World 2: Masks
She was new in town, and it was hard making friends.
The wind bit into her skin even through her sweater and red wool jacket, the double layers meaning nothing on a dark October night. Ahead of her, the road lay dark and lonely. A single pole stood crookedly, offering the dimmest of lights by way of a weak yellowed bulb, flickering in and out of use. Further down, a long, unbroken line of trees on both sides of the road, the pale glow of the dying streetlight casting sinister shadows.
Bonnie peered out carefully, her grip on the flyer in hand tightening. The paper wilted in her palms.
Her mind conjured up a looming figure, flitting between the trees. A tall, frail specter of a creature, long-haired and sharp-faced. Staring back at her, unblinking.
She shivered, returning its gaze.
Run, don't come back, her brain whispered, so she did. She turned and ran, desperate until she was tired, and the cold hurt her face.
She didn't know how long she wandered up the road. Several cars passed her, the first one with a single occupant-an older man, staring dismissively at her while he passed and kept going. The second, a middle-aged couple, the woman squinting out with suspicion. They, too, drove right by. Bonnie didn't lift a hand to stop either car, wasn't interested in their help anyway.
In the back of her head rose the shadow of that specter. Bonnie's teeth began chattering.
Honk!
She glanced back. A car approached, sleek and classic, windows tinted too dark for her to see through. They rolled down smoothly, a face poking out, sharp blue eyes gleaming out at her beneath thick brows arched at her expressively.
"Need a lift?" came the low, teasing voice, matching eyes that swept her form from head to toe with lazy, seductive intent.
"She won't if you make it sound like you're propositioning her," came another male voice, sounding bored.
"Can't help my natural charm," the blue-eyed man replied, now smirking at Bonnie.
"It's not charm, Damon," said a female voice. "It's creepy."
Bonnie glanced behind him, caught brunette hair and a pale face in the passenger seat, and in the back, another, larger form hidden in shadows.
"What happened?" asked the brunette. "Your car break down?"
Bonnie flicked a nervous look at the strangers before her, a chill running down her spine as another glance took in the empty road and dark woods everywhere else. They were the only ones who'd stopped. And so happened to be young and open to giving her aid.
"Yeah," Bonnie said, her voice soft and breaking just a little, as if it needed practice.
"C'mon," Damon said, tilting his head inside the car. "We don't bite. Unless you ask."
"And it just got weird," said the brunette. "Don't listen to him. We'll get you home safe." She pointed to herself. "Elena. This is Damon. Back there's Kai. None of us are serial killers, by the way."
Bonnie felt smothered.
"And this is the part where you tell us your name. Tit for tat, that's the way it goes."
"Bonnie."
"Where do you live, Bonnie?" asked Damon, emphasizing the last word once again in his suggestive tone.
"My grandmother's house isn't too far away."
The back door opened. She hesitated for the briefest moment, seized by another urge to run or scream, but behind her came a rustle. Of leaves, maybe, or bare feet dragging themselves through the forest, watching and waiting.
On her.
Damon and Elena eyed her curiously, and though she couldn't see his face, Bonnie felt the third passenger's appraisal as well, only from his end she sensed something else. Different from his companions. Her grandmother and mother both had always warned her to trust her instincts. Right now, they flared to life, pushing her to get away from the car and never look back.
Instead, Bonnie bent down and clambered inside, closing the door shut.
Instantly, the cold that had seeped into her bones dissipated. The heat wasn't blasting, but the man in the back seat was large and close, wrapped in a dark coat and filling the space without effort, radiating warmth like a furnace. He hadn't moved to the other side to accommodate her, so her entire side was already pressed against him.
She tried to ease back, tucking herself into a small corner of the car.
"Give her room, Kai," hissed the brunette.
"I would," he drawled, "But someone brought three bags of costumes and filled up the back seat."
"Caroline's request," the girl said, sighing. "Put them in the trunk."
"No!" Bonnie cried, hand going out to the man beside her, who was already moving to obey his friend. She gripped his coated arm tightly, stilling him. He turned back, face near hers. Under the soft dying light of the streetlight, his eyes were gray and cool as they dropped to her hand on his arm.
"What's the matter?" he taunted. "Saw a big, bad wolf on the way to grandma's?"
"N-no," she said. "Of course not. But we have plenty of room. Leave the bags. Let's just go."
The blonde shrugged, turning back around while Damon peeled off, tires squealing.
Beside her, the man angled his head curiously. "We didn't see a car on the way here. Where'd you break down?"
"On the other side of town." Belatedly, she saw her hand still on his coat and snatched it away. "I got a ride to the diner a few miles back. I was walking home from there."
"Were you?"
Warm fingers touched hers deftly, and she blinked at him in shock, while he pulled the flyer out of her other hand.
"Come, Revelers," he murmured, reading the large, bold font on the flyer. "Fun and Fright on Halloween Night. The Haunted Masquerade."
"Well, well, well." Damon's blue eyes sparkled with mischief through the side view mirror. "Were you going home or planning on being naughty, Little Red? We can keep you company, you know. Or some of us can."
Beside her she felt Kai stiffen.
Elena turned to smile at her, features lit with excitement. "We're going there, too. Meeting more of our friends." Then her brows slashed down. "But you're not in costume." Her face brightened immediately. "Lucky for you, my friend Caroline ordered extras."
Bonnie's hands gestured up, useless and absent, trying to dismiss the idea. "Someone at the diner gave me this. I'm not going."
"Did you have other plans?" Elena asked, her face one of such innocence that Bonnie squinted at her suspiciously.
The other girl smiled suddenly, her brown eyes warm. "Yeah, I can be pushy. Look, we can take you home if that's what you really want. But all of us meeting you stranded in the middle of the road-on October 31, no less? That means something."
Damon's brows waggled spiritedly while he flashed Bonnie a cocky grin. "Could mean lots of things."
Bonnie slid a glance to the man next to her, who merely eyed her silently. He was radiating tension that almost matched her own.
He didn't like her, she realized. Or trust her. But Elena was pleasant. And Damon-well, easy on the eyes was the tip of the iceberg there.
She was new in town.
And it'd been so hard making friends, after all.
"So," teased Elena. "What's it gonna be, Bonnie?"
A slow smile spread across her own face, hiding her unease and the panic that always rose in her throat at times like these, tasting like bile.
"Let's go meet some monsters."
-o-O-o-
The masquerade was at a lake house, made to look like a large, abandoned Victorian home. Ghostly faces shimmered in and out of view through the windows, while blood coated the shutters, the doors, and the porch. Spanning the entire length of the house were yards and yards of cobwebs, some of them hung over what looked like a pair of period-era lamp posts framing the front stairs. Creepy statues with bloodied eyes greeted them at the top, the entrance teeming with costumed people, half of them already stumbling around on shaky legs.
Damon cast a look back at Bonnie, lingering and heavy, but she made no move to follow him and anyway, Elena kept a hold on her, firm and steady.
"Move along, Damon," Elena muttered. "We'll meet up with you guys in a few."
"Where are we going?" asked Bonnie, confused, while Damon shrugged, sliding a wolf mask over his face before disappearing inside.
"The guy throwing this party, he's a friend." The brunette led her away, towards the edge of the clearing. "My friend Caroline has a key to the guest house. She's waiting there for us to change."
Kai stopped them, though, blocking their way. "I don't think Bonnie here's interested in changing."
The words held bite, but he wasn't wrong. Nerves hit her, and she bit down hard on her mouth, stifling another urge to escape.
"Like you know anything about her after just ten minutes sharing a ride?" Elena said breezily. "Go find Tyler and Matt, grab a beer or something."
"But-"
"Kai, for once unclench and live a little. Don't be a killjoy."
As Elena led her away, Bonnie checked over her shoulder and sure enough, found him still watching, paranoia and distrust clear in his eyes. But he smirked at the last second, throwing her a salute while he sauntered up the bloodstained, cobwebbed steps.
A warning shot, she knew.
Minutes later inside the guest house, Elena and another girl, a blonde flitting around slightly half-crazed and also half-dressed, were both shoving an armful of a costume in Bonnie's face. Idly, Bonnie wished that she'd gone along with Kai, or even joined Damon. But the blonde facing her was a different creature from Elena, pale blue eyes glinting with the promise of violence when Bonnie opened her mouth to protest donning a full dress.
"This is enough," she said weakly, holding up the black satin domino dangling lamely from one hand.
One fine yellow brow arched, while cold hands patted the luxurious, corseted pale gown that went with the mask, holding it out for Bonnie. No words followed. Elena just smiled encouragingly.
Shoulders slumping, Bonnie accepted Caroline's pushy offer and disappeared inside the bathroom.
When she re-emerged, the other two were still in the closet changing into their own costumes.
"Where'd you get this?" Bonnie asked, one hand absently smoothing down the fabric. The dress was expensive, she could tell, maybe even antique. The hard lines of the corset were constricting but not uncomfortable, made of minimal bone, and working to offer a view of far too much cleavage than she was used to displaying. But everything else was soft and silky, and the full skirt surprisingly light. Tiny delicate gold leaves embellished the hemline at her collar, and the sleeves flared out mid forearm, fluttering with her every movement.
She'd never felt both more feminine and ridiculous.
"I knew it," Elena gloated, gliding out of the closet. She was in black, high dramatic collars and wispy sleeves, embracing a Gothic look that made her skin appear almost transparent. She donned a silver Domino, her eyes glinting with triumph. "You look super hot."
"Thanks," Bonnie muttered, uncomfortable. "Same to you. What're you going for?"
"My boyfriend's Dracula, and I'm his bride."
Caroline joined them in her own slinky pale blue gown, like an ice queen. She smiled approvingly at Bonnie, then ushered them out hurriedly, complaining about missing out on finger foods.
They walked out of the guest house to join the others, but not before Bonnie grabbed her red coat, wrapping it around herself.
"Cold?" asked Caroline, eyeing her doubtfully. "You're gonna end up shedding that once you get inside, trust me."
Bonnie didn't answer, but burrowed deeper inside the additional layer, while Elena laughed softly, understanding lighting her eyes.
"I get the feeling you're not used to making an entrance," Caroline said, irritation coloring her tone. "Or letting your girls peek out." The blonde glanced pointedly at Bonnie's chest, spurring her to wrap tighter around herself the red coat that now served more like a cloak. "A little repressed, are we?"
"Caroline," Elena warned.
"Not judging," Caroline argued. "Just commenting."
"I don't go out much," Bonnie murmured, knowing it came across like shyness when really, she was sad. Elena wasn't like any other girls she'd grown up with or met. Maybe a little pushy, sure. But deep down, nice. And obviously close friends with Caroline, who struck the wrong chord with Bonnie.
"Doesn't matter," Elena said firmly. "You're here to have fun." She patted Bonnie's arm reassuringly, her touch icy, just like the blonde's, but Bonnie didn't dwell on it. "And if you hate it and decide to just go home, there's nothing wrong with that either." A puzzled look crossed her features. "Where is that anyway? I don't think you ever said."
Bonnie's smile was tiny as she followed the two girls out. "I got sidetracked. It's not far from here at all."
-o-O-o-
They made an entrance, dramatic and grand, just like Caroline probably planned. Bonnie shuffled her feet behind the two women, trying not to draw attention. The music played on, but she felt everyone's eyes on them because they stood at the front of the room - the pale ice queen with her haughty nose up and a chilly look in place to match her costume, while Dracula's bride smiling winningly out at the crowd.
Bonnie slid away from them, but Caroline's hands stopped her. "Where are you going?" she whispered through the side of her mouth.
"Grabbing a drink."
"Don't ruin the effect," Caroline said. "The guys are coming, that's what they're here for."
Bonnie would've rolled her eyes, if she wasn't arrested in place by the sight of the men in question, four of them approaching quickly, only one of their faces familiar despite the wolf mask.
She knew Elena's boyfriend by the caped costume he wore, his pale face behind the half-mask suiting the Dracula look. "Stefan," he introduced himself, smiling at her and Bonnie saw, felt it within her bones, that he was as genuine as Elena.
Matt was the blond behind a dark blue domino, and the other two in black masks were Tyler-the friend Elena mentioned whose family owned the house-and Jeremy, her little brother. Both of them slurring while they talked, dazed from a few too many drinks, looked like. Caroline scrunched her nose in disgust when Tyler pressed himself against her, and she shoved him away, with surprising force.
He stumbled back, anger crossing his features.
Jeremy handed Caroline a drink, which she tossed back in one go before walking off with him in tow, his smug grin back at Tyler leading the other man to stalk away, muttering to himself.
"So, Bonnie," said Matt, awkward smile in place in the wake of the last three exits. "Don't think I've seen you around before."
"Work on your lines, Donovan," said the cool, taunting voice that suddenly came from right beside Bonnie. "And hold my drink, while I find out more about our mysterious new friend."
Slapping his glass against Matt's shirt, causing it to slosh sloppily there, Damon shoved his wolf mask off his face, tipping a lazy smile down at Bonnie.
"Up for a dance, Red?"
She shook her head, abruptly short of breath. "I-I don't-no." She retreated. "No thank you."
Something about the guy bugged her. She circuited around the first floor, evading him but not his eyes, sensing it dogging her for the first hour. It was her first time mixing with the townies, and spending it running anxiously from one of them failed to give her any excitement or hope that the rest of the night would go well.
But this was an interlude anyway for her. Soon it would end.
Women glided by in elaborate costume, the men parading them equally decked out in capes and long coats, masks in place to cover all or part of their faces.
Long ago, she'd wondered what it might be like, reveling. Every so often a foggy image drifted to mind, of other parties and other places where she, as a young girl, took in people gathered together, laughter and smiles abounding. Once, she'd thought they were memories but now chalked them up to daydreams.
Had normal ever happened to her?
Her thoughts kept her busy, and distracted enough while she stood on the edge of the main room, that she didn't notice when the music slowed. Ahead, couples drifted nearer, swaying in time to the beat.
Then a hand caressed her side, lowered to her hips, gripping there, pulling her in. She looked up, found a blood red mask inches from her face and beneath it, features that looked chiseled in stone, and eyes as fathomless as the sea on a winter morning.
Her stomach flipped, flopped, settled, at the same moment she let a large hand draw her tighter against a hard body, uncompromising but heating hers. The feeling one of familiarity, spurring her to remember the car ride here, and the way Kai had never once tried to give her space in the back seat.
She stared at her dance partner's coat, soft black wool under her fingertips. Absently, she trailed her fingers along the seams on the shoulders. The other couples parted once the song ended, but his hand stayed on her back, and she would've let him keep holding her, lead her into another dance, but a couple nearby swayed clumsily then fell, almost on top of her. She heard him curse as they were forced apart, and then another rush of people came between them, sloshing drinks in hand.
Bonnie used the distraction to gather her bearings.
She couldn't do this. Soon - far too soon - it would all be over.
But escape meant leaving herself open to other nuisances.
Damon, for one.
Presently, she found herself in a little alcove, arms wrapped around her body protectively while he leaned over her, closer than decency permitted. They'd chanced upon each other and in a rare moment of blankness, she'd failed to run, giving him this opportunity to impose himself on her. Inside, her brain warred with itself, wanting to put the man in his place but also intrigued by his attraction. It'd been so long. When she peered at him, there was only desire and curiosity, and deeper still, something inconsolable.
Broken.
For all his swagger, this one was fragile.
"Leave me alone, Damon," she said, turning her face away.
"You say that, but I don't think you mean it."
His eyes dropped, to where the bits of skin peeked out through the red coat she'd used to cover herself.
"You clean up well," he said. "How 'bout you try not being so coy about it? Sort of ruins the effect."
He would be the first, Bonnie realized, staring up at him puzzled. "I don't like you."
"Heard that before," he said, confident. "But I have this tendency to grow on people."
"Spoiler alert, Damon," came another voice, low and lilting. "This won't end well for you. Little Red Riding Hood just isn't a fan of the Big Bad Wolf."
Bonnie turned her gaze, meeting a dark crimson domino framing mocking gray eyes. At the end of the short hall, he stood, her former dance partner. Hands in pockets while he leaned a shoulder against one wall. Amusement and something else filled his gaze while he studied them; neither of them giving Bonnie any comfort. Now she was alone with two men designed by nature to make her uncomfortable.
Damon tossed him a careless glance. "Seriously, Kai, bad timing. Go find somewhere else to be."
The other man lifted a brow, his tongue poking out against the side of one cheek. "You've been summoned."
"For what?"
"Someone brought in extracurricular activities of the powdered variety." He clucked in pretense of concern. "A few of the guests didn't take too well to it. Tyler's MIA. Stefan needs a helping hand with clean up."
"Why can't you do it?"
Kai shrugged. "He's your brother. Ask him."
Damon turned back to Bonnie, blue eyes flashing dangerously. "Catch you later, Red."
He was gone in another moment, leaving Bonnie alone with tall, dark, and menacing number two. A red domino approached her, in place of the wolf mask, and she found herself wondering, just a bit, if she'd been better off with Damon.
Beyond Kai, people milled. Was it her imagination or were there a lot less of them? Something had clearly happened, but ensconced as she was in her own thoughts, she'd missed it. Again. Of course.
"People are sick?" she asked.
He stared down, seemingly bored by the question. "It's a party. It happens."
"How sick? Why are Damon and Stefan the ones helping?"
His lips quirked, so quick she almost didn't notice, but then he bit his lip and there went the same eerie appraisal of her she'd felt earlier. Like he saw through her. "Either you're a good actress or really sheltered. Which is it?"
She imagined the entire place clearing, saw in a quick dizzy vision the specter from earlier arriving, tearing through the house, rending without touching, coating walls in red.
Her throat choked.
"Who are you really, hmm?"
He was close now, towering over her, worse than Damon even because he was a little taller, and nothing about his movements indicated want. Everything calculated, as if he was on the fringe of laying hands on her. To hurt.
Her hands went loose, her shoulders easing. The red jacket parted with her slight shift, and she didn't miss the abrupt glance down to her chest. She didn't mean to do it, but now she saw, in the way his eyes darkened, turned those cold gray eyes black, and hot...
"You don't like me much," she said under her breath, tilting her face up to his. Their lips were close. "But you want a taste. As much as Damon."
His jaw tightened, features twisting. "Don't say his name."
Her breath caught.
"More," she whispered, the sound one of wonder. "You crave even more."
What had her family always taught her about using her power? The kind that women wielded, leaving men weak. She'd never considered it before, had hated the thought of indulging herself since it would never lead anywhere except pain. Torture. Nobody ever stuck around long enough.
Not only had she never had friends, but intimacy...that had eluded her, too. All this time.
"Bonnie." His voice was rough, like pieces of him were scraping against stone. The entire ride here, the way he'd acted-aloof but intimidating, nothing like his friends. Was it the costume that broke him?
How insulting.
She screwed up her face in disdain. This wasn't power. Just manipulation. It wasn't real. Her hands went up, fingers splaying across his chest to push him back, but he didn't budge.
"Stay away from me, Kai," she said, brushing past him, feeling the slide of his coat against her skin. He didn't lift a hand to stop her, leaving her bereft but it was fine.
She was here to enjoy the party, anyway.
-o-O-o-
Somebody screamed.
It was several hours later; the crowds had thinned. Hours yet before dawn, drunken stragglers had started disappearing either upstairs into the rooms, or just left. Bonnie watched each one go, furtively keeping track of the small group of strangers who had allowed her a peek inside their lives.
Elena and Stefan were a happy couple, but Damon was the black sheep brother, both troubled and troubling. Caroline played Tyler and Jeremy against each other in a bid for attention and control. Bonnie guessed there were father issues there, unresolved at best, spurring the blonde to both snippiness and need, and the two mean, armed with their own set of passive-aggressive inferiority complexes, gave her free reign. Matt stood buffered, the lone nice guy in the group who seemed to be responsible for damage control, serving as nothing more than a harmless mascot.
All of them so wrapped up in their individual and collective drama nobody paid much notice to the figure at the edge of the group.
By the end of a few hours, this snapshot had formed more clearly in her mind, allowing her time to get comfortable. Before, her skin buzzed with the knowledge that there were missing pieces to the puzzle. As nice as Elena was, and Stefan, as normal as it all appeared to be - something was off.
But just exactly what, was hard to pinpoint.
Costumes still paraded before her, not as many as before, but enough to give her camouflage. With a furtive glance around, she let her intuition guide her. Through the music, she'd heard it. A woman's wail, high and piercing. Not a sound that bespoke of fun. More of fright.
Just like the flyer promised.
The tugging in her gut grew, and Bonnie's careful steps led her upstairs to a darkened hall. Dim light poured out of a room at the end of the hall, along with muffled sounds of struggle. On light feet she approached, her skin feeling sharpened, the hair on her arms prickling.
When she opened the door, she found a woman draped across Damon's lap. Her head lolled back, eyes half-closed. She moaned, her neck tilted to give him access, a trickle of crimson dripping there to the collar of her dress that slipped off her shoulders. Damon whipped a sharp gaze at Bonnie, the expression there greedy and unhinged- an animal in the wild, right at the moment of catching its prey.
He smiled, teeth sharp and dripping with blood.
"Don't worry," came his growl, "Haven't forgotten you, Bon Bon."
She was frozen in place, unable to retreat while he stood and stalked over. At the last moment, before he could reach her, an unseen force pulled her back and the door slammed shut between herself and Damon. She heard another growl, then a curse, while he tried the knob and found it stuck.
"The hell?"
Then, in a soft, dangerously soft voice, "Boooonnieee. Lemme out."
A hand grabbed hers, pulling her away. When she turned, she found Kai. He held up a finger to his mouth, then dragged her down the hall and down another set of stairs.
-o-O-o-
They walked for a time, in silence through the dark woods, moonlight trickling randomly through the patch of branches overhead. At first, she'd done her best to keep her distance from him, relieved when he didn't try to bridge the gap. Eventually, the line of trees turned familiar. She drifted nearer, keeping a watchful gaze around them.
The night had turned chillier. She rubbed her hands over her own arms, not really feeling the cold anymore, but more the need to invigorate her body. She was tired, it was late, and the night was going exactly how she'd imagined.
Her head hurt.
"Why did you do that?" she asked him quietly.
He cut his eyes at her, his face inscrutable before throwing her a sharp grin. "Better question. Why didn't you run or scream?"
She looked away, unable to answer.
"Do you even have any idea what you saw?" His hand shot out, stopping her, shoving her roughly against a tree. "Did you already know what my friends are? Why did you pick that costume?"
"I didn't pick it," she said, gasping when his grip on her arms turned bruising. "Your friend made me."
"And you threw that over it." A large hand brushed her red coat, at the edges, just where her skin lay beneath. He slipped a finger under, touching her, setting her nerves to rattle. He chuckled, the sound low and dark. "I'm trying to understand why you dropped on my lap like a fucking storybook character. Nothing about you adds up. Who are you?"
He was the only one, in all these years going through the routine, who had ever asked. She clamped down on her tongue, refusing to let the urge rule her. The one that wanted to risk a change.
For once.
"Bonnie, please," he said, his voice cracking. "I-I don't know what it is-" He inched closer, bending so their eyes were level. "Let me in. I can help. I don't trust you, but I-"
On tiptoes, she leaned forward to kiss him.
His undoing. She knew this. His mouth firm, but yielding instantly to hers, opening without any coaxing.
He moved them away from the tree, finding a soft spot on the ground. Under his breath came words-fumbling, hurried, but potent, enough for her to get a sense of his magic, uncoiling like a snake. Abruptly, she didn't feel anything cold or hard beneath them. Like she was on clouds, and the unseen warmth of the sun wrapped around them. Then he was on top of her, hands shaking, and she matched him, touch for touch. Their coupling frenzied, heated. Nothing like she'd ever known or daydreamed.
She wanted it to last for ages.
It couldn't.
-o-O-o-
Afterwards, they lay entwined, breaths mingling while they kissed.
"One day you'll tell me your secrets," he said into her hair.
Her heart seized. Their walk had bought her time, and now after their interlude, she knew it was close to finishing. Sensed it when her eyes closed, and bloodied, crazed images flashed inside her mind.
From a distance came a series of screams. Sharp, stabbing the air, followed by shouts, and then one last, inhuman wail. They carried through the woods, hitting like bullets. Bonnie flinched, watching Kai spring to his feet. Panic filled his gaze.
"Did you hear that?" he asked. "Sounded like -"
"Damon." She nodded, voice solemn. "And Elena. Stefan."
When she closed her eyes, again she saw the looming figure of a tall, thin woman, wild-haired, hungry eyes devoid of color. Bleak. Death their only promise.
"What did you do?" he demanded, his face caught between wrath and fear.
She shook her head. "It wasn't me," she said softly. "Kai, I'm sorry."
"What the hell did you do, Bonnie?" His voice rose as he stalked up to her, but she lifted a hand, keeping him from touching her. If he did, it would now only be to hurt. Not like before. "My friends -"
"They're gone."
Her eyes drifted shut once more; what flickered beneath them pulled a shiver out, running over her form violently. The lake house, now emptied, save for a handful of bodies, clear signs of rending in the scenery. Broken windows, cracked walls, and the splattered remains of organs against the surfaces.
She felt a rush of wind, opened her eyes and whirled, seeing Kai making his way back from where they'd come, steps frantic.
Then the hairs on her neck rose, nerves screaming with tension under it, at the same moment branches above them swayed, the movements menacing. The air cackled, just as she saw, through a copse of dying trees, a pale and tall specter speeding in the distance. Its mouth grotesquely opened, filling half its face, and limpid eyes displaying a hunger just newly sated.
And it was heading straight towards Kai.
Bonnie curled her hands. He careened through the air, flying back and behind her, landing hard on the ground. She dropped to her knees, crouching over him while she faced the specter that had plagued her life for years now.
Another scream rent the air, as blank eyes burned with anger, and the yawning mouth closed.
"You can't have him," Bonnie said, in a voice that trembled slightly.
Release him. He is ours.
"No." Her head bowed low, a plea to the spirit for mercy.
You defy us. We demand retribution.
"You've had your fill. The others -"
Dead things, all. This one is warm.
It was greedy, sought only to leave mangled remains of what once held life. Bonnie stared down at Kai, whose face was distorted with horror as his eyes roamed the woods around them. She couldn't understand it. Didn't he see? She'd hoped of all people, he would be the one to stare down the evil thing floating just before them. And help her destroy it.
Why didn't anyone ever see?
"Oh, my God," he said, voice cracking again, only this time his voice was laced with despair. "What are you?"
She followed his gaze, confused. The forest faded in and out of view, bloodied walls taking their place. Blinking, she tried to make sense of it, but like always, her mind went blank. What was she missing?
"If you don't kill me now," he said, growling. "I'll hunt you down. When I find you again, I'll choke the life out of you with my bare hands."
"Why would I kill you?" she asked, sad. "Kai, please. I didn't do anything."
His magic ripped out, battering her. She landed, improbably, on a sharpened piece of wood sticking out of a trunk. No. She blinked furiously once more. It wasn't a trunk, but a broken table leg, jutting from the floor of a room littered with dismembered bodies. Crimson coated the walls, the ceilings, and familiar cobwebs from the masquerade now hung limp and sticky red.
Bonnie lay gasping against the table leg, gripping it as it poked out of her stomach. Kai rose to his feet, his legs shaky as he walked towards her.
Behind him, lying in a pool of blood on the floor, was a small object, twin blue orbs gleaming brightly out without any sign of life.
Damon's head, his neck a jagged mess of tendon, bone, and congealed blood.
She'd warned him. He'd been the first, for sure.
"I didn't do it," she said, tears pooling in her eyes, desperate now to explain to the man towering over her. "Years ago, I made a mistake with my magic. The spirits punished me. My grandmother, she keeps them away. But only if I promise to feed them whatever is unnatural."
"You're a monster," he said, eyes taking on a wild glint.
"They follow us everywhere."
"I could kill you now, take your body to the nearest coven."
"Please, Kai. My grandmother, her house isn't far. She can explain-"
"Bonnie!" His angry shout stilled her, as his hands landed with force against her face. A tearing began then, slow but inexorable, burning her cheeks.
"What're you doing?" she groaned, gasping with pain.
"I'm a monster, too," he said, his look turning maniacal. "Only, I haven't let it out to play. In a long, long time."
"Kai-don't."
"You killed my friends, Bonnie. You did. There's no grandmother. We had in a sex in a forest only minutes ago and now we're in a room full of corpses. Somehow, you fucked with my head."
"It wasn't-I didn't-"
The tearing stopped, abruptly. His fingers caressed the tears away, while he smiled at her but it was a chilly thing that left her numb.
"Look at your clothes. Your hands."
She didn't want to. Instead her gaze went past him, to the specter of the tall, gaunt figure that floated inside.
"You can't have him!" Bonnie screamed, enraged.
Only the creature dove, straight towards her instead of Kai. Bonnie reeled, imagining clawed hands shredding her body into pieces. Waited for the pain to hit. Nothing happened, except a small whoosh of air, leaving her body.
We can.
Her eyes caught on something gray and mushy stuck under her nails, mixing with blood, and her silky dress that had been a creamy concoction when the night began was now soaked in scarlet. To match her wool cloak.
"Damon had it wrong, but I knew," Kai said softly.
Bonnie stared back mutely, refusing to listen anymore, the roaring in her mind reaching a fevered pitch.
"You were never Red, were you?"
Her mouth opened without her meaning to, and her teeth, to her shock, grew wide and inhuman. When she reached up, long fingers grew into sharpened claws. For a moment it dazed her, left her in wonder, but a gnawing in her stomach grew to match the greed that rose, deep from within.
Take him.
Kai dodged her, retreating while his eyes gleamed with malice, his magic filling the air. "Let's dance, Big Bad."
Every time in a new town. It was always hard, making friends.
A/N: Howdy. So this was supposed to be for Halloween, but a day late's not so bad. This wasn't actually supposed to have happened, but a plot bunny took hold. Anyway, I will try my best to get to the Charade now, but it'll be a week, maybe two. Sorry, guys. Haven't abandoned it, but still retooling. I need to stop letting spoilers for S7 mess up canon Bonkai's arc in the next few chapters. And then, work is killing me. Like I'm writing from the other side here lol.