Sentry of the Arcane: Engulfed

Chapter Thirty: Fitz

 I'm just frozen in my spot, shocked that the female Percipient actually ran up to the maniac. After a moment of silence, I shake my head, bringing myself back into reality. I realise that neither of them have moved since Sophie had run up to him and sprint towards them myself. "Sophie!" I shout once I'm within earshot. "Get away from him!"

No response.

I touch Sophie's shoulder, attempting to turn her towards me. She faces my way, but her eyes are closed... and her fingers are still on Mr. Wallace's templates. "Sophie! Wake up!" I begin to shake her slightly, paling when she still doesn't reply. "Please wake up..!" I exclaim, slowly starting to panic.

Realising that Sophie won't be waking up, I step back, defeated. I press my lips together, my mind racing with possible explanations and solutions to this. Frowning, I glance over at Mr. Wallace, who seems to have a sheen on his face. His eyes are closed too tightly to be natural, and his hands are clenched into fists. I narrow my eyes and take a step forward. The option of attempting to wake Mr. Wallace up instead flashes through my mind, and I snap my fingers in front of his face and next to his ears.

I had originally expected no reaction.

I definitely did not expect the middle aged man to scream bloody murder.

Mr. Wallace suddenly thrashes in place. "Get out!" he yells, waving his arms and hitting Sophie's hands. I rush over and grab his wrists, standing in between the female Percipient and him. I glare at him as he screams, "Getoutgetoutgetout!" My eyes widen considerably when he screams an ear-splitting scream. He begins to struggle against Sophie and my grip, trying his hardest to get away from us.

Confused, I turn to look at the female Percipient. "Just what are you doing..?" I ask softly, worry evident in my tone as I stare at her. I sigh when she's unresponsive. Her arms haven't left Mr. Wallace's head, and he's still screaming. What's happening..? I ask myself. Solemnly, I look at the two, who don't seem to be moving anytime soon.

I glance at Sophie's resting state and finally realise what she's doing- she's in Mr. Wallace's head. Everything makes sense now! I think to myself, staring at the screaming man again. But... does she know what she's doing..? Shaking my head, I reach for Mr. Wallace's head... and stop. My gaze land upon Sophie, whose eyes are still closed, but she seems to be tensing up. I then reach over to her temples, place two fingers on either side...

And I dive in.

...

Inside, it's all dark. I can't see anything. My head feels light, yet I don't feel the lightheadedness hitting me. I crane my neck back, hoping to see a glimmer of light to no avail. I don't realise that I'm not standing on anything until something painful wraps around my arms. Thorns stab my arms, spreading pain throughout my upper body.

Get out! a voice screams. When I connect that voice to Mr. Wallace, my eyes widen. My God... I think to myself. He's now insane... what in the world is Sophie even doing..? I prioritise finding the female Percipient and getting the both of us out of this man's head. It really was too dangerous to be in there in the first place.

I swivel my head around quickly when I hear a female shriek, followed by someone screaming for them to get out. I'm about to go over to the noise when I realise that I still haven't freed myself from the vines yet. Anger coursing through my veins, I scream as I pull against the vines, the thorns just going deeper into my skin. The pain is unbearable, but I remind myself of what I'm trying to do. Another reminder is when Sophie shrieks again, making me thrash about more.

If you want me to get out so badly, then why are you trapping me in here?! I yell out to him blindly. Glaring straighting ahead, I feel energy pooling together in my head, reminding me of the white light I use when I've transformed. I quickly realise that it's exactly that light and close my eyes, letting the blackness disappear temporarily.

When I open my eyes, I see the vines that held me release their grip, their thorns leaving me. Hissing, they reel back into the growing darkness, and I use whatever light's left to search for the female Percipient.

Fitz! I hear Sophie exclaim. I turn my head to see her coming to me. What are you doing here?! You aren't supposed to-

Neither are you, I quickly point out. And I feel like I should ask you that, Sophie. What are you doing? I gesture to the darkness that's slowly swallowing up the light. He's insane- why did you come in anyways?

I thought that I could get through to him when in his mind, Sophie explains. Why- what's he doing?

Other than screaming bloody murder? I ask sarcastically. I don't know since I'm in here to get you out. I reach over and grab her hand to make sure that I won't lose her when it gets completely dark again. Her eyes widen at that, and the darkness finally covers everything again. Tightening my grasp on her hand ever so slightly, I ask, Now... how will we get out?

Maybe we can instigate him? Sophie offers. He can then kick us out.

No, that won't work.

Why not?

If he was able to do so, you wouldn't be in here for so long, I remind her. I ponder for a moment before saying, How about we picture ourselves not being in his mind? Just imagining that we're outside again?

Sophie takes a moment to think about what I said. She then responds, Let's try that. Who knows what's happening there now?

Even though she can't see me, I nod. I then replay everything up until going into Mr. Wallace's head. Coming to the prison, talking with Jacob, learning about submersion... One by one, these memories pass me. Slowly, the darkness of the middle-aged man's mind fades away as outside noises become more prominent.

And when I'm practically blinded by the ceiling lights of the prison, I realise that I'm not in his mind anymore. It takes me a moment to get enough energy to quickly hoist myself up. Lightheadedness hits me hard, and I stumble a bit. I then look up to see Sophie staring at me...

Right before her eyes roll into her head as she collapses.

I dash towards her, somehow managing to catch her before she can hit the ground. "Sophie?" I ask, tilting the female Percipient's head towards me. "Sophie!" Are you alright? I transmit without thinking.

Just... really tired, Sophie says, her transmutation really faint.

Alright- just sleep for now, I tell her. I'll get you back home.

Just as I end that conversation, I hear someone clear their throat. When I glance up, I see Mr. Wallace straightening his coat and glasses out. Ignoring the crack on his glasses, he stares down at me silently. Not backing away from his gaze, I stand up with Sophie in my arms. The two of us stay like that for a moment.

His eyes suddenly widen when he realises that Sophie's unconscious. "What happened?" he asks me, his voice oddly full of concern. "Did Jacob do that? Is she alright? Do we need to go back home?"

I try my absolute hardest to not attack him at that moment. I remember that I used the memory erasing light in his head- which I'll need to tell Steven about later. "Yes, she's alright," I respond as nonchalantly as I can. "And yes, we need to go back. But no, Jacob didn't do it."

"Then what-"

"Mr. Wallace, we need to go," I quickly interject, my voice turns to steel. My expression softens when I look at Sophie again. "I'm really worried..." I faintly whisper.

The middle-aged man nods, becoming silent. "Alright," he tells me, "but I have one more question."

I sigh, "What is it?"

"How did my glasses crack?"

I block my thoughts, making sure that he cannot access them. Meeting his gaze, I say, "I have no idea."