DAY 6770

(Tuesday, May 10th 1994 / Wednesday, November 21st 2012)

12:28 P.M – THE CAVE

«What the hell just happened?»

"I don't know."

«Keep going. Hurry.»

"I can't."

«Keep going!»

"I can't, I've lost my magic!"

Bonnie was shouting the words at him, but Kai didn't believe it; couldn't believe it.

«What are you talking about?! You were just doing the spell!»

He grabbed her wrists in frustration, searching for the unusually powerful surge of magic underneath her skin, but nothing happened. No way.

His eyes shot back up to Bonnie's face. «There's nothing there. There's no magic.»

The sudden image of his sister flashed before his eyes, and he instantly shook his head trying to rid himself of the uneasy feeling of panic that followed it. What the hell was going on?

"It's so strange…" Bonnie echoed in, seemingly confused. Kai looked up at the eclipse, knowing far too well how little time they had left. Once again, his long lost freedom was slipping away from him. It didn't make any sense. How could this be happening?

"I wonder if I accidentally put it somewhere."

The tone of Bonnie's voice told him that something was off. She was way too calm, and the smile lurking at the corners of her mouth made his eyes grow dark with comprehension. Bonnie - freaking - Bennett was up to something.

"Oh, I remember now," she said, a slight hint of mocking in her voice as she looked at him, "I put it someplace safe." The smug expression on her face did nothing to dampen his growing anger as he suddenly realized what she'd done.

Kai should've known better. He should've siphoned a taste from Bonnie before she even started the spell. But now, if she didn't get her magic back soon, they would miss today's eclipse. The eclipse he'd been so sure would be his last. He turned away from her, not wanting to let her see how desperate he felt. Or maybe that's exactly what she needed to see?

He turned back around to face her, not at all comfortable with how much power she had over him right now. But none the less he made an effort to keep his voice calm as he met her questioning gaze and allowed her to see all of his desperation blend into six pleading words: «Where…did you put…your magic?»

Bonnie smiled at him, her voice unusually soft as she completely ignored his plea and countered his question with one of her own. "Do you remember saying you wanted to be more like me?"

Dammit.

"Brave, loyal, patient…"

She was enjoying this. Kai turned away again, fighting his urge to just squeeze the answer out of her. He didn't have time for this. And how was this possible anyway? She was just an innocent, little girl-

«You put it in the bear, didn't you?»

Kai couldn't help smiling. It was so simple and genius, he had to be right. And looking back towards Bonnie he could tell, despite her attempt to hide it, that she didn't like his little deduction. He felt his heart race with sudden excitement. This might just be fun yet.

He walked the few paces back towards the circle of light, lifting up the backpack and flipping it upside down. His rookie cards and CD-collection fell out, scattering across the cave floor along with the red pager and a few other trinkets; but no teddy bear. What the hell? He had specifically brought Ms. Cuddles with him as a gift and a peace offering to Bonnie for her good behavior. And now she'd turned the tables on him; again. His only ticket out of here was gone.

He could feel Bonnie's eyes on him, but didn't want to look at her just yet. The whole situation was spinning out of his control. He gripped the empty backpack tighter, feeling his rage growing while his mind connected all the dots. She had somehow hidden her magic away. He had trusted her to do the spell and finally get them home, but the little witch still hated him enough to deceive and lie to him. She never intended for him to escape.

Kai's knuckles turned white, and loosing what little self-control he had left, he slammed the backpack into the ground.

«COME ON!»

Bonnie flinched at the violent outburst, and on any other day he might have found pleasure in it, but not today. He clenched his jaw as he zoomed in on her, quickly reducing the distance between them and entering into her personal space. Her eyes widened with fear, and for half a second he was sure he would actually kill her this time. Then her eyes dropped, helping him to refocus.

«Where's the stupid bear?» he asked her, not even bothering to sound nice anymore.

Bonnie hesitated, enough for him to think for a split second that she might just give in and tell him. Then she straightened her back, a new kind of stubbornness in her voice when she finally raised her gaze to meet his again. "Oh, it's gone. I guess we're stuck here…forever." Bonnie tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with the same hateful indifference she had when she magically buried the pick-axe through his chest, and without a shred of sincerity she added: "Sorry."

Kai had never expected to feel this kind of rage ever again. Not since his family betrayed him 18 years ago. He could feel his hands starting to shake, every fiber in his body wanting to hurt the little witch standing in front of him.

He hated her. Hated her more than she could ever hope to comprehend. But unlike that fateful night in Portland, he was now able to contain his rage and fight back the impulse to skin her alive. Probably because the fear he had seen so clearly on her face a few seconds ago had now chiseled into solid determination, and he had to admire it. Any other person would've just done the spell to get him out of their sight. But she was willing to do this: To spend every single day in this godforsaken hell with him, just to keep him from escaping and possibly kill his family. It made zero sense. She had to be out of her mind, and he couldn't decide whether he wanted to kill her or fuck her for it.

Fine.

He leaned in even closer, not able to fully hide the threat in his voice. «You should be.»

The smug expression vanished from Bonnie's face.

Without another word he ripped away from her gaze, turning around and leaving her to stand alone, frozen in the small circle of light falling into the cave. Never looking back, Kai made the climb out of the tunnels, the anger still consuming every inch of him. He felt like hitting something, or burn something to the ground. The Salvatore boarding house would probably make an excellent bonfire right about now. He knew he needed something to get his mind off Bonnie – freaking - Bennett.