Nothing to fear but fear itself
It was dark when Alaric opened his eyes, not night dark, but all encompassing soul sucking dark. He turned to see this it was all around him up, down, left, right, nothing was there. This was it? He hadn't been expecting fire and brimstone but still maybe something more than this.
He shifted his weight to sit up and was surprised to see that his arms were very much there, as was the rest of his body. He glanced down at his tarnished and bloody clothes. Well, if he had known he would be stuck in this for all eternity maybe he would have dressed better.
Still part of Alaric wondered shouldn't there be at least someone else here? He felt a sudden pain in his heart for the family he had left behind.
Elena. Jeremy. Bonnie. Matt. Caroline. Tyler. Stefan and Damon.
"Stop that life was done" he told himself stubbornly. He had not wanted to leave them, not in a million years, but it had happened he ached for them terribly. That part of his life was done he couldn't go back despite how he wanted to. As much as it hurt him another part of him argued he deserved to rest, something he had long since given up as a human in the last couple of years.
Before he knew it, Alaric felt his eyes drifting close as if an unbearable weight had fallen on him. His body seemed to float up in the deep darkness as his eyes drifted close. Still despite this immense desire to relax, his body refused his muscles were tense, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, his hands were clenched in tight fists and the would-be flesh of his arms were peaked in goose bumps. "Stop" he muttered to his body again "stop being ridiculous" he insisted. His body at last began to unwind as he took a deep breath and began to settle into a deep sleep.
When .. what seemed like a sudden harsh gust of wind blew in his ear Alaric sat bolt upright his useless heart pounding away in his chest as his feet touched down on the ground again.
He glanced around feeling suddenly unprotected; there was nothing here, nothing he could use.
"Hello?" he called weakly as expected no reply.
Despite the situation Alaric couldn't help but think what would Damon say if he was here?
"Trust your instincts Ric" the Salvatore's words rung in his mind as if he was there beside him
"You're a hunter Ric, you've got to rely on your instincts they're not for decoration. Listen to them they're usually never wrong." He could envision the Salvatore's raised eyebrows and smug grin as he said this, the cheeky bastard.
Again the noise came this time from his other side harsher, sounding more like angry feedback. The noise was hideous but within it Alaric could hear a word whispered.
"Ric"
Hello?" Ric called again "I know someone is out there." Silence. "You can come out I don't bite ... much."
If the silence had been unnerving what happened next made it look like a cake walk by extent. Alaric words seemed to echo amongst the darkness but as they fell away, he heard a horrible laugh; deep and booming it grated harshly against Alaric ears he winced away from the noise.
As the laughter abruptly cut off a voice spoke "Oh Ric, Ric, Ric, I forgot you were so funny, I haven't seen your humour around for a couple of years."
"Do I know you?" Ric asked, again he looked at any way through the darkness, for anything he could use to no avail; this wasn't looking good. He would have to rely on what good old Mother Nature had given him then.
"Mmm.. yes and no" the voice replied " You could say we met many years ago, but look at you! All grown up, a handsome young man. Let me get a better look at you."
There was the noise of feet coming towards him and out of the darkness a form appeared, it walked towards him a tall, slender, confident figure as it got closer he could make out more about the newcomer; despite the darkness he was definitely male. He wore a black well fitting suit with three buttons and neat cut that Alaric himself would have favoured and he again chastised his poor clothing choice as he looked like a slob by comparison. He wore an impeccably knotted sapphire blue tie at his throat as he finally came to stand before him, the stranger lifted his face to Alaric and he gasped.
Staring back at Alaric was... well ..Alaric. He staggered back as the figure before him grinned that lazy half grin that Alaric often gave. It was his spitting image; right down to the scars on his knuckles he was sure. He stared as his double swept back the soft sandy brown hair from his face. Alaric stared his mouth hanging open. Try as he might he couldn't pull his composure together, nor stop the slight tremor that shook his left hand.
Alaric couldn't help but continue staring, he had heard myths about cultures that spoke of doppelgangers and the consequences, hell he had lived it, but he didn't think he would be meeting his anytime soon. Under closer inspection, Alaric saw they were not spitting images of each other. His twin carried a nasty scar on his left cheek that Alaric realized was the same injury that Stefan had given him not many days prior. It had hurt the impact with the wall cracking the fragile bones of his facial structure and his double carried the marks. Who knew what other damage he carried suffered at the hands of the supernatural? What made Alaric's hand tremble the most however, were his very own eyes. His eyes were dead, more dead then any corpse could ever achieve, more bottomless and black than any hole he had ever seen.
"Hello Alaric" he said "a pleasure to finally meet you face to face."
Alaric said nothing "we've been avoiding each other haven't we? Glad we could finally meet."
Alaric knew it was stupid, but his mind felt numb and his to tongue worked on its own accord to sputter
"Who are you?"
"Who am I? Who am I?" the twin replied "Alaric I know we haven't seen each other in many years but please don't be a fool, it's embarrassing. I'm you, I'm you before you started you're distressing behaviour of being compassionate to the supernatural." He wrinkled his nose in disgust "its alarming Alaric if I'm being perfectly honest."
Alaric took a firm step back he wanted nothing to do with this man. "What do you want?"
"Why Ric, can I call you Ric?" he paused Alaric didn't reply "Anyways, I came here to speak with you, deliver a message." His twin sneered, a nasty, mean spirited look now reflected on his face.
To deliver a message. Ric waited.
"Stop fighting me Ric" he muttered "stop fighting me and making this harder than it has to be-." Ric remained quiet "-and I also wanted to say goodbye."
Alaric tensed "I wanted to say goodbye because this can't go on Ric, one of us has to break. And I am sorry to say it's going to have to be you." He lifted his hands in an "oh well!" sort of gesture. "So I've come to pay my dues and finish the job, you may not realize this Ric, but you've been fighting me for many years. We used to be quiet close, hard to believe I know, but then you pulled away from me. You've been a burden ever since." He took a step forward and Ric took another back.
"But we're supposed to be dead!" Alaric sputtered "what are we still doing alive?"
"Let's just say Bonnie worked some magic that had some everlasting effects." He grinned and Alaric wanted nothing more than to rip that look off his own face, it was so frustrating.
"Anyways" he said changing the subject " it's no surprise you chose history to study Ric, we just can't seem to get over what happened in the past and let's face it" he grinned wider, his teeth bared in a furious grin that shimmered in the dark. "Your past was a whole lot sunnier then your future."
He began to pace, circling Alaric like a stalking tiger, leaving him helplessly trapped in the middle.
"So Mr. Saltzman any thoughts on your current situation? You've been awfully quiet. Nothing to say? Not even in your native tongue Mr. Saltzman? Although to be honest we've never been very good at German."
Alaric felt something snap at the moment, he couldn't take his man masquerading as him, he was Alaric not this soulless imposter! he looked up at his twin. "Stop saying we, we are not the same person I'm nothing like you!" he pushed away from his twin.
"You're right" his other half snarled dropping the clam cool demeanour "You're not, I am the stronger, the better half, the dominant half and you don't deserve survival. He raised his arm to strike Alaric, Alaric raised his own, and they were two halves of the same whole which meant...
Arm clashed against arm as the two equals met. His twin snarled in disgust as his lips curled into a horrible grin "so much to learn, you actually think you stood a chance. Now let's set things straight shall we?"
Before Alaric could react, his twin's other hand seized his arm, their eyes locked and Alaric knew he couldn't keep the fear out of his face. His twin frowned "poor little bird still dreams of being free doesn't he? Well we'll just have to fix that." Both men struck out at the same time, there was a smack and a sound like whip crack and Alaric couldn't help but howl in pain as his arm fell uselessly to his side, as his twin seized him by the shoulders and brought his knees up into his gut. He fell like a rock as his double rained down blow after blow on his ribs and abdomen, as Alaric curled in on himself.
The double sneered down at him, wiping blood away from his nose and lip.
He examined his blood stained hand" You know Stefan aimed for the face too, I didn't appreciate that either." He gave a savage kick to Alaric's ribs, causing him to cough up blood, and roll himself into a tighter ball.
"Pathetic, you little fuck up" he whispered "it would be too good to put you out of your misery; you still haven't seen my handiwork up close in person."
"Fuck you" Alaric wheezed.
"Now, now don't get ahead of yourself" his double purred.
I'll be back Ric" the double walked off into the dark leaving the broken and battered Alaric behind him.
Xxxxxxxx
Ric lay in silence for a long time, for how long he wasn't sure his body ached, his arm was rendered useless, his double had snapped it in two places; everything hurt.
"Well, well, well the big hunter how you've fallen" his twin's voice purred. He was back. "Don't worry I have a surprise for you." With a delicateness he did not know his double possessed, he gently moved the broken Alaric to his other side so that he too could see this unknown spectacle.
He snapped his fingers and before his eyes appeared a screen, like a TV screen it blinked on and displayed a familiar sight
It was the halls of Mystic Falls high school, something that when he had first arrived in the town at least would have provided him with some relief but not now. How had his body moved? He was supposed to be in the tomb. His stomach knotted in fear. "What exactly am I looking at? Alaric wheezed.
"Wait for it" his twin was practically giddy with excitement "and here we go."
"Ric?" a voice said through the screen "Ric please stop! This isn't you I know you're in there, please it's me, it's Elena!"
Alaric froze she couldn't be. How was she in danger? He was dead! He was supposed to be dead!
A hand, his hand, appeared on the screen approaching Elena, he had her cornered. This wasn't possible it had to be a bad dream, his version of hell, how could he hurt her? He wasn't in control! he gave himself up to stop this.
The screen raised to Elena's terrified eyes she was scared, so scared of him, he could read the hurt in her every move, she felt betrayed.
"No! no! Elena it's not me Elena! Elena!" he cried he couldn't hold his composure anymore" Elena! " He cried his voice cracking with grief. He watched in horror as his body moved in its own accord and grabbing Elena picked her up and threw her harshly against the school lockers. There was a horrible crash as she hit the ground and lay motionless.
"No!" Ric cried he tried weakly to get to his feet only to find his twin smirking at him.
"What the fuck is going on!" He roared lashing out with his one arm "what is this? I'm dead! We're dead why are you doing this! How are you doing this I.. I don't understand." His spur of energy ran out as he swayed on his feet. His double caught him with ease.
"Please" he murmured, "please just let her live, she doesn't deserve this, you have me, I won't fight you if you let her go."
"Oh Ric," his twin said slowly, he looked at the battered form in his arms, barely holding it together. "That's not how these things work, she is the bane of your problems, and she is a sympathizer and dragged you into this. Do you really want her to live? Don't you want things to go back to how they were?"
Ric gave a weak head shake "no." He said "let her go."
"Well big boy that's just too bad, she's not going anywhere, because Riccc.." his twin rasped in his ear "when I said Bonnie worked her magic I meant it. You might not bite much but I do" Alaric watched in horror as his twin's face suddenly morphed fangs descended and his face morphed into a creature he had long come to dread.
"I'm in control now Ric" he whispered as Ric stared at his fanged self. It was disgusting and hideous, not for it was but for what it had become, that evil and ill spirit, it was him. "Nonono "his mind raged "just make it stop please!" His double brought down his fangs to Alaric's neck and he stiffened.
"Ric how much you've changed the old you would never have begged for mercy" he whispered.
He felt his double graze his fangs against the vein of his throat before opening his mouth wide and plunging them in. Alaric struggled and bucked within his twin's grasp to no avail. Any strength that had returned to him in his double's absence had drained away, as he dropped him as casually as though he was a rag doll.
His twin started own at him a crazed glint glowing out of his eyes, faced covered in Alaric's blood like war paint. He stared down at Aalric as if he was some sort of specimen before muttering "Well brother this is an interesting predicament I changed my mind I'm not going to kill you after all! Because don't' you see Alaric? All your adult life you've been looking for monsters to fight and a reason to defend yourself and others from pain. But that-"he jerked his thumb at the screen where Elena crumpled image still showed "has caused you more grief then any vampire could ever do." He gave half hearted chuckle "the biggest dangers and the thing you fear isn't out there! He said gesturing wildly to around him. "It's in here with me."
Alaric shuddered and he felt silent tears slide down his face. It was true.
"why would I let you live when we can have so much fun together?" he said gently wiping away the tears.
"After all" his twin purred "how does that old saying go? He paused "ah yes! We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."