by Dylan Steel
“I’ll have you know we have a limited amount of time available for these children to tour this facility,” she snapped.
“I’m aware,” the officer responded dryly. Her eyes looked out sharply from under a thick layer of blonde bangs. “And I’ll have you know that we’re in the business of keeping Eprah safe, and these children’s extracurricular tour is a secondary priority.”
Ms. Ashton’s lips formed a thin line. “There must be an awfully big threat to Eprah behind those doors. Should we start the tour off there? And see what the awful threat is that you’re protecting us from?”
The officer narrowed her eyes. She was several inches shorter than Ms. Ashton, which was only compounded by the prim heels the instructor always wore, but the young woman wasn’t about to be intimidated by bluster.
“Tours begin on the top floor,” she said evenly. She turned to address the students. “You may call me Ms. Caurdoza.” With a flick of her wrist, she turned, expecting them to follow without further instruction.
After letting out another small huff, the instructor made a similar motion to indicate the students should accompany her. Thanks to Ms. Ashton’s impatience and Ms. Caurdoza’s bitter response, the tour was off to a tenser start than usual.
Fortunately, this building wasn’t quite as large as most of the others they’d visited, so the initial delay was unlikely to impact them too negatively. However, Sage was surprised to realize that the Dignitary of the Peace held more floors than she’d previously thought. Probably because the size of the building was the farthest thing from her mind the last time she was there.
Apparently, there was an actual dignitary in charge. His office was on the top floor—the fifth floor. The level also housed the offices of his advisory board. And of course, he answered to the Quorum of Five, but for the most part he was in charge of making unilateral decisions that affected all his officers. Ms. Caurdoza explained his role with great reverence.
The group didn’t spend long on the level. They moved swiftly back to the Transfers and plummeted down to the next floor. Sage felt her stomach lift out of her body. She wished the room didn’t move quite so fast. Or that her body would just get used to it already.
“Here we have a series of restriction rooms for temporary and long-term holding,” the officer droned, “and over there is the wing for interrogations.”
“Interrogations?” One of the older girls wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Ms. Caurdoza nodded. “For example, if we pull someone in who may have information about, say, the disappearances, they’ll be directed to one of those rooms.”
She pushed open the door to the nearest holding room and gestured for the students to walk inside. Sage shivered, gripping Darren’s hand much harder as soon as she stepped into the small room. The holding room looked nearly identical to the room where she’d spent her Cleansing at the Institution. It had the same overhead shower and sparse facilities and fold-back bunk bed. Really, the only difference was that this room was even smaller than the one she’d stayed in. She shuddered. She’d hate to spend any time here—temporary or long-term.
Once the last of the students had made their way back out of the restriction room, Ms. Caurdoza led them across the other hall to the interrogation wing. Like before, she shoved open a door and directed them inside.
This room was much larger than the one they’d just walked through. Somehow, the room was bright enough to see everything inside, but Sage couldn’t find the source of the light. It was as if the entire room were lit by some ethereal glow. One rather uncomfortable-looking chair sat in the center of the room, and the walls were completely covered in mirrors—which made for quite the disorienting effect. To keep herself from reprising an embarrassing incident like the one at the hospital, she fixed her eyes on the ground, which was just a layer of concrete under a solid black glaze.
She lifted her gaze as soon as her feet shuffled off the glossy ebony flooring and back onto the light gray tile in the hallway. Her head was still spinning from seeing herself an infinite number of times on the walls.
“It’s something else, isn’t it?” Ms. Caurdoza grinned smugly as she surveyed the faces in front of her. Evidently, Sage wasn’t the only one having a hard time composing herself after walking through that room.
“I can see how that would be quite effective,” Ms. Ashton said through gritted teeth as she braced herself against the wall with as much refinement as she could muster.
“It sure is.” A low voice rang out from the opposite end of the hallway. Footsteps landed, falling heavier as they approached the tour group.
Sage’s eyes grew wide. She’d heard that voice before. It was impossible to forget. Chills raced down her spine. It was the same officer who had dragged her from her parents’ bodies. The same man who’d turned her over to be raised in captivity at the Institution.
“Oh, hey, Ty.” Ms. Caurdoza’s stern expression shifted, softening slightly. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she turned to greet her fellow officer.
Sage shrank back immediately. Sensing something was wrong, Darren stepped in front of her, subtly shielding her from the officer’s view. She squeezed his hand in silent gratitude.
“What’s this group of miscreants here for?” Ty joked. Sage’s skin crawled at the sound of his voice.
“Travaes Interest Society is touring from the Institution,” Ms. Caurdoza answered mechanically.
Eagerness glinted in his eyes. “Did you show them the Dungeon?”
“I’m not trying to scare them, Ty.” She winced.
“You’re supposed to help them figure out if this is where they want to work, right?” He shrugged. “I’d show ‘em.”
Ms. Ashton cleared her throat daintily. “The Dungeon?” she inquired. A hint of uncertainty flashed over her face.
“Never mind him.” Ms. Caurdoza waved her hand dismissively as Ty walked past them, going back about his own business near the holding rooms they’d just passed. “He just enjoys messing with impressionable young minds.” She smirked, raising her eyebrow at the instructor. “But I guess it works on not-so-young minds too.”
The instructor glared at her.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a less glamorous set of holding rooms in the sublevels. Nothing worth seeing, really.”
Ty whistled eerily from the end of the hall. Sage pressed in closer to Darren.
Ms. Caurdoza rolled her eyes at Ty’s intimidation tactics. “We can head back down to the main floor now.” She raised her voice slightly for Ty’s benefit. “It’s the most interesting thing left to see.”
As they turned and began making their way toward the Transfers, Darren stole a glance at Sage. Her face was pale. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke up. “Ms. Ashton?”
“Yes?” Annoyance was plastered all over her face as she looked down at the boy under her care.
“Is it alright if the two of us take the stairs? I think—” he nodded toward Sage, “—my partner isn’t feeling well, and the Transfer seems to make it worse.”
The instructor’s demeanor shifted. She stiffened and gave Sage a wary glance, then nodded once before stepping into the Transfer. The door slid closed, leaving Darren and Sage alone in the hall.
“The stairs are just over there. Let’s go.” He pointed with his free hand and started pulling her toward them.
Sage followed numbly. The door echoed shut behind them. They had just made it down one set of stairs when Darren stopped abruptly.
He dropped her hand and stepped in front of her, placing both his hands on her shoulders as he bent down to her level to meet her eyes.
“You’ve been off all day. What’s wrong?” he asked gently.
She looked at him dumbfounded for a moment before shaking her head violently. The uneasy look on his face was surprising, almost unsettling. She hadn’t expected him to notice anything was wrong, let alone care. His concern was the tipping point—she couldn’t keep her emotions in check anymore. Tears spilled from her eyes as
quiet sobs shook her shoulders.
“We don’t have much time before Ms. Ashton thinks we’re being delinquent,” he said firmly. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She shook her head again, sniffing.
“Look, Sage. I know something’s wrong. You’ve been acting weird all day, and just a minute ago, I thought you were going to try to bolt out the door. Or maybe just curl up in a ball on the floor.” He sighed. “And whether you believe me or not, I do care. But I can’t help if you don’t talk to me.”
His face blurred even more.
“Y-y-you c-c-c-an’t h-h-help,” she choked out between sobs. “They’re d-d-d-ead.” She hadn’t meant to say anything about her parents. It had slipped out along with the tears.
“Who’s dead?”
“H-he… t-took… m-me,” she gasped.
“Who took you?” Darren frowned. He was trying to hold back his frustration. “Sage, try to breathe.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and smashed her lips together to stifle her cries. Her nostrils flared. She flinched as a heavy weight fell across her arms, drawing her forward without warning. As Darren’s hold on her tightened, she realized there was something oddly comforting about the embrace. Maybe it was just the fact that hugs or any other form of physical comfort were rare occurrences in the Institution. While her grief still felt as fresh and raw as it had when she was seven, she felt her anxiousness about the officer begin to fall away.
After a few moments, she pulled away and tried speaking again. “Ty. That was the officer. The one who—” she bit her lip and looked away as another deluge of tears threatened. “He’s the one who told me my parents were dead,” she croaked. “And h-he’s the one who sent me to the Institution.”
Darren stared at her for a moment. “Parents.” He said the word with a sense of awe, then looked away and nodded as a muscle twitched in his jaw. “You’re right,” he said slowly. “I’m sorry I can’t help.” His eyes met hers. “But I am sorry,” he said again, brushing the braid back from her shoulder.
A small voice inside of Sage’s head screamed, and she quickly flipped her braid back over her shoulder, running her hands over it repeatedly as if to make sure it hadn’t flipped to her back again on its own accord. She may have betrayed her own feelings by showing this boy how much her parents still meant to her and how awful that first day at the Institution was, but she would not mess up her Lawless mission too. It didn’t matter why she had to wear the stupid braid over her right shoulder at all times—she was going to do it.
His eyebrow shot up at her strange reaction, but he didn’t ask any more questions. He reached for her hand again and gave it a faint squeeze. “We should go before Ms. Ashton sends officers after us.”
Sage’s expression hardened. She wiped her cheeks dry with the back of her sleeve. “Ok.”
17. THE BOOK
“If those two are the same, you can solve for that.” Everett pointed to the shapes on Sage’s screen.
Sage stared back at him blankly. “But why?”
He blinked. “We—we just talked about this. Why don’t you try to explain it to me?”
She shook her head. “I must not have been paying enough attention. Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
Sighing, he leaned back against the couch. “Ok. How ‘bout this: you read the introduction to this section again,” he jabbed his thumb at the databook, “and then you explain it to me—”
Her mouth opened in protest, but he didn’t stop for her.
“—the best you can,” he finished. “And then we’ll go from there.”
She shut her mouth and nodded. “Ok.” Hesitating, she added, “I really am sorry I’ve been so distracted.”
“We all get distracted sometimes.” He shrugged. “But I have to work on some of my own assignments too if I don’t want to get behind.”
“Sorry,” she said again.
Everett stood up. “Just come get me again when you’re ready.”
“Oh, are you working on the bonus project with Nic too?” she asked before he could walk away. She could have sworn he winced at her question.
“No.” He wet his lips. “I don’t have enough time,” he admitted reluctantly. “I’ve been working on improving my history scores. They weren’t as high as I wanted on the prelim.”
“Oh.” Sage’s mouth parted slightly. She cringed inwardly. He didn’t have time to work on extra projects, but he was taking time to help tutor her. And her efforts lately barely qualified as half-hearted.
“I-I’m sorry.” She cast her eyes downward. “If you need help with history, I’m actually doing pretty well there. I wouldn’t mind swapping roles for tutoring,” she offered.
“Yeah, maybe.” He grinned wryly. “If you ever figure out geometry, that is.”
She groaned.
“Let me know when you can explain that section to me,” he said. “Then maybe we can talk about Eprah’s history.”
Sage’s lips twitched. She bent her head over the databook once more, revisiting the lesson. No matter how boring or confusing it was, she owed it to him to really try to figure it out.
Determined to succeed, she read over the words once, twice, and then a third time. Gibberish. She heaved a sigh when she realized she’d read the same three sentences at least half a dozen times without understanding or retaining any of it. That didn’t bode well. On the plus side, she wasn’t taking up any more of Everett’s time while her mind wandered.
Unfortunately, it was wandering a lot. In the month since the Travaes visit to the Peace, Sage had been wondering if her mission had been a success. She didn’t have a good way of finding out either. Despite the risks, she’d tried to get in touch with Mr. Walsh for an answer, but every time she tried to talk to him, he was either with another student or nowhere to be found. After the fourth attempt to contact him, she had to admit defeat. By that point, she realized she’d be lucky if she hadn’t already drawn attention by seeking him out as much as she had. And as much as she wanted to know if she’d succeeded, simply knowing wouldn’t change the outcome of her mission one way or another.
She squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled slowly, then looked back at the databook. She’d survived the loss of her parents and being thrust into a foreign world. This stupid assignment was not going to get the best of her.
After reading the explanation for roughly the eighteenth time, something clicked in her brain. She hopped up and raced over to Everett immediately, not wanting the revelation to fade before she could regurgitate the information.
“I’ve got it!” She was unable to hide her excitement.
He looked up, bewildered by her sudden appearance. “O-ok.” He glanced down at his databook and then back up at her. “I’m almost at the end of this chapter. Give me just a sec, and I’ll be right over.”
“Ok.” She tried to hide her disappointment. As she walked back to her seat, the explanation looped over and over again in her mind. She couldn’t afford to forget it before he came back.
Maybe she’d remember it better if she typed it up. She sank back into her chair and snatched up her databook. Oddly, her fingers brushed against something unexpectedly rough beneath it. Her brows furrowed as she glanced down.
Her eyes widened. It was one of the blank books from the Archives.
She practically slammed the databook back on top of it, hiding it from view as quickly as she could manage. How had it gotten there? Her eyes darted around the Common Lounge, looking for anyone out of place, anyone acting suspiciously. She saw nothing. No older students, no instructors, no one shooting her strange looks. Its arrival remained a complete mystery.
There was no way to know how soon Everett would return to go over their math assignment, but the explanation she’d tried to carefully memorize was now long gone. At least that could be easily explained. But her curiosity about the book was insatiable. She needed to know not just how it had shown up, but why. There was no doubt in her mind that it was intended for her.
After a quick glance around the room, she was satisfied she had sufficient privacy. Or at least, it would have to do. She cracked open the book. A small scrap of paper flittered out of it. Her hand shot out and captured it before it could hit the ground.
Her eyes scanned the paper. Instructions for another mission. Her heart started pounding with excitement. She couldn’t wait to do something more substantial—more helpful to the cause. This time, she was doing much more than delivering a simple message.
The only downside was that, this time, she had to smuggle something much bigger than a tiny disc. She eyed the book uncertainly. She hoped she could pull this off. Without getting caught.
18. BEAUTIFICATION
Ever since the Travaes excursion to the Dignitary of the Peace, there was an unspoken understanding between Darren and Sage. They’d shared a raw moment as Sage relived the worst day of her life, and somehow, the genuine sorrow she’d displayed had helped Darren to trust her more. He no longer forcibly kept her at his side, though she now often found herself reaching for his hand as a source of comfort anyway.
On this day, however, Sage needed to be extra careful. She was carrying the old, blank journal from the Archives, stuffed inside a jacket that was just a bit too warm for the season. Her hands stayed inside her jacket pockets, her knuckles turning white as she firmly gripped the book’s spine for safekeeping.
The instructions Mr. Walsh left with the book hadn’t said anything about rescuing Lita. In fact, Sage was becoming frustrated by what she perceived as a lack of concern about her friend’s well-being. Given his silence on the matter and the amount of time that had passed since Lita’d been taken, Sage had all but resigned herself to the fact that the plan had most likely been called off.
Of course, none of that mattered to her peers. They were blissfully ignorant of what was really happening in Eprah. Sage trudged along with the group of students in her Interest Society as they streamed under an awning with beautiful, scripted letters above it. The Office of City Beautification.
Reluctantly, Sage admitted to herself that the building was quite beautiful, despite the irony of its function. Beautification cleaned up the bodies of those deemed unworthy to continue serving Eprah. A chill ran down Sage’s spine.