Chapter Four :

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Jeremy grabbed his bag from behind the couch. He had hidden his large weapons bag on the way into the Boarding House. Damon and Stefan had their hands full with dealing with Elena and they hadn't noticed the younger Gilbert stashing his bag.

"What's your weapon of choice?" Jeremy asked Caroline as he hefted a bow in his muscled arms.

Caroline peered into the bag, "Stakes won't work on zombies." She quirked an eyebrow at him. Jeremy was after all the official zombie expert chosen by default.

"No, stakes are just for you guys." He chuckled. It felt slightly surreal to him, discussing zombies with a girly girl like Caroline. People always underestimated her fighting abilities but he knew that she had always managed to hold her own in battle.

"I think I'll go with the bow." She decided. He passed the bow over to her and Caroline held it up to see how it fit in her arms. She could rely on her superior vampire strength if she needed to but she didn't want to get too close to the undead.

They both looked up as there was a knock at the front door. They looked wide eyed at each other.

"Do zombies knock at the door?" Caroline whispered.

"No they lurch, they don't knock." Damon smirked as he came to open the front door.

Damon opened the front door to find Matt Donovan and April Young. The young girl held onto Matt's arm with iron strength.

"What do you want?" the elder Salvatore asked clearly annoyed.

"We needed a place to go. For safety." Matt said, he hated having to ask Damon for help but they had no other choice.

"Just let them in Damon, stop being a jerk." Caroline called out.

Damon smiled and stepped aside to let the two teenagers in. April cringed as she passed Damon. She didn't particularly like him.

"Thanks Care." Matt said as he walked into the living room.

"Yes, thanks." April echoed.

"Have you seen anything?" Jeremy asked carefully. They had all agreed on telling April as little as possible. Rebekah had spilled their secrets to April but Matt and Jeremy still wanted to protect her.

"No we didn't." Matt replied, "The town just seems really quiet and it looks like people were looting."

"We were up all night," April looked at Matt with love filled eyes, "Matt and I were talking and he was so gentle with me…"

Caroline couldn't take anymore, she didn't see the point of having April around but she and Matt were an item now and they were stuck with her. However, Caroline drew the line at listening to April go on about their sex life. She had her arms crossed as she stood concealed behind the couch and she held the cross bow up at just the right angle. She let the arrow loose, shooting Damon in the foot.

"What the hell!" Damon yelled out in pain, he looked at her. His face was a mask of fury.

Caroline put on a face of pure innocence. "Oh no! The attackers seem to have weapons and they are shooting at us. Matt take April into the kitchen, it's further into the house and it's a safer place for her."

Matt shook his head, he knew what Caroline had done. "Okay." He replied as he led April out of the room.

Jeremy laughed loudly as soon as they left, "Really Caroline? The zombies are firing arrows into the house."

"Did you want to hear about how gentle Matt was last night?" Caroline asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No way." Jeremy quickly protested.

"You shot me." Damon reminded her.

"You took one for the team," Caroline shrugged, "We'll tell Elena just how brave you are."

Damon hissed as he pulled the arrow out, "Fine but if we have to sacrifice anyone, April goes first."

"Agreed." Caroline nodded. She saw the look on Jeremy's face, "I'd rather agree to sacrificing April first than sacrificing you." She told him grimly.

"I don't like it." Jeremy muttered.

"You don't have to like it but I will keep you safe." Caroline said. This was the boy she had grown up with. He was Elena's brother and he was the last semblance of the remaining Gilbert family. Caroline took more arrows for her bow. "Let's go get Bonnie." She said fearlessly. Getting Bonnie was one step closer to finding her mother.

"I'm ready." Jeremy said, his eyes filled with determination. He held a cross bow in his hands. He looked like a warrior with his tight t-shirt and jeans. His muscles flexed under his shirt.

"Good luck." Damon told them as he held the front door open for them.

"We don't need luck." Caroline said brightly with more confidence than she felt.

Damon shook his head as they walked out of the house.

Caroline looked around as they walked down the drive. She was looking for any threats but the street seemed empty for now. She made sure to stay close to the young human.

"Do you see any of them?" Jeremy asked. He walked to Caroline's car in a defensive position.

"No," she released a pent up breath of tension, "it's clear." She quickly opened the car door and got in. Jeremy got into the passenger side. Caroline started the engine and as a safety measure she locked the doors. She looked out the window. The street was deserted and there was a distinct lack of sound. There were no birds chirping or any chatter from the surrounding houses. She shivered at the eeriness of the situation.

She drove off and headed for Bonnie's house.