Mental Cages: A KoTLC Story

Part 2

and here it is... I'm trying to help explore Sophie's mental powers and how she tracks down people, so please excuse my creative freedom. :)

Turns out, the family cry sesh was just what Sophie needed to clear her mind. When she rose from the ground, surrounded by the attempted comfort from her parents, her mind was focused on her new mission.

Find Keefe, and bring him home. And yell at him a little bit.

Maybe more than a little bit.

Turning the water of her shower to nearly freezing, Sophie lingered in the cool water, letting the smell of smoke and mud flush from her hair and skin. She found the most flowery, perfumed soap she could in the vast array of bottles and bars provided in her shower and scrubbed her skin nearly raw. She needed a fresh start and a clean mind if she was going to accomplish what she hoped she could.

Sophie had tested her skills in tracking people nearby, even Silveny when she was half a mile or so. She could transmit across the world, but she never tried tracking over such a large distance. Keefe could be anywhere across the planet, but if he was alive, there was no way he could hide from her.

The only limit for your mind is yourself, Magnate Leto's quote turned and twisted in her mind, shifting to adjust meanings. At the time, it seemed impossible to transmit through mountains. Now, she could do much more impossible tasks; hopefully her limit wouldn't arise at long-distance tracking.

Back in her room, Sandor checked in quickly, doing his nightly check with Flori and Bo. "Ro leaped in with Elwin," he told Sophie with a slightly annoyed glance to her window. "She said she knew you'd be looking for Keefe and wanted to help."

Sophie spotted her in the yard, bickering with Bo as they trekked the perimeter of the yard.

"She also called him several choice words." Sandor added as he shut her door behind him, leaving her alone in the quiet.

Sophie sat with her legs crossed on her bed, her memory log open to a clean page for easy access. Taking a deep breath, she pushed down the edge of fear growing in the back of her mind.

She sent out her consciousness, searching for the familiar feel of Keefe's mind. Hints of blue wisps invaded her vision, the same blue Keefe would send into her mind to calm her down, and she followed the trail through her room, hovered around the note still laying crumpled on her flowered carpet.

Pushing farther, she followed a stream of azure to the beach house, through Foxfire, clouds wafting around the bed where Keefe had lain during his coma. She expanded her search, trying to think of any place he could of gone. Her mind flew over North America, searching for the slightest hint of his mind.

There, far into Canada, turquoise tendrils curled and twisted around a large, modern-looking house. She visualized the inside, where the blue was focused. A room with dozen of suspended jewels appeared around her, a rumpled bed and old food wrappers.

Elwin's house, Sophie realized. This was where Keefe was staying before he ran away.

Sophie disregarded the house, focusing on America again. Narrowing her search, she glanced over the landscapes, searching over the familiar states. The Rocky Mountains, the West Coast, the dry deserts of the Southwest.

Her old home, San Diego. Ignoring the pang in her chest, Sophie sought out any sign of Keefe. A faint whisper of ice-blue caught her eye, and she dove after if, following through the turns of the streets until the blue grew brighter, stronger. Excitement and nervousness trickled down her spine as she felt like she neared the end of the trail. 

"Sophie?"