Chapter Seven

I nearly choked on the strawberry I was chewing on. I had to show around this kid? If Cathleen couldn't handle him I definitely couldn't handle him. I don't think she will be pleased if I stab a knife through his heart his first day here.

I must've been making a stupid face, because Harvey was smirking at me. Through the corner of my eye I could see Alexsandra giving me a pitying glance. I forced myself to straighten and sit in an almost bored position, something I learned from Olwyn. I popped another strawberry into my mouth and nodded my head in greeting. Harvey's smirk just grew wider, and I really wanted to throw an iron fisted punch at his face, see who's smirking then. But then Cathleen turned back toward Harvey who looked at her.

"Well, that's about everything I have to say to you. I have a meeting to get to so I'll leave you with that." Cathleen nodded her head in greeting to everyone at our table then walked out of the dining hall.

Harvey walked over to our table and rested his elbow right in front of my bowl of strawberries, his chin resting on his hand. "So, um, Sage was it? I think you owe me a tour of this fancy new building I now live in."

I pressed my lips together and leaned back in my chair, "I don't think I owe you anything. And also, you get to live here, so don't expect to be treated like the king of the place. Now let's go so I can make it back in time for my boarding relay race."

I stood up and stormed toward the door, Harvey on my tail. I could almost feel the steam rising off of me and the smirk he was shooting in my direction. This was torture. I've known this kid for less than a minute and I am ready to kill him.

"And this is the hallway leading to the rooms. Ask Frank the butler who walks around the place where your room is. Or you can just choose a random one. I don't care." I decided to give him the tour that Alexsandra gave me, adding a few things of my own. I didn't leave much room for Harvey to speak, meaning that it was bearable. "And that's pretty much all that's interesting about this place. Any questions?"

"Uh, just one." Harvey said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall, "Is there any competition?"

"Er, we do occasionally have hoverboarding races, if you're good at it."

Harvey just laughed, "No, I mean do I have any competition?"

"For what?" I asked, folding my arms. I could tell this guy was pulling my leg, but I forced myself to remain patient.

"For you of course." Harvey said, smirking so hard I wanted to scream. I had it coming didn't I? Dang you Cathleen. I thought, pressing my lips together, Why the heck did you make me show this guy around? He's such a moron!

"If you're asking if I have a boyfriend the answer is no. If you're implying that you're gonna try to be with me I only have one reply to that: in your dreams. Now if that's all, I have to go boarding with my friend." With that, I turned on my heel and headed outside where I knew Alexsandra was waiting for me.

"Oh good, you didn't start without me." I said when I arrived at the racing track where everyone was waiting for me.

"Yeah, well we didn't want to start without the obvious winner." Alexsandra said.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I had to go to the bathroom." Dario called, hopping on his board.

"Har har." I said, hopping onto my waiting board, "You wish. Olwyn, you gonna race or what?"

"What." Olwyn asked, looking up from a holograph of hers.

"Are you gonna race with us?"

"No, I mean I choose what. Like, you asked if I was gonna race or what, and I chose what."

"Oh come on." Aiden wined, "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to." Olwyn said matter-of-factly, "Why don't you all just race without me like you usually do?"

"Because Olwyn," Dario said, "We wanna do a relay race this time, and we need you to make the teams even. We have an odd number of people right now."

"If you join, can you be a team captain?" Alexsandra offered, giving her a toothy smile.

"I'm good." Olwyn said, looking back down at her holograph, "Just have someone sit out for the first round then switch."

"No." I said, "No one's gonna wanna sit out! C'mon Olwyn. We need someone to join!"

"I can join." Came a voice from behind me. I whirled around to see a certain purple haired individual standing there with a hoverboard tucked under his arm. He looked like he was fighting the urge to smirk.

"Someone besides him." I said, turning back to Olwyn. She just shrugged lightly, a smile on her face, not looking up from the holograph.

"It's fine, Sage." Alexsandra said, "Harvey can race with us." I glared at her, but she just smiled at me. After a while I snapped and couldn't stand being mad at her.

"Fine!" I yelled exasperated, "Why not let the guy play? He's probably never stepped on a board in his life but who am I to judge?" Alexsandra smiled at me, and I found myself wishing I had something to throw at her.

"Alright." Dario said, floating to the ground next to the starting point, everyone following him. "Since we're the best, me and Sage are gonna be team captains. Standard picking rules apply."

"Sage, Dario." Aiden said, walking in front of us, "I'm thinking of a number between one and twenty-seven."

"Thirteen." I said. Whenever I have to do this I always do the number right in the middle. Better safe than sorry.

"Fourteen." Dario said, smirking slightly. Very typical of him to choose his lucky number. Especially when his lucky number is only one away from the number I picked.

"Dario wins." Aiden said, "The number was twenty-seven."

"Oh come on." I said, "What idiot makes their number the highest possible?"

"Him, obviously." Dario said grinning, "And now I get to choose first. I pick Aiden."

I grumbled at him but then realized the upside to him choosing Aiden. "Fine." I said, "Then I choose Alexsandra." Alexsandra smiled then hopped over to my side, her board following the pull of her bands.

"Then I choose Jace." Dario said.

I froze, realizing what that meant. "Wait, that means that--"

"I get to be on your team." Harvey said, walking over to stand next to Alexsandra and I. I muttered some really angry things under my breath and turned away from him. "Fine." I said, "But if we lose it's your fault."

"Deal." he said, and I could hear the grin in his voice. "Olwyn, will you tell us when to start?"

"Sure whatever." Olwyn muttered, "You ready?"

"Almost." I said, grabbing two sticks from the ground and handing one to Dario. "This is the weird relay rod or whatever it's called."

"Great." he said, turning to his team, "Jace, you go first, Aiden you're next and I'll go last. We'll end strong."

"Well in that case," I said, turning toward my team, "I'll go first, Lex you'll go after that, and then… well you know. We'll start strong just to spite them." Alexsandra nodded and flew over to the other side of the race track where I'd be flying to. Aiden followed her.

"Alright Olwyn, we're ready."

"Go." Olwyn said in a bored voice, still staring at her holograph. Jace was surprised by her un-ceremonial start, but I was expecting it. I zoomed toward Alexsandra who was jumping up and down on her board.

"Wooo yeah, go Sage!" I laughed at her enthusiasm, and swerved downward to avoid a low hanging tree branch.

"You suck! You can't do this!" I heard Aiden call wrinkling his nose with amusement. That's one way to do it. Don't cheer for your teammate, just boo the other team. Noted for when it's Harvey's turn. I thought, smirking.

"Just a little bit more c'mon!" I zoomed forward and let go of the stick, hearing the hum of Alexsandra's hoverboard rushing towards Harvey. I landed on the ground, watching as Jace rushed forward and handed Aiden the stick. We were in the lead.

"C'mon Lex! You got this!" I cried, as Aiden zoomed after her. Aiden was pretty dang good, but I knew Alexsandra could beat him. It was Harvey that I worried about. I didn't create enough of a head start to afford an awful teammate.

Alexsandra laughed and looked over her shoulder, catching Aiden's eye. "Alex!" He called, look where you're going if you wanna win!"

Smack!

Alexsandra forgot to duck under the low hanging branch and it smacked her in the back of her head instead. She would've tumbled to the ground, but her hoverbands reacted to the sudden motion and stuck to her board. She flailed her legs around as she slowed down, trying to pull herself back onto her board. Aiden laughed as he passed her, quickly speeding towards Dario.

"C'mon Lex! You have to get back on! I need you!"

By swinging it to the side, Alexsandra managed to get one leg onto the board and pulled herself up. She didn't drop the stick either, though I have no idea how. She sped forward and dropped the stick in Harvey's hands, but Dario was already zooming towards the finish line.

Well, there goes my dignity. I thought, already imagining the triumphant looks on the boys faces when they win. I can't believe my fate's in Harvey's hands. This stinks!

Those thoughts were rushed out of my head the moment Harvey got going however. He leaned forward so far I thought he was gonna fall off his board. He didn't, instead shooting forward at top speed, faster than I've even seen Dario go. Despite his speed, he dogged around the obstacles with ease.

"He's gaining on Dario." I muttered.

"How is that--" Jace blundered, shaking his head. It was true. Dario was too cocky, taking his time to make sure things looked impressive. Harvey was gaining on him, only ten feet away.

"Dario!" Aiden yelled from behind him, "He's gaining!"

Dario looked over his shoulder, a confused look on his face, to see Harvey quickly closing the gap between them. He sped up, but it was too little too late. Harvey and Dario were neck in neck, going so fast they were a blur. It was almost scary, watching the determined looks on their faces, racing top speed in my direction. It was too close to call; I had no idea who was gonna win. Then, just about two feet from the finish line, Harvey jumped, soaring off his board and over the finish line, winning him the game.

"OHHHHHHH!" I screamed, as Harvey hit the ground next to me, "We have our winner!"

"How the--" Aiden sputtered, hovering over and landing next to Dario, "The newbie beat Dario?! I can't even beat Dario!"

"Wow Harvey." Alexsandra said, landing next to me, "I didn't know that you can hoverboard. How could your family afford it?"

"Oh, er…" Harvey said, scratching the back of his head, "I guess they were just uh, very important people and had the money just sitting around."

"Well dang kid." I said, "All that practice must've paid off. And better yet, we won! In your face!" I stuck out my tongue and pointed at Aiden's face.

"Alright, well I have to admit that I didn't see that coming." Aiden said, putting up his hands like he was surrendering, "Well done man. I mean, you probably can't beat me, but good job creaming Dario."

Harvey laughed, "Very likely. I can probably beat all of you!"

"Excuse me?" I demanded, crossing my arms, "I beat you any day! And I'll prove it! How 'bout a free for all race, huh? What do you say?"

"Oh you're on!" Harvey said, summoning his board with his bands.

"Great." I said, "What about you Aiden and Dario-- Hey Dario, where are you going?"

Sure enough, Dario was marching back towards the compound, his board following the pull of his bands. "Not everything's a contest!" he yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Wow." I said, "What's up with him?"

"I'll go check it out." Aiden said, hopping on his board and racing after him, "Just go ahead and start the race without me."

I squinted at the slowly shrinking backs of Dario and Aiden. Was Dario upset about losing? I never took him for the sore loser type. But then again, I've never seen him lose before. "Alright," I said, clapping and turning back towards the other, "then I guess it's just us four." I looked around at the small group of teens. "It's sad Bailey's not here. She's not that good but she still can board."

"Yeah," Alexsandra said, "But this group is fine. Let's race!"

I laughed and hopped back on my board, "Alright. Are you ready to go down Harvey?"

Harvey chuckled and stepped onto his board, "We'll see about that."

"Hey you Dingbat, back up! The champion must enter the building first!"

"Champion? Please."

"Excuse me? I totally beat you in that race, meaning I'm the best!"

"You did not! You cheated!"

Harvey and I had argued about the race for the rest of the day. Even though I had clearly won, he was stuck on the idea that I had cheated. I hadn't, and he knew it!

I crossed my arms and leaned up against the door frame, blocking his entry, "I did not cheat! If anything, you cheated during the relay race!"

"No one ever said that jumping off your board wasn't allowed." Harvey said, smirking slightly.

"Whatever." I said, rolling my eyes, "Either way I--"

"Miss Sage." Came a voice from behind me, making Harvey jump. "Dr. Morsie would like to see you."

"Thank you Frank." I said, not bothering to turn around. Frank still hasn't managed to startle me, although I'm starting to worry that he's taking this too seriously. "Well, I guess I've got to go see Cath--" I coughed, trying to cover up the fact that I almost said her name again, "Sorry, Dr. Morsie. Guess I'll see you later, Loser."

Harvey's eyes turned to little green slits like grass being blown by the wind, "Right, see you."

I faked coughing again for better effect, then turned around and started towards Cathleen's office, feeling his eyes following the whole time. I gotta be more careful. I thought to myself, I have no idea what Cathleen will do if she hears me say her real name, but from what I've heard it won't be good.

"Do you know what I just realized?"

"What?"

"I have no idea what anyone else's power is."

Alexsandra clicked her tongue and tilted her head to the side, the purple paint on her cheek shining in the light. She had decided two weeks ago that we had to try painting, but I procrastinated until she cornered me this morning and demanded we paint.

"Yeah, well we're not really allowed to talk about it."

I furrowed my brows, and tried but failed to paint the blue tail of a dragon, "Why not?"

Alexsandra pressed her lips together, "Well, I guess I don't really know. Dr. Morsie just doesn't like it I guess."

"Huh, strange." I said, dipping my paintbrush into a puddle of white, "Well, um, Dr. Morsie isn't here right now, so could you maybe… tell me what their abilities are?"

Alexsandra's brushed paused mid stroke, but then finished its line with usual precision, "I guess there's no reason not to." She said, "Um, well, Bailey has pyrokinesis."

I laughed, "Yeah, I knew that!"

Alexsandra laughed nervously, "Oh, right. Okay, well Jace can create illusions, as you already know. Um, Olwyn has the ability to turn invisible."

"Woah, really?" I said, looking up from my terrible painting, "That's so cool!"

"Yeah," Alexsandra said, "and Dario can control memory."

I nodded, thinking about that one time when Dario said he'd 'take care of the others.' He must've meant he would erase their memories.

"And those are all the powers so far." Alexsandra said, dabbing some paint on her canvas.

I tapped on a few more finishing touches to my own piece of work, then stepped back to look at it. "Well I'm done." I said, "And it looks... awful."

Alexsandra laughed and walked over to stand next to me. "It's not awful!" She protested, cocking her head to the side, "It's a beautiful peacock!"

I laughed and shook my head, "It's supposed to be a dragon."

"Oh. Well it's a beautiful dragon then."

"Why my dear," I said in my best English accent, "you're too kind! Now you must show me your work of art."

Alexsandra laughed, "Alright, but it's not as good as your peacock-dragon."

I punched her playfully, and she laughed as she grabbed her canvas and turned it toward me. It was an elaborate painting of a girl sitting in a field of daisies. "Well dang!" I said, "That's really good! I didn't know you were an artist!"

Alexsandra cleared her throat, "I'm really not an artist. I just… create art occasionally."

"Well you're really dang good at it so--"

"Miss Sage." Suddenly I felt something hot breath on my neck. Frank was standing directly behind me, his oily voice sending a chill down my spine. "Dr. Morsie would like to see you."

"Alright." I said, taking a step away from Frank, "I'll be right there. Thank you Frank." Frank scowled and walked out of the room. "Well," I said, turning back toward Alexsandra, "I guess I need to go."

"Isn't your usual training time three?"

"Yeah." I said, "I have no idea why she wants me. Maybe she's just 'excited' again."

"Hm." Alexsandra said, "That's really weird."

"Yeah." I replied, starting for the door, "But either way, I gotta hurry because Dr. Morsie will kill me if I'm late."

"Right, bye." Alexsandra said.

"See you later." I called, opening the door.

"And Sage!" Alexsandra called, "Just uh… just be careful kay?"

I crinkled my nose at her and turned around, walking backwards, "Whatever you say Boss." And with that, I turned back around and started walking to Cathleen's office. The closer I got there the more I started to worry about what Alexsandra said. Why would I have to be careful? I was just going to early training. When I got there I knocked and the door opened right away as usual.

"Ah Sage." Cathleen said, "Come in, come in."

I walked in the room, the door closing behind me, and the feeling of being trapped overwhelmed me.

"I'm glad to see that you've awakened!" Cathleen said, her strong hands intertwined and set on her desk. "Now that you've got your power we can start training you on how to use it! But that's not why I've called you here. Sit down please."

Something about this lady really freaked me out. I didn't want to sit down, that made it harder for a fast escape, but I forced my legs to carry me over to the chair and sit down.

"Good." Cathleen said, a small smile playing around her face, "Now, as I'm sure you've heard, young Alexsandra still hasn't gotten past her testing simulation. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but she's been here for nearly two years now, and that's far too long for her to still be here."

Suddenly my vision sharpened, all of Cathleen's unhuman features coming into laser focus. Her cold grey eyes, the muscles showing through the very expensive looking blouse she was wearing, the sharp cheekbones protruding from her face. "I--I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well you see Sage," Cathleen said as if she were explaining what two plus two is to a three year old, "Once a special completes their training, they get sent to a secret compound where they get to… complete some given tasks. That's why there are so few specials here.

"Now, Alexsandra has been here for the longest time on record, and she still hasn't even completed her simulation section. This can cause problems in the long run. Understand?"

I blinked up at her, my mind still processing what she just said. 'This can cause problems in the long run.' I nodded slowly, the sound of my heart thumping in my ears. What was she gonna do about it?

"Now," Cathleen said, leaning back on her chair, "We must do something about this. I've been pondering this, and I came to the conclusion just last night. I'll have you do it to test your loyalty." Cathleen paused as if expecting me to say something, but when I stayed silent she continued, "Your task is simple, you need to go up to Alexsandra and tell her that she has stayed here too long. She must leave immediately or be executed."

I paused, feeling slightly light headed, "Wh-where would she go?"

Cathleen pressed her lips together, "In the streets to find a living I guess."

"Buh-but what if no one takes her in? What if she can't find food or shelter or a job? The compound's in the middle of nowhere, she can't just walk to civilization. She could die!"

Cathleen stood up and began slowly pacing around the room, "Sage, this may be hard for you to comprehend now at such a young age, but that is the hope. Alexsandra knows too much, and it could be dangerous if we just send her out for adoption. The best way to dispose of her is by telling her that we're giving her a chance to live, and let her die slowly on her own."

The room was spinning, and suddenly I felt sick. This is a dream. I thought, grabbing Cathleen's desk for extra support, I'm just having a nightmare and soon I'll wake up and it'll be all over. But that didn't happen. I even tried pinching my leg, but I remained firmly planted in the chair. My heart was racing so fast it felt like it was going to pound its way out of my chest.

"I understand you might be in shock," Cathleen said, grabbing a picture of the wall and admiring it for a second, "But I need your answer now." She hung the picture back on the wall and turned to face me, "Will you do it?"

I forced my lungs to capture air, my mind racing. Don't betray Alexsandra. One half of me said. Don't betray Dr. Morsie. The other half of me argued. It was a war raging inside my head. Alexsandra, the only person who truly understands me and my only friend, or Cathleen Morise, the person who saved me from foster care and Mr. Hoolay, and gave me this amazing power. I can't sentence my own friend to death! But then again, if I don't do it Cathleen will just kick both me and Alexsandra out. Alex wouldn't want that. But I can protect her out there! But what if I can't? I'm not that good at shapeshifting yet, and I have no idea about how to live out in the wild! Alex wouldn't want me to die for her, and it would be useless to say no anyway….

I cleared my throat, though it was sore and raw, "Alright." I said, "I'll do it."

I walked down the deserted hall, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the halls just like the thoughts in my head. Repeating. I said yes, meaning I had to get rid of Alexsandra, my only friend. I had to tell her she had failed and that she had to go to her death. If I didn't, who knows what Cathleen would do to me.

Then way too soon, I was standing in the art room.

"Sage!" Alexsandra said, looking up from her painting, a smudge of paint still on her cheek, "You're back! What did Dr. Morsie want?"

I cleared my throat, my heart racing, "Oh," I said, my lungs struggling to keep in air, "She uh, just wanted to… to give me a little bit of er, background information and…" My throat was burning and I couldn't look Alexsandra in the eye. "She er…. Wanted to congratulate me on doing good in my training."

Alexsandra looked relieved, "Good! I knew you were doing good on your training! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

There's a lot of things I'm not telling you. I thought glumly, "Oh, I just…. Didn't think it relevant."

Alexsandra punched me on the arm, "Of course it's relevant, Silly. Your success is always relevant."

I cringed at her kindness. She was complimenting me on my successes whereas I agreed to sentence her to death. I'm such an awful friend. I thought.

"Anyway," Alex said, wiping off her hands and setting down her paintbrush, "Wanna see what the boys are doing?"

"Uh, sure why not?" I said, grateful for a distraction of any kind, "Let's go."

"Great." Alexsandra said. She grinned at me as she walked past, heading for the doorway.

I paused, unmoving. Guilt was building in my gut, threatening to strangle me. "Er, Alex?" I said, trying to keep my voice steady. My mind was flooded with visions of Alexsandra's disbelief when I told her she had to go. The tears that would trail down her face and the shame in her eyes.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning around and standing in the doorway.

"I… uh…" The same word echoed around my skull in a never ending loop. Traitor. I faked a grin, gesturing to the canvas she was working moments before, "I really like your painting."

Alexsandra grinned, "Thanks." She said.