Loose ｡ Henry Mills [2]

23 - NEVER FELT MORE ALIVE

When Teresa Holmes was a little girl, she used to always say that she was more alive than ever with her bow in her hand. Robin Hood would always smile, saying how the young girl he had rescued from starvation and homelessness was a Hood through and through, despite not being his actual blood. But now, as Teresa Holmes lay on a cool, metal table in the morgue of Storybrooke, Maine, clothed and the color returning to her flesh, she had never felt more alive.

With a gasp of breath, she was alive. Her eyes shot open and she took in the strange scents around her. It smelled like cleaning products and flowers. With furrowed brows, Teresa peered up at the perfect white ceiling, wondering where she was. She sat up, finding herself laying on a cool, metal table in a tiled room with two doors on her right. And to her left, on the floor, Alice was also rising into a sitting position, appearing just as confused as she was.

"Where are we?" Alice asked, glancing around.

"I have no idea," Teresa muttered.

Before they could start guessing where they were, the doors opened and a woman wearing a white doctor coat entered the room, a book and a cup of coffee in her hands. As the door closed behind her, her head rose and her eyes widened at the sight of them. She froze, hands trembling. Her book clattered to the floor, damp with coffee as the contents of her cup was soon to follow. She hyperventilated, breaths loud and scared, and then she passed out. Their eyebrows shot up, having not expected that at all.

"Okay..."

"Let's go," Alice suggested.

The teenager gave no argument as she slid off the metal table, abandoning the white sheet that had been covering her body. As her feet touched the ground, Teresa glanced down at what she was wearing, finding the same clothes as when she died. She lifted her shirt, finding a scar. She ran her fingertips over the area, expecting to feel pain, but she was completed healed.

"We should teleport outside of Granny's in case whoever is outside that door reacts the same way."

"Why Granny's?"

Alice shrugged. "I just assumed that's where everyone would be."

"Fair enough."

With a wave of her hand, Alice teleported them in a cloud of purple smoke. Their feet landed on the pavement outside of Granny's Diner, where the streets were empty, only a few people out and about. But at least they knew they were home, for this Storybrooke was nothing compared to the Underworld's grim version. They glanced at each other before turning to face the door.

"Ready?" Teresa asked the hesitant Alice.

"Y-Yeah," the woman replied, gnawing on her bottom lip while playing with her fingers.

Teresa noted how nervous she sounded and nudged her forward, giving her that extra boost of confidence she needed to show her face again after being dead for so long. "You'll be fine. Just go up to Regina and kiss her like there's no tomorrow."

A breathless laugh fell from Alice's lips. "You make it sound so easy."

"Just go," Teresa laughed, pushing her inside.

The bell above the door chimed as they entered the famous establishment. The place was far more quiet than usual, and some ─ if not all ─ of the people seated around them looked sad. At the sound of the door opening, their heads lifted to see who had arrived, and their eyes widened. Gasps filled the air, and everyone kept still, no doubt wondering how they were alive.

"Uh, hi," Teresa greeted nervously. "I know this is probably a shock to you, but ─ "

"Teresa?" The voice belong to Calista, who sat to their left with her husband and brother. Their eyes were red from crying over the teenage girl that had saved their lives in the woods. "What... I... how are you alive?"