Quietly rounding the corner of another crumbling building, I froze, placing an hand on Coal’s arm as a figure with short black hair ran by. Juniper, not realizing I’d stopped, bumped right into me. Motioning him and Shale back, I peered around the corner to get a better view.
It was immediately obvious that it wasn’t anyone from our Combatant group. This person had on a dirty pair of tan pants and a loose shirt, clothes similar to what Juniper and Shale wore. Based on the stature of the Rogue’s body alone, it appeared to be a female. Scanning the area to ensure no one else was near, I stepped out a couple of feet and whistled, trying to get her to turn.
Her feet skidded to a stop on the crumbling stone ground and she looked around wildly. Her black hair was flat against her head, streaked with chalky white dust. She turned suddenly, her face coming into view. Gasping, I stumbled backwards.
Raven.
My mind flashed back to her arguing with Flint at the first training session. The way she had spoken out, questioning why we were there. How she’d been ‘taken to see River’. Had she really been sent here for nothing more than challenging Flint? To this supposed land of ‘Evil Rogues’? No one had seen her since that first day, more than a month ago now. The lies were becoming increasingly clear. Coal was right. She’d ended up in the same place Juniper and Shale had. But in a place none of them deserved.
My heart ached for her. Terror filled her face as she ran, literally, for her life. We couldn’t just leave her here. I barely knew this girl, had never even spoke a single word to her. But I had to do something to help her.
Sensing Coal just behind me, I backed up a step, tilting my chin slightly so he could hear, though my eyes remained locked on her.
“It’s Raven,” I whispered. “From the Training, remember? We need to take her with us. We have to help…”
My words cut off as I watched in horror as a spear appeared, whistling as it hurtled through the air.
Right towards Raven.
It buried deeply in her abdomen, right below the rib cage. She crumpled to the ground as she cried out, first falling to her knees, then collapsing on her side. Blood began to pool around the wound, staining the ground beneath her.
Sheer terror rose inside, suffocating. It was compressing me. My breaths grew shallow, my heart pounding furiously against my chest. That terror crawled up and up until, unable to stop myself, I screamed. A loud, piercing scream.
It cut off just as suddenly as it started. A large hand clamped over mouth just as an arm wrapped itself tightly around my chest, drawing me back. Coal.
Appearing from behind a nearby building opposite us, the spear thrower came into view. A tall, muscular boy. He strode closer and closer to Raven, his blond ponytail coming into view. My stomach clenched.
Blaze.
I felt Coal stiffen, his grip on me tightening. Blaze scanned the area, likely looking for the source of my scream. But after a brief pause, he focused his attention again on Raven.
He walked towards her, sword gripped held tightly in his right hand. Raven’s face twisted now with both pain and horror at his approach. She struggled to get away, inching herself back but making no real progress. With a few more steps, he closed the distance between them, then paused, standing over her, staring down. A predator, sizing up its prey, right before the final kill.
Her chest rose up and down shallowly as she struggled to breathe, the spear lodged in her torso hampering the effort.
“Stop! Stop!” she pleaded, each word a gasp. “It’s me, Raven. Don’t you recognize me? I was there during the first day of Training.”
I watched his face, expecting to see a shocked expression appear for what he’d just done. At what Coal and I had realized about the people sent here.
But…nothing changed. He remained stoic, with no indication of surprise at who he had just pierced with his spear. He continued to stare down at her, his eyes dark and contemptuous.
The panic on her face grew even greater at his lack of response. “Don’t you understand? I’m one of you! I’m a trainee, just like you!” she cried frantically.
The sword clutched in his hand twitched, angling towards her.
“Stop, you don’t have to do this! Please stop! Help me! Somebody help me! Please!” she wheezed out, using up her last remaining bit of energy.
Finally, he spoke. “You are a Rogue. I am a Combatant. Combatants are here to rid this place of people like you. You are here because of what you have done and will face the consequences.”
He spoke robotically, so sure that this was the right thing. There wasn’t the slightest hint of question in his voice, not the smallest sign of hesitation. I struggled against Coal’s grasp, pounding against him, desperate to run out and try to help her, but his arms held like a steel cage, trapping me.
“Sage, stop,” he whispered roughly in my ear. “We can’t do anything to help her. It’s too late. It’d be suicide to go out there now.”
Though I hated it, I knew he was right. Even if we did manage to get Raven away from Blaze, the likelihood was that she would still die. She’d lost so much blood already, was becoming visibly weaker with each passing second. But my heart still screamed inside me.
Taking hold of the polished wooden shaft of the spear, I watched in horror as Blaze gripped it tightly, then thrust his arm back, ripping the metal head from her body. Arching backwards, she screamed as he withdrew it, her face distorting from the indescribable pain.
Throwing the spear to the ground, Blaze brought his sword up over his head, aiming the point at the center of her chest. I screamed again, anticipating what was about to happen, but it was completely muffled against Coal’s hand. The terror in Raven’s eyes grew even greater and she struggled to get away, but there was no energy left in her. Realizing what was about to happen, she began to cry.
Her cries were the sounds of a wounded animal. She was pleading for her life with those cries. But they made no difference.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, he brought the sword up further over his head, then brought it down, plunging it into her chest with force, and driving it through her heart in one swift movement.
“No!” I shrieked against Coal’s hand, tears streaming down my face. But it was too late.
In an instant, she was gone. Slumped to the ground, her chest no longer rising. Motionless.
Falling limp in Coal’s arms, I no longer struggled to free myself. Instead, I just let silent tears roll down my cheeks and onto his hand, my heart torn apart by the scene before me. How could someone take a life so easily? How could they not question what they were doing?
My thoughts jolted back to when I’d come across Juniper and Shale. What if it had been someone else, someone I didn’t know? What would have happened then? Would I have killed them?
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed in my ears. From around the opposite corner came Singe. He strode up to Blaze and stared down emotionlessly Raven, not an ounce of shock or surprise in his eyes.
Blaze nodded briefly. “Remember her?” he asked.
“She was one of the trainees, right? The loud-mouthed one who Flint sent to River? Not surprising she is a Rogue.”
“Was, you mean,” replied Blaze with a spiteful chuckle.
My blood boiled at their words, as if Raven’s body wasn’t lying there, dead, at their feet. I couldn’t watch anymore.
Realizing that others might come soon as well, I took in a few deep breaths, trying to steady myself. Moving my hand upwards, I tapped on Coal’s arms, letting him know to release me. He loosened his grasp, but peered into my face before letting go completely. I watched as the pain already present in his eyes grew as he stared into mine. I nodded miserably.
Grasping my hand and moving in silence, he motioned for Juniper and Shale to follow us. We ran quietly back down the long stone path before turning a corner and ducking into the first empty building we came to.
It looked like an old abandoned house. From the small amount of light filter
ing in through the dirty window, I could see some old furniture scattered about, a thick layer of dust and dirt encasing everything. The walls and ceiling were falling apart, small pieces of broken stone littering the floors.
My eyes landed upon a small wooden table in the far corner and I moved over towards it. Dropping into one of the old, rickety chairs, I covered my face with my hands as I tried to catch my breath, only now realizing how much effort it was taking to contain the emotions wreaking havoc inside me.
“Sage. Talk to me.” Coal’s voice broke through.
Slowly, I lowered my hands and gazed up at the three boys in the room, all six eyes trained on me. The two boys from my past who I never thought I’d see again, and the one from my present, who I was growing to depend on more and more. Here, together. It would be nice to relive memories if not for the fact that we just saw a girl brutally murdered in front of our own eyes.
I lowered my head, focusing on the wood grain lines of the table, not able to find my voice to reassure him I was all right. Because it would be a lie. Instead I just shook my head, still trying to catch my breath.
A couple seconds later, a horrible screeching noise filled the air. Someone pulled the chair across from me out from the table, its old wooden legs dragging across the ground. The table shook slightly as he lowered his weight into it, and I was surprised the chair didn’t immediately crumble to the floor, groaning as it did beneath him.
I lifted my gaze just slightly, enough to see Coal continuously clenching and releasing either fist. Underneath the table, there was the light tapping of his boots. He was starting to feel some of the panic already circling inside of me.
“Sage.” He just said my name this time.
I forced myself to look at him, unable to hide the panic that I knew shrouded my eyes. His frown increased.
“What are you thinking about? Don’t lie and say it’s what we just witnessed. I know there’s more,” he said softly. “What is it?”
Shale and Juniper stood back, listening intently to every word. As I gazed at their faces, watching me with concern, the thoughts just began to tumble out.
“What if I became like that?” I whispered to Coal.
“Became like what?”
“Became like Blaze. Did what he just did. I had my sword pointed at Juniper and Shale when I approached them. I followed them to where you met us. What if it wasn’t them I stumbled upon? What if it was two other people, people who I’d never met or known? What would I have done? I probably would have killed them. Innocent people. Not deserving anything like this. I would have murdered them.” I paused, the terrible truth sinking deeper and deeper into my soul.
“I would have turned into a killer, just like everyone wants us to.”
Coal stopped me as I said those last few words. “Sage, you could never have done that.”
I shook my head, not believing him.
“You would never be able to be so heartless, so callous, as to kill someone like that. It is not a part of you, not even a little bit.” He let out a slow breath. “There is something you need to understand about the lives of those in Fire Society, Sage. The way Blaze just killed Raven.” I flinched at the mention of her name, but he didn’t stop. “It was brutal, cold, and merciless. Those traits only come from what we went through there. From years and years of being forced to fight since childhood. Years of being taught to suppress emotion.”
I noticed Juniper and Shale watching Coal with wary expressions on their faces. I couldn’t blame them. They didn’t know what I did about him. Their first encounter with him had been a sword directed towards their throats.
But Coal paid no attention, his eyes not leaving mine. “But even then, it doesn’t necessarily always happen. There must have been a seed of cruelty present inside a person from the start. Only then can it grow into what we just saw. Look at Serafina in Regent now. Look at those from Fire Society who went to Proletariat, like Cinder. They grew up with this their entire lives too and they didn’t even place in Combatant. I know you. And that merciless killer would never have been you, Sage. Never.”
“Would it have been you?” I asked quietly. But as soon as the words were out, I regretted it, wishing I could take them back.
Sighing, he looked down, then spoke in a low voice. “Honestly, if you hadn’t stopped me when I ran in, I don’t know what would have happened. I thought you were in trouble. I came in to defend you. And I don’t regret that one bit.”
He scraped at one of the splintering edges of the table, still not looking at me.
“I know I’m not like the rest of those from Fire Society who are now in Combatant. I know that much. Well, besides Ember, of course. What Blaze just did, killing someone defenseless, someone he recognized, is impossible for me to understand or justify. But…I lived in Fire Society for so long, played that role for so long, that I don’t truly know what it’s done to me.”
His gazed up then and I saw the pain in his eyes. “It is possible for me to become that person, Sage. It isn’t for you.”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “It isn’t for you either.
Chapter 41
Rising to his feet, Coal moved over to the other side of the room where Juniper and Shale still stood. But I stayed in that wooden chair, vicious thoughts swimming through my head about Combatant and the position we were now in. I couldn’t leave Juniper and Shale here in this horrible place. None of us could stay here. The thoughts kept circling in my mind.
Something was wrong, very wrong. The feeling built inside me, growing larger and larger until slowly, the pieces fell together. Why they brought the ‘Rogues’ out here. Why the trainers lied to us during the challenges, telling us we could be killed so we would fight with everything we had. What the purpose of us being in Combatant really was.
And suddenly, I was on my feet.
“We can’t do that. We can’t just find the others!” I burst out. The three of them twisted towards me, eyes wide, but I didn’t stop. “Then what? Just stay here until we meet up with everyone else to go back to Combatant? And you two just stay here forever, hunted like animals for the rest of your lives?” I continued breathlessly, looking towards Juniper and Shale. “We can’t let that happen!”
“Don’t you see? Don’t you understand why they brought us here? What they are training us for? What the entire point of this whole thing is? They aren’t just turning us into warriors. Their creating an army of trained killers. They lied to us in the Training, saying we could die so we would fight as if our lives depended on it. Because we thought they did. They fed us lies about the need to stop evil criminals. And here we are, Coal, sent to kill innocent people. People who certainly don’t deserve to die.”
I bent over and took in a ragged breath, my hands on my knees as the realization of what was slowly happening to us kept hitting me over and over. Why hadn’t I seen it before? Why hadn’t I understood?
But what was the need for us to become killers? What was the real reason they were doing this? I didn’t have all the answers, but I had enough. Coal came over, wrapping his hands around my arms, trying to pull me up, but I shrugged him off, stepping back and beginning to pace.
“This. What we’re doing here. It’s just the beginning. Who knows what will happen next. What if they tell us our families and the others back in the Societies are evil? Will we be expected to kill them next?”
Coal shook his head. “That won’t happen. It can’t,” he muttered, but there was an undertone of uncertainty to his voice now.
“Yes, Coal, yes it can happen. They lied to us about this. What if I hadn’t recognized Juniper or Shale. Or if it had been someone from another Society, someone I didn’t know. They would be dead and the blood would be on my hands. And I’m not willing to live with that. I’d rather be dead myself!”
“What can we do, Sage?” he bit back, his tone likely harsher than intended. “What are we supposed to do? Yes, they’re lying to us. And yes, I don’t know what the point of it
is. But what are we supposed to do? You’ve seen what it’s like at Combatant, seen that wall. It’s a prison there. We will never be able to get out and they will continue to force us to be their pawns in whatever game this is.” He sighed, almost in resignation.
I stopped pacing. He was right. We would never be able to leave Combatant. The security there was untouchable. Breaking out would be impossible.
“There is only one option then,” I said with quiet certainty. “And it has to be now.”
“What?”
“We need to leave.”
Coal stared at me, his brows coming together in confusion, Juniper and Shale with the same expressions of uncertainty.
“I mean, we have to escape. Now. This is our only chance. It is exactly like you said, Coal. Once we are back in Combatant, we will never have another opportunity. I can’t go back there, not knowing what they’ll force us to do in the future. And I can’t go back knowing Juniper and Shale are here.”
Coal took a step towards me, his hand coming to rest softly on my elbow, cupping it gently. “Sage, do you even know what you’re suggesting?”
I leveled my gaze with his. “Yes, I do.”
“We’ll be exiles,” he whispered softly. “If they ever caught us, we’d be sent back here. Only this time as Rogues.”
“I understand. But I don’t have any other choice.”
At those words, his face tightened, and he shook his head. “We. Not I, but we. I’m going wherever you go. But…but if we’re going to do this, we need a plan, and fast. There are only a few hours left before the sun sets and we’re supposed to meet back at the entrance with the others. We need to be far from here by that time.”
Immediately my thoughts flew to my strawberry blonde friend who was still out in this crumbling city somewhere. “Aurora. And Finn,” I said roughly, my throat tight at the thought of them both. “We have to find them.”
Awakening Earth and Fire: Earth and Fire Trilogy Book 1 Page 36