Sages' Secret

For as long as I can remember the world has been desolate, with little food or water. Mom and dad once said that long ago there were trees and oceans that were so deep that explorers never discovered all its secrets. I smile vaguely at the thought of my parents, a tear rolling down my cheek, I wish I could see them again. Lost in thoughts of my parents, I barely hear Finn calling my name. "Sage, Sage." I snap out of my thoughts. "What?" Huffing at him annoyed. "It's our turn to go search for food and water, get ready lets go." I roll out of my little make shift mattress and go to the mirror, I look just like my mother.

Copper skin, yellow eyes with a green ring around the edges, honey curls, and freckles just on my nose. I put on my ragged goggles and tie my curls into a messy bun heading out of my tiny room. The group is already at the door of the run-down building we call home. Finn walks up to me with concern on his face. "Are you alright?" I smile lightly. "Yea, I'm fine." I grab my sword from the weapons table and sheath it. Food has been scares for weeks now and the little water we find hasn't been enough for the fifty-eight of us that live in the building.

We've had to go to rations and the group isn't handling it well. Fights have broken out and we've had to send multiple members to either the infirmary or to the dungeons to cool off. "We need to split up." Clarke the oldest member in the building and my brother says, he accompanies every group that leaves the building, I stare at him. "Are you crazy? Some of them aren't even fourteen yet, they can't go off by themselves." He growls at my disobedience. "They have to learn to provide for themselves and the building we aren't babysitters. This isn't a life of luxury our ancestors got to live in Sage, this is 2115 and they have to learn to survive." I roll my eyes at him.

"Dammit, Sage why do you always have to defy me, I'm the oldest I'm in charge." I glare at him. "Only by two years, next year I'll be eighteen and maybe I'll take your place." I smirk at him; he groans running his fingers threw his blond hair. "Look I know you've had it rough since mom and dad got taken b-" I cut him off. "Shut up Clarke, I will find them." I clench my teeth at him and walk off.

Finn follows behind me trying to keep up with my fast pace, I ignore him and keep walking outside the areas Clarke has marked as safe. "Sage, Sage, stop you're past the safe zone we can't go this far. What are you doing? SAGE, STOP!" He screams and grabs my arm; I rip my arm away from him. "WHAT!?" I yell back. "What was that? What was Clarke talking about?" I turn to walk away; he grabs me and makes me look at him. "Sage." Is all he says. I took a deep trembling breath. "M-my parents didn't die four years ago they were taken by The League. We were in a shack just thirty miles south of here and we noticed food prints close by one day."

I stare off in the distance remembering the night they were taken. "W-we didn't think much of it since there were Rogues nearby. One night there was yelling, mom and dad woke up Clarke and I, they put us in the tunnel they had build underground and told us to follow it until we reached the fork then go left and not to come out no matter what we heard." An image of the tunnel flashes in my mind, Finn grabs me. "You can stop now if you want." I bury my head in his shoulders. "No, it feels good to finally talk about it."

I sniffle. "Clarke wanted to run as soon as we got inside but I stopped him, I wanted to wait. I wanted to see if they would follow but when The League tore down the door, I knew they were dead. T-they beat them. Until one of them yelled to tie them up the Higher Powers needed them alive. Clarke grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder running down the tunnel. He finally let me go when we reached the fork. It's been four years since then and now living in a run-down building outside of the Rogue nation that we ran into on our way out of the tunnel. They took pity on us and told us about the building, they said they would send lost kids our way and trade with us when they had the resources to as long as we didn't cause trouble with them or send The League their way."

Finn stares at me shocked by what I've told him. "So, is that what the safe zones are for? So we don't enter Rogue territory." I shake my head. "No, the safe zones are where Clarke says there's no predators and no possibility of The League using their machines of finding us. I've been outside the safe zones numerous times and I've never seen any machines Clarke talks about." I turn and keep walking. "Hey, were are you going Sage, we've got to find food." I roll my eyes. "I'm going to find my parents Finn, I know they're alive, and there's plenty of food to hunt out here."

Finn catches up to me. "How do you know that?" I laugh. "How else would the predators survive out here unless there was food to hunt? I'll be fine just tell Clarke we go separated when I ran off." He waves his hands in the air. "Whoa, what makes you think I'm going to let you go alone?" I'm coming with you whether you like it or not." Huffing I toss a bottle of water at him. "Fine, but don't complain when you're freezing your ass off once the sun goes down." We walk in silence until the it gets dark and set up camp.

I check some of the traps I had set up and to my luck two had animals in them. I go back to camp and Finn cooks them up. I stare at the flames and play with the heart locket my mom gave me on my eleventh birthday. "What's that?" I stare at the locket. "A locket my mom gave me when I turned eleven, she said it didn't open but it was something our ancestors would give their daughters." He walks up and looks at it. "And why is it shaped like a heart?" I laugh. "I don't know, for love maybe."

Finn messes with it some more. "Looks like there's a way to open it. Have you ever tried?" I shake my head. "No mom said it didn't, she tried before she traded the chickens for it, since it didn't open the lady at the Rogues market only took one chicken instead of two." He point to it. "Do you mind if I look at it?" I shake my head; he slips it over and stands closer to the fire. He messes with it a little more and it suddenly makes an electronic sound and it opens my moms face pops up and she looks scared.

"Sage, if you're seeing this it means you figured out how to open the locket, I only have a short time to record and send this. As you know The League took us and they'll come for you too. Clarke knows everything and you need to listen to everything he says. Happy fifteenth birthday my sweet girl, I love you." The message cuts off, mom made this two years ago, wherever they were they have power, Finn looks at me. "Why would The League want you?" I shrug my shoulders. "I have no idea but we're asking Clarke tomorrow."

We get back to the building and Clarke walks up to me anger blazing in his blue eyes. "Where the hell were you?" His nostrils flare. "Getting food." I smile innocently dropping the deer I caught in one of my bigger traps. Maze a young boy no older then thirteen comes and grabs the heavy deer dragging it to the kitchen. "We need to talk now." I glare at Clarke and walk towards his room Finn follows behind us nervously humming to himself. When we get to Clarkes room I toss the locket to Finn. "Open it." He does as he's told and mom pops up again playing the message over, when it's done Clarke sighs heavily. "I was hoping you would never open it."

What does this mean, what haven't you been telling me?" He sigh again, leaning against his desk. "Did you ever wonder why we always lived in isolation why we never lived with the Rogues or in the Districts The League created?" I shrug my shoulders. "I thought it was because we couldn't have the animals." Clarke laughs. "No my dear sister it's because mom was created by The League, she was supposed to be a warrior to destroy the Rogues so The League could rule over everyone and everything." My mouth falls open as he continues. "The Created were not suppose to develop feelings but mom fell in love with dad who was a guard of The Created and they ran off." I stop him.

"So why would they be after me and not you we're siblings created by mom and dad." Clarke sighs again. "We're siblings yes but half, dad is my biological dad but my mother died giving birth to me. They would want you because you have the same genetic code mom has the warrior code that's embedded in moms DNA it's in yours as well. They will want you to become a weapon for their power. The League must never know about you, Sage please. I do the things I do to keep you safe you're my little sister and I love you." He walks up to me hugging me.

I'm numb from what he just told me but I hug him back. "So what happened to mom and dad, are they still alive?" He holds me at arms length. "From what mom told me if they can't reprogram her DNA they will kill her. Dad would have been killed as soon as they were brought in front of the Higher Powers from breaking the code of the guards." He grabs my face making me look at him. "Mom is dead to Sage, she reprogrammed her DNA, they wouldn't be able to get into her code without shutting down their systems and killing her in the process." Tears roll down my face, Clarke holds me trying to comfort me. This is it my search for them is over, the last four years wasted.

"Sage, I know this is a lot but you will move on from this." I look at Clarke then at Finn. "I'm going to my room." I walk off and Finn follows. It's been two years since I learned the truth and Finn and I are expecting our first child any day now. I still dream of my parents but I'm grateful they're no longer suffering. Food and water have come back in abundance, and we have set up treaties with the Rogue nations in the are for trading and to keep The League from finding us. Everything's as is should be. For now.