Chapter 602 - BUT, I AM NOT

Hope remembered that she fell asleep on Kace's lap, but there was nothing under her head when she was awake. 

She gasped loudly when she opened her eyes, and she realized that she was no longer in the place where she was falling asleep previously. And worse than that, Kace was nowhere to be found.

"Kace!?" Her voice filled with panic when she scoured her surroundings hastily, but nothing changed, she couldn't see anything except the pitch-darkness surrounded her.

Hope moved her hands and her fingers and palms touched the hard cold concrete beneath her. The wet and chill atmosphere in the air reached her face, as she felt her throbbing shoulder, the pain that woke her up earlier.

Panic rushed in her system as she tried to sit up, but the motion made her head spin. Leaning on her forearms, Hope forced herself to breathe in deeply, to calm her thumping heart.

Where is she now?!

Hope blinked a couple of times, willing her eyes to adjust to the darkness that engulfed her.But there was no light that could help her in this case. 

Hope gritted her teeth to suppress the sudden panic and fear that she felt. This was not the time for it. She must pull herself together in order to be able to function during that critical situation, in that unknown, mysterious environment.

She sat up then began feeling the floor around her, stretching out her hand in the dark, trying to reach out onto something, or touching anything that could help her to understand her surroundings better.

Is she in a cell? A room? Or what?

Should she call Kace again? But, what if she notified her kidnapper? 

The floor extended beneath her bare foot, apparently her kidnapper took good care of her as they removed her shoes.But thankfully they didn't take away her cloak. Hope didn't need another trouble for now. 

Her fingers extended until they touched a cold concrete wall. "Hello?" Hope whispered and called to the darkness, unsure whether she wanted someone to answer her or not. 

No one answered her. 

Hope spent the next twenty minutes searching for a door, window or anything that she could use to escape from this unknown place. 

And weird enough, there was nothing. Literally nothing. So, how could they put her inside this place? This was so weird.

Or, maybe…

They put me in from above?

Hope raised her head to see above her head, yet, of course the darkness prevented her from seeing anything. 

Finally, frustrated with her situation, and couldn't find a way to escape from this place she called out once more. "Hello?!"

No one answered.

"Is there anyone here?!"

Silence greeted her.

"Hey!!!" Hope shouted on top of her lungs. "What do you want from me!?" 

And then another fear crept in when there was still no answer or any movement. 

Did they just leave me here?

That thought created another ripples of fear in her blood and her system. It seemed to notify her kidnapper that she had woken up was not a bad idea. 

"Hey!!!" Hope pounded the concrete wall beside her to create a loud of noise except her own voice that echoed creepily. "Is there anyone here!? HEI!" 

It took a while for Hope to hear a voice from a distance.And just as he had expected, there seemed to be a door or a hole in the ceiling above her head.

There was a rattling sound.

"Who is out there?!" Hope shouted to the source of the sound from above her head, her voice tinged with fear, as she didn't know whether that person would open the door or maybe they wanted to lock her up in this darkness.

Just the thought alone made her shuddered. 

However, a second later Hope covered her eyes with her hands when the light suddenly hit her eyes, illuminating the place in front of her from a square hole, two meters away, above her head. 

The way the light illuminated this place was akin to the movie that she watched when the main character had just been enlightened. 

At least, that was how Hope portrayed her situation now, as she walked hastily under the light. 

"Who is there?" Hope's body was basking under the light, yet she couldn't see anyone there because it was too bright for her eyes.

"So, you are awake now?" Came a girl's voice that Hope had never heard before. 

"Where am I?!" Hope's eyes still couldn't adjust with the light.But all of a sudden she felt everything around her turned so bright. 

The source of light was no longer the light from above her head, but it was almost like there was someone who turned on the lamp inside the dark room that she stayed in. 

"Ugh!" Hope grunted, her head spinning. However, not only that, when she took a few steps back, she couldn't find the concrete wall behind her to lean on. 

Hence, Hope could only use her hearing to identify the movement around her. 

"You can go now."

There was the second voice, a woman too, but from her voice, Hope could tell that she was more mature than the first one. 

Hope blinked her eyes rapidly and rubbed her eyes hastily when she felt someone walk closer to her direction, and when she felt the woman touch her shoulder, Hope swatted her hand away and moved to the side only to bump into something. 

It was a table, from the sound of the shattering glass, apparently Hope had created some mess there. 

"Dear, dear… careful with your steps." 

Hope opened her eyes and this time she could see well.At first the figure in front of her was only a blur and she couldn't identify who the woman in front of her was, until her vision became clearer and her brows knitted together into a tight knot. 

She remembered this woman!

How could she forget about her!?

She met her when she was only thirteen years old, four years ago, her encounter with this woman was the reason why Serefina had to move her from Fulbright City to the remote village. 

Her golden eyes stared at her mockingly.

"I remember you," Hope said.

"I am glad to hear that," she replied.

"But, I am not."