𝓟𝐫𝗼𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝓢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐞

Chapter #10 - Keefe

Chapter #10 - Keefe

"Oh no," Keefe muttered, "No no no." He couldn't believe that Sophie had figured out where he was, and he had numbed everyone. That was double messing up. He had been so careful— so careful! And yet he still made a mistake.

Maybe he really was the fool that his parents saw him as.

Maybe he really was just a stupid boy who messed up at everything.

Maybe he really was a fai—

He couldn't finish the thought, though, because he observed a bulge in Amy's right pocket. At first, he thought it was a human device— phones, they called them?— but as he got a closer look, he noticed a bit of glittery crystal poking out.

Like on an imparter.

So he leaned forward, gingerly fishing it out. And when he looked at what was on the screen...

And there was Sophie's beautiful face and gold-flecked eyes.

The face he had thought he might never see again.

The face that had so many emotions strewn across it, it was dizzying. There was worry, anger, anxiety, fury, sadness, hope. And... something else. Something Keefe was not going to bother thinking about, though he imagined Ro would have a lot of fun joking about it.

"FOSTER! Why did you have to send her?"

She said, "Keefe." It was one word, but its tone carried so much more information. It meant everything. "You have to come back."

"I can't. What my mom gave me... I'm not— it's not worth it."

"You were gonna say 'I'm not worth it', weren't you?"

There was no point in denying it. "Well... yeah. The thing is—"

Sophie nodded before he could even finish, "Dex told us about your power. I know you can predict what others will manifest. And... we know about Rex, too."

Keefe's heart broke in two.

"Don't you understand what my mom could do with that? Actually— she doesn't deserve the title of my mom. Don't you understand what Gisela could do?"

"I do. But... we need you."

And I need you too, Keefe thought. But he couldn't find the words to say it.

As they spoke, everyone in the restaurant was still numbed— including Amy and her parents. They all seemed to be in an emotionless haze, just like Sophie, Ro, Fitz, Sandor, and Elwin had been, which gave Keefe serious deja vu. But something about how everyone in the restaurant was staying still seemed inherently... different. It was probably because humans had weaker minds and reacted differently to the numb, he finally deduced.

Silence stretched.

Sophie sighed, breaking it. "I can't keep doing this anymore. You can't keep doing this anymore. Listen, the other day, I burned down the Neverseen's storehouse..."

"I know. Grady told me."

"...and, let's just say it was hectic. But, it's also a game changer. We should be fighting back— not running away and hiding. And from the scrolls we salvaged, we also learned something big about your mom— I mean, Lady Gisela— and knowing it could give us an advantage..."

"I don't wanna know." Keefe said.

Sophie tilted her head in an adorable manner, "You don't?"

"I'm tired of worrying about my mom. I need to... I need to stay away. I have to go somewhere else, now that you know where I am. I can't risk anyone I care about in danger. " He looked right into Sophie's eyes, knowing he was being reckless, but he needed to help everyone. And this time, he wouldn't mess up. "Like I said in the letter, be happy. I care more about you than anyone in the world. And, this time— don't send anyone to find me. Because you won't be able to."

Then he took a long, drawn out deep breath. "FEEL!" he shouted, pulling out the blue leaping crystal he'd been saving in case he'd have to do this again.

Everyone in the restaurant got their emotions back.

"NOT AGAIN!" Sophie shouted through the imparter, "AMY! GRAB ONTO KEEFE!"

Amy's arm— still weak from the numb— instinctively gripped onto Keefe's right leg, just as he was glittering away for the leap. Keefe felt a whirlwind of emotions coming from her.

And then they were both gone.