A crowd of at least thousands gathered around the opera house, eagerly waiting for the kickoff of the biggest event of the year — the Stormrunner Ceremony. The bright beams of the floodlights concealed all their features, leaving only rows and rows of dark silhouettes for the eye.

  With his eyes straight, Shon shoved through the glances and whispers, ignoring the pointed fingers and the tiptoeing figures in the back. He shielded his face from the unending camera flashes and turned away from the reporters.

  Shon hurried towards the entrance. He was an imposter here. He did not belong.

  At the gate, the guard scrutinized him from head to toe. Shon shifted uncomfortably as the stiff fabric of his new shirt chafed his neck. Before the guard noticed, he subtly covered the still-attached label on his trousers.

  Shon wished he had time to break into this suit, but at least it was better than nothing. At least Miles had something prepared for him. He could not imagine showing up in that grimy shirt he wore trudging through Mill Row.

  “Name and institution?” the guard asked.

  “Shon. From Deercreek Academy.”

  The guard flipped through his list, then a few pages back. He furrowed his brows and returned to page one, now going down line by line.

  Of course, Shon was the imposter here.

  Shon sneaked a few glances around. He could not make out the crowd’s expression, but he was sure they were all staring at him. He was dying of embarrassment.

  Thankfully, another guard came to his rescue, presumably the former’s supervisor. He whispered a few words.

  The first guard’s eyes widened. He quickly put the list away and let out a smile for Shon, but his superior shooed him off.

  “Our deepest apologies for the delay,” the guard supervisor said. “Please come this way, Shon.”

  Shon followed the guard and entered the reception hall.

  Shon gasped. Calling it a reception hall hardly did this place any justice. The room was gigantic, easily the size of a stadium, with ceilings soaring three floors high. Crystal chandeliers cascaded down like frozen waterfalls, their light gently diffused by velvet drapes of purple. A hundred tables filled the center of the room, each adorned with plates of dazzling cuisine, their glaze catching the glow of the chandeliers, looking all the more appetizing.

  At least a thousand people gathered here. The Capital alone had three hundred inductees, and a few hundred more came by train from neighboring provinces. Many were accompanied by family. Some smiled and shook hands. Some sat awkwardly by themselves. Some formed big groups, their backs blocking off any bystanders wishing to join. Some walked around, picking up new stragglers here and there.

  Before Shon could take it all in, the guard supervisor leaned in and patted him on the shoulder.

  “Enjoy your night,” he said with a half-smile, but his orange eyes remained cold. “Most people actually have to earn their way in.”

  Shon turned around, but the guard had already walked away to his colleagues. Shon followed them with his gaze. The guard whispered something to them, and they approached a Fraxian inductee in the corner. After a few exchanges, the Fraxian girl became agitated. She looked as if she was about to start a fight, but she decided against it at the last second and followed the guards. They began escorting her out of the venue.

  Shon felt his heart sink. His worst fear had come true. To secure his spot as an inductee, another Fraxian must be removed.

  The guards escorted the girl towards the doors, where Shon was standing. Shon froze in place. He could not help but watch the consequences of his choices unfold.

  The guard supervisor locked gaze with Shon, and he let out a scornful smile. Shon was not sure if he imagined it, but the man seemed to have led the group closer to Shon. His pace deliberately slowed, and the group followed.

  As the Fraxian girl walked by, Shon understood why.

  The girl’s eyes met Shon’s. She must have seen through the turmoil on his face, because her expression turned instantly from sadness to anger.

  “You are the cheater taking my place, aren’t you?” she said, her voice shaking. “I remember the face of every passing candidate, and you are not one of them.”

  Shon opened his mouth, trying to defend himself. How was it any better for him? He wanted to tell her he was disqualified for saving his comrade’s life, that he would have been a top scorer otherwise. But how could she understand?

  And now that he was staring into her eyes, he could not even begin to fathom the asphyxiating pain she must be going through. For him, he had never been given hope to begin with — disappointment was brutal, but at least he saw it coming. But her? She had already stepped into the opera house. She had been given a glimpse of the life that could be, only to have it all ripped away at the last moment. Ripped away by him.

  So they stood in a stalemate. Finally, Shon collected his words. He opened his mouth, about to speak.

  Suddenly, a three-tone siren cut him off. It was the signal of an emergency announcement from the president herself.

  “Attention residents of Valeria: One week ago, a storm cluster in Thiab destroyed the Northern Stabilizer. Despite the best efforts of our Stormrunners, atmospheric conditions in the Northern Quadrant have rapidly deteriorated.”

  The crowd gasped. Shon’s heart sank, his focus turning to the impending danger. The Stabilizer was humanity’s shield against the storms. Without the Stabilizer, the Stormrunner Corps would be stretched too thin, and catastrophe would ensue. Everyone knew that. He knew that.

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  However, the broadcast did not stop.

  “As a result, a level 7 storm has formed outside the Capital, and it is projected to strike in three hours. I repeat, a level 7 storm is hitting the Capital in three hours. Please remain calm and stay indoors. In the Capital, your home is your safest shelter.

  “The Stormrunner Corps has already been deployed. The Republic’s most elite Stormrunners are en route to neutralize the storms. Please stay tuned for further updates.”

  Gasps turned into whispers, and whispers became loud conversations. Everyone understood. This was the biggest storm the Capital had faced in over ten years. And without the Northern Stabilizer’s protection, much bigger storms could ensue.

  The Fraxian girl scoffed, pulling Shon’s focus back to reality. She looked at the guards around her, then at Shon.

  “Funny, getting deployed on your first day,” she said, her eyes dark and cold. “Mother Nature sure has her way of correcting mistakes.”

  These words hit Shon like a cryo grenade, freezing him in place. He tried to fight back, but nothing could come out of his mouth. Maybe she was right. Maybe he deserved this.

  “If you have any grievance,” a familiar voice broke the silence, “You can file it with the Stormrunner Corps office. Please stop harassing my friend here.”

  Shon turned around. It was Zora. She stood tall and upright, her eyes glaring at the Fraxian girl.

  “It’s alright,” Shon said to Zora, defeated.

  However, Zora refused to bulge. Her glare shifted from the girl to the surrounding guards. The guard supervisor finally recollected his senses. He motioned for the other guards to move along.

  “This isn’t over yet,” the Fraxian girl seethed as she exited the room.

  Zora waited until they were out of earshot, then she ran up to Shon and hugged him. Still in shock, Shon just stood there, feeling Zora’s arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace.

  “That was scary,” Shon finally spoke. “With that stare, I thought you were gonna kill me, too.”

  “Shut up,” Zora smiled, but her expression turned solemn again. “I heard what happened in Mill Row. You were there, weren’t you?”

  Then she noticed the cut on the side of his face, now caked by dirt and dried blood. She took out a napkin and gently wiped it away.

  “Whatever was on the news, it was only part of the story,” Shon muttered. The news only reported Professor Lilah’s description of events, about alleged Brotherhood Fraxians killing two Valerians. Zora probably assumed that Shon was just some innocent bystander.

  She did not know that he had been the target of both attacks. She did not witness his bottled-up rage, or how he nodded his head so nonchalantly while lying about that skinny Valerian’s crimes. Would she still look at him the same, if she had known that he was a liar equally culpable for murder, an accomplice who so narrowly escaped the cops?

  But more than the facts, she did not hear Shon’s introspections with Professor Lilah, nor did she hear Shon’s confession to Vye. She was spared his moments of vulnerability, his tides of anger, his bursts of despair.

  And Shon wondered if he should never let her know.

  Shon looked around. It was a time of happiness, where families celebrated the pinnacle of life’s achievement. It was a time of despair, where mothers and fathers finally understood their children’s mortality, that they could be swallowed whole by the looming storms, never to see the coming dawn. The air was already so thick with emotion. Shon saw no need to make Zora’s heart even heavier.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Shon said lightly, meeting Zora’s inquisitive eyes. “Another day, I will tell you everything.”

  Zora nodded, no questions asked.

  “Hey, there you are,” another voice called. It was Damien Strauss, the Valerian candidate that Shon had saved during the Stormrunning simulation, and technically speaking, the reason for Shon’s disqualification.

  Damien nodded at Zora and smiled, standing casually by her side. Compared to his earlier aloofness, the Damien Strauss right now seemed much friendlier, or perhaps just more normal. Perhaps he and Zora had spoken to each other already before Shon’s arrival.

  “My man, Shon, I swear you evaporated off the face of the earth,” said Damien, clasping Shon’s right hand in a firm handshake with both of his hands. “I just wanna thank you for what you did back there. I mean, I wanted to thank you right after, but you were nowhere to be found after the Exam. Hell, I even got my Dad looking up your address, but —”

  “You’re welcome, Damien,” Shon said, putting his other hand over Damien’s. “I’m glad you are not injured.”

  “All healthy and well, thanks to you,” Damien smiled. “I can’t believe they tried to disqualify you. I mean, that is fucked up. Just fucked up. My Dad filed an appeal on your behalf, and I heard someone else in XetaGen also did. I’m just glad they finally came to their senses and let you in. You deserve it.”

  “Yeah, about that…” Shon traded a glance with Zora. “Let’s keep this quiet for now.”

  “Of course. Of course. By the way, my Dad would like a word with you,” Damien said.

  Shon followed Damien’s glance. At the center of a group of Valerians, a man in his sixties was sipping on champagne. His gaze was ice cold, like frozen stalactites in an underground cave. He looked up, his gaze meeting Shon’s. A chill ran down Shon’s spine.

  The man held his gaze for a few seconds, as if silently summoning Shon to join his circle of followers. By the looks of it, that felt more like a muscle memory than an intentional demand, because the next second, he quickly blinked it away. His rigid countenance softened, and he approached Shon with a faint smile.

  “Hello, Robert Strauss, it’s good to meet you,” said Damien’s father. His hand hovered by his side, his fingers twitching lightly, but after a few moments, he reached out eventually for an oddly measured handshake.

  “Hello Mr. Strauss,” Shon reached out. Mr. Strauss’s hand faltered for a second, but it remained in its place. Shon met it with a firm handshake. “My name is Shon.”

  Mr. Strauss cleared his throat, evidently searching for the right words. Shon waited patiently.

  “First and foremost, I’d like to thank you for saving my son’s life,” Mr. Strauss said. “It is a very brave thing you did.”

  “Of course,” said Shon. “It is the right thing to do.”

  Mr. Strauss nodded slowly. He paused for a little longer, as if contemplating words unsaid.

  “Do you have family here, Shon?” he asked flatly. “Give their names to me, and I will arrange a bunker for them.”

  A bunker? The Capital supposedly had no public bunkers, but of course the rich and elite had their own contingency plans.

  “I appreciate that, Mr. Strauss,” Shon said. “But my family is far away.”

  “That is fortunate to hear. Let me know if you ever need help,” said Mr. Strauss. He looked like he was about to leave, but then he stopped. He swallowed and, after some hesitation, placed a hand on Shon’s shoulder.

  “Just… Keep my son safe out there,” Mr. Strauss said quietly, the icy shards in his eyes softened. “Please.”

  Then he turned around and walked back to his group, not looking back. Shon followed him with his gaze, lost in thoughts.

  “Well, there goes my Dad for you,” Damien said, slinging his arm around Shon’s shoulder. His voice was light and jovial, nothing like his father’s. “He always gets so serious about everything.”

  Damien returned to cracking a joke with Zora, but Shon could only stare pensively into blank space. Perhaps Damien was too naive to understand the gravity of the situation, but he was not. He knew exactly what Mr. Strauss was feeling — he had seen it in his hesitation, heard it in the crack of his voice. This man had meant every word.

  But again, perhaps it was better for Damien not to understand. How many people could still smile in the face of a storm? How many more could remain so lighthearted, knowing that when everyone else was running away, they must traverse into the heart of danger?

  Perhaps for Damien, it wasn’t naivete, it was his own kind of strength.

  Another three-tone alarm went off. This time, it was for the guests at the venue.

  “Attention all guests and inductee families: Due to the imminent threat of the approaching storm, please remain in the reception hall for your safety. The Troopers will fortify the building. Please do not panic, as you are in safe hands.

  “All Stormrunner inductees: Please proceed immediately to the concert hall for operational briefing. You will receive critical information regarding the upcoming battle and your assigned deployment roles.”