Captive Shadows-Part Four

Chapter Seven



Saige thrashed and fought with her dreams, trying desperately to get away. Someone was calling her name, over and over again, her mind distorted it into a nightmarish voice that made her skin crawl and she fought all the harder.

Mr X stood above her immobile body, jamming needles in her body and making sick dissections on her face and stomach. She screamed at the pain, the blood and gore in her minds eye.

He laughed as he did it, blood sprayed his face and he relished in it. Then Saige’s mother appeared, she stilled at the sight of her appearance. But she took up a knife and began stabbing Saige too.

Then Saige was running across the warehouse floors, dodging holes forming in the ground and people with the shadow covered eyes calling for their master. She stumbled over her own feet and watched her friends fall to their screaming deaths. The Haitian boy began smashing her head with concrete slabs, then the headless Sudanese boy began tearing at her clothes.

She tried to scream but her mouth opened in wordless terror. Then she was falling, and falling, down the dense dark hole in the ground. Saige fell to her feet in the ‘experiment room’. She felt a knife in her hand, she watched as Khan was struggling against his restraints. He watched Saige with pleading eyes as she stabbed him, over and over again.

“Saige..” he whispered, his eyes intense with something she couldn’t read.

“Saige! Saige! Saige!” he called louder.

Then she was flying up and up into a beautiful white light.



Saige woke with a startled scream and she snapped her eyes open, regretting it as soon as the sun hit them. Her body was shaking in convulsive fits and her throat felt raw.

“Saige” Khan’s voice sounded again and Saige wasn’t sure if she was really awake or not.

With effort Saige opened her eyes again, squinting at the glare of the bright daylight. Khan watched her with concern all over his face...

Wait, sunshine!

Saige leapt to my feet with agility that stunned her. She wasn’t in the warehouse anymore, she was... she was in an amazingly beautiful meadow.

The ground of the meadow was vast, laid out in a circular land. The ground was soft beneath her feet, a lush carpet of green grass, sprouting with wildflowers of different colours. There were trees surrounding the outer perimeter, tall and short, full in bloom with flowers and leaves and some fruit. Bushes of roses and other flora were close by.

Saige couldn’t believe her eyes, she was almost convinced she was outside and free of the hell she had been placed in.

Almost.

Then she saw after a closer observation that it may have been a meadow, but it was a very artificial one. There was no sun, looking up, Saige saw the roof was like hundreds of television screens placed together, displaying a clear blue sky, rolling clouds and a sun.

The greenery and rest was real enough, but the absence of life was proof that it wasn’t real. There was no expected chirps of birds or buzzing of insects. There was no crowds of happy children or strolling people.

Mostly out of place was the flashing red lights of cameras and intercoms, some surprisingly implanted into the trees.

She was in fact, still in hell.

“Hey” Khan approached slowly, as if afraid to startle her. He laid a gentle hand on the small of her back, “Are you okay?”

Saige wasn’t okay, she was far from it.

After her memories and dreams, she felt like all hope was lost. She felt lost. The sorrow of her mother hit her the hardest, as she expected, the loss of her was like loosing half of herself.

She lied, “Yeah... I’m fine” she walked away from his hand and laid her back against a tall tree. “What is this place?”

Khan sighed loudly, remaining where he was. “No idea” he admitted.

“What happened? How did we get here?” Saige urged, wanting to focus on something else and not on the ache in her chest.

Khan ran a hand through his blonde tossled hair before answering, “Those crazy people attacked Terri and all of us. Saying we were working with the sick son of a bitch who took them. I managed to get her and Nikolai got you...”

“I know this” Saige snapped. Khan flinched at her tone and she quickly regretted it, “Sorry”

“You sure your okay?” Khan asked, approached her again.

Saige just shrugged, “Okay as i can be” he studied her for a moment before loosening up a bit. “So what happened after i passed out?”

“Well. Me and Nikolai threw you down one of those holes-”

Saige almost jumped out of her skin, “What!” she demanded, angry at how casually he would say it.

Khan threw his hands up in a warding gesture, “Hey, chill. When we were searching for a way out, we caught a sound of rushing water” Saige calmed down a little as he went on, gesturing almost excitingly with his hands.                                                                                                 

“We figured it had to go somewhere, like when you flush a toilet. So it was that, or getting eaten alive by a pack of rapid teenagers. So we all jumped and got flushed out here” he waved his hand around the meadow for emphasis.

Saige then saw what looked to be a small river, with a sort of waterfall. Which must have been there entry point. She was surprised she didn’t hear the rush of water sooner, apart from her breathing, it seemed the only thing audible.

“Where are the others?” Saige’s eyes suddenly widened when she couldn’t see Nikolai, Roza or Terri for that matter. Khan quickly calmed her down, taking her by the shoulders and forcing her attention.

“Their fine. Nikolai and Roza are looking around and Terri is with the others gathering food or whatever they can find”

Saige took a deep breath of relief, shaking her head to clear the panic.

“Sit down” Khan said softly, “Your clearly in a panic still”

Saige didn’t argue, she sat and leant her back against the tree as Khan sat in front of her. He certainly looked cleaner, his hair and skin were dirt ridden. And apart from a few bruises and cuts his face was back to its gorgeous  self. Now that he wasn’t covered in dirt, Saige could see his tattoo’s more clearly. They were beautiful, swirls of colours and creatures, cherry blossoms and Celtic artwork. It made no sense but held a certain appeal, sort of like the owner.

“You know this is how we first met” Khan put in, his trademark smirk on his face. Saige was comforted to see it, but frowned.

“We met in a university. Not in captivation” she replied dryly. This made his chuckle.

“No I mean. You were staring at me in that way”

Saige felt her cheeks heat and looked away quickly. Khan caught hold of her face and forced her to look at him.

“I don’t mind” he added, stroking gently with his fingers against her cheek. She found herself leaning into his hand for comfort. “You wanna talk about what had you so bugged out?”

Saige pulled away from his hand with a shake of her head. Seeing the hurt in his eyes she added, “Sorry, its just... its just kind of personal”

Khan snorted, already forgetting the denial and walked away. Saige lay back more and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before images began flashing behind her lids again, so she opened them again.

Assessing her body, she found that her wounds were better. Not bleeding anymore and beginning to scab, they would leave wicked scars though. Apart from her cuts, her throat was raw from thirst, or screaming, maybe both. Her head seemed clearer, perhaps she had been out of it enough to recover, physically anyway.

Khan returned soon after, Saige stifled a laugh as she saw that he was carrying a bandana full of something on the end of a stick.

It reminded her of the dwarves from Snow White.

“Thought it would make you laugh. Its good to see you smile, kid” Khan said, taking his seat up again.

Saige ignored his jibe ‘kid’ and asked, “What’s in the sack, Dopey?”

He chuckled at her joke and untied the bundle. Saige’s stomach audibly growled at the sight of apples and a weaved leaf basket of water. She raised her eyebrows questionably at the basket.

“Terri” Khan explained, handing an apple to her. “She’s got killer survival skills. Wove a few of these out of leaves”

Saige raised the apple to her mouth, stopping short of a bite. She glanced anxiously at a camera not ten feet away, sick in her stomach at the thought of being watched.

“How do we know this is okay to eat?” she asked, examining the apple for faults. It looked okay, red and yellow with a leaf still growing off the stem.

“We’ve all eaten them don’t worry, we thought the same thing. But in the end, our stomach won over” he took a big bite of his apple for emphasis, pointing at her with it, “Eat”

She took a bite, moaning at the sweetness. It made her jaw ache, but it felt good on her hollow stomach.

They sat like that for awhile, eating in silence. Khan shared the water, which apart from a coppery aftertaste, seemed fine.

Saige was glad that he was okay, thankful beyond words. She was also happy to know that Terri, Nikolai and Roza were all fine too. They had all been periodically close to death, which only made her warm to her friends even more. She was glad she wasn’t alone, being alone was one of her worst fears.

Though her fear wasn’t totally extinguished, she was still being held captive in some sick sort of prison.

At least she was finally getting some sort of respite.

Khan explained as much as he could about what had happened while Saige was rendered unconscious. They had all virtually been too exhausted at first to react to their new surroundings. After some needed rest, they had explored and gathered whatever they could find.

Food varied from dried barks to fruits from the trees. The water they gathered from the stream, after declaring it all okay to eat and drink. Terri, it seemed, had some experience in weaving skills and herbs too. she had made a salve from tree insides and herbs, to help clean and heal their wounds, explaining why Saige’s wounds were feeling so good.

Nikolai and Roza’s eyes seemed to be the sharpest, so they studied the area. They had already come across various doors, doors said to be man made and a lot like something that wouldn’t belong in a meadow, even a fake one. that brought a pang of fear to Saige, confirming her fears that this was in fact not at all over.

They were being shown mercy at the moment, that much was clear. Only no one knew for how long.

Something caught Saige’s attention as she listened to Khan’s explanation. He wasn’t referring only to Nikolai, Roza and Terri. He had been speaking of others.

“Others?” Saige asked wearily.

An image of not only the Haitian boy, but also of the crazed mob flashed through her thoughts. She didn’t think anyone else could be trusted.

“Yes, three others now. Jonathon, Isabella and Ashlyn.” he replied, his expression not showing any sign of weariness.

Saige was the opposite, her guard was up already.

It must have shown in her face or stance because Khan explained, “They followed us down the hole without a backward glance. Believe me, when we noticed three extras down here, we weren’t too nice” he frowned to himself.                                                                                       

“But turns out they were watching us the whole time, all the while planning on joining. They were just as weary about approaching us and it wasn’t until they saw all hell break loose that they made a run for it. Well two of them anyway, i think you’ll be more than shocked to see the third. We all were” 

“Are you so sure about them?” Saige asked slowly, hating how bitter she sounded and how she seemed to be transforming into someone new. Perhaps that was the intention of this place, after all, in the outside world she would be all for new friends. But the thought of being killed with your back turned had her beyond cautious.

Khan considered her for a long time before replying, “I think so. I mean they seem genuine, but, its kinda hard to place your trust now”

Saige nodded her agreement. Glad that Khan had mentioned that during her time out, they had made makeshift weapons, with the help of Nikolai. He apparently had some insight into weapons, which Saige didn’t know to be comforted by, or estranged.

Speak of the devil and the devil will come, she thought as Nikolai and Roza came bursting through the trees.

With Roza in tow, Nikolai smacked away stray follage with a branch. Seeing him clean was like a smack to the face. he was remarkably good looking. With his dark almost black hair swept over his forehead and glimmering gray eyes he was a stud. He had lost his blazer and now wore black slacks and a button up off white shirt.  and Roza was a breath taker, certainly sharing the charisma of her brother. Her torn stockings were gone, seeing her long bare legs made her seem both older and taller. Her blond waves had been tied back, showing her perfect shaped face and high cheek bones.

Saige quickly snapped her mouth shut, realising she must have been gaping at them. it wasn’t hard for her to find a smile, especially when Roza leapt into Saige’s welcoming arms. There was a strange connection they held after their semi conversation. Though now, Roza was talking in rushed Russian, the only words Saige caught were her own name.

Nikolai joined them and placed a hand lovingly on his sisters head, “It is good to see your eyes open” he said warmly in his deep accent.

“Its good to be awake” Saige agreed, prying Roza from her waist. The pout she got in return made her smile.

“Have you found anything?” Khan asked formally.

Saige didn’t begrudge him for reigning on her parade, they couldn’t stay too casual when anything could happen at any time. they all needed to keep their wits about them.

“Nothing new I am afraid” Nikolai reported

Just then Terri came tearing through the meadow at full speed crying out “Saige!”

Saige dug her feet into the earth for balance as she was almost tackled with relief from Terri.

“I was so worried about you!” she squeezed Saige into a tight hug, which she returned if gentler.

“Im glad to see your okay” Saige said, meaning it. the only sign of damage to Terri was a slightly bruised eye and swollen lip

“All of you” she added, smiling to all her companions. She was smiled back to in kind.

“The prodigy awakens” an unfamiliar voice put in.

Saige glanced up from Terri and met the eyes of a lean bodied boy.

Jonathon, she concluded.

He was tall, probably taller than everyone else. He wore cargo shorts and a shirt that had something quite crude on it. He displayed a dopey lopsided grin, with green eyes and brown hair. His accent sounded South African. 

Khan snorted beside her, “Saige Jonathon, Jonathon Saige” he introduced with a flurry of hands.

Jonathon approached her without hesitation and held out a hand, Saige shook it a bit harder than needed, there was something snarky in the boy. Something that wasn’t necasarilly bad, just a trait in boys she avoided. Cockiness.

“You may call me Jona” he declared, leaning heavily on a tree branch.

“Sure, Jonathon” she replied dryly, much to the stares of her companions. Jona only smirked arrogantly.

“Ey, She be awake. Ye gods, it’s bout time”

Saige stared at the robust woman now approaching them. Her heavy Irish accent was shocking, the way she twisted English almost comical.

She was bigger than most of the boys, bar Khan. With a head of frizzy orange hair and a heavily freckled face, she wore simple dull clothing. Track pants and a blue hoodie. She was one of those girls you could have as a friend and never worry about being beat up around.

“Ashlyn’s the name” she shook Saige’s hand very ungracefully.

Saige cleared her throat, “Nice to meet you Ashlyn”

The shocks didn’t end there.

Next and last to join, was the caramel skinned unconscious girl. Isabella. Her dark auburn hair was tied loosely to one side and she smiled sweetly as she plodded her way across the meadow. She wore the same the first time Saige saw her, loose gypsy looking pants and a pink blouse. Her skin was as dark as Saige’s and her eyes were a mixture of green and brown.

There eyes met for a long time, silently sharing some weird sort of connection.

Isabella took up one of Saige’s hands, “I am Isabella, you have my heartfelt thanks Saige. I believe you saved my life” she smiled, showing off dazzling white perfect teeth.

Standing next to her, Saige saw that Isabella was taller and sturdier than her. Making it harder to believe that she had in fact saved her life.

It took a moment for Saige to find her voice again but she thanked her quickly and shared an uncomfortable look with Khan.

She may have saved her, but she had also conspired her almost death.

“How...?” Saige frowned at Isabella, unable to grasp how she was awake, let alone there now.

Isabella gave a soft laugh before answering, “I woke to find an angry mob descending on me, then i saw people jumping down huge holes!” she laughed again and Saige couldn’t help but smile, “Then this big blonde man ran towards me, you wouldn’t believe how startled i was, especially when he wordlessly threw me over his shoulder and jumped too”

Saige looked towards Khan and saw the wistful gaze Isabella shared with him. an unexpected tang of something hit her heart.

She cleared her throat quickly, “Well, I’m glad you made it. Khan has a habit of saving people”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Khan smile proudly, “Damsel’s in distress, my speciality” he said.

Everyone laughed, Saige rolled her eyes.

The day –if it was in fact day, it was impossible to tell- was a blur after all introductions were over. Saige was still wary of the newcomer’s, so she kept her distance but a careful eye on them.

After insisting, Nikolai showed Saige the doors they had discovered. During a small hike through the meadow, she came across them.

It was shocking to see something so starkly out of place against the meadow. Three wide double doors were spaced apart on what appeared to be a cave wall. Even more disturbing was what appeared to be a cage shutter, further out of the way.

Saige didn’t want to think about what it was, or what could come out of it. she shared an anxious look with Nikolai after he voiced his own concerns.

After the exploring, Nikolai suggested they sit for awhile. “You don’t look so good” he said.

Saige couldn’t lie, she may have felt better. But she was quickly exerted, so she agreed.

They sat in between two tall oak trees, sharing a woven basket of stream water.

Saige picked at a leaf that had fallen, not meeting Nikolai’s eyes, “I never thanked you, for saving me, I mean”

Nikolai laughed softly, when Saige looked up he smiled, “I do not expect any gratitude” he replied.

Saige frowned at him, “But you do. Thank you Nikolai, truly”

He stared at her intently in that way that made her nervous, “You are brave, Saige. For you, to thank me, is meaningless”

Saige’s heart gave a hard thump in her chest and she swallowed hard, hoping she wasn’t blushing too much. “We are all brave” she said quickly, trying to switch the attention.

It sort of worked, Nikolai stared distantly, lost in thought, “My sister likes you” he said.

Saige smiled to herself, “I like her too” she said simply. Presuming to pick at a new leaf.

“If you knew her, you would know that her trust is not easy to gain” Saige was startled when Nikolai moved closer to her, his gray eyes boring into hers. His expression grew troubled, Saige felt as though those eyes could see into her soul.                                                                                               

“Roza has a great sense of character, Saige. She saw your strength from the first day we saw you. If not for her seeing you, we would be long ago dead”

Saige thought back to when she first saw her, lying in Nikolai’s lap and staring. The way Roza had studied her had made Saige nervous, but could that look have been what Nikolai was talking about?

She searched for a quick change of subject, “So, um, your from Russia right?”

God, that was lame

Nikolai’s face turned grim and he stared away again. Saige almost felt guilty that she had offended him.

“Yes, Russia” he said through gritted teeth.

Saige looked at him again, concerned by the tone of his voice, “You don’t... like it there?” she asked hesitantly.

Nikolai took a steady breath, “Yes and no. Before this, matters were becoming well. I finally got Roza back...” he trailed off, looking pained.

Saige took his hand lightly in hers, she smiled sadly when he looked up, “You don’t have to talk about it”

Nikolai smiled weakly and shook his head, “Trust is important now. You should know, my past is... troubled” his eyes darkened and Saige had no doubt that he in fact was troubled.

Before she could protest, he started, “My mother was a strong woman, but my father was a arrogant man. He beat my mother until she left, I was glad she left, but Roza... Roza was never the same” he rubbed his eyes hard, “My father was in the extortion business, once he saw the person his daughter had become- distant, unhappy- he threw her into the business”

Saige couldn’t surpress her gasp of disgust.

Poor Roza... and Nikolai.

Nikolai met her eyes for a moment and nodded, “As soon as i found out, i worked my way into the business too. i had to get her back” his face became determined, “I found her in the outskirts of Russia, walking the streets. She barely recognised me, from the drugs they had given her or from the time apart, i didn’t know.

“She protested when i grabbed her, others did too. She was one of favourites, you see. Word travelled fast back to my father, he knew it was me. so when i returned home with my sister, he attacked me”

Nikolai clenched his hands into tight fists, Saige fought the pain, her hand was still in his.

“I...I killed him. I had to. And my sister saw the whole thing. The law did not punish me, saying ‘I did them a favour’ for they had been searching for the leader of a mass extortion ring for years. Little did i know that it was my father behind the whole thing. So it wasn’t long before his friends came after us”

His hand eased up a bit and Saige rubbed the feeling back into hers.

“We were put into a witness protection program, as Dmitri and Renata. It took a long time for Roza to be herself again –though she never truly will be- and she began to trust me again and remember me.

“We had just settled down, Roza was in school again, I was near to College. Then this happened” he gestured to our surroundings and sighed deeply.

Saige sat in a sort of mute shock. but she understood now. the air of possesivness that surrounding Nikolai around Roza only now made so much sense. Her heart ached at the thought of their ordeal, she knew too well how it must have felt for Nikolai, for she felt the same pain beinig away from her mother. Being torn away from life as they were, was something everyone felt there.

“I’m..” Saige took a gentle breath, “I’m so sorry Nikolai”

He merely shrugged, “I would say its okay, if it weren’t for our situation. I wish Roza was not here also, but i fear for that feeling of being away from her again” he admitted, looking the most vulnerable there than Saige had ever seen.

“I understand” Saige whispered, thinking of her mother. “But hey, makes us stronger right” she said, trying to lighten him up.

He nodded and smiled slowly, “Yes, you are example of that much. Perhaps, when we leave this place, we could get to know each other more hmm?”

Saige stared.

Is he asking me out? Now and here?

Nikolai laughed at her silence and her obvious battle of thoughts, “I am sorry. This is far from the place to be saying such a thing”

“Oh, no. No, I’d.. Id like that” Saige stammered, blushing more at her incapable speech.

Nikolai smiled as he helped her to her feet, his hand lingering in hers a moment longer than nessacary. They walked aways in silence, not completely awkward but different.

Saige’s whole percpective had been changed in that one conversation. Though she expected as much from someone like him, thinking it and being told were two completely different things. It made her wonder what everyone else’s stories may be, she made note to find out. Perhaps they all had something in common, to have all been kidnapped.

Though she knew Roza’s story, Saige wanted to talk to her. it would be difficult, seeing Roza barely spoke English.

Which only now puzzled Saige, Nikolai spoke English, quite well actually.

“How is it you know English anyway Nikolai?” she asked curiously as she stepped over a broken branch.

Nikolai smiled distantly, “My mother was English you see. Roza was too young to be taught, then my mother left”

“Oh” Saige replied, it sounded simpler than Saige thought. Her imagination was getting the better of her.

“You are Latin yes?” Nikolai asked after a few more minutes.

Saige nodded, “Saige Ambrosius” she said it with the accent that had long ago disappeared.

Nikolai laughed suddenly, “Fitting. Certainly for you”

But before Saige could ask what he was talking about, Nikolai walked ahead of her and disappeared amongst the shrubs of their fake meadow.