Chapter 10

Falling.

Elena felt like she was falling. Not a terrifying plunge to death, but a smooth and gently like a feather. Everything was so calm and peaceful that she didn't want to leave. She was completely happy and at ease without really knowing the reason why. But then she was lying to herself because she knew exactly why she was feeling this way.

A certain blue eyed man dressed all in black...

Suddenly a loud piercing stream of light exploded in her face, blinded her with its brightness. Elena's eyes shot open and her breathing was short, heavy breaths. Sweat beads ran down her face and her hands. What the hell..?

Then it happened again, another explosion rattling the room, but this time it came from the window, shattering the glass. Elena screamed and ducked under the blankets to protect herself. The fire from the explosion started spreading and heating everything within the room. She jumped from the bed and ran for the door, knowing that if she didn't she would roast.

She gripped the handle and turned. Nothing happened. Again she turned, repeatedly, but nothing happened.

"No!" She cried, scratching as the wood and kicking it with her foot.

She was trapped. The heat was coming closer and she couldn't breathe. The smoke was choking her and she was going to be burnt alive. She couldn't think, just panic.

She could hear the roaring of the fire, screaming at her. What's going on? She was disoriented, her eyes watering and dotting her vision. It was killing her. The air was dry, her lungs where parched.

She sank to the floor on her knees, hiding away in the corner. She'd given up hope. It was over...over...over..!

No…no…it could be over! Not yet! She had so much to live for still. She was seventeen, had her whole life ahead of her and she refused to die here. No. Using what was let of her broken voice, she pleaded for the one person who could save her. The one person that she believed above all was the one who was going to save her.

"DAMON!"

"Damon! Get up!"

Another explosion burst into the warm, thick air, creating huffs of thick black smoke and making his heart pump faster than a hummingbird's. In a few minutes, his home had erupted in flames and soon it would engulf the entire place.

"Damon!" Rose yelled, slapping her palm in to the side of his face and snapping him back. "We need to get out of here! All the main doors have been set alight as well, so we are going to have to use the emergency tunnels."

"What the fuck happened, Rose?!" He bellowed, pulling himself to his feet. "Why didn't any alarms go off?"

"I don't know but we don't have time for that now! We need to get out of here."

Damon nodded and went to follow Rose to the basement door, the only way that they were going to get out of here. But then he suddenly stopped. There was something wrong. Something was missing, or rather someone was. Oh God…Elena!

"I have to find Elena!" Damon exclaimed over the sound of destruction.

"Well you better hurry." Rose said, panic in her eyes and yet another explosion came from the opposite side of the house. "We have about ten minutes before this whole place starts collapsing!"

She ducked into the basement door, sealing it shut behind her and leaving Damon in the hallway.

The dark grey smoke was the first indication that this wasn't a good idea. The second had to be the orange and yellow flames that danced violently before him as they charred everything in their path. The third had to be the heat, he actually felt like he was baking and that his skin would soon peel off.

But there was no stopping him now. He had to save her.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he sprinted up the stairs. All he could hear was the crackling of the fire, but he knew there was something more. He stopped and listened. Tears streamed down his face as the smoke irritated his eyes.

What if he didn't make it in time? What if it was too late? He would never be able to forgive himself.

He pushed that thought far from his mind and staggered onward.

He finally made it to her corridor, breathing a sigh of relief that no sign of a fire had started up here yet. But he could just make out the bright glow that crept around the corners. He had to be quick.

"Elena!" Damon shouted pounding his fist against the door.

"Damon! Help me!" She screamed, completely petrified. "The doors locked! I can't get out!"

"It's okay, don't worry." He tried to sooth her. "I'm gonna get you out, okay?"

Damon reached in to his back pocket to retrieve the key and then he could get Elena out of this hell hole. Wait…where was the key? He panicked, patting down all his free pockets, desperate to find the bloody thing. He must have dropped it after the explosion.

Fuck!

He started running his hand through his hair, eyes wide as he tried to come up with another plan. He could see the smoke creeping down the hallway, indicated that he didn't have a lot of time before the whole place went up in flames.

Then, an idea came to him. "Elena, can you get out through the window?"

"I can't!" Elena cried. "That's where the fires coming from!"

He ran a hand through his hair, knowing that he was now out of time as smoke started to surround the hallway and a little started to slide under the door. He could hear Elena grasping for breath as she went into a coughing fit.

"Please help me, Damon…please…" She pleaded through the door, her voice getting weaker and weaker by the second.

He felt his heart crack in two at hearing her Elena for her life, begging for him to save her. In that moment, flashes backs came to him of that night with Katherine. How helpless he was when he couldn't get to her in time even after she screamed and prayed for him to get to her.

Hearing Elena now brought it all back and felt is whole world collapse again the very same way it did last time. He had to get her out. He promised to protect her. Promised to keep her safe.

There was only one more thing he could do. He had to kick the door down.

"Back up!" Damon ordered loudly, and Elena backed away from the door instantly, afraid and completely oblivious to his capabilities.

An abrupt cry escaped her as the door unexpectedly flew open, slamming against the wall with astounding force. Damon rushed in to the room, squinting to try and find her until his gaze landed on the quivering body in the corner.

"Elena!" He ran to her, gripping her tightly in his arm. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

She struggled to get to her feet so Damon latched his fingers with hers and pulled her out of the room. The fire had started to spread down the corridor, poisoning the air with choking smoke. The heat was too intense, making them both sweat on the spot. They had to get away so Damon proceeded to pull Elena after him.

She tried to keep up, but her eyes began to sting and her breathing became uncontrollable. She felt like she was going to faint as her legs gave way. Damon caught her just in time, supporting her weight in his arms.

"Damon…I can't…" Elena started to choke on the fumes and Damon pulled her into his side.

Leaning on a wall, they stopped a moment to catch their breath and take in their surroundings. Damon was struggling to see now and it would have been easier if his eyes would stop tearing from the smoke. Everything was too blurry. He was able to make out some objects, a banister connected to a staircase, which led down. The stairs weren't on fire and they were both struggling to breath.

Then he had an idea. He fell to his knees, bring Elena with him and started to crawl through the hallway. The smoke wasn't as thick down here, meaning they could breathe with ease. They weren't moving any faster than before, but at least they could get some air in to their lungs. By the time they reached the first steps, the air seemed clear and so Damon yanked Elena to her feet and lifted her into his arms, bridal style.

She latched her arms around his neck as he sprinted down the main stairs in to the hallway. His eyes darted from left to right until he stopped Rose of the opposite side of the archway to the basement.

He was about to run after her but the floor started to collapse as the burning planks of wood fell from the ceiling. There was no way they would make it across here now!

"Damon!" Rose screamed from the other side. "Go the long way around! I'll meet you there!"

He nodded and gripped Elena tighter as she started wheezing again. If he didn't get her out her soon, then she might not make it. He ducked into the parlour room, quickly looking around, but no fire had been started in here yet.

He set Elena on her feet and tried to open the large bay window latch. There was no other way they could go and if they could just get out then they would be able to slip around the back garden and into the basement.

But Damon's palms were too sweaty and he couldn't get a good enough grip on the latch to be able to turn it. He swore out loud and moved around the room trying to find something, anything, that he could use to break down the glass.

Elena watched wide-eyed at Damon's flustered and panicked expression. She's never seen him like this and she knew if Damon was on edge like this, then it meant the worse for both of them.

Just then, Elena caught a shadow outside the window. A person? Yes, it was a person! Someone had come to save them! Elena smiled and started waving her hands in their direction, thankful that both her and Damon were going to make it out alive. But her smile soon flew when she saw the glimmering of a silver object in the strangers hand, pointed directly at her.

"Damon..?"

He came to her side, following her gaze to the window.

Fuck.

Gunshots exploded into the air, shattering the glass into a million pieces. Damon threw Elena to the floor behind the couch instantly, covering her with his own body like a human shield. She screamed in terror as bullets raining through the glass window and he had to clamp a hand over her mouth just to shut her up. He knew she was scared, but he couldn't risk them giving up their position.

Her cries turned in to small whimpers as she tried to keep her emotions under control. Damon pressed a finger to his lips in a silent plead for her to stay quiet. Elena nodded her head and he gradually removed his hand from her mouth, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away some of her tears.

The crunching sound of boots steeping over the broken glass brought Damon back to reality as he lifted himself off the quivering girl. He crawled to the corner of the couch, just out of view and watched the shadow crawl across the floor as the shooter got closer.

Well, it was now or never.

Damon pounced on the unsuspecting intruder, tackling him to the floor with all his strength. Although the man was taken by surprise, he still had one up on Damon, angling the pistol in the direction of his skull.

But Damon was too quick, smashing the strangers face into the countertop with the bottles of bourbon, knocking the shooter from his hand and sending whiskey flying everywhere. The man screamed, his nose bleeding as Damon continued slamming his face into the bar. He picked up a shard of glass from the floor, bringing the make shift blade down on the strangers jugular.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Damon seethed, yanking the man's head back by his hair to expose more of his throat.

"Fuck you!" He hollered, trying to pull away.

Damon growled and again smashed his face in to the sharp points of glass that now littered the table. The man screamed out in pain, cursing and trying not to move his head too much, still well aware at how close he was to his throat being slashed.

"Now, I'm going to ask you one more fucking time!" Damon hissed. "Who are you?"

"C-Connor Jord-dan." He spluttered, blood sipping from the corners of his mouth.

"Who sent you?"

Connor remained silent, is eyes fixated straight ahead of him. Damon clenched his teeth, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere here.

"Fine, have it your way." Damon spat.

And with that, he pressed hard on the blade and pushed Connor's head forward, listening to his choked struggled and pathetic attempts of escape. Damon made sure that it was as slow and painful as possible. Blood started to spray everywhere and the body went into a spasm as he let go it.

Damon threw the shard of glass to the floor, stepping over his victim to collect the gun he had discarded early. A 33 calibre pistol, not exactly his weapon of choice, but it would do for now.

Elena was physically shaking now, her hand flying to her mouth to stop a scream escaping. She had just witnessed Damon kill someone, right in front of her. Her eyes shot from body to Damon to the gun now resting in his grip. He turned to her, his features dark and crimson stains covering his hands.

"We haven't got a lot of time left and we have to keep moving." Damon spoke firmly.

With his arm tucked around her waist he pulled her up against his chest and allowed her to cling to him. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. She was terrified now. Not just of Damon but the whole situation.

"It's okay." He cooed to ease her fears while glancing up at the blood splatters decorating his Persian rug. It was he favourite one as well.

But it wasn't over yet.

Damon instantly released Elena when the sound of angry voices began shouting over the gunfire. Coming from the smashed window, another figure appeared this one with a balaclava on and a gun pointed in their direction.

Damon shoved Elena, urging her to crawl towards the armchair and out if view. She winced, reluctant at first since it meant crawling through a pool of sticky blood. But when a gunshot echoed throughout the room and made contact with Damon's shoulder, she changed her mind about being queasy and scampered across the wooden floor.

Damon howled out in pain, clutching the wound. Lucky, the bullet had only scraped his arm and not actually penetrated the flesh. He watched the stranger as he tried to reload his pistol, but Damon didn't give him the chance.

The faint sound of a trigger being pulled was the only thing that was heard throughout the room as brain matter exploded from the victims head, decorating the walls.

Elena shirked as she watched yet another body full to the floor. Two people in the space of a minute had died by Damon's doing. She wanted to believe that he wasn't a vicious and ruthless murder like he was made out to be, that it was just a facade. But now, she didn't know what to think.

He'd killed trying to save them…

"It's okay. I'll protect you." Damon whispered in her ear as he covered her with his body, wrapping his arm around her.

Elena couldn't answer. Her heart felt like it was in her throat.

"I'll shield you. I promise." Damon asserted.

"T-thank y-you." Finally finding her tongue, she managed to whisper.

She wondered why he was willing to risk his life for her anyway. It wasn't like she mattered to him, right?

"We have to get to the car! Now!" He called urgently as he picked her up in his arms and hurried outside through the broken window.

They were outside for no more than a minute when Damon darted back in to the house through a side door and Elena became confused from all the sharp turns. He heard her whimper when she mistakenly bit down on her lip. He raced through the main hall until he came to the basement door, kicking the metal door repeatedly with his foot.

Rose, swung the door open from the inside as Klaus and Alaric pulled them in. There was no smoke in here let, the door doing its job in being air tight so nothing could get in. No words where exchanged as they all raced down the stairs to the cell room where Elena had spent time in.

She eyed them all with confusion as Rose pushed on a block on the wall. It set off a chain reaction as some of the wall popped open to reveal a door that opened up into another passageway.

"Where are we going?" Elena muttered softly as Damon picked the hair sticking to her face.

She was sweating. Probably more from fear than exhaustion. Her skin was feverish to the touch and he frowned when he noticed the blood stains on her knees and hands now. But he had to keep going because he could sort that out later. The most important thing right now was getting out alive.

The new passage way led to an underground garage which Damon had built in for just an occasion like this if the manor ever came under attack. Setting Elena down on the work bench, he pulled a set of keys out from under a strategically placed tool box.

"Damon! You're in no condition to drive!" Rose snapped, snatching the keys out of his hand.

"What else do you suggest?!" He shouted back.

"Let Klaus take you." She pleaded. "He knows the best safe house in the area."

Damon narrowed his eyes before giving a sharp nod. He lifted Elena off of the bench and carried her over to the black Audi SUV, strapping her into the seat carefully before turning his attention back to Rose.

"Where's my brother?" He ordered her gruffly.

"I don't know. I thought he was outside."

He swallowed harshly, thinking the worst. "I want you to phone me first thing tomorrow. I want a full report on everything from the men that are missing, to how the fire started and who the hell those fuckers were that invade the house."

"Yes, of course." She replied robotically. "Alaric and I will stay at safe house one with anyone else we find. You'll stay at safe house five until we can get this sorted. Now go!"

Damon gave one final look in Alaric's direction before diving in to the back of the vehicle. Klaus was already in the front seat as the engine roared to life. The garage doors finally open and the car sped out into the night and way from the burning building that Damon called home.

His gaze was fixated outside of his window as he watched the place go up in flames as the roof started to collapse on itself. Just ten minutes ago, this house had been home to Damon and now, it had all turned to ashes. As he watched the final remainder of the house disappear, it crushed him to think of what had just occurred before his very eyes.

"We need to get to the highway." Klaus called, pulling off of the old dirt road while checking in the rear view mirror.

The wound in Damon's shoulder was now throbbing slightly as the adrenaline died down. A few inches to the left and he probably won't have an arm anymore. He chuckled to himself lightly, think about the bastards who'd fooled themselves into thinking they could actually kill someone as skill as he was.

Elena's softly whimpered and she tried to hold in her tears, but before she could stop them, they were running down her face. She curled into a ball, sobs wracking her small frame. Everything that had just happened had just been too much. She never imagined that she could be so close to death on multiply times on one night.

Then, surprising her, Damon moved up and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. She instantly stiffened, unsure of what to make of the situation. Elena looked up at him through her wet lashes. Damon brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, gazing into her doe eyes. She still had silent tears leaking from them, and he sighed.

"Hey, it's okay now. You're safe just like I promised." He cooed quietly, moving closer to her still.

"That man..." Elena blubbered as she crawled to the far corner of the backseat to get away from him. "You k-killed him and then...y-you made me crawl through his blood! I-I-…w-why..."

"Would you have rather stayed there and been killed?" He hissed.

She flinched at the harshness of his tone, looking down at her knotted fingers.

"They would have killed me first, you know. Then, if my facts are correct, they would have either killed you too, or left you alone to fend for yourself after breaking your legs, or they would have carried you away with them and-…"

Elena let out a sharp cry and at this point she had burst into tears again, hiding her face into her hands that were still stained red. Just thinking about anything like that made it difficult for her to breath. All her thoughts were consumed with what could have happened and what would have happened if Damon hadn't been there. Even if she made it out of the room, she would have never made it passed those thugs.

Damon felt guiltier by the second, watching the small girl beside him quiver with fear, her body shaking from the harsh cries that rattled her chest. He shouldn't have said anything, he knew, but he had no patience at this point. After everything he did to try to save her and after everything that he had just lost!

Still, he shouldn't have lashed out like that.

He used the arm that was locked around her to pull her against him, using his free arm to lift her up and into his lap.

"No..." Elena mewled helplessly, fully aware of the fact that she was trapped in the backseat of a speeding car with him.

Her struggles died down eventually, not having the energy or will to fight anymore as she rested her face on his chest, just above his heart. She let the rest of her tears make wet patches on his shirt, but he didn't care. The pain in his arm was numb and he felt himself growing calmer at having her with him.

"I'm sorry, Elena." He embraced her stronger as she clung onto his chest for dear life. "I wasn't thinking when I spoke."

"I-It's okay." She breathed, curling her fist in to his shirt. "T-thank you, f-for saving m-me."

"Don't mention it." He mumbled.

With his free hand, he lightly played with the stands of hair that framed her face. It sent a tickling sensation to the roots. Damon knew that most girls liked their hair played with. It felt good. He carefully combed it through his fingers, feeling her muscles relax and her whimpers disappear. The top of her head barely reached his nose and he allowed himself to rest his eyes, taking deep breaths.

He listened as Elena's breathing evened out, signalling she was sleeping, however he frowned as he saw the tears continuing to flow. He hugged her closer to his body, rocking her back and forth ever so slightly. Damon's mind was much too awake to let sleep overtake him, especially after everything.

Who were those men who invaded his house? Why didn't the fire or security alarms go off? How did he not see this coming? And finally, who the hell was responsible for this?

Elena's head was heavy on his chest but that was not why he couldn't breathe. It was all coming back to him, stabbing him over and over again as the ice cage that contained his heart, his emotion, broke free.

Damon let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and felt a single droplet fall from his eye, slipping down against his cheek. Everything he knew was gone. Burst into flames before his very eyes…just like before.

At least this time he managed to save the girl. At least he managed to save Elena. He promised to protect her. He promised and he never, ever broke his promises. He tried letting go of the harsh memories, nuzzling the side of Elena's head as he let a few more tears slip out. Why? Why did this have to happen to him?

The guilt was killing him. Why did he have to leave her alone?

He felt her warmth and heard her stir a little against him. Damon leant forward, pulling some of the hair away from her face so that he could rest his lips by her ear.

"I'm sorry, Elena." He whispered hoarsely. "I promise you. I will never leave you again." His words came out slow and dragging but it is enough to get the picture across.

He placed a small kiss on her tear stained cheek before resting his head against hers. All the things that had been building up over the last few days finally broke free and he didn't know how much more of it he could take. This was why he didn't let himself feel or care or have any emotion what so ever. This was why he shut out everyone, cutting off his humanity.

He did this because the only thing he ever felt was pain. Always pain.

Hello readers! After the cliff hanger of the last chapter, I felt bad about make you all wait too long! This chapter was so difficult and I ended up rewriting this like six times! The chapter was originally about 7,000 words, so I ended up cutting it all down. I wasn't to sure about the ending of this, but I thought it was a nice way of reflecting how this event has effected Damon.

The two strangers in the house have something to do with the main plot, but can anyone guess who they are and who they work for? Damon isn't doing to good at the moment, having an almost break down over the flashbacks from before. In the next chapter you will find out a lot more about Katherine and how it links to Damon's back story.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed reading this chapter! I will try to update as soon as possible, it's just all my deadlines are in for college now! But, when that is all over with I will have more free time to write. Thank you all so much for the support and reviews. 28 reviews on the last chapter! That's insane so thank you all so much! Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! Thanks!

P.S. Considering the rating of this story and where it will be headed in the near future, do you say 'yay' or 'nay' to smutty? ;P

Next chapter: Damon and Elena arrive at the safe house, opening up to each other more than they ever thought they would. Stay tuned ;)