All four champions who had run into it were dead. A fifth, the third Norm champion, had been killed in an encounter with a group of skinwalkers, which had been roaming around the city … one more thing to watch out for. What if they got her too? Not so long ago, Aurelia would have dismissed the thought, but after all the deaths she’d seen, she couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. Yes, she was the best. But so were the people the fangbeast had torn to shreds. And none of them had stood a chance, even though they’d all been great fighters. They’d probably thought the same thing she had – that they would be the exceptional one who’d take down the creature. They’d all been wrong, and now they were dead. What if she was wrong too? Her blood turned to ice in her veins. She didn’t want to even think about that possibility. Thinking about it would just make it even more real, and she couldn’t afford that right now. She needed to finish the Challenge and take her victory. Once she had it, she would inspire Norms across the globe with her victory, and they would rise up.
