Where Secrets Lie

"That idiot," Kara said. "We have to go after her."

Michael turned to Logan, "Tell everyone to hold here. We don't want to advance not knowing Hannah's position."

Logan nodded, "I'll be on standby but after thirty minutes, we're coming after you."

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"What was she thinking?" Michael asked, clamoring into the car.

"Don't be too upset with her. She thinks this is between her and her sister," Kara replied, feeling a strange connection between herself and Hannah at that moment.

Michael drove way past the speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic. Before they knew it, they stood outside of the location, 20 minutes earlier than the trip normally takes.

Michael quickly checked the perimeter, "I think she's inside."

"We're going in blind. I don't like it," Kara said.

Kara and Michael carefully approached the building and entered. As they crept down the halls, a heavy ball dropped in Michael's gut. He couldn't help but feel something bad was about to happen.

They spotted Hannah hiding behind a pillar just outside the room. Her jet black hair blending in with the shadows. "Hannah," Kara whispered.

Hannah jumped, "Hi." she said realizing it was Kara and Michael.

"Hi?" Michael whispered angrily. "You...." Hannah winced, ready for a yelling of a lifetime; however, his pocket vibrated. Michael took out his phone, "They'll be here in 40 minutes.

"40 minutes?! I knew we were waiting too long." Hannah replied.

"We would have been here. Everyone had to wait so we could make sure you were okay." Kara quipped. Her eyes darting to the double doors that stood before them.

Quietly, they listened. From inside, there were many voices chanting, and the slow, steady beating of a drum. A strange purple light began to exude from the door. Kara watched the eerie light dance off of Michael's pale skin and felt truly frightened like she never had before. She was sure he felt the same way, and that frightened her even more. Hannah, on the other hand, seemed more determined than ever.

All of a sudden, the chanting stopped, and Elijah's strong voice came bursting forth. "Welcome back, Catherine." As soon as she heard her sister's name, Hannah's eyes grew wide. She leaped out of the darkness and slammed her way through the door.

Michael and Kara followed her. Elijah and his witches stood on the opposite side of the room beside a massive, swirling purple portal. Catherine stood between them, smirking at her sister. Hannah stared back with an unreadable look on her face: it seemed to be a mixture of love, sorrow, and hate.

Without warning, Hannah flew across the room to her sister. She tackled her to the ground then wrapped her hands around her throat. "This ends now!"

An unnerving feeling washed over Kara as she surveyed the room. Elijah had gone through so much trouble to bring Catherine back, but now he didn't move a muscle to try and help her. In fact, he watched the fight with a smile on his face. He stood there with a cocky attitude and even went as far as dismissing the witches. She glanced at Michael to see if he felt the same as she did, but Michael, simply stood, watching the fight in a state of paralysis.

"Michael?" she trying to jolt him, but he didn't speak or move.

She looked back at the fight. Somehow Catherine had gotten the upper hand. She held Hannah by the neck, slowly pushing her toward the portal. Still, Michael didn't respond, and Catherine was pushing Hannah closer and closer. She had no idea what to do about Michael, but Hannah was in danger. Without a second thought, she ran over to help.

Like a black hole, the vortex had grabbed Hannah and was slowly sucking her into its depths. She tried to run, but it held on to her. She fell to the floor, her fingernails strained against the wooden panels to not lose her grip.

"Hannah, take my hand!" Kara crawled to her. They both extended their arms, their fingers brushing against each other's as they miss.

"This is such a loving scene," Catherine yelled over the portal. "I knew you would come baby sister."

Hannah looked over to Catherine then back at Kara. "She knew I would come." The portal slowly sucking them in. "It was a trap."

Michael snapped out of his trance and rushed towards Kara: however, Elijah knocked him across the room through the unfinished drywall. "Sorry nephew."

"Well, it can have both of them" Catherine replied.

The vortex swirled around Hannah and Kara, gripping them by the feet then around the waist. It pulled and pulled until the room floated away.

Kara's body spun around and around, and one by one, all the faces vanished. She floated through the purple swirl for what seemed like forever until she finally hit the hard ground with a thud. She stood and brushed the debris off her clothes, but as she looked around, her stomach sunk.

Fog and the stench of pollution surrounded her, making it difficult to breathe and see. Above her, the sky looked foreign, dark and wispy as if it wasn't real. White figures slowly surrounded her.

"Hannah?" She looked through the dark fog and found Hannah standing a few feet from her, a terrified look on her face.

Quickly, Kara spun around. The portal was still open. They could escape back to Earth. With a grin, she started to reach out for Hannah, but something stopped her: a realization. Elijah's words resonated in her mind: one in and one out. Their plan was to exchange Hannah for Catherine all along. While Catherine remained out there, only one of them could escape.

Kara took one last look at the portal. There was only one thing to do. She grabbed Hannah's arm and without a word, flung her back through the portal. As soon as Hannah disappeared, the portal closed with a deafening sucking sound.

Hannah's body whirled back into the room, just as Logan burst through the door, followed by the cavalry with their weapons cocked. All their faces twisted in confusion when they found the room empty. Michael climbed back through the wall and fell to his knees in horror. Logan ran to him while Alex checked on Hannah.

"What the hell happened? Where is everyone?" Logan said as he kneeled beside Michael, "Where's Kara?"

Michael looked up from the floor and stared at Logan with a lost look in his eyes. "She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Alyssa yelled out, tears brimming her eyes.

"This was a trap," Michael said. "They needed to swap Hannah for Catherine: one in, one out, but Kara tried to save her, and she fell in there with her." He glanced across the room at Hannah. "Hannah came back out. Kara's trapped there."

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Kara stood alone, facing the expansion of Yomi. She didn't know how or if she would ever find her way out of this place. The only sound to be heard was the beating of her chest and the faraway howl of an animal in pain, or was it a man? She began trudging through the pools of blood that littered the ground around her. She wasn't sure why, but the howling called to her, and she had to find it. As she pressed forward, the wispy figures trailed behind her, and she didn't want to find out what might happen if they reached her.