I stood in shock, staring at a sister who I hadn’t seen in almost five years, but one I would recognize easily without a second glance. As I pulled her in again, I started to laugh while wrapping my arms around her slim body and cradling her against me.
“I can’t believe it. How are you here?” I asked in complete awe.
She didn’t answer, her fingers digging into my sides as she held onto me like she thought I could be torn away from her at any moment.
I pried myself from her grip momentarily, my hands reaching up to cup her face. She was scared, her eyes were darting between Chelsea and Deacon as they stood silently beside us. “It’s okay,” I whispered gently. “They’re our friends.”
Deacon nodded in agreement. “Like I said before, I’m a police officer. I’m here to help you.”
Emerald’s eyes seemed to soften on Deacon and she took a deep breath, holding it in for strength like we used to do when we were kids. The longer you held your breath, the more strength your body would absorb. We used to have competitions—a fight to see who was stronger, which often resulted in one or more of us passing out because we were that stubborn. But back then, we also needed a lot of strength.
As she exhaled, she held her chin a little higher, and her shaking hands became steady. “I ran,” she answered softly. “Father was going to make me marry this awful man who joined the Colony a few months ago.” Her brow was pulled in tightly, like her anger toward our father was still burning within her. “He was different, Sapphire. He did not fit in…” she paused and then continued, “… he did not wear our clothes or speak like us.”
It was strange to hear her call me by a name that I’d sworn so many years ago I’d never be known as again. Sapphire wasn’t who I was anymore. She was obedient, where I’d become opinionated. She was weak, where I was now strong.
I pursed my lips together, unsure of what my sister was saying.
The elders and prophets were always very strict about outsiders coming into the Colony. It was basically forbidden unless they were coming to join us, and then they would be forced to give up their possessions and way of life, but most of all be expected to follow the rules.
“Did you speak with this man?” I questioned.
A crimson blush spread across her cheeks. Her hands fell into her lap, and she hung her head as though she was expecting a punishment, but I had no idea what for.
“Emerald,” I hissed. “Tell me what he has done.” I could feel the tone of my voice changing, the way I spoke was different as I fell back into old habits. It’d taken me a long time to change the way I acted, and the way words fell from my lips. We didn’t grow up using slang, and almost carried what I could identify now as a strange accent.
“I cannot say,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
Hehadhurt her, I could hear it and see it on her face.
Whoever this man was, had done something to cause my beautiful and usually vibrant sister to pull into herself in fear.
It made me angry. I was furious at them and at myself.
It wasn’t as though I hadn’t thought of going back for my siblings. I felt guilt almost every day for leaving them there unprotected while I lived this amazing life of freedom. But I knew going back and possibly being caught would mean the end of my life. Instead, I was working hard to make something of myself, so maybe one day, I could find the confidence to rescue them and show them that the world outside of the Colony was a beautiful place. Not a place to be feared, not a place of sin, but a place of life.
“Is she in danger?” Chelsea asked, placing her hand on my shoulder.
I met the worry in her eyes. “Possibly. They may be looking for her.”
She nodded. “I think we should talk to Optimus, see if there’s anything the club can do to help.”
My heart warmed, and I placed my hand over hers and gave it a light squeeze. “That would be great.”
“I’ll come with you,” Deacon said, stepping forward. While his words were directed at me, his eyes were focused on my sister. They were intense and unwavering, but there was something else floating in the depths of his gaze, an emotion that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. After a few long seconds, he finally turned to me, as if the spell Emerald had cast over him was broken. He cleared his throat, and I raised an eyebrow curiously. “She’s technically still in my custody until I can find a family member or someone to care for her temporarily while we figure out what’s going on. She’s still a minor.”
My gut sank. He was right. Emerald was only seventeen, she didn’t turn eighteen for another four months. “Will they try and take her back home?” I asked, my heart beat rising rapidly.
Emerald looked at the ground while Deacon just smirked. “Your sister was smart enough to give us no information about who her parents are and where we might be able to locate them. She’s not carrying any identification, the only thing she has with her is a photo of you.” He pulled it from his pocket and held it up in front of him. “There was an alert sent out yesterday with this picture, luckily I recognized your face and was able to get them to bring Emerald here to me.”
“They were happy to get rid of me,” Emerald whispered sourly. “They knew where I had come from, even though I demanded that they were wrong, and they spoke to me as though I was…” her eyes looked up at the ceiling as if searching her brain for the right word.
“Crazy?” I offered, rolling my eyes. It was typical, and I knew exactly what she meant. The people who lived in the towns and cities surround the Colony all thought that it was basically an insane asylum, that we were all a few colors short of a rainbow.
At first, it had offended me too, to have such biased preconceptions about the world that we came from. Mainly because while I had objected to the way in which we were treated and the things we were made to believe, I’d still for the most part, had a childhood full of happy times and a family full of brothers and sisters who I adored with all my heart.
We weren’t all crazy, but I realize now it just so happened to be the ones in charge of the Colony that were.
I rang Sugar, and she gave me permission to close up the shop early after hearing what was going on.