He pulled on the ropes burning his wrists. He pulled as hard as he could but they wouldn't give. "Don't bother." Damon heard a voice whisper. He looked up and focused his eyes across the room. He hadn't seen her there before but there was a thin girl tied up by the wrists just like him. "I've already tried, I think they are spelled." She sounded defeated and she looked weak.

Her dark hair hung around her face providing a curtain Damon couldn't see through.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Doesn't much matter anymore, does it?" Damon had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Only thing worse than unfailing optimism, is pity parties. "Fine, have it your way." Damon said dryly. Then he groaned as the ropes stung his wrists. The ropes must have been soaked in vervain.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" the girl all but spat at him. Damon tried to read the girl but she didn't look up. "One of what?" he wondered. "One of the monsters that trapped me down here. The ropes burn them too." Damon could hear the bite of defiance in her tone when she spoke about the monsters being burned. Like the thought brought her pure joy.

"Vampires." Damon mumbled more to himself than in response to her.

"Mhm." It was a quiet confirmation.

"Why are you down here?" Damon interrogated.

"I'm more or a less a food source now." She admitted.

"Now?" Damon inquired. Then the girl finally raised her head. Her long dark hair fell back and revealed an oval face. She had a delicate nose and big doe eyes as dark as the room they were in. His vampire eyes allowed him to see how pale she was and the deep circles under her eyes. She looked ill. "They used to use me for other things" her voice cracked. Damon could hear the emotion in her voice. He could also hear her heart racing inside her chest, but her eyes never faltered, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "What are you doing down here? You're one of them, what use could they have with you?" Hatred dripped off every word she spoke like a rabid dog frothing at the mouth.

"Just because I'm a vampire, doesn't mean i'm one of them." His hatred matched hers. Truth was he had no idea what he was doing here. One minute he had been at a bar with his brother, then a fight broke out. In the craziness he had lost sight of Stefan and then he was being injected with vervain. Next thing he knows he's waking up here. In a small, basement like room, tied up with vervain ropes with a human girl. Her head dropped and her chin touched her chest again. Damon wondered idly if it was hard for her to hold it up. He noticed she looked very feeble. "I'm Damon." He said. When she stayed silent he continued. "I don't know how I got here, I don't even know where 'here' is." She looked up curiously then at the doubt in his voice. "I think we are in New Orleans. That's the last place I remember being." She offered slowly like she was trying to recall something. Encouraged by her interaction he continued. "Last I remember I was in a bar in Virginia with my little brother. Someone drugged me and I woke up here."

"Brother? Like blood brother?" Damon nodded before he remembered she couldn't see him. "Yeah. A couple years younger than me. We were turned at the same time." She nodded too, knowing he could see her. "I have a little brother too." She added in a voice thick with sadness. "I haven't seen him in years though. I guess realistically he could be dead." She tried to flatten out her voice but the emotion was still breaking through.

"How long have you been here?" Damon pressed.

"I've lost track really. A while now." Damon just stared silently at the girl. She looked to be in her early 20's , she was young. Very young, and weak too. Damon could see now that it was taking a great deal of effort on her part to hold her head up. Poor girl, Damon thought. Who knew what's been done to her. After a long silence she whispered "I'm Elena." Damon watched the girl as her eyes grew wet with unshed tears. "I'm sorry you lost track of your brother." She added in a wobbly voice. Damon was touched. After all this girl had been through, was she really moved to tears about his separation from Stefan? Damon shook his head. "I'm sorry you have lost everything Elena." She peered around the room trying to pick a place where she thought his voice was coming from. Her eyes were still swimming in tears. She was tragically beautiful, like a butterfly caught in a spider's web.

Just then there was a loud sound like metal snapping and then a beam of light shot through the small dark room. Damon's eyes had to readjust to the brightness, but when they did he saw two men, not much bigger than himself walk in. They both had dark hair and eyes but one was obviously older by the mature slenderness to his face, and square cut of his chin. They smiled Fang toothed smiles at Elena before untying her ropes and each one taking a tiny wrist in their hands. She didn't scream, she didn't even whimper as they bore down on her with their fang out and taunting. She looked towards Damon, seeing him for the first time, and the look in her eyes was the only indication that she was afraid. His blue eyes must have matched hers because she tried to smile weakly at him. "I'm sorry Damon." She said clearly. Damon was confused for only a second. As they bit deeply into her wrists Elena finally screamed and Damon knew instantly why she apologized. The smell of her blood was mouth watering. He was weakened from all the vervain he's been in contact with and his system was craving the blood. He fet his own fangs slide out of their sheaths, and his eyes darken with desire. His throat burned with the intense thirst. They weren't only feeding off of her, but torturing him as well. He struggled against the ropes and the vervain bit into his wrists. He tried to concentrate on the pain instead of the sweet smell of Elena's blood. She was only whimpering now. He pulled on the ropes again so they would cut father into his skin and eventually the pain worked. His eyes lightened back up to their ocean blue color and his fangs disappeared. He watched helplessly as they drained Elena almost completely dry. When it became obvious to the other vampires that Damon wasn't going to react they stopped. By this time Damon could barely hear Elena's heart beating.

"Give her some of your blood Kohl." The older one muttered in a perfect english accent. The younger one, Kohl, bit into his wrist and shoved it hard against Elena's mouth. Damon released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when her heart rate returned to normal.

"Tie her back up. We start with him tomorrow." The older one said. Kohl did as instructed and then they left with the same sound they had entered with. The room was drowned in darkness again. He took a minute to let his eyes readjust and then he found Elena. She was hanging by her wrist, completely limp. She was paler now, but her heart was strong. Kohl's blood was doing the trick. Poor girl Damon thought. "Elena? Elena are you okay?" For a second Damon thought she was unconscious but then she nodded slightly. "They don't usually" she stopped to take a deep breath. "They don't usually do that in here. I figured it was to bother you." Damon shook his head at the stupid human, Even in her state she was still worried about him. It was ridiculous. "Elena, I'm fine. It didn't bother me." He lied smoothly. Her lips turned up slightly in a ghost of a smile. She managed a small choked laugh. "For a vampire, you're a terrible liar."

"Uh!" Damon exclaimed. " I resent that. I am not only a fantastic liar, but I also happen to be telling the truth. And on top of that, I specialize in self control." He smirked into the dark. Elena just shook her head, too tired to laugh, but a smile still touched her dry lips. "I'm sorry Elena." And Damon surprised himself by meaning it.