Sentry of the Arcane: Engulfed

Chapter Three: Sophie

I wake up abruptly, breathing heavily. I palm my forehead before touching my bed, telling myself that I'm not in the warehouse anymore, but in my own room. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding before getting out of my bed. He's haunting me more than ever, I find myself transmitting to Fitz. I then realize that he must be asleep and turn on the bedroom lights before going and taking a shower.

After I finish changing in the walk-in closet, I clean up the slight mess I've created before walking towards the closet door. Once I open it, I find myself face-to-face with the male Percipient. My eyes widen and I scream in shock, jumping back and slamming the door in his face.

Once my mind makes the connection that it's Fitz and not an intruder, I open the door and smile sheepishly. "Sorry for... that," I apologize, stepping out of my closet. Closing the doors behind me, I continue, "I didn't think that you'd be here."

"You transmitted to me," he says, his eyes full of sympathy. "I came as soon as I could, which may explain why my hair looks as it is." He smirks slightly when I finally notice how Fitz's hair is more spiky than his natural spike-waves. I'm brought back into reality when Fitz asks, "Do you know what you were dreaming about?"

I nod solemnly. "I was in the warehouse again," I admit, looking at the ground again. I can feel the memories of Jacob and my dream trying to flood my mind again, but I force myself to push them away. Swallowing, I add, "But this time, only Jacob was there with me, cutting the cauterized cuts on my arms again.

Fitz's expression softens considerably. Running a hand through his hair, the male Percipient asks, "Do you think that this is something we should tell Steven about? This has been happening for a while, and I don't think it's going to stop any time soon."

"I understand what you're saying," I begin after a moment of thought. "But I haven't tended up in about a few hours."

"That's because I've been pushing them away," Fitz corrects me. A tense silence passes between us before he says, "I just pushed those memories back again. Did you not feel it?"

I frown when I shake my head. "Not at all," I admit. "But I know that once I see my memories, I don't stop seeing them until they all pass."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Fitz grabs my wrist and begins to drag me out of my room. I already know where we're going, so I don't ask. Even still, Fitz says, "We need to check up on you..." And in a quieter voice, which I have to strain to hear, the male Percipient adds, "...I'm worried about you..."

I can feel my face burning as my eyes widen. A smile breaks out on my face as I intertwine my fingers with the male Percipient's. After I feel his hand tense slightly before relaxing, I say, "I don't want to worry you too much, Fitz. Don't worry..." My voice becomes hitched when Fitz tightens his grip on my hand ever so slightly, sending shivers down my spine. Blush covering my cheeks, the two of us stay stay silent as we make our way to the laboratory.

Once we actually enter the laboratory, Caroline smiles at the two of us. "Is this hand-holding business going to be normal now?" she teases us, making my fading blush come back at full force. My blush merely deepens when Fitz just rubs his thumb against the back of my hand in silent response. A silence fills the air, but I don't miss how Caroline's eyes suddenly widen, as if she knows what's happening.

I don't realize that the memories of Jacob have been creeping into my mind I find myself reliving the horrific details. Each one is so powerful that I just helplessly find myself watching the images over. And I'm so thankful when I see the photo in front of me vanish suddenly, causing all of the other memories to quickly escape into the blackness of my consciousness. My vision clears to find myself staring into a pair of unforgettable teal eyes, with Caroline looking at me in the background.

"Did you hear anything ever since we got here?" Fitz asks me, looking deeply into my eyes.

I insecurely shake my head, tempted to look at the ceiling because it suddenly looks interesting. "All I saw before I saw the memories was Caroline's eyes widening," I admit. "Did you transmit what's happening to her?"

Caroline steps near the two of us. "No, he didn't," she says, her face pale. "But I think that this is something that we should solve. Immediately." She then takes me over to the metal table and instructs me to lay down. I then watch silently as she shines an orange light, then a blue light. Finally switching to a green light, she lets the light shine blindingly in my eyes until I see green spots in my vision whenever I blink.

Although I can't see anything, I hear Caroline tell me, "This has been happening ever since Mr. Wallace told you about..?" I nod blindly, my vision finally end. "Then we should probably give you a serum with some hints of nebmentia," she announces, scribbling it down on a piece of parchment.

"Nebmentia?" Fitz asks, his face suddenly pale and his eyes widened considerably. He slowly backs away from Caroline, who holds a dark blue liquid in a test tube. I watch him in confusion as the male Percipient practically gives the nebmentia solution the death glare.

Suddenly, the back doors to the laboratory slam open, revealing a slightly breathless Steven. Looking at the test tube and Fitz, the pathologist then says, "Hey, Fitz? I- uh, need your help with something. Can you come with me?"

Fitz nods, the color to his face still drained. "Sure," he says. The male Percipient then mouths, "I'll be back," before following Steven through the second pair of steel doors.

Once the two boys are gone, Caroline and I exchange confused glance. Shaking my head, I look at the solution. "What will it do?" I ask. "And how many nebmentia pieces are in it?"

"It seems that you've been letting your mind subconsciously think about Jacob, and because you didn't know about it, it's made you go into these trances," the chemist explains slowly. "The solution only has small pieces of one piece of nebmentia. It'll help you regain control over the memories you'll see. So if I'm correct, this alone should solve your problem." She then hands it to me.

After I drink the solution, I gag at the taste. "It tastes... bad," I say. I stick my tongue out in disgust and shake my head. "Like, really bad."

Laughing, the chemist then gives me some orange juice. "You should probably remember that most medicine tastes awful," she says between giggles, earning a smile from me.

After a moment of silence passes between us, I ask, "So I can talk about him and I won't go into a trance, right?

Caroline nods.

I then jump off of the metal table. "Could you tell Fitz that I'll be in the conference room?" I tell Caroline as I make my way to the doors. When she nods, confusion evident on her face, I thank her before heading to the conference room. Almost slamming the doors open, I frown when I see that he's not here.

But then, I hear his voice behind me. "To what do I owe this pleasure to, Ms. Sophie?"