The Neverseen's Last Resort

I want to live.

Something was off. From the moment Sophie found herself outside of a fully-lit, yet completely silent Havenfield, Sophie knew something was wrong. An animal rehabilitation center that was dead silent? Not even sleeping animals were this quiet. Cautiously, Sophie made for the front door, only to discover it was open a crack. Her worry increased as she pushed the door open. Everything was a mess. 

"Edaline?" Sophie called. "Grady? Is everything alright?" 

If only Sophie could use her abilities, she'd attempt to track her parents' thoughts. Sophie headed for her parents' room first, wondering if they'd decided to hide out there. Or had Edaline and Grady escaped. If that were the case, should Sophie run, too? No, Sophie thought. Were she to escape, she'd run the risk of losing her parents. She reached their bedroom, only to find that, similarly to the front door, Edaline and Grady's bedroom door was open just enough to see the inside's chaotic state. Sophie gave the door a gentle push, calling for her parents in a hushed tone. If someone was in their house, she had to be careful. Especially if they were dangerous. 

"Edaline?" Silence. Sophie's panic grew, and goosebumps ran up her arms. Voice shaking, Sophie uttered, "Grady?" She was getting desperate, the room being a dead end. So she headed for her room. Where were they? What had happened? 

"Edaline?" Sophie cried out, tears burning. She'd only just met her parents, this was too soon. 

Sophie raced to her room, praying they might have left a note, a warning, something. They had to be okay. They had to be. If she lost them like this... to the Neverseen... it would break her. She couldn't lose them, too. 

"Grady? Please! Someone!" 

As she passed other rooms on the way to her own, she found that each room was the same: an open door and a messy interior. Silently, she pleaded her family was okay. She'd crossed her fingers, wishing she hadn't so easily accepted the ability restrictor. She would've been able to track their thoughts, check on them. She reached her floor, tripping on the last step and collapsing onto the floor and bursting into terrified sobs. What would she find when she entered her room? Her imagination showed her terrible, horrible things. Bloody images, the corpses of her parents, and a note threatening Sophie.

It was so vivid, so realistic, Sophie nearly forgot they were only in her mind. She'd thought they were real for a moment. Sophie's nails dug into her palms. "Mom?" 

The longer she sat crying, Sophie realized, the longer her parents were in trouble, if they happened to still be alive. Finally, Sophie convinced herself to climb to her feet and finally make her way to the bedroom. Wiping her tears, she erased the horrible images from her mind. They weren't real, so she couldn't afford to waste her tears on them. 

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The first thing she noticed as she neared, was that the door wasn't open. Not a crack. The second thing she noticed as she turned the knob was that: her room wasn't a disaster. Unlike every other room in the house, her bedroom had been left untouched and tidy. She stepped inside, confused. Though as soon as she entered, she'd realized she'd been wrong. Because while the room was tidy, it had been touched. 

On her bed sat a black card with white print: Truce? Meet me where everything first started. :)

Sophie stared at the note, wishing she'd hallucinated. Had the Neverseen... sent her a smiley face?

Sophie glared at the message, wishing she could simply toss it and return to her new semi-normal life. Her friends had forgiven her. They'd helped her, even after everything she'd done to them. And while that small, evil part of her which Sophie assumed was an echo of Keeper, wanted to trust the Neverseen again... Sophie couldn't bring herself to go. It had been stronger, the mixed feelings of mistrust and hate towards both sides... but the longer she spent with the Ruewens, her friends, and Mr. Forkle, the more she realized that the Neverseen were the bad guys.