Sentry of the Arcane: Engulfed

Chapter Two: Fitz

Once the Sovereigns meet us in front of the conference room doors, the six of us enter the actual room together. There, we sit down in our respective seats, waiting for Mr. Wallace to arrive. In the meantime, I stare forward and transmit to Sophie, What do you think that he'll talk to us about?

Hopefully, it doesn't have to do with a beige folder of any kind, the female Percipient says. I see her shudder from the corner of my eye. Luckily, I didn't see any folders on my desk, so that's good.

I nod, That's true. But don't you think that Mr. Wallace sounded a bit... urgent, when he wanted to talk to the six of us?

This time, Sophie turns to look at me. I don't know... maybe? Sophie replies uncertainly. I just thought that wanting to talk to us in general was rather weird, though... She's about to say more, but at that time, Mr. Wallace walks into the room and stands at the far end of the table, silently staring at each one of us. When his gaze meets me, I raise an eyebrow and return the solemn stare,making him quickly look at someone else.

Clearing his throat, Mr, Wallace says, "I know that I called you down here to tell you six some news. But I don't think that we should start eating until after I say it.

Don't complain about the food, I transmit to the male Sovereign, making him narrow his eyes at me. Instead, Donovan asks, "Is it good or bad news?" He then sticks his tongue out at me, earning an eye roll from me.

"It's... good and bad," Mr. Wallace says vaguely, looking at each one of us again. After a moment of silence, he finally decides to blurt it out, "Jacob's in prison."

Donovan somehow manages to choke on the air while Audrey's eyes just widen considerably. I glance over at Sophie to see that she's practically frozen in her current position. I raise an eyebrow and place my hand on her shoulder, trying to see if she'll react. When the female Percipient doesn't, I transmit, Sophie..? Sophie, can you say something? You're frozen- almost like a statue.

What- sorry, Sophie replies, turning towards me with a pale face. Did we hear him correctly?

That Jacob's been caught? I nod. We heard him, alright. Suddenly, waves after waves of the memories at the warehouse and the entire case of the Grahams enter Sophie's mind. I quickly retract myself from Sophie's mind as the memories become very overwhelming. I then look to see that Sophie became frozen again, stuck in her thoughts of Jacob. I look over at Benen and see that Laurel's in a similar state of shock as Sophie.

We'll need to let them be for a few moments, I transmit to the male Altruistic. The two of us share a nod before looking forward again. "How did you find out?" I ask Mr. Wallace, forcing myself to focus on the current issue and not go into a trance like Sophie or Laurel.

"A colleague told me," Mr. Wallace explains. "He heard it from the police, and then told me. And I'm telling you because you six deserve to know." I frown at how nonchalant the grey-haired man is acting.

"Who's your colleague?" I then inquire, looking at him.

"The same friend I visited last year last year. He learned about it after he got back from vacation" he replies. After a moment of tense silence fills the room, Mr. Wallace claps his hands together and says, "Well then- let's eat now!"

"Are you brain-dead..?!" I hear Sophie saying, glaring at him.

Sophie's cut off from saying more when I quickly say, "I think we've lost our appetite, so we should probably go to sleep instead." When we all stand up simultaneously, I transmit to her, We're actually going to the laboratory- don't worry. We'll tell the others once we're outside.

I feel more memories of Jacob flooding into her mind again, so I use some of my mental power to keep them away long enough so I can transmit, Its okay- we're all here together. And for some assurance, I gently grab Sophie's hand, bringing her back into reality. Some blush appearing on her face, the female Percipient nods and smiles, tightening our grip ever so slightly.

I exchange glances with the Sovereigns and Altruistics before turning around on my foot and walking out, still holding Sophie's hand. The multiple pairs of footsteps following us tells me that we're not the only ones leaving the conference room.

Once all of us are outside, I look at the others and explain, "Sophie and I will be going to the laboratory instead. Does anyone else want to come?"

The Sovereigns and Benen immediately nod in agreement. When Benen sees Laurel staring at our hands with a big smile on her face, he gently takes her head and makes her nod slightly. After this, I tighten my grip on the female Percipient's hand slightly before leading the way to Steven and Caroline, a silence surrounding the six of us like an inescapable fog.

When the six of us enter the laboratory, Caroline claps her hands together at the sight of us. "Are you two now dating?" she asks. "Because if so, then that means that I owe Steven a fancy dinner..!"

Sophie smiles at her joke, but I can feel her mind beginning to be flooded with the memories. Gently pushing those memories away, I transmit, I'll say it instead, alright? Nod if you understand. When the female Percipient nods, I smile softly before saying, "We actually have some news... Jacob's in prison..."

Caroline's eyes widen considerably. "So the rumors are true?" she murmurs. Her face pales to the color of snow before she yells out, "Steven! Get in here!"

"What's wrong?!" the forensic pathologist shouts, barging into the room. He sees the six of us and smiles. He then sees the solemn expression on his wife's pale face. Walking up to her, Steven gently brushes a strand of the chemist's blond hair away before asking in a tender voice, "What's the matter, Caroline dear?"

"The rumors," Caroline whispers. "Are true. Jacob's locked up."

Steven raises his eyebrows in shock. But instead of saying anything, the pathologist just wraps his arms around his wife, letting her relax considerably.

Laurel, on the other hand, smiles. "You know, you two are the cutest couple I have ever seen," she squeals, grinning more at the couple before her.

Caroline smiles, "I'm thinking that Sophie and Fitz are giving us a run for our money, though." The two laugh when Sophie and I immediately look away from each other and stop holding hands, blushing the color of strawberries.

Suddenly, Sophie and I frown. When we both look at each other, I transmit to her, You're thinking about Mr. Wallace's words? She nods, and I ask, "Why is Jacob being locked up good and bad?"

Steven looks at me. "Well, it's good that a murderer and kidnapper has been caught," he begins. "But from what the news says, he hasn't been talking to anyone since he was caught. And the major thing is how he was caught."

"How?" Sophie asks for all six of us.

The forensic pathologist merely shrugs. "Actually, he was assumed dead because no one could find him. But suddenly, he said the words "Hide another secret" and was caught soon after." He sees our shock and adds, "And before that, no one could track him. And now, he's in a cell, waiting to go to court."

I frown. "Hide another secret?" I murmur. "It sounds like a command. Like he's verbally telling someone or something that they need to hide something else since he's been found."

Sophie nods. After a moment of silence, she asks, "Wait... how did people know what he said?"

"He kept screaming it all the way to the prison, according to the news outlets," Caroline says. "And when he was asked what his last words while in hiding was, he just said-"

"Hide another secret?" I ask, raising an eyebrow when she nods.

"Hopefully, nothing else that's major will be 'revealed'," Steven says, sighing as he stares up at the ceiling. Then he looks at the six of us.

And I could've sworn that he stared at me longer than the other five. But I force myself to ask him about that later.

....In other words, when no one else is around.