Lost In Time Chapter 12:
"Keefe!" Sophie yelled, running towards him, but he couldn't hear her. Vespera still had a hold on him. "Let go of him!" she screamed, inflicting her anger on Vespera. The only response was laughter. "You'll find that your powers won't have an effect on me," Vespera said, charging towards Sophie. However, Biana appeared behind her, knocking Vespera out with a rock. "But that will," she said as Vespera fell to the ground. "We can't kill her, so that was the next best option." Sophie smiled, but it soon fell when she saw Keefe, Marella, and Fitz. "What did she do to them?" Linh asked as her, Dex, Wylie, and Tam walked in. Sophie lifted Keefe's eyes to hers. "Hey, we're back," she whispered, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Does Vespera still have a hold on him?" she asked, turning to Biana who was sitting by Fitz. "No, they should be waking up," she said confused. "Try reading their minds," Dex suggested. Sophie entered Keefe's mind but screamed as soon as she did. "Something's not right," she said as tears poured down her face. But it wasn't hers. "Whatever Vespera put them through, it affected them deeply." Biana stared at Fitz with panic shooting through her body. "What do you mean?" Tam asked as he sat down by Marella, who was frozen in shock. "Are their minds broken?" Biana asked as she held her brother. "Not completely, but we need to get them to the council. If we don't, we might lose them forever." Sophie explained, trying not to let her fear show through. "Wylie, help Biana carry Fitz, Tam and Dex you carry Keefe, and Linh and I will get Marella," she said, taking charge. "We need to find the council so they can help us." When everyone was ready to go, they set out to Eternalia.
"We need a light crystal ASAP," Dex panted as they stopped for the 100th time. "Sophie, can you try one more time to repair their minds? We still have a long way till Eternalia." Biana pleaded. Fitz was heavy, and even though Wylie was carrying most of the weight, she was still tired. Sophie sighed, and after placing Marella down on the grass, she walked over to Keefe. "Please wake up," she transmitted to him before entering his mind. She was hit with thousands of emotions at once. But she kept going, determined to heal her best friend. "I can't do this without you, Keefe, show me what I need to fix." Sophie transmitted again. And again. And again. Desperately she searched for any piece of light left, but there was nothing. Sophie was about to face the inevitable when a glimmer appeared. She moved closer and saw her face. "Keefe, I'm here. I'm here, just please wake up," she begged, trying not to let her desperation show through. But she couldn't hide it, cause as the picture of herself faded away she felt her mind screaming for Keefe to wake up. "Keefe, stay with me!" she yelled, hoping she could save his mind. But the image still faded away. Sophie was crying, begging, pleading for Keefe to wake up. She was about to lose him forever, her best friend, her confidant, her partner in crime, her everything. "Come back to me Keefe, please come back," she screamed one last time as the image disappeared from view. "I love you." She whispered, thinking she had lost him forever. Suddenly the image came back, and thousands more started to flood into the gray darkness. "Keefe," she whispered, feeling the panic go away. He was waking up, he was waking up! She slipped out of his mind and turned to face her friends. Tears were streaming down their faces as well when Keefe finally opened his eyes. "Hey Foster, miss me?" he weakly said as Sophie jumped on top of him and he wrapped his arms around her. "I thought I lost you," she repeated over and over again. "Well you brought me back, so everything's okay right?" He whispered, nuzzling his head in her hair. She leaned back so she could look at his face. "Keefe Sencen, I don't know what Vespera showed you, but you need to know you aren't worthless and, well, I-I love you." Before he could respond, Sophie delicately placed a kiss on his cheek, surprising him and the rest of the onlookers. "Ohhh snap!" Dex yelled while Linh and Biana cheered. Wylie and Tam started clapping. "I've always wondered how long it was going to take you to realize that," Tam said, smirking as Sophie got off of Keefe with her face as red as a tomato. "Now onto the rest," Sophie said, moving over to Marella. As Sophie entered Marella's mind, Keefe got up and walked over to Biana. "That ended too early," he mumbled, making everyone erupt into laughter.
"Thanks for saving me Sophie," Marella whispered as Fitz handed her a cup of water. Sophie nodded, giving her a timid smile. "As soon as we get back to our time period, I'm forcing the council to make pyrokinetics and shades more respected in this community." Fitz said, grabbing Marella's hand. "No one should feel worthless, or blame themselves for others actions." Marella blushed, looking away. She and Keefe had just finished sharing what Vespera showed them. Fitz had yet to say anything, but whenever Sophie asked him he got super uncomfortable, so she decided not to pressure him. "I'm just glad we are all okay," Marella said, looking at the fire they had made. Suddenly the memories of what Vespera had shown her came back. Standing up, Marella walked away, her excuse being she needed fresh air. Sitting by a tree, a good distance from her friends, she started to cry. "Need someone to talk to?" Fitz asked, walking over. "I don't need pretty boy to see me cry," she whispered, wiping the tears off her face. But he still sat down next to her, obviously not fazed by her response. "My memories were full of loneliness, did you know that?" he said, pulling at a piece of grass. "I was reminded of how many people have left me, or when I left them," he continued when Marella finally looked at him. "The funny thing is, I always shoved those feelings away, so I never knew how much being alone affected me." Marella contemplated what he was saying. Grabbing Fitz by the shoulders, she forced him to face her. "Fitz, so many people need you. Look at our team! Without having our telepath, we'd be goners against the Neverseen! You've helped us so much, why do you think you're worthless?" Fitz looked away, a tiny blush spreading on his cheeks. "I know the team and the council needs me for my powers, but who needs me, besides my family, just as Fitz?" Marella paused, dropping her hands from his shoulders. "Well, maybe you haven't found them yet, and that's okay. Fitz, you have a whole life ahead of you. I mean, what would Dex do without you? What would Keefe and Sophie do without you? What would I-," she stopped herself from saying the last part. Marella was not the sappy-love type, but it wasn't a secret she kinda liked the pretty boy in front of her. Fitz raised one eyebrow, "I think you need to finish that sentence," he said, smirking as he leaned forward towards Marella. "I-er-um gottagocheckbackwiththegroup," she said, as she stood up and ran towards the campfire. Fitz laughed, "Maybe I did find her," he thought as he left towards the fireplace as well. He didn't notice the two figures creeping in the shadows behind him.
"Should we tell the council?" Luzia whispered. "No," Bronte said, squinting at the strange people huddled by a campfire. "We need to go figure it out for ourselves. Let's go." he said, motioning for Luzia to follow. Sighing, she followed Bronte towards the group. "I'm adding this to our list of things we did that we shouldn't have," she commented as she caught up to Bronte. Rolling his eyes, he continued towards the group. "What are they up too?"
Author's Notes: GUYS I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER! But wait, did Keefe say he loved Sophie back? Or was he too flushed by the sudden affection he got? Who knows? ;)