by Liv Curtis
“That would be great, Em.” Sage grabbed two stools from the closet and sat them in front of the hologram.
“If anything happens wake us up. I mean it Sage, don’t try to handle it on your own,” Sage’s dad said as he laid down on the makeshift bed next to her mom.
“Finn stop she knows better than to take on the CA without us. Plus, if they do come tonight, they won’t be able to find us down here.” Sage’s mom shoved her husbands’ shoulder and winked at Sage before she, too, rolled over and fell asleep.
Moments later they had all fallen asleep leaving Emery and Sage alone and staring at the camera footage and hologram. Sage had found the book that Jefferson had given them that morning and flipped through the pages. One of the sections was labeled Ingenium: The Able, and it appeared that the rest of the page had been torn out.
“Do you think that all of that is true?” Emery whispered from across the table.
“I’m not sure, a lot of it seems like a fantasy but it also seems extremely possible. Then you have to consider how I could read some crazy language and the weird dreams. I just can’t shake the feeling that it might be real.” Sage was mindlessly flipping through the pages of the book when she noticed that there were several other pages missing.
“I think it’s real,” Emery said quietly as she moved closer to Sage.
“You do? What convinced you?” Sage had stopped turning the pages and was looking at Emery. Both of their faces were lit by the blue glow of the hologram, and Sage could tell Emery was hiding something.
“I know that face, that’s your ‘don’t say anything’ face. Spit it out.” Sage raised an eyebrow at her friend who had gone pale and whose eyes were deep with concern.
“Earlier today when you were reading that message in the book, I remembered something that Andrea used to say. When I was younger, and I would have a nightmare, she would sit with me and tell me stories that our parents used to tell her. One of the stories was the called the tale of the Oculus. It was about a man who lived deep in the woods with wife and their only son.” Emery’s eyes were distant as she recalled the story.
“They lived there with a few other families in peace until one night, while the man was sleeping he had horrible dreams about a massive war that would destroy humanity and end in great suffering. The next morning he told his wife about his dreams and that he feared it could be true. He forged two blades for his son to protect himself during the impending war and told the others living around them to prepare. The next night he dreamt again of a safe place where the mountains met the sea and the war would not reach,” Emery continued.
“When he woke the next morning he shared his dreams with his community and told them that they had to go, but they didn’t believe him and chose to stay where they were. The man packed up his family and they made their way towards the coast to find the place that he had dreamt of. After weeks of walking they finally found a mountainous beach that had several caves and they decided to stay. It was only a few days later that the first sounds of war trickled through the air. Planes, ships, and bombs could be heard from outside the cave,” Emery explained, and Sage shivered at the eerie similarities between the two stories.
“The three of them hid in the caves for nearly twenty-five years until the man and his wife eventually died leaving only their son and the daggers once the war was over,” Emery told the story in the same voice that Sage imagined Andrea would have when they were younger.
“Well, that’s depressing. Do you really think that is a true story?” Sage had one of the daggers in her hand and was inspecting it under the blue light of the hologram.
“I don’t think it is all true but there are a lot of parallels that line up with that story and those.” Emery pointed towards the daggers and the book that sat on the table. Sage turned the dagger over in her hands, and the light from the hologram caught the edge of blade sending a bright flash of light across the room. When it hit the wall, it appeared at first as a bight reflection, but it quickly became apparent that it was writing.
“How did you do that?” Emery looked at the blade and back at the wall then at Sage. Sage moved the dagger back and forth in the light until the writing became clear. Written in light were two words: Evigilare Faciatis.
“Well, that’s creepy. What does that even say?” Emery had leaned away from the blade and was looking at it with a bit of fear.
“That’s Latin.” River had woken up and stood behind Sage. Both girls jumped, and Sage quickly moved to hold the dagger more defensively.
“What the hell, River! You can’t do stuff like that when she has those things in her hands!” Emery whispered harshly as she readjusted herself on the stool. Sage quickly recognized her grip and relaxed, placing the blade back in the light. The words reappeared on the wall and River jotted them down in the back section of the book that had blank pages.
“What does that mean?” Emery asked as the three of them stared at the words.
“Awaken,” Sage spoke softly, unable to understand how she could read Latin.
“You speak Latin?” River’s eyes were deep with concern and appeared to glow in the blue light.
“No, but I can read that. I can’t explain it but it’s the same thing that happened with that other page. It’s like the letters all start to move and change shape until I can read it.” Sage felt cold but not uncomfortable as she tried to explain how she could read the book.
“Well, I guess that’s just part of being the next Oculus, being able to read unknown languages.” Emery smiled and placed her small warm hand on Sage’s shoulder. Sage rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but find comfort in Emery’s casualness.
“So, why would it say awaken? Awaken what?” River said as he pushed his hand through his dark curls, something he did whenever he was confused or stressed.
“I guess we will find out but, for now, I think I am finally ready to get some sleep.” Sage yawned as she slipped off the stool.
“You guys can get some rest. I’ll take the next watch. I want to read some more of this anyways.” River picked up the book as if it were made of delicate glass.
“Okay, thanks, River. Wake us up if you find anything,” Emery said as she got up and stretched.
“Don’t worry too much about this tonight, Sage, you have all day tomorrow to ponder the great mysteries contained in that book.” Emery hugged Sage and went to lie down next to Audrey.
“We will figure this out, together. None of us will let you go through this alone, we’re all too nosey to do that.” River winked and smiled as he opened the book and flipped through the pages. She silently prayed she wouldn’t have any nightmares and went to lie down next to her mom. She quickly fell asleep to the sound of River filing through the book pages.
Chapter 9
Sage ran, faster than she had ever thought possible.
She was breathing heavy and could taste the salt in the air that was coming off the ocean waves that were crashing along the shore next to her.
To her left were massive cliff faces with caves carved into the black rock. She could feel her throat screaming, but she couldn’t hear anything other than the waves crashing against the rocky shore. The sky was gray and the wind was blowing harshly with heavy black clouds swirling above.
It began to rain, and Sage started to run towards a cave that was glowing with a bright golden light. Suddenly, she was awake and back in the basement with her family. Her parents were on either side of her holding her arms and shoulders down to the mat beneath her. River and Emery were each holding down one leg. Sage was breathing hard and the harsh light hanging above her stung her eyes when she opened them.
“She’s awake!” River yelled to his mom and sister, who ran from the bathroom with wet towels.
“What’s going on? What happened?” Sage howled in pain as she sat up and was overcome by the agony in her shoulders.
“You had another nightmare, but this time you were thrashing violently. You tried to run right out of the bas
ement.” Her mom pressed a cold rag against Sage’s forehead as she explained what had happened. Sage’s head ached, and the room around her was fuzzy.
“What were you dreaming about? You kept screaming over and over again like you were trying to find someone. Then you tried to run out of the basement,” Sage’s mom explained what had happened as she handed Sage a bottle of water.
“I was on a beach with these cliffs and caves and one of the caves was glowing. I was screaming and I couldn’t hear anything. It started to rain and I ran towards this one cave, it was glowing but before I got to it, I woke up.” Sage rubbed her eyes but her vision was still blurry.
“Well, that explains why I caught you running up the stairs. I had to wake everyone up because I couldn’t stop you on my own. You were pulling against me and your dad when you dislocated your shoulders.” River leaned against the wall when Sage noticed a large bruise forming on his right cheek.
“What happened to your face?” Sage nodded towards River. He reached up and winced as his fingers grazed over the bruise.
“After we set your shoulders back, we had to pin you down and in the midst of your thrashing you kicked me in the face. Guess you got me better than I thought.” River laughed as his mom handed him a cool rag to press into the welt.
“Sage, you have to talk to us and tell us what’s going on. Why do you keep having these dreams?” Sage’s dad asked as he brushed her hair off her face, where it had plastered to her cheek with sweat.
“I don’t know why this is happening, all I know is that I’m terrified to fall asleep at night because I think it’s getting worse. At first I thought it was stress but I’m scared it could be something else.” Sage felt tears well up in her eyes and couldn’t help but feel helpless and empty. She tucked her knees to her chest and hugged them closely to herself.
“I think I know what it might be,” River said in a hushed voice as he retrieved the book from his mat. Sage watched as River flipped through the pages. When he found the page he was looking for, he passed the book to Sage’s dad.
“This page describes exactly what Sage is dealing with. I was reading it last night and when I read that I knew it was the same thing.” River spoke with sureness as he explained his theory.
“River, this is just folklore, a fable about a crazy old man living in a cave.” Sage’s dad looked confused and slightly annoyed as he sat the book aside. Sage picked it up and read the page. As she read it, she realized that it was the same story that Andrea had told Emery when she was little.
“This is that story, Em. The one that Andrea used to tell you. How is that even possible?” Emery took the book back from Sage and grazed over the page.
“I don’t know but it says that the old man became known as the Oculus and that he used to have dreams that would give him a glimpse into the future. The strange part is that his abilities developed when he turned eighteen.” Emery’s eyes were glowing with excitement as she spoke.
“So, you’re saying this story is true, and this man was real and my daughter is going to become like him someday, living in a cave and predicting the future?” Sage’s dad looked concerned and his eyes appeared tired.
“We don’t have time for this. We need to focus on getting Andrea and Eliza out of the Core, and we need to get out of the Frame. I say we prepare the plan today and execute it tonight. We are wasting too much time trying to decipher my psychotic episodes, and we need to get out of here before they find us.” Sage stood up and walked into the bathroom to wash away the sweat.
Her eyes were still aching from the nightmare so she left the lights off as she washed. The light that came under the bathroom door was just enough so that she could see her way around. When she glanced in the mirror her eyes seemed to have a slight glow in the darkness.
I’m losing my mind, she thought as she blinked and the glow dissipated completely. She turned on the light and was surprised to find the pain had gone away. She finished getting ready when there was a soft knock on the door, and Sage opened it to see her mom waiting with empathetic eyes.
“Are you almost ready? We are going to go upstairs so we get the food we need for today and just stay down here until tonight.“ Sage realized how tired her mom looked in the light and felt her throat tighten. It was all her fault her family had become wanted criminals, and she couldn’t help but feel to blame for all of their suffering.
“I’m sorry I got us into this mess, Mom. I promise you, I will fix this, for everyone.” Sage hugged her mom tightly and inhaled the familiar scent of lavender and soap that was uniquely her mom.
“Nobody blames you, Sage. This was what had to happen to make change. You should always follow your heart; it’s what makes you special and what I love most about you. Now, let’s get this plan ready and get our girls back.” Sage’s mom kissed her head and they made their way towards the kitchen to gather food. Sage filled one of the extra duffel bags with as many cans of food as she could carry. She had placed the last can into the bag when Audrey finally broke the silence.
“What are we going to eat once we leave the Frame?” Audrey asked as she grabbed a can of peaches from the pantry. Sage realized they hadn’t even considered food and, suddenly, started to doubt the plan.
“We will have to bring extra from here when we leave and ration it until we can find a food source in the Wilderness,” Harlow said in her calm and reassuring voice.
“Audrey and I will stay up here and collect all of the food we can take with us, you two go join the others in the basement and get prepared for tonight, we only have twelve hours before midnight so we need to be ready.” Harlow nodded towards Sage and her mom as she turned back to the pantry and stared to pack her duffel bag with more food.
“Go ahead Sage, I will be down there in a minute.” Sage’s mom said as she handed her a full bag of canned food and turned to help Harlow gather the rest. Sage made her way back down to the basement and joined her dad, Emery, and River at the hologram table, which had a map of the council building floating in the middle of it.
“This is going to be the entry point.” Sage’s dad pointed to a small door on the roof that led directly down to a staircase.
“Once you make your way in, at the bottom of these stairs will be an elevator that will go down to the basement. Before it makes it to the basement, the guards will switch shifts at exactly twelve twenty-five once they switch you can drop into the elevator and take out that guard. River you will take his uniform and initiate the switch, each guard switch happens every five minutes so you have to be in and out in fifteen minutes. Once you have taken out the three guards in the basement you should have direct access to the girls. Get them out and take the elevator back up to the fire escape. Make your way back to the evacuation point at the far East side of the Core wall, and we will meet you on the other side with the car. Any questions?” Sage’s dad looked around at Sage, Emery, and River.
“How do we use those again?” Sage asked, looking between the grappling guns and the twenty-five-foot wall that separated the Frame and the Core.
“Just point this towards the top of the wall then press the attach button and hold tight. Once it grabs it will pull you up, you will have to run up the face of the wall with it so make sure you’re ready to start running as soon as you release the hook.” Sage’s dad handed each of them a belt and they clipped them around their waists, tightening them to ensure they were secure.
“These will be what you will use to take out the guards.” He handed Sage a small wrist cuff that was equipped with darts that contained a dark blue liquid.
“These are mini sleep darts. It will render the guards unconscious for about thirty minutes without harming them.” Sage looked at dart and the blue viscose liquid inside it and tightened the cuff around her right wrist.
“Okay, so let’s say the guards are not at their posts when we get there and they catch us off guard, then what?” Emery asked as she slipped on a black hooded jacket.
“Then you take them out
the old-fashioned way. I’ve seen the three of you with your weapons, I have no worry you will be just fine. Just stick to the shadows and move fast.” He smiled as he handed Sage her daggers and harness.
“We will leave here at exactly midnight so make sure you are ready to go by then.” Sage hugged her dad and went to grab the rest of her gear.
On the table next to the weapons wall were the masks that they were going to be wearing, one of them had been Jefferson’s the night they stole the tablet from Sage’s house. The thought of Jefferson made her heart ache. She shook off the memory and pushed the pain down to be used as fuel to execute the plan.
They ate a dinner of peanut butter sandwiches and canned fruit salad as they waited for night to fall.
“Do you three want to go over the plan once more?” Sage’s dad asked as he finished the last bite of his sandwich.
“No I think we’re okay. Its probably better that we try not to over think this too much anyways.” Sage smiled to assure her family that she was fine but inside she was a mess.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the horrible dreams she kept having and how she could have sworn she saw her eyes glowing in the dark.
“Alright, well I’m going to go load the car with all of your stuff, we will be leaving here in about an hour to make it to the Core walls on time so, everyone, get ready.” Sage’s dad went up the stairs when the camera on the back of the garage door picked up movement in the woods behind the house. Suddenly, a tall figure emerged from the tree line wearing a brown leather jacket and loose jeans. Sage recognized the jacket immediately and before she could say it everyone around her gasped.
“Is that… No, it can’t be,” Harlow said as she covered her mouth with her hands. The figure suddenly started to wave his hands around towards the cameras.
“What are you waiting for Finn? Open the garage and let him in! He probably needs help!” Sage’s mom said frantically. Her dad went to go towards the stairs to let Jefferson in when Sage suddenly went cold and the room started to turn black.