Feelings - A Hosie Story

Chapter 18 - "Tell my family I love them"

"Are you the son of a bitch who killed Josie?" Hope shouts, the other three behind her totally forgotten. Too afraid to move. To get in the way of Hope's wrath. Her fists clench tighter around his collar. Seeing him, this man, brings all of her hidden anger to the surface. It makes her angry beyond measure and she scares herself with what she might do. What she's capable of.

He still doesn't answer.

"TELL ME!" She demands, sick of the games. She lets her fangs pop out to appear more threatening.

"Yes, I hurt her but-" Without giving him a chance to finish, she throws him against the floor. Okay, maybe she has just about enough control to refrain from killing, but she did swear to get revenge. They all did. And this is her idea of it.

The man's back slams, a heavy noise echoing through the building.

Hope's left hand grips the top of his shirt and her other clashes with her face. Hit. Hit. Hit. Her fist drives into his face. Her knuckles are painted red with his blood.

She hits again.

And again.

He could stop her. He could easily stop her. He's a vampire, Hope can almost sense it. It shouldn't be hard to get out of Hope's grip. So why is he not trying?

"Why aren't you fighting back?"

"Because there's more to the story, all of which I think you'd love to hear."

"You're just going to give us answers?" Alaric asks from behind them.

The man nods.

In her anger, Hope almost forgot they were all still there. The fear they must've felt at seeing her, the disappointment Alaric must have felt...

God. She really can't stop failing and disappointing people.

Hope steps back. Her fangs retreat into her gums and her eyes fade back to their normal shade of blue, with rivers worth of tears sitting along the bottom of them.

"Then you can start with why. Why did you kill her?" She just needs to know why.

"If you would have let me finish then you'd know she's not dead...yet." Hope frowns. She's seen the photo, and none of the tracking spells worked. Of course she's dead - it is the painful truth that she's still trying to accept.

The man smirks, running off into the shadows once more before yelling "Again!"

To the left, a section of the warehouse lights up. And the sight they are met with has Alaric, Caroline, Lizzie, and Hope blinking their eyes in disbelief. There, in the dim yellow light, is Josie. Alive. Breathing. Her hands are chained to the sides of the chair, her feet too. Her lips are cut, and her face is bruised. A gag is in her mouth, preventing her from talking. Her eyes are fluttering between being open and closed. So yes, she's alive, but there's hardly any life in her.

"Josie..." That is all she manages to say.

"You're alive," Lizzie mumbles. "H-how?"

"Ever heard of editing? Or magic? You know with the help of an incredibly powerful witch there's so much you can do." He chuckles. Hope sees that he finds this to be some sort of sick game. One that he thinks he's winning.

But he won't.

He can't.

Hope charges towards Josie, desperate to hold her close and never let her go. She gets close, she's almost able to grasp at Josie - and then she's flung backward a few meters.

Barrier spell.

"Oh dear, did you really think it would be that easy?" He walks around the back of Josie's chair. "Any of you try anything else and I'll cut open her neck before you can even speak her name." Sure, Hope's fast, she could try a spell, or Lizzie could, but is it worth the risk? They came here, thinking they had nothing to lose, but now that couldn't be further from the truth.

"I'm gonna save you Jo...whatever it takes. I promise." Hope swears.

So many questions. Like who is he? What does he want? Why has he done what he's done? Why give up his location now? Who is the witch helping him?

"You said you had a powerful witch to do the spells...who?" Alaric asks.

"A witch that hates you" he points at Hope "and your family just as much as I do."

"Me?"

"Yeah. There's no shortage of powerful witches who hate the Mikaelsons in this world. Just have to know where to look." He looks into the shadows and out walks a woman. She appears young, with dark hair and even darker eyes.

"But what does this have to do with my family?"

"I'll tell you. Right after my associate deals with them." He points behind Hope. By the time she turns her head, Caroline, Alaric, and Lizzie are all laying on the floor. Unconscious.

"What have you done?" Hope yells towards him, ready to attack.

"Relax. They're still breathing, although whether they stay like that is entirely up to you and how this all goes. So...what questions do you have?"

"Who are you?" Hope questions.

"The name isn't important. Think of me as a ghost from your father's past." He says as he looks directly at Hope. Her eyes mention at the mention of Klaus. She should've known her father's dark past would come back to haunt her. Her family prepared her, warned her that one day, something like this could happen. Someone that Klaus Mikaelson wronged would come seeking revenge and would take it out on her.

"Long story short, he murdered my family, and I escaped. Or he let me live. One of the two. I heard tales of a man taking the lives of innocent people across dozens of villages, and I knew it to be him. So I set out to get revenge. And years later, when a vampire offered to turn me, I accepted. Unfortunately, when I was finally ready I heard the news that he'd died. I figure if I can't hurt him directly the next best thing would be to hurt you."

"Then why take Josie? Why not me?"

"Because I see how much you care for her. I've been watching you for months. It's simple really...torture her to hurt you which will hurt Klaus, have him watch on from whatever afterlife may be, knowing he can't do a damn thing to save you." He swipes a hand across Josie's shoulders as if to taunt me.

"Well mission complete, you hurt me when you let me think she was dead. And now here we are." Hope says. She has the urge to plead, to bargain for Josie's safety, but believes it won't work. Not from what the man is telling her.

"Exactly. Here you are." He smiles. Even when he's been backed into a corner, he acts like he has the upper hand. "And now you get to watch as I finally take away the life of little Miss Josie Saltzman and make you grieve her death for a second time."

The man pulls a gun from his back pocket, pressing it against the back of Josie's head. The girl shakes, visibly sobbing. She's scared, terrified even. As cliche, as it sounds, Josie feels her life flash before her eyes. She's come close to death countless times, only this time she sees no escape.

The man carefully removes Josie's gag. "Any last words, witch?" He asks her, finding it all so very amusing.

"Hope, tell my family I love them and-if this is the last we see of each other I-I need you to know that I s-still like y-you...I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." She cries.

"No. You're not dying!" Hope shouts. The man has his witch friend come over to closer to him. She pulls the barrier spell down to do so. And that's the man's first mistake - not having the nameless witch by his side. Now, Hope has a window of opportunity.

It's as if everything moves in slow motion for Hope. She runs through countless scenarios in her head, what happens if she goes for each one of them. What happens if she tries a spell. But there's no time for it. By the time the incantation slips past her lips, the bullets will have been shot. So, she sees only one outcome. One way she can save Josie. And she takes it.

"Hope-"

BANG. BANG.