Death is unavoidable, immortality is a lie. Jeremy Gilbert discovered this when Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore met their deaths. It had been a year since both deaths and five since Jeremy's hunter senses awaken. A lot had happened, death and loss of course. But, the biggest event was happening right before his eyes—vampires were attempting to come out of the coffin.
Jeremy, Tyler, Bonnie, Caroline and Matt crouched in between bushes facing an old abandoned factory on the outskirts of Mystic Falls. Jeremy looked up at the starry nighttime sky where the moon sat between the stars casting a silver light onto the factory. Beyond the bushes there was nothing but dirt, trackers and trees surrounding the factory. "Do you think anyone is in there?" Tyler was the first to ask.
"Most likely," Jeremy replied. "This is supposed to be a recon mission. We have to find Klaus before he finds us. Also, we need to know how so many vampires and werewolves in Mystic Falls are getting ahold of daylight and moonlight rings. We do not want to actually get into a fight," he pulled out his stake from the holster on his back, "but I always come prepared."
Jeremy began to take his responsibilities as a hunter more seriously. He trained with Stefan and Alaric, skipping college to study the art of killing vampires. He crafted the stake that held in his holster and used it as his primary stake for hunting vampires. The wood was thick and durable; it was made for multiple battles. He created it by carving a thicker stake, giving it a metallic rubber base to avoid splinters. In his holster, he also carried a blade that made it easier to behead vampires.
"If there are vampires inside I can incapacitate them." Bonnie said. "You would need to let me know somehow so I can start chanting." Bonnie pulled out sea salt from her bag so that she could cast a circle.
"I'm not going to let you stay out here alone by yourself!" Jeremy exclaimed.
"I'll stay with her," Tyler cut in. Just as Jeremy had been training to be a better vampire hunter, Tyler had gotten better at being a werewolf through the use his moonlight ring. He could control his ability to shape-shift and had access to some of the abilities, such as his lethal bite, in human form.
"So Jeremy, Matt and I will go in while you and Bonnie stay out here," Caroline concluded. She had pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail and adjusted the black leather jacket that she was wearing. She hoped it would not squeak and give them away.
"Right," they all agreed.
"Caroline, you should run back out to warn Bonnie if there are vampires inside," Jeremy cautioned.
"Okay, I think we're ready." Matt said.
They all stood up. Jeremy turned towards Bonnie taking her hand, "I'll be back soon."
"I'll be alright. Tyler will protect me and I will be in the circle."
"I know," Jeremy sighed. "But I still worry. With Elena and Damon…"
Bonnie grabbed Jeremy's face and his stubble pricked her hands. She brought his face to hers and they kissed like lovers before a war. They pulled apart, "go. I'll be fine." she said.
Jeremy reluctantly let go of Bonnie's smooth, steady hands and he, Caroline, and Matt cut through the bushes, running towards the factory.
….
"There are way too many of them," Caroline said in an aggressive whisper. Jeremy, Caroline and Matt looked down from the landing they were on and spotted a group of twenty vampires. Some gathered around a table playing a card game, some drank from the makeshift bar and some fed off lifeless humans. "I guess this isn't going to just be a simple recon mission."
Jeremy nodded at Caroline, the signal for her to let Bonnie know to start chanting. Caroline ran back out of the rooftop like a lightening flash.
"So what's the plan now?" Matt asked.
"Once Bonnie can give them all supernatural migraines, we will just start staking. We need to leave at least one who can tell us what's going on here and where Klaus is." Jeremy noticed the uneasiness on Matt's face. Jeremy did not always want Matt to be involved as he was the only human on the team. Bonnie tried to teach Matt some magic to give him an advantage. Ultimately, that resulted in a fire in her house when all she had him do was to mix a brew. Caroline would have turned him but once Klaus was killed, vampires would cease to exist.
Matt did not want to be supernatural. Jeremy could not grasp that idea since they were living in a supernatural world. He could not always be there to protect Matt. Being a hunter gave Jeremy enhanced senses, speed, and stamina that he needed to combat vampires; he had wanted the same for Matt. Matt continued to turn down offers and wore the Gilbert family ring for protection. Jeremy knew that once that was snatched or cut off his finger Matt was as good as dead.
Caroline ran back into the factory. "She's getting ready now. She said just a few minutes."
They waited and saw the vampires cry out in pain, holding their heads as if they were going to explode. "Now!" Jeremy shouted running towards a set of stairs leading to the floor below. He jumped off the edge of the rail and went for his first vampire with his stake. He drew his blade from the holster and with a wave of his arm, decapitated another. This felt like a sport to him: how many vampires could he kill within a minute? He glanced at Caroline and Matt who weren't doing too bad themselves. Then again, how could they when the vampires weren't able to fight back?
When they got down to the last five, Jeremy realized he jinxed himself because the vampires suddenly stopped holding their heads. Caroline and Matt backed up and crept closer to Jeremy. "Jeremy," Matt began, "what's happening?"
"It has to be Bonnie. Maybe she could not keep the spell going any longer."
"We have your witch," a booming voice rang throughout the factory, "and your werewolf friend too!"
"Who are you? Where are they? What have you done to them?" Jeremy shouted back.
"They're fine," the voice became sultry as it crept closer to them. From a distant corner room, out stepped a woman with curly brown hair and four other figures. "I am Gabriella and they are with our associate. You know him actually."
Jeremy, Matt and Caroline all looked at one another. "We know a lot of people," Caroline spoke, "you'll have to be specific."
Gabriella giggled, "Why Klaus of course."
"Klaus?" Matt, Jeremy and Caroline asked all at the same time.
"He works with us witches and we help him and his vampires and werewolves."
"So you're the ones creating the rings!" Jeremy exclaimed.
Gabriella laughed. A big, paler witch from her coven shot, "So what if we are? How do you suppose you'll stop us?"
"But, I don't understand. Why would you want to help Klaus? Witches don't associate with vampires," Jeremy said.
"Rogue witches do." Gabriella stepped out of the shadow and closer to Jeremy. He could she her brown skin laminating under the dim hanging lights. "Our coven wants supernatural beings to dominate the Earth."
"But I still don't understand why you need Klaus to do that?" Matt shouted.
"We've heard a lot about you and your friends Hunter." She acted as if she did not hear Matt's question. "We know that you are responsible for killing off most of the Original Family: Finn, Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah Mikaelson. Klaus is the only original vampire, hybrid, left. His bloodline of vampires is the only line of vampires left. If Klaus dies, vampires cease to exist. We don't want that. We want supernatural creatures to reign."
"But that means exposing witches to humans as well. It will be Salem all over again," Caroline blurted out.
"Not if we have vampires and werewolves protecting us—and not just at night, during the day as well." Gabriella began to pace, "You're right. It would be Salem all over again. We would be hunted, burned at the stake. But by teaming up with the vampires and werewolves, we would be indestructible. A supernatural triquetra…"
"You don't know Klaus!" Matt yelled, "He only cares about himself."
"Quiet mortal!" the witch bellowed. She waved her hand, throwing Matt back into boxes and old junk.
"Matt!" Caroline cried running to his recuse.
"Leave him alone!" Jeremy said gripping his blade and stake tighter. "And besides, he is right. Klaus cannot be trusted. He must be stopped! You're putting your coven in danger."
"As long as he is willing to protect us, we aren't in any danger."
"You're delusional."
"And you're weak Hunter," she spoke. "Isn't it convenient now that your sister is dead that you finally wish to kill Klaus? Now that you have nothing left to lose? Sure you have a few friends who are vampires, willing to risk their existence to save the human race. But you waited for your poor vampire sister to die to actually put the effort into ending vampires."
"You're right. I have nothing else to lose. I don't have any family and I have friends willing to die to end this. But the loss is helping me to understand my duty as a Hunter—to protect humanity. You ready?" He yelled back at Caroline and Matt who was still lying in the junk. They nodded and Jeremy reached into his pocket and pulled out the Gilbert Device 2.0 he created and Bonnie enchanted to work on not only vampires and werewolves, but witches too. It was a small device that worked like a remote, a lot less intricate than the original. He pressed the button on the device and Caroline put her ear buds in as a loud sonic frequency radiated from the device causing the witches and vampires to fall over holding their heads.
He lunged at the witch holding her head but she lifted her hand and threw his blade across the room. "Finish them!" she shouted, running towards the exit.
Jeremy began to run after her but Caroline shouted, "Jeremy, let her go! We need to stick to the plan." Jeremy paused and ran to pick up his blade. He decapitated the remaining witches who struggled to focus due to the sonic frequency while Caroline helped Matt up. They both killed the remaining vampires, staking and ripping their hearts out.
When he was finished with the witches, Jeremy turned towards Caroline and Matt to find one vampire left. He turned off the sonic device and ran over to them. Caroline, being the strongest, held on to the vampire so she would not escape. She wore jeans and a crop top stripped shirt. Her black hair covered her face while Caroline linked her arms around her back.
"What's your name?" Jeremy asked pointing the blade at her throat.
"Tasha." she spoke. "What are you going to do to me?"
"We need you to tell us where Klaus is," Jeremy said. His voice was cold, "but if you try to kill us, we won't hesitate to kill you first."
"How can I trust you?" Tasha flinched away from the blade flashing her fangs at Jeremy. "I'm not telling you anything. How do I know you're not going to kill me anyway? I'm not telling you anything!"
Jeremy shrugged, "Fine." He flipped his stake in the air with his hand and caught it by the metal handle. "Have it your way." He charged the stake into her heart and pulled it back out revealing a vast wound in her chest.
"Jeremy!" Matt and Caroline yelled together. It was too late. Her body started to desiccate – her tan skin faded to gray, her eyes still wide opened from shock. Caroline felt her body turn stiff and she slowly put her down on the floor.
Jeremy gripped his stake hard, "We don't have time for this." His voice was abysmal; there was no empathy in his heart, no mercy for vampires. He turned to the main door Gabriella exited, reflecting. He did not feel bad about staking Tasha. He was supposed to kill her because he was a hunter. He was supposed to hunt vampires. Gabriella was right: the only thing that held him back was Elena and her love for everyone. Stefan, Damon, Caroline, Tyler (when he was a hybrid) were all fortunate to have Elena. When he first became a hunter, Jeremy wanted to stake every vampire he came into contact with.
Elena was blood but he wanted to kill her too. Before she was a vampire, she was human and she loved Jeremy. She would have died for anyone she cared about a hundred times over if it meant they could live. She believed everyone could be redeemable. Her soft heart led her to her demise and Jeremy could not make the same mistake. In order to ensure that humanity survived, he had to make sacrifices.
So when he thought about it some more, he really did not regret killing Tasha. She was just another casualty.