Chapter 1

3 years later...

A teenaged girl trudged through the mud, her handcuffed hands held in front of her. A female soldier marched next to her, making sure her pace did not slow. “Stop!” A male voice called. A man marched up to where the girl was standing.

“Name?” He barked in her face.

She slowly brought her eyes to meet his. “Sage Bennett, sir.” It came out no louder than a whisper.

“Speak up!” Something snapped in his hand.

She cleared her throat and spoke a bit louder. “Sage Bennett, sir.”

He held a clipboard in his hands, marked something on it, and moved on. When he finished going through the line he marched to the front where everyone could see him. “There is one rule here you must follow at all times!” He barked at everyone. His eyes glanced over the whole line and stopped on Sage, sending shivers down her back. “That is to do as you’re told, when you’re told!” He pulled out a whip and it hissed through the air. The man snapped it several times making a few of the people in line jump. “Otherwise,” A smirk spread across his face. “You’ll suffer the consequences.”

Sage gulped, the wind whipped around her red-brown hair and sent her skirt wrapping around her legs. She blinked back stinging tears as she tried to focus on the soldier’s next words.

“You will be working in assigned stations.” He read off his clipboard. “I will read your name, work order, and your work number.” His voice mechanically read the list. “Frieda Aster, sewing, number 201. Destiny Belms, laundry, number 202. Sage Bennett, outdoor work, number 203.” His voice droned on as Sage forced herself to remember her work order and number.

Finally, the soldier finished reading the list. The female soldier standing next to Sage barked out orders like a robot. “Move ahead! Men form a line here. Women form a line here.” Her hands pointed to both sides of her. The men filed into line on her left side, most of them glaring and snarling. The women formed a line on the soldier’s right side.

A man dressed in a black suit walked out in front of them all. His dark eyes glowered; the mud squished under his boots as he stopped in front of the women’s line.

His eyes fell on Sage. “Name?” He asked.

Sage lifted her gaze and spoke. “Sage Bennett, sir.”

“Rosa, make sure she doesn’t do anything...” He paused, as if searching for the correct words. “Anything she might regret.” He placed something in the young woman’s hand. “If she does, just bring her to me, I’ll take care of it. She looks like she could be a troublemaker for this camp.” He smirked.

“Yes, Chief Carson.” Rosa nodded firmly, her black bangs bounced slightly against her forehead.

She turned to Sage, her expression hardened. “You heard the man.” Her voice bit the air as she spoke. “You better follow the rules.”

~*~

Sage wiped her dirty hands in her skirt. She sighed and picked up her hoe and stabbed at the thick gooey mud. Her arms, legs, and back ached from working for three hours straight. The hoe made a sound as though it hit something hard, she bent down and pulled a rock, tossing it into a pile with others. Her outdoor job for her first day, was to go through the muddy field and clear all the rocks. The mud coated her hands and she cringed, disliking the feeling of the wet dirt between her fingers.

“Worker 203! Report to the main office in five minutes.” A booming voice called out.

Sage gulped and dropped her hoe, running to a building. She made it to the building and looked at the male guard standing erect. “I-I was told to report to the main office.” She squeaked out.

“Number?” He asked through tight lips.

“203, sir.” Her hair blew into her eyes as she waited.

He opened the door to the building, his movements were mechanical, like a robot. “Down the hall, first room on the left.” His words came out with no emotion, like ice.

She slipped inside and walked softly to the room the guard instructed. Her fist raised to knock on the door when she heard voices from another room. The voice sounded familiar; Sage tiptoed to the direction of the voice and peeked around the corner of an opened door.

A young man, no older than 18, with rich brown hair stood talking. “Sir, I told you, I’m Ashton Hunningsworth.”

An angry voice came in reply. “That’s not what I was told.”

Sage peeked further around and gasped, her heart started racing. The man who claimed to be Asthon Hunningsworth was a man she knew. She leaned against the wall and tried to calm her racing heart. “It can’t be him.” She whispered.

Sage dared to peek once again, this time she saw Ashton’s face. His expression was hardened and stern, yet his blue eyes still held the same softness she remembered.

“Who are some of the new prisoners?” Ashton changed the subject. “Any we should be worried about?”

“One I’m very concerned about. She seems to be a bit too... how should i say it.” Carson paused a moment. “She’s a bit too much like Rosalinda.” He murmured.

“Sir?” Ashton asked, his eyes shifted to the door.

Sage darted back and slowly started walking towards the main office. Carson’s reply came. “Her name is Sage Bennett. I’m afraid she might be too curious for her own good.”

“Sage?” Ashton asked.

“What, you know her?” Carson dared to ask.

“No.. I mean, I knew someone by the name of Sage.” He let out a nervous laugh. “There’s no way it’d be the same girl though.”

A chair scraped across the floor and Sage heard footsteps head towards the door. She rushed over to the main office and stood, with her head bowed.

“I suppose you’re right Ashton.” Carson’s hand touched the doorknob. “I’m meeting with her now. Would you like to join me?” His voice seemed to hold a strange calm. “I might even leave you in charge of her; that way you can prove you really are Ashton Hunningsworth.”

Ashton stepped out and followed Carson. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to meet her.”

Sage kept her head low as the two men drew near. “Sage Bennett?” Carson asked, walked to the door of the main office.

“Yes, sir.” She gulped.

“Come in, come in.” He motioned for her to step inside. Ashton trailed behind. The door clicked shut behind her and Sage stood in front of a desk.

“Ashton, this is Sage.” Carson motioned to her. “Sage, this is guard, or soldier, Ashton Hunningsworth.”

Sage raised her eyes to meet his. Ashton stared at her in shock. “Uh, Chief Carson..” He voice trailed off.

“Ashton..” Carson cleared his throat then continued. “Sage, Soldier Ashton Hunningsworth will be your primary, shall we say, boss.” He handed Ashton a slip of paper, then hissed something low. “You know where to bring her if need be.”

Ashton nodded then led Sage out of the building.

~*~

Ashton grabbed Sage’s arm and pulled her away from everyone else. As soon as they were out of sight he stared at her, his hand reached up and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Sage?” He asked softly.

She nodded, tears welled in her eyes. “Yeah, it’s me, Sage.” She forced a small smile.

“What are you doing here? How-Why..” His voice trailed off as he noticed her breakdown into tears. “Sage. Please don’t cry.”

She sniffed and wiped a tear that trailed down her cheek. “My parents were both arrested, for secret agency work, dangerous work.” She wiped another tear. “And the officers brought me here. I have no clue what happened to the rest of my family.”

Ashton growled something under his breath. “Carson planned it. He knew he could use you.”

“What?”

“Nothing..” Ashton’s eyes grew serious, along with his voice. “Sage, I’m working undercover here. Carson does some awful things. Another agency is trying to take him down, but so far everyone they’ve sent in has failed. I know why, so I need to be careful.”

“Like what?” She asked. “Why is it so dangerous?”

He glanced around him and lowered his voice. “Listen, Sage. Are you willing to help me out?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” She tilted her head at him. “I’m a prisoner here, not an undercover agent.”

“I mean, are you ready to let our childhood dream, of saving the world, come true?”