Chapter 7
"Elena, you care to do the honours?" Damon deflected the Sheriff's question.
"Um, okay," Elena walked slightly towards the Sheriff. "I don't know how much Caroline has already told you. Do you remember Elijah who was in town recently? He was at a few of the Lockwood get togethers," she clarified, and the Sheriff nodded. "Well Elijah is the one in the open coffin over there, he's one of the oldest vampires in existence; he has a vampire brother called Klaus who is equally as old. They are part of the original vampire family; all other vampires come from them. With me so far?" Elena asked.
The Sheriff looked like she had a million questions, but just acknowledged her question with a simple, "Yes."
Elena continued, "Klaus recently broke a curse," she felt a shudder go through her at the memory; "it turned him into a hybrid of sorts, part vampire, part werewolf. Klaus is pure evil and cares about nothing other that his own goals. So, he must have betrayed his brother and killed him; the only way you can kill an original vampire by a special dagger through the heart. We thought only one of these daggers existed, but we must have been wrong about that."
"Though he's not really dead," Damon chipped in.
The Sheriff looked confused by his comment, so Elena clarified, "It's just a temporary death really; if we pull the dagger out Elijah will come back to life." Then she added quietly, "We know that Klaus currently has Stefan." Looking back to Damon she asked "Did I miss anything important?"
"Nah, that covers the basics."
"So who's in the other coffins?" The Sheriff queried.
"The rest of Elijah's family I assume, Mama and Papa Original and their offspring," Damon surmised.
Agreeing with Damon, Elena added, "Elijah said that the original family was made up of nine members, his parents and siblings. So not including Klaus, eight coffins would fit with that."
"That wolf-vamp has a serious case of separation anxiety if he travels the globe with his family packed up like cargo."
"I wonder why he never buried them at sea like he told Elijah," Elena wondered.
"Probably feared what would happen if by some chance they were discovered. This way he's keeping them exactly where he wants, keeping an eye on them. Kind of clever in a sick and twisted way."
"Are they dangerous?" The Sheriff asked Damon.
"Well I wouldn't trust them if that's what you mean, plus they are stronger than any other vampire. Elijah is clever and manipulative, he gets what he wants, if the rest of his family are even the slightest bit similar, then yes they are dangerous. There is a mystery surrounding the original family, we have no idea of their full capabilities. They are not to be underestimated."
"We have to pull Elijah's dagger out," Elena interrupted.
"Have you lost your mind? No way Elena. Elijah will be vengeful and that just equals to a whole lot of danger on our part."
"Exactly, he will be out for revenge on Klaus, not us. He knows Klaus better than anyone; he knows how his mind works, where he'll go, what he'll do. And, other than Bonnie, he's the only one of us who has any chance standing up to him."
"No way," he repeated slowly, emphasising each word.
"What other option do we have at this stage, if you have a better idea then by all means feel free to share with the rest of us?"
"He betrayed us," he said seriously.
"Yes, but look where that got him…" She pointed over to Elijah.
"Resting in a coffin about to be fed-ex'ed across the country?" he quickly joked.
"Exactly, he owes us," she reassured.
Damon paused to weigh everything up. He was no match against Klaus, hell he was no match for Stefan at this moment in time! What did he really think he'd do if he found them? Sweet talk them out of this bad situation? Damon let out a heavy long sigh.
"Fine, but I want to go on record as saying I think this is the stupidest idea."
"Damon please," Elena pleaded.
"Okay, but I better not regret this."
"Don't I get a say?" The Sheriff asked.
"No," Damon replied harshly.
Elena just looked at her apologetically.
"Sheriff, wait outside the crate," he ordered.
The Sheriff had lost control of this situation ages ago, so she obediently left the crate without arguing.
Damon turned his attention back to Elena and pointed to the dagger in Elijah's chest.
"You pull the dagger out, I better not touch it."
"Why not?"
He looked at her; did he really need to spell it out, "I've been reading the Gilbert journals too you know." Damon formed quotation marks with his fingers, "'It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it'…If that's just from sticking it in their heart, I don't like my chances pulling it out!"
"Oh, right."
Elena moved back to Elijah's side and looked down at his shrivelled grey complexion. She cast her eyes to the dagger and put her hands round it. She looked back over to Damon seeking his final approval; he gave her a frown but reluctantly nodded his head. Elena yanked the dagger out in one swift movement. She quickly dropped the dagger to the floor and felt herself being pulled backwards to the entrance of the crate by Damon, who moved in front of her in a protective stance.
There was silence for what felt like an eternity, but in reality it must have only been a matter of seconds. All of a sudden Elijah took a loud intake of breath as he was abruptly brought back to life. He thrashed about in the coffin for a few moments, but his body then seemed to calm and his skin returned to normal.
As Elena watched this from behind Damon, she couldn't help but remember back to when this had happened before. Drawing comparison, Elijah had woken and calmed much easier than before. He also wasn't in any sort of distress. She could only conclude that it was because they weren't in someone's house, no one lived here so there was no protective barrier over the building; Elijah required no invitation this time.
Elijah sat up rigidly in the coffin, taking in his surroundings. His eyes fell on Damon and Elena.
"Where am I?" He asked hoarsely.
Elena peered round Damon's side and began to approach Elijah, but her progress was stopped as Damon grabbed the top of her arms keeping her close to him. She looked back at him, but he gave her a warning stare and wouldn't release her. Accepting his protectiveness, Elena stopped fighting against his hold and remained at his side.
Looking back to Elijah, she answered his question, "You're in a storage facility not far from Mystic Falls. We just found you."
"How long has it been? What year is it?"
"Not long at all, it's still 2011, we don't know when Klaus did this to you but the sacrifice was only a few days ago."
He nodded and proceeded to push himself up. Trying to get out of the coffin, he tumbled over the edge and landed in a heap on the floor in a very clumsy manner. Elena instantly moved forward to help him, but once again Damon held her back. Damon couldn't believe that she was so unaware of the danger she kept trying to put herself in and as if confirming his thoughts, Elijah spoke.
"I need blood." He looked up at Damon and Elena from his position on the floor.
With a sigh, Damon said "I've got a couple of bags in the car for an emergency." He got his keys out of the pocket of his leather jacket and handed them to Elena, "They should be in the boot."
"I'm not leaving you here alone," She said.
"Well I'm most certainly not leaving you here alone," he countered her statement.
"Fine, I'll ask the Sheriff to go. I'll be back in a minute."
Elena quickly walked out of the crate. While she was gone Elijah and Damon just stared at each other. They had never got along even at the best of times.
True to her word Elena was back promptly.
"She'll be back as quick as she can."
"Where's Klaus?" Elijah asked.
Damon remained quiet, so Elena answered, "We believe he's heading to Arcane Creek outside of New Orleans. That's where this crate was due to ship to, and we doubt that he would want to be far from it."
Elijah focused on the other coffins around him for the first time. He pushed himself up from the floor and cagily walked over to the nearest unopened coffin.
"We need your help Elijah," Elena continued, "Klaus has got Stefan and we need to get him back."
Elijah made no indication that he had heard her; he just remained staring at the coffin. He ran one hand slowly over the lid, almost instinctively knowing what he would find. He slowly lifted the lid and his gaze fell on the person lying inside.
"Mother…" he whispered inaudibly. He placed a hand on her cheek.
Elena felt her heart breaking for him, despite everything he had done to them. Elijah had just found his family, after years of believing they were lost to him forever. She couldn't even begin to comprehend what he was going through.
The Sheriff reappeared with the bags of blood and handed them to Damon along with his keys, "This was all I could find." She looked warily over to Elijah.
Leaving Elena and the Sheriff at the crate's entrance, Damon made his way over to Elijah. He looked down into the coffin as he approached, which revealed a middle aged woman wearing a vintage dress, indicative of the time period she must have lived in. She had a matching dagger through the heart and was much more desiccated than Elijah had been. Damon waved the bags in front of Elijah.
Blood thirst taking over; Elijah took the bags and ripped into one, drinking heavily. But, after a moment he stopped and asked, "This is all you have?"
Damon quickly moved back to stand between Elijah and the women at the entrance. "Yes."
Using years of practiced restraint, Elijah pulled the bag away from his lips and set them aside. He would need them for later.
He moved back to his mother's coffin and placed his hands on the dagger. He was just about to pull it out when Damon rushed to his side again and stopped his hands with his own.
"What do you think you are doing?" he said with a warning growl.
Elijah made eye contact with him, "You want me to help you get Stefan back, you have to let me wake my family. That is the deal, no discussion."
"Only you," Damon stated with authority.
"No – all – that is my bargain."
Damon let out a groan of frustration and looked back to Elena.
"Damon we have to let him."
"You're suggesting we unleash all the original vampires on the world? We have no idea what that will mean Elena."
"We don't have a choice."
Damon closed his eyes in defeat; this was a very bad decision. Opening his eyes again he stared down at Elijah.
"If you so much as hurt anyone I care about I will find a way to end you permanently."
"I doubt you could, but I understand the sentiment," Elijah stated.
Elena moved forward slightly, "Elijah, why don't you let me do it, it could be dangerous for you to pull the dagger out," she offered.
Damon stared back at her in disbelief.
"Thank you dearest Elena, but the dagger won't affect me in the same way as it would your bodyguard here if he used it."
Damon rolled his eyes at the nickname he had just been given. He slowly released his grip on Elijah's hands. "Just wait a minute," he instructed and walked back over to Elena and the Sheriff. Grabbing Elena's hand he turned her around and walked her to the edge of the crate.
"Elena, go wait outside with the Sheriff and lock yourselves in her car until I come and get you."
"But…"
"No arguing, just do it."
The Sheriff wrapped an arm around Elena, pulling her away from Damon and ushering her outside.
Damon watched them go. Elena briefly looked back at him with a mix of anger and concern before she disappeared from his view. It was going to be the night for making bad decisions he just knew it. He turned back around to Elijah and nodded in defeat. Elijah quickly pulled the dagger out.
Damon moved to the relative safety of the warehouse, outside of the crate. He waited across from the crate, leaning against one of the building's support columns. From his position he had a clear view of the activity inside the crate. One by one, Elijah had moved from one coffin to the next. He had pulled the dagger out, waited for his family member to waken, had given them some of the blood and had whispered words in their ear, too quiet for even Damon's vampire hearing to pick up. Elijah then moved on to the next coffin and repeated his actions. It was a long process and Damon was starting to get inpatient, his fingers were fiddling anxiously with the keys in his pocket. Though in some respect, he was grateful that Elijah hadn't ripped all the coffins open at once, zoomed around pulling each dagger out, and then had them all waking at the same time. If he had done this, he was sure he would be standing in the middle of anarchy right now.
With all the coffins finally open, Damon now got his first view of the Original family. It made an interesting spectacle as they were all dressed differently, as if they were from different times. Which Damon supposed they were, as Klaus had spent years hunting them down, some of them obviously took longer to find and capture than the others.
There was an older couple, who were clearly the parents. They were dressed in the oldest outfits, her in a frilly green dress and him in a smart dark suit. Remembering what Elena had told him, the Father was a wealthy man, and the way he held himself even in his current weakened state showed an air of nobility. When the Father had discovered his wife had been unfaithful and that Klaus was born of a werewolf/vampire line, he had killed his wife's lover. Klaus must have gone after his parents first, presumably seeking revenge against the death of his biological father.
The others, not including Elijah, were made up of three brothers and two sisters. They mostly appeared to be in their twenties or early thirties, but one of the brothers reminded him of Stefan and was clearly in his late teens. They were dressed differently, through the ages, and sporting different hair styles and fads. The youngest appeared to be the most modernly dressed and he figured that Klaus had left him second to last to capture. The last being Elijah of course. Damon thought it was possible that Klaus had chosen Stefan because he reminded him slightly of the younger brother.
His mind quickly turned its thoughts to his own brother. They were wasting time; they had to get going before it was too late. Damon pushed himself forward a few steps but remained at a safe distance.
"Elijah, come on we don't have all day, or have you already forgotten the reasons for your revival?"
Elijah turned to face him, "I haven't forgotten."
He walked out of the crate, followed closely by the rest of his family. He stopped a few metres from Damon and his family formed a line behind him.
Damon gulped slightly; eight against one was not good odds. How did he get himself into these situations? If they turned against him now he was in serious trouble.
"Not so strong are you, without the lovely Elena at your side," Elijah observed.
"We made a deal. You will help us get Stefan back from Klaus," Damon tried his best to keep his voice strong.
"And so we shall," Elijah replied, clearly amused by Damon's predicament and unease.
"Just so we're clear, I don't trust you," Damon said.
"We have both deceived and betrayed the other. Neither of us can trust the other, but what other choice do you have?" Elijah stated.
"I guess that puts us at a truce then doesn't it?"
"Agreed," Elijah answered, though neither of them made a move to shake on the deal.
"We will need to travel to Arcane Creek immediately; if that is the destination you think Klaus is heading to?" Elijah asked.
"Yes."
"I believe you can find your own way there? We will meet you at the town's East border at dusk tomorrow," Elijah commanded.
"It's at least a 15 hour drive to New Orleans alone, and that's without stopping" Damon quickly deduced.
"Then we had all better get a move on. If you aren't there we will carry on without you."
Elijah looked back at his family, and they all took this as their cue to leave. In the blink of an eye they had all disappeared from behind Elijah leaving just the two of them facing one another.
Damon was unfazed by their sudden departure, and used the opportunity to ask Elijah one more question, "What are you going to do to Klaus when we find him?"
"That really is none of your concern now is it? If I were you I would be concentrating my efforts on retrieving Stefan. I stayed back to warn you, I cannot be held responsible for my family's actions when they take Klaus down – they will also take down anyone with him."
With that said Elijah also disappeared, leaving Damon standing alone in the warehouse.
After a moment had passed, Damon quickly walked over to the two dead vampire guards and pulled the stakes out of their bodies. They were the only weapons he had. He then rushed out of the warehouse.
An awkward silence had descended on the Sheriff's car as Elena waited anxiously for Damon to appear.
Breaking the silence, the Sheriff tried to reassure Elena, "He'll be okay, if I know anything about Damon Salvatore is that he can take care of himself."
"I should never have left him in there alone."
"You care about him, don't you?"
Elena looked over to the Sheriff, how was she supposed to respond to that when she didn't fully understand her own answer. She didn't say anything and returned her gaze to the large building in front of them.
After a few more minutes Damon appeared from around the corner. Elena let out a sigh of relief when he appeared to be unharmed. She quickly unlocked the door, and got out of the car. "Where have you been, it's been ages, I've been going out of my mind."
Damon grinned at her, "You were worried, about little old me?"
Elena ignored his wisecrack and asked, "What happened in there?"
"Well 'Project Original' is a go," he said with a smile. But, suddenly turning serious he added, "Look I need you to do something for me, go back to Mystic Falls with the Sheriff."
Elena looked shocked at him, "No I'm not leaving."
"Damn it Elena, it's too dangerous. Klaus doesn't know you are alive and I want to keep it that way."
"What difference does it make Damon, the curse is broken, he doesn't need me anymore."
"We don't know anything about the curse, maybe your blood will reseal it, maybe you're now his biggest threat, we just don't know Elena. It's too big of a risk that I'm not willing to take. Go home."
"No, you need me. I know you don't think that you do, but you do." She then threw back some of his own words at him, "Who's going to save your life when you're out making decisions?"
They were now inches apart from each other, both standing their ground.
"I'm no longer the naive little girl Damon. I can take care of myself and I think I've proven more than once that I can take care of you too."
Damon knew this was going to end up being another extremely bad idea, but he knew from past experience that it was more dangerous leaving Elena to her own devices. She would find a way to get into trouble no matter what she did. At least this way he could keep an eye on her.
"Fine, but you have to promise me something, you have to do whatever I tell you to do. If I think it's too dangerous and tell you to run, you run."
"I promise," Elena agreed.
Damon tore himself away from Elena's intense gaze and walked over to the open door of the Sheriff's car.
"Sheriff, we won't be needing any further assistance this evening. Thank you for your help today."
He went to close the door, but she stopped him.
"Damon, we were friends before I made a mess of all this. I know I have let you down, but I hope one day you can forgive me. If there's anything I can do…" she trailed off.
"Thanks Liz, but we can take it from here." He gave her a small smile and shut the door.
He turned back to Elena to see her trying to restrain a smile.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," she replied, but knowing fully that by calling the Sheriff by her first name, Damon had begun to forgive her.
"Come on," he said to Elena, placing a hand on her elbow he directed her back to his convertible. The clock was now ticking and they had a long drive ahead of them.
