Kristian Alfonso and Joseph Mascolo
Kristian Alfonso, who plays Hope in the NBC soap "Days Of Our Lives," takes a selfie with co-star Joseph Mascolo, known as Stefano. Instagram/kristianalfonso

Fear grips Salemites as lives continue to be at risk on the upcoming episode of “Days Of Our Lives” (“DOOL”). On Wednesday, Marlena (Deidre Hall) sends everyone in a complete panic when she disappears momentarily. The previous episode showed her encountering a man who may be Stefano (Joseph Mascolo), but spoilers suggest he’s Austin (Austin Peck), who wants to help the team out.

Elsewhere, Hope (Kristian Alfonso) runs for her life and seeks refuge in Eric’s (Greg Vaughan) house. Lt Raines (Aaron D Spears), meanwhile, refuses to give up and steps up his efforts to capture Hope. Other “Days Of Our Lives” characters who will figure prominently on the Feb. 8 run include Rafe (Galen Gering), Steve (Stephen Nichols), Kayla (Mary Beth Evans), Paul (Freddie Smith), Sonny (Christopher Sean), Abby (Marci Miller), Chad (Billy Flynn), Gabi (Camila Banus), Andre (Thaoo Penghlis) and Eduardo (A Martinez).

Spoiler alert! This update contains more "Days of Our Lives" spoilers. Read on at your own risk if you have not watched the latest episode.

"Days Of Our Lives" soap opera spoilers

TV Guide reports that on Wednesday’s run of “DOOL,” Hope manages to escape from the clutches of Lt Raines, who then calls for backup. Abby, on the other hand, freaks out when she learns that Chad and Gabi were being held hostage by Deimos. The “Days Of Our Lives” website posted sneak peek photos of Hope, as well as Gabi and Chad for the Feb. 8 episode.

Also on Wednesday, Andre tries to make amends with Eduardo. In Prague, Marlena disappears for a bit, making everyone worry that Stefano has taken her. Fans would remember that at the ball, Rafe was dancing with Marlena but left her alone to chase a man who looked like Stefano. Marlena, on the other hand, seemed to have bumped into the person they’re looking for.

"Days Of Our Lives" soap recap

In the previous episode, Brady (Eric Martsolf) comforted Nicole (Arianne Zucker), who was feeling upset about Deimos’ (Vincent Irizarry) spate of violate attacks and Chloe’s (Nadia Bjorlin) motherly act toward Holly. Deimos arrived and witnessed Brady and Nicole’s closeness. When Brady left the mansion, Deimos explained to Nicole his actions, saying that he’s fighting to be with her. Nicole agreed to give him another chance, but threatened to leave if he becomes violent again. She left and Victor walked in. The two brothers discussed the tech war and Deimos’ problem with Nicole. He vowed to get Holly to make Nicole realise he’s the only man for her.

At the hospital, Lt Raines grilled Hattie (Deidre Hall) about Hope. Hattie feigned blanking out, blaming it on the accident and asked Hope – who was pretending to be a doctor – to leave the room. It wasn’t long before Raines realised that Hope was the doctor who walked off. Hope, on the other hand, ran for her life but had to stop because of her injuries. Raines found her and pointed his gun on her. Hope begged him to let her go, citing that Stefano is alive. When he refused to believe her, Hope ran away again, making Raines fire some shots.

Find out what happens next to “Days Of Our Lives,” which airs weekdays in Australia on 12:45 p.m. on Foxtel’s Arena channel. In the US, “DOOL” airs at 1 p.m. on NBC.