Chapter 10 Deep in the dark

Allison...Allison, I'm here in the dark...I'm waiting for you

"What the fuck?" I shouted, awakening from a pure deep sleep and shooting up into a sitting position with my heart pounding so hard and so fast that I was sure every vampire in the area could hear it. I looked around my dark bedroom once, twice, three time before I realized that there was no intruder, at least not in the physical form. No, it was that voice returning to haunt me, coming out of the air to pull me from my slumber and shake me down to my core to the point where I would never be able to go back to sleep. I glanced at the clock, seeing that it was only 4:15 in the morning and I was hit with such a wave of exhaustion that I just wanted to fall back down in my pillows and let sleep take me again. But it wasn't going to happen. I stayed sitting up in bed, clutching my comforter to my chest as I continued to look around into the shadows of the room, fearful that the voice may actually be coming from a real person. It sounded so much closer now.

Allison...do not be frightened of me...I'm only in need of help...seek me out

"Oh dear god, this is crazy." I muttered to myself, throwing back the comforter and swinging my feet to the floor while glancing out the window to the still black sky and groaned. It was insane to think I was actually going to get out of bed and put shoes on to run out all over Mystic Falls just to find out where this voice was coming from. I should have ignored it but I couldn't. There was just something that told me I would regret it if I did. And I was starting to understand that when you had a feeling that you knew for certain was for real, you didn't just kick it under the carpet and hope it goes away on its own. And this was one of those feelings. This I couldn't ignore.

So I jumped from my warm bed and went to the closet to grab my sneakers and I stuffed my feet into them, not caring that I wasn't wearing socks and paused just long enough to grab a sweater and my keys before I was out the front door and through the quiet hallway where I didn't run into another person the whole way down. Because who else in their right mind would be up at this hour to go out in the chilly morning air to go find a voice that only they could? But still, I forced my feet to move down the steps, sometimes taking two or three at a time until I was at the bottom and I exited the building through the double glass doors and into the cold air that immediately chilled me to the bone while I paused on the empty sidewalk and tried to figure out where I was supposed to go from there.

"Good thing it is still dark out. No one will be out on the streets now and that means no one will see me wandering around like moron." I whispered to myself before I started moving down the sidewalk, looking around at the quiet streets with the tall street lamps still glowing for at least another 2 hours until the sun came up to light the town.

I didn't know where I was supposed to look for this voice that was begging me to come find it. Why couldn't it just tell me where it was? Why couldn't I recognize it but still feel like I knew it from somewhere? Why did it choose me to contact? Why couldn't it chose someone else to search for it? How did I even know this voice was definitely coming from this town? It wouldn't be the first time I caught thoughts or voices from people in the next town over. It didn't happen all that often, but occasionally it did. But I had to keep checking myself by remembering that this wasn't just a thought from some random person's head. It was an actual voice that was speaking to me and no one else. And it was apparent it wasn't going to leave me alone. It had sought me out for some purpose and it was my turn to reach out to it.

So I walked. I don't know for how long because I didn't have a watch, but it couldn't have been for too big of an amount of time. The sky's color hadn't changed all that much so it still had to be in the 4 o'clock hour but I felt like I had been wandering for a lot longer then that. I ended up on bench in the square in the heart of the town and just sat there looking around. I could see right down the streets at the quiet store fronts that were still hours away from opening and I even spot my apartment building from here. But there was no one else out here except me. I was alone, in my pajama in the middle of the town square. It occurred to me that I should find that funny, but I did not laugh. It felt too serious of a situation for that kind of reaction.

"Allison? What are you doing out here this early?" A deep husky voice asked from the distance behind where I was sitting and I turned around to spot Stefan standing at the other end of the square with his angry looking brother and they both had their eyes on me in a intense way. Stefan turned his head to say something to Damon and the next second he was there by my side, sitting down on the bench with his head tiled to the side and a quizzical expression in his face. "Why are you wandering around when it's still dark?"

"I heard that voice again." I explained, knowing that Elena would have told him about our conversation with Bonnie that night when I heard it again. And when he nodded for me to go on, I ran my fingers through my hair and said. "This is going to sound crazy, but it told me to come find it. So I did. Or at least I tried to. I don't know where to look and it hasn't spoken to me again."

"And you're sure it's not just you hearing someone's thoughts?" Stefan asked, his dark brows furrowing as he spoke as he tried to make sense of this. I didn't have to read his mind to know that he thought it was crazy.

"Stefan, I've been reading people's minds since I was a kid. I know the difference between hearing thoughts and memories and knowing when it is a real voice talking to me." I stated, glancing behind the bench to where Damon was still standing off in the distance and I frowned. "Why is he just standing there watching us?"

"He doesn't want to come over here by you." Stefan said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "I think he is still nursing his wounded pride from the other night."

"Wounded pride...oh he told you that he tried to kiss me." I nodded in understanding, turning to look at Damon who just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. I knew he was hearing every word we were saying but he pretended not to be listening and just sent his gaze at the ground. I rolled my eyes and looked at Stefan. "Don't tell me he is actually upset about that?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" Stefan wanted to know, honestly looking at me like he couldn't believe I doubted it. But he didn't give me a chance to answer because he shook his head and shrugged. "That doesn't matter now. What does matter is that you've heard this voice again and now it's getting you all freaked out to the point where you are walking around by yourself and something could happen."

"I can take care of myself, you know." I grumbled, tucking my arms around my body. "I'm not some weakling. I can protect myself if I have to. I've done it before."

"But you're also not invincible." He reminded me, a protective look on his face as he sat back to look at me. "You can only do so much and you never know if there will be more then just one or two enemies to fight off."

"So you're telling me not to go wandering around alone?" I almost wanted to laugh, he looked so serious and territorial the way an older brother would look when talking to his sister. "Seriously?"

"It's just not the smartest idea, that's all." He answered back, scratching his head lightly before sighing and staring at me. "Even if you hear this voice telling you to find it, don't go out looking when it's dark. That's just asking for trouble."

"Yea but I feel like I need to figure this out. I don't think it is something I can just ignore." I said as I tugged on my hair and watched him sigh. "Stefan, come on. I think we both know it's not just something minor. There's no way..."

"I'm not saying for you to abandon the idea of figuring it out, I'm just asking you to be more careful about when you decide to start hunting for it." He stated, smiling at me in an easy way that put me in a more calm state of mind. He reached over and squeezed my shoulder. "We kind of like you in our group and we wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"That's really sweet Stefan." I smiled sweetly at him, truly touched that he would worry himself about my safety. "I promise I won't go wandering around unless I have someone with me."

"Good." He nodded, standing up and then offered me his hand to help me up like the gentleman that he was. Once I was on my feet, he turned me towards the street where my apartment building was and said with authority. "Go home."

"Ok master." I said jokingly, but I did do what he said and started walking towards the sidewalk that would take me back home. I glanced back to wave goodbye to him and he waved back and I almost turn around again but my eyes caught on to Damon who was still watching me and I paused. I hadn't seen him since the night I blew him off and even from where I stood, I could see his face twitching slightly, like he wanted to give in to a more sulking expression. I didn't know what to make of it as I started walking the side walk back to my apartment. I could sense that they were following me at a distance, obviously to make sure I got back safely. I had just gotten to the door when I turned around and they were gone, no trace of them anywhere. I shrugged, a yawn escaping my lips and I hurriedly started making my way upstairs, hoping I could fall back asleep again without another visit from that voice.

Later that day

"Bonnie we need to talk about Allison." Elena said to her friend that afternoon as the school day ended and kids began piling out of the double glass doors, excited to escape finally. Elena spotted Bonnie walking apart from the crowd and she ran to catch up, almost running into the other students as she hurriedly reached the young witch and grabbed the other girl by the arm and pulled her off to the side to a nearby bench and they both sat down together facing one another. "I'm worried."

"Why? What happened now?" Bonnie demanded, setting her bag on the grass at her feet and turning to look at Elena with a raised eyebrows.

"It's not like anything really big happened. But Stefan and Damon found her wandering around the town square this morning before the sun rose because she heard that voice again and it told her to come and find it." Elena explained, reliving that phone conversation she had with Stefan before she left for school where he told her about finding Allison on that bench and since then, Elena had stared getting this ball of worry inside her stomach that only grew as the day went on.

"She heard it again? And she went to go and find it?" Bonnie asked in clarification as the wind blew their hair around their faces. "How would she even know where to look?"

"I don't know. All Stefan said was that she told him the voice said for her to seek it out and that's what she tried to do but she didn't hear it again and she didn't know where else to look and that's when they found her on the bench." Elena told her with a sigh. "He sent her home because he was worried about something happening to her if she was walking around by herself at that hour and he is right. You never know what is going to come out of the woodwork around here. She could have been attacked and seriously hurt or even worse."

"I agree, that wasn't the best move for her to go charging out just to track down a voice." Bonnie said, tucking her hands under her arms and sat back. "This is getting more intense then it was before. She wasn't just hearing it and doing nothing. Now she is going out thinking she can find it."

"I think it's something to be concerned about." Elena pointed out, biting on the corner of her mouth. "Not because she actually thinks she can find but the fact that she is hearing a voice at all."

"What are you saying? That she might be crazy?" Bonnie started giggling as if the idea wasn't something to even consider clearly. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

"I don't actually..."

"Come on, I mean I know it's weird to hear about her hearing some weird voice when no one else can hear it but that doesn't mean she is crazy. She can read minds and we didn't think that was so insane. So we can't really judge this any differently." Bonnie replied, twirling her hair with her fingers. "We of all people know what crazy truly is and I don't believe that she fits that bill."

"Yea but it also doesn't mean we shouldn't have some concern over this." Elena added, standing by her feelings. "How do we know it's for real?"

"How do we know it's not?" Bonnie shot back with her hands in the air. "We're not the ones hearing it so we have no clue if it is just a figment of her imagination. But let's think about this fully. We didn't think half of the things that exist in the world were even possible but they were. So why shouldn't that same statement apply to the Allison situation"

"Ok maybe you have a point." Elena sighed, running her hands through her hair swiftly. "But I can't help but have this feeling that something is wrong. Like something is about to come crashing down today."

"It's probably about something else entirely." Bonnie suggested, moving over and putting her arm around Elena's shoulders. "But I wouldn't worry too much about Allison. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders. She can handle herself."

"I hope you're right."

A few hours later

Something was going to happen.

I just knew it would.

And when it did, it would all go down tonight.

I had been fighting this feeling all the day from the moment I had woken up out of my sleep to go find that voice up to now when I struggled to make it through the last 2 hours of my shift before I left for the night. It just wouldn't leave me alone. It had taken refuge in my stomach and my head and my chest, constantly gnawing at me to make sure I was aware of it's presence. And I never forgot it. It made me jumpy and nervous and I was barely able to function for more then 20 minutes at a time. It was torture. I didn't know why I was so sure that it was going to be today that something clicked in to place. After all, I hadn't heard the voice again since that morning and even when I did hear it, it gave no clue to it's whereabouts or identity. It was still muffled and hazy like it was warped and I was overhearing it speak from another room. This was how it happened last time. I heard the voice and got all freaked out only to never hear it even once for the next few days. It never returned more then once or twice in the same day. So I don't know why I thought today was going to be different. It was the same pattern as before and nothing changed, except for that feeling I had.

That feeling in a nut shell was the sole reason I hadn't totally abandoned the idea as complete insanity. It was the strongest feeling I had ever had when I thought something was wrong. It was stronger then the feeling I had when I was back home trying to decide where I would run off to. It was stronger then the feeling I had when I drove into Mystic Falls. It was a feeling that took over my whole body, filling every part of me with the terrifying realization that I was going to come across something that was going to shake me deeper then it ever had before. And that was saying a lot. I knew the answer was right in front of me, it wouldn't be long till I found out. Something just told me that it would happen sooner rather then later and I had to prepare myself for it. But it felt like torture all day as I forced myself to come into work and pass the time until I knew when the right moment would be that this would all make sense.

I tried so hard to pretend that everything ok but I knew I was slipping up. On my best day when I was working the day shift and being a waitress, I never had to use pen and paper to take people's orders. Today however, even with it written down, I was barely making my handwriting legibly and nearly every order I sent back to the kitchen had to be double checked so the customers wouldn't get upset. I knocked over chairs and dropped drinks and generally was just an utter klutz for the better part of the day. And if it wasn't for the fact that the other day time waitresses were busy then I would have been sent home. But I begged Tony to keep me there till at least 6 because if I was left alone in my apartment to sulk over this then I knew I would be stuck like that for days. At least if I was working then my mind was partially some where else and that was better then nothing.

"Are you sure you are ok?" Tony asked, walking into the break room with a crate of bottles and set it down on the floor by the door. He stood up and sent a look at me that said he was thinking the same thing he had been thinking all day. "You just look like you aren't even here."

"I just have a lot on my mind right now." I told him, sitting up and pulled my hair completely out of it's loose braid so it tumbled down my back. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be such a pain."

"Sweetie, you're not a pain. You're just having a really off day." He said, smiling gently at me. "Everyone is allowed to have one of those. Especially you of all people. You're here constantly, so you are bound to not be on your game at least a little bit."

"I guess so." I nodded, allowing my hair to fall in front of my face past my cheeks so my vision was obstructed. "I just have one of those feelings that something is going to happen and I don't know if I should trust it."

"In my life time, I've learned that when you get one of those feelings that you just know something is the matter, then you trust it. No matter how much you think you shouldn't." He said wisely, patting me on the back with his large hand. "We get those feelings for a reason, you know. So we need to see them through to the end."

"Maybe you're right." I agreed, pushing my hair back behind my ears and smiled. "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem." He said before leaving me alone in the room with my thoughts.

He was right. I had to see this through. I couldn't just try and shake it off any more. It had come to me for a reason. And I had to figure out why. And I knew I would. Like I said, tonight was the night.

Later that night

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Elena asked her boyfriend the moment she stepped through the doorway of his bedroom and found him lying on his bed with his hands behind his head and a broad smile on his handsome face. She tossed her jacket and keys on the desk and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "Did something happen?"

"No. I've just been thinking while I rested all day." He stated, lifting his head to look at her. "And I have to say I have never been more amused then I am on this night."

"Why is that?" She questioned, eager to know the reason behind his good mood. It wasn't that Stefan wasn't always in a sulking brooding kind of state, but he was never looking so easily happy and that intrigued her.

"Damon told me that when he took Allison home the other night, he tried to kiss her but she turned him down." Stefan explained, sitting up against the backboard with one leg pulled up to his chest. "And he's been sulking about it ever since. He wouldn't even sleep during the day today. He just keeps stomping around the house, throwing things on the floor and breaking the furniture."

"Are you kidding me?" Elena exclaimed, her mouth falling open in surprise. "Damon Salvatore? Sulking over being turned down?"

"Why does everyone seemed so inclined to believe that it's not possible for him to be offended by this?" Stefan asked, genuinely curious about that and Elena tried her hardest not to laugh but it didn't go un-noticed by him. "What?"

"It's just that...it's Damon." Elena giggled, throwing her hands in the air with vigor. "This is the guy who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted and that's in the worse possible way. He is mean and violent and he only has sex and blood on his mind. He is never serious and he is certainly never appropriate when he needs to be. He turns off his emotions at every time he can and tries to pretend that he is nothing more then a monster."

"And your point is..."

"My point is that, all those things combined make it very hard to believe that a vampire like Damon is offended by anything. If he gets turned down by one girl, he can just go find another." She explained, watching his face intently. "He's done it before."

"I know that but we were also just discussing a few days ago how it seems to be like there is something going on with those two even when they won't cop up to it." Stefan reminded her, waving his finger in the air. "Doesn't that mean something?"

"Not if neither of them are willing to admit to it." Elena retorted with a sigh. It was frustrating to her to think that these two people had a chance to possibly be happy and enjoy each others company but they were so stubborn in their refusal to feel anything towards one another. "But maybe in Damon's own way he does care and he just can't show it."

"That's what I believe." Stefan nodded before patting the bed next to him with a smile. "Now come sit by me. I've been thinking about you all day today as well."

Elena grinned, taking a moment to slip her shoes off her feet before she crawled across the bed and cuddled up to Stefan's side. She laid her head against his shoulder and tossed her legs over his so that his arms rested on top of them and she smiled broadly. Being in Stefan's arms was the safest place in the world to her and it always managed to calm her down no matter how badly frazzled her nerves were. It even almost took away the feeling of worry in the bottom of her stomach. It didn't go away completely but she was able to put it aside and pretend that it didn't exist for a while as she titled her head back to look into Stefan's dark eyes. She reached up and touched his face with her fingers before saying. "I love you."

Stefan grinned, leaning forward to press his cool lips against her mouth and then answered back with "I love you more then you could ever know."

That night

"Hey Allison, wait up." Bonnie's voice called out to me as I exited the Grill later that night as my shift ended and I was ready to head home. I turned around to see her rushing across the street and down the sidewalk to where I was standing with my hands in my pockets waiting for her. She caught up to me and I saw that her hair was messy from her brief run and there was a look in her eyes that said she was going to say something that I didn't necessarily wanted to hear. "Bonnie what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you that's all." She said, tugging her jacket back over her shoulders from where it had slipped off. "How are you doing?"

"Ok, let's just put our cards on the table right now." I stated, turning to face her after zipping my keys into my pocket. "You have that look on your face that suggests you want to say something but you haven't yet. And when ever you ask me how I am doing it's usually followed up with some kind of agenda. So why don't you just say whatever it is you want to say instead of tip toeing around it."

"Ok, you got me. There was a reason I came to talk to you." Bonnie admitted, pulling her hair off to one side as she motioned for me to walk with her. "Elena's kind of worried about you."

"Let guess, it's because of this morning right?" I questioned, turning my head to look at her and when I saw the tightness around her mouth I knew I was right. "And Stefan told her. I figured he would. Those two are more tightly bound then anyone I've ever seen."

"They are both just concerned, especially Elena. She thinks that maybe this whole thing with hearing this voice is a little out there."

"Does she not think I think the same thing?" I asked, frowning as I spoke because I had no idea Elena was basically saying that I was crazy for hearing this voice. "Because it freaks me out just as much as it does any of you. But I'm the one who has to hear it and I don't think I am just making it up."

"No one is saying that. I was actually the one who stuck up for you this afternoon and told Elena that it was entirely possible that this was for real. Because if we weren't freaked out by the mind reading then we couldn't pass judgment on this." Bonnie insisted sighing heavily as we walked. "Don't get mad at Elena. She's just trying to be a good friend."

"I know she is." I mumbled, wrapping my arms around myself and shrugged. "I'm not mad. I'm just frustrated."

"Over what?" Bonnie wanted to know.

"Ever since this morning, I've been unable to shake this feeling that something is about to happen tonight." I told her, reaching up to brush my loose hair behind my ear. "I just know things are about to be shaken up and I know that it's not in a good way."

"That's funny, Elena said almost the exact same thing to me today when we were talking about you." Bonnie pointed out, surprise written in her dark eyes. "She also had this feeling that something was going to happen and it was bothering her too."

"See? It's not just me. Maybe there is something going …..." My voice trailed off and ended abruptly in a gasp.

"Allie? Allie, what's wrong?" Bonnie grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face her but my eyes were already off into my own head as my ears filled up with the sound of a voice I still couldn't identify.

Allison...It's time...come and find me...release me from my hidden prison...I'm waiting for you here in the dark...come, right now

"I heard it." I breathed heavily, coming out of my fog and looking at the younger girl with wide eyes. "It told me to come and find it. And that's what I have to do. I have to end this."

"Allison, will you just...Allie wait!" Bonnie exclaimed, but I was already taking off down the sidewalk running like heck with no direction at all. I was just running in the hopes that it would lead me somewhere and something would feel right. Or that the voice would speak to me again and tell me where to find it. Something was stirring inside of me. I knew there was something familiar about this voice. I had heard it before, I was certain of that. And that was why I didn't slow down. I could hear Bonnie running after me, struggling to catch up but I couldn't stop. But where was I supposed to look? I didn't know, but Elena would. Or Stefan and Damon. I looked back at Bonnie, who was chasing after me worriedly and I sighed.

"Come on. We have to get to the Salvatore house right now."

15 minutes later

"Come on Damon. Stop being a sour puss and just get in the car." Elena ordered, looking back at the walk way to the house and to her dismay, Damon had sat down on the front steps and was refusing to move. She groaned under her breath and looked at Stefan who was leaning against the car with his arms crossed, also looking annoyed. And who could blame them? They had spent the last few hours listening to Damon complain and stomp around about how he was in need of some fun and after some convincing on Stefan's part, Elena agreed that they would drag Damon out of the house so they wouldn't have to keep listening to him all night. But now that they were out here ready to go and Damon was suddenly starting to act sulky and it was getting on her last nerves.

"You know what? I don't feel like going out." He decided, crossing his arms over his chest and stared at them intensely. "I think I will just sit here for another few hours."

"And what obsess over Allison?" Elena sneered, shaking her head and fighting the urge to hit something. "Come on Damon, she just got her heart broken. You can't seriously fault her for turning you down."

"Why not? She should just get over it already." He snapped, glaring up at the sky as it was the thing that had offended him. "I'm clearly the better choice."

"I thought you didn't want to be serious with anyone." Stefan said to his older brother with a frown. "I mean, you did say that when I was pointing out that you liked Allison more then you will admit."

"I'm just territorial. You know that." Damon spat out , narrowing his eyes at the both of them. "Anyone I set my sights on should only have eyes for me."

"Yea ok." Elena rolled her turning back to face Stefan. "So what do you want to do?"

"That's up you. You were the one who thought it might do him some good to get out of the house." Stefan reminded her.

"Yea but I..." Elena began to respond, but as she turned her head, her eyes caught sight of something moving towards them and at first she was hit with fear because it seemed to be running fast. But as soon as it got closer, she was relieved to see that it was only Allison and Bonnie coming towards them. And she was about to call out to them and ask why the hell they were running towards the house like they were being chased. Stefan and Damon had spotted them too and Damon had abandoned his spot by the steps and came over to where she and Stefan were standing watching them. Allie skidded to a stop on the grass by the driveway and paused, slightly hunched over to catch her breath while Bonnie came up behind her and stopped too. Elena wasted no time in getting over to them, reaching for Allie to pull her up and look her in the eye. "Allie, what's wrong?"

"Where...where is there a place to hide around here?" She asked, her breath heavy and uneven as she spoke and there was a wild look in her eyes that showed something had seriously spooked her.

"Why do you want to know? What's going on?" Elena demanded, tightening her grip on the older girl. "Why do you need to know that?"

"I just do! Now tell me!" Allison snapped, grabbing Elena also by the arms and shaking her so much that Elena was surprised that such force could come out of such a tiny girl.

"Well...there is the old tomb under the remains of the fell church out in the woods but...Hey!" Elena watched Allison shoot away from her and across the grass to the tree line on the outskirts of the property. She went to go chase after her but she found a hand on her shoulder and she looked back to see Damon standing there.

"I'll go after her." He said and then he was gone, zooming after Allison and disappearing into the forest without another word leaving Bonnie, her and Stefan to stand in a huddle and stare at after them in shock.

"She heard the voice again and it told her to find it." Bonnie spoke up, turning to look at them nervously. "So that's why we were running and that's why she wanted to know. She's going to try and track it down."

"We have to go after her too. We can't leave her alone to figure this out." Elena motioned for Stefan to follow them and they all began heading towards the woods. "At least Damon is with her. He will protect her if there is anything out there."

Out in the woods

"Will you stop running for one minute so I can make a point?" Damon snapped at me as I continued rushing through the moon lit forest while he chased after me, his longer legs easily overtaking me and he stepped right in my path and I had to stop before I ran in to him. I tried to move around him but he grabbed my shoulders and held me in place. "Can you just hold up for one second?"

"I don't have time for this. I have to figure out this out right now." I struggled to get out of his grasp but he was strong and his grip wouldn't allow me to move even an inch. "Can you please let me go?"

"So what? You can run around the woods not knowing where you are going?" He asked, sending a look down at me that told me he was thinking I was behaving like a moron. But I didn't care. I didn't even care that this was the first time we had seen each other since he tried to kiss me. All I cared about was that he was trying to keep me from seeking out the answer to this voice coming to me and I didn't appreciate it. "You don't even know where the tomb is."

"I'll figure it out." I snapped up at him, wanting to reach out and hit him but I couldn't. Not if I wanted to keep the bones in my hands intact. "Now just let me go."

"I could do that or I could help you since I do know where it is." He told me and before I could even protest what he was about to do, he already had me scooped up in his arms and was rushing me through the trees at breakneck speed. I had forgotten how fast it was when traveling in a vampire's arms and I had to grab on to him to hold myself steady so I wouldn't freak out. I could tell it pleased him because he glanced down at me and there was a smirk on his lips. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Not as much as I'm sure you are." I snapped, glaring at him before I kept my head down on his shoulder and just listened to the wind whip my hair back from my face as he moved. I watched the scenery swiftly go by and I wondered how far it was from the house. I noticed a road off in the distance that we passed. "Just get me there."

"Already noted." He said, continuing to run for another minute before he came to a sudden stop and dropped me on the ground. "And here we are."

"You couldn't have just set me down nicely?" I asked, jumping to my feet and dusting the dirt off my jeans as I turned to looked around. There wasn't all that much to see since it was night time and the moon light barely filtered through the tree branches. But I had a feeling that even in day time it would still be the same. I could make out the remains of a long since crumbled building that filled the clearing we were currently standing in and I turned back to look at Damon. "How do I get into down into the tomb?"

"Follow me." He said, strolling forward but not before he reached down and grabbed my hand and began pulling me along with him to the side of the broken down building. We walked off to the back of it and there in the pile of rubble was an opening, barely big enough for two people to enter but that's exactly what we did. I was nervous about walking around in a creepy, old tomb in the complete dark with a slightly unhinged vampire. But Damon's cold fingers squeezed mine and he looked back at me before we went too far. "Don't worry. Parts of the ground have caved in over the years so the light from the moon shines in. You'll be able to see."

I nodded but I didn't say anything else as he lead me down into the darkness and I felt our feet hit the ground. I could see some light up ahead but other then that, there was nothing to distinguish the room we were in. I may not have been Damon's biggest fan these days, but he was a vampire that I had a somewhat difficult relationship with and if there was anything to fear while we were down here then I had enough faith that he would protect me. So I stepped closer to him, tightening my grip on his hand and allowed him to be the one to lead me around. We passed through a dirt hallway that was lit up from the moon and I was to see in front of me briefly. Once we were out of it, I had to rely on his vampire sense to get through the darkness and I was ready to just throw caution to the wind when we turned a corner into a another hallway with moonlight shinning down at the beginning of it when both Damon and I were stopped by something that froze us both down to our bones.

"Don't come any closer. There's a spell on this part of the tomb. If you pass through then you will be trapped." It was the voice that I had been hearing since the day I arrived. It was actually here in this tomb under this old church. I never would have thought that the first place I looked would be the very place where I would find it.

"Holy shit I heard that. Was that the voice you heard?" Damon asked me and I nodded, my mouth falling open in shock and he must have seen that because I felt his hand on my face, pulling it in his direction. "Allison, what's wrong? You've gone cold."

"That's because I know who it is." I whispered, pulling my face away and staring into the corridor where the only light was the spot of moonlight just 2 feet in front of us. I moved away from Damon, my fingers releasing themselves from his hand as my heart pounded wildly against my chest. I shuffled forward, listening to the footsteps on the other side of the darkness and I felt a coldness enter my stomach as the realization started dawning on me. I wasn't lying to Damon when I said I knew who the voice belonged to, because I did know. For so long it had been distorted and unrecognizable but I guess that was just because it was trapped down here. Now that I was standing in the same place and it spoke, it was perfectly clear and I knew exactly who it belonged to and I just couldn't believe my ears. But even more then that, I couldn't believe what I saw appearing out of the shadows. A transparent figure was making it's way the edge of the moonlight and pausing at the space where the light separated us. I heard Damon draw in a sharp breath, knowing that it was because he was seeing the image and not because he knew who it was. But me on the other hand, I struggled to breathe because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was so real that I wanted to reach out and touch it, but I didn't. Instead I opened my mouth and with one shaky word I said it out loud.

"Godric, it's you."

A/n: and there you have it...the mystery voice belong to our beloved godric...sorry for the hold out but it was necessary for the sake of the story...but now it is here and i cant to see what you think of it