Reversed

xvii. seventeen

Keefe let out a relieved breath. "Thank you." He stepped back so her legs were free.

Sophie couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

Keefe let go of her wrists and opened his mouth to say something, but he swiveled around when Livvy walked through the door with Mr. Forkle. She wielded the vial Sophie had been dreading for so long.

Was still dreading.

Panic flared inside of her. She curled her legs up, starting to rethink her promise. Keefe shot her a look. Sophie forgot he could feel her emotions so easily. 

Stupid Empaths.

"Take your gloves off," he whispered.

"My what?" Sophie asked.

"Your gloves," he said again.

Sophie reluctantly slipped one of the black gloves the Neverseen had made her off. Keefe wrapped his hand around hers, and soft, blue breezes and summer air filled her mind.

She opened her mouth to protest, but then she realized that she was actually calm now.

Livvy took in Sophie sitting down and Keefe standing beside her. She shook her head, smiling. "You truly are a miracle worker, Keefe."

Sophie glared and pulled away from him. She pulled her glove back up.

The corners of Keefe's eyes lifted again, and he gave a bow before going out the door. "Anytime, doc. See you on the other side, Foster." 

Why had Keefe asked her to take off her gloves, anyway? Couldn't he have just done it by touching her arm?

Livvy reached into her white tunic and pulled out a needle. She handed it to Mr. Forkle.

Sophie choked. "What is that for?"

Livvy looked at her reassuringly. "The human antidote."

"I thought you said you had remade it to be safer!"

"Yes," Livvy agreed. "But there's no other way to give it other than through a needle. I just tweaked it so it can carry you through the two ounces of limbium."

"But... the needle," Sophie said, shuddering. 

"This time you're taking more limbium," Mr. Forkle said. "It's one thing to reset a mind, and quite another to completely undo all altered, erased, or planted memories. Especially when we don't even know what has been done."

Sophie gulped. Her legs itched to run, but she remembered her promise to Keefe.

She had to do it. She couldn't keep losing her memories. Especially when the urgency in Ruy's voice was so unmistakable. 

"I will be making sure the limbium enters you and effects your mind properly, and Forkle will be working with the human medicine, since he's already done it once before," Livvy told her.

Once. Sophie rubbed the scar she still bore on her hand.

Soon she would have another to match it.

Livvy handed her the vial. Two ounces of pure limbium. "Whenever you're ready," she said softly.

Sophie had one more question. "What happens if it doesn't work? Will you let me go?"

Mr. Forkle's face looked pained. "Miss Foster, I—"

Sophie set the vial down beside her. "I need to know."

Livvy sighed. "We cannot promise anything right now. But—" she shared a look with Mr. Forkle "—we only want what's best for you."

Sophie scoffed. "I can't tell if you actually expect me to believe that or not."

But... after she woke up, and they let their guard down, she could find her own way out of the Black Swan hideout. Once she stopped losing her memories.

So with shaking hands, Sophie reached for the vial filled with metallic liquid. She snapped the top off.

And with one last gulp of fresh air, she poured the contents down her throat. Sophie's tongue swelled the second the cold liquid hit, and she stopped breathing.