by Sage Sask
“For half a person,” Zoe returns, but gives him a thumbs-up.
In the water, I mimic his movements, watching and waiting patiently for a fish. When one swims by, I miss it by a fraction of a second. The rest of the group drop their packs on dry ground and join us. We laugh as there are more misses than catches, but soon enough we have enough for dinner. We gather the fish and canteens and head back toward camp.
“That wasn’t hard,” Melanie says. She and I linger near the back of the group. “Maybe this test won’t be so difficult after all.”
“Sawyer, watch out!”
Zoe’s scream freezes us in our tracks. Her next scream drives everyone into motion. We surround Sawyer but are seconds too late. A snake, hidden behind a rock, reared its head and, with faultless precision, struck. The snake sinks its fangs into Sawyer’s bare skin right above his ankle.
Hudson brings down the blade of his ax right below the snake’s head, slicing its body in two. Robbed of its life, the snake falls limply to the ground at Sawyer’s feet. Sawyer reaches out for Hudson’s hand as he starts to fall. The venom moves quickly from the site of the bite into his bloodstream.
I drop to my knees next to him. Hudson grips Sawyer’s hand as his body slowly turns white, and his breathing becomes erratic. I have never had the luxury of thinking past the moment. Survival in the orphanage and then at the Circle has refused me the opportunity to imagine a future. Now, I want nothing more than to demand a tomorrow for Sawyer.
Derrick pulls his phone from his back pocket. With a quick glance, we give him the approval he needs.
“We need help!” Derrick shouts into the receiver.
Sawyer’s eyes seal shut, and his head falls limply to the side, as the venom saturates his body with poison.
Zoe holds two fingers against the base of Sawyer’s neck. “His pulse is too slow.”
“They’re not coming.” Melanie stares at the clear sky.
“I’ll suck the venom out,” Derrick decides.
He bends down just as there is a sound similar to a fire crackling, followed by the roar of an engine. In the distance, a capsule flies toward us. It decreases speed as it comes in for a landing a few feet from Sawyer. The door slides open and Damian, a new member, jumps out. He tenses when he sees Sawyer on the ground.
“Let’s get him inside,” Damian says.
Damian and Derrick help Hudson gently lift Sawyer and place him inside. Damian takes the controls, and the doors close automatically. The engines turn, and seconds later the capsule launches off the ground and into the air. It steers a path over the ocean and soon disappears. Sawyer’s pack, the only thing left of him, lies on the ground.
“Do you think he made it?” Melanie asks, a sob breaking up her words.
“Yes,” Derrick says, with a certainty I do not feel. “He made it.”
Derrick is telling us what we need to hear. Like the others, I want to accept his answer. I reach for Sawyer’s pack to take back to Shane. As my fingers curl over the handle, I feel a shadow of death cross over Sawyer. Shivering, I drop the bag.
“Did you see something?” Derrick asks, out of hearing range of the others.
“No,” I lie. I can’t tell Derrick that I may be able to read other readers. No matter what, I can never make the mistake of trusting one of them again. “I just don’t want him to die.”
Derrick smiles, but it’s broken. “He won’t.” He rubs a hand over his eyes to hide his pain. “He can’t.” He picks up the pack I dropped and throws it over his shoulder. Side by side, we follow the others back.
At camp, the others are gathered around a roaring fire. Shane spots us first and shakes his head in disappointment.
“Look who made it back,” Shane announces from his place against a log. Unaware of what happened to his brother, he chastises us. “Took you long enough. We’ve been out gathering.” He points to a pile of berries on a plate of leaves. He pats his stomach, and then smacks his lips. “You better have water. Otherwise, no food for you.”
Jackie, who was leaning against another log, searches our drawn faces. She immediately jumps up. “What’s wrong?” On our silence, she scans the group. Her face tightens when realization dawns. “Where’s Sawyer?”
At the mention of his brother, Shane rushes toward us. “Where’s Sawyer?” All traces of his previous humor are gone. “Where’s my brother?” he yells when we stay silent.
“A snake bit him,” Derrick says gently.
Shane winces at the words. One hand clutches his stomach. His breathing becomes heavy. His shoulders curl down over his chest. He starts to shiver. Derrick grasps his shoulder and squeezes.
“We used a phone call,” Derrick reassures him. “He was still alive when they came for him.”
“Snake bite?” Shane falls to his knees and drops his head into his hands. Everyone gathers around him to offer comfort. “You’re sure he was alive?” he whispers.
“Yes.” Melanie drops down to both knees in front of him. She pulls his hands away from his face and grasps them tightly in hers. Tears roll down her cheeks. “He still had a pulse and was breathing.”
Shane gives her a jerky nod as he stands and grabs his pack. Without a word to anyone, he walks toward the cave and disappears inside it. He stays there for the rest of the night.
FORTY
I sleep on the edge of the cave, settled between those inside and the ones gathered around the fire. Used to the cold from the orphanage, I barely notice the chilly night air. I awake to the sun’s early light. I cover my eyes with my forearm but fail to fall back to sleep. Giving up, I get up and quickly roll my bag and attach it to the outside of my pack. A rustling in the trees grabs my attention. On guard, I step lightly toward the sound until I spot Shane, standing alone, staring into the distance.
“Sorry if I woke you.” His back to me, he continues to stare into the thick of the forest. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“The sun woke me.” I hesitate, unsure whether he wants to be alone. I keep my voice low so as not to wake anyone else. “How are you holding up?”
“When we were five, Sawyer fell and broke his arm,” he says in response.
Shane glances over his shoulder at me before turning back. His face is more serious than I have ever seen him. Still hesitant, I chance standing next to him. Uncertain of what to say or how to offer comfort, I choose silence and wait.
“I was on the other side of the island, but I felt the pain immediately.” He grimaces and rubs the area right below his elbow. “The entire time he was in a cast, I could barely use my arm.”
“I’ve heard of twins having a connection.” At the orphanage, a set of twins came to live with us for a few months. If one cried, so did the other. If one was hungry, the other one was too. It drove Agatha crazy. “What happens to one feels like it’s happening to the other?”
“Yeah.” He breaks off a small branch and tosses it toward the trunk of a tree. He drops his head back and stares at the sky. He swallows deeply, and his throat muscles contract. “All last night I waited for the pain in my leg.” His face falls, full of heartbreak. “For something, anything, which would tell me he was alive.” He covers his face with his hands. “There was nothing. It was like he didn’t exist.”
“Shane.” I blink back tears at his helplessness. Having been there before, I know what it is like to feel out of control, to have no say in the choices. Rejecting my instincts, I reach out to comfort him when he drops his hands and gives me a huge smile.
“This morning the pain slammed into me,” he exclaims. “Like a building dropped on me, and then a truck ran over what was left.” He laughs loudly and happily. His relief is contagious, and I laugh with him. “Man, he must be hurting.” Shane looks as though he’s been gifted a prize.
“Shane,” I scold, albeit mildly. “You played me.”
“Not my problem you’re a pu
shover.” He grins before pushing me playfully. He then grabs my hand and pulls me in for a hug. As his arms tighten around me, I sense the same dark cloud hovering. Frightened, I push the feeling away. “I was so scared all night, but he’s OK.”
“Yeah.” With a few quick bursts of white light, I shut down the pain as I hug him back. We stand in place until Shane releases me to wipe away a tear. “You’ll have to make him pay when we get back,” I tease.
“Oh, definitely.” He rubs his palms together. “I’m already plotting his demise. The options are limitless.” He glances at me. “Do you have any siblings?”
I think about the boy with the ring. The snippets of memories that refuse to tell me more. “None that I can remember.”
“Best thing ever. As long as you maintain the upper hand. Which I have,” he says. “And everyone thinks Sawyer’s the smart one.” He scoffs at the thought. He catches my gaze and nudges my shoulder with his. “Even if you don’t have siblings, you have friends. Here.” We both turn when there are noises from the campsite. “Which you get to keep,” he says seriously. “If you don’t die.”
I laugh, letting him have the last word. But our camaraderie lingers as we walk back to camp. It insists I am one of them. Even if I never can be.
FORTY-ONE
SERAFINA
“Giving her a phone was risky,” Michael says, “without Harrison’s knowledge or agreement.” Inside Serafina’s office, Michael leans back in the visitor’s chair.
“I need her to survive the Evaluation,” Serafina interrupts.
“You’re sure they are going to come for her?” Michael asks.
“They’ve already tried once.” Serafina pushes a button on a remote. A video begins of Blake in the hallway outside Alexia’s room. “He came for her.”
Michael stares at the video. “Is that why Harrison wanted her dead?” Michael wonders aloud. “He knew who she was?”
Serafina turns off the video. “Harrison hasn’t seen the video.” On Michael’s shocked gasp, Serafina sighs deeply. “I had the camera hidden in a lamp in the hallway after the rooms were readied for her. He has no idea the cameras exist.” Serafina knew Harrison would kill Alexia if he suspected she was part of the Resistance. The camera had been meant for Alexia’s protection. “Harrison wants them to come for her so he can kill them. He’s using Alexia.”
Serafina doesn’t reveal that it is also so Harrison can keep his secret. Harrison can’t afford anyone learning that he knowingly killed Ryan’s mother the Night of the Great Escape. The truth would lose him Ryan forever.
“So both of you want Alexia to be part of the Resistance for your own purposes?” Michael sighs. “When did you start to suspect her?”
“From day one,” Serafina says. “Blake coming here means they know she’s here.”
“Why not take her then, if she is one of them? Why would Blake come knowing he would lose his life?” Michael wonders out loud. “They know she can’t access the antidote. There’s no advantage to her staying here.”
The same question has been hammering inside Serafina’s head from the moment Blake arrived on the island. “I don’t know,” Serafina says. “That’s the one piece of the puzzle I can’t put together.” Serafina thinks back to the little information they’ve garnered over the years. “Maybe they heard about her from the zone and needed to confirm she is one of theirs. Desperation drives stupidity.” She thinks back to Blake’s visit. “All I need is for them to come again for her and take her with them.”
“Then you’ll use the tracker you had implanted to follow her to where they’re hiding,” Michael says, understanding the plan. “As a friend, a word of caution?” Michael waits for Serafina’s nod. “Desperation drives stupidity.”
Her eyes flare at having her own words thrown back at her.
He holds up a palm for her calm. “You have been searching for your son for sixteen years. All that time, you have also been plotting your revenge. What if the night Blake came for her, he learned Alexia is not one of theirs?” Michael rewinds the tape to watch it again. The footage only shows Blake entering and leaving Alexia’s room. “What if Alexia has nothing to do with the Resistance and you have put your position at the Circle at risk for no reason? Giving her the phone goes against the rules of the government. Harrison could have you removed from your position for it.”
“I had to take the chance. I worried about my position at the Circle when I forced the readers to continue using the serum. Julia and my husband warned me it was harming them, but I refused to stop.” Serafina thinks about those days in the past when all she could see was her place as the head of the Circle. “I refused to give them the antidote.” The shame of her choices washes over her.
“You were told, like the rest of us, that the serum would enhance the receivers’ capabilities,” Michael says, defending her. “No one knew it would make them lose their memories, create a slew of illnesses inside their bodies.”
Neither mentions that Serafina only allowed the use of the antidote when too many readers had become ill. And Serafina keeps secret that she did know. Long before they administered the first dose of the serum, she knew what it would do to the readers.
“You are a good friend, Michael,” Serafina says quietly. “But I am not without blame.” Lost in her thoughts, she says, “I decided the fates of dozens of people the day I refused them the antidote.” She remembers the night she lost everything. “But Julia stealing my son and keeping him from me all these years…” She pauses to gather her emotions. “I can never forgive that.” Her eyes cold, she says, “With everything in me, I hope Alexia is one of them. And if she is, then nothing can save her.”
FORTY-TWO
The planes arrive after we finish breakfast. We stomp out the final embers from the campfire. The aircraft land a few hundred feet from us in a clearing. They are larger versions of the capsules. On Ryan’s call for attention, everyone immediately falls silent.
“We know from previous stories that the Evaluation is one of the hardest things we will experience. They warned us not everyone would come home.” He stops and takes a second. “But let’s do our best to prove them wrong.” On the round of applause, he glances at Shane and gives him a supportive smile. “We were lucky Derrick was with Sawyer yesterday. Let’s hold on to that luck.”
There are murmurs of agreement, and a few give Shane supportive pats on the back.
“Except we are now down one call,” David announces. Everyone stills in shocked silence. “Derrick used a call meant for our team.”
“You think Derrick shouldn’t have made the call to save Sawyer?” Shane demands. He starts to push forward, but Gavin stops him. “He’s my brother and a friend to everyone here.”
“Friendships don’t matter now,” David argues. “Look, I don’t like being the bad guy, but…”
“You seem pretty good at it,” Samira bites back.
“Only one group can win,” David reminds us. “And that was our phone call.” He shakes his head. There’s a flicker of empathy and sadness, but he immediately masks it. “Shane is my friend, and I’m glad he’s OK. But I was entrusted with my group’s well-being, not anyone else’s.”
“Shocking for you to pit us against one another,” Jackie says, “when you’ve always been such a team player. Wait, I forgot, the only person you give a damn about is you.”
“Maybe it was the team that was the disappointment.” David gives her a pointed glance, his earlier sympathy replaced by antagonism. “You are my team’s weakest link. Defaulted by a coin toss.” He growls at her. “You guarantee our loss by always failing in your duties.”
“Let me reassure you, if my failing means you lose, I’m all in.” She raises an eyebrow. “How’s that for teamwork?”
“David. Jackie. Enough,” Ryan orders. “I’m lead agent. It’s not a request.” Both go silent at his rebuke. Ryan takes out his p
hone and holds it out to Derrick. “Since Sawyer was a member of our team.”
“The phone call was to save a friend.” Derrick rejects the phone. “He is a friend to everyone. If I made the wrong decision, I need to pay the price, not your team.”
David grabs the phone from Ryan’s outstretched hand. “As I said, friendships don’t matter here. Only one team can win. And it’s going to be ours.” He slips the phone into his pocket then grabs his and Victoria’s provisions.
Disappointed, Derrick takes a deep breath and faces our group. “I’m sorry.”
“For saving Sawyer’s life?” Ryan’s disappointed gaze follows Victoria and David before returning to Derrick. “Thank you.”
The rest of us repeat the sentiment. When the pilots indicate that it is nearly time to go, the groups start to split up. Everyone divides into twos and threes to give each other hugs. I stand alone in the distance and watch as they bid each other goodbye.
Jackie and Gavin stare at one another awkwardly until Gavin finally holds out a hand. Jackie slips hers into his. He slowly pulls her closer until they are toe to toe. He says something that makes her laugh. She has the same vulnerable look in her eyes that she had with her father. Her laughter slowly quiets until she falls silent. He cups her cheek and slowly leans in to kiss it. She drops her hand to his waist, and her fingers tighten on his shirt. They stand together, barely holding one another. She says something in his ear, and he nods. His arms wrap around her. When she lays her head on his chest, I turn away from their private moment.
Shane throws Melanie over his shoulder and twirls in circles. She pounds his back with her fists as she screams in laughter. Near them, Adele and Cassia give each other high fives then a hug.
David leads Victoria toward their plane. Ryan, watching silently from a distance, steps toward them. Unable to look away, I watch as he says something quietly to Victoria. David responds and Ryan’s fist curls with frustration. Victoria holds up a hand between them. She says something that makes Ryan’s face fall. He nods and steps back then watches as David helps her into the plane. Once they are inside, Ryan turns away. His gaze finds mine across the expanse and locks on me.
