Because There Is a Future

Chapter Twenty-Eight

 They all split up, running to where they were assigned. 

"Woah there, be careful." Keefe said, catching Sophie as she tripped on the snow. "I forgot how clumsy you were."

Sophie offered him half a smile. "Stop talking, Keefe, and move forward."

But within another minute, she had tripped again. But in her defense, it was when the scream cut through the air again, so she was startled.  

"You know," Keefe said as he helped regain Sophie's balance, "It might be better if I carry you." 

Before Sophie got to answer, he picked her up bridal style and startled walking at least twice as fast through the snow. "Keefe!" Sophie scolded, hitting his arm. "Let me down!"

"Later, clumsy."

"What did you call me?" Sophie asked, although the harsh tone she had wanted came out humorously.

"Clumsy. Do you like it?" Keefe asked.

Maybe it was the fact that they weren't together for seven years. Maybe it was the fact that Sophie had forgotten about her best friend. Whatever it was, Keefe seemed to be more... mature. Stronger. Not unlike the joking boy she had known earlier, but somehow a little bit more like...

Another cry cut through the air, and Sophie realized that it sounded a little closer to where she was. Hopping off Keefe quickly, she stumbled through the bushes, begging, praying for Eve to be alright. Well, there still was a chance that it wasn't Eve who was screaming altogether.

"Clumsy! Jeez, don't leave me back here." Sophie heard a crash and a groan. "Clumsy! Oh, come on, Foster."

Another scream. 

Every sound felt like knives ripping Sophie apart, and she had to find the source of it. 

Running like a maniac, she kept going, not hearing the calls of Keefe, not feeling the scars that appeared as the sticks scratched her, not seeing anything at all. 

 "Oof!" She heard something, felt something, and her body made contact with the ground. Her vision cleared and she saw Biana, Marella, and Tam on similar positions. They had somehow gotten back to the round clearing where they had started.

Biana cleared her throat, trying her very best to not look Tam in the eye. The other four people emerged, Fitz looking enraged, Linh looking sad, Dex looking confused, and Keefe looking angrily pissed.

"Foster!" Keefe said, speed walking over to where Sophie lay on the ground and pulled her up on her feet. "Never ever do that again."

"Sorry." Sophie mumbled. "We didn't get anywhere, either."

"Yeah. Why are we all back here?" Biana asked. 

"Uh, because you took off without knowing where the heck you were going!" Fitz shouted, glaring at his sister. 

"But isn't it weird that we all got back here? I mean, we can't have all lost track." Dex said. 

"Yeah..."

A second before another scream came. But this time, there were two. Speaking of which...

"Where's Veta?" Sophie said, looking around frantically. 

"Maybe she didn't get lost like we did." Tam said, shooting an 'I'm sorry' look at Linh. 

"But isn't it weird? How the people who go alone doesn't come back?" Sophie asked. "Okay, I'll go. If I don't come back in five minutes, then stay together."

She turned to the forest once again and started to march in, but two hands held her back. 

"Sophie-"

"Foster-"

The two guys looked at each other before clearing their throats and quickly pulling their hands away. 

"Don't go." Tam said, shooting an annoyed glance at the guys before coming in front of Sophie. "We can't afford to lose another person. Especially not you, not again. We need to stay together as a group."

"But that would take us nowhere." Sophie argued. 

"No, not exactly." Marella said. "Eve followed the footprints, right? All we have to do is follow it too and see where it takes us."

"Bad idea." Dex said. "What if we all get held captive?"

"Then only, like, two or three of us goes." Linh said. "The other people can wait here, and if they don't come back, then..."

"We'll know the footprints were a trap. Yeah, then what? How are we gonna get them out?"

"Hang on, let me try something." Sophie said, closing her eyes. She extended her thoughts over to the familiar sensation he had, and...

Fitz? Can you hear me? 

Sophie? Yeah, I can. His voice, Sophie noted, seemed really eagerly happy. 

"My telekinesis works, so how about I go and Fitz stays here, so I can reach out to him if anything goes wrong?" She suggested. 

"No, I'll go." Fitz said. 

"Fitz, we don't have time to go over this." Sophie groaned. 

"Well, Foster, if you're going, I'm going too. That was a deal we made." Keefe walked up to her and hooked his arm through hers. "Deal?"

"No way. I'm going with my brother. Vanisher, remember? It will help us hide." Biana stated. 

"It'll be dangerous, so I'll go." Tam said, glancing at Biana. Sophie mentally grinned at him protecting her. "I'm a shade. I can attack them with shadow and help them-" Tam started, but Biana cut him off. 

"Why? I don't need your protection, Tammy boy." She scoffed. 

"What? I never said I'd be protecting you-"

Biana rolled her eyes. "What? Then why do you want to go?"

Although Sophie thought Tam had a 'chill' personality, she had never seen anyone go this red before. "To fight." He muttered, his voice deeper than usual. 

The teal eyes narrowed into slits. "Are you saying that you think I don't know how to fight? Because if you want to challenge me in a duel, I'll kick your ass in a second."

Their conversation, or rather, argument, got cut short when the screams started again. 

"C'mon, Keefe, let's go." Sophie muttered, pulling his arm. 

"No, you will not be going, girl." Biana grasped Sophie's arm. "Because I will."

"And me." Tam added. 

"This is stupid." They heard Marella mutter. 

Tam, Biana, Keefe, and Sophie all stumbled in the forest, all trying their best to follow the footsteps while trying to keep the other people from following them. Which was all stupid, looking back on it. 

But the four was invested in proving people wrong that they didn't notice light fizzling out and a blank opening materializing in space. The girls and guys stumbled through, and they were greeted by hot, searing pain. 

Pain that seemed to burn them from the inside out.

Long time no see, everyone!

I've been busy and all, but thanks for reading.

NEXT CHAPTER:

Where did Sophie end up going?

What will happen to Tam and Biana?

Will they find Veta's sister?