by Wendy Owens
“One of our scouts came across the camp of one of Baal’s legions. They overheard that the chosen one had been implanted with a tracking device,” Michael explained.
“What?” Gabe cried. “No way, I think I would know if I had a tracking device on me.”
“We think it was Artis who did it. She had no idea what she was doing of course,” Uri added.
“I am telling you, nobody put a tracking device on me.”
“He said implanted dummy, not hidden on you,” Uri grunted.
“What?” Gabe gasped.
“Based on where we found it my guess is she fed it to you. Must have slipped it into your food at some point,” Michael replied. Gabe continued shaking his head in disbelief. “My guess is since it was an internal tracker the clerics couldn’t sense it. It had attached itself to the lining of your stomach.”
“No, I don’t believe it,” Gabe stammered.
“Believe it or not, I still went out and destroyed it after Michael took it out. Nasty looking thing too, really dug itself in there good,” Uri joked.
Gabe sank down into the bed, stunned by what he was being told. He thought of Sophie and how vulnerable she was right now. The last thing she could handle is running away from a blood lusting demon like Baal. Had they not found the tracking device, which is exactly what would have happened.
“So are we all right?” Gabe asked, giving in to the reality of what Uri and Michael were telling him.
“At this point we don’t think they knew your exact location, but we have the clerics doing double time on protection and cloaking spells,” Michael reassured the boy.
“I’m so sorry,” Gabe moaned, consumed by the guilt of the danger he had placed everyone he cared about in.
“You can be a real idiot sometimes,” Uri laughed. “This wasn’t your fault.”
Gabe nodded, his thoughts shifting.
“How is Sophie?” Gabe could only focus on her, even though he now had a fresh belly wound to occupy his mind. He was still consumed by her.
“She’s all right. I’m going to work with her today. Give her some background on who we are and try to explain more. The good news is she has a lot of questions. She hasn’t seemed to withdraw at all,” Michael replied.
“Can I see her later today?” Gabe inquired eagerly.
“You need to rest,” Uri suggested firmly.
“She needs more time, Gabe,” Michael urged. “Soon, ok?”
Gabe simply nodded; he was sad he had to wait even longer to talk to Sophie.
Two weeks had passed since Sophie’s wipe and each day without her in his life felt like he was being deprived of oxygen. He would see Michael and Uri all over campus with her, walking and talking. He wished with everything in him that he was the one talking to her. Michael had assured him the previous evening that today would be the day he could finally see her.
Michael had reminded him in a not-so-subtle way how important it was for everyone to hide Sophie and Gabe’s relationship from her. She had just reached the point where she understood who the Guardians were and what the purpose of the manor was. Each day, though, she had asked about her mother and when she would return to get her. Michael was worried the truth would push Sophie’s already fragile mind over the edge.
Gabe wished he could take away the pain she was going to feel when she discovered her mother had already been dead for the past seven years. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. It was hard for him to believe, but the last interaction he had had with Sophie was when she’d taken a hunk of flesh from his shoulder. Though he had to hide their relationship, he at least found comfort in the idea that it would be his Sophie he would be talking to and not what he had seen when he returned from Iron Gate.
A couple gentle knocks roused Gabe from his thoughts. He rushed over eagerly, throwing the door open. Uri glanced up with a mischievous narrowed brow. “Ready Romeo?”
“More than you could possibly know,” Gabe said stepping into the hall and pulling the door closed.
“All right, follow me,” Uri stated, turning and walking down the long corridor. “Michael covered all the rules and what not to talk about already, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Gabe grumbled.
Uri stopped and turned to face Gabe, “This is serious. You can’t mess this up.”
“I know!” Gabe exclaimed defensively. “I won’t. I love her.”
“And she can’t know that either,” Uri reiterated.
“I know! I won’t. Christ, what is it with you and Michael? I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize Sophie’s recovery.” Gabe had requested Sophie and his first meeting be in the cleric’s gardens. There was no way he would ever tell Michael or Uri this, but deep down he hoped Sophie seeing him in the place that meant so much to them would snap her back into their reality. He was just sure that if there was any glimmer of a memory of them, their special place would do the trick.
“All right, just making sure,” Uri asserted. “She seems to be handling all the stuff about the manor pretty well actually. Considering what she has been through and all.”
“When is Michael going to tell her about her mother?” Gabe inquired, dreading the day her world would be shattered.
“I don’t know. Michael said she still isn’t ready. She understands a lot. She gets that she is not nine years old anymore,” Uri related.
“So how did you explain that? Does she just think she was in an accident or something and now has a bad case of amnesia?” Gabe asked, laughing as he did.
“Hey smart ass, don’t knock it! It seems to have worked and Dina did a really amazing job convincing her,” Uri boasted, commended their friend.
“Yeah, everyone had been giving me updates of their time with her, but I had no idea about the amnesia bit. Dina did tell me though, that when Sophie saw herself in a mirror she started crying. I wish I could have been there for her.” Gabe grimaced, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
“Well yeah, can you imagine? The last time you remember what you look like is when you were nine. Talk about messing with your mind,” Uri lamented.
“I should have been there. This is so wrong. Sophie would have wanted me there with her during all of this, I know it,” Gabe stated.
“Gabe, you need to get it through your head, you can’t be the boyfriend!” Uri exclaimed, clearly worried that his friend was not going to be able to handle the meeting he was escorting him to.
“I know the boundaries, Uri! I was just saying that it’s messed up I can’t be the one to help her through this. I don’t know how many times I can tell you guys this, I get it!” Gabe defended.
“We know you get it, Gabe. I think it’s more that Michael and I are just worried you won’t be able to help yourself.”
“Come on, I’m not an idiot. I love Sophie. I only want to help her. I won’t let myself screw this up.” Gabe insisted.
“I’m sorry man. I know you won’t do anything to hurt her on purpose,” Uri replied.
The boys stepped outside into the open air, Gabe stopped for a moment to take in a deep breath and allow the cool air to fill his head. There was a cold fog that had settled in and laid like a blanket over the land. They continued in silence to the gardens, neither sure what to say to the other after the tense interaction.
As soon as Gabe caught sight of the cloaked figure sitting on the bench, he knew it was Sophie. Her ankles were crossed and though the white hood was pulled up over her head as she looked over her shoulder at the brook, he could see her auburn hair poking out. His stomach began to do flips. He fought every urge in him to run to her side and begin hugging her wildly. He kept reassuring himself that he could do this; he could keep his cool with her even though his friends apparently doubted it.
Gabe felt as if he were being torn in two from the immense conflict. On one hand, he was thrilled Sophie was free from the hold of the demons, but on the other she was trapped in an existence where she had no memory of who she was. He was happy and terrifie
d for her all at the same time and seemed to have nobody he could confide in since Sophie had always been the person he turned to.
“Sophie,” Uri said, slowly approaching the bench.
As she turned her head, Gabe held his breath. This was it, the moment he had been waiting for. This was their first true reuniting; it had to make her remember. In the gardens where they had shared their first dance, their first kiss, countless picnics together. He knew she would remember.
“Do you remember us telling you about another friend, Gabe? This is him,” Uri continued as he motioned behind him.
Gabe swallowed, took a deep breath, and walked up to stand next to Uri, beaming a smile from ear to ear on his face. The smile quickly faded though when he saw the look in Sophie’s eyes. While she smiled back at him, there was absolutely no recognition of him. In that moment, he knew she had no clue who he was and he might have lost the Sophie he fell in love with forever.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Sophie said, standing up, hand extended to shake his. “I’m Sophie.” Suddenly, Sophie began to laugh wildly, blushing a little. The two boys glanced at each other, both curious if they had missed the joke. “Sorry, I keep doing that.”
“Huh?” Gabe grunted.
“Introducing myself when apparently people already know me and I know them,” Sophie explained.
“Oh,” Gabe added and both boys chuckled slightly.
“Well, I will leave you two to talk. Enjoy your time together. Sophie, I will see you later, all right?” Uri asked. Sophie smiled and nodded eagerly before Uri turned and walked away, delivering a slight punch to Gabe’s arm as he did.
“Hmmm … well, this seems a little awkward doesn’t it?” Gabe stated, unsure what to actually talk about now that he was here with Sophie.
Sophie smiled, “A little.”
“How about we take a walk through the gardens? You always loved when we did that,” Gabe suggested, motioning towards the path in front of them.
“I did? Is this something we did often?” Sophie queried.
“Oh yeah, most days,” Gabe was careful not to say too much.
“Well that sounds delightful,” Sophie answered and they began to walk beside one another. “So … how exactly did we know each other?”
Gabe was shocked at her question and at first was unsure how to answer. Trying to stall for time he asked, “Uri didn’t tell you?”
“Umm … he just said you came to the manor at the end of the last school year and we had hung out some, but no real details. How did we meet?” Sophie probed.
“Oh wow, this is so weird, sorry,” Gabe replied.
“Don’t worry, it is for me, too. Just take your time,” Sophie reassured him.
“That’s funny and so you,” Gabe mused.
“What is?”
“I am supposed to be here helping you, but like usual you’re the one who is comforting me,” Gabe smiled as he saw a familiar side of Sophie.
“I see,” she stated.
Gabe felt his stomach flutter. She was still the same kind, caring, and compassionate person he had fallen in love with, even if she didn’t remember who he was. In that moment, Gabe decided if Sophie wasn’t going to remember they were in love then he would just have to make sure they fell in love all over again.
“Well, actually, you were one of the people that brought me to the manor,” Gabe finally answered.
“Oh really?” Sophie asked intrigued.
“Yes, Uri came to New York to find me. Along the way back here we met up with you, I suppose you were the getaway driver so to speak. Let me tell you, you make quite a first impression,” Gabe laughed as he recalled the night.
“Oh yeah?” Sophie said, wishing she knew what he meant.
“Sorry, yeah. I guess I should explain,” Gabe added.
Sophie giggled, “That would be nice.”
Gabe thought back to that night and recounted it detail by detail. How he and Uri pulled up behind the car on the motorcycle, how she had pulled Uri into the car, scaring him half to death. Gabe continued with his story, how he had acted as though he were asleep so he could listen to the two. Then he ended the tale with the grand battle of how Sophie saved his life that night.
“You were truly amazing!” Gabe gushed. “Uri yelled, Do it now, Sophie!” and bam, next thing I know, those demons are ash.” Gabe loved how Sophie’s face lit up at the story.
“So Uri really had a lot of faith in me?” Sophie asked.
“Huh? Yeah, I guess,” Gabe replied, puzzled by the question.
The two walked on a few moments in silence as Gabe tried to figure out what exactly Sophie meant.
“He has been so helpful through all of this,” Sophie added.
“What? Who has?” Gabe asked anxiously.
“Uri. He has been there with answers to all my questions and he has been so patient with me,” Sophie continued.
Gabe felt his face turn red with heat. The admiration was clear in Sophie’s voice. He had been warned not to allow Sophie to know about their relationship, told she needed time to heal. He feared he in fact had been betrayed and all along Uri wanted a second chance at Sophie. He knew Uri had feelings for Sophie before he had arrived. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity.
“What do you think?” Sophie asked.
Gabe realized he had heard nothing else Sophie had said after her gushing about Uri. “I’m sorry, what do I think about what?”
“Dina told me about the Fall Festival Dance. I was going to ask Uri, you seem to be his close friend, what do you think? Do you think he would say yes?” Sophie asked, her beautiful, big blue eyes peering up at him.
Her blue eyes still sparkled like he remembered. He wanted to cup her face and kiss her until she remembered that she loved him, not Uri. Gabe didn’t know what to say, he didn’t want to traumatize Sophie but he couldn’t let her fall in love with Uri. They were meant to be together. Everything he had done was so they could be together.
“Sophie, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gabe hoped that would be the end of it. She would drop the infatuation.
“Why?” she prodded with a wounded stare.
“Ummm …” Gabe desperately tried to think of a reason without telling her that she couldn’t ask Uri out because they were in love with one another. “I’m pretty sure Uri has started to date a girl at another manor, like this one,” the words just fell out of his mouth.
“Oh … really?” Sophie looked away, clearly disappointed by the news. “He hasn’t said anything about a girlfriend to me.”
“Well, it’s a newer relationship, but seems pretty hot and heavy,” Gabe emphasized.
“What’s her name?” Sophie asked, consumed by the idea of this other girl.
“Artis,” Gabe didn’t hesitate, he needed Sophie to drop this infatuation and he knew Uri did like the girl, so perhaps in a way he wasn’t actually lying to Sophie. At least that’s what he told himself.
“She sounds exotic.”
“I don’t know, I suppose,” Gabe agreed, trying to think of any way to change the topic.
“You know, you were the one that first showed me images of what we were up against here,” Gabe said.
“I was?” Sophie asked, clearly still distracted by thoughts of Uri’s love interest.
“Yeah, we spent a lot of time alone together,” Gabe said, trying to hint at the depth of their relationship without actually saying it. “You took me to the storage room under the library and showed me these amazing crystals. Is that something you would like to see?”
“Gabe, I’m sorry,” Sophie started. “I am not feeling very well. Would you mind terribly if we continued this another time? I think I prefer to just go back to my room and lie down.”
“Of course, I’ll walk you to your room,” Gabe quickly replied, frustrated by their lack of connection.
“No, no,” Sophie quickly replied. “That’s all right, I prefer to go alone.”
“Oh, all right,” Gabe added. “I’ll
check on you later then.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Sophie added. “It was nice meeting you. Perhaps we’ll see each other around.”
All Gabe could do was watch while Sophie walked away from him. Her thoughts were clearly on Uri, no idea that not so long ago it was he that she loved so dearly. He resisted the urge to run after her and tell her she loved him, not Uri. He wanted to tell her how he had gone half way around the world to save her life; to tell her all her memories were gone because he had forced Michael to wipe her against his better judgment.
As Sophie walked out of sight, the desperation and guilt quickly gave way to anger. Uri couldn’t be innocent in all this. He didn’t believe she just fell in love with someone besides him without some sort of prompting. He needed to find Uri and now. He had questions that needed answering.
Gabe could hear popping in his head as he rushed towards Michael’s office. All sounds had given way to that and a dull pulsing white noise. His skin was hot and red as if his blood were actually boiling. He kept hearing Sophie’s words over and over in his head.
‘Uri really had a lot of faith in me. He has been so helpful through all of this. Dina told me about the Fall Festival Dance. I was going to ask Uri, you seem to be his close friend, what do you think? Do you think he would say yes?’
Approaching Michael’s office, Gabe raised his fist high into the air, banging vigorously on the door. “Uri, are you in there?” he yelled, no attempt to control his volume.
Gabe heard muffled voices inside and then heavy footsteps making their way to the door.
“Gabe,” Michael said, speaking out. “What is the meaning of this?”
Gabe pushed past his leader, no thought of how it made him appear in his eyes. “Haim said Uri had come to see you. Is he here? That yellow bellied coward.”
“Umm … excuse me?” Uri asked from the far side of the room.
Catching sight of his so-called friend who had captured the attention of Sophie, Gabe became overwhelmed with rage and rushed full speed, head down, at Uri.
“What the heck?” Uri said dodging Gabe’s attack and shuffling behind a chair for protection.
