yet. She thinks we’ll both be dead from The Kiss within five years so why bother? I’m not discouraged though. I’ll wear her down.”
“One of your many talents.” I take his hand in mine. “I’m really happy for you.”
He stares at me for a few seconds before saying, “I’m so glad I got to see you.”
“Me too.” I smile and stand, mindful of my injured side. “I better go find Stella.”
“She might still be talking to Jerry. Try his office first.”
I head to the door but stop when Tank calls my name. I turn around.
“Colt talks about you sometimes when he’s not brooding. He even has a picture of you he keeps on him.”
“Where did he get that from?”
“Some security footage we lifted from that time we rescued Max at the Oscar Johnson Pavilion.”
I don’t mean to, but I smile. The thought of Colt thinking of me blooms butterflies in my stomach.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
I nod.
His voice softens. “Sage, you know it can’t work though, right? It would go against everything we’re working toward – protecting the DNA integrity of Originals. You and the other Originals are our future. No matter what he feels for you, Colt would never jeopardize that.”
The butterflies inside me wilt. “I am responsible for my own future. No one else.”
“And Colt is responsible for his.”
We stare at each other in stony silence until I sigh and say, “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Out in the hall, I can’t help but feel defeated, but that defeat quickly turns to resolve. No matter how much good Colt may be doing on the outside, people still feel like they can’t live their lives according to their own desires. And that wasn’t about to change unless a cure was found and they felt whole again.
The mantra repeats again in my head, but it changes. I will get off this island, then I will find my father. There has to be a cure.
6
S tella isn’t in Jerry’s office. It’s completely empty. I turn back the way I came and head to my room, the one place I can usually find her.
I greet several people in the hall on their way to group exercise. I usually don’t miss it, but I have a good excuse today. I touch the wound on my side gingerly and wince.
Through the crowds, I search for Max but don’t see him. I’ll have to find him at dinnertime to smooth things over and try to explain to him why I need to get off the island so badly. It's definitely not to hurt him. That's the last thing I would ever want.
Stella’s sitting on her bed staring at the wall across from her. She often does this, as if she doesn't have a care in the world or a thought in her head. It unnerves the others, but around me she seems to have a spark of emotion
“How are you doing?” I ask and sit on a bed across from her.
Her dark brown eyes meet mine. They harbor something I’ve seen in my own reflection—worry.
“The past is never really in the past, is it?” she asks.
I think about this. “The past is what shapes us as people, so I don’t think we ever quite leave it behind. It’s a part of us.”
She nods in understanding, her curly gray hair falling to the sides of her dark face. “You know him. The man who fell,” she states.
“Tank? Sure, I know him, but how did you guess?”
“I was in Jerry’s office when you came in.”
“You were? I didn’t even notice.”
She chuckles. “That’s how I managed to survive in Enfield after I was captured. I became as insignificant as a dust mite, quiet yet drifting just beyond boundaries. I seemed unaware of my surroundings, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. No one saw me. No one cared. But it took me thirty years to perfect this role until one day a careless guard didn’t see me slip out the door from our camp. And then another who was fooling with some kind of digital game missed me too. It was a perfect day.”
My heart feels heavy when I think of all she must’ve endured. “I can’t imagine what Enfield
“One of your many talents.” I take his hand in mine. “I’m really happy for you.”
He stares at me for a few seconds before saying, “I’m so glad I got to see you.”
“Me too.” I smile and stand, mindful of my injured side. “I better go find Stella.”
“She might still be talking to Jerry. Try his office first.”
I head to the door but stop when Tank calls my name. I turn around.
“Colt talks about you sometimes when he’s not brooding. He even has a picture of you he keeps on him.”
“Where did he get that from?”
“Some security footage we lifted from that time we rescued Max at the Oscar Johnson Pavilion.”
I don’t mean to, but I smile. The thought of Colt thinking of me blooms butterflies in my stomach.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
I nod.
His voice softens. “Sage, you know it can’t work though, right? It would go against everything we’re working toward – protecting the DNA integrity of Originals. You and the other Originals are our future. No matter what he feels for you, Colt would never jeopardize that.”
The butterflies inside me wilt. “I am responsible for my own future. No one else.”
“And Colt is responsible for his.”
We stare at each other in stony silence until I sigh and say, “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Out in the hall, I can’t help but feel defeated, but that defeat quickly turns to resolve. No matter how much good Colt may be doing on the outside, people still feel like they can’t live their lives according to their own desires. And that wasn’t about to change unless a cure was found and they felt whole again.
The mantra repeats again in my head, but it changes. I will get off this island, then I will find my father. There has to be a cure.
6
S tella isn’t in Jerry’s office. It’s completely empty. I turn back the way I came and head to my room, the one place I can usually find her.
I greet several people in the hall on their way to group exercise. I usually don’t miss it, but I have a good excuse today. I touch the wound on my side gingerly and wince.
Through the crowds, I search for Max but don’t see him. I’ll have to find him at dinnertime to smooth things over and try to explain to him why I need to get off the island so badly. It's definitely not to hurt him. That's the last thing I would ever want.
Stella’s sitting on her bed staring at the wall across from her. She often does this, as if she doesn't have a care in the world or a thought in her head. It unnerves the others, but around me she seems to have a spark of emotion
“How are you doing?” I ask and sit on a bed across from her.
Her dark brown eyes meet mine. They harbor something I’ve seen in my own reflection—worry.
“The past is never really in the past, is it?” she asks.
I think about this. “The past is what shapes us as people, so I don’t think we ever quite leave it behind. It’s a part of us.”
She nods in understanding, her curly gray hair falling to the sides of her dark face. “You know him. The man who fell,” she states.
“Tank? Sure, I know him, but how did you guess?”
“I was in Jerry’s office when you came in.”
“You were? I didn’t even notice.”
She chuckles. “That’s how I managed to survive in Enfield after I was captured. I became as insignificant as a dust mite, quiet yet drifting just beyond boundaries. I seemed unaware of my surroundings, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. No one saw me. No one cared. But it took me thirty years to perfect this role until one day a careless guard didn’t see me slip out the door from our camp. And then another who was fooling with some kind of digital game missed me too. It was a perfect day.”
My heart feels heavy when I think of all she must’ve endured. “I can’t imagine what Enfield
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