Traces Of Magic

~Chapter 34~

-Sage's POV-

My eyes open slowly. I am surrounded in silence. The silence doesn't last long as I hear the door open. "Well would you look at that? Our little buddy's awake and ready for us. How nice. Hope you slept well because you won't be for a while..." Dustin smiles at me before breaking into an unpleasant laugh.

"Why do we have to be up this early in the morning? My beauty sleep is what makes me beautiful for a reason!" Savannah stumbles in after him. Her purple hair is a mess and her make up looks like she did it in the dark. "We get up this early Savannah so that we're not late to school." He sighs as she rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just get this done and over with."

Dustin sits down in front of the microscope and turns it on. He moves aside and lets Savannah look. She looks up at him with a confused look. He whispers something into her ear and she nods before looking back down. He walks over to the table in the back and she follows after turning off the microscope. He explains something to her before handing her another syringe filled with a dark colored liquid. She looks over at me and smiles evily before coming closer.

I am able to get a better look at what exactly is in the syringe as she stands in front of me. In the syringe is a dark green liquid. She cradles it in her hands as she sighs softly. "Every rose has their thorns..." She smiles and looks up at me before brushing some of her hair behind her ear. She bats her eyelashes flirtatiously as she grabs my arm. "...Looks like you're one of mine..."

With that, she sticks the needle into my arm and injects the liquid into my bloodstream. Instantly, my arm begins to burn as my veins turn green. Savannah laughs maniacally as she walks back over to Dustin who joins in with her laughing. The burning sensation spreads out with the changing of my veins, growing stronger every second the liquid is in me. My body feels like it's engulfed in flames as it travels through my entire body. I scream out quietly in pain, fueling the duo's laughter. My skin glows a light red almost like my skin has been peeled off and only the sensitive layer is left.

The burning finally reaches my head, making me feel like my brain is boiling and causing my head to throb in pain. I ball my hands into fists and clench my teeth in agony, hoping that the pain will go away soon, but it doesn't. Eventually, it becomes too much as my vision slowly fades to black.

My eyes open again. I groan uncomfortably as I examine myself. There's still a stinging sensation on my light red skin. Whatever bound me is undone, allowing me to move freely.

'Yeah. I can move freely BUT only in this stupid box..."

I raise my arms to my head as I stretch. It feels good to move around again. Slowly but surely, I meander around my surroundings, being extra careful not to break or run into something. Eventually, I run into a wall. I yelp quietly as my skin makes contact with the cool metal. After calming down a bit, I place my palm against the wall and walk around, making sure to always be in contact with the metal.

Soon, my hand brushes over a door frame. I freeze and use both hands to find the doorknob. The back of my hand brushes against something protruding from the door.

'Bingo! Looks like you don't need your brother after all Sage. Freedom here I come!'

I take a deep breath as I wrap my fingers around it and turn. That's when I hear it.

Static.
Coming from the door.

'Wait! Metal walls and static noises? Oh no...'

Sparks fly from the door as the electricity flows into my body. I am powerless to do anything but cling to the doorknob as I am violently shocked. The longer I hold on, the more sparks fly from the door. Soon the room is a bright orange as a steady stream of sparks illuminate the room.

There's a bright flash of light and a loud popping noise before the electricity suddenly shuts off. I crumple to the floor, my body almost completely paralyzed. The electricity remaining in me causes my arms and legs to twitch uncontrollably.

Using that to my advantage as best I can, I drag myself in the direction of the table. My fingers brush against the chair, telling me I am almost there. My misery will be no more soon. I grab on to the chair and pull myself up on it.

It takes me a while to get over to the table with the chair. My legs are unwilling to work for me. Fearing that all of the electricity in my body is almost gone, I throw my arms around the top of the table, not caring if I broke something.

There's a loud thud beside me as I knock the microscope off. I toss myself back down on to the floor and try to find the microscope. I jerk my hand away quickly as I cut my palm against something. A slight smile creeps on to my face as I pull the broken slide out of my hand. This is exactly what I was looking for.

I look around for a moment, thinking about my life. I think about my mom, how hard she taught us whether it was about normal human stuff or managing and using our powers for good.

I think about my dad, how I only saw him once but still managed to love him, all the stories I was told about him and his terrible actions, how I used his absence from my life as motivation to be the exact opposite of him and be there for everyone.

I think about Derrick, how much he cares about Jarron and I, taking us under his wing after we lost what we cherished most and showing us what it's like to have a purpose in life again.

I think about Mandy, how she really cares about everyone, especially my brother, how she's not afraid to try something new and do what she thinks is right even when people tell her otherwise.

Finally and most importantly, I think about Jarron, my somewhat annoying brother, how he is fearless, just like Mandy, how he's always there for me, willing to give me support. How he can be so gentle and kind when he wants to be and how he's a big softie when it comes to those he cares for the most.

I smile a bit more as tears start to run down my face. I haven't stopped to realize all of the great things I have in my life or all of the people who mean the most to me. I stare down at the broken slide.

'Is this really what I want? To die? To leave everyone who cares about me all alone?'

I take a deep breath and wrap my fingers around the slide tightly.

'Come on Sage. This is for the better. Do you really want to have to go though all of the pain and misery? All of the torchure and torment?'

More tears flood down my face. My hands tremble slightly as I pick up my hand with the slide.

'Do you think Mom would want you to be in so much pain? Do you think Dad went through all of the agony like you are?'

'Do you think Jarron would want you to go through this?'

The tears stop coming as I lose control of all of my emotions. I stare blankly at my wrist as I press the jagged edge of the piece of glass against it. A single drop of blood forms at the tip of the glass.

'I'm so sorry Jarron...'
'You don't understand what pain I'm going through...'
'I hope you'll forgive me...'

The pain isn't as extreme as I was anticipating from dragging the glass through my skin. My shaky hands make it a bit difficult to get straight cuts, so I have to do it several times. Every drop of blood that I lose feel like all of my problems are just draining from my body.

My head is already spinning and my vision is already gone fuzzy by the time I get to my other wrist. I drop the slide while trying to grab it with my other hand. Using whatever strength I have left in that hand, I manage to pick it back up and continue.

The cuts on this wrist are much more wavy and crooked rather than straight. Growing frustrated, I press the glass down harder. The blood flows faster. The last thing I remember is the door opening.