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  “Can I trust you three?” Jefferson said with a wink as he waved them towards the secret room.

  “Can we trust you?” Emery said with wide eyes and a nervous laugh.

  “Let’s find out.” Jefferson laughed as he stepped down the stairs. River was the first to make his way down the stairs with Sage and Emery following close behind. As they made their way down a light came on and revealed a massive basement. Sage looked around and realized that the basement was set up like a training facility.

  There were punching bags hanging from the ceiling and mats on the ground, likely for hand-to-hand combat training. The entire back wall was lined with every type of weapon imaginable. Jefferson stood near a metal door that he had opened to reveal a closet of gear that looked like it was from The Sickening. Chemical respirator masks, bulletproof vests and full body armor were among the clothes as Sage realized what the room was for.

  “What is this place?” Emery said as she looked around in disbelief.

  “It’s a training facility for your revolt. Isn’t it?” Sage said as she made eye contact with Jefferson who was nodding and smiling with a twinkle of hope gleaming in his eyes.

  “River, your father and I built this place before he had children. It was where we planned to bring our recruits and train them in combat. Unfortunately we never made it that far. Feel free to look around and test anything. I’m going to take care of that mess upstairs,” Jefferson said as he made his way back up the stairs to dispose of the body that was lying in the hallway.

  “Um is nobody going to acknowledge how completely insane all this is?” said Emery as she picked up a rather aggressive looking gun.

  “That man just killed someone and has a secret bunker and arsenal in his basement!” she said as she threw her arms into the air, trying to gesture to the insanity of it all.

  ”Em, this might be the only way we can get our sisters back. Don’t you want that?” Sage said hoping to change Emery’s mind and calm her down a bit.

  “Of course, I want them back. But this…this isn’t normal, this is crazy and now we are officially a part of a murder cover up. If the council didn’t know we were Awake they sure do now!” Emery said as she sat down on a pile of large floor mats.

  “Guys, I think you need to see this,” River said from across the room where the closet full of combat gear was. As Sage and Emery got closer Sage could see that River had a full uniform pulled out and stitched across the left breast pocket as well as written on the helmet was H. Mason.

  “Oh, my God. River is that…” Emery said as she realized that the gear clearly belonged to River’s dad.

  “This was his. He planned to be a part of something so much bigger. When I was a kid he told me about this house. He said it was a safe house to use as a short cut. I wonder if he meant it was an actual safe house,” River said as he held the gear up to his own body.

  “You should try it on. It looks about your size,” Emery said as she went to look through the closet for herself.

  Sage watched as River ran his fingers over the letters of his dad’s name and felt a pang of sorrow that he never really knew his dad. He looked up at Sage, and she saw the dark icy blue in his eyes telling her that he was irate and ready to fight, but there was also a flicker of hope for the future.

  In the back of the closet was a small bulletproof vest along with black pants with far too many pockets that looked to be Sage’s size and a black shirt. Once they had found their gear the three of them headed towards the artillery wall to look at the weapons.

  “Um, you guys are aware that none of us have any type of combat training, right?” Emery said while she was inspecting a set of knives.

  “Well, that’s where I come in!” Jefferson said as he made his way back down into the basement wiping his hands with a towel. Sage couldn’t help but stare at the blood on the towel it wasn’t much but it still made her feel a bit queasy.

  “You’re going to teach us how to fight, like with guns, and knives?” Emery asked with a bit of disbelief in her voice.

  “Do you even know how to fight?” River asked while turning an arrowhead shaped knife in his hand.

  “Let me see that,” Jefferson said, putting out his hand taking the knife from River.

  “You see this is not your typical combat knife. This is a throwing knife. Perfectly balanced to make your aim as true as possible. However if you don’t know how to throw it, your blade will never stick.” With a flash of movement he turned and whipped the knife at a wooden target roughly fifteen feet away sinking it deep into the wooden man’s chest.

  “That is how you use a throwing knife. Would anyone like to question my fighting skills now?” Jefferson said with a smirk.

  “Can you show me how to do that?” Sage said surprising even herself that she was so eager to try.

  “Sure.” Jefferson handed Sage the blade and showed her how to stand to balance her weight for better accuracy as well as how to hold the blade with a light touch to improve the release.

  “Now pull your arm back and with as much power as you have, maintain that light grip and whip the blade toward your target.” Sage did as he said and with a slight whistle the blade flew through the air and sunk into the wood just above Jefferson’s knife with a satisfying thud.

  “Well done, little lady,” Jefferson said as he placed his heavy, rough hand on Sage’s shoulder. There was something about him that reminded Sage of a grandfather, and she found comfort in his trustworthy presence. Sage turned around to find both Emery and River wide-eyed and mouths a gape.

  “Well, I think you found your weapon,” River said as he handed Sage the remaining four blades and retrieved the other two from the target board.

  “Those six blades actually go with this leg holster so you can carry them anywhere and nobody will have a clue.” Jefferson tossed her the harness, and Sage fastened it around her upper thigh, sliding the six knives into place.

  “As for this other harness,” Jefferson said as he picked it up and handed it to Sage, and she clipped it around her waist.

  “This is made to hold a set of pistols. Specifically these twin Falcon Pistols.” Jefferson retrieved two small L-shaped guns from the weapons wall. He handed them to Sage and pointed to a set of small circle targets on the wood wall.

  “Now, these are equipped with a sound dampener that essentially makes the gunshot silent. See that small blue button, press that and the dampener will engage. You can also activate the laser sight at the end of the barrel by flipping that little switch,” Jefferson said as he showed Sage how to properly handle the guns.

  “Now line your shots, breath in, and on the exhale pull the triggers.” Sage followed his instructions there was a quiet zip and the bullets flew lodging deep into the wood above the targets.

  “Very good. Now just work on aiming and you should be just fine.” Sage smiled to herself allowing the feeling of empowerment to sink in.

  Growing up she had to pretend to be a weak and controllable and for the first time in her life she felt strong and more like she could actually be herself.

  “Alright who’s next? Ms. Blackwell you keep practicing with the pistols.” Jefferson nodded towards the target wall.

  “I’d like to try this,” River said picking up a menacing looking crossbow.

  “That is a very unique weapon. You see this slides over your hand on locks on your forearm, like this,” Jefferson said while sliding the cuff up River’s arm.

  “This particular crossbow is collapsible so it can be folded down to conceal it under a jacket. It also has an automated reload since the cuff is also the arrow quiver.” He flipped over Rivers arm to reveal the place where the twelve arrows would be strapped underneath.

  “Now, there are only twelve, so make sure your aim is true. They are however equipped with a recovery system so if you press that button with an ‘R’ on it the arrows will return to your cuff,” Jefferson said as he took a few steps back. The arrows were small, only about four inches long bu
t from what Sage could see they were sharp and extremely lethal looking.

  “Try it,” Jefferson encouraged as he opened his palm. River pressed the button and, in seconds, the arrows were neatly secured back in their clips.

  “Okay, so how do I shoot it?” River said, turning to face the targets.

  “To activate the bow, just throw your hand out to the side. The limbs will slide out and lock into place, you should hear a click.” River followed Jefferson’s instructions and the wing like sides of the bow locked into place.

  “Now, line up you shot, and when you feel you’re on target, squeeze the trigger that’s at the base of your palm.” River raised his arm and aimed at the target, there was a sharp whistle sound as the arrow shot out of the bow and buried itself in the middle of the wooden mans forehead.

  “Wow, between the eyes on your first try. Well done!” Jefferson laughed with surprise.

  “You know, that was your fathers weapon of choice. He was pretty good with it, but I think you might be better.” He winked at River and patted him on the back.

  “Now what about you? Got your eye on anything?” Jefferson asked Emery who stood of to the side in shock at the scene before her.

  “Um I guess this is kind of interesting looking,” Emery said as she picked up a five-foot long, thin black staff.

  “You chose a stick?” River said with a laugh.

  “Well, it’s not just a stick. This is a carbon fiber bo-staff that packs a mean punch as is but it also has a second feature,” Jefferson said as he grabbed the weapon and whirled it around hitting River behind the knee and knocking him to the ground in a matter of seconds.

  “What the hell, man?” River said as he sprung back to his feet and dusted off his hands.

  “You see it can be a very powerful weapon when wielded properly. The second feature is activated when you twist the center.” Jefferson twisted the two sections in the middle and in a blink of an eye the two ends of the staff transformed into two, two-foot blades.

  “So, once you have your enemy down its easy to finish the job. This is however going to take some training for you to learn the movements so we will have to work together for a while,” Jefferson said as he turned the staff back to its original state and tossed it towards Emery. She caught it and to Sage she looked comfortable with it.

  Jefferson turned towards the weapons wall and retrieved another crossbow cuff that looked identical to the one on Rivers arm.

  “I forgot to mention yours is also a dual set, one for each arm.” He tossed it to River who caught it and strapped it on his other arm.

  “Well, now that you have all found your chosen artillery. Let’s begin the training,” Jefferson said with a smile. Sage felt a bit of fear in her chest but it was quickly engulfed in excitement that she was going to finally be able to stand up for herself and for her family.

  “Just to be clear, this isn’t the revolution. This is just a rescue mission to get our sisters back. After that, no more warrior, hero stuff,” Emery said, her eyes dead set with Jefferson’s.

  “Of course, but I hope you realize that by breaking your sister’s out of wherever they are being held, you will be starting a war with the council. You will be labeled traitors and enemies of the Frame. So, be sure this is something you want to do before we begin because once we start there is no going back. For today just go home to your families and tell them what is going on. Come back to me tomorrow if you want to go through with it,” Jefferson said with a stern voice that made Sage wonder if she was doing the right thing.

  Of course, she wanted her sister and Andrea back, but she wasn’t sure if she was prepared to start a war. She looked around at her friends and felt cold at the thought of them and her family involved in a war.

  “Thank you, Jefferson. For all that you did today. If it’s okay with you I think we’ll just leave through the back and walk home?” River said while he sat the two cuffs back down in their spots. Sage and Emery followed suit and placed their gear back where it belonged.

  “That’s fine. But just know, your father always knew you three were destined to be something, ‘They will change things,’ he would say when he spoke of you three. Keep the necklace though, it was yours from the start.” Jefferson then turned and headed back up the stairs, Sage, Emery, and River close behind.

  They left the house and walked home. Sage was confused by the day’s events, but she couldn’t help but feel like joining Jefferson and starting the revolution was the right choice.

  “I want to do it,” she said as they were walking through a small patch of trees.

  “Are you crazy? There is no way we can start a war. Sage, we just left a house of some crazy old man that killed someone, and you want to join him?” Emery whirled on Sage despite being several inches shorter than her.

  “Look I know it’s crazy, but I think this is could be good. Do you really want to live the rest of your life like this? And what about Andrea and Eliza? We can’t just sit and wait to see if they are fine, what if they’re not?” Sage said, trying to convince Emery to take her side.

  “Let’s just get home and talk to everyone about it. See what our parents think,” River said clearly not willing to take the side of either girl.

  “Fine,” Sage and Emery said in unison. As they approached the house Sage could see her mom and dad and Harlow Mason on the front porch of their house. Sage half-expected to see council Agents all around but it appeared to be just their parents. She ran towards her parents relieved that they were okay.

  “Where have you been?” her mom said as she gave her a hug.

  “They took Eliza,” Sage said through tears as the relief of seeing her parents allowed the fear to creep back in.

  “We can’t talk about this out here. Everyone, get inside,” Sage’s dad said, and they all went into Sage’s house, locking the door behind them.

  Once inside, Sage, River, and Emery explained what had happened that day. To Sage’s surprise, her parents seemed calm and unfazed by the news. Even when they explained how Jefferson killed the council agent.

  “Why aren’t you guys freaking out?” Emery said, clearly confused by the lack of emotion at the table.

  “When you three were born, Henry knew you would change this place. He said he could feel it in his bones. I suppose this was what he meant.” Harlow smiled to herself as she spoke about her husband.

  “For now, we need to get some sleep and, tomorrow, we can make a plan.” Harlow added as she stood up from the table where they had all gathered.

  “Perhaps we should all stay together just to be safe,” Sage’s mom suggested. Her mom was always looking out everyone so this didn’t surprise her at all.

  “That’s fine. But as for tomorrow, you will not be going in for work.” Sage’s dad gestured to Sage and her friends with a voice that meant no further discussion.

  After dinner, Sage, Emery, and River all met back in Sage’s room. Sage and Emery shared the bed, and River sat in the chair in the corner of the room.

  “You guys still awake?” River whispered as he sat up in the chair.

  “I am. Emery, you awake?” Sage said as she peaked over her shoulder to see Emery completely asleep.

  “That’s a no.” River laughed.

  “I think I want to go through with the plan,” he said apprehensively as if afraid of Sage’s response.

  “Really, what changed your mind?” Sage asked as she walked over to the chair and sat on the footrest in front of River. He sat forward so they could talk more quietly and not wake Emery.

  “I just keep thinking about my dad and how he was clearly planning to be a part of something bigger. I want to do that, he literally gave his life for us I just feel like it’s time to repay that,” River said, his eyes glassy from the long day.

  “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, we will begin our training with Jefferson, and we will finish what your dad started. Side by side till the end, now let’s make the ending better,” Sage said, feeling hopeful that the
y were doing the right thing.

  “What about Emery?” River said, tilting his head in her direction.

  “I’m in, too. I can’t let you two have all the fun. Plus, they took my sister, too, so I guess I have no choice,” Emery said, startling Sage and River since she had been asleep only moments earlier.

  “What about our parents?” Sage said, thinking about the pressure they would be under if the three of them disappeared.

  “They can come with us. We can all just hide in Jefferson’s secret basement,” Emery added as she sat up in bed.

  “We will have to talk to them about it in the morning. For now, we should get some sleep.” Sage stood up to walk back to her bed.

  “It’s nice to have someone on your side, even if it is a bit insane.” Sage was surprised by River’s sincerity. He wasn’t a very affectionate person, even though he was kind and would do anything for anyone. Sage smiled and laid back on her pillow

  “Don’t thank me yet, we still have to get through tomorrow,” she said as the weight from the day finally became too much to bear, and she fell deeply asleep.

  Chapter 4

  The alarm clock on Sage’s nightstand read 2:48AM when Sage rolled over and made her way downstairs to get a drink. She looked around her house in the dim light, feeling hollow and nervous as she thought about what was to come in the next few hours. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and knew before she even saw her that it was her mom.

  “You couldn’t sleep, either?” her mom said as she made herself some tea.

  “I just can’t stop thinking about all that has happened,” Sage said as she thought about the look in her sister’s eyes as she was being taken away in the van.

  “Do you think we actually have a chance of getting Eliza and Andrea out? I mean we don’t even know where they are keeping them. Not to mention the guards have probably been told to keep us out of the Core.” Sage sighed as she allowed the doubt to swallow her.

  “I think that together we are stronger than anyone could expect and that you need to remember that. We will find Eliza and Andrea, and we will get them out.” Sage’s mom said as she brushed the stray hairs off Sage’s face.