Chapter 2

Sophie

I think Sandor's head is going to explode. I say that because his usually gray skin is turning red. As we sneak into the base that is known to be an enemy's everyone grows so nervous you can almost touch the tension radiating off of the 5 of us.

I view everything around me as I remember it. It seems so close yet so foren. Like I am living two lives.

"Hey Soph, you okay?" asked Linh.

"Yeah, just strange being back here." I said looking at the table where I ate a few meals.

"Shh, someone is home!" Stina hushed us. We all scrambled to a dark corner and hid behind a stalagmite.

"What were you thinking just leaving her alone like that?" asked a woman. Gisela. Man, I want to walk up to her and slap her in the face!

"I didn't know she would recover her memories. I didn't even know she had any doubts." Gethen told her. Oh, can I slap him too?

"Well, it doesn't matter. We have her friends so she is bound to come back at some point." Gisela said.

"Yeah, and when she does we can barter." Gethen said.

I felt a hand on my back. I looked back to see linh. She pointed to her head and then she pointed to the stalagmite. Oh good plan.

I stretched my mind out and slid into Gethen's mind. Hmmm. Nope. Nope. No… hmmm. Hey! I think I got something.

Oh wow. The neverseen are idiots.

As I left Gethen's head I saw that Gethen and Gisela were walking out of the room.

"Ok, I know where everyone is." I revealed.

Linh

She knows where everyone is. That is good.

"Where?" asked Wylie.

"Marella and Biana are here and the boys are being kept in the same place me and Dex were a while back." Sophie told us.

"Ok, are we going to free Marella and Biana?" I asked.

"I think we probably should. Does anyone know how to blink?" asked Sophie.

"I do! I went to exilium for about 2 years." I said.

"I do too. My dad taught me." Stina said.

"I do as well. It is fairly easy to figure out how to make light go through your body temporarily if you are a flasher," Wylie revealed.

Sophie groaned, "That leaves me the only one who can't."

"It's pretty easy. You focus on the light going around you and then kinda force it to go through you." I told her.

Sophie closed her eyes and then a second later I couldn't see her.

"That is handy." Sophie said.

"Why did I let you come? They just taught you a way to sneak away from me." complained Sandor.

"What are we going to do with Sandor?" asked Stina.

"Before you suggest it, no I am not staying behind." Sandor grumbled.

"Fine," said Sophie finally reappearing.

"How quietly can you sneak?" asked Wylie.

"I can sneak quieter than a mouse." Sandor said.

"Then do it, and follow me." Sophie said. Then she grabbed my arm and turned invisible. I grabbed Wylie and turned invisible. He turned and grabbed Stina and she turned to Sandor.

"You can smell us right?" She asked.

"Yes, that is how I will follow you." Sandor grumbled.

Stina shrugged and turned invisible.

I felt a slight tug and off we went weaving around halls and in and out of rooms until we found the right one.

As we walked in I saw Biana struggling in a chair while Marella was trying to burn down hers. I felt Sophie and Wylie let go of my hands.

One of them helped Biana because the gag in her mouth was now out.

"Who is it and what do you want?" she spat. She had a blindfold on her face.

"To rescue you." I whispered.

Then Marella's chair fell over causing a whole lot of noise.

"[redacted]" Sophie said.

"Hurry! I will go distract anyone that comes near!" Wylie said. Sophie turned visible for a second and gave him a cube.

"Press the top of that and it will emit a sound that will render them temporarily deaf. If you do it, plug your ears." Sophe said, then she returned to the invisibleness world.

"Gffm thsfh toefls oufd mith moughd" Marella said.

I watched as the rag that was in her mouth was removed.

"Eew, I have helped with unicorn births since I was 4 and it was never as disgusting as that rag." Stina complained.

"Oh shut up." Marella snapped.

"Who all is here?" asked Biana.

No one answered.

"Linh, untie Biana, I got Marella." Sophie transmitted. I made my way over to Biana. She had stopped wriggling around.

I pulled off her blindfold and watched as she looked around. Then I started untying her hands and feet.

"I thought there were people here." Biana said, still looking around. Then, just for a second, me, Stina, and Sophie flashed into being before turning back invisible.

"Shhhh." shushed Stina or Sophie.

I continued to untie her until she was free.

"Biana is free!" I said quietly.

"So is Marella!" Exclaimed Stina.

Just then I heard the distant sound of what I think was Sophie's cube going off.

"[redacted], we gotta go now!" Sophie said flashing into existence along with me and Stina.

"How are y'all turning invisible like that?" asked Marella.

"We are blinking." I told them.

"Guys, the neverseen know we are here. We need to be quiet so we are going to talk in our heads." Sophie transmitted

"Ok," I thought. I could also hear everyone else's thoughts too.

"Wylie?" Sophie asked.

"Here!" he answered, "I had to set off the sound wave. We need to go like right now!"

"We know!" Everyone thought.

"Everyone grab hands!" Sophie thought/shouted.

We each grabbed hands and then we ran for our lives.

Sophie

Oh hello, it's me again. Where were we? Oh yeah, running for our lives from the neverseen.

"Sophie, what did you do now?" grumbled Sandor.

"Technically, Marella was the reason her chair fell over. Otherwise, we would have been in and out." I objected.

"Oh, so it's my fault?" asked Marella.

"Not what I meant. We can talk about it when we are safely out of the neverseen base." I transmitted.

"Guys, less thinking and more running and screaming for our lives!" Linh told us.

So yeah, essentially we ran.

"Ah, I knew you would come back." Gethen said.

Oh [redacted], he just blocked the only way out.

"I didn't come back for you!" I growled.

"Oh I know you didn't but technically we have you and your friends trapped here." he goaded.

"Well you also have her bodyguard!" Sandor said. Sadly that was the wrong thing to say because a second later Sandor was on the ground and a medler in Gethen's hand.

"NO!" I yelled, lurching forward.

"You know it takes a lot to knock out a goblin. I wonder what this thing could do to one of your friends." Gethen said, turning the weapon over in his hands.

"I will do it." I said gritting my teeth.

"Do what?" Gethen asked, taken by surprise.

"I will be your little dummy. On the condition that you let my friends go." I told him.

"No, Sophie, what are you doing?" asked Linh.

"I have to Linh, it is the only way." I told her.

"Thank you Sophie. You have no idea what we would have done." Gethen boasted.

"Oh lay off! I am coming willingly and that doesn't give you the right to brag." I told him.

"Fine," He said. Then he grabbed me and moved out of the way so the others could leave.

"Sophie! We aren't leaving you!" Linh said desperately, grabbing my arm.

I gently slid it off and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Go. Go or I will force you." I told them. I don't want to force them but If I have too…

They each nodded and then they grabbed sandor raised a crystal to the light and lept away.

"So, I am going to need to erase your memories again-" Gethen started but I cut him off.

"No, I want to keep my memories. Let me erase theirs. I will make the entire lost cities forget I ever existed." I told him.

"Can you do that?" He asked, suddenly curious.

"I have too. For me, for my friends, for my family." I told him.

"Fine, do what you have to do. We are still altering your appearance." Gethen grumbled.

Linh

I - I can't believe Sophie would do that. She just let the neverseen win. I don't know why. I don't really want to know.

"I can't believe we just did that." I said.

"Sandor is going to kill us." Stina said, looking at the unconscious goblin.

"Is that all you care about?" I asked her.

"Um, no. I want to get Sophie back as much as the next person but she basically threatened us. I am going to assume she has a plan and try to stay positive." Stina argued.

I want to listen to Stina. I really do but well, I don't know.

After everyone else left I just sat there. I sat there for what felt like hours. I am pretty sure it was hours. When we first got here the sun was still in the east. Now, I am watching it set in the west.

"Linh." I heard the whisper in my head.

"Sophie?" I thought.

"Yes, listen, to save you guys Gethen is making me erase myself from everyone in the lost cities. It has taken me hours but the only person that remembers me now is you." Sophie told me.

"So, are you just gonna erase my memories and make it to where you never existed" I asked her. My thoughts turned bitter.

"No, I want you to remember. If you remember it will help me. I aim to take down the neverseen, I know the inside infiltration has never worked before but I think I have a decent chance." Sophie told me.

I think I was holding my breath because when I breathed out my lungs were burning.

"So, what about you?" I asked her.

"They are changing my appearance and my name. I will tell you both when I get them" Sophie told me. And then she was gone.

I am the only person who remembers the name Sophie Elizabeth Foster.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND cliffhanger. Now, I just need to figure out how to further the plot from there...