Alaric, Hope and Josie arrived back at the school after the visit and it was no coincidence that something unsettling had happened. Dorian, the headmaster's assistant was waiting at the entrance looking worried as the jeep slowly approached him. The girls were the first to exit the car, and Hope sensed something was different, Dorian looked like he had bad news for them.
"We are back. Everything alright?"
Dorian hesitated to give an answer, he didn't know how to tell Alaric that he failed to keep one of his daughters safe.
"Dorian? What's wrong?"
Hope sounded concerned.
"It's....it's Landon. He transformed again, he lashed out on one of the students."
"Which one?"
"I-It was Elizabeth.."
"God damn it."
"Josie wait!!"
"I need to see her. Now.'
Josie slammed the door of the jeep, hearing the conversation and rushed inside and into their room to see if her sister was there.
"Lizzie??"
"Are you in here??"
Josie scanned the room but she didn't see her sister anywhere, her bed was made and there was no sign of any attack. She looked in the infarmary next, where her sister was facilitated and laying half awake on a bed, the doctor's monitoring her vitals.
"What on earth happend to her??"
"Miss Saltzman, calm down your sister will be alright she just needs to rest.."
"I want to know what happened!"
"There was an attack, and your sister decided to play hero."
"You say that as if it's a bad thing."
"She wouldn't be in this state if she had just listened to her teachers. She lost control of her powers, eventually she could have ended up doing more damage than good if we didn't stop her."
"Can I please have a moment with her?"
The nurse agreed to leave the two girls alone and Josie hovered over the bed, this very moment reminding her of her own mother who was similarly in a weak state.
"I'm really sorry, if we had been here this wouldn't have happened to you."
"Where were you???"
Lizzie looked at her younger sibling with teary eyes, clearly feeling a sense of betrayal.
"I...I was..with..Hope.."
"Doing what exactly?"
"Just a field trip with dad..checking the surrounding areas for any stranded creatures, just typical procedures.."
"That doesn't sound too convincing. Since when do you go on expeditions with Hope and dad?"
"Lizzie..it...it was a last minute decision.."
Lizzie gave her sister the cold shoulder and turned on her side, not wanting to talk to her anymore. First, she was spending time with Hope out of nowhere and second she was lying about their whereabouts.
On the other side of the school, specifically down and under the facilities Landon was locked away in one of the cells. Hope went looking for him, as she wished to see him despite the headmaster's warnings. On the bright side, the boy had turned back to his human form and he was sulking down in a corner feeling the guilt and the weight of his actions.
"Hey there, not a great place to be huh.."
"If you're here to lecture me about how you all made the wrong decision letting me stay here I've had enough of it already."
Hope laughed bitterly.
"No, Landon.."
His name on her lips sounded soft and calm, something the boy wasn't used to. Hope wasn't angry at him.
"I'm merely checking up on you,
Do you think I wouldn't?"
"I'm just giving everyone more reasons to hate me, I thought you would too. After all, you're the one who convinced everyone."
Landon squeezed his hands between his knees and exhaled loudly, he was feeling nervous about his last encounter with Hope.
"That sounds like my everyday life. Giving people reasons to hate me, I beat you to it a long time ago."
"You don't attack people everyday, Hope."
"Well, I used to at some point."
"How did you...how did you control it?"
"Look, Landon. Your transformation, you need to find what triggers it. But once you're in that form it's very hard to think rationally and control yourself, I'm nowhere near myself when I turn into my wolf but that's a whole another story."
"So you're saying it's impossible? I'm always going to hurt those I care about? What if I end up killing somebody?"
"It's not impossible, but you need guidance and that's exactly why we made the right decision to keep you here."
"Thanks, Hope. That's the most comforting thing I've heard all day..."
Hope flashed a little smile at the boy who reciprocated in a shy manner, before looking away from her eyes shyly. Landon hadn't forgotten about what had happened in Hope's room, the way her lips tasted, the sound of her laugh at his jokes, the way her eyes and her whole existence made him feel, so fucking special.
Suddenly, the girl stood up from the floor where she was sitting and headed to the staircase. Landon almost felt like chasing after her but all he could was just watch from behind the bars, worrying he might have said something wrong.
"Where are you going??"
"I'm gonna find a solution, about your condition. We're gonna stop it from happening again."
"Please stay for a bit longer?"
"I'm getting you out of here. Won't be long, I promise. I'm coming back.."
"Hope....I don't do well with confined spaces.."
The auburn paused on the staircase, she thought about that night when she found herself locked away in the same cage, by Penelope and her friends. She remembered how vulnerable she felt, helpless but most importantly empty and cold. Being in that concrete hell by herself felt lonely and cold until Josie found her. She remembered how Josie transformed the ceiling into the night sky and her heart rippled in waves of fondness and warmth. That was their moment, Josie's and hers. Although she felt sympathy for Landon, because of their similar circumstances, she couldn't just sit around waiting for the universe to provide answers to their problems.
"Sorry Landon, I have to go."