GOLDEN AGE | ON HIATUS

IX | SASHA

[ 09 ]

CHEAP COFFEE was not pleasant, as much as Sasha tried to tell herself that it was alright. It left a trail down her throat that made her want to retch, and the lack of sugar or milk made it even worse. She knew that Petra was trying her best, doing what she could, and had welcomed her and Wildfire into her tiny rented room with the air of a grand host.

As she looked around, an overwhelming wave of guilt hit Sasha like a car, knocking the air out of her lungs and making her eyes sting with tears. How could she have left her sister, strong, humble Petra who never once complained, who carried both of their loads on her back till it broke.

How could Petra have left everything behind for a sister who never tried to find her?

You did.

You tried to find her.

She could've tried to find her faster, tried a little bit more. Instead, she'd chosen to pine after a life too good to be true, an imposter in a sea of Semper's saviours. Still, after so many years, Sasha couldn't get the image of that first press conference out of her head, cameras flashing everywhere and people screaming from every direction.

Some of them were nice, asking her about herself, whether she'd heard of Semper City before. The views from the Hartsicke River were beautiful, they'd said, if you were lucky enough to secure a cruise for the afternoon. In the morning, she'd learnt, it was too cold and dark, and no-one had even considered the night. The night was when all the bad things came out play, with their grilled masks and smoke bombs, white powders and cocked guns.

No, the nighttime was not a friendly place, especially not for girls like her, who looked as if they might shatter if you pushed them too far. Now, Sasha liked to think that her condition had improved, that she'd accumulated some sort of muscle, but as she poked her arms she couldn't help feeling smaller than ever before.

It had nothing to do with the size of her biceps - no, but rather, the feeling of being watched. With that, there was the click of a lock and the door opening, revealing two figures in the doorway that slipped into the room. A bang announced that the door was closed, followed by the angry shout of someone being woken up from their sleep.

As Sasha and Wildfire both got up, her clearing her throat and him rubbing his palms together, one of the figures spoke.

"Hey. Hold your fire."

Her voice was guttural and rough, like she hadn't used it in a while, and didn't match her appearance at all. With a pink button-up and a lacy collar, the girl looked more like someone who'd speak in a sickly sweet way, maybe even giggle.