The Eyes of the Dark

Four.

Travis pushes Jacob's dead body off him and stands up. We all watch in silence as he grabs the blade embedded in his flesh and tears it out. He tosses it on the sand and looks up at the Queen. The Queen looks like she might catch on fire. I can feel her rage from where I'm sitting. She slowly and stiffly stands up. Her earrings that hang down from her ears barely move.

"Guards, escort him off the grounds." The crowd roars in disgust. I however am grateful the prisoner did not die and now he will be released. I wonder where he will go. Suddenly the lights in the arena flash off and the monitors on the walls come to life. A girl with red hair and a red bandana covering her eyes down shows up on the screens. Her eyes are brown, but it's impossible to tell what her face looks like. The crowd gasps and quiets down.

"We are the Resistance. The world we live in is unfair. We are separated by Elite and Dreg. While the Elite live in the fancy castles and cities the Dregs are slaves and they die every day. They are prisoners only because they are colorless. This must end and it will. There are many of us Queen Joanna and King Cyrus and we will stop at nothing to end the suffering and separation from our families and loved ones. We will resist." All of the sudden the lights come back on and the girl on the screen disappears. I can hear the Queen yelling orders to the guards. The Dregs are prisoners? I thought they lived peacefully away from us in Westfall. Away from us. I realize the fault in my thoughts. They shouldn't have to live apart from us. What about their families in Rivermouth?

The queen and her family leave and the guards start escorting us back to our rooms for safety. Kim and I stand up and she says nothing as we exit out of the arena. I can't tell if she's scared or just doesn't know what to say. Everyone walks down the hall swiftly and silently. As we approach the South wing I am suddenly yanked into the dark. A hand closes over my mouth and I hold my breath. Whoever is holding me brings us farther down the hall where we can't be seen. We come to a stop and my eyes adjust to the face in front of me. Dale. I breathe a sigh of relieve that it isn't one of the princes.

"What the hell?" I ask once he removes his hand.

"Shh. Come with me." There is a sense of urgency in his voice, so I follow him. We travel deeper into the darkness and through an archway that leads to the edge of the garden. No guards will be able to see us from here. I can't stop thinking about the message on the screen. Was it real? Is there really a group of people out there that want to help people like me? We stop and I face him.

"What are we doing here?" His eyes drift to something behind me, so I turn around. A figure emerges from the darkness. The woman's red hair sticks out of her hood. She takes her hood off and looks me in the eye.

"I'm Sage. You must be Octavia." Brown eyes are all I see. Realization smacks me in the face.

"You're her. You're the girl on the screen." I gasp. Her face doesn't move except for her lips. They curve into a smirk.

"Smart girl," she draws out the last word.

"What's going on? Why am I here?" My voice started to waver as I look from Dale to Sage.

"You're here because I need you."

"Why do you need me?" Fear rises in the pit of my stomach.

"Why do you think?" She knows.

"You told her?! I trusted you!" I turn to Dale. He shakes his head.

"You can trust her." He states firmly. I turn back to Sage in annoyance.

"I don't know what you want!" I raise my voice. She grabs my arms and shoves me against the castle wall.