The Power Field

Chapter 14

Hope's head is spinning. A second ago, Josie was in front of her eyes. And now Hope is flying alone through the endless darkness. She sees bright flashes of something red. She feels splashes of icy water and a hurricane wind, which with its sharp gusts makes her cover her face with her hands. She spits and screams, trying to fight the impending darkness, but all in vain.

She seems to hear voices, but she can hardly make out what those voices are saying to her, and whether they are saying anything at all.

Everything around her seems to be going crazy. She's lost, exhausted. She is shivering violently. She flies across the abyss, it seems, for an eternity, until someone's thin and pale hands grab her shoulder.

Hope tries to push them away in fear. She squirms and screams, trying to shake off the tight grip, but when someone's irritated voice sounds in her ear, she immediately falls silent.

"Mikaelson!" It shouts.

The voice was vaguely familiar to Hope. Arrogant and noisy. She's definitely heard it somewhere.

"Damn it, Mikaelson!"

Hope once again tries to escape from the hands of an unknown person, but her whole body is so frozen that she can barely move.

"Hope, wake up! I don't want to be blamed for your death!" The voice sounds a little hysterical.

Now Hope knows whose it is! This voice belongs to the most arrogant person in their school (after Alyssa, of course). Lizzie Saltzman is desperately calling for her. Of course! How could Hope not recognize her?

"Lizzie?" She asks uncertainly.

"Well, of course it's me! Wake up already!"

Hope abruptly falls out of a prolonged sleep. She no longer feels the itchy cold all over her body. There is no wind blowing at her from all sides, and red flashes of images no longer haunt her desperately closed eyelids. She is sitting on a hard floor. She feels it with her limbs. She's safe. She's at home.

Hope's eyes widen. A sudden bright light blinds her. She immediately closes her eyes and starts rubbing them with her hands.

"Fuck!" Lizzie breathes next to her. "I thought you were going to die right here!"

"What?" Hope asks her, still dazed. "What happened?"

Lizzie, who used to pace around her, now sits opposite her, bending her knees under her.

"You tell me it." She folds her arms and looks at Hope searchingly. "You were screaming and twitching like crazy. Did my sister do this to you?" She arches an eyebrow.

If Hope really cared what Lizzie was thinking about her right now, she would have noticed a slight half-smile hiding at the corners of her lips.

"No!" Hope answers unexpectedly loudly for herself, but then hesitantly lowers her eyes. "I don't know..." She really has no idea what just happened. It was as if she had been in her worst nightmare and her best dream at the same time.

"Well." Lizzie rolls her eyes. "As always, I have to do everything myself!" She pulls her hand to the side, taking the map. "I managed to establish the approximate location of my stupid sister."

Hope immediately straightens up. She has to ignore the throbbing headache and sudden fatigue throughout her body in order to sit closer to Lizzie.

"Tell me..." She whispers faintly.

Lizzie smiles slyly.

"Only after you tell me what Josie told you."

Hope takes a deep breath. She's not in the mood to play those silly games with Lizzie again.