The Rise of Exile Coven: Fractured

CHAPTER SIX:

SAGE POV

After the day I have had, I just want to curl up in my bed and sleep. For now though it's best that I avoid Maeve at all cost. I wouldn't be surprised if she were to put a snake in my bed as revenge. I look at the clock hanging on the wall, Maeve should be leaving her class soon. I race back down to my dorm room so I could change my clothes. I pull out of the drawer a pair of brown sweat pants and my cream colored Crimson Peak Academy sweater, the words are written in brown to match my pants. I change into my gym clothes before throwing my hair up into a high ponytail. I slip on a pair of Nike Monarch IV's. They are white with blue accents.

I walk to the gym's courtyard to find that it is completely vacant, the rain clouds rolling in must have scared everyone inside. I drop my duffle bag on the bench. I look down at my silver casio watch and hit the timer. I start off with a light jog around the track. Running has always given me a high that made me feel like I could conquer the world. I let the thoughts of all of my problems slip away. The thoughts are replaced with the sound of my steady breath and my feet hitting the ground. There is something tranceant about running, that just pulls me away from all the chaos every single time. After the first lap I pick up the pace, and finally I am sprinting around the track. Is this me running from all of my daddy issues, the bracelets and who Celeste is, the mystery of Kai, and Ezra Ackermann? Or is it me running toward and reaching for all the answers to those questions? Whatever is driving me, keeps pushing me past my limit. A mile done, and it feels like my lungs are on fire and about to explode. 'Don't stop running Sage.' I tell myself that I can do it. But running footsteps behind me pulls me out of my trance. I turn my head around and Kai passes me on the track. "Kai!" Did he not see me or is he toying with me? I stop in my tracks and call him once more, cupping my hands around my mouth as a microphone. "Kai!" He doesn't look back as a gust of wind blows by me. "What the-?" A girl with jet black hair runs by me, her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail just like mine, But the under half of her hair is a silvery white color. She is all blacked out with her leggings and long sleeve shirt. If it wasn't for the streaks in her hair, I don't think I would have even seen her in the darkening the storm is providing. Is this the girlfriend? Did he lie to me? Is that why he was ignoring me because she's around? I shake my head in disbelief. I have got to stop being so paranoid. I take a step back as I squint across the field to notice that this is in fact the girlfriend. She is me, but she has minor changes. "What is happening?" I whisper to myself.

The pair race past me again, she finally makes it past him and she turns around running backwards. "Can't keep up Winters?" She teases, causing him to crack a smile. There is something different about Kai too. He seems happier, less stoic and closed off. As if he is completely open to the world and the endless possibilities it has to offer, maybe he was shook with the reality that those possibilities also entail darker notions. "Oh, I'll catch up to you Dalca." He replies playfully as pushes his arms hard and he tries to catch up with Sage with silver hair and I find myself running again. I want to catch up too. She turns around and she's sprinting, she's faster than both Kai and I combined. I can't help but feel jealous of this stranger version of myself.

My face becomes cold as a drop of rain lands on my left cheek just below my eye. Sage with silver hair pauses as she looks up at the sky and wipes the same spot of her face as I am. "It's starting to rain, Winters." She turns around to face him and he halts in front of her. "You're going to allow a little rain to stop you from winning the race?" She smiles widely, he knows her so well. Then the downpour rolls in and I look up at the sky as lightning flashes across it. One, two, three, four, five, six...Boom thunder roars all around us as Sage with silver hair and I make eye contact with one another. Neither of us seem to care that we are getting completely drowned in rain water. I frown as I try to get a read on her and make sense of everything that is happening here. Kai looks over his shoulder and looks right through me. He can't see me? That's why he didn't reply; he can't see or hear me. "What are you looking at?" He faces her once more, "Dalca-" He puts his hand on her shoulder. "You're starting to freak me out."