Hey guys! This is my first FanFic so I hope you like it. I would really, really, like a beta for this story, so if you're interested, definitely PM me!
I'll consider all suggestions, no matter how outlandish they are. Don't feel afraid to ask!
Sorry guys, no Damon in this chapter. But he'll be in the next one. I promise. ;)
Elena's body jerked forward when the car met the river. Ice cold water bubbled up through vents and lapped at Elena's feet. He breath quickened, and her heart dropped like a stone to her stomach. She pushed on the jammed door, but it was shut tight. Elena almost gave up right there, but she thought about Jeremy. He's her little brother. How he would feel if his family never came home? Elena found new motivation. Her parents and her were getting out of this alive. Elena wound up and pounded her elbow relentlessly into the window. When the water reached her waist, Elena's chest began to feel constricted, and her body violently shook, but she continued. Maybe if she tried hard enough... Life couldn't end this way. This was all her fault. She never should have gone to that lame-ass party and gotten too tipsy to drive.
Out of the corner of her eye, Elena could see her dad shaking her mother, trying to wake her up, but Elena saw the blood trickling down from her mother's temple into the growing levels of water. Her mother was gone. A piece of Elena's heart shattered. Along with it, a piece of her hope.
When the water reached her chin, Elena had no choice but to stop pounding the window. She took one last breath, and dove under. Elena's dad submerged shortly after her, his face drooped in sorrow and defeat. Elena knew this was the end. She couldn't be the hero.
On her last breath, Elena mouthed 'I love you' to her father, and took his hand into her own. Her world faded to black.
Elena awoke to the purr of an engine. She tried to scratch an itch on her nose, only to find her wrists bound tight with rope. Elena's eyes snapped open, but she saw nothing. Her body was crammed into an impossibly small, pitch black space, and her head was pounding. This was no ambulance. She'd been stuffed in the trunk of a car. Elena felt claustrophobic from being trapped inside her own automobile as it had slowly filled with water. She began to hyperventilate. Her clothes were still damp with lake water. Elena could practically hear her parents screams in the back of her mind as she relived the crash. She'd almost rather be at the bottom of Wickery creek dead than go through the last few moments of her life. Where were her parents? Elena hoped they were alive, but at the same time, she hoped the weren't suffering the same fate she was. Elena needed out of this trunk, and she needed out now. She couldn't face those memories yet. She didn't want to see recall parents faces as they drove off the bridge. Elena tried holding her breath to calm herself down, but that just reminded her of the way she held her breath before surrendering to the water. She tried a different method. Elena counted every second that dragged on. By the time she reached 22,545, the trunk burst open and Elena's face was met with cool, fresh night air. Elena attempted to stand, but an impossibly strong arm pushed her down.
"You won't do anything unless I say you can sweetie." The strange man had a gravelly voice, and the way he called her 'sweetie' sickened Elena's stomach. "Now get up." He said. The weight was lifted from her shoulder.
Elena shakily stood up. Every muscle in her body burned in protest. The man standing before her had greased back black hair, and a bushy mustache. He looked to be about thirty. Soft stars lit up the moonless sky, and the warm glow of a town was nowhere in sight. They were in the open desert, far away from her hometown, Mystic Falls, Virginia. The flesh on her wrists was cracked and bleeding from the rope, but she was too scared to care. Elena's feet were shoeless; but she still had a chance to run, her kidnapper was pretty big-boned.
When Elena made eye-contact with him, the man looked her up and down. His pudgy face shown with pure delight. "If you weren't such a money-maker, I'd keep you for myself." His words sent shivers down her spine. A million questions swam through her mind. Why am I here? What do you want? How am I alive? But she was too afraid to ask. Instead, Elena did the only thing she could do, she ran. She didn't know where she was headed, but she doubted a man like himself would be able to keep up with her. Even if he had shoes.
She ran until her lungs ached for air, and her feet burned from the desert sand. When she looked around her shoulder, the car was far behind her, and the kidnapper was nowhere in sight. Elena sighed in relief, just as a pair of bulky arms wrapped around her waist. She screamed for help, but she might as well have been screaming at a brick wall. The man spun her around and brutally shoved a ball-gag in her mouth. Elena struggled the best she could, but he was much stronger than her. It was humanly impossible how strong he was. Her punches and kicks appeared to be doing nothing, no matter how hard she tried.
Once he got her in order, the evil man jerked the rope tied around Elena's hands. Elena gasped in pain, but he ignored her. "Walk with me and don't stop." Elena was just barely able to hold back tears as the man dragged her across the open desert.
A few minutes later, he stopped. "We're here.". He grasped Elena's jaw firmly with his chubby hand and forced her to make eye-contact. "Put this on" he commanded. The evil man held up a potato sack. Elena shook her head 'no', but the man didn't care. He violently shoved the piece of cloth over her head. He picked her up bridal style and took a step forward. Suddenly, they weren't in the desert anymore. All around them, people were laughing, talking, singing. The air temperature became significantly hotter, and Elena was nearly drenched with humidity. She could feel sun rays hitting her skin. Elena attempted to rationalize this event. This is a dream. she thought. I'll wake up any second. The crash never happened. This is all just one massive nightmare.
Elena's kidnapper took her down roaring streets and desolate alleyways. Nobody came to Elena's rescue.
What felt like hours later, the man walked into a building. The sound of clinking glasses and laughter filled the air, as well as the smell of alcohol. "Hey, get a look at this one," Her kidnapper shouted. The room went silent immediately. The man set Elena down. The sack was yanked from her head a little too eagerly, leaving Elena's hair in a knotted mass above her head. Elena's chocolate brown eyes were met by about two dozen others. She felt vulnerable here, innocent. They were all male, and they were all exceedingly rich, judging by their attire. Some of them turned back to their drinks, while others hastily crowded around her. Elena could just barely catch what they were saying.
"How much do you want for her?"
"She's a looker alright."
"Gonna make you a rich man."
"Wanna see more."
A few of the men had the nerve to touch her, and pull at her clothes. Elena backed away. This isn't right. She walked into a solid wall of blubber. Her kidnapper. The fat man grasped her arm and dragged her away from the others.
"If you want her," he announced, "You're gonna have to bid tomorrow in the town square." He dragged Elena outside. The moment her bare feet touched the searing ground, Elena's eyes nearly popped from their sockets. If she hadn't had a ball-gag in her mouth, Elena would have screamed until her ears rang. The scene before her was straight from a horror movie. The town was drenched in a blood red light, and strange creatures with grotesque limbs hobbled about. There were fancy people wandering around, like the ones in the bar, but then there's the nightmarish part. People dressed in tattered clothing walked around with shackles, and pulled carts like horses. The kidnapper spotted Elena eyeing the slaves. He couldn't help but chuckle, "Welcome to the rest of your miserable life.". A carriage pulled up to the bar. Elena's heart ached for the people pulling it. Oh how she wished she could save them. "Well," her kidnapper said, breaking Elena's thoughts. "what are you waiting for? Get in." A scraggly goblin-like creature with beet red skin jumped off the carriage and opened the door. It motioned for Elena to hop inside. Elena looked up at her kidnapper with pleading eyes. Surely he wouldn't make her ride in a cart pulled by other people?
When Elena refused to budge, the pudgy man picked her up and practically threw her in. How could a man be so strong and fast? Right, this is only a dream. The carriage door swung closed and her journey through hell began.
Somewhere along the way, Elena must've fallen asleep. When she woke up, she was no longer in the carriage. To her complete surprise, she was in a spacious, dimply lit room. There was one tiny window, and no electric lights. In fact, this strange world was like a jump through time, she hadn't seen any technology since the car ride. When Elena was fully awake, she noticed her arms were stretched above her head. Thick iron shackles bound her hands to the wall. All around her, girls were moaning, crying, sleeping. They all appeared to be around her age. They too, were all shackled, and they were all undeniably pretty. Elena was relieved to find that the ball-gag had been removed from her mouth, but her jaw felt like shit from having it in so long.
"Hey," somebody whispered beside Elena, "My name's Bonnie." Elena looked over her shoulder to see a gorgeous girl with bright eyes. She had beautiful brown skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. Elena smiled, happy to have a civilized conversation. But this was a dream, so none of this mattered.
"Hello. My name is Elena." Elena rasped. Her throat was still sore from all the water she had inhaled earlier. Bonnie grinned, she obviously hadn't expected Elena to respond to her.
"This is freaky, huh?" Bonnie said. Elena nodded in agreement, and decided to share her story with this friendly girl.
"One minute I was drowning, and the next I'm being driven cross-country in the trunk of a car." Bonnie's eyes widened, but she had her own story to tell.
"I was out in the woods with my grandma, picking berries when a bear attacked us. I was hurt pretty badly, but somehow, I ended up here. And all my wounds are gone!" Bonnie motioned to her torn, blood stained clothing. Elena gasped, how hadn't she noticed that before? "Relax," Bonnie laughed, "Like I said, all my injuries are gone."
Elena's stomach growled. "You've been out for nearly two days." Bonnie commented. "I don't know how you've survived this long without water." Elena's face fell a little bit.
"I uh, had a big drink before coming here." Bonnie immediately regretted asking the question.
"I'm so-" Bonnie started, Elena cut her off.
"It's fine Bonnie, don't worry about it." This is all just a dream, nothing matters. She told herself. The two girls sat in awkward silence for what felt like ages. "Wait a minute," Elena whispered. Bonnie looked up at her, a blank expression on her face. "You said I've been out for almost two days?" Elena asked. Bonnie nodded her head.
"We've all been in here for almost two days. At least I think…" Bonnie bit her lip.
"Well?" Elena prompted.
"Well…" Bonnie continued, "The sun never sets or rises, and they let us out of here two times a day to eat and use the bathroom. The meals are all the same, and they're evenly spaced, so you can't tell apart breakfast or dinner. It feels like we're living the same day over and over again. It's hard to tell how long it's been..." Bonnie glanced over at Elena to make sure she had heard the whole story.
"But, that's impossible. The sun has to set." Elena's eyes widened to the size of golf-balls, but then she reminded herself that this is just a dream, and she'll wake up any second. Bonnie didn't seem to notice Elena's strange behavior.
"Yeah it's weird, but you'll get used to it. Why did you want to know how long you've been out?"
"Because the guy who kidnapped me said something about an auction…" Just then, a heavy metal door squealed to life, and a slender woman strutted into the dungeon.
I hope you guys enjoyed. Please review to show your support. (or review to point out every little thing I did wrong) I like reading both equally as much!