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  “Are you ready to go?” she asked. “Are you two coming…what’s wrong?” she said realizing that the three of them were clearly upset.

  “The men that came by this morning took Andrea,” Sage replied.

  “What? On what ground?” Eliza asked clearly angered by the news.

  “They didn’t say anything, just that the chancellor requested her presence for questioning. And the worst part was that I had to act as if I wasn’t terrified and just let them take her!” Emery replied through clenched teeth as her anger grew.

  “Don’t worry, Em, we are going to figure this out. Nothing is going to happen to Andrea, I promise. We promise,” River said in his calm level tone.

  He looked around at the group and locked eyes with Sage. She saw the rage that swirled behind his, turning the usual warm teal to an icy dark blue that Sage had only ever seen once before when his father was arrested. A shiver went up Sage’s spine as the reality of what had just happened set in.

  “Come on, everyone in. I have an idea,” Eliza said as she opened the back door of her car. The four of them got in and drove towards the Brim, the edge of the Core where there was a store for uniforms. They pulled into the Brim parking lot and Eliza parked the car.

  “I don’t think retail therapy is what Emery needs,” Sage leaned over to Eliza and whispered.

  “Trust me. This is only part one of my plan,” Eliza said as she rolled her eyes and opened her door.

  “What plan?” Emery said as she adjusted her makeup in the car’s reflection. People in the Frame rarely cried, especially from grief, so she had to ensure there was no evidence before they went into the Brim.

  “Tomorrow is everyone’s first day, and I will be working in the council building. I’m sure I can snoop around and figure out what is going on,” Eliza replied in her matter of fact voice.

  “Well, that sounds great and all but isn’t that going to be a little late. You know? Since mom and dad have to go in tomorrow,” Sage questioned, a bit confused by the plan her sister seemed so confident in.

  “They told mom and dad they had twenty-four hours, and I have orientation before that time is up. If they can hold off until the end of their twenty-four hours then maybe I can get the information I need,” Eliza replied as she made her way to the front door.

  “Okay, so why do we need to go shopping again?” River said, looking around a bit perplexed.

  “Because you needed a distraction and clothes for tomorrow,” Eliza said with a huff, obviously annoyed that nobody understood her methods.

  “I’m in. At this point I just want today to be over,” Emery said as she looked around the store. She wandered over towards the Chemist’s section where there were plenty of women’s dress pants. She was never one to wear a skirt or a dress.

  “What do you wear when you’re going to be trained by the man who got your father killed? All black?” River said as he filed through the men’s rack. Sage knew he was still apprehensive about going to work as a records keeper, so she didn’t say anything. River stopped and turned to face her.

  “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just nervous.” He sighed as he pushed back a single curl that had escaped his neatly brushed hair.

  “Don’t worry. Tomorrow is going to be fine, regardless of what color you wear. But I think you should wear blue. It’s a powerful color,” Sage said handing him a navy-blue button up that matched the blue socks in his hand.

  “I sometimes wonder if the aptitude test results were meant to mock me.” River scoffed as he walked away to try on the shirt.

  Sage thought back to when they were kids and the three of them would race to see who could climb the trees in their back yard the fastest. Of course, Sage and Emery had always lost because River was always so much taller than them.

  She smiled to herself as she continued to look through the clothes. She had found a fitted black dress with embroidered white and blue flowers on the collar in the section labeled ‘Records Keeper.’ Emery had found a burgundy pantsuit that looked perfect for a Chemist. Eliza had a white knee length skirt with a matching blazer that was limited only for those assigned council status.

  As they were making their way back to the car with their new clothes, Eliza put her arm out, stopping Sage, River, and Emery dead in their tracks.

  “Look,” Eliza whispered harshly, pointing towards their car. There were three council Agents, dressed in the same blood red uniform as the men who had come to their door that morning, standing in front of the car.

  “What the hell? Why are they here? And why are they waiting around our car?” Emery asked as they squatted down behind a parked car.

  “I don’t know. Just stay here and don’t move, no matter what. I mean it, Sage,” Eliza said with a raise of her eyebrows as she handed Sage her stuff and stood up to walk towards the car.

  “What, no! Eliza, are you crazy? What are you doing?” Sage said in protest of her sister’s sacrificial actions. She stood to stop her, but River pulled her back behind the car.

  “Stop! Let me go! She’s going to get herself caught, or worse!” Sage said as she tried to pry herself free of River’s grasp on her shoulders. She panicked, and her eyes welled up with fear.

  “Sage, look at me. She knows what she’s doing. Just calm down and let her do this,” Emery said, trying to bring Sage back down from her state of terror. She stopped squirming and peaked back over the car’s hood to see her sister making her way towards the car with the three ominous men standing guard. They were just close enough that Sage could hear their conversation. Eliza approached the car as if there was nothing wrong looking down into her bag, searching for her keys. When she got closer, she looked up and pretended to be startled by their presence.

  “Oh!” she gasped as she stepped closer to the car.

  “Can I help you, gentlemen?” she said in her most calm, and mechanical voice.

  “Are you Eliza Blackwell?” the one standing in front of her door, blocking her from getting in the car, said without moving anything other than his lips.

  “Yes. Who’s asking?” she said with a hint of fear in her voice only Sage could detect.

  “We’re going to have to have you come with us,” the man spoke again, completely ignoring Eliza’s question.

  “I’m afraid I can’t. I have to make it back home to give my sister her dress for work tomorrow. You see it’s her first day, and she wanted to make a good impression.”

  “This is not a request. Get in the vehicle ma’am,” the man standing in front of the vehicle said, cutting Eliza off before she could even finish her sentence. Suddenly, an all-black SUV pulled up behind them and the door opened.

  In a flash, a man jumped out of the back seat and grabbed Eliza, pinning her arms behind her back. Sage panicked and tried to jump up to get to her sister, only to be stopped again by River’s grasp.

  “LET ME GO! THEY ARE GOING TO TAKE HER!” Sage yelled but the ending was quickly stifled by River’s hand across her mouth. She looked behind her just in time to lock eyes with her sister as the door shut and the car drove away leaving Eliza’s car there as if nothing even happened.

  “They took her,” Sage said as she slid to the ground in a heap, and she cried.

  “We’re going to figure this out. I promise,” Emery said as she put her hand on Sage’s shoulder. But Sage barely heard anything as her fear transformed to pure anger inside her. She looked down at the bags Eliza had left behind and noticed the keys to her car were with them.

  “She was planning this,” Sage said as she picked up the keys and wiped the tears from her cheek. She tightly gripped the rose toned crystal keychain that she had given Eliza.

  “She probably just dropped them in the panic,” River said, trying to rationalize what had just occurred.

  “No. I know Eliza. She wouldn’t have done something that reckless, unless she had a plan,“ Sage said, realizing her sister, someone who couldn’t do anything without a full agenda, had been trying to get taken.

&nbs
p; “She wanted to be taken. She wanted us to stay behind because she planned this. We have to find out where they’re taking her. Maybe it will lead us to Andrea,” Sage said as she swapped fear and sorrow for plan and action.

  “Okay, so let’s say we do find out where they took them. Then what?” River said, trying to remain logical in the situation.

  “I don’t know, River, but I can assure you, if there’s a way to get Eliza and Andrea back, I’m going to do whatever it takes.” Sage set her sights on that and devised a plan.

  “Fine, then let’s get started,” River said caving to Sage’s determined mind.

  “You don’t have to help if you don’t want to,” Sage said harshly, annoyed by his lack of faith.

  “Don’t be stupid, Sage. The three of us are together till the end. Remember? But, for now, can we just go home and see what our parents think about this?” River pleaded as he stood up and out stretched a hand for both Sage and Emery.

  The three of them walked towards Eliza’s car and made their way home to figure out a plan and explain to their parents what had just happened. The ride home was gray and fuzzy as Sage stared blankly out the window, trying to understand what had just occurred, and fearing what was going to happen next.

  Chapter 3

  As they were making their way through the City, River broke the silence first.

  “Guys, I think we’re being followed,” he said, looking in his rearview mirror.

  “What? By who?” Sage looked behind her to see an all-black SUV following closely behind, the same type of vehicle that had taken Eliza.

  “What do we do?” Emery said as she looked over her shoulder nervously.

  “Just hold onto something,” River said as he urged the car faster and moved in and out of traffic. Sage watched as their pursuers followed their every move.

  “It’s not working, they’re still on our tail,” Sage said feeling more nervous with each passing second.

  “Hang on, I have an idea,” River said as he took a sharp right turn into a neighborhood. As they made their way deeper into the subdivision, there was a house in the back with a driveway that wrapped around behind it. River quickly pulled into the narrow driveway and behind the house, hiding the car from sight on the main road.

  “Where are we?” Emery asked as she lied down in the back seat.

  “I used to walk through here on my way home from school sometimes as a short cut. I always thought this was a weird driveway,” River replied as Sage unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door handle.

  “What are you doing?” River exclaimed as he locked the car to prevent her from opening the door.

  “I have to see if they left or if they are waiting for us. I’m just going to check and I’ll be right back,” she said as she reached across River to unlock the doors.

  “Are you out of your mind? If they are up there and they see you I’m pretty sure they won’t hesitate to shoot,” Emery said in a harsh whisper.

  “I’ll be quick and quiet. No one will even know I’m there,” Sage said as she opened the door and hunched down to stay behind the car.

  “Oh, my God, she is crazy,” Sage heard Emery say to herself.

  “Maybe, but she’s right. Someone has to check it out,” River said as Sage shut the door. River and Emery were watching nervously as Sage made her way around the car and behind a line of trees that divided the drive way and the house. She was peaking around the tree at the front when she heard two men talking.

  “I haven’t seen anything strange out here but your welcome to check behind the house,” said the first man, clearly the homeowner.

  “Thank you for your cooperation, it shouldn’t take very long,” said the second man.

  “Why don’t you come through the house? It’s a very steep driveway,” replied the homeowner, and Sage ran back to the car.

  “We have to go! They are here and they’re coming back here to look for us,” Sage said as she opened the car door. As soon as she finished her sentence there was a gunshot inside the house.

  Sage jumped and a shiver of fear went down her spine. Before she could react, the back door of the house flew open and the homeowner, an older man, stood there with a gun.

  “Don’t just stand there! Get in here there are more of them on their way now!” said the old man as he waved them into the house.

  “There is no way I am going anywhere near that house!” Emery said in rejection of the invitation. As she said that, the garage door opened, and the old man waved for them to pull the car in.

  “We don’t have any other choices right now, Em!” River said as he turned on the car and started to move towards the garage. The door shut behind them as the three of them got out of the car and started to walk into the house.

  “Watch your step, that got a bit messier than I anticipated,” said the homeowner from somewhere deeper in the house.

  Sage looked around at the blood splattered on the walls and floor, her eyes finally landing on the body of the man who was living only moments earlier. She was stuck in horror when a familiar hand grabbed hers and pulled her back to reality.

  It was River, he had Sage’s hand in one and Emery’s in the other. He tapped on the backs of their hands telling them to stay alert as they made their way deeper into the house.

  “Well, aren’t you going to tell me how you found yourselves in this mess,” said the old man as he opened a can of soda and split it into three cups.

  “Who are you?” River said in a solid and firm voice.

  “The names’ Jefferson Green. You might know my son, Dawson. He’s the head of Records Keeping inside the Core.” Sage suddenly became very aware of the growing grip River had on her hand.

  “You’re the father of the man who ruined my life,” River said with a tone so cold it made Sage shudder.

  “What do you mean?” Jefferson said as he handed the three cups to Sage and her friends.

  “Your son got my father arrested and killed for something that couldn’t even be proven,” River said as he stepped closer to Jefferson who had his back turned and was digging around in the fridge, clearly looking for something. When he realized what River had said he stood up quickly, hitting his head on the fridge.

  ”Wait. You’re Henry Mason’s boy?” he said with a look of surprise and grief, making him appear more unstable than he had before.

  “You knew my father?” River said stopping dead in his tracks.

  “He was one of the only people who I could actually talk to in this dreadful world,” Jefferson said as he took a seat at the table.

  “My son was born MDM, like his mother, but I am ITM, or Awake as the chancellor calls it, and so was Henry. We met many years ago and worked together to develop an anti-frequency that would interrupt the mind control long enough to wake people up and start a revolt,” he said with a bit of apprehension.

  “But your father was caught before we could finish, and ever since then, I’ve lived back here, trying to stay out of the public.” River had taken a seat, clearly shocked by the news.

  “So, you’re telling me that my dad was trying to overthrow the council and didn’t tell anyone?” River said in disbelief.

  “Well, we decided to keep it between us to protect the ones we loved. Simply knowing about this and not reporting it makes you an accomplice, and he didn’t want that for anyone,” Jefferson said as he stood up to retrieve something from his bookshelf.

  He returned with a large steal box that was locked with a key. He pulled a necklace from under his shirt and at the end was a silver key. He opened the box and inside was a heap of papers and photographs. Sage immediately recognized River’s dad in the photos and was shocked by how much River looked like him.

  “River,” Sage whispered when she noticed his hands were shaking as he filed through the photos. Inside the papers was a small key just like the one around Jefferson’s neck. River pulled it out and held it as if it was made of glass.

  “That was your father’s. He cam
e by two days before his hearing and gave it to me. Told me that he was afraid of what was about to happen and to keep it hidden and safe. You should take it,” Jefferson said with a sympathetic smile. Sage watched as River slipped the chain over his head. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently to reassure River that this was a good thing. Rivers eyes welled up a bit, but he blinked back the tears before they could fall.

  “Thank you.” Sage knew it was all River could say, but it was enough.

  “So, are you three going to introduce yourselves and explain how you got into all of this?” Jefferson said after placing the box back on the shelf.

  “I’m River, these are my friends, Sage Blackwell and Emery Richards,” River said indicating to Sage and Emery.

  “Blackwell, huh? I haven’t heard that name in years. You have quite a legacy behind you little lady,” Jefferson said, looking down as if remembering the past.

  “I’ve never heard anything about a legacy of Blackwell’s, but I don’t think my parents know much about our lineage,” Sage replied with a shrug. Since most of the historical records before the war were destroyed or left outside of the Frame, it was not uncommon for people to not know their history.

  “Now, why would the CA be hunting you three? You can’t be any older than eighteen. Not quite old enough to be noticed or watched yet.” Suddenly, the memory of the day’s events came flooding back to Sage’s mind.

  “They took Emery’s sister, Andrea, this morning and my sister, Eliza, just a few hours ago.” Sage felt coldness rise inside her chest at the mention of her sister’s name.

  “Well, I guess we’ll just have to get them back then, won’t we?” Jefferson said as he stood up from the table and walked over to what appeared to be a coat closet. He pushed aside the jackets and behind them was a small door only five feet tall. He punched in a code on the pin pad and the door slid open revealing a staircase that led to a dark room.