2004/02/27
Who would have known that would happen? Sage certainly didn't, but what can you expect from a clueless and ignorant 4-year-old?
It started as a normal day at the Wedgewood Beach Orphanage. Sage accompanied one of the older orphans into town to fetch a few necessities and groceries.
On the way, there was an old but well-kept building, Dié Meel Bakery. The baker was a sweet old woman. She made the best goods, which varied from jams, pickled fruits, cakes, tarts, and bread. Everything was homemade and absolutely divine. Every Saturday, she would send the orphanage two brown bags, each filled with two freshly baked loafs of white bread.
The majority of the orphans played after lunch; it was customary to do so. With the orphanage so close to the ocean, it meant that they had a lot of sand to play with. They would spend hours there. Their imaginations had gone wild, leaving them in their own worlds. The only thing that could bring them back to reality was the headmistress calling them. She would stand on the rocks with one hand on her hip and the other in the air, beckoning the children to return.
The sky turned black quite early where they resided. They got ready for bed in groups; it was mostly sorted by their ages, but Sage being the youngest meant she had to fall in with the older children. When they were all sorted out and in pajamas, they were on their way to the rooms. Well, that was what would normally happen.
Instead, a group of people stormed into the building, yelling things in a foreign language. They had these all-black outfits, each accompanied by a blinding headlight and a firearm.
Sage distinctively remembers standing frozen in place. She didn't comprehend what was happening; it all happened so quickly. The headmistress grabbed her hand and pulled her into the senior hallway, where she came to a halt only to be met with another group and what seemed to be the person in charge. Her hand trembled in Sage's until it went limp and dropped along with her body next to her. Confused at what just happened, Sage looked beside her, only to be met with the headmistress' lifeless face and a perfect hole in her head where a velvet river came seeping out.
She smelled like freshly picked flowers, just like every other day. It was her signature scent, and it would be the last time Sage would smell it. Tears started to form pools in her eyes.
When Sage looked up, she saw through blurred vision that the person, who she assumed was in charge, started to approach her, her heels clacking against the hardwood floor with every step she took. When she was right in front of Sage, she bent down to her level and observed Sage. Initially, Sage attempted to retreat, but she grabbed Sage's shoulders, forcing her to stay where she was. After a few seconds, she turned her head around and said something to the men behind her. One of them started to look for something in their bag, and once again, all of her attention was on Sage.
She swiftly picked Sage up and carried the child on her hip back to the group of men, where one of them stepped forward to put something over her head just as another tied her wrists together with a zip tie.
With one arm carrying her and the other arm resting on her back, she guided Sage's head with her hand to rest on her shoulder. Sage started to sob. She didn't know what was going on, and she was overwhelmed. The woman didn't say a word to Sage; she just carried her.
Not long after, Sage knew that they were outside. The sound of the waves crashing into the rocks was a big hint, as was the strong wind that gave the woman some resistance as they walked outside.
Moments later, Sage was placed on top of some kind of hard platform and was securely strapped into a wall. She was relieved to hear other people's muffled sobs next to her. It brought her some comfort that she wasn't alone, but it wasn't enough to calm her down.
She flinched upon hearing a door being forcefully closed, and it revealed that she was now in a car. The vehicle didn't drive off immediately; it waited for some time until someone opened the door and climbed in. They knocked three times, and with that, the car took off.
She was engulfed in darkness and unable to move her hands, so like any other child in her situation, she cried, thrashed, and yelled, but it was all in vain. Her head started to feel heavy, and not long after, she passed out.
***
Sage woke up when someone was forcefully grabbing her by the shoulders and then pulling her up to her feet. She could hear the others also being forced to stand up as she was being guided out of the vehicle. The others soon followed suit. They were guided within a building that was lit brightly, as the light could be seen through the thread of the bag they had put over her head.
Eventually, they were all herded into a room. Other voices could be heard, but they weren't coming from the children; they were from a bunch of adults.
One person spoke up, "If I can have your attention, please." This caused all the conversations to come to a halt. "It seems our guests have arrived."
Whatever was placed over their heads had been pulled off. Sage remembered wincing as she was met with the bright lights that illuminated the room.
It was a spacious room with plain white walls, some with glass that she couldn't peek through, and two doors, a black one on her left and a white one on her right. She knows that they arrived through the door on the left.
In front of her sat a group of 12 people, men and women, but one seat was empty. Most of them wore white lab coats, and others were in more formal attire.
Sage's eyes drifted to the people standing next to her; they were her friends from the orphanage. One of them tried to run out of the room but was immediately and forcefully put back in place. No one moved a muscle after that.
The same man spoke again, "Let's-", but was interrupted by a door being slammed open. She curiously glanced in that direction to see the familiar woman who carried her out of the orphanage. Again, nothing was said; she simply took a seat in the front row and gestured with her hand for the man to continue. "As I was saying, now that everyone is here, let's get down to business! You know what to do."
All of them suddenly stood up and walked to the children, each on their own mission. Sage realized that there were 13 children among them. A man in his mid-fifties rushed over to her, and she instinctively tried to back away but couldn't as something held her down. The man reached for her but was brutally pulled back by the familiar woman. She took both of Sage's bound hands in one of hers and held her by her side as Sage watched her friends being pulled out of the room one by one. They were the last ones to leave.
They approached the white door, where she pulled out a card and presented it to the keypad. It went green after a second, and the door opened. She held it open for Sage to go through first, but she didn't. She just stood there and watched her friends being pulled in different directions, and their cries and pleas for help faded.
The woman pushed Sage out of the room into the long hallway, where many guards stood still like statues. Once again, she bent down and lifted Sage's wrists up to one of the guards. He then started to rummage through his pockets to fish out a pocketknife to cut the zip tie around her wrists. Wasting no time, the woman grabbed Sage's hand and led her down the hallway, up until the last room.
The woman unlocked the door and ushered Sage inside. Another plain room. It had a bed and a small wooden desk next to it, with a small light on top, and a singular chair that was pushed in. The room was cold. The tiles were spotless, and Sage could see her reflection in them.
The woman broke the silence. "My name is Vivienne. Dr. Vivienne Grave."
The woman had a kind, gentle, and soothing voice. It lured Sage in and left her in a trance; she didn't even notice the sillier briefcase the woman pulled out. She took out a syringe; its contents held no color. Dr. Grave moved towards her and injected it into her bicep. Everything went blurry, and Sage soon lost consciousness.
***
Muffled voices surrounded Sage. Her eyes refused to open as a bright light hovered above her. She tried to cover her eyes but couldn't. Both of her arms and legs were locked into place, as was her torso. Someone's hand moved the light out of the way, and she could finally see properly. Suddenly, something started buzzing next to her. A few seconds later, she could feel needles going in and out of her wrist. It was painful, but luckily, it didn't last long.
Sage heard someone walking closer and dragging a chair with them. "Is it done?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Thank you, you can leave."
The person stood up, excused themselves, and left the room.
Sage felt a cold hand starting to loosen her restraints. One by one, they all dropped loose from the bed. She immediately sat up and cradled her now-sore wrist. When Sage looked down at her wrist, it was a bit red and swollen, and the number 009 was also embedded into her skin.
"You will now be referred to as Nine. Welcome to experiment, Ucidere," Dr. Grave informed her as she took a seat.