by Liv Curtis
He ran towards Sage, and she swiftly ducked and kicked her leg out, tripping the guard but not knocking him down. He turned and slammed his fist into Sage’s cheek. The pain sent her spinning, but she spun around and got to her feet quickly. The second time he charged Sage drew her daggers and braced for the impact. Before he reached her Jax attacked him from behind, wrapping his arms around the guards’ throat. The guard stumbled back and fell to his knees as Jax continued to grip tighter until the guard finally fell forward, completely unconscious.
Sage holstered her daggers and turned back towards the path.
“I think this is when you say thanks.” Jax mumbled as he brushed off his knees.
“I had it covered, but thank you,” Sage replied. They ran to the guard tower, and Sage could see her family’s car down below.
“I only have one of these, but it should be able to hold two at a time.” Sage attached the grappling hook to the tower and checked it to ensure it was secure.
“Take Wesley first. Get him to safety. I can protect myself.” Jax nodded towards Wesley and put a hand on the small boy’s shoulder.
“Here, you might need this.” Sage tossed Jax one of her pistols, and Wesley wrapped his arms around her. They dropped to the ground and landed on their feet. Sage’s family surrounded them, quickly looking concerned.
“Get him in the car and get the engine ready.” Sage didn’t wait for protests and made a break for the wall, climbing it faster than she thought she could.
The moon was a dull gray white in the sky as she made her way towards top of the wall. When she reached the top Jax grabbed on to her and they quickly fell towards the ground. They landed, and Sage retracted the hook.
They got into the car and pulled away just as several CA cars pulled onto the road behind them, then they were racing down the dark, dirt roads towards the Frame Mines.
Chapter 11
Sage’s dad had turned off the headlights and was driving only by the light of the moon as they made their way through the darkness and towards the mines.
Fifty years ago, government used the mines to obtain beryllium, which was used to create the frequency chips imbedded in the back of each citizen, they were shut down when one of the mineworkers attempted to escape. Sage rubbed her back where the small chip was wedged underneath her skin, sending a shiver down her spin as her fingers grazed over the tiny lump.
“Sage, are you in there?” Sage’s mom waved a hand in front of her face, trying to break her gaze.
“Are you going to explain what happened in there?” she whispered and tilted her head toward Jax and Wesley who were silently looking out at the world that they had been erased from. Sage smiled and her shoulders eased at the look of freedom in their eyes.
“They were being imprisoned for being Awake and I had to do something.” Sage knew that she had done the right thing but a part of her felt as if bringing them with her may have been a mistake.
Before her mom could respond, Emery yelled and pointed out the windshield of the car. The car shuddered and shrieked as it came to a stop. Standing in front of the car was a tall man wearing CA gear with his gun pointed at Sage and her family. Sage had a firm grip on her pistol as the figure made his way to the window. Once he was close enough Sage knew who he was immediately and her body went tense. His stark blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark and his black hair was darker than the night.
Standing in front of them was Dawson Green. His smile was twisted as he tapped on the driver’s window with the tip of his pistol. Sage’s dad rolled down the window just enough to hear.
“Well, what do we have here? Planning your escape, are you?” Dawson inhaled sharply as he laughed, his smile making him look even more sinister in the bleached light of the moon.
“Get out of the car. All of you.” Dawson lifted his pistol and stepped back from the SUV. As they started to get out, Sage noticed Dawson’s hands were shaking as he restrained everyone with thick plastic ties. Sage and Jax were the last ones to get out, and they were met with the barrel of Dawson’s gun.
“Where is he? Where is my father, I know he helped you all, so tell me, where is your fearless leader now?” Sage glanced at her family as she and Jax walked over to the trunk of the car. She hesitated then reached to open it. As it opened the bitter smell of blood drifted into the humid night air. Dawson lowered his gun as he realized what had happened.
Suddenly, he tensed and whirled on Jax hitting him in the cheek with his pistol. Jax went down immediately as the gash below his eye bled. Dawson stood over him with his gun pointed at his head. His hands were shaking and his voice quivered when he spoke.
“Who did this? TELL ME!” Dawson yelled as he continued to loom over Jax.
Sage was tense as Dawson loaded the chamber of his pistol. She moved quickly as she kicked hard, striking Dawson’s wrist, forcing him to drop the gun next to Jax. As he bent to retrieve the gun, Jax brought his knee up and connected hard with Dawson’s ribs, sending him sprawling. Jax recovered the gun and quickly positioned himself next to Sage, pointing the gun at Dawson as he gasped for air on his hands and knees. Sage knelt down at eye level with Dawson, her daggers in hand.
“This. This was your chancellor. She sent the CA after all of us but only managed to get Jefferson. If you want to blame someone, blame her.” Sage choked on his name as Dawson lifted his eyes to meet hers. His eyes were cold and empty as he reached out to grab Sage’s throat. Sage stumbled back and tried to get away, but Dawson was too fast. He pinned her to the ground and tightened his grip.
“Do you really think I would believe you? The chancellor is not the enemy. You and your family are! You stupid girl, you actually believe that you can change this world and start a revolution? You don’t think others have tried before you? What makes you so special, huh?” Dawson spat as he spoke, and his eyes swirled with rage.
“I must have been special enough for your dad to trust me more than he trusts you.” Sage choked as she spoke. Dawson’s face flinched, and Sage thought for a moment he might have been Awake.
Sage took advantage of the break in concentration and brought the hilt of her dagger into the same rib that Jax had hit. There was an audible crack, and Dawson let go of Sage long enough for her to push him aside and get back on her feet.
“We aren’t your enemies, you’ll see that soon enough,” Sage said as she holstered her daggers. Jax emptied Dawson’s gun magazine, leaving only one bullet, and knelt down in front of Dawson, lifting his head to face his own as he spoke.
“Don’t call her stupid.” Jax grinned at Dawson’s clear shock.
Before he could retort, Jax took Dawson’s gun and put the single bullet directly into the top of Dawson’s foot, then tossed the gun aside. Dawson writhed in pain as Sage and Jax shut the trunk and joined the rest of her family.
“We have to walk from here. The mine entrance is just on the other side of these trees,” Sage’s dad said as he rubbed his wrists where Sage had removed the restraints.
“Is nobody going to mention how my little sister just took down a full-grown man?” Eliza spoke for the first time since she had been back.
Everyone laughed as they slipped on their masks and made their way into the tree line. They reached the mine entrance only to find it caved in and boarded up.
“There is no way through. We’re stuck.” Audrey said as she sat on a rock near by the entrance. Sage watched in shock as the rocks and boards flickered like a hologram and the entrance appeared.
“It was cloaked, with a hologram. Audrey, you must have deactivated it when you sat down.” River laughed as he stepped towards the mine.
The entrance was a long tunnel with metal walls and small yellow lights as far as Sage could see. They were all looking into the long tunnel when, suddenly, there was a bright light all around them. They turned around to find four CA agents with guns and flashlights pointed towards them.
“Don’t move! Hands where we can see them!” A man’s voice from behind the wall of lig
ht spoke loudly as he took a step closer to Sage and her family. As the agents grew closer Sage and her family stepped backwards towards the mine when Sage’s dad tripped over a rock. As he stood, he grabbed the mini stun grenade launcher off Adalynn’s hip holster and shot four off, one at the foot of each agent.
“Run!” He yelled, and they all took off towards the tunnel. When they were about to enter the mine, Sage realized that her parents and Harlow were not with them. She looked back and saw them each being pinned by guards.
She screamed, and the fourth guard lifted his flashlight towards her. He raised his gun and pointed it at Sage. Her parents met eyes with her and yelled for her to run, but she was frozen.
Suddenly, she was lifted into the air as the sound of a gunshot whistled by her. There was a second shot, and she felt a searing pain in the left side of her chest. She screamed out in pain and fear then the world around her faded to black, and she went cold.
Chapter 12
Sage walked through a dark cave. It wasn’t the mine, but it felt familiar; the smell of salt was strong, making her eyes sting. The only sound was the echo of her footsteps as she walked deeper into the darkness. At the back of the cave, there was a room with a faint golden light emanating from cracks in the walls. She felt her heart beating faster as she got closer.
She looked behind her only to see that she was alone. As she walked the sounds of water dripping from the ceiling echoed like music throughout the cave. She ran her fingers along the walls and felt the rough rock under them, allowing them to hesitate in places on smoother lines of quartz that veined throughout. At the back of the cave, the gold light seeping through the cracks grew brighter.
Sage raised her hands to the wall and allowed her fingers to travel along the path of the light. Above her, there were symbols carved deep into the stone. She traced the curves and turns of the symbols with her fingers, the golden light growing brighter as she drew.
When she finished the last curve, the light grew to a burning intensity, momentarily blinding Sage. Moments later the light dimmed back to its faint glow and standing in front of Sage was a tall figure cloaked in white.
The figure’s hood was up and shadowed its face, all except for the eyes, which glowed with a pure blue light. When it spoke, its voice was smooth and glassy as it echoed around the room.
“You have the Mark of the Oculus. Welcome to the Sphere of Oculi, Sage Blackwell.” As he spoke, six other figures appeared in a circle around Sage, each with the same hooded robe and glowing eyes. Slowly, each figure raised their hands towards the ceiling, cupping them together as if to catch the water dripping.
One by one, the figures dropped their hands, facing their palms towards Sage as if to push her away. Glowing in their hands were seven different symbols, each unique and different in color: one emerald, sapphire, gold, lilac, scarlet, amber, and white.
“Each color represents the Ingenium and their ability. You must now receive yours, kneel and raise your hands. Allow the Sphere to envelope you.” The figure with the emerald symbol burning in his palms spoke in the same glossy tone as the first.
Sage felt no fear from the figures but, instead, felt comfort in their presence. She knelt onto her knees and lifted her hands and face towards the perfect circle glowing on ceiling. She closed her eyes and inhaled, as the symbols grew bright once again.
The light became brighter and Sage’s palms burned, sending pain down her arms and into her chest until her entire body ached as if it were burning from inside, then the light was gone, and Sage was alone in the cave. She looked at her hands nervously, expecting them to be deeply burned only to see the smooth skin unharmed.
The lights from the walls were gone and the only light was coming from behind her. She stood and followed it back towards the entrance of the cave. When she reached the edge, the light gleaming off the water outside the cave made her eyes ache. She closed her eyes and felt a deep pain in her chest. When she looked down, there was blood streaming down the front of her shirt.
She gasped as the cave and surrounding water disappeared into the blackness of pain. When she opened her eyes, she was dizzy and unable to focus.
“Sage! Sage can you hear me? It’s going to be okay, just stay with us! Someone, get help!” It was Eliza’s voice but the room spun too fast to make out any faces.
There was a stabbing pain in her chest, and Sage’s eyes became too heavy to hold open. As she slipped out of consciousness and blackness engulfed her, a symbol burned in Sage’s eyes, pulsating in several different colors as if it were made of water and reflecting every color of the sky as it changed from sunrise to sunset to night.
Chapter 13
Sage opened her eyes only to be blinded by a bright light coming from above her. She lifted her hand to shield out the light and was overwhelmed by a stabbing pain in her chest. She winced, and when she looked down her left side had been wrapped in white gauze. As her eyes adjusted to the light around her, she could clearly see that she was in some type of a medical facility.
She was lying on top of a cold metal table with a sheet covering her up to her chest. The light above her was so bright Sage could feel the heat of it on her cheeks and shoulders. She looked around and noticed a small table with bloodstained rags, surgical tools, and a single bloody bullet. On the other side of the room was a door with a glass window.
Sage tossed the sheet off to the side and was surprised to see she wore shorts and a tank top, not the clothes she remembered having on. On a chair in the corner of the room were her boots and jacket. She slipped into them and realized her jacket had been cleaned of the blood and a small yellow X was stitched over the bullet hole.
Her weapons were nowhere to be seen so she grabbed a medical knife off the table and opened the door. She didn’t recognize the hospital she was in but there was an exit sign at the end of the hallway so she made a break for it. When she pushed the door open, an alarm sounded, and the lights in the hall flashed. She pushed the door farther and was stunned by what was on the other side.
There were trees taller than any trees she had ever seen before. The sun was high and brighter than normal, and the fresh smell of sweet air filled her lungs. She paused and quickly realized she wasn’t in the Frame. Suddenly, a hand caught Sage’s wrist tugging her back towards the door.
“Sage, what are you doing out here? And why do you have that?” Sage turned to see Eliza looking worried as she eyed the small medical knife clenched in her hand. She had changed out of her prisoner clothes and wore black cargo pants and a navy T-shirt. Her hair was combed tightly into a ponytail, and she appeared to have gotten food and water.
“Where are we?” Sage spoke and realized just how dry her throat was. Eliza smiled and opened the door leading her back into the hospital.
“What all do you remember?” Eliza asked as she took the knife and opened the door to the room Sage had just escaped from, this time leaving it ajar.
“I remember running, and being shot at when they took… Where are they? Where are mom and dad, and Harlow?” Sage was frantic as she remembered seeing her parents captured by the CA. Eliza’s eyes were sad as she stepped in front of her and placed her hands on Sage’s shoulders as if to steady her.
“They didn’t make it to the escape. They sacrificed themselves to give us time to get through the mines.” Tears streamed down Eliza’s cheeks as she spoke, but Sage was completely numb. Her ears were ringing, and she barely heard Eliza when she said she was going to get the doctor. Sage couldn’t move or speak she just stared blankly at the floor below her feet.
She wanted to scream, to throw something and break everything around her, but all she could do was sit and watch as her tears pooled on the floor below her feet.
Then she heard a voice from in the room with her. She lifted her head to see Emery, Audrey, and River standing in the doorway. River’s eyes were ringed with red, and he had a firm grip on Audrey’s shoulders, pulling her close to him. Sage stood and Emery rushed to hug her engulfing
her in warmth. Sage winced at the pain in her chest as Emery released and stepped back.
“Sorry! How are you doing?” Emery’s eyes were deep with concern as she took Sage’s hands. River had joined them but didn’t speak.
“I’m not sure. It all seems like a nightmare right now, and I guess I’m just waiting to wake up.” Sage wiped the tears off her face and pushed her hair back where it had stuck to the mixture of sweat and tears on her cheek.
“You know, you wouldn’t have made it out of there alive if it hadn’t had been for Jax, he saved your life,” Emery said, trying to lighten the mood but it didn’t have much of an effect on Sage.
“Yeah, remind me to thank him for forcing me to abandon my parents.” Sage’s heart was heavy as she remembered being lifted away from her parents when they were escaping. Just then a tall woman with warm caramel skin and deep brown hair walked into the room.
“Well, I’m glad you are awake. My name is Kennedy. I’m the head medic here. Now, let’s have a look at that wound, shall we?” She spoke with a strange accent Sage had never heard before.
She made her way to a box on the wall and secured a photograph to it. When she flipped a switch, the box lit up and the photograph clearly depicted a black and white view of bones and organs with a small white bullet lodged right next to the heart.
“As you can see by this X-Ray, the bullet was less than an inch away from your heart. Thankfully, we were able to remove it and get you stable after you lost quite a bit of blood. You are very lucky, Ms. Blackwell.” Kennedy flipped off the light and walked over to the table where the bullet was.
“You should be grateful your friend picked you up when he did or this would have ended much differently.” She nodded towards the door, and Sage turned to see Jax standing there.
He looked healthy, and the bruises on his face were nearly gone. Sage felt her blood boil as she thought of him taking her away from her parents. Sage took the bullet off the table, stood, and slowly walked to stand in front of him. He was at least six inches taller than her, but she didn’t care.