Torn Between (KOTLC)

Chapter 3

Sophie ran through the woods, dodging trees. She gritted her teeth & channeled all her energy into her legs, efficiently helping her go faster. Everything had been going perfect until now. They had managed to intercept the Neverseen as they had planned beforehand- but that was when everything went wrong. Ruy had somehow managed to get his hands on the cache, & only Sophie had noticed him quietly dashing away. That was exactly were she was know- trying in vain to stop Ruy from escaping with cache. Sophie's lungs were burning, & she suddenly realized how similar this was to her dream. Sophie's stomach filled with dread as she wished with all her remaining strength that the dream had not been a prediction of how this encounter was going to end. Suddenly Ruy stopped, & Sophie nearly crashed into him. He turned to her & smirked, & Sophie immediately knew this would not end well.  She gathered her emotions & prepared to inflict on Ruy, but before she got the chance, there was a force field surrounding her. "The cache was fake," Ruy laughed. "And also a trap." Sophie felt like punching herself. Of course Mr. Forkle wouldn't bring the cache straight to the Neverseen. The only person she had to blame was herself. She had waltzed straight into their trap, but Sophie refused to give Ruy the satisfaction by losing control on her emotions. She bit her lip in an attempt to cover what she was feeling. She felt even worse when Ruy turned around & whistled sharply, knowing that was probably some sort of signal for a bunch of people to come out & torture her. But to her surprise, Gethen came out alone, but it still didn't make her feel much better, especially when he gave Ruy an approving nod. Sophie's stomach churned as she imagined  all the horrible things they would do to her. But they couldn't do anything unless they lifted the force field, & Sophie prepared to unleash the inflicting rage on them as soon as they lifted the shield. Gethen approached & she held her breath, but he didn't do anything except stare, which Sophie found creepy, but she didn't care because it was better than anything she expected  him to do. Finally he spoke, "Don't you think it's frustrating when nobody will tell you who your own parents are." Sophie didn't  find  it exasperating & irritating,  buy she didn't trust him at all, much less enough to tell her how she felt about it. Why was he bringing this up? She stayed silent & Gethen tried again. "The Black Swan are hiding so much for you, even something as simple as who your parents are." Sophie couldn't hold it in any longer, " At least we don't harm or kill anyone." Gethen sighed deeply. "But have you ever wondered why? Or do you just assume we're crazy psychopaths who like to kill everyone." Sophie wanted to answer , Yes, that's exactly what I think you are,  but she didn't want to push her luck. Instead, she said, "Are you implying that you have excuses to kill innocent people left & right. "No, but sometimes it can be hard to control your emotions, & if you don't understand that now, you will very soon. Don't you think the Black Swan have reasons for hiding what they do from you." Sophie snorted. "What can you tell me that the Black Swan can't?" Gethen hid a triumphant smile. This was exactly what he had been waiting for. "A lot, actually. Join us, & we can tell you more than Black Swan ever did." Sophie looked at him with disbelief. "Do you really think I would join you just because you say you have information? You could be lying for all I know!" Gethen looked at her almost pityingly. "This one piece of information I'm about to give you will change your mind almost instantly. Are you sure you can handle it?" Sophie hesitated. On the one hand, extra information couldn't hurt. On the other hand, if he was saying the truth... No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't leave her friends just because of one secret. Would she? No. Sophie made up her mind & looked at Gethen. "Tell me."