My feet caried me to the gates of campus. I looked out through the bars and frowned. I was trapped in here. I wanted out. But there was no way. 

I pulled on the bars as if they would budge and give way, but they stayed. Like a bird in a cage, I would stay. Singing a song that I no longer wished to sing. 

I wiped a tear from my face as I let out a shaky breath as I watched people pass under the street lights, unaware of me and my struggles. I wondered how many knew about the program and what they did with the trainees. I wondered if they cared. 

No Motherwealth citizens ever went onto campus. We were only visitors here and they didn't care to know us. They came to the shows and worked with us in the internships but it wasn't like they were dying to know who we were. Maybe they knew our fate and it was easier not to know us as people. 

I bit my tongue to stifle a scream as I pulled on the cold metal bars again. 

A figure met my eyes and stopped. He moved into the light and I saw Yuri. He waved from across the street and smiled. "Hey, Telvi!"  

Quickly, I brushed any stray tears from my face and waved to him. "Hey."

"Fancy seeing you here. Not many people make it to the gates at this time." 

"I was looking to get out. I need a breather, but I noticed the gate is locked."

He frowned as he ran across the street towards me. "Let me see what I can do," he said as he looked at the gate. He pulled out his round disk and a screen popped out in front of us. The screen shifted in and out of focus which cased Yuri to shake the disk. It slowly faded into focus again, allowing him to touch the screen in front of him. He pushed a few buttons until the gate buzzed. "Try now." 

I pushed the gate open and walked towards the other side. 

On the other side, I could breathe.

"Are you alright?" Yuri asked as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head as I held tears back. 

"Want to go on a walk? That always helps and the weather tonight is beautiful. Summer is coming and it's only going to get warmer." 

I followed Yuri as he talked about the weather in the Captial. He shared how it was too hot for him but he managed. He shared about his childhood and how he used to go to a lake with his parents. 

I didn't open my mouth as he shared about his life. I wasn't sure if he noticed until he asked me a question about winter and Hell. 

He stopped to eye me. "What's on your mind?"

I shrugged. There was no way I would share what was truly stuck in it, but I did want to know what he knew about the training program. Did he know he was sending these kids to their end? "What made you want to recruit for the training program?"

He sighed as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I would like to call it patriotism, but at the end of the day, I was looking for a job and there was an opening." 

I nodded. 

"Are you interested in being a recruiter?" 

"Walter, no," I said a little too quickly. "I mean, I'm from the Commonwealth. I hardly doubt they will ask me to go out and work for them."

He shrugged. "I know some graduates stay after their contract is over. Irena, the figure skating coach, she's one of them." 

"But that's only one in a sea of people. What happens to the rest?"

"I have been told most go back to the Commonwealth to better their cities."

I tried to remember if I knew anyone that returned from the training program and came up blank. I knew Hell wasn't the main supplier, but we had to have sent a few over the course of my life. No names came to mind and for sure, no one except my neighbor was from the Motherwealth. 

 "I don't remember anyone returning." 

"Probably because Hell doesn't produce a lot of talent," he said quickly making me frown.

He dismissed it so quickly, it made my stomach turn into knots. The Motherwealth people really didn't care about what happened outside their boarders. 

"Do you know why there is even a training program if they don't stay to better the Motherwealth?"

He shrugged. "Haven't thought about it, honestly."

That was clear.

"But maybe it's because we want to see the Commonwealth regions improve. If we have the power, then why not? Spread the wealth, you know?"

I gave him a pointed look. "You have been to Hell. Do you really think the Motherwealth is improving it?"

He stopped. "This all feels like an interrogation. I really don't know, Telvi. I haven't given it much thought." 

"Obviously." 

He frowned. "Telvi, I have my own things to worry about. I don't have time to worry about any of this." He pointed to the walls of the campus. 

His problems? Don't make me laugh. As an outside spectator, he had it all. A job, food on the table, electricity, a home. What other things did he need to worry about?

He must have read my face because he sighed. "Telvi, you really don't know what it is to live in the Motherwealth. You think it's perfect, but it's not as perfect as you think it is."

I stifled a laugh. I could never believe that. 

He shook his head. "You know my parents are barely making ends meet. I had to work earlier than most because I had to provide. You think that the Motherwealth has everything, but we don't." 

I stared at the car as it passed me. In Hell, only few had cars and when they did have them, they didn't look as polished as the ones that drove on these streets in the Motherwealth. As much as he tried, I knew the truth. I'm sure life could be a little hard, but he didn't know what it was to live in the Commonwealth. He didn't know the struggles that most dealt with. But I could see that he wouldn't get it. My words wouldn't stick so I just nodded in silence. 

"I know the Commonwealth people hate us, but we aren't too different. Life is hard here, probably just as hard as it is in the Commonwealths." 

I stopped to face him. That is when I needed to speak up. "We are different Yuri, that is what you don't understand. You don't know a thing about the Commonwealth and the daily struggles we face. Have you even looked around when you do your little 'tours' to the Commonwealths? People are dying of disease, starvation, crude working situations. I come here and I see a night and day difference. The Motherwealth has everything, and the Commonwealths have nothing."

His mouth fell open as he stared at me with wide eyes. He closed his mouth then opened it, trying to find the right words to say. But there really wasn't. I wasn't going to compare hardships because I know his weren't the same as mine. 

"Then why does Talent return to the Commonwealth's afterwards? If they have a choice they could just stay here where it's better." 

Talent didn't go home because there wasn't anything left of Talent. Whatever the training campus does, strips them of everything. Eydis was proof. But clearly, he didn't understand. He didn't seem to want to understand either. 

I bit my lip, holding myself from saying the truth. This conversation was dissolving from a friendly exchange into something more hostile. I didn't want to say anything that would get me in trouble. "Thanks for getting me out. I should return. I have an early training day tomorrow."

He nodded. "You know you're the Motherwealth's favorite skater. People talk about when your next shows will be. I don't know if you need anything, but whatever you want, you can use that as leverage. They give anything to the favorites."

What I wanted was to go home, but they wouldn't give that to me.

"Who knows maybe they would even give you an ID pass to roam the city. They might want you to be a Motherwealth citizen. If you want of course."

I force a smile even though the though of being a citizen here makes me sick. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." 

"Just wanting to let you know." He shrugged then pointed down the road, opposite to campus. "I have to go home, that way. Can you get back just fine?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." 

"Good. Have a good night Telvi."

"And you too." I waved him goodbye then walked back towards the entrance of campus.

With every step I took, I thought about running. I was out, I could run. But where too? I didn't know the city. I didn't know how to leave. If I ran, I was sure they would catch me. Maybe they would do the same thing to me as they did to Eydis. Tears filled my eyes the more I thought about it how stuck I really was. For now I was safe, but for how long? I was reliant on Ezra for safety, but how long would that last? How long would I remain a favorite? 

I wanted to be free, to leave this place. Ezra promised me but I didn't know when he would live up to his word, if he ever would. 

By time the gates loomed over me, my tears had stained my cheeks. I would have to return to campus, I didn't have a choice. That was the safest for now. 

My breath hitched as I pushed the gate doors open. I just prayed Eydis was still safe and that I would be safe.

I knew how to carry on when things got hard, so with a sniffle, I carried onward. Tomorrow was a long training day, and I had to be ready for it.  I needed to pull myself together, to save myself.