Page 45 of Born Savage

“The Savage. The leader. His name is Rage.”

“Are you certain?” Peter was smiling, his eyes displaying a complete array of colors.

“Yes. What is happening? Why are you telling me this?” As I’d done before, I pressed my fingers against my lips. I could feel Rage as if he was right here with me.

“Because you are special. You were brought to us to care for. That boy was sent to find you, although he is not aware of the part he played. The man who rescued you, think about his face. Think about the changes.”

“There were several.”

“Star. Please.”

“No. I won’t believe it. That Savage wasn’t the same one. There is no chance. None.” I was no longer shivering, instead about to jump from my skin because of tiny yet powerful prickles of electricity.

To Peter’s credit, he allowed a little freak-out time without peppering me with any additional questions or forcing me to face a period of my life that had left me feeling empty. Maybe now, I knew why.

“My parents didn’t want me.”

“It’s more complicated than that. You were raised by your mother. Your birth father wasn’t in the picture.”

“Who was he?”

“Someone who didn’t value human life, especially that of a child.”

“You won’t tell me his identity. Will you?”

“His identity doesn’t matter. Yours does. You are special.”

“Why do you keep saying that?” I hated hearing the demand in my voice, but I was terrified, which was why Peter was trying to provide my mind.

“Did I ever tell you about the lottery system?” When Peter changed directions with a conversation, it was done to break my pattern of thinking. He was so pragmatic, requiring me to answer most of my own questions by figuring out a puzzle. This was no different.

“Some. You mentioned how chaotic it was.”

“Very much so. At first, people thought the system was well thought out and very fair. But when the practice was put in motion, it didn’t take long for almost everyone to realize the lottery had been rigged.”

His admittance was horrifying. “The government chose who would live.”

“Yes,” he whispered, his voice fading and for the first time since I’d known him, I sensed how much of a toll being the patriarch of the village had been to him. “Once the reality was discovered, there was nothing anyone could do.”

“My God.”

“You are like a granddaughter to me. You brought life to me when I wanted to lie down and die. I lost everything when selected by the lottery. My family. My entire world. I’d had twenty-four hours to pack two bags and meet at a selected rendezvous. I tried to take my son and daughter with me, but I wasn’t allowed. I tried to have one of them change places with me, but how do you choose which child would live and which would die?”

For that, I had no answer.

“In the end, my children walked away. They said their goodbyes and begged me to take the transport. You see, they had families of their own and refused to leave them. After I was saved, I fell into a deep depression until I was once again given purpose.”

“Purpose?”

“You. Protecting and educating you. What I’m trying to tell you is that there are things within this world and the one before that are connected. Whether we want to believe it or not, everything that occurs does for a reason.”

“Is that your prophecy?”

His smile was as if I was slowly beginning to understand. “To some degree.”

“Why?” I still couldn’t understand. Why had I been deemed so important?

“Because you are the future. You hold the key to survival and growth, a return to true freedom. The prophecy has been clear all along. It is time to face your destiny. The man you became close with was the boy who saved you, a man who volunteered to face harsh experiments and an even harsher way of life for the greater good.”