Relentless

2- Jackson

"There's a part of me that's still trapped here."

My chest tightened; and I had no idea how to comfort or reassure her. Footsteps caught my attention; I pivoted to find Ky lurking in the shadows. He hasn't necessarily acted the same since Christmas, he's much more intense and on edge. I know he just wants to find his mom, but Saige is taking it as he's mad at her, so their relationship as friends has been rocky recently.

"That one was Sarah's," she pointed limply at the cell adjacent to the one in front of us. Her hands shook as she stifled a sob, "I-I'm sorry."

Commander rubbed her shoulders, "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Y-yes I do, I s-should have said something s-sooner. It's my fault that s-she's not here." My stomach took a dive. I clenched my fists and stole a glance at Ky, his eyes were wide in shock. "I-I could have saved her."

He pulled her close, "Don't say that, you didn't know."

"B-but-,"

"Saige," he hushed her. "You're helping her now, that's all that matters." He steered her towards the exit, "Let's get out of here."

That's when she noticed Ky, her eyes enlarged, then she cast them to ground as if she could avoid him if she didn't look. He didn't say anything as they passed; Commander shot him a pointed glare. Once they were up the hallway a bit, I punched Ky in the shoulder, "You're an idiot," I whispered harshly. He responded with a scowl. "This is when she needs you most and you're standing here sulking like a baby?"

"I am not sulking, I'm taking everything in."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Saige's 'taking everything in' is much worse than yours." He glanced at the cells, sorrow clouded his eyes. "And what about your dad learning that the love if his life didn't die when she fell off the waterfall? Can you imagine what's going through his mind?"

"I don't need your lecture," he snapped. I crossed my arms and he sighed, "I know, you're right. I need to fix it."

"Fast," I say to him crisply and brush past him to catch up. They had stopped in front of a closed door; Saige's face was pale, transfixed on it. I shared an uneasy glance with Commander, "What's going on?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a soft, fearful voice, "Did you check in there?" She was visibly shaking; I pulled my gun out, Ky and Commander followed my lead. Ky extended his hand to usher her backwards, she jerked away from his touch. Hurt flashed through his eyes before masking it with a stony stare. She backed into the wall on her own. Commander grabbed the door knob and nodded to Ky; he took a breath and nodded back. He threw the door open, Ky rushed in gun ready. I followed quickly behind and we swept the room.

"Clear," Ky breathed.

"Clear," I confirmed, putting my gun back in the holster. It was just a bedroom, beige walls, a king sized bed with white sheets sat in the middle, on the far right were a dresser and a closet, and on the left was a bathroom. It was oddly clean, spotless even, and the scent of lavender scorched my nose. A bouquet of wild flowers in a glass vase was placed on a wood desk across from the bed, fresh flowers. "It's just an empty room."

One glance at Saige said otherwise, she stayed glued to the wall; parlayed.

"Saige?" Commander treads carefully. "What is it?"

Eyes fixed on the bed, she whispered, "This...this is..." She gulped, "Where he...he..."

My gaze shifted between her and the bed. A stab of white, hot anger lurched through me as I put the pieces together. Ky's jaw clenched, Commander tensed; I tried reaching out to her, she flinched.