of them, and there were no signs that they would. 

Rumors about Jabic's disappearance floated about, offering just a bit of animation to the otherwise dull faces of the Marred. Some said he had been integrated into society while others swore they'd seen him escape the facility, only to tread into the Ruins and commit suicide by way of the genetically engineered poison that lingered there.

She relaxed fully when the two-week mark rolled around, confident at last that nothing would come of it. If she had held to her discomfort a little longer, she would have been more prepared when her morning trip to the observatory allowed her to catch sight of what looked like a solid black cube approaching the facility. She knew better, of course. The cube wasn't solid at all. It was a transport, bringing with it the visitors she had so ardently dreaded.

All of the stress that had gradually alleviated seized her again at once; if she had looked down, she would see she was grasping the railing so tightly that her hands were nearly white with hardly a trace of the blueness characteristic of Chorlak flesh. But she couldn't look down. Her eyes were fixated on the fancy vehicle as it quickly closed the distance between itself and her. She supposed she could warn her group about the threat, but it wouldn't do any good. 

She could now distinguish a golden ring painted on the front of the cube. The situation was even worse than she could have imagined. Her mind raced, but in spite of her efforts, she couldn't fathom a single plausible reason for a member of the Oversight to come here in person.

No amount of deliberating would stop their approaching doom, so instead, she decided to meet them at the entrance and get whatever was going to happen over with. She meandered down the steps slowly, curiosity compelling her feet to move and dread causing them to drag. 

She arrived at the two massive front doors just as they began to roll open with hideous cracks and snaps, almost like the mechanism was screaming. No doubt, it had been hundreds of years since they had last been asked to perform their primary function. Some distant part of her mind begged her to cover her ears, but she didn't, the inclination was too foggy to commandeer her attention.

Behind the doors was a parked transport cube, but her focus centered upon the three figures that stood in front of it, each with their hands clasped formally behind their back. Two of them were Enforcers, she could tell by the assortment of weapons fastened to their belts.

The third one stood in the middle, just a few paces ahead of the Enforcers. Two silver rings in his ear indicated that in spite of his commanding presence, he was, in fact, just a warrior class Chorlak, not a member of the Oversight. At first glance, he looked entirely average. However, it only took her a moment to notice that his torso wrap boasted a gold stripe sewn diagonally on the material over his heart. It was this stripe that distinguished him from all other Chorlak, marking him as a Representative. Whenever the High Overseer or the Vice Overseer couldn't be present, the Representative would be sent in their place.

She expected them to seize her immediately, equipped with a description supplied by Jabic, but they strode authoritatively into the building and passed her as though she wasn't there at all. She stared after them, her mouth just barely agape in a shocked sort of relief. 

Other members of the Marred started to emerge into the corridor, summoned by the resounding clamor of the door. They all glanced at each other with uncertainty, searching for answers in one another's faces but finding none. Some eyes landed upon the abandoned doorway, the chance of freedom appearing to be within their grasp, but none dared to attempt it. Even if they liberated themselves from the walls of the facility, where could they go?

After a few moments, Avaria clamped her startled jaw shut and took the only reasonable course of action her brain would supply. She started towards the hallway where their visitors had disappeared, for no reason other than to witness whatever they came to do. Shuffling feet behind her indicated that her idea was catching on, but she didn't care to turn and confirm it. 

It wasn't terribly difficult to guess where the trio was headed; every door in this particular hall led to sleeping quarters except for one. She strode through the still ajar door of the courtyard, halting several yards away from the foreboding trio. From the corners of her eyes, she could see the Marred fanning out on either side of her, gradually forming a wide circle around the visitors. 

The Representative stood tall, hands clasped once again as he considered the crowd around him through narrowed judgmental eyes. He turned a moment, speaking in hushed tones with one of the Enforcers at his side. He stroked his bright white but graying beard a moment before nodding slightly, seemingly satisfied with whatever had been said. 

He resumed his gaze as the Enforcer fiddled with a fold in his torso wrap, eventually withdrawing a piece of paper that he handed the Representative. 

“Attention, brothers and sisters of the Marred.” His face tightened unattractively as he spoke. Clearly, he lacked enthusiasm for his own words. 

“I am Worg, representative of our esteemed Vice Overseer, Zileca.” He paused, eyes running across the faces of his audience to ensure he held their attention.

“Beginning the third morning from today, each of you will be granted an opportunity to prove yourself through a Battle of the Ancients.”

Murmurs swept through the crowd, their tones unsteady with horror. Avaria didn't speak; she was too stunned. This had nothing to do with her group's outings, something far more sinister was at work. The use of such savage battles had been abandoned centuries ago, replaced by the more sophisticated system that now governed their people. Modern Chorlak reflected on the practice with disdain, recognizing it for what it was: a population diminishing, uncivilized struggle for power. 

The primitive method was very straightforward. Once a year, both suns rose in alignment as though they were one. When that happened, every Chorlak on the planet gathered together in a massive valley near the heart of what had since become the Ruins. There, every adult fought against each other two at a time until only one victor remained to be deemed the leader of the Chorlak race. It wasn't exactly a fight to the death, but it was a fight to surrender. Of course, if an opponent refused to acknowledge their defeat, they promptly found themselves dead.

Avaria had to consciously restrain her jaws from worrying her upper lip, vaguely aware that she ought to pay attention to the rest of the Representative's words.

“Once the winner is decided, that individual will be granted the esteemed honor of integration.” 

Integration. The word lingered in the air, like a bright star shining through a billow of smoke. She could see the faces of her peers morph into hope, their disdain from moments ago discarded. 

For a few precious moments, her own body felt light as air, almost like she was floating, but the weight that had rooted itself in her stomach pulled her back down. She was not so wholly swept away in her aspirations that she was blinded to the disgraceful thing they were being commanded to do.

The Representative folded the paper with an unsettling sense of finality and handed it off to the Enforcer.

“The Vice Overseer herself will arrive to judge you and select a winner. I will remain here to greet her when she arrives.” 

With that, he made his exit, marching past the astonished faces with his nose held high. 

It was anyone's guess how much time had passed before any of the Marred showed signs of life, each too stunned to muster any reaction beyond an astonished stare. They were finally being thrown a lifeline, but it was covered in thorns. Grabbing hold of it would come at a price.

Avaria considered her fellow outcasts for a few moments. She knew how they thought; after all, she was one of them. The elation that long-awaited hope brought to them was so intoxicating that what the Representative had proposed was no longer so repulsive. In exchange for abandoning the dignity they had been taught to cherish for one short day, they were being offered the opportunity of a lifetime. 

Although she remained disgusted at the savagery they were being called upon to display, she couldn't help but fixate on the possibility. The longer she thought about it, the more willing she became to participate. She would have to take part in the battle like everyone else whether she wanted to or not, so she might as well win.

Snapping out of her musings, she straightened her posture in determination. What they were being forced to do was wrong. It fundamentally violated the way that the Chorlak race was structured. But it was the only chance she would ever have.