Page 1 of Sage

Chapter One

Escaping the forest

“How could he betray me like this?” Sage whispered as the tears streamed down her face. Her breaths were staggered and her chest burned, sending her back to the last time she needed to utilize an inhaler, sixteen years ago. With each step she took, she dodged fiery debris and leaves crunched beneath her feet. Suddenly she was fifteen again.

“Hans!” Gretta cried out, the darkness swallowing her whole. She could barely see three inches in front of her. “Hans, where are you?” Gretta was scared, the only sound she could hear off in the distance was the fire crackling as it continued to destroy the old hag’s cottage. She was gone. No more torturing the souls of innocent children. No more- and then a familiar voice broke through the deadly silence.

Hans.

“I’m over here!” Hans yelled out. Gretta found the confidence in his voice attractive. He had taken it upon himself to watch over her since she was twelve years old. With each passing day their friendship grew, the love and admiration they had for oneanother continued to blossom into something that neither could explain.

“I’m going to marry that boy one day.” Gretta smiled and took a deep breath, ready to run and push through the pain that she was feeling due to the tightness in her chest and constricted breathing. She started running in the direction his voice was echoing from, both of them calling for each other, caught in a desperate game of Marco Polo. Gretta stopped to catch her breath once more, unable to understand why Hans had wandered so far away from her. Chills ran down Gretta’s spine, something wasn’t right.

“Gotcha!” Gretta screamed as the giant ogre of a man wrapped his hands around her arms. He squeezed tighter the more she tried to wriggle free, but it was no use. She was trapped. The man turned her around, forcing Gretta to look into his eyes which were filled with evil. With the help of Hans, Gretta knew she would have had a fighting chance to break free from the trauma that their torture had induced, but now, looking at this beast and taking in whiffs of his rotting teeth, Gretta came to accept that there was no way out.

A car horn in the distance brought Sage back to the present, letting her know that she was headed in the direction of the main road. She had hoped she would be able to find someone to give her a ride far away from this place she once called home. This was the second time that Sage and Hans had been separated, only this time she was the witch - though with a little lesshocus pocus- that he was running from.

Sage stopped and attempted to catch her breath before continuing forward at a snail's pace. She was unsure of how long she had been running. Her chest burned with the inhale and exhale of each breath in the cool night air and she foundherself wishing she could magically pull an inhaler from out of thin air.

As she edged closer to the dark pavement, Sage glanced up and down the road in hopes that she would see a car coming.

Nothing.

The air was still, Sage could feel herself losing hope when suddenly she could hear the sound of a car getting closer.

Picking up her pace to reach the pavement, she lost sight of where she was placing her feet, her foot getting caught in the tree roots and causing her to fall face first into a pile of dirt.

Caw. Caw. Caw.

Sage caught a glimpse of her raven friend sitting in the tree directly across from her. Its caws sounded more like laughter, making fun of her for the predicament that she found herself in. Sage made her way back to her feet, brushing off the leaves and debris that stuck to her skin as headlights slowly crept up behind her.

The brakes squealed as the car came to a stop. “Is everything okay, miss?” The gentleman driving stuck his head outside the driver’s side window.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sage lied, unsure if this was the ride she wanted to take.

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” at least he appeared to be concerned, “Do you need a ride?”

Sage hesitated a moment, but she knew that if she was going to accomplish any of the goals she had, she needed to take him up on his offer. “Sure, thanks.” She walked over to the passenger side, peering in and taking note of the car being unkempt; full of fast food bags, empty beer cans, and empty cigarette packs.

Fuck, what have I gotten myself into?Sage questioned if it would have been better to turn around and run back into the forest.

When she opened the door a cloud of cigarette smoke slapped her harshly across the face, catching her off-guard. She was frustrated, she had already inhaled enough smoke this evening and now this asshole was just adding to it.

The man grabbed a notebook and began fanning it back and forth, apologizing while making an attempt to clear the rest of the smoke from the car. It would have been a kind gesture had the car not fought to hold onto at least ten years worth of smoke within the fabric of its soul.

"Where ya headed, miss?" He smiled big enough that Sage could see he was missing several teeth. She grasped the sticky seat belt and pulled it across her body, securing herself in while also envisioning herself flying through the windshield if they got into a wreck.That might actually be a better option.Sage kept her thoughts to herself. He was an older gentleman looking to be in his late fifties, who reeked of body odor, the aroma telling a story of how he had most likely not showered in weeks. Sage flung her head backward and stared at the ceiling of the car looking to the universe to give her guidance, there was nothing.

"Anywhere but here." Sage coughed the words out, bringing her attention back down to stare out the windshield, hoping to come up with a destination that would bring her a peace that she hadn't experienced in years.

"Ya hungry? You look like you could use something to eat." The man chuckled.

I guess I missed that joke.Sage attempted a half-assed smile while he continued howling. As he gathered his composure, she reached into her pocket hoping to find some spare change.Instead of finding any money, Sage noticed something else had made its way into her pocket that she didn't remember putting there.

The locket. She couldn't believe it, the sign she had been wishing for. "I'm good, but would you mind stopping at my friend’s house so that I can grab a few of my things before we go wherever it is that we are going?" Sage was hesitant, part of her hoping he would agree and the other part of her hoping he would say he was on a deadline and needed to get on the road. With the current conditions of his car she didn't feel like there was anywhere that he needed to be.

"Sure thing, sweetheart." He let out a loud belch as he put his car into gear and started driving down the road. "The name's Troy, what's yours?" Sage quickly went back and forth debating whether or not she was going to give Troy her real name or not, though technically Sage was already an alias.

"Sage." She slipped out reluctantly.

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