We were being taken to Earth for our warmatch trials. Toxic, polluted, deadly Earth of all the places in the universe. 

"Killing us off on Earth, huh?" Toya shook her head, scooting closer to me for warmth in the cramped cargo hold of the spaceship. "Where do those Icehearts even get their twisted ideas?" 

"Noooo oooone knoooows," I said in a creepy voice, making us both burst into fits of laughter.

"Good afternoon, contestants," said the voice of Selaeyah Valior over the loudspeaker. "You will be deposited on Earth shortly for your first task. About a mile from where you are dropped off will be a safe shelter. Your job is to reach this shelter at any cost. Remember, killing off members of other teams improves your team's chances of getting out of the match alive. However, intentionally harming other contestants after reaching the shelter is considered cheating, and cheaters are always put to death immediately. At the end of the task, you will each receive an individual score and rank based on your performance. Those who rank in the bottom five will be eliminated. Good luck, my lovely Rhenan leeches! I look forward to watching you suffer!" 

"I swear, she annoys me to no end," Toya groaned. 

"Tell me about it." 

As the ship slid onto the landing pad that had been prepared for it, the large hatch at the front of the hold swung open. A frenzy of determined contestants, including Toya, instantly ran into the light, not even sparing a moment to adjust their oxygen masks. Before I even realized what was going on, I was already the last person in the ship. 

Except...I wasn't. 

I watched, my heart aching, as a wide pair of crystal blue eyes met mine. 

"Hello," I said softly, yet the tiny girl crouched in the corner of the hold didn't answer. 

"Come on, you have to go or they'll kill you!" I urged her. Perhaps I was being too kind, sacrificing my own chances of survival for a little girl I didn't even know, but when I looked at her innocent, terrified face, I felt like I had no choice. 

"What's your name?" She croaked, her voice barely a whisper. 

"I'm Cady. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." 

"I'm Thalayna," she smiled. 

"Like Queen Thalayna?" I asked, surprised. 

"Yeah," Thalayna said sadly. "But the Icehearts thought it was wrong for a Rhenan to have that name. They k-killed my parents for it last year, when I was only seven. Then the Ice Guards came again, a few days ago. They said I was going to be part of some game. But this game doesn't seem like much fun." 

Bile rose up in my throat as I gazed at the helpless child, hugging her knees to her chest. 

She was eight years old. Eight years old, and tossed into a warmatch to die. 

"Come with me," I said with determination, grabbing her hand. 

"Cady," Thalayna said softly. "Am I g-gonna d-die?" She whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes. 

"No, no you're not," I gritted my teeth, scooping her up in my arms as I began to run. "I'm not going to let them kill you." 

After the dark cargo hold, Earth's unfiltered light was nearly blinding, but I pressed on until my eyes adjusted, following the mob of contestants ahead of me. It wasn't long before the stench of sweat and toxic waste began to penetrate my nostrils, making my stomach turn and my eyes water. I couldn't keep up my speed for long- especially not while carrying Thalayna. 

"Here," I said, setting her down. "Run!" I instructed before taking off, following the crowd. 

Soon, I realized that I had been lucky to be one of the last ones. I was way out of the experienced contestants' target zone, and they weren't likely to ever notice me.

...........................

"Why aren't you killing them, you useless idiots?" Selaeyah screamed at the trembling members of the Board of Warmatches. 

"This is only the first task, Your Excellency," Liretta gulped. "You can't expect us to get rid of them all right now. Where's the prolonged action in that? What's the fun?"

"Look at them, all running into the shelter," Selaeyah pointed to the Aurascreen in front of her. "It looks like we're herding sheep! We're supposed to be slaughtering them!" 

"Relax," Liretta smiled. "We've got this covered. If you're still worried, I can turn up the heat and toxicity levels a few tenths of a percent." The Board member reached for a knob on the control panel in front of her. "I wouldn't do any more than that, our equipment wasn't made to command a location as far away as Earth. It may overheat." 

"Oh, screw the equipment," Selaeyah barked, slamming her hand down on an assortment of random buttons. 

.........................

As the shelter- a squat, narrow building- came into view, I ran towards it desperately. Thalayna still trailed, strugglingly, about twenty yards behind me. 

When the mob of contestants was only a few strides away from the finish and it seemed like the task was about to come to an end, a gigantic ball of electricity plowed into the front of the group, sending several contestants flying through the air away from their destination. A sick part of me was happy that I was no longer set to be ranked last. Yet, that satisfaction quickly faded when I realized that Thalayna was still at least at the back of the group and was losing ground. 

But, I couldn't afford to think about her at that moment. Joining the now weakened mob of contestants, I rushed through the doors of the shelter. 

"Cascadia Ervine. Kills: 0. Points: 12. Rank: 53," an automated voice droned. 

"Cady!" Toya rushed up to me, throwing her arms around me. "You made it! What'd you place?"

"Fifty third," I sighed. 

"That's great! You'll survive!" She beamed. "I placed ninth." 

"Wow!" I grinned, giving her a high five. "Wait a second..." 

I rushed to the door, peering through the transparent glass. "Thalayna!" 

"Cady..." she trailed off, drained by the heat. Opening the door, I pulled the exhausted girl inside. 

"Thalayna Avari. Kills: 0. Points: 7. Rank: 55. Prepare for elimination." 

"No!" I shrieked as Thalayna collapsed onto the ground, grasping her chest. 

"Y-you said you wouldn't let me die!" She looked up me, her expression torn. 

"You're going to be alright," I whispered, taking her little hand in my own as I tried to fight back my tears. "You're going to happier place, a place where no one will hurt you ever again." 

"That's...nice," Thalayna sniffled, her grip tightening. "Thank you, Cady." 

With that, her hand went limp, falling away from mine. 

In that moment, cradling her body in my arms, I finally allowed myself to be washed away by the tears.