UNLOCKED, kotlc

Chapter 66

Pain.

That was all Sophie could feel.

Just a figment of the past... nothing more than an echo... but the feeling cut into her like shadowflux and Present Sophie was squirming and writhing trying to get out of that horrible darkening sensation...

And the flashbacks.

Each one of them, curse her photographic memory, sharp and real and Sophie was feeling them all over again all the way from the day that she hit her head on the sidewalk and the buzzing thoughts of humans swarmed into her mind...

To her kidnapping... the burning pressing into her skin and the sour sedative biting into her tongue... and the feeling of fading away from reality.... from everybody telling her to come back...

And each horrifying moment that she'd been forced to endure... the limbium coursing through her system, burning into her like Everblaze... and Umber's freaky shadow-arrows flying straight at her...

But a gust of cold wind blew away all of that and- wait a second...

Was that in her memory?

Or... or...

And Sophie could feel herself rising up and up and up and her eyes opened and...

"You okay there Foster?"

Sophie blinked. And blinked. And then the blurry image of Keefe Sencen came into view.

"Sorry," she choked out weakly. "Mr. Forkle was telling me.. something about an emotional rebound... or some sort of physical reaction..."

Sophie stopped rambling as she realized Keefe and her hands intertwined together.  A blue breeze flowed through her mind and Sophie forced herself to focus on the calm and let it rush through her like water...

"Thank you," she whispered, a few more breezes floating into her mind before Keefe let go and leaned back to study her.

She stumbled to her feet. "I'm good now," she promised- which was a bit of a lie -when Keefe and Biana didn't move, still staring at her. "Promise. Come on, we need to find her..."

And Sophie tried to focus on the jokes Keefe was cracking and all the fashion advice Biana was giving her, trying to distract herself from all of those memories and flashbacks and...

"Watch this," Keefe whispered into her ear, raising an arm as the shadows in front of them sped back the way they came. "Oooh- that's awesome. Now I get why Bangs Boy's so angsty- it makes you feel cool."

He smirked, gathering up shadows in front of his face that looked like Tam's bangs- but complete wannabe -and gave an uncanny impression of his voice.

"I'm so mysterious- can I get your shadow-reading?" he struck a pose and Sophie laughed- Biana scowled, but probably for a different reason that Sophie was thinking.

"I don't think they'd put a big sign with 'Oralie's over here', do you?" Biana asked, glaring at her boots which were covered in thick brown sludge. "This reminds me of sinking through Loamnore.... ugh, the memories-"

"They might make it obvious," Sophie hated to admit. "This is basically just a huge trap."

"It always is," Biana promised, still trying to scrape the mud off of one boot with the other.  "But.. for what it's worth, sorry you have to face your whole legacy thing."

She directed the apology to Keefe, who told her, "Don't be sorry."

They walked in silence- but Sophie was already tuning out most of their conversation.

It was almost like an echo of the limbium was still coursing through her like cold poison... and Sophie could almost feel her heart stopping again and the needle...

She snatched Keefe's hand and the green breezes floated through her mind making everything so much steadier.

"This is going to be a problem if we're stopping every two minutes to stop your flashbacks," Keefe told her, but there was no accusing in his tone. Just... understanding.

"I know," Sophie told him, closing her eyes and wishing Fitz was there to give her a boost of mental energy...

Wait. Why had she not asked Fitz to go?

Probably because they were on horrible terms, Sophie thought sourly. I'll have to make it up to him-

If we get out of this alive, the annoying voice in the back of her mind pointed out.

Something covered her eyes and a stuffy sedative burned into her nose and Sophie could hear herself screaming at the horribly familiar sensation... because this wasn't a flashback.. it was real life, all real, and....

"Take of the blindfold," Lady Gisela's voice demanded, and the cave flickered into view.

Sophie could see Keefe and Biana tied up next to her... both still gagged...

"You have gotten in the way of my son's legacy more times than I can count on my fingers," Lady Gisela growled. "And besides. Trust me, it'll be better this way."

Sophie wished she could speak but her mouth was covered up tight...

"Finish her," Lady Gisela whispered to Adela...

And she raised her knife, about to attack Sophie...

But then she shifted so suddenly that Sophie could barely see it... but she knew it was on purpose as Adela wheeled on Lady Gisela and slashed her instead.