Tyrant in the Shadows

Part 13

Sophia didn't know what was happening. She wasn't seeing, wasn't feeling. For a moment she wondered if she was existing. Of course, in the instant she disappeared from the world when she teleported, she wasn't. She liked that. She wondered if she died in that void if she would've existed in the first place. That was a stupid thought. Of course she would. But she wouldn't exist then. Not in this world, but rather in that void. That's where her existence would end. The shadows wouldn't take her power there.

Why was she suddenly so unstable? She was calm before. Sophia had no idea what was going on. All she knew what that her powers were unstable. Delaney and Ivan would be disappointed in her. She couldn't keep control long enough for the emotions that came with losing a loved one to calm. Instead, she lost it when they got worse. 

She was able to think again when the world went to darkness. Something was sticky on her face. Was it sweat? She didn't feel pain. So it must be blood. The stages of overuse of power were pounded into their head. If at all possible, they shouldn't let it get to the first; extreme physical exhaustion. Of course, in operations like the one they had preformed earlier that day, there was no helping it. The next stages, pain and sweating blood, were avoidable. They could switch out and see the healers when they needed to.

She was thinking about that when she felt a pair of arms around her and she whimpered in pain, or maybe it was fear, though she tried not to. She didn't know who it was. Voices were audible, but they were so far away. What were they saying? Better question, who were they? Was it someone she knew? Had they come looking for her when she'd gone missing? How long did it take them to realize she was gone? If it wasn't them who had found her, had they realized she was gone yet? 

When the world disappeared (though she couldn't see Sophia definitely knew what it felt like), Sophia was almost positive it was someone she knew that had found her. Or at least someone from the outpost. She definitely didn't personally know everyone there. Actually, she pretty much only knew her class, Delaney, and Ivan. That was... eighteen people now. It was nineteen. She didn't want to think about it though.

What must've been twenty hands grabbed her at once and she woke up, gasping and trying to sit up quickly. The hands were holding her down.

"What the heck?" She gasped, "What the actual heck?" Her breaths were so ragged they felt like they were ripping her throat apart, she rubbed her face, "What did I do?"

"Lost control," Ivan said, he was glaring at the ground.

"... chaining me up?"

"We have to. That's the highest chance we have of keeping you if you become unstable like that again," Delaney looked regretful, "You find it difficult to teleport out of chains as it is. As unstable as you've been, you won't be able to teleport out of them. And you can't teleport a building."

Sophia nods, "I'm going to be bored," she said, trying to lighten the situation, "Oh. The healers left."

She hadn't noticed that the healers had quietly left the room while she was staring at her lap.

"Sophia..." Ivan started, "How did you lose control like that?"

"I-I don't know. I was literally sobbing when it did it. So I guess maybe that."

"So when you lose focus on your surroundings?"

"Yeah. I guess."

Delaney laughs, "You know what? You can start training Miriam and try to figure out what Julie's power is. Those two should keep your hands full. Once Miriam has calmed a bit after her parents death I think she'll be quite the rebellious teenager."

Oh boy.