ALIVE , legacies

SEVENTEEN

maybe i should start from the end

STILL IN LAWRENCE, KANSAS. WHATS NEW

Leaves crunch under my feet as I walk down the sidewalk. Trees align the concrete, swaying with the wind. I check my phone. No notifications. The wind hums as it blows through my hair, leaving me feeling slightly chilly.

I think about what I said to Landon. It was wrong. I was wrong. Landon's my brother. He had Hope first. She's not some prize. I purse my lips, feeing guilty I ever even thought of her the way I did. I feel dirty, I feel played.

Standing up straight, I flip my hair over my shoulder. "You know your worth." I tell myself. Moving forward, I hear a loud growl. Turning slowly, I see a green, tall, slimy creature. "Okay, gross." I grumble. Turning on my heel, I run as fast as I can.

It's a lot faster.

The fish man zooms towards me, grabbing me and flipping me over it's shoulder. I scream in horror, everything around me is a blur. I pull out my phone, trying hard to keep it in my hands as I click for Landons number.

"Lena? Where are you? There's a huge-"

"THERES A HUGE FISH MAN THAT JUST ABDUCTED ME." I scream into the phone.

Hopes voice fills the speaker. "Lena, where are you going?"

"First off, it's Madeline again." I snap. "Second, if I knew it would've been in the part where THE HUGE FISH MAN JUST ABDUCTED ME."

"I put the bracelet in the urn you and Landon took, the Mer-Man took it and you."

I frown. "We took an urn?"

Landon sighs. "I didn't know either." He tells me.

Dr. Saltzman clears his throat. "Lena, just stay safe and don't do anything dangerous." I hear Landon groan on the other end of the line.

"Don't tell her that, cause now that's exactly what she's going to do."

"Excuse me!" I shout. "I will-"

"Enough!" Alaric shouts. "Let's focus on getting the urn and Lena and then you two can argue all you want!"

I roll my eyes, bouncing as the Mer-Man runs. "Whatever. I'm going to go beat some fish ass, see you soon!"

"LENA, NO-"

Clicking the red button, I hang my arms down as I look around. Grunting, I look over my shoulder. "Oh GOD-" Suddenly; I'm covered in corn leafs, corn flying around me and the slimy man.

♞

The Mer-Man stomps around, breaking through a fence and more. He storms through a field of grass surrounding the building.

"Lena!" I look up seeing Landon. Him and Hope run towards me as I feel the slimy hand on my foot. I scream as he throws me over his shoulder, causing me to fly towards Landon's feet. "Lena, oh my god."

I stand up, panting. "You couldn't have killed him before he took me here!?" I shout. I turn back, looking around curiously. "Where are we?"

"Triad." Hope says. "And Seylah is in there."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Our mom? Why?"

Landon clears his throat. "She's going to erase herself." He says shortly. I twitch, not really sure what to say. I look at the Mer-Man, watching him walk. "Lena, no-" I break into a run, the Mer-Man is distracted by a large silver ball glowing red. It beeps a few times. "LENA!"

The silver ball explodes.

My body flies backwards, I don't even know which way I go before I hit the ground hard. I land on my stomach, looking up. My vision blues as I look at Landon, who's completely out. "Lan-Landon," I whisper before my head falling to the ground.

♞

Light flashes in my face.

"Lena? Lena, get up." 

Groaning, I put my hand over my face. "This is a free country." I grumble. I hear someone scoff before grabbing me by the hand, yanking me up. My eyes shoot open to see Landon, pulling me to my feet. I hiss at the bright sun, looking around. "Yo, where are we?" I ask.

Landon shrugs, holding me up. "I don't know." He confesses. Alaric stands up, "Where the hell are we? What happened?" He asks Alaric.

Dr. Saltzman shakes his head. "I don't know. But I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

I turn towards Hope, who stares at us, our surroundings, everything in confusion. I remember bits and pieces of what happened. Including her and my brother sucking faces. Clearing my throat, I turn on my heel. "I'll be in the car."

♞

I walk down the hall of the Salvatore School. Rafael was more than excited that Landon and I were back, some tears were even shed between him and I. But I didn't come near Landon.

The twins split apart.

I'm in a tank top and sweat pants, drying my hair via towel. "Hey. You're back." Glancing up, Lizzie Saltzman is jogging over from a random direction.

"Hi," I hum at her. "I wondered when I'd get a hello from my favorite witch."

"I guess sooner than later." She chirps back. I give her a warm smile as I toss the towel over my shoulder, leaning against the wall. "How long you staying this time?"

I shrug. "As long as I'm not voted out again, for a while." I chuckle. The blond smiles softly as I walk towards her. "Keep in touch, okay?"

Brushing past, my shoes click on the floor as Lizzie watches me walk off. "O-okay!" She chirps. "See you later!"