Cynthia-the Spartan program

Who are you?

Cynthia decided to visit the Factorem markets (the only place nobody can spy on her) On the way back to the program.

The Factorem market is an interesting place, with tattered fabrics being used as makeshift tapestries that hang above the market with the hot sun shining through the holes.
Here you can anything from, food, weapons, and favors for the right price of course.

The Factorem people had to do hard work for small wages, they practically survived on government soup kitchens that rarely opened for the whole week, leading people to buy food from places like this market.

While walking Cynthia spots a table with small trinkets she spots a pocket knife with a moon engraved on it "su mano tallada" (its hand carved) Cynthia thinks the looks familiar engraving and asks: "Cuánto cuesta?" (How much?)

But then a boy around her age with dark brown hair and almond eyes walks up to her and says
"Cynthia?" he looks at her like an old friend but Cynthia says surprised:
"Who are you?"

the boy says shocked: "Cynthia its me Max...."

"I have never heard that name in my life."

"What did they do to you?"

Cynthia still confused grabs the knife on the table point and points it to his neck and says "Who's they?!"

"You don't know?!"

Cynthia drops the knife on the floor and runs away from the boy as she runs around a corner.

She sees him following her she speeds up, while running she remembers the "training" she did for this situation when she was younger. They were placed in a black room with fake walls, doors, stairs, holes, and even people. It was like a maze.
They were first told to wait. in a glass room overlooking the whole maze, not even the glass room was safe, four guards were stationed in each corner of the room, in full armor each holding a gun in their hands.
Her memory was blurry but she clearly remembered a girl her age protesting to the guards to let her out threatening to them that they'll be in jail for their "participation", because of this she was the first one to be put in the maze, what they didn't know is that the older child assassins were acting as hitman, being tasked to kill the children in the maze and if they do before the time runs out they won't die.

The girl ran through the maze, making her way past the walls, she runs for her life jumping over the holes in the ground as she went.
She was thrown into the maze so quickly she didn't even make a plan, whether to run or hide, but then it was too late.

The older child assassin was thrown into the maze holding a knife in their hand chasing after the girl, they way they ran seemed familiar, like predator hunting prey.
When the girl was far away from the attacker she stopped, and checked something in the floor until she was stabbed in the back by the attacker.

Cynthia then snaps back to reality as she pushes a chair behind her hoping to lose the man but he still runs after her like a madman.

She continues to run and then hides behind a shelf in an old store.
She then cautiously looks behind and sees that he runs past her. She continued
to wait for a few minutes until going back to the table with the trinkets.

"Lo lamento" (I'm sorry) and picks up the knife from the dirty floor snd wipes off the dirt off the metal blade "Cuánto cuesta?" (how much does it cost?)
"son solo 4$" (its only 4$) Cynthia gives her 4$,
with a soft smile the seller says: "gracias por comprar" (thank you for buying)
she puts the knife in her pocket and heads back to the program.