𝓟𝐫𝗼𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝓢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐞

Chapter #38 - The Gang

Chapter #38 - The Gang

Sophie

"I'm an idiot."

It was the only thought coursing through Sophie's mind. Why— oh, why had she done that?

She gulped, looking around at the part of her neighborhood she'd dropped into. Everything was uncannily still and quiet, like the eye of a hurricane. Her chest panged when she realized her teleportation had taken her straight to the tiny front yard of her now-abandoned human house.

It became worse when she saw the army several homes down.

They were too crowded together for her to spot Keefe, Amy, or Lady Gisela specifically— but that didn't stop Sophie from shuddering at seeing it all in person. Especially when she realized why the neighborhood was so silent.

All the human residents, both those in the army and the "useless" ones without dormant abilities, were numb.

The fury reignited in Sophie's mind.

But the anger flitted down to the base of her stomach— where her emotions were stored for inflicting— when she spotted a pair of light blue eyes within the crowd. Set within a face that she'd never seen so miserable.

Despite being way too far to hear him, Sophie could tell from Keefe's face that he was muttering, "Foster?"

***

Linh

The simultaneous hope and terror pulsating through the group was clear. Though as they leaped into Sophie's old neighborhood— using a blue crystal lent by Fitz— Linh felt a brief surge of overwhelm for reasons that had nothing to do with that. There was a sudden liveliness in the air, coursing through her veins. How it felt when...

"There's a body of water near here," Linh muttere, "One of the houses has a pool, I think." Tam looked like he wanted to steady her, but they both knew she didn't need that anymore.

The time she'd spent these last few weeks at Choralmere had been torture. But combine it with all her recent training, and Linh's Hydrokinesis was undeniably stronger now.

After a few seconds, she could easily temper it with most bodies of water.

"Well, that is what you were hoping for."

She nodded, letting the water's energy turn into a faint hum in the background. "Does anyone see Sophie?"

"I do," Fitz said. Following his gaze, Linh spotted the familiar blonde moonlark a couple houses down. Her expression was latched to even further in the other direction. When Linh followed that, she saw a cluster of dazed people. Humans.

She tensed, preparing to control the water from the pool.

It was time to start the diversion. Hopefully, they'd be able to overwhelm the humans without actually hurting them. This wasn't their fault, after all.

***

Fitz

When his friends' expression shifted, Fitz knew it was time.

It had been their unanimous plan— that once they were close enough to Sophie, he would reach out telepathically to explain he and the others were there.

Yet... when he was about to reach out, there was a doubt in the back of his mind. A doubt that... that what he'd said earlier, about Keefe, was the reason she had left so recklessly.