𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐈 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 + sokeefe and horror

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: the first letter

When Keefe got home from school, the house was strangely quiet.

All of the rooms were dark, and Lord Cassius was nowhere to be seen. It should've been peaceful, but it felt... strange. The outside was silent too, as though it knew something that Keefe didn't. The waves that pounded the shore outside were still, birds were quiet, and the bugs, beetles, and butterflies that lived in the nearby garden had disappeared.

Something was definitely going on.

"Hello?" Keefe called into the house.

No response - except his own words, echoing back to taunt him. The lights flickered on, and he set his satchel down on the chair. 

Ro narrowed her eyes. "Let me do a sweep of the house. You stay here."

Keefe sat down and began rummaging through the kitchen for a snack. Ro came back a couple minutes later, fuming. 

"Anything?" Keefe asked nervously.

"Nope. Except this. There's no explosives or poisons or anything, so I figured I'd let you have it."

She handed over a thick white envelope that said in curly cursive letters: For The Eyes of Keefe Sencen.

"What?" Keefe asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I don't know. I thought you might." Ro stayed quiet, and Keefe got a flash of understanding.

"Maybe - Sophie?" Keefe said quietly.

"Maybe." Ro replied even quieter. "I'll leave you to open it yourself."

Such a display of kindness from Ro made Keefe feel weird and the foreboding feeling in his stomach intensified. He tore open the envelope to find a long, folded piece of paper. There were several black-and-white photos, and a dash of glitter in a bag.

Keefe looked at the photos first - huge photos of a dark room. For a second, Keefe couldn't tell what it was. Then a flash of familiar brown eyes made him stop short.

It was... Sophie. Looking exhausted, dehydrated, and spaced-out, but it was definitely Sophie. Her brown eyes were rolled back in their sockets, and her hair was hanging in clumps. Her skin was covered in flecks of blood and scratches. She was dressed in all black, but the clothes were baggy and hung off her skin. She was so pale and thin...

Keefe froze, feeling tears well up in his eyes. Sophie...

Frantic to find any information about Sophie, he instantly began to read the letter.

Dear Mr. Sencen -

How to start a ransom letter? Well, I guess I should get straight to the point. We have Sophie Foster, and we're going to be keeping her here unless you do exactly what I ask. 

Number one: you will not tell anyone - and I mean anyone - that you have received this unless we specifically say you can. Otherwise, Sophie will die. 

Number two: you will do exactly as we tell you, no clever loopholes. We will find out, and Sophie will die. 

Number three: if there are any attempts to find out WHO sent this letter, we will kill you. You are being watched quite carefully.

The first ask - or rather, demand - is that you gather Biana Vacker, Fitz Vacker, Linh Song, Tam Song, Dex Dizznee, Marella Redek, and yourself in Copper Square at exactly twelve pm on Thursday, October 12th. Do not tell any of them why they are gathering there until exactly twelve pm.

You will be notified with more information soon.

There was no signature, nor closing. The curly letters stopped, along with Keefe's heart. Somebody had Sophie... and if he didn't play his cards right, she might die.