“A lot of life is dealing with your curse, dealing with the cards you were given that aren't so nice. Does it make you into a monster, or can you temper it in some way, or accept it and go in some other direction?”

“Tinn, come on! Hurry up or we’re gonna be late!” A boy’s voice rang out from outside.

Tinn sighed. This was it, time to decide. To go to the warrior camp or to not go, she still had the choice.

She had proven herself in school. She had proven herself to be strong, smart, a fighter. When she had been contacted by the warrior camp, Tinn had been filled with pride. Only the best from schools were invited to go to the mysterious and secluded school.

Unfortunately, she had met obstacles almost immediately. Her mother didn’t want her to go, saying it was too dangerous. The camp didn’t exactly have the reputation of being safe, so Tinn could understand what she was concerned about. The camp had started just a few years previous, taking about forty students at a time, and already at least five students had been killed in training and most students had quit and gone home.

It was rumored that the ones that completed their training stayed and became the new trainers.

However, the largest and more concerning issue about the camp was that no one was sure of its true purpose. Obviously, they were looking for the brightest and strongest. But once a teenager left for the camp, they weren’t heard from unless they quit.

It was that fact that scared Tinn and almost made her say no.

But then she had looked around her, at the place she called home. It was in horrible condition, the walls cracked and the paint peeling off. Windows had been broken and were covered by tarps to try to prevent the cold from outside coming in. It didn’t help. The only decoration in the kitchen was a reprint of an old painting, one that appeared to be pleasant landscape and ocean, but revealed something far more disturbing upon closer inspection in the calm blue water. It must have been cheap. Tinn doubted her mother had even noticed the element that gave the original painting its name, she had probably only noted the low price tag.

The camp sent huge amounts of money to the families of the students, and Tinn knew her family needed the money.

So she’d said yes.

The boy called again. “Are you coming or what?”

Tinn picked up her suitcase and backpack, then looked around her old home, trying to memorize it. Trying to remember every detail, every memory that had taken place in it.

Without looking back, she stepped out of her home, meeting an annoyed-looking boy.

“Took you long enough,” he sighed, exasperated.

“Shut up, Kris,” she snarled back.

The boy sighed again and brushed his light-brown hair out his face, a motion that was common and had a reputation for driving all the girls in the town crazy. He had a large duffel bag slung over one shoulder and a backpack on the other.

The only person she was going to know at warrior camp was the one person in the world it was awkward to be around.

Fantastic.

The two walked to their ride- a large, old bus that drove around the town for a small fee- together. Kris threw their larger bags into a compartment below the bus, and they boarded the bus together. But not before she took one last long look at her home, and maybe, just maybe, seeing the silhouette of her mother in the window.

Together, Tinn and Kris left their hometown, perhaps never to return.

From the moment they entered a house that was called the main area, Tinn felt overwhelmed. There were already many teenagers in the building that had the same general look and demeanor of the two of them. There were a lot more boys than girls, she noticed as well, and it seemed as if many of them knew each other already.

Already she was wishing she had said no to the invitation.

She felt Kris’s warm hand wrap around her wrist, and she smiled, thankful. She looked up at his face, wanting to know how he felt about this all, and was immediately surprised: instead of worried, he looked completely in his element. He was staring at a small group of boys that were talking to e