Agent Moonlark

Chapter Sixteen

Sophie

Keefe rushed forward just in time, and caught Tam in his arms. Tam was as limp as a rag doll. His eyes were closed, and his face was twisted in an expression similar to Mitya's. Keefe slowly set him down.

"TAM!," Biana screamed again. She was at his side immediately, a look of pure panic overcoming her face. "What's happening?," she whispered. She gently caressed his cheek while tears slid down her face.

Sophie crouched down on Tam's other side. "Do you think he has the Gnomish Plague?" She tugged on a loose eyelash. It fluttered to the ground, landing right next to Tam.

"Everyone back away!," Physic ordered. She gestured furiously to Agent Forkle, who picked up Tam. He carried him onto a cot.

This whole time, Linh had been staring at the scene frozen, silent tears running down her cheeks.Now, she ran to the cot and threw herself onto her brother.

"But I just got you back," Sophie heard Linh murmur.

"Everyone except Linh and Biana, out!," Physic commanded. She pointed at the door.

Everyone except the two mentioned scurried out the door. The door closed behind them with an ominous click. Leaving four angsty teens staring at it.

"Sophie," Dex said, "what did you mean by the Gnomish Plague?"

Sophie's eyes darted around. Should she tell them? But then, she'd have a lot of explaining to do. And she told Keefe she wouldn't tell the others about how he was part of the Neverseen.

"Sophie?" This time, it was Fitz who asked.

"Oh, uh...I just thought of that when I was really tired, and it, um, stuck. In my head." Sophie laughed nervously, not missing the way Dex's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Is there something you're not telling us?," Dex asked. "We're your friends. You know you can trust us, right?"

"Plus, we're Cognates," Fitz added helpfully.

"Honestly, it's nothing," Sophie reassured them.

"So, what was that?," Keefe butted in. "I mean, he did seem a little off today. Is he sleep-deprived, or something?"

Sophie noticed the hostile glare Fitz sent Keefe, and she was puzzled. Did he know who Keefe really was?

"There's this sickness going around and we don't know how to cure it," Dex informed Keefe, who of course knew a lot more than he was letting around.

"And Bangs Boy has it," Keefe concluded.

"We think," Dex answered quietly.

Fitz suddenly kicked the wall. He punched it twice, once with each fist. Then, he kicked it again.

"Woah," Keefe said. "Calm down, Wonderboy."

Fitz grunted, ignoring Keefe. He spun around and marched off in the direction of his room.

"Wow," Keefe said, breaking the new silence. "The guy has some serious anger issues."

"Coping mechanism," Sophie said glumly, remembering all too well the times he had gotten angry at her.

It was then that Physic chose to open the door. She poked her head out, the jewels in her hair jingling.

"Where's Fitz?," Physic asked.

"He ran off," Dex replied, rolling his eyes. "Why?"

"Well..." Physic paused. "We have reason to believe that he is next."