by Dylan Steel
Darren heard the struggle and whirled back around, racing back toward Sage.
Sage was still wriggling in the man’s grasp, but the fight was draining from her limbs rapidly. Every movement required an unusually intense effort, more than she had to exert at the end of a Bokja tournament. Her eyelids were becoming heavy. The journal slipped from her grasp, tumbling to the floor.
She saw Darren about to burst back into the room only to have the door automatically slam shut in his face. Sage let out another muted cry, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes, blurring her vision even more as shadows danced in front of the door that Darren hadn’t made it back through.
Then everything faded to black.
19. THE ROOM
Sage was only aware of blackness. With great effort, she forced her eyes open, blinking slowly. Her surroundings took awhile to come into focus. The room she found herself in was shrouded in darkness. If not for the abundance of shadows all around her, she might not have known there was any light in the room at all.
The thin mattress caved beneath her weight as she swung her legs over the bed. She sat there for a moment, taking in the sight before her.
As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she realized she was in a small, sparsely furnished room—outfitted only with the bed on which she was sitting and a chair. There were two doors in the room, both closed. Probably locked. One door had a crack of dim light streaming in from under it, but the other seemed even less promising.
Her heart sank. Had she been shunned? Or worse, kidnapped by the government? Those were the only options that made any sense. Her surroundings didn’t look that much like the room she’d stayed in during her Cleansings, but maybe the Institution used a different style for shunnings. There was no way for her to know. It wasn’t like there was anyone she could ask about it.
The book. Her eyes widened as she realized it was nowhere in sight. A sharp, stabbing pain gnawed at her stomach. She had no way of knowing what had become of it.
Trembling, she forced herself to stand.
“Hello?” Her throat was dry, and her voice cracked as she addressed the empty air in the room. She swallowed a few times and tried again. “Hello?”
No answer.
She made her way to the door with light under it first. Her heart thumped faster as she tried to open it. Locked. She choked back her disappointment and walked on shaky legs to the other door.
To her surprise, it gave way immediately at the slightest pressure. The door swung open, and she took a step inside the new space. Lights flickered on above her head. She squeezed her eyes shut at the overwhelming brightness.
Blinking in surprise, she glanced around. She was standing in a small private bathroom. Her stomach knotted in fear.
A loud clanging rang out behind her. She whirled around just in time to see the silhouette of a man shutting the door, the one that had been locked moments earlier.
“Lights on,” he said. The room was illuminated at his command.
Sage trembled as she looked at him. This man was wearing a mask. She had no way of knowing if this was even the same man that had attacked her at the Office of City Beautification, but she wasn’t eager to find out—or to be in the same room as him.
For a fraction of a second, she considered retreating back into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. Not that it would do much good. The man had already entered through one locked door—another one wouldn’t stop him. Her heart was pounding wildly.
“Sit.”
Her stomach dropped to the floor at his command.
“Sit,” he repeated, lowering his voice as he motioned to the chair beside the wall.
She forced her lead legs forward, sinking into the chair while eyeing the man mistrustfully. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before either of them spoke.
“Who are you?” Sage’s voice quivered.
The man stood a little straighter. “That’s not your concern.”
“Where am I?” Her breathing was unsteady.
“That doesn’t matter.” He continued staring at her from behind his mask.
She gritted her teeth. “Have I been shunned?”
He snorted and crossed his arms. “No. You’re not at the Institution.”
A mixture of terror and anger washed over her, making her dizzy. She’d traded one cage for another, but now she didn’t even know what cage she was in.
“Well, then, where am I?”
“I told you already. It’s irrelevant.”
She clenched her jaw in an effort to keep her teeth from chattering. From fear or frustration, it was hard to tell. But this conversation was going nowhere. “Are you the man who took me? Are you Lawless?”
He remained silent.
Momentarily emboldened, thinking she had somehow unsettled him, Sage rose to her feet and took a step toward him.
“Sit back down,” he growled menacingly.
She froze. Hesitantly, she returned to her seat. She stared up at the man, eyes pleading.
“Can I leave?”
He shook his head.
Hope was slipping through her fingers. “Why? Why do you have me here?” She looked up at the mysterious stranger with tears in her eyes.
He cleared his throat and looked away. “You’ll find you’ll be most comfortable if you cooperate fully.”
Sage slumped back in the chair, defeated.
“Don’t move.” His command sent chills down Sage’s spine. He took a step toward her, pulling something shiny from his pocket.
She pressed her back against the chair, setting her jaw.
“I’m not going to hurt you unless you make me,” he said, sensing her tension.
She eyed him warily but didn’t run. He approached her cautiously. Crouching in front of her, he gingerly grabbed her wrist, pressing the shiny object to her bracelet. She frowned. It was a scanning egg. She’d seen them used dozens of times, and this wasn’t the first time one had been used on her.
“Good,” he mumbled. “As expected, just a bit dehydrated. We can fix that.”
He straightened. “Stay in your seat. I’ll get you some water.”
As the masked man turned toward the door, a rush of adrenaline shot through Sage. Willing her brain and body to cooperate, she burst from her seat, lunging for the door as it opened.
An intense pressure fell across her ribcage as his arms closed around her. Sage gasped for breath and pounded her fists against any surface of the man’s body that she could find, begging her legs to do the same. She continued fighting even as shadows crept over her peripheral vision. She didn’t know when she’d get another chance to run, and she couldn’t waste the opportunity.
For the briefest moment, she thought she’d been successful. She landed a strong kick to her captor’s leg. The man groaned and loosened his grip on her slightly. But to her dismay, she suddenly felt herself flying through the air.
“Ooof.” Sage felt her body slam against the wall. The chair went flying in the other direction. She gulped for air.
“I told you I would only hurt you if you made me,” he growled irritably from the doorway. “Don’t do that again.”
With those parting words, the door slammed behind him.
Sage raised her head from the ground, chest heaving as she tried desperately to refill her lungs with oxygen. Tears fell from her eyes as she pushed herself up. Standing was difficult. Her whole body was screaming at her, and she knew from experience that the aching would set in soon.
She had no idea what this place was or why she’d been taken, but she knew she had to find a way out.
***
The story continues in The Captive: Sacrisvita Book VI.
Thank you so much for reading this book.
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-Dylan
READ MORE BY DYLAN STEEL
Sacri
svita
THE INSTITUTION: Sacrisvita Book I
THE ARCHIVES: Sacrisvita Book II
THE RELIC: Sacrisvita Book III
THE ESTATE: Sacrisvita Book IV
THE VANISHED: Sacrisvita Book V
THE CAPTIVE: Sacrisvita Book VI
***
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