16. The Death of Innocence
Everything came into view for Joe slowly, like he was entering a dream. He stared at his new surroundings in shock. One second ago, he had been standing over Sydney's sleeping figure in Sage's home. Now he was stranded in the middle of what appeared to be a decrepit amusement park. It reminded him of Coney Island during its off season, empty and eerie.
Where the hell am I? Joe asked himself. He tried to move his legs, but discovered he was stuck in place. His heartbeat rose with panic. What was going on?
Joe's head swiveled in all directions, looking for anything that would answer his questions. The rest of the scene gradually came into focus. Joe found himself facing two young looking girls. One appeared to be older than the other. She had short and sharply cut black hair and stared at the younger girl with piercing violet eyes. The smaller girl had messy brown hair that looked like it had never seen a comb. She returned other girl's gaze with soft hazel eyes.
Joe opened his mouth to ask them where they were and what was going on, but no sound came out. He tried again. Nothing. Joe closed his eyes and tried to think. Clearly, Sage had done something to him, but what exactly?
"Hello, are you from here?" The older girl's voice was cautious and carried a subtle steel to it.
At first, Joe thought she was talking to him, but he quickly realized that she wasn't even looking at him. Did the girls see him at all? Was he even really here? Joe had too many questions and not enough answers.
The younger girl didn't respond, and the other one continued, "My name's Sasha. Who are you?"
The little girl remained silent, as if she was debating whether or not she wanted to answer. "My name's Isabel," she finally spoke in a quiet voice. She fiddled with her hands nervously and kept subconsciously touching her right hip. The name rang a bell to Joe, but he couldn't place it right away.
Sasha noted the touching with interest. She was seeing something Joe wasn't apparently. "You're a competitor?" Her eyes widened and a frown came to her lips, like she was appalled by the idea.
Competitor? Joe wished he could speak to find out what was going on. None of this was making any sense to him. What was it Sage had said? Sydney was on a journey through her memories? If Sage had somehow gotten Joe to join Sydney, that would mean he was in the past. But if this was a memory of Sydney's, where was Sydney?
Joe shook his head. That couldn't be right. It was impossible to put a person in someone else's memories like this. Then again, Joe had seen enough impossible things come true to know that nothing was off limits. He was a time traveler after all. Was he really living one of Sydney's old memories?
Isabel rapidly blinked her eyes and turned her face away. "I was supposed to be teaming with my sister, but I lost her in the woods. Can you help me find her? I promise we can be allies. After we find my sister, you can stay with us, or we can avoid each other until the game is over. We'll get less points, but I don't mind."
Sasha's hard-set eyes locked onto Isabel, studying her little movements and judging each word carefully. Her eyes kept darting to that spot on Isabel's waist. Now that Joe was paying attention, he could see a small bulge protruding from underneath Isabel's shirt. What was she hiding under there?
Sasha was apparently wondering the same thing, because it took a while for her to answer. "We'll stay on the outskirts of the woods. I'll only help you look for an hour. If we find your sister, I'm gone, and I don't want to see either of you for the rest of the match. Understand?"
Isabel's tiny head nodded eagerly. "Thank you. The last place I was with my sister was over there." She pointed a small finger over Sasha's shoulder toward a thick patch of woods. "But the bushes are really dense, so we'll have to stick close together."
"Fine," Sasha curtly responded. Even from a distance, Joe could see how guarded she was being. Her eyes seemed to be constantly analyzing Isabel. It reminded him of Sydney's eyes during one of their practice sparring sessions or when she was watching a group of her dancers perform.
Sasha sharply turned on her heel and marched with precise steps toward the area of the forest that Isabel had indicated. "Stay close. If I lose you, I'm not coming back for you. The rules are everyone for themselves. The longer we're together without conflict the more points I lose. I'm not allowed to lose this."
Isabel practically tripped over her own feet in an attempt to keep up with Sasha. "I understand. If we don't find my sister soon, you and I can fight so you can get your points back."
Sasha winced at Isabel's words. "Let's just focus on finding your sister for now."
The girls pushed on into the woods. Compelled by an unseen force, Joe was forced to follow them. His feet moved without his permission, and he never got farther than ten feet away from them. He moved through the shrubbery with ease, as if it wasn't even there for him. Joe sighed, defeated, and went along for the ride. If nothing else, it would give him some answers as to what was happening.
Sasha and Isabel searched the woods in silence. They both agreed it was too risky to call out for Isabel's sister because other fighters might hear them and track them down. Joe was right behind them every step of the way, not like he had choice, but he picked up that this was a fighting competition of some sort, and the winner was determined by whoever had the most points at the end. You earned points by winning fights, and you could lose points by establishing friendly relationships with other competitors. There were probably others rules, but Sasha and Isabel didn't bring them up. Joe had no idea why someone would want to do this. It seemed cruel.
Isabel eventually stopped touching her waist, and instead held her hand to the bulge. Since this was a fighting competition, Joe had no doubt that she was concealing some sort of weapon in the waistband of her pants. She may have been young, but Isabel was clearly here to fight. When Sasha wasn't paying attention, Isabel was giving her cynical looks and observing her just as carefully as she was observing Isabel.
It had only been fifteen minutes, but Joe was starting to wonder how long this would last. It couldn't be permanent. Sage wouldn't throw him into something like this forever, right? Unless she had tricked him like the mermaids did. He didn't know anything about Sage, but at the first mention of Sydney, he followed her like a lost puppy. Could it have been a trap? What would Sage gain from this? If she was like the mermaids, this dream could be draining his energy, but he felt fine. He actually felt better than he had when he was awake. In this state, he couldn't sense the sting from all the mermaid scratches poison. In fact, he didn't physically feel anything.
He continued to watch the girls scavenge the forest for Isabel's sister, but there seemed to be no sign of her anywhere. They trudged deeper into the woods, ending up in a small alcove. A decaying clown statue was tipped on its side. It greeted the girls with an unsettling smile and one broken hand outstretched. The stone hand was shattered, and only three sharp fingers remained.
The clown sent shivers down Joe's spine, and he looked away. Sasha and Isabel were both careful to keep their distance from the haunted clown. They scanned the new area for any signs of previous visitors.
"Are you sure you're team mate went this way? I don't see any indication that someone went through here." Sasha's calculating eyes kept on searching the environment, taking in every detail.
"I'm positive." Isabel nodded. Unlike Sasha, she was not looking around. Instead, she was keeping her attention locked onto the other girl. "My brother is really good at sneaking. He wouldn't leave any trail behind."
"Brother?" Sasha tensed up and focused on Isabel. Joe could see the mistrust in her violet eyes. "I thought we were looking for your sister?"
Isabel jerked, her eyes widened, and she tightened her grip on the object she was hiding. "She's both?" Isabel tried. "You shouldn't judge like that. It's very rude."
Sasha clenched her fists and scowled at the little girl. "Sure she is. Why did you do this, Isabel? Did you just want to partner with me so I'd lose points? You know that makes you lose points too, right?"
Isabel bit her lip, refusing to make eye contact with Sasha. She concentrated on the fallen clown statue behind her. "I need to win," she mumbled. Joe was standing next to her, and he barely heard her.
Sasha wasn't as close. Her head leaned forward, and she squinted at Isabel, whose innocent face had taken on little hints of anger: a furrowed brow, a tense jaw. "What did you say?"
Isabel's head snapped up without warning. "I need to win," she spat out with sudden venom. She brandished a jagged piece of scrap metal and raised it at Sasha's chest. Her entire arm was shaking. Despite the bitterness in her voice, she was clearly terrified of what she was doing.
"Easy there, kid." Sasha held up her hands in defense and kept her voice calm. Her eyes never left Isabel's weapon. "Don't do anything rash. I know killing can get you a lot of points, but it's not worth it. You don't want my blood on your hands for the rest of your life."
"I can handle it," Isabel barked out in response. Still, that uncertainty never strayed from her expression. She stepped forward, and Sasha took a step back. "I want to go home. This competition needs to end."
"It's been six days. You can't hold out for one more?" Sasha swallowed. Her hands stayed in the air. "Even if you kill me, there are eighteen other competitors you'll have to kill."
Joe watched the exchanged in shock. Isabel was a child. She couldn't seriously want to kill Sasha. This was insane! Why had Sage sent him here? He didn't want to see this. There had to be something he was missing about the situation.
For a single moment, it seemed like Isabel would drop her weapon. Her hand lowered an inch, but quickly flicked back up. The poor girl was terrified. She was acting out of fear. Joe could tell she didn't want to be in this situation, but she saw no other choice. "I'll do whatever it takes to go home."
In an instant, Isabel lunged. Sasha didn't have time to react. The metal sunk an inch into her chest. Isabel tried to force it in deeper, but her untrained muscles weren't strong enough to complete the task.
Sasha shrieked in pain. Joe had to cover his ears to keep from going deaf. He had to look away. He couldn't watch this happen without having nightmares for the rest of his life.
Sasha ripped the metal out of her chest and tossed it to the side. Her chest was oozing green blood, but she didn't seem to notice. Her attention was locked onto Isabel. The shadows around them seemed to lurch forward, anticipating what was to come. Sasha stalked closer to Isabel, who was visibly shaking from fear. "So that's how it's going to be, huh?" Sasha's voice took on a sudden venom. "Two can play that game." Sasha latched onto Isabel's shoulders and shoved her to the ground.
And directly into the statue's speared hand. The broken arm drove through Isabel's chest like a hot knife through butter. Blood spurt everywhere. Joe threw his head to the side, expecting to vomit, but dry-heaving instead.
Sasha stood over Isabel's dead body with a triumphant grin on her face. "I win."
Joe's mind raced. What had he just seen? Why was he even seeing it in the first place? He stared, open-mouthed, at Sasha. The pieces slowly began to fall into place. The green blood. The open wound just below Sasha's left collarbone. Joe abruptly remembered where he had heard Isabel's name before.
Sage had said Sydney was on a journey through her memories, and now that made sense to Joe. Sydney had once told Joe the story of how she got her scar on her left collarbone, and Joe had just witnessed it. Sasha was Sydney, and if every memory Sydney was reliving was anything like this first one, Joe was in for one hell of a ride.
A/N - I'm trying to alternate the main story-lines as best as I can, but sometimes the chapters end up being longer than I expected and so they get divided. Sorry about that! Don't forget to review! It means so much to me when you do!
