Chapter 1 - Reawakening

Elena's eyes fluttered open slowly. She gasped in air that burned her lungs, sore from lack of use. She experienced the completely surreal sensation of being concious for a moment before her brain "rebooted". The same way someone starts awake from having been knocked out, where the world takes a few moments to come into focus. She raised her arms up and stretched, whimpered yawns escaped her as she shook off the last bits of sleep.

Fully awake, she slowly took stock of her situation as she had awoken in an unfamiliar place. She realized she was sleeping in a coffin, not a bed, the upper half of the lid was open and on her left. Light was pouring in at a diagonal angle from behind her. Whatever room she was in didn't have windows because the light disappeared completely into pitch blackness further into the room. What she could see of the walls had strange symbols etched onto them. Painted maybe? Noticing more details the walls and ceiling were metal.

A cool ocean breeze wafted into the open door. The rhythmic sound of water was close by. The shrill cawing of sea gulls was also present. Elena propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over to look at the open door. She was caught off guard and froze for a moment. Standing in the door to this metal room was a man she had never seen before. 'Where she is' would have to wait, 'why a stranger is here' had to take precedence. Not the least of her concerns being he was wearing a belt with a gun on it...

The man had his arms crossed and leaned on the door frame looking out towards whatever was outside this dark room. She looked at him in profile and was sure she didn't know him. He was middle-aged and unshaven with short black hair. Everything about the guy was completely average, he could probably disappear in a crowd. Normal jeans and a black T-shirt gave no clues whatsoever. The revolver on his thigh, held by a brown leather gun belt, seemed like something she would remember if she had ever seen it before; it was unique. The gun had markings not just on the handle but engraved into the metal. A chain dangled off the handle and at the end of the chain was one of those Egyptian crosses, an ankh. The stranger looked over his shoulder toward her after taking note of her finally waking up.

"Easy." He said as he turned to her, with his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Damon sent me." His cowboy boots thudding on the metal floor as he slowly approached her coffin.

Elena's eyes widened. Where was Damon? How could he not be here for her? Who is this stranger? How could Damon possibly trust this guy? For that matter where was Stefan? Her mind raced at the questions but she couldn't pin down any thoughts long enough to formulate a query to the stranger. She sat up and shielded her eyes from the bright outside.

As the stranger walked over he pulled a small letter out of his pocket. "My name is Elliot Stanton. Damon sent me for your reawkening." He held the letter out for her.

Elena took the letter from him at the same time she realized her head hurt. She rubbed her eyes and her head dropped with a groan. Sitting up in the casket she looked down at the small letter. It was definitely Damon's handwriting.

"Where am I?" Elena finally spoke. She was still unsure about this guy but at the very least he didn't seem malicious. "And where is Damon? And my friends?" She interrogated Elliot.

Elliot reached into his other pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped a few buttons before holding it toward Elena. "Just so you don't think I forged the letter..." He said as he pressed 'play' on a recording. Damon's voice played on a pre-recorded message -

"Elena... I wish I could be there with you right now. Actually screw that, I just wish you were here instead. Listen, I can't imagine how disorienting things must be but I sent one of our family's most trusted lieutenants to take care of you. It's been nearly an hour since- ...since you should have woken up and Elliot says you still haven't moved. I can't explain everything right now, and full disclosure I asked him to not tell you everything all at once, but he has a letter that explains a bit more. Call me as soon as you can. I can't wait to hear your voice. I love you." The message hit the end of it's run time and the app went back to it's main menu.

Elena is jubilant to hear Damon's voice but crushed that he's not there for her. She turns the letter over a couple times. She looks at Elliot with too many emotions at once. He sees that she is about to be lost and overwhlemed if he doesn't say something.

"Just take it slow. I know things must be overwhelming but I'm here." He reassures her.

"What is he doing that he couldn't be here? Or any of my other friends?" She asked as she crawled out of the half open casket. Realizing that Damon, in his own words, assured her that Elliot was there to help she added a meek "No offense." She stood up next to the coffin in a stale dress.

"None taken. Look, I can tell you a few things but not everything. We should probably take this one step at a time." He explained. This wasn't good enough for her.

"Then tell me something. Nothing isn't acceptable." She shot back.

"Alright." He conceded and decided to start with the broad strokes. "My exact mission is to bring you back home to Mystic Falls. We are on the west coast so we will have to road trip it."

Elena wandered over to the door and looked out. Walking on the metal floor barefoot she hid behind the closed half of the double doors. It became clear she was in a shipping container. Just outside was hundreds more containers in stacks. They were in some sort of shipping port right on the water. The water was dark and the air was cold even though the sun was out.

"So... why aren't I already in Mystic Falls? Can you tell me that?" She inquired more patiently than before.

"Uh..." Elliot sheepishly acknowledged her. "Honestly? This is a mistake. You were supposed to be moved back home but things just sort of... you know... happened quickly."

"What sort of things?" She asked hoping he wouldn't deflect.

"Well it was just sort of a timing mishap. A bit of a clerical error at the worst time. You should have been moved earlier but weren't. The scheduling of this one move just kind of..." Elliot was cut off before he finished explaining.

"Scheduling? There's a schedule? Wait..." It dawned on Elena that she had yet to ask the most pertinent question. She was dreading the answer but she had to know. "Elliot, how long was I out?" She looked away from the water outside the container and looked sternly at Elliot. She wasn't going to let him get out of an exact explanation for this one.

"Fifty years."

Elena was taken aback. She knew she was going to be out for a while but the reality of it set in. Five decades had passed. She looked out toward the water. More time had passed for her asleep than she had even been alive for. The world must have changed around her. The gravity of the situation started to feel heavy.

Fifty years asleep? It almost made sense that Damon would send this stranger. If Damon had known Elliot for even half that time then they would probably be great friends even though she had never met him. How different will Mystic Falls be? Will it even feel like home? All of her friends had lived entire lives without her... with that thought Elena realized the price of her reawakening.

Elena looked at Elliot again. He waited for her next question with a pensive look. She asked this one with a defeated tone. "Bonnie is dead. Isn't She?" She phrased it as a question but it was more of a rhetorical declaration. Elliot simply nodded in affirmation.

Bonnie is dead. Kai's spell apparently was immutable and had run its course. Elena was staggered by this revelation. She leaned on the closed door and slid to the ground. Her best friend had lived and died without her. Elena couldn't help but imagine how many milestones and incredible moments she would have had with Bonnie, were it not for Kai and his vindictive spell. Elena quietly cried in mourning for her best friend.

"Damon said you should really read the letter about that. About Bonnie." Elliot said in a vain attempt to console her. He was never good at situations like this.

Elena tried to collect herself. She wiped the tears away and turned the letter over in her hands. She prayed Elliot was right and that Damon had said something wonderful in this letter but she just couldn't imagine it. What could possibly be said? Bonnie was truly gone. The envelope wasn't glued shut so she lifted the top open and pulled out the letter.