The Protector

by Stormi Lewis

  Sophie felt James tense up immediately at the gesture and couldn’t help but smile at his jealousy.

  “How very nice to meet you,” Sophie said sweetly, and quickly pulled her hand out of his grasp to wrap it around James’ arm instead. James smiled a triumphant smile.

  “I’m due to speak in the next twenty minutes. Perhaps we could all meet backstage so that we can discuss important matters,” Roger said holding his arm out for Sophie to take. She giggled and switched her hold from James to Roger as he led the way backstage.

  “I hear you study the ability to control dreams,” James said casually as he put his hands in his pockets and strolled behind Sophie and his father to the green room.

  “It’s a little more than that,” Corbin chuckled as he stole every chance he had to stare at Sophie’s backside.

  “Some people believe that it’s a way for the dead to reach out to the living after they have passed,” James said fighting to control the irritation in his voice.

  “Everyone has the ability to control their surroundings in a lucid state of mind,” Corbin shrugged. “Some are more willing than others.”

  “Do you teach such individuals?” James asked as they continued to follow his father down dark skinny hallways, obviously used by staff instead of guests.

  “I’m more into studying than teaching,” Corbin chuckled.

  “The greenroom should do,” his father called over his shoulder before holding the door open for Sophie to shove the base of her dress through.

  “Hello, Love,” Sally said grinning from ear to ear taking Sophie in. “You are absolutely STUNNING tonight!”

  “This dress is ridiculous,” Sophie mumbled back.

  “Stop whining,” Tina threatened. “Everyone’s getting whiplash from looking at you.”

  “You’re breaking necks too, Tin,” Ben smiled down at his wife with love and admiration.

  “I’m sorry,” Corbin interrupted. “What is this about?”

  “Take a seat everyone,” Roger offered to those who remained standing. The room was small, and Sophie’s dress took up a good portion of it, but there was still a small sofa and some chairs for guests to relax in before having to perform a show.

  “Yes,” Elaine added. “I’m very curious myself.”

  “Sorry for the intrusion of your night,” Roger started. “However, we have some questions that I’m afraid only the two of you can provide,” he finished with a polite smile. Elaine looked around the room nervously.

  “Whatever answers you are looking for, you are welcome to get from my research,” she said as she picked up the base of her own sparkling royal blue spaghetti strapped dress to leave.

  Her long brunette hair was also curled to perfection to frame her thin and paler face. Her mask was black, much similar to Sophie’s, but it was a paler blue in her eyes that couldn’t hide the fear she was starting to feel.

  “Please,” Sophie said softly. “I need your help,” she said as she put her hands up before Elaine. “Do you both remember coming across a Jack or a Jessica Harris?” Sophie asked eagerly. Both froze at the names.

  “I have never heard such names,” Corbin said standing up to also leave.

  “Jack says otherwise,” James said sweetly.

  Corbin froze at the name and sat back down slowly. “Jack is dead.”

  “We are well aware,” Tina said crossing her arms.

  “They had a daughter,” Sophie continued on with her eyes locked on Elaine’s. “Sophie,” she stated coming closer to Elaine and urging for her to speak up.

  “I don’t know where she is,” Elaine said shaking her head frantically.

  “I know you don’t,” Sophie said calmly. “We just need to know what your shots were for.”

  “I didn’t give her shots!” Elaine hollered in confusion.

  “Yes, you did,” Sophie pressed.

  “No, I didn’t,” Elaine responded firmly. “I only took specimens to study,” she said more confidently.

  “Specimens?” Ben asked. “What were you studying?”

  Elaine shook her head frantically. “It was just a baseline,” she said looking for a way to get to the door. “It wasn’t important.”

  “It is to me,” Sophie said catching Elaine’s eyes. Elaine froze and finally studied the girl before her.

  “You?” Elaine whispered.

  “Yes,” Sophie said softly. “And I need to know what you found.”

  Elaine shook her head slowly in disbelief.

  “Please,” Sophie pleaded.

  Elaine allowed her mind to quickly focus. “Your mother brought you to me,” she said slowly, bringing a forgotten past back into the present. “No one was supposed to know,” she whispered in sudden panic.

  “No one does,” Sophie assured. “I remembered you,” she murmured gently, nodding at Elaine. “And I REALLY need to know what you found.”

  “You are like nothing I have ever seen,” Elaine breathed out.

  “What does that mean?” James asked in panic. Sally placed his hands in hers and squeezed tightly.

  “So many genes, split to perfection,” Elaine said softly soaking Sophie in from head to toe. “Your mother knew you were special. She just wasn’t sure how much. So, she brought you to me,” Elaine continued staring at Sophie from head to toe. “She said she had noticed since birth, but never said how it had happened,” she continued.

  “What exactly did you find,” Roger encouraged. Elaine shook her head to get her head to clear from her wonder.

  “Your DNA has been sliced like nothing I had ever seen. Someone was able to add animalistic DNA and merged it perfectly with your own human DNA. It’s true CRISPR perfection. Like nothing I had ever seen before,” Elaine stated in her doctorly voice.

  “What kind of animals?” Tina pushed.

  “If I remember correctly, I think I identified chetah, bat, eagle, grizzly bear, and a mixture of others,” Elaine stated firmly.

  “Why?” Sophie asked louder than intended.

  “Your mother never said,” Elaine stated, suddenly feeling sympathy for the girl before her. “She was as surprised as I was,” she added taking Sophie’s hands into hers.

  “You gave me shots?” Sophie turned to look at Roger with pleading eyes.

  “I did,” Roger confirmed. “You will never get sick,” he answered with great pride. “James will never get sick either. It was Jack’s instructions, but that is all I know of my part,” he assured.

  “You don’t get your DNA from shots,” Elaine said softly, drawing Sophie’s gaze back at her. “Something was done to your mother. She didn’t say when. However, giving birth to you obviously passed everything to you.”

  “My mother didn’t seem as different as me,” Sophie said more to herself than anyone as she tried to recollect the mannerisms of her mother.

  “What if it was, but it was dormant?” Ben suggested breaking the silence. “If she was unaware of what had happened, that would be a possible explanation,” he offered looking into Sophie’s wild eyes.

  “Time is running out,” Tina whispered.

  “Jack came to see me,” Corbin said with his eyes closed. When he opened them, his eyes were heavily dilated and in some sort of trance.

  “Dr. Dallas?” Roger said in a bit of concern.

  “He wanted to know what I knew about the oneironaut,” Corbin continued without recognizing Roger. Roger stepped forward, but Sophie grabbed his arm to stop him, nodding at Corbin’s swaying body. She shook her head no.

  “He brought his wife to me,” Corbin continued. “I taught them everything I knew. We met almost daily for a year.”

  “What did Jack want to know?” James asked.

  Corbin turned to James with his almost completely blackened eyes. James was locked into his stare unable to shake the chill that suddenly rolled down his back.

  “He’s coming for her. They had to protect her,” Corbin stated flatly. “They remain in the in between to help keep her safe.”


  The room was deathly silent as they watched the doctor sway back and forth with black eyes as his face grew paler by the second.

  “He will come,” Corbin finally chanted. “If you can’t stop him then the death and the living will all be sacrificed to the whims of evil.”

  “How do we stop him?” James asked swallowing the lump in his throat.

  “Who is he?” Ben asked.

  “What are we supposed to do with the key?” Tina begged.

  “Keep it safe,” Corbin stated turning his black eyes to Tina. “She will save us all.” And with that, Corbin shook his head and wiped his forehead. “So, why are we here again?” he asked full of confusion and looking around the room.

  “What the hell?” Ben asked. Sophie’s stare made him quiet.

  “We were just going to discuss your impressive studies, but it seems we have run out of time,” Sophie said as if nothing had just happened. The room looked at her in complete disbelief. “Sorry to keep you, Dr. Moore,” Sophie said as she leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. It was his turn to have his cheeks turn a rosy pink.

  “It’s time to go,” Sophie announced to the room and reached over to try to hug Sally through the enormous black dress.

  “Stay safe,” Sally whispered in her ear. “I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

  “Of course,” Sophie smiled. “Thank you so much for sharing your findings with us,” she said taking Elaine’s hands in her own to squeeze them.

  “You must remain calm,” Elaine warned. “Sometimes when things have been that altered if they get overheated the brain will shut down as a safety mechanism,” she added with a weary smile.

  “Thank you,” Sophie said squeezing her hands once more and waddling to the door.

  “Don’t wait too long,” Sally whispered into James’ ear. “Time is a finicky creature,” she warned before kissing him on the cheek.

  “I hear you,” James assured before kissing her back.

  Tina and Ben said their goodbye’s and a very confused and hungry Corbin stumbled out of the room in search of food with Elaine holding him up.

  “I’m proud of you,” Roger whispered as he pulled James into a hug.

  “I miss you too, Dad,” James whispered back.

  “Help keep her safe,” Roger winked.

  “Always am,” James winked back, and everyone exited quickly while a staff member pulled Roger to the back of the stage.

  “I’m sorry, but what the hell was that?” Ben asked as they made their way back to the party.

  “A trance,” Sophie responded quietly. “I’ve seen it before. Dr. Dallas has made sure that he doesn’t hold onto the information of meeting my father for safety reasons.”

  “So why did he tell us then?” James asked.

  “The code word was said,” Sophie said flatly. “Whatever safe word he was given to be able to share the information with only those that needed to have it.”

  “Will it really keep him safe?” Tina asked.

  “We’ll find out,” Sophie replied trying not to think about what the man with the cane would ever do if he found out about Corbin Dallas.

  James stopped abruptly forcing everyone to run into his back.

  “What gives, Bro?” Ben asked in confusion.

  “I have to find another way out,” James said not moving his eyes from the blonde-haired woman in a red dress on the other side of the room.

  “What? Why?” Sophie asked him in sudden alarm.

  Tina followed James glance to see a ghost from their past. “You have got to be kidding me!” Tina huffed louder than she had intended and got a few stares in their direction.

  James turned his back to the girl and took Sophie’s hands into his own and squeezed them. He looked intently at Sophie. “I can’t go out with you. I will have to meet you back at the hotel,” James said softly.

  “What…” was all Sophie got out of her mouth.

  “Because someone who could possibly spot me out in any crowd is here, and we can’t afford to be recognized,” James said firmly. “It is the ONLY reason that I am forcing myself to leave your side at this moment,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled Sophie against him, puffy dress and all.

  “What’s going on?” Ben asked. He was silenced by the look on his wife’s face even through the mask.

  “I WILL never leave you,” James emphasized. “You are the only one that I love with all my heart,” he said, guiding her to him and pulling Sophie into the most passionate kiss they had ever had.

  “James,” Tina warned when more people turned to see the show, including the blonde-headed girl in the red dress and mask.

  “See you on the other side,” James smiled at her before he let her go and disappeared into the crowd.

  It took a second for Sophie’s head to stop floating on cloud nine. “We have to go,” she heard Tina say before she grabbed Ben’s hand and dragged him into the crowd.

  When Sophie’s head cleared and her eyes refocused, her friends were completely gone, and the blonde-haired girl in the red dress was staring at Sophie with her head tilted to the side. She was about Sophie’s height, and her hazel eyes shined with curiosity through her red mask. She, too, had a ball gown on, and she floated across the floor towards Sophie.

  The crowds squeezed in as people started to head toward the theater, blocking Sophie’s escape from this strange woman that took too much interest in Sophie. She looked around to see the nearest exit.

  “Hello,” the woman said sweetly with much sarcasm. “I haven’t seen you at one of these events before.”

  “My first one,” Sophie said politely as she looked around her. The people were closing in like a herd of cattle being driven by expert drovers.

  “Who was that handsome man that was kissing you?” she asked with way too much interest.

  “No one that concerns you,” Sophie said sweetly and went to walk around the woman.

  “I’m sorry. Where are my manners?” the woman said raising her voice to draw attention to them. “My name is Hellen. Hellen Woods.”

  Sophie looked at the woman. She vaguely remembered hearing the name once before, but she couldn’t think of where.

  “And yours?” Hellen pushed.

  “Jessica,” Sophie said, hoping her mother wouldn’t mind if she borrowed her name momentarily.

  “What a pretty name!” shrieked Hellen. “I don’t mean to be pushy about your friend. He just reminds me of an old friend that I haven’t seen in forever. I was hoping to catch up with him if it was my friend,” Hellen cooed as she looked around Sophie. “Did he say where he was going?”

  “What’s your friend’s name?” Sophie inquired casually.

  “Oh, James Moore,” Hellen said taking Sophie in. “I’m sure that was him. I could spot him a mile away!”

  Sophie remembered where she had heard the name. It came from Tina when they were in the hotel waiting for Ben to come back after he had stormed off back in Maine. This was the woman that had left James at the altar.

  “I’m afraid you have the wrong person. That was my husband, Dr. Jack Hughes,” Sophie said not skipping a beat.

  James paused for a moment hearing the word “husband” come from Sophie’s mouth like it was second nature. He liked the sound of it. His grin grew from ear to ear as he desperately looked for the third exit option he had located when looking at the plans.

  “Hmmm,” Hellen said, completely not convinced. “Well, he seemed quite dashing. How long have you been married?” Hellen pressed examining Sophie from head to toe as she spoke.

  “Hard to say,” Sophie shrugged. “When you find your soulmate, years don’t really get counted when you’re going to be together for life.”

  “Damn!” she heard Ben laugh in her ear. She had forgotten about the coms.

  “So very true,” Hellen said taking a sip of her drink and studying Sophie like she was a specimen under a microscope.

  “Are you married?” Sophie asked not caring at
all.

  “Not at the moment,” Hellen smiled and winked at Sophie.

  “I’m sure the right one will come along,” Sophie said picking up her skirt and getting ready to go around Hellen and move on.

  “Unfortunately, I think he already did,” Hellen sighed.

  Sophie knew her kind and knew where this was going. She also knew Hellen wouldn’t let her pass until she was done trying to humiliate Sophie one way or another.

  “Sorry to hear that,” Sophie said pushing around Hellen and moving on, but Hellen was quick on her heels despite the massive skirts colliding constantly with every step.

  “That’s why I was hoping that was my friend, James,” Hellen continued not skipping a beat.

  “Sorry to disappoint you,” Sophie said as she pushed her way through the opposite moving traffic in front of her.

  “You see, James was the one that got away,” Hellen said scrutinizing Sophie suspiciously as she chased after her. “And sometimes people think they’re soulmates when their partner is meant to be with someone else entirely.”

  “Well, then I guess you shouldn’t have let him get away,” Sophie responded flatly.

  Hellen smiled and batted her lashes as she pursued Sophie.

  “It’s true, it was completely my fault,” Hellen continued despite Sophie’s lack of interest. “I wasn’t ready for marriage, so I got cold feet. I made a silly mistake and now I would like to make amends.”

  Sophie stopped trying to push through the crowds and turned to face Hellen head on. It was time to change tactics. “Then you should probably find him,” Sophie said as if she were providing sisterly advice.

  “Whoa, what?” she heard James panic in her ear.

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Hellen frowned. “No one can find him.”

  “That usually means the person doesn’t want to be found,” Sophie said patting Hellen on the shoulder lightly. “Sometimes, our mistakes are too big, and we have to pay the price. Sometimes…” Sophie said smiling sweetly, “sometimes people realize that they deserve better and go find it.”

  Hellen glared at Sophie and shrugged her hand off her shoulder.

  “Sometimes,” Hellen said shaking her head and shoving her chin to the ceiling. “Sometimes, that person will realize that he already had the best thing he’s ever going to find and comes crawling back. Mostly because the other person will never be able to give him the life HE deserves.”