It was the middle of the night; everyone was sound asleep around me, except for Rebekah who was poking at the fire while her eyes looked off into the distance. We weren't talking much, but it was a comfortable silence. Stefan had come over and built a tent where Bonnie and Jeremy were currently asleep. Stefan had fallen asleep lying on a log in front of the tent, and Damon was asleep with his head in my lap, I wasn't sure when he'd moved to lie there, but suddenly he was there and asleep.
My mind was sort of blank, my eyes watching the fire flicker and the embers fly into the dark night sky. It was so clear outside I could see every star without a problem, the sky was sprinkled with the glowing white dots, and it was easy for me to pick out constellations, and when I started naming them out loud Rebekah leaned over and showed me a few that had been in the sky since the time she was a human and the ones she'd learned over the years.
The longer I stared the more exhausted I felt, and I could feel myself slowly falling asleep, I was just on the edge, about to dive off the cliff into dreamland when a shriek ripped through the silent night. I knew that scream. That was the fear filled scream of someone about to die.
Rebekah and I jumped up, Damon and Stefan rolled to their feet and Bonnie and Jeremy stumbled out of the tent, I listened and waited for the sound again, the once noisy animals were silent, the wind died down and everything seemed frozen in time. A scream pierced the air, this one was both terrified and angry, and this one was a woman, "Katherine." I whispered.
I was running toward the sound without hesitation not caring about the dozens of traps littering the island. I had to find her. Rebekah caught up with me, keeping pace, and I assumed Damon and Stefan stayed with Jeremy and Bonnie. I could smell blood as we got closer to a cave entrance, I slowed down and looked at Rebekah who shrugged, and together we stepped inside.
A few feet from the entrance there was a giant hole and somewhere within it someone was bleeding to death. Rebekah jumped down first and I followed behind her. Dirt clouded in the air as our feet hit the ground; we were in a huge cave system, one that would be hard to navigate if it wasn't for the overwhelming stench of blood in the air. When I looked back up I noticed some climbing gear, whoever had come down here was human, but we'd fallen through two holes, not one.
Rebekah and I moved slowly, watching out for any traps, Katherine, her kidnapper and whoever it was that screamed first. Winding through the caves led us to an old sarcophagus, there was nothing in or on it, but laying at the base of it was a dead man with blonde hair and a hunters mark down his arm, "what the hell…"
"Silas." Rebekah whispered running her hands over inscriptions on the wall, "This is where Silas was…somebody woke him and took the cure." We exchanged a worried look and quickly back pedaled the way we came. If Silas was down here I certainly did not want to be.
When we reached the two holes Rebekah threw me up in the air and I leaned down and pulled her up when she jumped and we repeated the process at the second. We moved out of the cave quickly, finding everyone standing there waiting, "we figured since we didn't hear you scream it was better if we waited here." Stefan stated.
"We found Silas, or at least where he was. He's risen. Dead hunter down there slumped over his rock bed. Katherine was there, but she's gone now, too." Rebekah said, "I smelled some cologne, but I couldn't tell who it came from."
"Do you think Katherine took the cure?" Stefan asked bluntly staring at me with a blank expression, "she killed him to wake Silas and took the cure with her, maybe to get Klaus off her back finally."
Everyone looked at me, "She could have, I would have in her position." I turned and promptly walked off toward the beach, "we might as well go home, keep looking for her, get away from Silas. We can do another tracking spell when we're back home, right Bonnie?"
"Yeah." She replied. To speed things up we piggy backed Bonnie and Jeremy and ran as fast as we could to the beach, speeding along the water in silence. We spent a night at the air port waiting to take a plane back to Mystic Falls. I was feeling completely drained by the time we reached my door, Jeremy and Bonnie went inside ahead of me to set up for the tracking spell. Stefan, Damon and Rebekah left and I stood on the porch, staring across the street. I turned to go inside, my hand on the door, when a cold hand grabbed my chin and twisted my head to the side rapidly, everything faded and then there was nothing.
When I woke again, my head feeling like a thousand pounds and everything feeling a little fuzzy around the edges, I found myself in a very familiar place, roped to a chair in the center of an unfinished living room, "Klaus!" I screamed until I felt the back of my throat ripping to shreds, only to heal moments later. I thrashed against the tight bindings, but they weren't giving in the least bit, "Klaus! Untie me!"
"Lovely to see you're awake." He commented casually, strolling over to me at a slow pace, a stupid smug grin on his face. He held a glass of blood to my lips, "I promise I'm not trying to kill you. Though that would be a simpler solution." He tipped the glass back and as soon as the blood touched my tongue I gulped it down greedily until it was empty and the fuzzy feeling was gone.
"Why did you take me?" I asked narrowing my eyes at him, testing the ropes again, still too strong but I might be able to break the chair.
"Simple, someone wants me dead." He bent to my level and locked eyes with me, "you will not leave this house and you will not attempt to contact your friends. Understand?"
I could feel the compulsion settle over my mind, "yes."
"Wonderful." He ripped the ropes away from my arms and stepped back so I could stand up. I rubbed my wrists until the redness was gone, "now I understand Katerina has been abducted?" he said, moving through the house, there was a silent command for me to follow him.
"Depends on who you ask." I muttered, following after him.
"My sister believes she was abducted, and it makes sense. As I've recently learned there is a new attempt against my life, involving you, your precious copy Katherine and the cure."
"And how is that stuff going to kill you?" I asked, following him up the stairs.
"With your vampire doppelganger blood, Katherine's human doppelganger blood and a witch powerful enough to do the spell, he can reverse my vampirism, and then kill me, without killing every vampire in my bloodline."
"Because reversing your vampirism won't kill your bloodline? Won't it turn them human?"
"It's a possibility. But human is better than dead, wouldn't that be wonderful for you?" he mused, pushing open a large door and strolling into the room, "you may stay in this room at night, enjoy the books and whatever else you can find. Again, do not attempt to contact your friends or leave. I have been generous enough to allow you your daylight ring, but do not make me regret it." The look he gave me would have terrified me if I had thought he might kill me, instead it simply made me feel inclined to not disobey his requests.
He left, pulling the door mostly shut behind him. I circled the room and glanced at the bookshelf briefly before flopping back on the bed, "at least it's not the art dungeon." I muttered.
"That room is not a dungeon; it is the nicest room in the house, get better taste." Klaus called back, I couldn't help but smirk.
"Maybe I would have appreciated it more if I wasn't being harassed by hallucinations." I called back, vividly recalling the hour I spent talking to both Conner and Katherine in his basement before I managed to get out, now I wished Katherine was here, captivity would be a lot more pleasant with her around, even hallucination her.
Sighing I stood up and explored the bookshelf a bit more, finding a book entitled 'Mikalson' sitting among them. I pulled it down and sat in a high back chair by the window. The book was almost as large as the book on Katherine's family I had found, but I had a feeling it was one of many on their family. There was nothing in it that I didn't already know about them, but it kept track of their lives from becoming originals up until Klaus went dagger happy.
By the time I finished it the time was nearly noon, Klaus had come and brought me a glass of blood, and surprisingly he had not commented on my choice of literature, he merely looked at the book, paused and left. I guess he wasn't too worried about me knowing his families history, it's not like I could kill him without killing everyone I loved.
I put the book back in its spot and stretched out on the large bed again, curling up to sleep finally, my fingers slipped around the necklace and I closed my eyes, I could almost feel her laying beside me. I could almost feel her. Elena…Elena. My eyes snapped open, but I could still hear her, I'm in Mystic Falls, I don't know where. If you can hear me I'm close.
I'm here, Katherine. But she didn't reply. I stood up and quickly moved through the house, following the faint smell of paint to Klaus' art room, "Klaus. Get Bonnie, now." He glanced over at me confused, "Katherine, I don't know how, but she's talking to me."
"Did you go off and kill another hunter?" he joked, turning his back to me once more.
"No. She's talking to me, she said she's back in Mystic Falls, and close if she can talk to me. Bonnie needs to do another tracking spell with her necklace. Get her here, I won't try to leave after, but get her here. Now." Anger flashed in his eyes, but his desire to have Katherine and I in his possession was clearly stronger than anything else.
He pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear, "No questions, bring Bonnie to me, and a map of the town, now." I start pacing while he continues to paint, its aggravating how calm he is, but he remains at ease while he paints, not even my constant pacing breaks his calm. There's a knock on the door and one of Klaus' hybrids drags Bonnie inside.
"Elena!" she ripped her arm out of his grasp and she rushed to me, "you're okay."
"Yeah, look no time to explain, Katherine is close. Do you have the map?" the hybrid glanced to Klaus, who I assumed nodded and then he handed me the map. I dragged Bonnie out of the main room into a side dining room. She had her crystal on her and we found some candles, I handed her my necklace and stood back to watch.
At first it didn't work, but then the crystal zipped to a small spot on the end of town, just off the edge of the map. Bonnie marked it with a red pen, "we can go get her if we just get Stefan and Damon-."
"No." Klaus' sudden entrance made Bonnie jump, "tonight we will go, with my hybrids, and retrieve Katerina. Nobody else will know about this." Bonnie looked ready to argue with him and it crossed my mind for a minute, but it made perfect sense.
"It will be better if Klaus and his hybrids go, Klaus can't be killed and the hybrids are dangerous to humans and vampires. Don't tell anyone where she is Bonnie, she could die." Bonnie looked conflicted, but agreed not to tell anyone as she walked back toward the door, "Just call me when you get back, so I know you're okay?"
I glanced at Klaus, "fine, run along now, little witch." I stood at the door and watch Bonnie and the hybrid leaving, closing the door once the car was gone from my sight, I turned to Klaus.
"I think it would be better if it was the most minimal amount of people. And if I went." Klaus laughed as he walked away, I rushed to keep stride with him, "Katherine will try to run without me there, you can compel me to make sure I don't run-I don't care, let me come with."
"Well if you die my problems are solved." He responded, "Unless you can sweet talk my sister into aiding us, you won't be going." He tossed his phone at me and closed the door to whatever room he went into in my face.
It took me a few minutes to figure out which number was Rebekah's since the contacts were all saved in another language, and it took three calls for an annoyed Rebekah to answer, and about an hour to convince her to help us, after that there was nothing I could do but sit on the staircase and wait to leave.
Rebekah showed up around nightfall and I sat and listened to the pair attempt to create an attack plan, I wanted to run right now, but thanks to Klaus I was compelled to stay in the house, and as the night grew darker I became more nervous that he'd go back on his word and make me stay here, when they'd finally worked out the plan Klaus walked over to me and grabbed my chin, "You will not run away from me, you will follow my orders, and you will not let Katerina escape."
"Yes." I whispered.
"Let's go." Rebekah and Klaus walked out at a brisk pace, I followed pausing slightly before stepping out the front door and crawled into the back of Klaus' SUV. He parked on the far side of the woods and we snuck around the back up to a run down old mansion with ivy growing up one side and paint peeling everywhere. I could feel Katherine now, stronger than before, and the only thing keeping me outside was Klaus' compulsion.
We watched silently as a man moved through the house, he was silent, like us. A vampire. We crept into the house a few minutes after he went upstairs, going through an open window, I pointed down to tell them that's where Katherine was, and as we moved I could hear a heartbeat of someone else downstairs.
"Get Katherine and go to the car." Klaus whispered, handing me the keys before slipping up the stairs. I looked at Rebekah who opened the basement door as quietly as possible. I moved down the stairs in a hurry, Rebekah behind me, and stopped. There was only one person downstairs.
Tied to a bed, bleeding from her forehead and stomach, sweating badly and half awake with her now human heart beating slowly, Katherine stared at me, "get her feet, I'll get her hands." Rebekah ordered. I didn't stop to argue, I ripped the bindings off her feet and Rebekah undid her hands before scooping her limp body from the bed, "lead the way, Elena."
Back up the stairs, out of the house into the woods, nobody stopped us, nothing creepy happened, we made it. Halfway to the car there was a scream, and by the time Klaus made it to the car the house was burning like crazy, "that's one problem down." He muttered, looking at Katherine and I in the rearview mirror as he started the car.
I was scared for my life now; Katherine and I were the only things that could kill him now. He could kill us, just to protect himself, or kill me and use Katherine to build his army, and now I was helpless to do anything but give Katherine enough of my blood to heal her wounds while she slept.
Klaus left us in a new bedroom with an attached bathroom and some clothes he'd gotten from Katherine's car. I pulled off her old clothes and changed her into clean ones before carrying her over to the bed, she was asleep for most of it, but occasionally she opened her eyes to look at me before she fell back to sleep. Once she was changed I cleaned up the bathroom and changed into something more comfortable to sleep in before I crawled into the bed beside her.
She rolled so her back was toward me and scooted across the bed until she was tucked in my arms. I draped one arm over her hip and tucked the other under my pillow before I closed my eyes and waited to drift to sleep. It didn't take long for me to fall into strange dreams for the entire time I slept.
Sorry this chapter was so short or if it seemed rushed at all, I cut the last chapter because I felt like they got Katherine back too quick and I couldn't really think of much more to add to make getting to Katherine take longer. I hope you're enjoying the story!
