Obsessed

“It was a plane,” she said. “A military plane crashed into the castle.”

Sage shook his head, confusion across his brow.

“There’d be no reason for a plane to be here,” he replied. “The castle is in the middle of nowhere.”

“Unless they were looking for it,” Scarlet finished for him, as it dawned on her. “Unless they were looking for me.”

Just then, a mound of brick shifted and Sage winced as it slammed into his leg.

“We have to move,” Scarlet replied.

It wasn’t just danger from the damaged building she was worried about – it was the Immortalists. They had to escape before anyone came to their senses.

She turned to Sage.

“Can you run?”

He looked up at her with weary eyes. “Scarlet. It’s too late. I’m dying.”

She gritted her teeth. “It’s not too late.”

He grabbed her hands in his and stared deeply into her eyes. “Listen to me. I love you. But you have to let me die. It’s over.”

Scarlet turned her face away from him and wiped away the single tear that fell from her eye. When she turned back she reached out and hauled Sage’s arm across her shoulder, wrenching him to a standing position. He cried out in pain and sunk into her. As she began to lead him across the rubble and through the plumes of acrid smoke, she said:

“It’s not over until I say it is.”

*

The castle was in disarray. Though the plane that had crashed into it had been small, the damage to the ancient building had been colossal___.

Scarlet weaved through the corridors as the walls crumbled around her. She held Sage tightly to her side and he slumped into her, groaning with pain. He was so weak and feeble it made Scarlet’s heart ache. All she wanted was to get him to safety.

Just then, she heard shouting coming from behind.

“They’re getting away!”

Scarlet realized with a sinking sensation that they were coming back to their senses, that despite their castle being destroyed and many of their brethren lying hurt and dying around them, their desire for vengeance was going to drive them on.

“Sage,” Scarlet said, “they’re coming for us. We need to go faster.”

Sage gulped and grimaced.

“I’m going as fast as I can.”

Scarlet tried to hasten her pace but Sage’s weakness was slowing them down. He had to stop running. She had to find somewhere safe to hide him so that they could at the very least say their goodbyes.

She looked over her shoulder to see several Immortalists advancing. There, at the back, half concealed by shadows, she saw Octal. So he wasn’t dead.

As the group gained on them, Scarlet saw that half of Octal’s face was badly burned. He must have been in significant pain and yet he still wanted to harm her and Sage. It made Scarlet so sad to think that the love between her and Sage outraged the Immortalists so much.

Suddenly, an almighty crash made Scarlet leap, and a sudden spray of icy water soaked her. She looked over her left shoulder to find that the whole side of the castle had crumbled into the sea, causing a mighty wave to crash over them.

She heard screaming and looked back to see the Immortalists tumbling into the sea. They fell so quickly they didn’t even have time to fly to safety, and as soon as they hit the waves, the angry ocean swallowed them up.

As the tiles began to give way beneath her feet, Scarlet slammed her back against the wall of the corridor and pushed Sage back with her arm. The black water churned several feet below them. Scarlet suddenly felt as though she were balancing precariously on the ledge of a mountain.

The only person left standing, on the other side of a wide chasm, was Octal. Scarlet knew that it would take him no more than a few seconds to fly across the gap between them. But instead, he decided to watch.

He thinks it’s hopeless. He thinks we’re going to die.

“Quick,” she said to Sage. “Before we fall into the sea.”

Cold ocean spray hit her face as she led him across the ledge. With every step, more of the flooring broke off and tumbled into the ocean. Scarlet’s heart raced with anguish. She prayed that they would make it out of the castle and to safety.

“There,” she said to Sage. “Just a few more steps.”

But no sooner had the words left her lips than the tiles beneath Sage’s feet cracked. He just had time to look up into her eyes before the floor gave way and he plummeted down into the blackness.

“Sage!” Scarlet screamed, her hand outstretched, reaching for him.

But he was gone.

Scarlet glanced up at the other side of the chasm and saw a smile spread across Octal’s horrifically disfigured face.

Without a second of hesitation, Scarlet leapt off the ledge like a diver from a diving board, and soared downward toward Sage’s falling figure. Seconds before he hit the ocean she swept him up into her arms.

“I’ve got you,” she whispered, holding him to her chest.

Sage was heavy. Scarlet was only able to hover. They were barely inches above the treacherous water. She knew she couldn’t fly up because that would reveal to Octal that they had survived and he would launch an attack on them right away.

It was then that she saw caves to her right. They were naturally made, eroded into the solid rock by the ocean over centuries. The castle must have been built on top of them.

Scarlet wasted no time. She flew into the cave, Sage in her arms, and set him down on the floor. He flopped back and groaned.

“We’re okay,” Scarlet said to him. “We made it.”

But she was soaking wet and shivering. Her teeth chattered as she spoke. When she held Sage’s hand, she realized he was trembling too.

“We didn’t make it,” he finally said. “I’ve been telling you all along, I am going to die. Tonight.”

Scarlet shook her head, making her tears fly from her cheeks.

“No,” she said.

But she realized then it was no use. Sage was dying. It was really true.

She held him in her arms and let the tears fall freely. They rolled down her cheeks and onto her neck. She didn’t bother to wipe them away.