CHAPTER FOUR: TIME TO REPENT

"C'mon Stefan, pick up your damn phone!" Damon muttered angrily into his cell phone. After his little "visit" to the Mikaleson manor, he jetted back over to the Gilberts… no trace of Stefan, Elena or Jeremy touched the house. The scent of the place was even off. Other people, people who weren't Stefan or the Gilberts, had been in there and Damon had no clue who they were.

He tried Stefan's cell five times over, and not a single answer. He called Elena, Jeremy; he got so desperate, he even tried Bonnie and Mat… nothing. It seemed as if it was "turn off all electrical communication devices" day. I'm surprised Mystical Falls hasn't turned that into some random event yet, Damon found himself thinking briefly.

After what felt like the hundredth time calling Stefan, there was no answer on the other end. He shoved his cell back into his pocket and began pacing the foyer of the Gilbert home, thinking of his next move. That's when he heard the car pull up outside.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon said, as he left the Gilbert home and realized who'd pulled into their driveway. It was Meredith, and she wasn't looking all too calm as she got out of her car.

"Damon! You're alright?" She asked frantically.

"I'm fine. What the hell is going? Why are you-"

"Why do you smell like smoke?" she asked, sniffing at the air around him a bit.

"Oh… that… uh… yeah I kinda set the Mikaleson house on fire with Rebekah's incapacitated body inside." He said casually.

"You did what?"

"It's a rage think I do. Don't worry about it… what's going on? Why are you here?"

"The council… they're in motion, and it's not going to be pretty. I overheard two of the members at the hospital. They're on a serious rampage, rounding up any known vampires in the area."

"Hmm… I got a taste of that at the Mikaleson house." Damon thought back.

"They're closing off town exits, checking homes. I tried calling you and Stefan," Meredith continued. "But I got nothing… I figured I'd come by and try to warn you… if it wasn't too late."

"Well thank you… Ms. Fell, but you are bit late. It looks like my little bro and the premature baby vampire have already gone missing."

"You think the council's behind it, or they've just gone into hiding?"

"No, Stefan might've won the girl but they wouldn't have made a move like that without telling me… plus no one's answering their phone… so I'm willing to guess-"

"Kidnapped." Meredith answered.

"Vamp-napped." Damon corrected. "C'mon we gotta find them. We'll start with the guys who you overheard at the hospital. You get a glimpse of their faces?" Damon said as he and Meredith started towards the car.

"Fortunately, one was my 10th grade chemistry teacher… I hated chemistry and he was a douche." Meredith said.

"Well, you won't mind some necessary roughness then!" Damon grinned.

…

"Are you sure this going to work?" Jeremy muttered, his eyes dead set on the seething expression Klaus was giving with Tyler's face. Bonnie had just finished up the last of her preparation chanting and joined his side, Kol right next to her.

"I know that if we don't try, he'll continue to torment us till the very end, and I for one-"

"Torment?" Klaus spat, interrupting her. "As soon as I get free, I'm going to kill you all before you can even blink!"

"Do you want me to snap his neck again?" Kol sighed. "The whining is getting very repetitive."

"No, I want him to be awake for this… I want to see every part of him scream for mercy as he leaves this world." Bonnie said, glaring at Klaus.

"Hmm… you're growing on me, Little Bennett." Kol smiled.

"Are you ready?" Bonnie looked to Jeremy. He nodded, but then something crossed his mind… something he couldn't believe he'd forgotten to mention before. Elena.

"Bonnie…" Jeremy said, a somewhat grave look on his face. Bonnie waited for him to finish, clearly a bit impatient. "You know what… never… never mind…"

"Okay…" Bonnie nodded. She looked to Klaus, gritting her teeth. "I'm done playing games with you." she said. "I'm ending this right here, right now."

Without any hesitation, Bonnie raised her hands and the candles in the basement all lit up. She closed her eyes, her arms outstretched towards Klaus. "Fes matos defuncti spiritus invoco, et vivimus. Adjuva me initium aperiret dolor elicere ex altera parte planum!"

As Bonnie spoke, deafening whispers erupted throughout the room, the candles flickered, the ground shuttered.

"You can't do this!" Klaus shouted.

"I'm betting she can, brother!" Kol said, happily looking in the direction of the whispers. "Boy has it been a while since I've seen a Bennett witch at work."

"Jeremy, take my hand!" Bonnie ordered, as she held out a hand towards him. He slowly and uneasily reached for her it, but before he could even touch her, Bonnie snatched his wrist into her grasp. "I offer this boy as a vessel to the other side. Use his gift of seeing to guide the original hybrid's essence to the doors!"

"Stop it!" Klaus spat, his nose was beginning to bleed.

"You're not hurting Tyler, are you?" Jeremy worriedly asked.

"Shut up, Jeremy!" Bonnie yelled. The house shook, Kol and Jeremy nearly lost their balance. "I offer him as a vessel! Use him to guide the hybrid to the doors of the other side!"

"Bonnie! Bonnie!" Jeremy shouted as he looked down at the wrist she was clutching onto. Black veins began to pour from her palms and spread to his arm. "Bonnie, what are you doing?!"

"Kol." Bonnie simply said, and he knew just what to do. Kol stepped forward and grabbed Bonnie's hand, but he immediately tensed up, now in sudden pain. "The sibling of the hybrid, an original vampire! Use his life force, his immortal power to guide the hybrid to the other side!" As Bonnie spoke, a gust of fierce wind filled the room.

"The bloody hell is this?!" Kol protested, trying his best to tug away from Bonnie… but to his surprise, she was much stronger than him.

"She's merging our blood connection and your vampiric strength with Jeremy's abilities to try and open the door! She'll kill you, Kol!" Klaus shouted. Every vein in his forehead seemed to be pulsating as he tried to fight the pain. Klaus screamed out. "Get away from her, Kol!"

"Bennett, let go of me! This wasn't the plan!"

"Bonnie!" Jeremy shouted again as the black veins traveled further up his body. "Bonnie, STOP!"

"Quiet!" Bonnie shouted as she opened her eyes. They were now a deep black. She closed them again, focusing harder than ever. "Fes matos spirtis invocabo tam vivis quam defuncti; hybrid traicerentur ad trans! Aperiesque ostium!"

"Bonnie, let go!" Jeremy screamed again, pain was now consuming him. He dropped to his knees.

"Just wait, I can do this!" Bonnie assured. "I can do this! I can end him, I can-"

"Bonnie…" a voice called, a voice belonging to neither of the men in the room. Bonnie stopped, completely taken off guard by the sound. She opened her eyes, and in front of her stood the last person she ever thought she'd see.

"Grams?"

…

"Where is Stefan?" Elena asked Mr. Ellington for the third time, frustrated as ever.

She sat uncomfortably at a dining table in a bleak farmhouse. She had no clue where the place was, exactly, she just remembered being hauled into the backseat of a truck and Stefan being vervained by her former math teacher then shoved into a white van accompanying the truck. The drive out to the farmhouse was roughly 20 to 30 minutes, but none of the area or the landscape resonated to Elena. The last familiar thing she saw was the sign reading "Now Leaving Mystic Falls." The exit out of town was heavily guarded by several council members, and the drivers needed special clearing in order to pass through

"Why exactly do you care, Elena? Really?" Mr. Ellington said, smug as ever. "Did his Twilight allure draw you in? Are you two in love?"

Elena cut her eyes away, angry beyond belief.

"This isn't funny, let me see him." Elena demanded, sternly.

"I don't remember you being this snappy in class. You were always so sweet, level headed, smart. I miss that Elena."

"Cut the crap, Ellington! Let me see him, NOW!" Elena nearly barked at him, she was shaking with anger. Mr. Ellington didn't move an inch. He merely flashed a toothy grin then continued pacing the dining room. A moment passed and he reached into his pocket and pulled out the blood bag. Elena tensed upon seeing it, her body language changed almost immediately. Mr. Ellington dangled it above his head.

"Care to explain to me why this was on your kitchen counter when we visited your house?" he asked.

"You broke into my house." Elena sternly corrected.

"Answer me!" Mr. Ellington demanded, slamming the blood bag on the table harshly. Elena jumped, but said nothing. She shot a glare up at Ellington then looked down at her feet, resisting the urge to eye the blood bag… she was getting hungry. "It hasn't been opened or punctured. Your vampire boyfriend wasn't feeding from it… his brother wasn't there to feed from it. So, why was it there Elena?"

The room was quiet for moments. Ellington kept his gaze on her.

"You know, I have a theory. I think your little delinquent brother, who we've yet to apprehend, is turning into one of them… and you being the annoyingly caring and family obsessed orphan, who's desperately trying to hold on to the little bit of family she has left, is protecting him. Well let me tell you something, Elena," Ellington moved in closer towards her. "If I'm right… and I usually am… your brother is turning into a killer… meaning he'll tear apart innocents, bit by bit… maybe even you… and as that last drop of life leaves you, you'll think back and realize, this was all your fault… you could've prevented this whole thing if you'd just cooperated. Now… how does that make you feel?"

The room was quiet yet again. This time, Elena met gaze with Ellington's glare.

"You know, what Mr. Ellington, you're right. I may be bit family obsessed and hell bent on protecting my little brother, but there's one little detail about your theory that's wrong." Elena jumped up, head-butting Ellington in the forehead. He stumbled back. Elena snatched the blood bag from his grasp. "I'm the one who's turning." Elena flipped the table onto Ellington. He and the wooden furniture clattered to the floor.

Elena maneuvered around the heap and made way for the front door ahead, but Ellington quickly grabbed her ankle. She tripped and fell to the floor, the blood bag sliding from her grasp and out of the kitchen. Ellington struggled to keep hold of her ankle as she tried to kick away. Elena managed to yank her foot from him then slammed the heel of her sneaker into his skull. His head dropped, unconscious. Elena clambered to her feet then rushed out into the living room for the blood bag.

Just as she came in reaching distance of it, a booted foot came in and stomped on the blood bag. Its contents spilled out all over the wooden floor. Elena looked up to see it was Pastor Young, his hands causally behind his back.

"Miss. Gilbert…" He said, pleasantly as ever. "I think it's time for you to repent." Pastor Young whipped out a taser gun from behind him and fired it at Elena. The electric volts hit her square in the chest; she convulsed and jittered then fell to the floor, unconscious.

Pastor Young stepped over her motionless body and peered down upon her with a small look of sorrow in his face. "It's so sad when we lose the young ones…"

END OF CHAPTER FOUR