a/n: Here is my next chapter! I hope you enjoy. And if you want to follow me on Twitter, you'll receive updates about this story, and you can talk to me about all things TVD. Just find me at Rachel_Leann58

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Chapter 6 Wolves Herding the Sheep

Night One…

Caroline just stared at Tyler for a few moments.

Turning back to Alaric, she asked, "Do you have weapons with you?"

"Of course."

She shrugged. "Then let's go."

The place Tyler took them to was only a few yards away, and Caroline felt like she could yell for help if it came to it. They slowly descended into the blackness of a cave. Caroline placed her hand against the side of the wall to steady herself. Her arm brushed against Alaric's, and she involuntarily jumped in surprise. As she let out a deep breath, chills raced down her arms. With Tyler being loyal to Klaus, the last thing she wanted to do was for Klaus to make Tyler lead them into some form of trap.

As they walked, the cave slanted downward before finally opening up into a large cavern. Through the thick darkness in the room, Caroline could barely make out the form of blood bags stacked against one of the walls.

"See, Klaus will take care of us," Tyler remarked as he threw a bag in Caroline's direction. After she caught it, she simply stared at it with disgust.

"And what about after he makes us kill each other?" Caroline shouted. "Will he take care of us then?"

"He won't make us do that."

Carolina gaffed. "What?" She scratched her forehead as she tried to piece together words that made sense. "You don't think Klaus will make us kill each other? Even though he said that was exactly what he was going to do?"

"It's just a test."

Without responding, Caroline turned and walked away from the cave Tyler had found.

"Wait!" she heard both Alaric and Tyler call, but she kept walking forward. Right now, she was so angry that words wouldn't even form.

After Tyler grabbed onto her arm and pulled her back to him, she jerked her arm away and glared.

"If you honestly think that," she said, shaking, "then you will end up getting all of us killed."

Tyler stood there for a moment in silence. "Why can't you trust me?" he asked silently.

Caroline let out a deep breath before she spoke quietly, "Why can't you trust me? Why don't you trust what I feel and think?" When he didn't respond, Caroline nodded. "We're splitting up this group tomorrow, Tyler. Try not to mess things up for all of us."

With those words, Caroline climbed back up into the alcove and leaned back against the rock. As hard as she tried, sleep never came.

Day Two…

"You're inability to speak is greatly getting on my nerves," Katherine complained as she glanced over at Stefan. They had been traveling for close to an hour, and still no words had escaped his lips. She was quite certain that if she attacked him, he would speak, but she didn't want to resort to violence. At least not yet.

"Did it ever occur to you?" Stefan began, causing Katherine to actually jump, "That I'm being quiet so I can come up with a plan? Why waste time speaking?"

"Some of us can actually multitask, and think while we're speaking," she retorted. Although she was thankful he had spoken, she didn't show her happiness. Instead, she hiked up the nearest hill and surveyed the area on the other side. When she saw what was on the other side, she stopped walking, crossed her arms, and frowned.

"Stefan?" she said slowly as she continued to stare at the scene in front of her. "You really need to come up here."

A rush of wind passed by her, and Katherine knew she was no longer alone at the top of the hill.

"Well," Stefan remarked. He seemed about as confused as she was.

"How did this happen?" Katherine fumed as she walked down the slope, away from the trees, and toward the place they had started this journey from. "We were traveling in the opposite direction. How did we end up back here?"

"I'm sure it was something Klaus did," Stefan replied. His tone reflected more curiosity than anger. "Shall we travel in the other direction then?"

Katherine didn't answer. Instead, she blurred across the open space and to the location where they had begun. This time, there was no force field there to prevent them from passing on to the other side.

"At least we can find the others now," she spoke, although she seemed far from enthusiastic about finding the rest of the group. Finally, she turned in the eastern direction. "We have to get to the end of this place and see where it ends. We will walk in a straight line, even if we have to go through trees to do so."

"Yes, master," Stefan smirked. Katherine frowned in response.

She kicked at the few remaining items in the center before cocking her head to the side. Amidst all the human food, she saw a lone blood packet.

Without hesitating, she reached down and swallowed half of the packet of blood. Then, she tossed the remaining contents to Stefan.

He drank the remaining blood before tossing the empty container to the ground.

"You were much more fun when you actually had a soul," Katherine frowned. "That's something we're going to have to work on."

Stefan continued to grin. "There is nothing for you to free me from. I feel better than I ever have."

Katherine smiled in response to that. "If we're going to die in here, at least you'll make these last few days interesting."

With those words, Katherine blurred away, and headed directly east. Even if she died, which she knew she wouldn't allow to happen, she would find out what lay on the other side of Klaus' battlefield, and save Stefan. To accomplish those things, a lot of miracles needed to occur. She planned on making those miracles happen.

"Damon," Elena spoke softly. Her big brown eyes looked up to him. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course," Damon smiled, but Elena didn't believe him. He looked far too tired, and dark circles shadowed his eyes.

She paused for a moment. "How long can you go without blood?"

"For a while longer," he replied simply. His gaze remained focused on the area in front of them as they continued descending the hill. "Don't worry about me Elena. I'll be fine."

Although Elena didn't agree, she remained quiet. At least until she saw a cave up ahead.

"That looks exactly like a death trap," Damon said as he stopped walking and stared at the cave.

As if on cue, the sky opened up and poured rain. Elena gasped in surprise. When her ragged breathing finally slowed back down, she glanced over to Damon.

"I think he wants us to go in there."

Although Elena took a step forward, Damon hung back.

"It's just a place to get out of the rain, Damon," Elena pleaded. "We'll just go in the entrance and wait out the rain."

Damon looked like he wanted to argue with her, but finally nodded and walked toward the cave himself.

They had just walked inside when a peal of thunder echoed through the forest.

"That sounds ominous," Damon grumbled as he glared into the darkness of the cave. After a few seconds, he shrugged, and sat down.

"No," Elena said forcefully as she marched over to Damon and attempted to pull him to his feet. He didn't move, and the only thing Elena accomplished was making herself tired. "We can't just sit around here, Damon. We don't have enough time for that."

"Then what do you suppose we do?" Damon leaned against the side of the cave and stretched out his legs. A frown crossed Elena's face in response.

She walked over to the other side of the cave and picked up a flashlight that had been left there.

"Oh no," Damon began, but Elena stopped him.

"We can at least travel through this cave. We can see what's in here."

He closed his eyes. "I'm sure that's exactly what Klaus wants us to do. Why else would he have placed a flashlight at this exact location?" He sighed. "I'd rather just stay here for a while. There's no telling what's in the depths of this cave."

"Which is exactly why we need to find out," Elena retorted. She grabbed onto Damon's arm again and tried to yank him up. In a flurry of movement, Damon pulled her down so she was sitting on top of him. She blinked in surprise for a few moments before she pushed away from him.

"Be serious, Damon," she spoke, although she was certain he couldn't hear her over her loudly beating heart. "We need to move."

He stood up, reluctantly, and his arm accidently brushed against hers. Elena gasped in surprise at both the contact, and the fire she felt after it was gone. Her big brown eyes finally turned to Damon for some form of plan. He stood only a few inches from her, and she had to fight against her body to keep her breathing normal.

"If we're actually going in there," he began slowly. His voice was soft, and Elena could feel his breath brush against her lips. "Then we are going to do things my way. I'm going to go in front, just in case someone is waiting to take us out."

Elena nodded numbly. When Damon moved away from her, she let out a deep breath, and followed him into the darkness of the cave.

When she turned on the flashlight, rays of light penetrated the thick darkness. Damon offered her a weak smile, nodded, and then continued walking.

Without making a conscious decision to do so, she reached out and lightly held onto the fabric of Damon's shirt. Although the darkness seemed less threatening now, she didn't want to take the chance of them somehow being separated.

The walls of the cave were made out of a dark basalt rock. She wondered if it led back to the other side of the battlefield, but knew that nothing was guaranteed now. For all she knew, this cave could lead to her death.

The worst part was that she could sense that Damon was getting tired. There was no telling how long he had gone without blood, and his movements now were slower, while his reflexes seemed just as sluggish. He needed blood, and Elena only knew of one way to give it to him…

"Can I have the flashlight?" Damon asked slowly as he turned back to look at Elena.

"Of course," she replied as she handed it to him. The light flickered around her, and Damon's body blocked most of the rays. She tried to move around him, but he moved in front of her so she wouldn't see what was ahead.

After what felt like an eternity, Damon turned back around. His face shined with the harsh white light the flashlight produced.

"I really do not want you to see what's up here," Damon said softly.

Elena's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean? What's up there?"

"Elena…"

But she had already grabbed the flashlight from him, and threw the light over the area in front of them.

At first she didn't understand. When the light ran over the area, she saw nothing but more stone. Then, however, in the very corner of the room, she saw what Damon had been talking about.

There was a large pool of blood that careened from one corner to another. Lying in the corner were bloody body parts that she was certain once all belonged to one body.

Elena closed her eyes and tried to even her breathing. When she reopened them, she turned back to Damon.

"He wants you to feed," she said incredulously.

"I'm not touching that person," Damon replied with a deep vigor. "I will not stoop to his level."

Nodding, Elena found herself being swept up into his arms. As she rested her head against his chest, the light fell over the corner again, and the sight of the broken bodies reemerged. At that moment, she was certain that she would never be able to get that sight out of her mind.

a/n: I hope everyone enjoyed the episode tonight on television! As always, please review!