Young Writers Society

Sage stared at her. It seemed like it was just a few minutes ago that she had the speedster wrapped in vines, forcing an apology out of her. And now she was offering escape? To her, Sage, of all people? This seemed too good to be true. But the world had gone crazy with mind control and power-erasing...why not this, too?

Sage leaned over the edge, a hungry look in her eye as she studied the manhole cover. She and Izzy could slip through unnoticed, down into the sewers and, eventually, out into the world. They'd be free! Free of this wretched place, of the strangeness and the mind games and the stink of distrust. She'd never have to look back on the Institute ever again!

But as she stood there, hope swelling in her chest, she couldn't help but think of the others. They'd stay trapped here, crushed under the Adjudicator's thumb. Dawn would be forever caged by her mother, and the Jones would never go home to see theirs. Astrid wouldn't be able to pursue that life of excitement, and Shiloh--well, Shiloh probably didn't care. But everyone else did, including the hundreds of nameless students milling around inside like ants in a hill. She couldn't just...leave them, could she?

"Not now," Sage told Izzy, backing away from the railing. "Not here. Maybe some other time, once the Adjudicator has been toppled and everyone else is out. But I can't leave today, not while there are still people in the school. Not while I can do something to help them."

Izzy watched as Sage went through the stages of realizing escape. Eventually, she nodded. Although a bit disappointed with Sage's conclusion, it was the same one Izzy had come to.

"I get it," she said. She looked at Sage carefully after that. "You're lucky I trust you. You tell it how it is. Even I need that sometimes," she whispered. Izzy crawled down from the railing and shook out her feet. "I'm gonna give it a week or two, see if I can talk Powder out of any of this. If not, I'll be taking Winifred with me and leaving. I'd suggest you hurry up your little coup d'état before then. Once they realize we've left, they'll seal off all conncetion. I mean all of it. I've seen some of Darcy's notes. She's been planning for what happens if they cut off their food suppliers and how much they could ration.

"So good luck to you. Really." She paused, then shoved her hands into her pockets and continued to the stairs. "If you ever need my help... I, um, I'll check my schedule, I guess. Only if you really need it. Don't waste my time."

Sage watched the speedster go, an odd flicker of warmth in her chest. Was this...friendship? From Izzy Rinstone? Their collective sworn enemy? It felt weird. But not necessarily wrong. After all, desperation had a way of bringing people together. Speaking of which...

I need to apologize to the others, Sage thought, rubbing her arms as the Semavry wilted and died around her. The air was suddenly cold as the burn of anger faded inside her, replaced by empty guilt. Dawn, specifically. I was such an ass to her...Evan, too.

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she made her way down the stairs. I guess you really know something's wrong when Izzy Rinstone tells you you're a jerk.

Astrid laid on one of the bunks, their arms spread completely. Thankfully, the high was starting to wear off. "So, what do we do now?" she asked, "do we just wait for word to get around? I remember seeing a few kids follow someone into the library... I think. The hallway is kind of fuzzy now."

Dawn had the bathtub running now. Not because she was taking a bath, but because she needed some noise to drown out the others. Listening to Avery or her own thoughts just wasn't an option right now. The white noise of the faucet running was something she could relax to. The voices in her head weren't loud enough to push through it. She laid her head on the side of the tub, occasionally dipping her fingers into the warm water. Maybe she should take a bath. Dawn couldn't even remember the last time she got to relax, even if it was just a shower.

Sage paused in front of the dorm door. She could hear the sound of water rushing inside; someone taking a shower? It'd been so long since she'd done that...she probably smelled like a garbage dump.

Maybe I shouldn't disturb them, she thought, fist hovering just above the door. They're mad at me...they don't want to see me right now. I mean, what good is an apology going to do? It's not like saying 'I'm sorry' is gonna erase all the things I've said.

...But if I don't, it'll only make things worse. Besides, I need somewhere to stay. I can't just sleep in the hallway, can I?

Taking a deep breath, she knocked.

Astrid was the one to open the door. Her eyes beamed when she saw Sage. "Oh, hey!" they said, "you're back! I was wondering where you went." Astrid, not fully understanding the situation, eagerly welcomed her in. "Dawn's in the bathroom right now. She's been in there for a while, actually. Way longer than usual, at least... Should we check on her?" they pointed out.

The running water was just loud enough to block the noise of the door opening and closing, leaving Dawn completely unaware. She dipped her fingers in the water, and soon algae grew from beneath her fingertips. A few lily pads began to float around the water, too.

Astrid sensed the awkward tension almost instantly. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife. "So... What happened while I was loopy, exactly?"

"Not much," Sage shrugged. All the drama had mostly been in her thoughts. "I just had to take a break for a bit. I think Dawn's frustrated with me because I tried to tell her the procedure wouldn't be that bad...which I probably shouldn't have done."

She looked around, searching for her fellow plant Prodigy. "I guess she's the one in the shower, huh?"

Astrid looked back at Evan, completely confused, then shrugged at Sage. "Um, I guess so. I'll, um, go get her..."

Awkwardly Astrid made their way to the door and tapped on it. The water turned off, and a minute or so of silence followed. The sound of drawers moving and footsteps went on for a while. Then scissors snipping away.

The door cracked open a bit. Dawn appeared in the small space, her hair just a bit shorter but slightly cleaned up on the edges, and a seeminly wary expression on her face. She looked down at Dawn with eyes that asked: does it look okay?

Astrid pointed at Sage, and Dawn's shoulders jumped. "Oh," she whispered shyly. Slowly she opened the door to reveal herself and turned her eyes to the ground. "Um, hi. You're back earlier than I thought."

"Your hair looks nice," Avery smiled warmly in an effort to cheer Dawn up. There was a pause as the tension in the room thickened.

"I'm sorry," Sage blurted suddenly. "To...to all of you. I've been an awful friend and a shitty teammate and I've said some really terrible things. I-I haven't been thinking about...about how you all may be feeling and I...I've just been really selfish. I'm sorry."

Dawn's pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to hide just how much it did cheer her up.

Then, Sage started going on about her shortcomings... and Dawn was floored by it. Really? Sage was the selfish one? Astrid stood by Evan awkwardly, having no clue what caused any of this.

Dawn spoke up shortly after her fellow botani-kinetic. "No, don't apologize," she chuckled sheepishly. "I, um, I was going to say sorry, too." Dawn stepped out of the bathroom and into the room, standing awkwardly as she picked at her nails. "I think I've been the selfish one here. I mean, I can love that crazy lady and would probably die for her and here she is, trying to erase us all... And with Shiloh, I really thought I could do it! I've been around blood before, obviously. I just panicked. Maybe? I dunno, but it was stupid of me to back out and I should've thought about the stakes. I've kind of done nothing but set everyone back and be sad about myself," she sighed, "So, I'm sorry."

"It's really not that big of a deal," Sage said, winding her hands around each other awkwardly. "The setbacks, I mean. You've had a lot to go through, it makes sense that you'd need some extra time to process all this. It's a lot."

"You're the strongest out of all of us, Dawn," Avery added. "Facing your mom and everything...it's impressive, honestly, how much you've helped us. You amaze me every day, and I think Sage can say the same."

The botani-kinetic nodded.

"You don't need to apologize," Avery continued. "You've done so much already."

Dawn blushed under the attention on her, scratching the back of her head nervously. She had to admit, the haircut made her feel much lighter now, though that could be for plenty of reasons. "Well... thank you, then. I don't know what I say. I can't say I agree, but..." she glanced at Avery with a coy smile, "the sentiment is appreciated."

Dawn was just about to approach Avery, when the sound of a riot outside broke through the closed windows. Astrid went to take a peak, only to see a group of students trying to break down the cement wall in a panic. A few more would join them and gather outside, and footsteps from all over the insitute made a loud symphony of noise and trouble.

Astrid grinned. "Looks like the video got out. Let the anarchy begin."

Avery glanced out the window, her brow wrinkled with concern. "What do we do? Do we just...let them riot? What if security comes to get them and they're all dragged down to the Adjudicator's lab?"

"It's like the old saying," Astrid said, "They can't catch all of us." There was a newfound confidence in Astrid that was barely ever seen before. Chaos made her feel comfortable, like she had finally done something that made a real impact. "All we can do is sit back and relax," they said, leaning back on Evan's bunk and making themself right at home.

Dawn put herself right in front of the window, watching as some kids murmured about the real reason they were and others were trying to chip away at the wall, to no avail. A few of them were shocked by the electro-magnetic field inside the gray wall. Dawn just barely saw the sun beginning to set over the enourmous thing. "Even if we did go down to help," Dawn sighed, sadly, "We'd just be dragged down with them. I doubt they'll go all night." Dawn left the window shortly after that, making their way to their bunk and slumping onto it.

Astrid once completely in position for optimal relaxation, instantly sprung up again. "How do we relax?" they asked. "I mean, it just feels wrong. Shouldn't there be something we should be doing? It doesn't feel right to just... wait."

"I agree with Astrid," Sage nodded, glancing at Avery. "We should be doing something. What was the next step of our plan? Recruitment or something?"

"Yeah," Avery's eyes were fixed on the people outside, concern tightening the muscles of her face. "Allies..."

"It might be best to just see how things go, though," Evan pointed out, swinging his legs off the edge of his bunk. His skin was tinted an interesting mix of yellow and orange. He looked a little sick. "Get a feel for how things are playing out. I want to see how the Adjudicator reacts to all of this."