The Sanctuary

by Sara Elizabeth Santana

  I shrugged, feeling a jolt in my stomach at the memory. “Totally worth it.”

  It was Kaya’s turn to roll her eyes. “Right. Maybe just be a little more careful next time you guys sneak off…”

  “Thanks, Kaya. I’ll do that.” My words were punctuated with our lights flickering on and off. The clock on the wall showed that it was exactly 9 pm. “Right on time.”

  She reached for the pad on the wall that turned off the lights. “You’ll get used to it.”

  I tugged at the thin comforter on my bed and climbed underneath, pulling it up to my chin. “I certainly hope so.”

  “Good night, Zoey.”

  “Good night, Kaya.”

  ***

  “ZOEY? ZOEY, WAKE up.”

  There was a hand shaking my shoulder and I startled when I woke, throwing my hands out. My fingers made contact and I grabbed on tightly, and yanked.

  “Hey, it’s me! Kaya. It’s Kaya.”

  The light switched on and I blinked rapidly in the sudden brightness. The clock above the door read 4 am and I was momentarily surprised that I managed to fall asleep at a decent time. Which made getting woken up like this that much worse. “What is going on?”

  “There’s someone at the door for you.” Kaya looked nervous, biting her full bottom lip. Her hands were fidgeting with the hem of her regulation pajamas; a long sleeve gray shirt and white sweatpants.

  I blinked a few more times, staring at her. “Excuse me? There’s someone at the door? For me?” I ran my fingers through my bedridden hair and stared at her. “Who?”

  “The Director,” she whispered, her eyes wide. Her expression told me that the Director visiting someone’s private quarters was not a regular occurrence. I hurried out of bed, pushing back the covers. I made sure my pajamas were at least on straight before heading to the door and pressing my wristband to the plate.

  The wristband was my life at Sanctuary. It contained all of my personal information, including everything about my health. It gave me access to my room and other places that I needed to be and it was the device that kept me updated with my daily schedule. When I had been granted one, after my original medical examinations, I learned that it didn’t come off and it was water resistant, amongst other things. The first few weeks, it had chaffed and I had rolled on top of it in my sleep many times, but now I was used to it.

  The doors slid open. Octavia was standing just outside the doorway. She looked perfect as usual, not at all like it was four in the morning. She wore black, the way everyone else wore black in this place, but she didn’t wear the same nondescript shirts and pants we did. She always managed to be in a dress or skirt, not a wrinkle or rumple in them.

  “Director,” I addressed her. “This is a surprise. Is there something wrong?”

  “I apologize for waking you at such an hour, Zoey,” she said, a concerned look on her face. “But this is an urgent matter. Please follow me.”

  I looked over my shoulder at Kaya, who looked frightened. My stomach dropped but I turned back to Octavia and nodded. “Of course.”

  She led me down the hallway and out of the resident floors. We turned down into an unfamiliar corridor and ended up at a door, with a special access pad. I hadn’t seen one of these since arriving at Sanctuary. She pressed her thumb to it and it opened soundlessly. Behind the door was an elevator and we hurried inside.

  The elevator traveled up and up until it finally came to a halt. When we exited, we were met with Octavia’s second in command, Patrick, who was standing with a rumpled Ash. My stomach dropped even more.

  “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked, rushing toward him.

  Ash’s arms reached out and quickly wrapped around me. I pressed my face against his chest, inhaling his scent. “I’m fine. I didn’t know you would be here. Are you okay?”

  I pulled away slightly and looked up at him. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” I looked over at Octavia and Patrick. “What is going on?”

  “Please, follow us,” was the only answer we received as we rushed after them. We didn’t have to go very far until we turned into a very large office. Octavia crossed the room and sat down at the chair behind the desk, while Patrick perched on the edge of it. Two empty chairs were in front, obviously for us. Ash collapsed in one seat and pulled me into his lap. Both Octavia and Patrick stared at us, but I took comfort in Ash’s warmth. Whatever was about to happen, I was happy he was there.

  “We received a…package an hour ago. It was accompanied with a note. The note was addressed to you. We took the package immediately, and you will receive that in just a moment.” Octavia reached for an envelope on the desk and handed it to me.

  My fingers shook as I took the envelope. My name was written in perfect handwriting on the front. I stared at it before using a fingernail to break the seal. A note fell out, on a small square of cardstock. My hands gripped it tightly as my eyes roamed the page. They widened and I gasped. “No. NO. This can’t be real.”

  “Zoey?” Ash’s voice was low in my ear. When I didn’t answer, he grabbed the note out of my hand and read it out loud. “Zoey, I hope you enjoy my gift. I am so looking forward to seeing you again. Fondly…” He paused and his face paled. “Razi Cylon.” Ash’s fists clenched, the note crumpling in his hand. “What the fuck?”

  “Language, Mr. Matthews,” Patrick said, but Ash didn’t listen.

  “This is a joke, right? It’s not real. Dr. Razi Cylon is dead. She can’t be writing notes to Zoey because she’s dead. I saw her die. I saw her get shot.”

  “You yourself were shot at the moment that this happened, Mr. Matthews,” Octavia pointed out. “Forgive me if your witness is not taken as fact.”

  “I, however, was not shot,” I cut in, my voice shaking. “I saw her get shot. Bert shot her in the throat. How could she even survive that?”

  “Razi Cylon has some of the best doctors in the world at her facility. It would not be impossible that she survived. This is also her handwriting. That much is true.”

  My breathing grew erratic and for a moment, the world went black. It was like every nightmare came to life. She was alive. The past three months of safety were nothing but a farce. She was alive. She would never stop. She would never stop until I was dragged, kicking and screaming, back into her underground hellhole. She would never stop until I was in her control again. “She can’t be. She just can’t be.”

  Ash’s hand rubbed my back again and again in circles. His warm palm against my back was a source of comfort and I focused on that, not on the fact that my world was crumbling down around me. “What was the package? What is this gift?”

  It was the only moment that Octavia showed anything more than complete calmness. “I think it would be better to show you. Perhaps we can understand the meaning of it more.” She gestured toward the guard at the door and he opened it. Someone stepped in and I nearly fell off Ash’s lap.

  He was beaten, broken. There were bruises along his jawline and he looked much smaller than the last time I had seen him. His hair was longer and he was barely standing. But I knew him. I would never forget that face.

  I jumped up, nearly sprinting across the room. “Liam. Liam.”

  He looked up at me, as if he didn’t recognized me. His eyes were blurry and unfocused and I wondered what on earth they had done to him at Sekhmet since I had escaped. I looked up the guard who had escorted him accusingly but he didn’t even flinch.

  Liam started to lose his balance and I reached for him, catching him before he fell to the ground. The guard remained unhelpful as I struggled to keep Liam upright.

  Ash jumped up from his seat and rushed over to rescue me. The two of us each grabbed an arm and helped Liam into one of the chairs we had just vacated. He collapsed in it, slumped over.

  “What’s wrong with him?” I demanded, looking over at Octavia and Patrick.

  “We think he was given a heavy sedative,” Octavia explained. She looked neither upset nor concerned about this. “He was unconscious whe
n we found him at our entrance.”

  “You think?” My voice rose even higher. My fingers were in a vice grip around Liam’s wrist, relieved that I still felt the steady beat of his heart beneath the pad of my thumb. “Why wasn’t he given a medical examination as soon as he was found?”

  “We didn’t know who he was or what his purpose was in being here. He’s wearing a Sekhmet emblem on his clothes.” Octavia showed no emotion at my raised voice. She simply studied me from over the desk as I glared.

  “He could be hurt! He could be sick! And you just dragged him in here. What is wrong with you?”

  “Zoey.”

  I looked up at Ash, who was shaking his head. I could see my own anger reflected in his ocean blue eyes, but his features remained smooth and calm. He gestured ever so slightly to Liam and I immediately understood. This was about Liam. Liam and Sekhmet were the things I needed to focus on. I nodded in response and scooted myself closer to him.

  “Liam, honey, can you hear me?”

  Eyelashes fluttered for a moment and his eyes met mine. There was a brief moment of confusion and then a flash of recognition shone through. “”Zoey.”

  Relief flooded through my veins at the simple sound of my name leaving his lips. “Yes, it’s me. Zoey. It’s Zoey.”

  Liam took a couple deep gulps of air before he raised his head a bit more. “Where the hell am I?”

  I hesitated. “What do you remember?”

  He frowned. He looked so lost, like he wasn’t sure of anything. “I was at Sekhmet with…but now I’m not. I was going through a routine check and then…then I woke up here.” His hand scratched his thigh absentmindedly. His blonde hair was long, longer than I had ever seen it and was sticking up in all directions. Brown Sekhmet scrubs hung loosely on his thin frame.

  I looked over at Octavia and Patrick. “He was knocked unconscious at Sekhmet. They did that to us all the time. But now he’s awake.” Liam swayed and I winced. “Well, mostly awake. How is this possible? How long has he been here?” Neither answered and annoyance filled me. “How long has he been here?”

  “Since the afternoon.”

  “The afternoon? As in, hours ago?” I shrieked. “And you still haven’t taken him to a doctor? And you woke me up at 4 in the morning to show me that he was here? What on earth is wrong with you?”

  “We were waiting for him to wake up,” Octavia said, slowly, as if to a child. “We wanted to question him first.”

  “And did he give you anything useful in his drug stupor?” I asked, sarcastically.

  “Zoey. Zoey, where am I?” Liam repeated, his voice clearer than before.

  My mouth opened and then closed. I sent a pleading look over at my boyfriend, who nodded.

  “Hey. Liam. Do you remember me?” Ash asked.

  Liam looked between the both of us and there was a ghost of a smile on his lips. I was surprised he remembered how to do it. “Of course. You guys are together. I’m glad. I’m glad you made it out together.”

  “Not without a few hiccups,” Ash remarked, drily, his hand running over his ribs where he had been shot during our escape. I wondered if he even realized he was doing it. “You’re at Sanctuary. You made it.”

  Russet colored eyebrows shot high up on his forehead. “I made it.” There was a super long pause before he spoke again. “My parents?”

  My heart sunk in my chest. One of the first things I had done when I arrived at Sanctuary was inquire about Liam’s parents. I had been so pleased to find out that the two of them had both made it here. Sadly, not both of them had survived. “Your mom is here. She’s safe, even works in the infirmary, which apparently is a big deal here. But Memphis…” My eyes squeezed shut. I never thought I would have to deliver this news to him. “I’m so sorry, Liam.”

  I wasn’t sure what I had expected but when Liam stayed silent, I looked at Ash, worried. Then I remembered. Ash, coming over to my house, collapsing on my staircase, beyond words. He had reacted so similarly when his parents had died.

  Liam moved suddenly, his hands gripping the armrests tightly. His eyes looked wild and they darted around the room in panic. “We have to go to Sekhmet. We have to go now.”

  The words caused a rupture of fear to go shooting from my heart all the way through my veins and down to my toes. It had been nearly four months since I had escaped from that literal hell on earth and I still felt like throwing up every time I heard that word. The last thing I ever wanted to do was go back to that place.

  “Why on earth would you want to go back there?” Patrick asked, his pale gray eyes narrowed in confusion as he regarded Liam.

  The note that had been addressed to me was still a crumpled mess in Ash’s hand and I reached for it, smoothing it out the best I could. I handed it to Liam, who took it wordlessly. “Is this from her? Is she alive?”

  He studied it for a long moment, reading it over more than once, judging by the way his eyes roamed over the page. He pulled his wrist out from under my grip and slipped his fingers between mine, squeezing tightly. “She’s alive, Zoey. She is very much alive.”

  I felt my knees give in a little and I nearly collapsed on the chair beside him. “We can’t go back in there. I can’t go back there, Liam. Why would you even want that?”

  Liam’s eyes were desperate as they met each of ours in turn. “We need to get there. You don’t know the kind of control she has.” He sighed, raking his shaking hands through his hair. “And I need to get Astrid out of there.”

  LIAM DIDN’T SPEAK for the rest of the night. He had exhausted all that was left inside of him. Octavia had him cleared to be escorted into the infirmary and the reunion between him and his mother was enough to make tears spring to my eyes. One of the Sanctuary doctors looked him over, with Julia hovering the entire time. They determined that he wasn’t seriously injured in any way and he was taken to the room he would be sharing with his mother. We were all cleared from breakfast and morning classes.

  I didn’t see him again until I finally woke up and got ready to go down to lunch.

  I had a nightmare. It was much of the same, like most nightmares I’d had since I had come to Sanctuary. I dreamt of the small room I had been locked in at Sekhmet. I dreamt of needles and treadmills and Razi Cylon’s cold, calculating stare. I dreamt of Liam and the way we had desperately clung to each other. I dreamt of Ash’s blood all over my hands, and the way he shook in my arms as he went into shock. I dreamt of the tiny black teeth dripping with flesh. I dreamt of a sharp knife cutting into the softness of my face.

  I woke up, screaming. Luckily, I was in the room alone so there was no way for Kaya to know and there was no way for her to tell anyone about it. I splashed cold water over my face in our shared bathroom before dressing for the day. Everyone in Sanctuary wore the same uniform. We were given two sets of clothes each week; a basic black shirt, short or long sleeve, our choice. Long black pants that absorbed heat but kept you cool at the same time. Sturdy black boots. Sometimes I felt like I would fit in quite well at a punk concert back home or something.

  Liam was waiting right outside my door when I was finally ready to lave and I shrieked as I bumped into him. No one stayed in the resident corridors during the day and I hadn’t expected to see anyone here.

  “Boys aren’t exactly allowed in the girl’s residence halls.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “So I’ve heard. I didn’t realize that until I left the room I’m sharing with Mom. Family areas, male areas, female areas…this place is not what I thought…” He trailed off, looking pensive for a moment.

  I studied him. He looked like he had gotten some much needed sleep but he still bore dark circles under his eyes, and there were still the yellow marks of fading bruises in several places that I could see. And I didn’t even know what lay beneath his clothing. “How much did you know about this place before you came here?”

  He lifted one shoulder slightly before it fell back into place. “Not much. Just what my grandfather told me. I don’t know how
much I believed but he was so sure. I kept wondering if there was more that he just never told us.” A breath escaped his lips, and his long bangs fluttered in the movement. “And here we are.”

  “Here we are.” I hesitated. I had so many questions for him. I wanted to know how Razi had survived being shot in the freakin’ throat. I wanted to know who Astrid was. I wanted to know what Sekhmet had planned. I had been worried and anxious about what they could accomplish without Razi Cylon but now that I knew she was alive…I was terrified.

  Liam, however, didn’t look like he was ready to talk about it so I kept my mouth shut. I shuffled in place for a moment, not sure what to do or say. It had been so long since I’d seen Liam, and we’d had an interesting time together to say the least. Razi had forced us together and I had taken complete advantage of the situation. I glanced at Liam, whose bright blonde hair and blue eyes stood out against the darkness of his clothing, my cheeks burned with embarrassment.

  “So,” Liam finally said. “Want to show me where a guy can get some food?”

  I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “Right. Of course. Let’s go.”

  We made our way out of the resident dormitories, which were the fifth floor of Sanctuary. All the residents that lived here ended their days in these rooms. They were divided into three sections; one for families, one for men and one for women.

  Sanctuary was large, and everything was divided perfectly. Each floor had a purpose and went in descending order from the top dome, which let in the only source of sunlight. The first floor held all of Sanctuary’s vehicles, which were a lot more than I had expected. Cars, SUVs, large passenger vans, even some bulletproof cars that were just the cherry on top of the large supply of transportation options that were housed there. There were even a few small planes and a handful of helicopters. Sanctuary was prepared and it reminded me a lot of the aboveground level in Sekhmet.

  The second level was where the cafeteria and kitchens were. All the food production took place on that level, mostly because it was the one closest to the surface. They used synthetic sunlight in Sanctuary for the most part but if they could get the real thing, they did it. It only made sense to have that level as close to the outside world as possible. Refrigerators, freezers, livestock pastures and a lot of crops took up majority of the level. Everything Sanctuary needed to feed its population was housed there.