Kayla wiped away tears as she returned to the canteen for dinner. Would she be made to sit alone, like Rose? She queued up without speaking to the other recruits. Once she had her tray filled, she noticed Rose, eating alone, and looking miserable. Hadn’t she been kicked out? Kayla felt a lurch of dread. She hadn’t been assigned a new buddy either, which could only mean one thing.

Steeling herself, she went to join her rival and sat down without saying a word. Both ate in silence for a few minutes.

“I’m sorry I left you up there,” Kayla said eventually.

“I’m sorry I’m a useless buddy,” Rose muttered. “The instructors said I could try again tomorrow, but that’s my last chance.”

Kayla was surprised by the response. Had Rose called herself useless? She ate in silence, unsure what to say, until Thandi and Christie slapped their trays down at the table.

“So, Christie,” Thandi said through a nasty grin, “if you would please describe the taxonomy of these two specimens.”

“Gladly, Thandi,” Christie replied, her own expression cheerful. “Here we have a pair of the lesser known, large-headed girl-toads. A rare species, they are usually seen in pairs making obnoxious loud noises, meant to irritate passersby. You’ll note the width of the cranium far exceeds the typical size.”

“Fascinating, and their mating habits?” Thandi asked.

“Non-existent, given their off-putting demeanor,” Christie said.

“What are you two so happy about?” said Kayla miserably.

“Well, we aced the assault course together,” Thandi said, “which was a lot of fun. Then there is your situation, which the whole class finds deeply entertaining. Great job from both of you.”

“Yeah, well, you won’t be getting much more of it,” Kayla said. “They’ll probably kick both of us out tomorrow.”

Thandi laughed. “You are such a drama queen, you know that?”

“It’s true,” Rose said quietly. “I can’t deal with heights.”

Kayla stabbed morosely at her food. “Susaki told me there are instructors looking for any excuse to get rid of me, too. It turns out that I am a real asshole.”

“I see,” Thandi said. “And both of you are pushovers who let difficult things hold you back?”

“You’re both in a bad place, obviously,” Christie interjected. “But once you collect yourselves, you’ll figure it out.”

Kayla glared at her, then looked away.

They ate in silence until Thandi spoke. “Hey, Christie, how come you’re still here? I didn’t peg you for this kind of life.”

Christie chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. “Well, I do sort of enjoy it. There’s nothing like the joy of watching another girl drop out, proving that you are, in fact, a superior human being.”

Thandi cackled. “But seriously, with all your smarts, wouldn’t you rather be, I don’t know, a famous intellectual or something?”

Christie snorted. “Good grief! You think just because I’m a Helvet I would have that kind of choice?”

“All you have to do is work for it, right?”

Christie sighed and traced circles on the table with her finger. “The Stirling family was not the most prestigious on Earth but was well-placed. My father had a working relationship with one of the Adjudicate Cardinals.”

“Gosh! Your family was close to the Adjudicate?” Rose’s eyes went wide. She glanced at Kayla. “That makes me a loser by comparison, you know?”

Kayla shook her head. She was surprised by this revelation, but it didn’t change her opinion of Christie. She didn’t wear her status on her sleeve, while Rose, dense as ever, was already ingratiating herself.

Christie gave a wry smile. “Ha—for a short time we were—but this all happened when I was very young. The Cardinal in question was outspoken. He enjoyed publicly criticizing officials he felt were flirting with corruption.”

“Well,” Rose said as her brow furrowed, “that’s what he’s supposed to do. The Adjudicate’s job is to maintain the high ethical standards—”

Kayla put her head in her hands. “Holy shit, Rose. You cannot be so naïve.”

“Give it a rest, you two,” Thandi snapped. “Christie, please continue.”

“So, he made a few enemies,” Christie said. “Unfortunately, like so many of our esteemed officials, he had a thing for young girls and boys.”

“Uh, what?” Kayla sat up attentively. Her head spun. She had heard plenty of stories about the Helvets as a child, but never anything so shocking. Rose’s eyes were also wide, and her jaw hung loose. Did she really have no idea that kind of thing was happening in the League?

“Is it not well known on Caldera?” Christie asked. “It is on Earth.”

“And on Intaba,” Thandi said.

“He was threatening too many interests,” Christie continued, “so his enemies decided to make an example of him. They published several photographs. He was pushed out by Cardinal Merris, and my father was disgraced by association. We still had money, but after I graduated, I was destined for the work allocation system. I would undoubtedly have been assigned to translating meeting minutes for the rest of my life.”

Rose shook her head in confusion. “But that program’s only for the poorest communities. Surely your status wouldn’t have allowed—”

Christie waved a hand. “The top players do whatever it takes to protect themselves from a threat. The list covers enemies, enemies’ associates, their families, friends, and anyone who ever said anything good about them, you see?”

The girls lapsed into silence. Kayla’s gut burned hot with anger. If she failed to join Valkyrie, she would probably end up under the thumb of some petty tyrant. Of course, there was one way she could win back some of the instructor’s respect, even if it burned her pride to do so. Besides which, Rose’s expression was starting to attract her sympathy. After Christie’s revelation, the stricken girl looked like a puppy that had been kicked out of the house.

Kayla slammed her fist on the table and turned to Rose. “Meet me at five a.m. outside your cabin. We’ll go to the course and figure it out.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Rose frowned. “We are supposed to respect the camp curfew until—”

“Oh, for the love of—” Kayla took a deep breath. “Or else they kick you out for breaking the rules? They’ll do that anyway if you fail, won’t they?”

Rose looked down at her plate. “Rules are made for a reason, but it’s not like you’re capable of respecting that.”

“Nobody knows what is right for me, but me.”

Rose’s eyes snapped up. “You’re an idiot, but you think you know everything!”

“Five a.m.! Be up and ready or I’ll drag you out of bed,” Kayla said firmly.

Rose didn’t respond, and they both went back to angrily chewing their food.

“So, Thandi,” Christie said cheerfully. “Odds they kill each other tomorrow? I’ll bet you an ice cream portion.”

Thandi laughed. “Nah. It’s a sure thing.”

Dawn was breaking as Kayla found an anxious-looking Rose outside her cabin. They walked over to the assault course without speaking. Instructors were running on the beach, but none went inland, so they shouldn’t be caught. Kayla’s muscles were still aching from the previous day’s mud session, and she was nervous about her ability to do all the obstacles. She tried not to think about it.

Kayla stopped Rose as she headed toward the beginning of the course.

“Don’t bother,” Kayla said, “we only need to fix one problem.”

Rose looked pensive. “Oh… I thought maybe if I built up gradually to it—”

“No chance. You’re looking for an excuse to put it off. Let’s go.”

As they approached the scaffold where Rose had failed the day before, she began to go pale. Kayla shoved her.

Rose caught herself and looked back, anger on her face. “What did you do that for?”

“How come you didn’t fall over?” Kayla asked.

“Because I’m not a child, and I have basic coordination.”

“What If I told you we were on the edge of a cliff right now?”

Rose’s eyebrow arched. “What?”

Kayla scratched a line in the dirt with her foot. “Stand on the line.”

Rose reluctantly did so, looking mystified.

“Stand on one leg.”

Rose looked at her skeptically, but did so.

“Are you in any danger of falling over?”

“No. I’m not drunk.”

“But if this line was the edge of a cliff,” Kayla said, “you wouldn’t dare do that, even though you’re not in danger?”

“That’s completely different—”

“It’s not different. The only thing that changes is your perception. You think you are in danger, and because you can’t think straight, you become less stable. So, you lose confidence. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Rose stared at her in confusion.

“When I’m up there,” Kayla explained, “I’m scared too, you know; I get that jolt of adrenaline. It sucks. But I concentrate on my grip and position, and I know that if I do everything right, I’m in no danger of falling.”

Rose’s eyes went wide at the admission, but then her expression became thoughtful. “I guess this is why people say don’t look down.”

“Exactly. But you need to look down and then learn how to ignore it, because we need to set fast times on this course, and you can’t trick your way out of it.”

Kayla walked over to the scaffold and began to haul herself up. Rose followed, looking a bit more optimistic. They stopped on the first floor.

“Don’t over-grip when you’re stable,” Kayla explained. “You’re hanging on tighter than you need to and tiring out your arms.”

“Um…” Rose’s fingers twitched.

“See how easily you reached the first floor? All the others are exactly the same. Don’t let the height be part of the problem.”

“I guess…”

She still didn’t look convinced, so Kayla tried a different tack. “Have you thought about what happens if you fall?”

Rose turned even paler. “God no! I don’t want to think about it.”

“Try it. A fall will happen super-fast and then you’ll be in pain, but you know how to deal with pain. The instructors will take you to a hospital, and you said yourself, they have great medical care here, right? You’ll get rolled back to another class, and they’ll probably kick me out.” Kayla grinned. “Works out great for you.”

Rose gave a weak smile. “I guess you’re right.”

“Okay then, let’s keep going.”

Kayla pulled herself up to the next floor with a helpful boost. Rose gingerly reached up for the wooden boards, and, with Kayla’s help, clambered up.

They reached the third floor before Rose looked down. She sat down heavily on the planking. “No, I can’t do it,” she said as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

With one more climb left, Kayla wasn’t about to accept defeat. Ignoring Rose, she grabbed the last floor above her, and with a burst of effort, hauled herself up.

“There, almost done,” she said cheerfully. “Once you get up here, we’re home free.”

Rose ignored her.

Kayla took a breath and thought through her options. “So, you’re done? You’re going home?” she said angrily.

“No!” Rose snapped back, but she didn’t move.

“Yes, because this is it. Either you do it, or all this work you’ve done is wasted. All the pain and misery we’ve gone through was for nothing, and you’ve just wasted everybody’s time.”

Rose closed her eyes tightly and gasped for air. “I uh… I can’t-”

“You’re all talk about empowering humanity, but you can’t even get up this dumb pile of wood?”

Rose said nothing. Her jaw tightened.

“I mean, I always knew you were lazy, but don’t you think it’s a bit selfish that you’re leaving me stuck with a weaker buddy—”

Rose jumped to her feet, reached above her head, and pulled herself up to the last platform. Kayla grabbed her shirt and belt and hauled as hard as she could. They collapsed in a pile on top of the scaffold, and once Rose had stopped gasping for air, she rolled over and punched Kayla in the arm. “You’re such an ass.”

Kayla nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I know, and you just made it. Congratulations.”

“Um… yes. Thank you.”

“Anger helps you do scary things. Maybe you can get a notebook and write that down?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Yes, I get it.”

“No, but you probably think you know better. You probably think it’s another dumb Kayla thing.”

“Shut up, Kayla.”

Kayla laughed as she felt the weight lift from her shoulders. She shuffled over to the edge of the wooden platform, dropped her legs over and patted the space next to her. “Come sit here and get some exposure.

“Oh, God.” Rose shuffled cautiously over to join her.

They sat in silence for some time before Rose spoke again. “I really do mean it. Thank you. I couldn’t face failing this course.”

“That doesn’t make any sense to me,” Kayla said.

Rose sighed. “How can I do nothing while other women put themselves in harm’s way for me? Dancing? Modelling? Some highly paid bureaucratic job? It’s all so…”

“Empty,” Kayla finished, staring at her in surprise.

“Yes.”

“Why did you do it then?”

“Because I was supposed to,” Rose said. “That’s my role in society. I mean, I’m beautiful and I inspire people, so my family uses that to make money. Then the school and all my friends like me for being rich and influential, so that’s what I mean to them.” She paused thoughtfully. “I guess there’s also the buzz I get from it.”

“Buzz?”

Rose smiled guiltily. “Being on top. Beating the competition.”

Kayla shook her head, as the memories of her first happy days with Rose began to fill her mind. “I don’t understand a thing about you.”

They fell silent again.

“Remember when you took me up on the school roof?” Rose said with a smile. “I thought I was going to die, but it was kind of awesome.”

“No, Rose, I don’t remember that,” Kayla replied coldly. “I remember the looks in the eyes of your friends whenever they passed me in the corridor. I remember every person in that place treating me like an alien.”

“I really didn’t talk about you that much.” Rose’s voice was plaintive. “Maybe I exaggerated some things, but I didn’t make up stories. You made your own stories. You just can’t act the way you wanted to act in our world.”

Kayla crossed her arms. “But I’m a liar, right? So, who cares how I acted?”

Rose looked down, then off into the distance. “They showed me a report,” she said quietly. “There were photos of a set and actors. They had doctors examining bodies and saying the deaths had been caused by farm equipment.”

Kayla rubbed her eyes. “So, they faked something.”

“I was a child then. Now, I don’t… know what to think.”

“Well, now you’re here and you know the truth, Rose. So, am I the sort of person who would lie about her own father’s death to get ahead, or is your bullshit society built on lies? Pick one.”

Rose shook her head. “The Helvetic world… Since we came here…I just don’t know any more.”

Kayla looked her in the eye. “Yes, you do. Come on, let’s get back down.”

Later that day, they completed the assault course together. Rose froze on the final balance beam, but after a short pause kept going, rang the bell, and dropped into the water. They swam back together and crossed the finish line to a round of jeering and hooting from the rest of the class. The instructors stood to one side and watched as the recruits, led by Christie and Thandi, grabbed the exhausted pair and dunked them back in the water.

As they waded out, Rose sagged to her knees, tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong? You made it!” Kayla said, her nerves buzzing with adrenaline. Christie bent down to talk to the unhappy young woman before leading her to the cabins.

“What is her problem now?” Kayla asked in exasperation.

“Who knows?” Thandi said. “Leave her alone.” She stared at Kayla. “I bet you’re convinced that nothing in the world can hold you back?”

Kayla crossed her arms. “Absolutely.”

“Lord have mercy on all of us.”