After a sleepless night, Shon woke up at early dawn. He put on his exam attire and stretched his limbs, feeling the fabric stretch and hug his skin. Then he dropped to the floor for a few pushups.

  After a light breakfast, Shon headed to the train station. The exam center was an hour away. Thankfully, he got Zora to keep him company.

  “You know, Shon, you should treat yourself to a cab ride sometime,” said Zora, yawning.

  “Standing is better for blood circulation,” Shon quipped. “It gets your limbs all warmed up.”

  “Bullshit. You are just trying to tire me out before the field simulation. I’m still gonna kick your ass though.”

  Shon laughed, but he knew he could not afford a cab ride when it cost three meals. Of course, Zora would subtly offer to pay, but Shon could always see through her attempts at protecting his pride. He hated being indebted, even to his closest friend.

  Nonetheless, Shon appreciated Zora’s company here. Most Fraxian families would throw in everything to raise their children’s odds by a sliver. Zora’s father had ordered her a private ride, but she turned it down to accompany Shon.

  At this early hour, the train was mostly empty. Most passengers were dressed in tattered clothes or dirty work uniforms, Valerians and Fraxians alike. They kept their mouth shut and eyes forward, seemingly indifferent to the stench of sweat and piss. The monotonic rumbling of the wheels filled the silence, broken only by occasional bursts of the radio broadcast.

  "A new wave of colossal sandstorms had struck the Northern Provinces. Refugees are flooding towards the interior."

  The northern provinces. That was where Shon's mother and sister lived. Shon walked closer to the radio.

  "The storms had left the city of Thiab in ruins. Over 8,600 Valerians and 2,300 others had been killed."

  "These damn Fraggers are like roaches," a woman commented to her friend. “They just don’t die.”

  Shon ignored the slurs. Besides, they got a point. Although the impoverished frontier was mostly populated by Fraxians, it was always Valerians who suffered the greatest casualties.

  Shon thought about his family. They lived right beside Thiab, or what remained of it. It was damn lucky that the storms had missed them, but this was no long term solution. Once he became a Stormrunner, he would make enough money to move his family into the interior.

  Zora held lightly onto Shon's wrist. She knew about Shon's family too.

  "Don't think too much, especially now," said Zora.

  Shon took a deep breath. He turned his attention elsewhere, but his inner peace did not last for long.

  A commotion broke out in the car next door. A few large middle-aged Valerians were ganging up on a young girl.

  Shon took a closer look at the girl. Her eyes were blue, but they lacked the natural luster. She was obviously wearing some cheap camo contacts to disguise her eye color. Thankfully, the other men did not notice.

  A few more words back and forth. Suddenly, the man in the center shoved her against a wall, and the others began towering over her.

  The air began to chill. Shon was the first to sense it. He cursed and hurried toward the girl, trying to pull her out before things could get worse. A Fraxian in fear would pull thermal energy toward themselves and lower ambient temperature. This was one of those primitive instincts that took Shon years of Academy training to suppress.

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  However, Shon was too late. The air had chilled so much that even the Valerians could sense it. The facts became apparent to everyone. Not only was the girl a Fraxian, but she was also in fear. Immediately, they laughed.

  “I thought I caught some normal thief, but turns out this one’s a Fragger,” said the huge man in the center.

  At the sound of that word, Shon strode towards the group. Zora tugged on his arm and shook her head, but Shon ignored her.

  “Excuse me, guys, is there a problem here?” Shon stepped in front of the girl.

  “Mind your own business, Fraxian,” said the one in the center.

  “I don’t want any trouble here,” said Shon, raising his palms. “Let’s all take a step back, shall we?”

  “Shut up, do you know what she did?” said the man on the left. “She stole our hard-earned money.”

  “Yeah, check this out,” said the one on the right as he pulled up his sleeves, revealing a long, fresh cut across his forearm. A few drops of blood were still seeping out. “Got this from the concrete mixer last night. I skipped hospital to save some cash for my kids, not so some lazy Fraxian could snatch it away.”

  Shon turned around, shooting the girl a look. The girl averted her eyes and nodded lightly.

  “Give them back the money,” said Shon.

  The girl slowly produced a few crumpled bills. The man in the center snatched it away from her. Then he spat on her face and let out another slur. Shon clenched his fists, but he held himself back. He did not want any trouble on the Exam Day.

  “Alright guys, you have your money back. Can we all go home now?”

  Satisfied, the injured Valerian on the right turned to leave, but the huge man in the center had other plans.

  “How unfortunate,” he said, “but we can’t let a criminal go unpunished. Especially a Fragger.”

  As soon as he dropped the slur, he swung his left hand across the girl’s face, sending her crashing against the wall. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

  He raised his right fist and went for another blow, but Shon caught his wrist midair.

  “How dare you raise your hand against a Valerian?” said the man. He glanced up and down and noticed the Academy badge on Shon’s shirt.

  “You are an Academy Fraxian,” he laughed. “Isn’t the Stormrunner Exam today? They would fail you immediately if they knew what happened here.”

  The man was right, but Shon couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. He assumed a combat stance, bracing for another strike. No punches came. Instead, the man laughed and began hurling the most heinous insults at Shon. The goal was obvious. If Shon threw the first punch, he would be arrested and miss the Exam.

  Suddenly, a voice broke the tension.

  “There’s no need to escalate, gentlemen,” Zora spoke calmly as she inserted herself between them. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

  “Tell your little boyfriend to walk away now, and we will not report him,” the man sneered.

  “You cannot report him for self-defense. Proof’s right there.” Zora pointed towards the ceiling. Shon looked up and saw a surveillance camera glaring down. Evidently, the camera had also recorded the man striking the girl first, but the cops probably would not care.

  Before the men could refute her, Zora spoke again.

  “However, I understand your desire for justice, so I suggest a compromise.”

  The men stared at her. So did Shon.

  “I’ll call the cops right now. They will arrest her at the next stop. You get the justice you want, and we walk away without trouble. Is that a deal?”

  Zora extended her hand, waiting for a handshake of truce.

  Shon stared at her. Unbelievable. Did she just offer to turn that girl over to the cops? Petty theft would land a Fraxian years in jail. The Republic’s prisons were notoriously terrible. Who knew if she could even survive?

  Shon clenched his fists. He desperately wanted to do something, to punch them, to knock them all out. However, that would only get him arrested and disqualified from the Exam. That would bury his entire future, including any chance of moving his family away from the dangerous frontier. After all the sacrifices his family had made, he could not succumb to this fit of rage.

  As time stretched out, sweat beads rolled down his forehead. He hated how useless he was. He did not have Zora’s eloquence and wits to devise a better solution, and perhaps there was no better solution. After all, the theft was caught on tape. The evidence was indisputable.

  Zora was right. They were in no position to bargain. Right or wrong did not matter. As long as the men called the cops, they would miss the Exam. Even if they were proven right, and even if they walked out of the police station without a scratch, it would not matter. Their future would still be doomed. They had no other choice. This was the smartest deal.

  But something just didn’t feel right.

  Unfortunately, there was no time for Shon to protest. The man in the middle nodded his head and shook Zora’s hand. The girl broke into a sob. She fell on her knees, begging the men for forgiveness and pleading with Zora not to call the cops. However, the deal had already been made, and Shon and Zora could not wager their own future over a hopeless stranger. Under the Valerian men’s tight scrutiny, Zora called the police.

  At the next stop, two officers handcuffed the girl and escorted her out of the train. The girl stared desperately at Shon. Shon kept his gaze straight and hurried away. He did not look back.