Possessed Soul

Part 5- Sage Foster Chapter 46

Part 5- Sage Foster

Chapter 46

"It's probably just Holden," Kaden said in explanation for the sound we had just heard.

"What's going on?" Ryan rubbed his sleepy eyes, but became more alert when he saw Kaden standing next to the bed. "Sage, get behind me," he ordered, yanking on my hand in a manner that was anything but gentle.

"It's okay, I know him," I replied, switching my focus between the two boys, who were both standing in rigid stances on either side of me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Kaden again. My eyebrows furrowed and I tried to straighten them, but I couldn't. I knew Ryan had many questions for me, but I had lots of questions for Kaden.

Mrs. Simpson couldn't see him here. This time she'd definitely kick me out. When I had showed up on her doorstep, Ryan was the one who convinced her to let me stay. I had only been allowed to stay because Ryan said he'd go anywhere I went. She had agreed to let me crash here, but still refused to let me anywhere near her: something about me emitting dark energy. She sounded like one of those Zen Buddhist people. I appreciated Ryan standing up for me, and that's what I liked most about him: he would always stand by me.

In the few days I had spent with Ryan it was clear that he cared about me, and I cared about him as well. Standing between Kaden and Ryan made it easy for me to realise that a relationship with Ryan would be different to one with Kaden. Being with Kaden was like being on a Ferris wheel: one minute we're on top of the world and the next plummeting down, it was too jarring and inconsistent. Being with Ryan was like paddling a canoe: steady and slow, while pleasurable at the same time. Ryan didn't evoke the same emotions Kaden did, but perhaps that was what I needed: someone who would keep me comfortable, and someone I wasn't afraid to upset.

Kaden reached out a hand to me and smiled, as if he could tell I had just been thinking about him. I didn't take Kaden's hand, instead I threaded my fingers through Ryan's. A look of disappointment crossed Kaden's handsome face, before we heard another scream.

What was Holden doing? Had he woken up Mr or Mrs Simpson?

It was a bit difficult to tell if the scream was male or female, but either way we still had to sort this out before someone called the police. Together Ryan and I ran towards the exit. As we reached the door, I subtly sneaked a peek back at Kaden, who looked like someone had slapped him straight across the face. His teeth grinded against each other and his eyes swam with a million different emotions, making it difficult to pinpoint what was going on inside his head.

I tore my gaze away from Kaden and followed Ryan out the door, not checking whether or not Kaden was following us.

As we entered the small living room, we were met with a sight that we were not prepared for. Sure enough, Holden was there, but a gun was pointed to his head. Holding the gun was a man with a grey beard, dressed in a white and blue suit. The apartment was flooded with people, ranging from petite females to gangly males, all of whom were dressed the same and all with guns. Their index fingers twitched close to the triggers, and I worried that they would shoot merely by accident.

"That's her," Mrs Simpson said as she pointed at me. "That's the girl you're looking for: Sage Foster." Her face clouded over with bitterness as she said my name, as if it tasted foul and she couldn't wait to get the weird aftertaste out of her mouth.

This only confirmed that she hated me, but that was not what concerned me. What concerned me was that fact that she seemed to know that they'd been searching for me. Was she the one who called them here? How long had she known about me and the FBI?

After she pointed me out everyone reacted at the same time. All the guns were turned to point at me, even the one that had been angled towards Holden. It was almost as if all the FBI agents saw me as the only threat in the room.

"Sage Foster," one of the men addressed me by my full name. "We don't want to hurt you."

You could have fooled me, I thought eyeing the triggers of the guns.

"Just come with us. We want to help you," he continued, slipping his gun in his belt. He reached out to me, with a splayed palm. His hand was brown and calloused. There was just enough skin to cover his bones, but not enough to hide the shape of his bones or the knobbiness. His knuckles stuck out and, apart from the colouring, his hand looked like that of a skeleton.

"What's going on?" Ryan questioned, bringing his head towards mine, so that only I could hear him.

I squeezed Ryan's hand but didn't do much else. I would have to give this man my hand. I didn't have much of a choice; none of the trigger-happy people were relaxing their stance and I had no doubt that they would shoot.

I didn't want anyone to die. But one face flashed before me and I knew I had to protect him. I suddenly felt bad for wanting to protect Kaden over everyone else, but I couldn't shake the thought that if I went with the FBI, it would be for him, not for myself or anyone else for that matter.

After I pictured his face, Kaden grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him, forcing me to drop Ryan's hand. My back was against his chest and one of his arms was secured around my waist. The hand of the arm that wasn't holding me rested on my collarbone and my breathing escalated when I felt cool metal on my throat. I cast my eyes downwards and realised that Kaden had the sharp end of a knife pressed against my throat, at the exact place where my vein was pulsing rapidly in an irregular rhythm.

"Trust me," he pleaded, and gave me a quick kiss on the back on my neck. I did trust him, but Ryan didn't and growled at Kaden. Ryan's face softened as he looked at me, and I realised he was asking me what he should do. I mouthed to him that I was okay and hoped that none of the FBI agents saw our silent exchange. Every single one of the agents were frozen in place, and it was clear that they hadn't expected something like this to happen.

Kaden started backtracking towards the door. I stumbled, because I couldn't see where I was placing my feet, but he somehow managed to keep me upright.

"We can't leave Ryan," I told Holden, who had moved past us and was holding the door open for us to make a quick escape.

Holden looked to Kaden as if asking for permission.

Kaden sighed, and quickly nodded his head. But Holden's concentration was lost, and he didn't seem to see Kaden's actions, his eyes were focused on something behind us.

"Alicia," he gasped.