Duluth / A Keeper of the Lost Cities Fanfiction

Duluth / 20

Maybe it was because everyone else's reactions were mountainous, or maybe it was because all Sophie wanted was a nice nap and seven painkillers, but the revelation that Sophie was going insane didn't really hit as hard as she thought it would. 

Insanity. It didn't even feel like a real word, bouncing around in her head. Insanity was what women were diagnosed with within Victorian times if they displeased their husbands in the slightest. Insanity was what criminals pleaded to get a lower sentence. Insanity was a Halloween costume, a movie label, a character's footnotes. It just... it didn't happen. Not in real life. 

"How do we stop it?" Biana asked, determination set into her tone. She grasped Sophie's hand tighter, squeezing it as if to remind her that she was there for her friend. 

"With that," Mr. Forkle sighed, pointing to Biana's dresser, the vial sitting on top of it. Sophie stared at the liquid inside, wondering how a mere four ounces could fix everything that was wrong with her. 

Well, not everything wrong with her. That would take a lot more, a thousand years of therapy sessions, maybe. 

But the most prevalent issue: insanity. 

But now, the longer that Sophie stared at the vial, the more vials appeared behind it. Two more, four more, eight more. "Where did they all come from?" Sophie asked. Was she expected to take all of them? How many sedatives would she need until she drowned in them? Until she never came back from an endless sleep? 

"What are you talking about?" Dex said quietly as if to not spook a wild horse. 

"All the duplicates of the vials. You only brought one in." 

"Look again, Sophie," Tiergan whispered. She brought her eyes back up to the dresser. Only one elixir was there. Her friends exchanged confused glances. 

"I'm sorry, I don't know why... What does it do?" Sophie cleared her throat, changing the subject. 

"It's a mixture of concoctions. Actually, Livvy helped us with the planning." Tiergan cast a long look at Mr. Forkle, and Sophie knew exactly what they were saying, even though she couldn't read minds at the moment. 

"Please, don't blame her," Sophie begged. "I asked her to, I... she made sure I was safe, she gave me a home, money. This was my fault, not hers." 

Mr. Forkle sighed for the 100th time before easing himself off of Biana's bed. "To a certain extent, you're right, Miss Foster. She does not deserve all of our blame. But she is an adult, while you are still a teenager." 

Sophie's face reddened. 

"She should have known your actions were dangerous, especially with her relation to Quinlin." 

Sophie didn't know what to say to that. Thankfully, Tiergan took the reins of the conversation and steered it back to the elixir. "It is a sedative, Sophie, but it also is something called a reset vertex. It will allow us to go into your mind and coax your mind back to its original state." 

"Can't she just do it herself?" Keefe asked. "I mean, she's the one holding the mental suppression in place... can't she just- I don't know- stop?" 

"Yes and no, Mr. Sencen," Mr. Forkle said. "She could if she was determined to, but it's a lot more dangerous, and there are a lot more risks. This way, we can make sure that every part of her comes back. It's safer, and it's the only path I'm willing to take." 

"Well, let's just do it now!" Fitz said, his arms still crossed over his chest as if keeping everyone else's anger out or his own in. 

"No," Sophie said, surprised at how easily the word came out of her mouth.