KEEFER Of The Lost Cities(EDITING IN PROGRESS)

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Fitz's room looked the same as it always had. Except it was messy beyond words. It was impossible to describe the way things were strewn around the room. The way the wall had marks. The corner stuffed with broken stuff.

Fitz sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "I uh.. Forgot to clean up."

"I can see that." Keefe said, staring pointedly at the corner with all the broken things.

"All right, now is NOT a time for small talk. What did you want to tell us, Fitz?"

"Sit down." He sat on the bed and motioned at the ground in front of him. Biana scowled at him but obediently took a seat. Keefe sat down next to her.

"So you know I've been hearing Sophie in my head. I always thought it was just me imagining her. But then... she transmitted a real place. One that I've never really thought about, so it couldn't have been me thinking of it."

He swallowed. "And later today after dinner, I heard her voice again. She told me... she told me she was alive. And she needed help. And she told me to hurry because it might be too late. Then she told me she was near a tree. I don't know what to do."

Keefe stared at him, his mind whirling. "So what you're saying is... Sophie and Dex are alive."

"I don't know about Dex. And also, it might not be real."

"We should still check it out! Please, if they're alive by any chance.." Biana gripped the thick furry carpeting so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "We have to."

"But... I don;t know where it is. She just described a tree."

"We'll figure it out. Did she send a picture of the tree? So we can find out where they are?"

Fitz was about to respond when his spine straightened suddenly for a second. Then he was up, whispering the same thing again and again.

He found his memory log and quickly projected an image on. It had one tree that looked like it was stuck in between the four seasons- one side had flowers, the other side had bare branches, another side had green leaves, and the last one had orange, yellow, and brown leaves. It was kind of blurry and distorted, but it was something.

"Before I forgot." He said. "This... this tree is where Sophie and Dex are. I don't know where it is. I just remembered that she sent it. Well, I knew she sent one, but I've been trying to remember the details for the longest time." He started pacing, hands tearing through his hair.

"The Four Seasons Tree." Keefe said, as the memory clicked into place.

Fitz and Biana glanced at him, then each other, hopeful. Biana spoke up. "Are you sure?"

"Do we have time to waste making sure we're sure?"

Biana glared at him. "Do we have time to go to every tree in the lost cities to see if they're there?"

Keefe sighed. "I'm sure. I read about it."

Biana smiled. "Let's go."

All of them ran out the door at the same time, struggling to squeeze past each other. They raced to the leapmaster, all the way across the house, and stood there, panting.

Keefe got on first. "What are we waiting for?" All of them got on and Keefe called, "The Four Seasons Tree!"

In a flash, they were there. The leapmaster didn't take them directly there, but to a garden. In the background, they could see a beautiful, towering tree that rose higher than a couple of floors on Candleshade. It was HUGE. They ran closer and...

There they were, bruised, bleeding, and unconscious, but they were there.

Almost. Sophie was so pale you could almost see right through her. She was fading.