AN: Let me begin by explaining why I haven't updated in forever. (I feel like I'm always apologizing for such slow updates.) As of recently, I have been looking for another job or a second job and well I found one! I'm really excited to have found a job in my field even if its only part time at the moment, so I've been really busy with that. Also, I'm not going to lie the Olympics have been a distraction, but the winter games only happen every four years. Anyways, as I digress, I really hope you guys like this update. It went in a completely different direction of where I wanted it to go, but I love the ending. I'm not sure how long this story will be. I'm thinking maybe 15 chapters now, but who knows I change my mind every day about FSI. Please leave a review. To the people who do, I love you for it! It makes me feel so great to get feedback. To those who don't, shame on you. JUST KIDDING! I'm thankful that you at least read my stories. That's more than enough. But seriously thank you to each and everyone of you.


CHAPTER 7. FEED THE NEED

It took every ounce of strength she had to fight the restraints she had been held captive in. Elena punched her arms in front of her over and over again hearing the concrete crack and crumble. Tiny bits of dust and rock fell in her hair, but that was the least of her worries.

The quick flash of two blondes disappearing from the basement was the last thing she saw. It was the last image she had of her dear friend, Caroline. Her mind raced with all the horrible possibilities of what could happen to her at the hands of Rebekah Mikaelson. Anger seared through her giving her the motivation to free her from the chains. She could not let her get away with this.

Guttural sounds escaped deep from her throat as she heaved forward and began to move more freely. A few more powerful tugs and she could break away. "Elena," Damon called out and slid about an inch in her direction. More blood oozed from his skin as the chains he was locked in cut deeper.

Crack. The concrete spilt and the chains snapped. Crack.

"Elena." Damon's voice became less weak. He was beginning to snap out of his incoherent state and wake up to the nasty taste of reality.

Her teeth grinded hard and she could feel the bones in her body shifting from the great force she put behind her tug. Giving it all she had, Elena flung forward and the chains once attached to the concrete were now lying heavy at her sides. She moaned in pain knowing she had dislocated something, but it was an easy fix. The circle like handcuffs around her wrists she disposed of and she popped her shoulder back in place. "Ah," she cried feeling the ache pulse through her for a only a mere ten seconds.

The sound of clanking metal alerted her as she noticed Damon trying to attempt his shot at freedom. He yelled and moaned much like her, but she knew with her help it wouldn't take as long. She rushed over to him quickly.

"Stop!" She told him seeing the damage he was doing to his arms. The sight of him like this killed her. "Damon, stop!" Insisting for him to remain still as she pulled on his restraints. Three strong tugs and he was free. She snapped the handcuffs off his arms and he winced.

"Are you okay?" He asked reaching up to stroke her hair and examine her. His blue eyes were lost in a sea of concern and confusion.

Elena nodded her head. "I'm fine." She sighed. "But Caroline..."

At the mention of her name, Stefan stirred from the other side of the room. He coughed and groaned as he tried to sit up. The stake impaling his chest was going to be an unwelcomed surprise when he finally opened his eyes. She wanted to rush over to him, but she couldn't bear to leave Damon's side.

"You need blood. We all do." Elena thought out loud.

"What about Caroline?" Damon asked. "Where is she? I heard talking before."

Drawing in a sharp breath, Elena informed him of what she knew. "It's Rebekah. She's a vampire and she has Caroline." She told him. Her mind shattered into a million thoughts dancing and twirling inside her head. She didn't know what direction she need to go in, but all she knew was this was bad, really bad.

"Rebekah? As in Mikaelson?" He furrowed his brows letting the information sink in. The dark, aggressive side of him was protruding. A side she was not fond of, but in a time like this she did not care.

"Yes. She's come back to avenge her dead brother." She replied.

"Why?"

"Apparently, we're responsible." Elena remarked shaking her head. "Mainly me."

"But this isn't your fault. Katherine was the one..." He began to ramble before she cut him off.

"It doesn't matter!" She shouted standing up and grabbing her head. "She doesn't care. Rebekah's a vampire, Damon. She turned off her humanity. She has Caroline!"

Noticing her momentary break down, Damon rose to his feet painfully and walked over to her. Precious time was escaping them as they struggled to regain strength and over all mental stability, but as conniving as Rebekah seemed she knew her trail would not be an easy one to track.

"We'll get Caroline back." Damon stated bending down to her eye level.

"Caroline?" Stefan's strained voice called out. He pushed himself up and slowly yanked the stake out his chest. His eyes searched the room for his blonde beauty, but when she was no where to be found, a different sort of expression was read across his face.

"Where's Caroline? Caroline?!" He yelled.

Damon and her rushed over to his side and helped him up as he wobbled. The wound on his chest was no longer bleeding, but dry. He was by far the weakest out of the three of them knowing he was on a more strict diet than the two of them. Ever since his return to town and his stunt with Caroline, Stefan had struggled to better himself and his dietary needs. Too much blood could only make him wild and out of control, something they definitely didn't need right now.

The thought of blood made her stomach growl. Caroline's blood was still smeared on the ground behind them and she looked over her shoulder. It was taunting her and she tried not to breath too deeply. Her human scent was strong and after using so much energy, she needed a fix. Elena feared though with her hunger driving her actions that she too would end up in the same fate as Stefan if she got a hold of too much blood.

"Elena." Damon spoke her name drawing her out of her small trance. She turned back to focus on their current situation.

"Rebekah has her." Damon told him.

"Who?" Stefan asked.

"Remember that dick Elena worked for?" He tried to spark a memory and continued to explain to him. "Well his sister, who I thought was incapable of ever amounting to anything but being a pretty blonde behind a desk has Caroline."

"And she's a vampire." Elena added.

Stefan lunged forward, but they stopped him. No matter how strong he thought he was, Stefan was not ready to go out chasing after Rebekah. He was no match for her. After her brief chat and physical threat from their newfound enemy, even Elena didn't feel matched up against her. No soul, no emotion could be found behind her eyes. All she showed was the upmost certainty of avenging her brother, who was a piece of scum anyways. Apparently it ran in the family.

"Where do you think you're going?" Damon asked holding his brother up.

"After Rebekah to get Caroline back." He growled and tried to move again.

Damon scrunched his face and pushed Stefan back. "Oh no, you're not." He insisted. "None of us are."

"But Damon..." Elena protested and he shot her a look that dignified he was clearly in charge of this search and rescue team.

"We all need to feed. We need strength. We need a plan." Damon said making it sound more like a priority than a suggestion. "We all know impulsive moves can only lead to more damage or worse, death."

"She's my girlfriend." Stefan shouted.

"And she's my best friend." Elena added.

"And you're my brother." He stated looking between the both of them. "And my wife. Caroline is just as important as you two are and I'm not about to lose family over some stupid blonde because she can't let her fucking douche bag brother go."

And there he went changing her view on things again. He had a way with words like no one else. Damon was capable of making her look at things in ways she never thought of. Before all she could think of was getting some blood in her system and take off running looking for Caroline and she still wanted too, but now with more caution. Damon was right. They needed a plan. They needed to drink up. They needed to think about this before going to into it blindly. She couldn't imagine losing him for the same reason he had just stated.

"Damon's right." Elena agreed and she saw him smirk shine through.

Stefan didn't say much, but moaned in pain and annoyance. She knew how badly he wanted to find her because she wanted the same thing.

As she tried to calm Stefan done, she found herself being the only one holding him up as Damon stepped away and got on his phone.

"Ric, we have a problem." He said into his phone. If he was getting a hold of Alaric, he meant business and the powerful man/vampire that he was rose up to the occassion despite his bloody and tampered appearance.


After Alaric had been informed about their whereabouts and what had just gone down, he had come to get them and they all agreed on going back to Damon's old house. Even though it didn't have the safety measure likes their new home, it was closer and familiar. Once settled back on his old property, Elena explained to them every thing Rebekah had told her about in the basement of Mikaelson Publishing & Co. She shuddered reliving the image of Caroline being taken away against her will. Her stomach growled again thinking about her spilled blood all over the floor.

"You need to feed." Damon announced.

Elena reached up to touch her face feeling her skin rough around her eyes and her teeth becoming razor sharp. She was craving it and her body was demanding it, but all Damon had to drink was a supply of blood bags in the freezer. What she wanted was room temperature blood. What she needed was the human vein.

"Elena," Damon dragged her away from the huddled circled. Alaric and Stefan looked over as they stepped aside. "Go downstairs and get some blood bags. We could all use a drink."

"But I don't want a blood bag, Damon." She complained. The blood from the restraints digging into his skin was now dry on his arms.

"I know." He took hold over her shoulders. "Let's just try to figure out how we are going to get Caroline back and then we will go out and hunt. All three of us."

It's not what she wanted, but it would make due. She nodded her had in agreement and turned to head down the hall. Blood sources were everywhere in the house and she was surprised he still had it lying around knowing any vampire could come in and take it. However, in this moment of crisis, she was happy he had a hefty supply.

Finding the door to the cellar, she opened it and walked down the wooden steps. It was a place she had never been before, but a place she knew about. A place she knew Damon kept most of his stolen or "borrowed" as he liked to put it blood bags from the hospital.

Down a short flight of stairs, she saw the white cooler by the opposite wall and rushed over to it. She pushed up on the lid and felt the blast of cool air hit her skin. Dozens of blood bags were inside and she scanned the types knowing it didn't matter. O- negative or not, she just wanted the hunger to go away. Ever since she caught Caroline's scent she had been going mad with the thought of blood. Suppressing it wasn't easy, but she did it anyways. Even resisting her friend's blood was hard too. It sickened her to think she would ever look at Caroline like a food source. She wasn't. She was her best friend and a friend she was never going to hurt, but her urges betrayed her. Unless she kept a steady intake of blood when she was around Caroline, she was vulnerable to her ugly monster side too.

Completely appalled by her thoughts, Elena snatched up a blood bag and tore the tub from the bag. She squeezed the bag hard pushing the blood up the tub fast and into her mouth. The moment it touched her taste buds she felt better. To a human it was like eating a good cheeseburger after starving yourself for a day or two. Her hunger had taken time to adjust to and she thought she had it all under control, but it was still unpredictable at times.

Within a minute, the entire contents of the bag were consumed and gone, even every last tiny drop. Elena licked her lips and dropped the bag on the floor. The skin around her eyes grew rough again and she felt her fangs come out to play. God what she wouldn't give for the human vein right now. Not thinking twice, she picked up another bag and repeated the same action. Tub torn, blood flowing fast past her lips and down her throat. It was heavenly. She figured the rest of them wouldn't mind if she got a drink or two in before heading back upstairs and sharing with the rest. Elena savored the blood like it was her last drink on Earth.

Two bags gone and she was in full vampire mode. Her body hunched over the cooler and her thoughts began to invade her. She closed her eyes thinking of Caroline and how scared she was. She saw Rebekah and her menacing smile as she enjoy watching her suffer. Another image of her past haunted her noticing how much Rebekah was like Katherine and Klaus all mixed into one person. It made her mad. It made her fume. History could not repeat itself. Not again.

Her hand snatched another bag and she tore it apart like an animal. She sucked hard feeling her cheeks cave in and the bag emptying faster than before. Her focus was narrowed in on one thing and one thing only. It was to end all the dark threats that followed her and Damon. She had enough of it and she thought it was over when Klaus and Katherine finally kicked the can for good, but no. It was never over. It was never going to be over. No matter how hard they would try, an enemy would always pop up. Someone would always want what he or she had and she couldn't stand it. More blood poured down her throat getting lost in thought.

First Klaus, then Katherine, and now Rebekah. Who would it be next? What would they want exactly? Did it matter? She was a vampire now unlike before. She had a fighting chance. She had the option of putting an end to the madness if she wanted. No longer being the damsel in distress, she could defend Damon and the people she loved. She didn't have to sit back and let everyone do the fighting for her. Elena could be strong and stronger than anyone else.

"Elena!" The panic and worry in Damon's voice from the steps behind startled her. The bag in her hand dropped to the floor and she broke out of her stupor. Elena breathed heavily and looked at him. His blue eyes were wider than the moon and his hands were up in defense. She couldn't understand why he was acting this way until she glanced down at her feet. Nearly a dozen or so empty blood bags were at her feet. Elena drew in a shaky breath and leaned back on the cooler frightened. What had she done?