Sorry that I haven't updated this in a long time. I was busy with my other fanfic but here it finally is! Also didn't have enough time to pre-read this so hopefully it's not bad... though it might not be the best. Anyways, pls read and review and also enjoy!
Chapter 13- Keefe's POV
He honestly had no idea what they were doing. They were practically asking for a death wish. Playing pranks on the headmaster is completely different than sneaking into a potentially dangerous mountain hideout that consist of people capable of killing six kids. But it's already too late to turn back. The six of them crouched behind a bush... not the most creative hiding spot but doable. Keefe glanced around while Dex fidgeted around with some sort of device in his hand. Keefe crawled over to him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, curious. Dex barely looked up at him.
"Trying to hack the place so I can figure out where the entrance is. Then get the code and open the doors." Dex said, matter-of-fact. Keefe hid a small smile. Dex has really proven himself to be a great future accomplice. Keefe could really use all his tech skills in his pranks sometimes. But he knew Dex definitely wouldn't agree so Keefe kept it to himself. But eventually, Keefe was going to blackmail him into it. Nothing big of course. Maybe.
Keefe crawled back to his original place and looked over at Jewel. She was squatting on a branch of the tree next to him. It didn't even faze him on how she got up there. She was Sophie's sister. Suddenly, Keefe felt conflicted. It felt like he was just comparing them to each other. In fact, wasn't Keefe always comparing Jewel to Sophie. That kind of made him feel bad. He knew neither of them would like that. But now that he thought about it, who was it that he liked better? Keefe shook his head at himself. What was he thinking? That was horrible to think that way. Keefe really didn't think he could choose between the two. He knows that he did have a crush on Sophie but she's obviously in love with Fitz. But his feelings didn't seem to go away. However, his heart did flutter sometimes when Jewel was around. Not to mention, he thought about her A LOT. Keefe shook his head again. Nope, it's not the right time to think about his girl problems. He sighed and turned his attention back to the mountain.
"This should be the right place." Fitz mumbled. Fitz looked at the drawn out map once again and stared at the side of the mountain. "But it's all just rocks and dirt!" Fitz kicked the ground in frustration. Biana blinked in, giving Fitz a look.
"Seriously, are you trying to get us caught?" She asked, a hand on her hip as her voice was dipped in sass. Fitz rolled his eyes at her and turned his attention back to the map.
"I just don't get it!" He groaned. Keefe sighed.
"Seriously man. Biana is right. With all that impatience fuming off of you we'll get captured in no time." Keefe smirked. From above, he heard a small giggle escape Jewel's mouth. Keefe smiled, feeling accomplished for some reason. And maybe a bit giddy. Sophie rolled her eyes but a smile hinted at the corner of her mouth. Sophie glanced over at Dex and checked if he was almost done. Dex flipped a button on his gadget and a small click sounded. Suddenly, the mountain started to shake and the rocks began to part. Soon they found themselves standing in front of a steel door with a pass code next to it. Dex quickly punched in a series of numbers before it beeped and turned green.
"Access granted." The machine stated in a monotone voice. Dex turned around to face the stunned group who were gaping at him.
"Dex, you are officially my number 1 crime accomplice." Keefe smirked.
"Yeah, well actually not yeah to that." Sophie said, giving Keefe a look. "But Dex you were totally awesome!"
"Very cool!" Biana and Fitz agreed. Dex was showered with compliments and blushed, looking very happy. Keefe felt a grin grow on his face. The guy finally realized his useful talents, Keefe thought to himself. However, in the happy mood, there was one that felt different. One that was happy but also very upset. Keefe turned around to fins the source of those emotions. Immediately he faced Jewel who was standing off to the side with only a polite smile on her face. Keefe raised his brow.
"Uh, Jewel. You okay?" Keefe asked, wondering what was upsetting her. She looked at him in daze for a second before realizing he was talking to her.
"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm fine." She replied, obviously lying. Keefe shrugged and let it pass. Whatever was bothering her, he knew she wasn't going to tell anyways. The six of them headed into the entrance and looked ahead at the endless walk into darkness. Sophie shuddered.
"Yeah, I don't think I'd ever want to go in there." She said, wrapping her arms around herself. "Too many bad memories." Keefe remembered the time when Sophie was kidnapped. It was horrible for him. He was worried for weeks. And he, himself, went down to the caves to search for her. He didn't find her though. Fitz did. But now that he took a more careful look at the mountain entrance, it looked a lot like the cave Sophie always went down to. And of course, Sophie was practically traumatized by that experience. Who wouldn't be?
Jewel shrugged and Keefe felt a bit of an angry emotion from her. He glanced at her and caught her eye. Instantly, her emotion were shut off and she stared blankly at the darkness.
"Let's just go." She said, tiredly. Keefe knew Jewel wanted to get away from here. It was her worst nightmare. She told Keefe before about her life in there. How she was experimented on, poked with sharp things and messed with. It made Keefe horrified at all the terrible things she must have been through in there. Yet she came back. On her own will. Kind of made him respect her even envy her.
They continued walking in darkness for who knows how long. Keefe was beginning to think that they were just walking around in circles before a small, dim red light appeared. He squinted his eyes in the darkness.
"What is that?" He heard Biana say. He shrugged even though he knew that no one was able to see him do so. They slowly and cautiously approached it and found it to be a glowing fire. Since they were within a few feet of it, Keefe could actually see everyone now. He saw Jewel winkle her nose and stare at it in confusion.
"Why is there a flaming fire here? It doesn't even look like it's dying out." Jewel pointed out. Keefe immedialty got the chills. It seemed familiar. He felt the room go tense and saw Fitz's eyes grow wide.
"No way." He said. Appearantly Sophie knew exactly what he was talking about and shook her head in horror.
"This can't be. I thought he died." She whispered, dread coming from her words. They stood silently. Then Biana blew it. She just couldn' take the suspense anymore.
"What? What's wrong about it?!" Biana whispered sharply, becoming very impatient. Sophie looked down and Fitz reached out to comfort her and held her hand. They were obviously having a telepathy session. Keefe felt a surge of jealousy but choked it down. No, he was over it. Keefe turned to face the flame again.
"Really though. What is it?" Jewel asked, examining the fire. Fitz looked deflated.
"Kenric died in a fire. He died by the Everblaze. The fire went out of control and was unstoppable. It ruined Eternalia, remember? But that wasn't the last time we saw that kind of flre." Fitz answered solemnly. Now Dex turned pale as he stared at the fire.
"You don't think..." He trailed off, sharing a look with Sophie who nodded at him sadly. Dex shook his head in disbelief, "That time with Brant. He tried to burn Sophie and then I tried to save her. It was when I built that gadget that helped you punch harder. But Brant, didn't he die last time, when we defeated Neverseen?" Dex recalled. His eyes were filled with terror, like his nightmare has just came true. Sophie shook her head.
"He can't be alive... no." She started to shake, rubbing her arms. Keefe could see goosebumps forming on her shivering skin. She was very scared. Frightened. Fitz wrapped her up in a hug whispering to her, calming her down. Keefe looked away, he didn't want to see it. Instead, he faced Jewel who only looked at him with disappointment and sadness. He gave her a strange look and raised his brows. Jewel averted her gaze and sighed.
"Look we don't have time. Neverseen might catch us if we stay here too long. Let's go." Jewel commanded. She led the way deeper and deeper. They came to a stop in front of another steel door. Jewel nodded towards Dex, who easily passed through the locks. Slowly, Keefe pushed opened the door and that's when he heard voices. Startled, he quickly ducked behind a few crates and motioned the rest to be very quiet.
"We need her here soon. Our plan wasn't supposed to be delayed." A male voice grumbled. "She was the perfect weapon." Keefe furrowed his eyebrows and glanced at Jewel, as which everyone else was doing too. However, she stared at the ground, conflicted.
"What?" She whispered to herself. Keefe peeked around the corner to see a tall man with brown hair talking to another middle-aged women with red hair.
"That's right. Her inflicting skills were extremely powerful. Could destroy the whole Elvin world." The woman said. Jewel started to shake. Her lips trembled and Keefe could tell that she had no clue why they said that. Keefe leaned closer to her and grasped her cold hands. She looked at him and gave Keefe a small nod, showing that she was okay for now. Keefe returned a assuring smile before continueing to listen.
"It was no wonder that she was Black Swan's back up. Even though Sophie can be broken by guilt, she can heal broken minds. Just what the Elvin world needed. That's why Jewel wasn't their first choice to help save the Elvin world. No. She was only to be used in desperate situations." The man laughed. "Such a pity. The girl can't heal minds, she can only break them."
Jewel tensed and stepped backwards. Her normally bright purple eyes seemed dead as she shook her head. Keefe nearly winced at all the shock flowing through Jewel's mind. But Keefe was just as shocked. Everyone turned to look at Jewel, they couldn't believe what they just heard. Jewel covered her ears and knelt down, shaking viciously while dread flooded her veins. Panic, panic, PANIC. The emotions screamed at Keefe, making him start shivering. Her emotions were too strong. It was like she was having an attack. Keefe didn't know how to calm her. Or what to do at all. Without thinking, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a strong embrace. He shushed her quietly and let his fingers brush through her soft her.
"Jewel, calm down. You're not evil, you ain't going to harm anyone, okay. Stay with me." Keefe whispered soothingly. The others stood in silence, just watching. Keefe shot them an annoyed look.
"You guys don't have to be so alarmed! She not going to kill us all, okay? She's still the same Jewel." Keefe glared them down. Jewel slowly started to ease in his embrace. Her shoulders relaxed and her breathing slowed.
"I just... was overwhelmed." She whispered softly. She looked up at Keefe, making his heart dance as he looked into her still beautiful purple eye. "I remembered. Everything. It's true, Keefe. My inflicting... I can inflict guilt, so much of it, that once i find their sweet spot, I feed it to them. I can kill. I was trained for it." Her eyes brimmed with tears and Keefe shook his head.
"No Jewel. You're just an innocent girl who lived with a guy named Keefe and has friends who support her. You're caring and nice, strong and determined. Don't let this get you down." Keefe placed his hand on her shoulder, as if giving her a pep talk.
"Don't say otherwise." He said. She nodded and opened her mouth to say something when a voice boomed over them.
"Well, well, well. Sorry to interrupt such a touching moment, but you'll all be dead soon." A raspy voice spoke. In horror, all of them looked up to find a pair of pale, gray-blue eyes looking back at them. Sophie gasped while they realized who it was. And it was so sad to say that they were right about that one flame. Brant was here. Alive more than ever now.