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The Chosen

How can this be right when it feels so wrong? I knew such thoughts were treacherous and emotion simply clouded good judgment, fueling the fire of doubt within. One should simply accept his station in life and trust the elders' divine wisdom in such matters. But there it was again, the question that always made my calling unbearable.

Sarah simply walked in between us, staring off into a distant place as we neared the end of the sacred path. No doubt, she was thinking of her family and friends, her life all too quickly arriving at a new destination when the messenger arrived at her door three evenings ago with the life altering words, "You have been chosen."

Of course, there was no higher honor then to be among the "Chosen". Only the righteous were selected for such a task. Only those with a pure and noble heart could face the chasm and silence the savage beast that lurked beneath the earth, desiring to claim us all. A beast that no one had ever seen or heard of other then in the sacred scrolls passed down through our forefathers.

The beast was called, Refaltzo, and according to our ancient history, he was once one of our great tribal leaders that was corrupted by an evil spirit. Refaltzo led our people into savage wars with neighboring nations resulting in a loss of life beyond measure. History tells us that one day our gods sent an angel of light to plead with Refaltzo to end the bloodshed. When he refused, the angel placed a curse upon our leader and turned him into the physical manifestation of the evil spirit that consumed him. He was then placed beneath the earth for one reason only: To return to the surface annually to receive retribution in blood, what we took from our neighbors. It is said that Refaltzo comes each year to claim a life for each life stolen from the nations around us. To appease our gods, the elders select one among us to carry the weight of our people's sins and Refaltzo waits at the edge of a vast chasm for our offering. So it stands: One life a year to save each generation from extinction. For centuries, it had been this way. Those very few that sacrificed all they were to save the rest of us; the one for the many.

"You have that look again Chris," Mary said. Damn that woman's acute ability for observation. It was this that made her such a prominent executioner. That, of course, is not what we were called. We held the high title of Escorts of the Chosen Ones, but we were simply there to ensure the death sentence was

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