Disclaimer: I do not own TVD/TO. Also I shamelessly stole the title from the Imagine Dragon's song "Radioactive" from which I was inspired.
A/N: I am incredibly nervous about this, I don't think I've ever spent so much time writing a oneshot. This is also a new way of writing for me (I'm doing a little experimenting). I also wrote this mainly out of order so if it doesn't make sense, I apologize in advance and please let me know. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
..xx..
it starts in italy, on their little week-long vacation that she had begged him to go on.
caroline is trying to find her way out of the rural italian hospital when she notices the sign plastered above a wing, quarantena. a nurse steps out and discards her face mask in a bin that's directly outside the doors.
what's wrong? caroline asks in broken italian as she gestures to the sign.
the nurse quickly rattles off an explanation in italian but caroline only catches the basics...sick, very sick, skin..bad, no help, death...
caroline nods and waits until the nurse leaves then ducks into the quarantine hall, her backpack full of bloodbags bouncing against her back.
the air is stale, oppressive inside the wing and she can hear the monitors beeping slowly, in sync with the slow-paced hearts they're connected to.
in one of the rooms lies a young girl, maybe sixteen. only her face and arms are exposed and caroline has to hold back a gasp at the sight. there are ugly red x's marring the side of her face down to her neck where they disappear under her gown only to reappear where the sleeve of it ends. they look incredibly painful.
the girl is listless and caroline can tell she has no fight left in her.
she slips out of the hospital with her backpack full of stolen blood, the image of the girl burned on her brain.
..xx..
rebekah and stefan sent a letter, klaus informs her as she steps through the door, exhausted after a day of work.
how old-fashioned, she laughs as she plucks it from his fingers and settles on the couch beside him.
inside are pictures-rebekah laughing while holding chopsticks in her hand, stefan leaning against the great wall, a photo of them kissing against the smog, a city skyline.
these are great, she picks up her photo album and slips them into the empty back pages.
the walls of their home start shaking and caroline looks to klaus who looks confused for a second but reassures her, it's just a little earthquake, love.
but we don't get earthquakes here, she responds as the glassware shakes in its place.
..xx..
muerte, sick, skin, caroline hears the broadcaster say from the living room where klaus is watching the pixelated screen.
she's by his side in a flash. what are they saying?
a virus, he explains as he gestures to the tablet in his hand. red x's appear on the skin and the infected have trouble breathing, until they stop altogether.
caroline rips the tablet out of his hand as the screen flashes to the little hospital where she was not even a month ago.
that's where the first one died, the first case, he tells her as the quarantine sign flashes upon the screen. don't worry, love, it's been contained in in southern europe.
turn it off, she demands and he obliges, not questioning her motives as she slips her knees on either side of his legs and captures his face in her hands.
..xx..
footage rolls of an earthquake in prague, in the middle of the continent, with people running for their lives with masks on their faces and x's on their arms. all ports have been shut down, and people are stranded, crying for their lovers and families.
caroline, he says when he finds her, eyes full of tears as she watches the latest segment on her tablet.
it's taken over europe and asia, she manages to say as she tilts the screen towards him.
it will be fine, caroline, don't worry, he soothes her as he switches off the tablet and places it beside them.
she lets him console her, but there's a heavy feeling in her chest that's telling her it will be anything but.
..xx..
is this the end? she asks when the notice goes out that the virus has caught up to them in the united states.
flashes of quarantines in american hospitals are added to the regular images of shutdown airports, quarantined cities, and earthquake-damaged buildings.
of course not, love, he replies, the humans have survived and will continue to. this is just another event in history that you will have lived through.
he kisses her temples and she allows him to make her forget for a while.
..xx..
everything changes one weekend in the city.
the buildings dance as the ground shakes beneath them again in an all-too familiar way. the screaming begins as the street around them floods with people escaping.
there's a stronger rumble, and the sidewalk fissures underneath her feet.
it's complete pandemonium for seven minutes as the buildings crumble to the ground and people run in every direction, yelling for loved ones.
the shaking stops but the panic doesn't.
a cry pierces her thoughts and she follows the sound to find a little boy no more than ten struggling beneath a pile of bent steel. his arm is hanging on by a single ligament and his face is scarred and marked. he won't live more than a few days at most.
her eyes fill with tears.
she can't save him.
she crouches down next to him and cradles his face in her hands. his eyes widen and seem to take up his entire face. he's just so tiny, so small in her hands. she takes a deep breath-and klaus brushes her to the side, taking her place.
she settles next to them in the rubble and grasps the boy's free hand in hers instead, focusing on their hands. she hears the crack and the fingers in hers goes limp.
let's go, he says and caroline follows him out of the fallen city.
..xx..
don't drink their blood, comes the warning from rebekah and stefan in china.
he drank from one who was sick - no we didn't know it then - and he was sick, vomiting blood, it was-I...anyways, I managed to force some of my blood down his throat and he's okay but... don't drink their blood okay?
..xx..
angie has been caroline's closest friend here for years. their bond was forged quickly over their hatred for their boss and fostered over drinks and gossip.
it's a wednesday when angie comes in 5 minutes late, pale and out of breath. they chalk it up to a bad day and spend the rest of it sending messages back and forth wondering about the new intern.
thursday passes with no sign of angie.
8am on friday and her desk is empty yet.
caroline lets herself into angie's apartment friday evening with the key that is cleverly hidden under the faded welcome mat.
angie? she calls.
no caroline, go away, a voice responds from within.
she finds angie buried under a pile of blankets, her breathing shallow and her cheeks marked up.
no, caroline breathes. this cannot happen.
in the little kitchen she spills her blood with a sharp knife, aiming for the little cat-shaped mug, but more of the ruby liquid finds its way onto the off-white countertop instead.
drink this, she instructs as she tilts the mug towards her chapped lips.
the girl coughs and sputters, but manages to swallow enough. caroline grasps her hand and waits...and waits...and waits.
something's wrong, she knows it. angie should be whipping up cocktails and toasting to her brush with death. Instead, her skin is as pale as ever and she lets out a shaky breath as she asks, what was that?
caroline wraps the faded blankets tighter around her body, a last hope, she answers and lets herself out.
..xx..
they can't walk down the street anymore without passing the faces of the marked. she avoids their eyes because she can't look into theirs without her own welling up, knowing there's nothing she can do to help them.
take me away, she says.
she packs her new grey sweater, her old old cheer leading shorts, her photograph album, tablet charger, and the vintage frame of her and her mom into a faded navy blue duffle bag. she pulls on her favorite boots and falls asleep in the car as Klaus puts miles and miles between them and the city.
..xx..
wake up sweetheart, he whispers in her ear and her eyes flutter open. the smell of the salt is overwhelming and a smile forms on her lips. I thought you'd like it, he says.
he takes her hand as they step foot on the path towards the pale blue seaside house, their bags slung over his shoulders.
they only make it a few steps before they sense them...heartbeats. wordlessly they speed to the porch and pause.
did you see them? where did they go? the panicked voices ask one another from inside their house.
what's wrong? a voice asks, young and laden with sleep. she can imagine him rubbing his eyes with his blanket in hand.
it'll be okay ollie, a voice soothes softly though caroline can detect the strain in the woman's voice.
but there's nowhere else that's safe-
-shhh..
it breaks caroline's heart and she tugs on klaus' hand and they flash back to the car. she slumps into the passenger seat. the only sound is the engine roaring to life as they the car starts under his fingertips.
thank god, the woman whispers as they drive away.
at least someone still believes.
..xx..
the communication towers are dropping left and right.
stefan, stefan? caroline calls into her little tablet as she desperately tries to see her best friend's face one last time.
caroline? a voice replies, the screen is fuzzy but if she squints it resembles rebekah well enough. how did you get through?
bekah? klaus is next to her in an instant and caroline allows him to lift the tablet from her fingers. he clutches it tightly as he walks to the other end of the room.
nik, I don't know what's happening, rebekah's voice floats from the speaker, crackled but understandable.
it'll be fine bekah, remember the black death? Or the spanish influenza? this will pass too, klaus reassures her.
meet us in virginia? rebekah asks. it's been too long since we've all been together anyways.
virginia, klaus agrees and the screen goes dark. rebekah? rebekah?
there's a faint, klaus, then the crackling stops.
caroline's arms are around his waist and her face is pressed against his arm, holding him together. he doesn't move so neither does she, except to say, we'll see them again in virginia.
..xx..
she's done this a million times in her lifetime so far, but this is different.
the air is heavy and it feels wrong...like it did in-
she peers around the suburban american hospital, everyone is wearing a mask and quarantine signs are posted every couple of feet down every hallway she turns.
in a minute she's out in the bright sunlight, inhaling deeply.
are you okay, love? klaus asks as he catches up to her.
fine, just no bloodbags, she replies.
no, they've just received some i checked for you-
-they need them more, caroline explains softly.
caroline, love, they're going to die, you need to feed-
caroline shakes her head, but it's something.
he doesn't argue further.
..xx..
we have to make it to virginia, he reminds her, a note of desperation in his voice.
the stations to refuel their car are all abandoned, their owners either sick, dead, or too afraid to leave their homes.
she doesn't move an inch-even though she swears her muscles are cramped from being in the same position-as he tears the station apart, looking for the precious fuel that will help carry them further across the states to their destination.
klaus
he pauses for a moment at the sound of her voice. but she was counting on getting there too, seeing stefan...and rebekah.
we'll walk, he decides as he starts off, boots hitting the pavement of the road.
the car, she wants to protest. i'm tired, she wants to say. all transportation into the country was shut down before rebekah's last call-she thinks, but doesn't dare speak the traitorous words aloud. instead she grabs her duffle and catches up to him, sliding her hand into his as their steps fall in sync and the ground rumbles once again beneath their feet.
..xx..
she can barely reconcile the sight before her with the gorgeous mansion in her memories, windows all aglow and music playing in the background.
klaus doesn't flinch at the sight of his home, just barges in and flashes around the levels of the house.
she drops her bag by her feet as she waits idly in the foyer for him to return.
empty, he sighs as he returns next to her, the little hope he had that rebekah and stefan had made it extinguished.
i'm sorry, she says as she kisses the corner of his mouth.
we'll wait here, a kiss on the mouth.
we'll die here, she thinks.
..xx..
the world is quiet.
too quiet.
after all, she can hear every cry of anguish and scream of horror for miles, echoing and reverberating in her head.
it's only quiet for the few hours during the early mornings when she manages to block them out enough to sleep.
but now it's the silence that scares her. it can only mean something worse is upon them.
he knows her fear and takes her in, wrapping his arms around her. she rests her head in the space between his chin and chest that's reserved just for her.
she has so many questions, but voices none, not daring to break the silence that deafens.
..xx..
the earth has been shaking for days now, the east wing swallowed up by the hungry earth.
this is it, he knows it. he's lived for fourteen hundred years and has never felt this feeling before.
caroline is oddly calm, photo album on her lap as she sits on the floor.
he pulls out his tablet, the screen is black and shows no signs of life. he drops it onto the shaking table where it vibrates against the wood-what did he expect? some sort of miracle-that he would be allowed to see his sister-with all his misdeeds?
i'll see you on the other side, he promises as he tears his eyes away from the tablet.
he sinks to the floor beside caroline and wraps his arms around her.
this is the end, she says as she closes the album in her lap.
yes.
okay, she buries herself into his chest, and they wait for the inevitable, together.
..xx..
seriously, anything at all you could would be appreciated be it "ehh" "okay" or "seriously did you lose your shift key on your keyboard"