Sentry of the Arcane: Engulfed

Chapter Fifteen: Sophie

"How do you think it's going?" Laurel asks me as she sits on my bed. About fifteen minutes ago, the female Altruistic woke up, squealing loudly. I had given her some water and caught her up on whatever she missed.

I shrug. "Hopefully it's going well..?" I ask, the uncertainty clear in my voice. I recall Mr. Wallace's abnormal reaction to the stranger in the laboratory. "I don't know if they'll actually get to him," I admit after a few moments.

Suddenly, loud knocking sounds at the door. Frowning, I stand up and open the door, surprised that Donovan's standing in front of me. Irritation and confusion in his voice, the male Sovereign gently pulls me out into the hallway and says, "I need to talk to you."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I say, "Okay..? Why- did something happen?" I can't help but begin to worry when I take the fact that Fitz isn't here into consideration.

Practically reading my mind, Donovan shakes his head. "Fitz is fine," he tells me. "But he's at the laboratory. Let's just say that Mr. Wallace... needs to be left alone for a bit."

"Is he hurt?" I question the male Sovereign. "What happened?"

Donovan merely shakes his head. "I'll let him explain it," he says after a moment of silence. "I know that I won't be able to explain it as well as him. But don't go after him, Sophie. He specifically said that you shouldn't."

Slightly dazed as I try to wrap my head around the new information, I suddenly feel a sharp pain. Blinking my eyes at the abrupt pain, I step back and exhale sharply.

"Um... Sophie?" Donovan asks, stepping forward cautiously. "Are you okay? What was that?"

"I..." My voice trails off, followed by me yelping when the pain strikes back unexpectedly. I accidentally jump back so much that I hit my head against the back wall. "I'm- ow!" I shout when I fall on the ground.

"Sophie!" Donovan shouts, kneeling down towards me. "What's wrong?"

The ground turning left and right, up and down, I manage to mumble, "I don't know..." before I lay my head against the ground. Closing my eyes, the pain continues, followed by a white light. And all I want is it to stop.

...

When I open my eyes again, I still see that I'm on the ground. But this time, I also notice that I'm in my room again. "Did I-" I begin to say as I stand up. Suddenly, I find myself staring at the female and male Altruistic as they help me up.

"Fall off of the bed?" Laurel finishes for me. "Yeah, you did."

Smiling, Benen also adds, "You scared Audrey so much that Donovan's calming her down." He then points to the two Sovereigns, all of us watching as Audrey curses quietly in Donovan's embrace. I can't help but smile, suddenly wishing that I had a camera.

"Don't worry," Laurel whispers to me. Through soft giggling, the female Altruistic also adds, "I already took a photo. Worth it."

I can't help but giggle slightly. Suddenly, I see that someone's missing from this room. "Where's Fitz?" I ask. I look around, worry and concern prominent on my face. "Did he not come back from..." I feel a sharp pain, but it isn't enough to make me go unconscious again. Even still, I can't remember where Fitz went.

Laurel suddenly frowns. "He went to the conference room," she says softly. "And now he's at the laboratory..." She places a hand on my shoulder. "You'd never forget that... Are you okay..?"

My eyes widen at the realization and I place a hand on my forehead. "I don't know," I say. Suddenly, standing up, I announce, "I need to talk to Fitz. At the laboratory, you said?"

The female Altruistic merely nods. "Go," she whispers. "You need to."

Nodding, I mouth, "Thank you," to her before I leave the room, slightly confused at what I'm going to do once I actually see Fitz.

...

When I walk into the laboratory, an unfamiliar voice rasps, "Well, look over here... Another visitor..." He spits on the ground a wheezes, making me back up slightly. I soon realize that it's the stranger from before, but this time, he doesn't have the grey iris.

"Visitor..?" the male Percipient's voice sounds. I see him turn towards the entrance, where I was. Teal eyes meet brown, and it merely takes a matter of seconds before Fitz is right in front of me, asking me questions. "What happened?" he asks, looking at me for any injuries. "Is someone hurt? Didn't Donovan tell you all of my instructions? Why are you here?"

"I-" My voice suddenly trails off, causing me to look down at the ground instead. Before I know it, I'm quieting whispering, "I forgot..."

"Forgot?" Fitz asks, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I wring my wrist as I dare to look into his concerned face. "I don't know," I admit. "One minute, I'm talking with Donovan about something, and the next, I'm on the ground."

Fitz's eyes widen. "What happened?" he asks again.

I shake my head, "That's the thing. I don't know... Laurel filled me in on the fact that you were here. So I came here." I exhale sharply before I continue. "Something's happening to me, and I don't think this is the first time that this has happened..."

The male Percipient opens his mouth to say something, but closes it after looking back at the stranger. "We shouldn't talk about that here," he whispers softly. "I don't think we'll be able to talk while he's here..." Although it would be easy to miss it, I notice Fitz nodding his head subtly towards the stranger, who merely cackles at the two of us.

"Steven!" Fitz shouts after stepping back. "I need to leave! I'll come back later!"

"Sure!" the pathologist retorts, not showing his face.

Turning to me again, he says, "Now we can go."

...

Once the elevator opens when it reaches Level 8, I step out and turn around to face Fitz. Even though it's only the two of us in the hallway, the male Percipient looks both ways before looking at me. "You said that you forgetting something has happened before," he begins, stepping forward. "What do you mean?"

Sighing, I shrug. "I don't know what I forgot," I clarify, "that first time. But I remember going to the conference room again, thinking that Mr. Wallace still had to see the two of us."

"When I was sleeping?" Fitz asks for clarification. When I nod, the male Percipient frowns noticeable. "We went there, alright. Didn't Mr. Wallace act weirdly, and then you up here again?"

I think back to that moment before nodding in confirmation. "But this time, I felt pain in my head," I somewhat mutter. "I remember I was outside, and Donovan told me something. And then the pain happened, and I just fell on the ground."

Fitz's face softens with worry. "Why didn't you transmit to me..?" he asks softly, looking down at me.

"I don't think I could've talked about this with you over a mental conversation," I say, glancing at my feet before staring up at Fitz again. "Also, Laurel told me that I wouldn't have forgotten this, forgotten where you were, on purpose. She's the one who made me realize that this was more serious than I realized."

"It's good that you told someone, told me, before it got so much more harmful to you," the male Percipient admits. His expression suddenly hardens as he looks him momentarily. "But honestly, who knows what that man could've done if he didn't say who it was? Or if no one was there?"

I open my mouth to say something, but decide against it. Who knows, in all honesty? I didn't even think of that, to be quite frank. I shrug helplessly. "I don't know," I admit. "But who is that guy?"

"We don't know yet," Fitz says. "But we're going to find out." He turns to go to the elevator, but stops halfway. Turning to me again, the male Percipient asks, "Are you coming, Sophie Foster?"

Teal meets brown again, and we both smile. Walking up to him, I say, "Of course, Fitz Vacker."