The night was pitch black, as if someone had tipped ink and it had spread across the sky, seeping into every corner of everything. No stars splattered the darkness, and the moon was hidden from sight behind an amount of thick heavy clouds. The streets were silent except for the sound of the heavy rain hitting the roofs of cars and windows. The streets were still. The streets were empty. But then there was movement, amongst the bins down an alleyway. The girl groaned and tried to move, but her body betrayed her and her arms fell limp by her side. She forced her bloodshot eyes open and a gurgling cough escaped her throat. She rolled her tongue, trying to remember how words were formed. If she could just string a few together, she could make a sentence and a cry for help. The first attempt was poor and the sound came out no more than a choked grown. The second time she found the words wouldn't form in her mouth. She took one final breath and managed to squeak the words 'help me' before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her neck lolled to one side. She made no more effort to move or speak, but lay there in the dark of the night, cold and alone.

1. Damon

I was skulking the streets, searching for something to do. I was hungry, and therefore restless, and there were other needs that I hadn't taken care of in a while. I was as quiet as shadows as I picked my way through the village of Fell's Church, searching for someone to fulfil my appetite and quench my thirst. No bars were open and no people on the streets. The rain hammered down, creating puddles in the gutters and plastering my hair to my face. I was crossing the road to avoid the church when I heard the muffled noises coming from the Alleyway near the grill. Thinking that maybe it was a couple having a little fun in their drunken state, I smiled and pressed my back against the wall.

But then I heard the words "Help me..." and my smile trickled away with the rain. I swooped down the alley as fast as I could and I was beside the girl in moments. But I was moments too late, and I saw the lights leave her eyes and the life leave her body as I knelt beside her. She was dead. Something about her long blonde hair and (when I lifted an eyelid) her once bright blue eyes made my heart (should mine have still been beating) skip a beat. The locks that I could tell were once beautiful curls were now a matted mess, the silver blonde tainted with dirt and blood. After brushing her fringe away from her pale face, I recognised her off the posters. Her name was Amanda and she'd been missing for just over a month. And now here she was, dead in an alley way. She should have been beautiful, and she once was, but now her skin stretched thinly over her cheekbones and her complexion was paler than the snow that had coated the ground just a months before. I tilted her to the side so I could see her neck, and sure enough there were scars there. Vampire. Some of the lines which scarred her flesh looked old, as if a Vamp had been feeding from her before she disappeared. Some were newer and there were two puncture marks which showed she'd been bitten just hours ago. But her blood wasn't fresh. It wasn't pure. It was tainted with the smell of sickness, the smell of disease. She was very ill. I lifted one hand and saw the wounds all the way across her wrists and forearms. Her nails were short and stubby, kept that way to minimise defensive marks, I presumed. With a heavy sigh, I stood and lifted the girl easily onto my shoulder. I'd take her to the Sheriff. She'd know what to do. She'd know how to cover this one up.

I shoved the refrigerator closed and snapped the cap off the bottle of blood I had in my hands. Not bothering to heat it up, I downed it in one before tossing into the bin.

'You know you should recycle,' Elena said from behind me. Should I have been human I would probably have been startled. However, I had heard her coming.

'You know you probably shouldn't sneak up on people,' I grinned darkly, turning to face her.

'You, Damon, are not people...'

I feigned offence and clutched my chest dramatically. 'That hurt Elena!' I breathed before carefully composing myself and levelling my gaze with hers. 'How can I help you?'

'A girl's been found dead in an alley,' she said, her tone very matter-of-fact. I was careful not to show any recognition, and instead cocked my head to one side to wait for more. She stood staring at me with wide blue eyes as if I'd missed the smart bus.

'You think I had something to do with it?' I presumed.

'She was badly bitten, Damon.'

'How did she die?' I knew a Vampire bite hadn't killed her.

'She...she was poisoned,' Elena said, and I saw her shudder, 'and then her throat was slashed. She was very sick, apparently, carrying this disease...' She went on, but I'd stopped listening.

'Stefan used to slit the throats of his victims after draining them...he would then put the bodies back together and pose them as if they were still alive,' I thought aloud.

'Stefan wouldn't do such a thing!' Elena snapped defensively.

'Oh but he has, Elena,' I smirked wickedly, 'but this can't be him. If it were a true Vampire killer, he would have just drained her.' Then another thought struck me. 'What have the papers written about her death?'

'She was 'attacked' by an animal and then left to die. Only I know that 'attacked by an animal' around here is something entirely different.' She said.

'You never know, could have just been a bear...' I grinned, moving into the hallway and collecting the post that I didn't bother to open or read.

'Damon...' Elena whispered from not far behind me. 'D'you think he cares for me at all anymore?' She asked. I turned to face her and saw the sadness in her eyes which made my own emotions knot for just a moment. I stalked back to her and took her hands in mine. For a second she looked shocked as her large blue eyes found mine.

'My brother is an idiot. But he loves you so much, and although he can't feel it at the moment...we will find him. I promise,' I breathed, and although my own feelings were torn as I said the words, I meant them.