Chapter 23: Safe hands

Sage's eyes flicked open, and she rose up quickly, at alert, thinking that she was still in the woods with the huge wolf that would not hesitate to devour her. However, to her surprise, she was no longer in the woods. There was a roof over her and people surrounded her. She stared at them in confusion, but they weren’t her major concern right now.

‘I’m alive,’ Sage examined her whole body. ‘It was just a dream, but…” Sage paused as she took her time to notice her environment. ‘This isn’t the attic.’ Sage was used to waking up to the sloppy ceilings in the attic where she stayed; however, this room had a straight ceiling and enough space in it. This sight alone made her question where she was.

“Hello, dear,” Sage turned to look at who spoke. The woman had a soft smile plastered on her face, assuring Sage that she was in safe hands.

“Where am I? What happened?” Sage questioned.

“You tell us what happened,” Xavier asked, and Sage immediately turned her head in his direction. He had his arms folded and a frown on his face as he stared at Sage with his deep blue eyes. Sage was surprised to see who it was that had spoken, but she also wondered why he was staring at her in an unpleasant way.

Mitchell shot Xavier a questioning look; his tone was a bit rude, and Mitchell didn’t want Sage to feel uncomfortable in her house.

Xavier had changed his mood around Sage and the others; he didn’t want them to take a hint at how worried he was for Sage, especially since Red was present in the room with them. Most of them didn’t really know who Sage was from school. The only one who would was sleeping with his eyes open in Valarie’s room.

“Darling, if you could remember what happened to you, I hope you wouldn’t mind telling us,” Mitchell asked, placing a hand on Sage's back.

Sage's eyes danced around, and her toes curled as she remembered what had happened to her in the woods. It was now she felt how unearthly the presences of those creatures were. And even worse, she didn’t recognize who she had become then. It seemed to her that she had become a monster to defeat those monsters.

Sage looked up at Mitchell, afraid that Mitchell would judge her for what she might be. Sage broke out in tears and hugged Mitchell, who hugged her back with soft pats to her back.

Mitchell signaled for everyone to leave the room. Everyone did as she said, except for Xavier, who locked the door when everyone was out.

Xavier stood by the corner of the room, away from Sage's view, and watched as she released his mother from the hug.

Sage had been holding it all in for a very long time. There were a lot of things that she wanted to share with someone like Mitchell, but her relatives weren’t the type she could do so with. Sage felt ashamed of herself that she was about to open up to someone whom she had just met a few minutes ago.

“Are you feeling better now?” Mitchell asked and received a nod from Sage, who was wiping the tears from her eyes.

“What’s your name, dear?” Mitchell asked. It was obvious that the demon Sage encountered wasn’t the only thing that frightened her, and Mitchell wanted to know it all. She was glad she had saved the girl and not left her there in the woods.

“Sage,” Sage sniffed. “Sage Markoy.”

“I’m Mitchell. Do you remember what happened to you?”

Sage proceeded to explain everything to Mitchell, but she omitted some parts like how she healed when the werewolf clawed at her and how she had defeated it the first time. Sage had changed her mind and didn’t open up completely to Mitchell.

Mitchell, of course, noticed this as there were a lot of loopholes in Sage's story. She didn’t push Sage to tell her more; instead, she comforted her and made her feel better.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now,” Mitchell said.

“I want to go home,” Sage said. Although Mitchell had been comforting in a motherly way, Sage felt like Mitchell could tell she wasn’t saying everything that had happened. It reminded her of how Ericka would look at her with judging eyes.

“I’m glad you're safe, Sage,” Mitchell said, letting go of Sage's hand.

“I’ll take you home,” Xavier said, walking out of the corner where he stood.

Sage wasn’t aware he was in the room with them, but she didn’t mind. If anyone could take her home, it would be Xavier, who already knew where she lived.

Mitchell walked Sage down the stairs, and Xavier walked closely behind them. The others were sitting in the living room, waiting for them to come down.

“Our guest would be taking her leave now,” Mitchell said with a smile.

“It’s late now; why doesn’t she spend the night with us?” Ian suggested.

Mitchell shook her head at Ian, showing that wasn’t a good idea. Besides, none of them in the living room would feel safe knowing that Sage, who had been possessed by a demon, was staying with them under the same veil.

Mitchell didn’t bother about the link Sage might have had with the demon. From Sage’s story, her astral had come out of her body, which meant her consciousness didn’t become one with the demon at any point in time.

“Xavier has volunteered to take her home, and I’m sure her family would be worried about her whereabouts,” Mitchell stated.

“Can I come along?” Red asked, standing up from her seat. Everyone stared at her; it wasn’t unusual for them to see Red following Xavier around, but this time they all knew it was because of something different. “I mean, it wouldn’t be much fun coming back home alone, would it?”

“I think I can handle myself, Red,” Xavier smiled at her before walking out of his house with Sage.

On the ride to Sage’s home, Xavier and Sage were both quiet. However, Sage soon broke the silence.

“I’m curious, how I got to your home?” Sage asked as she stared at Xavier’s calm face. She noticed the frown he had on when he was in his house was gone.

“My mom found you passed out on the forest floor.” Sage felt indebted to Xavier’s mother, but she still didn’t know what had become of the wolf. It also seemed odd to her that Xavier and his mother had believed whatever she told them. To her, she seemed like a crazy person telling others her nightmare became a reality. Sage shook her head, thinking they just believed her so she wouldn’t go about wondering if she was still in her right state of mind.

“You have such a nice mom.”

“Thanks… Sage, you shouldn’t go wandering around in the woods like you did tonight. There are a lot of things that walk at night that could harm you,” Xavier warned, with his eyes still fixed on the path he was driving on.

Sage didn’t say anything. It was a habit of hers to walk in the woods with Bruno whenever she was stressed, but after the event of the night, she doubted the woods would be her safe space.

Sage immediately sat up straight in the car when something crossed her mind. Bruno was with her in the woods, but had left her when he saw the wolf. She just hoped he was safe. She composed herself before Xavier could notice there was something bugging her and ask.

Xavier finally reached Sage’s destination in front of the dark-looking house.

“Thanks for the ride,” Sage said after she got out. “And please do send my thanks to your mom.”

“Stay safe, Sage,” Xavier said before turning his car on and driving off.

Without wasting much time after Xavier drove off, Sage dashed into the house, calling out for Bruno.

Bruno ran from the kitchen with his leash trailing behind him. He went to the door just where Sage stood calling his name.

Sage was relieved that Bruno had found his way back home, and Bruno panted with his tongue out, obviously happy that Sage had made it back safely.