Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 16: Ashes

Previously in Part 15: Intel,
Alaric and the students made their way to a Triad Facility in Maple Hollows.
Cleo found file about the unnamed Mikaelson baby killed at birth, who was thought to be the weapon against Malivore.
Kaleb and Alaric read over file about Malivore and his Muse. Cleo secretly destroyed the files before they learned much of anything new.
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It's been a few days since their little roadtrip to Maple Hollows. There haven't been any monster attacks since the mummy. Everyone was grateful for that.

The peaceful feeling is cut short when the Salvatore School receives an anonymous tip during their school day that a monster was spotted near a barn, just a few miles from the school.

Alaric sends Hope an SOS message and the location of the barn, since she's in her classes at Mystic Fall High. He gathers his daughters and MG to help him check out the threat.

The barn is surrounded by acres of wooded land. It looks abandoned. They split up, Lizzie and Josie siphoning some magic from MG, and Alaric grabbing a crossbow. They're all equipped for a fight.
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Hope receives the text, recognizing the address of the barn. Her father had gotten her a horse when she was younger, she kept him at the barn.

She leaves school in a hurry, dodging the questions she receives from Maya, Ethan and Landon on her way out.

She spots Josie as she's driving up, and she parks her car, getting out to join her. "Have you found anything yet?"

Josie shakes her head, "No, but Dad, Lizzie and MG are all here too. We split up to cover more ground."

Suddenly, there's an explosion in the distance. They can see it through the trees. They take off in its direction, stopping a ways away from the barn, which is now completely aflame, wooden boards falling down.

"No!" Josie starts to run toward it, panicked.

Hope stops her, "What are you doing, Jo? You can't go in there."

Josie has tears streaming down her face, "Lizzie's inside, Hope. I have to get her out."

MG comes running up to them with his vamp speed, seeing Hope trying to hold Josie back, "MG, I need you to keep her here." MG takes Josie in his arms, she's lost strength to fight them due to her crying and trembling.

Hope starts to go towards the barn, MG gives her a confused look, "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to get her out." She runs to the barn, hearing the faint sound of Josie now crying her name, telling her to stop and that she'll get hurt.

But she doesn't stop, she can't let Lizzie die.

She makes her way inside, coughing as the smoke fills her lungs, trying to dodge the pieces of the tin roof and wooden boards that fall. "Lizzie!"

She shouts her name several times, using her werewolf hearing to listen for a reply. She doesn't hear anything. She's slowed down by a board hitting her hard in the head, drawing blood. If she were human, it probably would've knocked her unconscious. "Lizzie!"
She's almost to the back of the barn when she hears a very quiet coughing sound. She turns her head to see Lizzie trapped under a door of one of the stables, which had broken off in the explosion. She rushes over, using all of her remaining strength to lift it off of her. She takes off her jacket, putting it over Lizzie's mouth and nose, "Lizzie, stay with me. Breathe through this so you don't take in so much smoke."