† Sage †

“Coral!” My voice came out more frantic than I intended as I pressed my palm against the reader that opened the door. Don’t scare her. I had this under control. If I stayed calm, she’d be okay.

Our apartment was dark. The television was off and the computer

screens were blank. Normally, I’d enjoy the silence, but now it was causing my pulse to race. She should have been home from school already.

“Coral,” I called again, softer this time, as I made my way to her room. The door was open, bed half-made, piles of dirty clothes on the floor, and the holograph posters of bands she loved hanging on the wall were all dimmed to the power saving cycle.

Tears burned behind my eyes as I entered her sacred space.

I’d tried for years to make her life normal and give her everything she was missing. Having two dead parents didn’t exactly give us the best

start. There were a million times I failed. But standing in her room now, the unashamed room of a teenager, I knew that I’d given her as normal a life as I could.

Funny how I could only see that when it was hours from being ripped away.

Taking a deep breath, I clenched my fists at my sides. Think of ice

water. I had to control the emotional spiral before anything stupid happened like blacking out again. It’d been years since I’d lost control like that, the control I’d worked my whole life to maintain as I white knuckled an illusion of normal. That’s how we hide our differences, my father’s voice

was an echo of the past. Don’t give them anything to hurt you with. And this was how I’d kept my sister safe.

The sister who should be home right now.

Don’t panic. I hurried back to the living room to grab my phone

while memories of the past taunted me. My father’s face as he hovered over the bowl of ice water, plunging my hands in again as he repeated the words, “If there’s ever a time when I’m not here and something happens, you run.

Don’t trust science. Don’t trust Ethica. Don’t stop until you are outside the gates.”

I’d been fine with that plan as a naive child, not realizing the only other industrialized cities were more than a thousand miles away and unless I wanted to take my chances in the toxic wastelands, I was resigned to the

Fringes that existed just outside Ethica’s ruling control.

The Fringes were where the outcasts lived–those not civilized enough to live under the luxury of Ethica’s protection. I could survive it if I had to, but it was no place for a teenage girl.

Too bad there wasn’t another choice.

In the morning she’d have a lock on her identity, barring her from air travel and revoking her citizenship. I had to get her out of here before the authorities arrived and carted her ass to the research facilities near the southern gate where I’d never see her again.

I’d die before that happened.

I yanked my phone from my purse and skimmed past the unread texts to tap on my sister’s name while rushing back down the hall. The

phone continued to buzz against my ear as I pulled two suitcases down from the closet. Her voicemail greeting picked up. I kicked the door closed behind me.

“Hey Coral. This is serious. I need you home right now. Call me back like immediately.”

The suitcase fell open as it hit my bed. I was really going to miss my bed.

Unshed tears filled my eyes again as I started shoving clothes into the suitcase. There were so many things we were going to need. I had a camping bag packed with a canvas tent that was already in the back of the car. Perks of being prepared to run at a moment’s notice.

But now that I had a little bit of time, I realized how many things I wasn’t ready to let go. My herb plants on the balcony would have to come with us. They barely got enough sun as it was and I couldn’t just let them die. I wanted my pans that I’d scored from second hand shops. I’d never find trusty ones like them again. There was the cast iron skillet with

ceramic coating that always smelled of onions and the dented ten-gallon aluminum pot…

I glanced down at my suitcase, wondering if they’d fit.

Stop it, Sage. This wasn’t the time to be sentimental. I’d take the pans and my custom kitchen knives.

The skillet and butcher’s blade could double as weapons. I swallowed hard at that thought.

The stories about the Fringes were bad, but I’d visited a few times and come back alive. Sure, the crowd was rough. Why else would Ethica not let them in? But no one attacked me in broad daylight. There were the less desirable establishments that people frequented for entertainment not sanctioned by Ethica law, but we’d steer clear of those and hopefully remain safe.

Still, I wasn’t going out there unprepared.

I raced to the kitchen, checking my phone to see if I’d missed Coral’s call, and sent her a text in case she’d see that first.

Super important. Need you home. NOW.

Shoving the phone in my back pocket, I finished packing the last of my suitcase and emptied a plastic crate to carry to the kitchen. We’d need food, water, and currency. I climbed onto the counter to reach the shelf

above the refrigerator where I’d stored the jar of precious gemstones. Electronic credits were used in Ethica, but the few times I’d visited the Fringes, I’d learned they preferred shiny things you could hold.

Once I had the basics packed, I breathed a little easier. I checked my phone. It’d been twenty minutes and Coral still hadn’t called back.

Frustrated, I tapped her number again.

And straight to voicemail.

This is great.

I’m literally trying to save your life right now, kid.

Cold dread snaked its way up my spine, but I shook my head to dispel it. Dr. Bradley may be a jerk, but he’d kept his word to my father to look out for us. He’d give me until the morning and by that time we’d be long gone.

I lugged the second suitcase to my sister’s room. The phone vibrated in my pocket and I cried out in relief as I pressed the box to my ear. “Coral, I need you here.”

“It’s not Coral you weirdo…”

I pulled the phone back to check the caller ID and cursed under my breath. Bless science. “Meg. What’s up?”

“Okay. We’re getting somewhere. Promise not to hang up.” She rushed out the words. “Listen, I know you’re still upset about Jeremy, but I want to talk to you about it in person. He’s a player and a scumbag. I swear there is nothing between us. You have to believe me.”

Jeremy? I massaged my forehead. Of all the things to think of now, that was furthest from my mind. Who the hell cares about him? My sister was about to be ripped away from her life and cast out like trash, torn from everything she’s ever known. It didn’t matter that this should have been my fate, I needed to protect her.

And she still wasn’t home!

“Sage, are you there?” Meg asked.

“Yeah, I’m here.” I moved to Coral’s bookshelf and ran my fingers over the spines of her favorite stories.

“Okay, you didn’t hang up,” Meg continued, breathless. “So, what do you say? Can we get together sometime?”

“I forgive you.” I pulled the ancient copy of Jane Eyre from the shelf that I’d worked double shifts to pay for as a present for Coral’s thirteenth birthday and walked it over to the suitcase. The holograph photo frames on the nightstand caught my attention.

In front was an image of the three of us taken twelve years ago, right before our father died. He was standing at the base of a tree in the community garden, staring at us instead of the camera with a sad smile on

his lips. My eyes were closed and my brown hair fell forward to cover most of my face as I struggled to hold my sister on my hip.

But Coral?

She was carefree. Her golden hair was blown back in the breeze and she laughed with her whole body while her slender arms were wrapped around my neck. That happy smile continued to the second photo where she was older, covered in paint splatters and holding up the trophy while surrounded by her friends. It’s Thursday. How could I forget?

The bang of the device hitting something hard sounded in my ear and then Meg fumbled as she got it back in her grip. “What did you say?”

“I said I forgive you.” I coughed to clear the emotion from my voice. There’s nothing like having your whole life altered in an instant to make you realize the petty bullshit didn’t matter. “You can have him if you want. We were never right together.”

“Oh, Sage. You know I love you and I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was one drunken, stupid night and it’ll never happen again.” Meg breathed out the words as if a rock had lifted from her chest.

I felt lighter too.

“Can we get together sometime?” She treaded cautiously on the newly built bridge. “I’m having a party next weekend and I’d love if you could cater it. No one makes stuffed mushrooms or those raspberry tarts like you do.”

A smile teased my lips. She still knew how to win me over. I liked cooking for people. It was one of my life’s simple pleasures. I didn’t like lying to her though, but it had to be done. Meg’s father was still on the Council for Purification, even though we hadn’t had an outbreak for years. “Sure. Text me the details tomorrow and I’ll see if I can come. But I have to go find Coral now.”

“Do you need some help?” Meg quipped cheerfully. Just like old times. Betrayal forgotten.

“I’ll be alright. I know where she is.” I left the suitcase open on the bed and took a deep breath, knowing I should really be saying goodbye. “And Meg, he’s not good enough for you anyway.”

*

Neon lights spun on laser beams directed at the darkened arena. The set up was some war-torn landscape straight out of the history books with monster silhouettes peeking around the corners. From my bird’s eye view of the new layout, I could see every twist and turn of the paintball maze.

To keep things fair, the players would enter from the bottom and weren’t allowed in the VIP lounge until the game was over. There was already a group playing and I tried to make out Coral’s body from the other suited participants. The heavy metal music blasting made it difficult to scream out her name.

It wasn’t like she would hear me anyway in the vast arena. But I could feel her down there in her element. Forty minutes blinked on the glowing digital wall timer hanging from the ceiling, counting down until this practice round was over.

I wrung my hands together, staring at the shadows, and then stepped away from the balcony. I’d let her finish the round.

It might be the last time she got to play.

“Hey Sage. I haven’t seen you in a while.” Galen wiped down the bar counter as I approached even though I was the only other patron in the VIP lounge. “Did you come to pick up Coral?”

“I did.” I dug through my purse for my phone.

“She’s a natural born hunter.” Galen stood on his toes to look over the railing that separated the bar and balcony from the arena below. His words made me freeze after the bombshell dropped today and a cold sweat formed on my palms, wondering if he knew. Was this one of the signs I missed?

Galen twisted his greased handlebar mustache as he eyed me curiously. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to answer without crying. The clock on the arena ticked to thirty-eight minutes remaining. I held out my phone for him to scan the credits. “Can I get a double of Laphroaig neat?”

He pulled the bottle from the top shelf. “You know your money is no good in the bar. At this point, you’re my longest paying customer. Coral has had a membership since she was what? Twelve? But you look like you’re having a bad day. Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head. “Not right now. I need a few minutes alone with my thoughts.”

He regarded me with a friendly concern as he placed the glass down on a napkin. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

I settled in the far back booth so I could watch the clock and the entrance door. The scotch helped take the edge off my anxiety as I sipped, scrolling through my phone in a crash course study of everything mutant.

Most of it was the same old stuff we’d been taught in schools. The science experiment that had leaked into the general public and the interbreeding that followed which nearly wiped out the human population. Bio-cleansing the bloodlines by destroying anyone with tainted DNA. The nuclear detonation of infested hives leaving most of the world uninhabitable and the power of science-based cities that protected the humans left.

Just your typical dystopian based science-fiction past. Nothing new to read here.

But the information on mutants themselves was seriously lacking. Words like “blood-lust” and “werewolves” and “rapid breeding” stood out with no data to back them up. What were we really dealing with here? Was Coral going to turn into an actual beast?

I glanced up at the clock again. Twenty-three minutes remaining.

With another sip of scotch, I rummaged through my bag for the manilla envelope that had slipped to the bottom. Now was as good a time as any to see whatever words my father had left. In truth, I didn’t want to read it. If this was some sort of apology, it was a little too late.

There was a single folded piece of paper and I held it in my hands, thinking that a last will and testament should probably have more meat to it. But I wasn’t expecting much. My father had never been the sentimental type.

Melinda Cerberus Cerberus Clan

40.4163 N, 120.6530 W

That was it. Three nonsense lines scribbled in his atrocious handwriting. I crumpled the paper and swallowed back a wordless scream.

He wasn’t going to give me anything I could use. I had my memories and

the lessons he’d taught. Anything else of value went to the incinerator with him.

Get it together, Sage. I inhaled deeply and smoothed out the paper, reading it again. If this was some kind of hidden message then it had something to do with Melinda. That was important. Melinda was Coral’s mother. So, the Cerberus Clan… Might be some kind of mutant pack?

I stared at the number combination trying to figure out if it was a type of code until it dawned on me that I was looking at coordinates of some type. Since I had no freaking clue how to interpret them, I pulled up the search engine on my phone and in two minutes had a general idea on what

latitude and longitude meant.

And a location.

Like you thought. Useless. I folded the paper back into the envelope, shaking my head. The coordinates pointed to a destination so far out in the toxic wastelands that we’d die before we even got there. At least the

Fringes were under Ethica’s extended climate and border controls. It may not be the safest life, but we’d still be alive to, you know, live it. Thanks for nothing, Dad.

Ten minutes left on the clock.

The rest of the scotch went down my throat in a single gulp and I carried the glass back to the bar, nodding to Galen. “Thanks for this.”

He immediately whisked it away. No blemishes. No imperfections in sight. Such was the way of Ethica. The pure. The cleansed. The absolute bullshit.

“The big tournament is on Saturday,” Galen called after me as I reached the stairs that led down to the service entrance and locker rooms. “Most of us have bets on Coral. Are you coming to watch the games?”

“That was the plan.” I smiled over my shoulder, wondering if he could hear the finality in that statement. I’d miss him and his eccentric mustache too.

Galen tipped an imaginary hat as he went to wash the glass, wiping my last imprints on this place away.