Crappy chapter name, I know...Couldn't think of anything else...! Any good ideas and I'll change it!;)
Okie Dokie (Did I really just write that?), so I'm going camping this weekend and so I won't be able to update even though I was planning to have a super-writing-marathon over the four-day weekend... And also I can't watch the Royal wedding! :P Ah well.
Longest chapter yet, right here!
Chapter Eleven
Damon and his followers stopped abruptly, their ears ringing from the loud echo of a scream.
It had only lasted a second, but it was obvious that the screamer was terrified – not in pain, but just scared.
"Oh my God!" Bonnie cried. "What the hell was that?"
"Let's go." Damon said through clenched teeth, breaking into a run. The others quickly followed and the only noise was their quick footsteps against the rock floor and the pants of the humans. Damon sent out mental probes, searching for Elena. He sensed her again, and quickly made a sharp left turn into another passageway, the others barely managing to turn before crashing into a hard wall.
A few quiet cries of pain drifted to his ears, nearly inaudible to everyone else. Jeremy gasped slightly, but Damon couldn't tell if it was because he was tired or his shock at hearing the noises.
"Just up here!" Damon said loudly, slowing. He was stopped suddenly by a figure that stepped forward out of the shadows – a vampire. Her emerald eyes gleamed in Alaric's torchlight.
"Hello," she smiled, showing a full set of white teeth and retracted fangs. "I'm afraid you can't go this way. You can turn back now, or die." Her tone was pleasant, and she seemed no threat – wearing a dress, and all. She wore a simple black shift with sheer black striped tights. On her feet she wore clunky black boots with a small heel that were up to her knees. She looked about Damon's age and her features were delicate and childlike. She didn't look like she could harm a fly.
"Who are you?" Damon demanded.
"That's not important." The woman replied, her smile remaining.
"Well we want to continue, and I won't have any of your 'turn back now or die' crap." Damon spit, advancing towards her. She smiled.
"Don't say I didn't warn you..." she clearly murmured, before pulling out a wooden stake from a hidden pocket in her dress. Damon scoffed, unable to imagine her using it. He dived forward anyways, reaching to grab the stake...But she was faster. Within a second or two, Damon was laying flat on his back, the woman sitting on his stomach, holding the stake above his heart. She smiled wider, slowly and gently drawing the stake across his chest.
"Just stay here a moment," she giggled, thrusting the stake into Damon's chest. She didn't aim for his heart, but instead pierced his right lung, near his stomach. Damon roared out his pain and found that he couldn't get up. Alaric was first to take action – jumping in front of Bonnie and Jeremy, positioning his spear to fight. John quickly joined him with a crossbow.
"Petty little weapons." The woman laughed, plucking Alaric's spear away in a blur. He stepped back, bewildered. John fired a few arrows, but the vampire easily stepped aside and missed some, whilst others she caught cleanly and snapped, dropping the remains in a pile at her feet. The group was slowly retreating, leaving a wounded Damon.
As fast as a cobra striking, the woman reached behind Alaric and grabbed Jeremy, pulling him next to her. He was obviously terrified, but pulled out a wooden stake and tried to fight her off. It was no use – with a smile, the vampire grabbed Jeremy's stake mid-strike and spun it around, this time pushing it back to Jeremy. It stabbed into his heart, causing a cry of agony from him.
"Jeremy!" Bonnie screamed, trying to go towards him. Alaric stopped her, pushing her backwards and retreating himself. Bonnie quickly found something in her pocket and pressed it into Alaric's hand, and he nodded quickly before running up to the woman, raising a wooden dagger at the last minute. This time, distracted, the vampire wasn't able to dodge or block the strike, and staggered back as the dagger plunged into her heart. She coughed blood and a hysterical laugh bubbled out from her lips, her skin shrivelling and her eyes glassing over.
As soon as she hit the floor, everyone ran forward. Alaric hurried over to Damon, pulling the stake out. Damon gasped in a breath, panting. He muttered his thanks and managed barely to stand, approaching Jeremy. Bonnie was sobbing at his side.
"Relax...idiot..." Damon managed. "He's...got...his ring."
"He won't wake up for a few hours." Alaric said quietly.
"We can't take him with us," John added. "What do we do?"
And again, everyone looked to Damon.
. . .
Elena found that she couldn't scream any more, but was frozen, helpless to her torture.
She knew that vampire bites didn't have to hurt – there was only pain if the vampire intended for there to be. And hell, Klaus did.
The bite was excruciating and agonising, but the worst part was that Elena couldn't do anything about it. She felt as if her insides were roasting and her brain was exploding, and scream inwardly as she would, nothing changed.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Klaus pulled back, and Elena slumped forward, unable to make herself pass out. She breathed heavily and hard, a hand automatically shooting to her neck. She felt a sticky liquid there, and she dropped her shaking hand. Elena felt incredibly weak, and pain remained from the bite. She was shaking all over, although she didn't know where she got the energy to do that.
Before she could rest and regain strength, her throbbing head was forced up and Klaus pressed his wrist to her mouth, allowing her to drink his blood. Not concentrating, she allowed some of the liquid to enter her mouth and slip down her throat, immediately making her feel a little bit better.
When she looked up, Klaus was gone. Sighing in relief, she slowly crawled backwards until she felt the wall against her back, taking deep breaths. She felt much better now, as the vampire blood spread across her bloodstream. Feeling well enough, Elena slowly stood, her knees wobbling. The lantern was still on, giving Elena plenty of light. She looked around the room trying to find an exit, but found none. Frowning, she looked at the ceiling, but found no door either.
Finally, she checked the floor, to see if she could find some sort of trap door. Surely enough, a wide hatch was completely open at the far side of the cave room. Smiling faintly, Elena walked as quickly as she could – which was slowly – to the trapdoor, getting on her knees and peering down into the hole. She saw no one below, and felt a surge of triumph. There was a lit lantern in the room below her, as well. Taking deep, shaking breaths she climbed down a rusty iron ladder and making sure to stay quiet, even though her breaths and footsteps seemed incredibly loud in the confined space. Elena took the lantern from where it hung on the wall and proceeded down a long tunnel, always looking behind her, surprised that Klaus hadn't come after her yet. She took a few random turns, and found herself in a dark tunnel, her lantern being the only light.
No! Looking down the tunnel, she saw another faint light and quickly blew out the candle inside her lantern. She couldn't turn back now, and decided to push forward. As she got closer, she was the outline of a figure sitting with their back against the wall. Elena couldn't quite distinguish their features, but saw that it was a girl.
"Hello?" the girl whispered, terror in her voice. Elena recognised the voice immediately and nearly cried out with joy.
"Bonnie!" she whisper-yelled, running over to her best friend and hugging her tightly. Bonnie hugged her back, crying into Elena's shoulder.
"Elena!" she sobbed. "Oh, Elena!"
"Shh," Elena soothed her. "I'm right here."
"Is everyone else okay?" Bonnie asked, pulling back.
"...Everyone else?" Elena said questioningly. Bonnie's eyes widened.
"Damon, Alaric, and John went to find you! They told me to wait here with Jeremy." She said quickly.
"Jeremy!" Elena squealed, turning to look at the figure slumped next to Bonnie. She froze, her eyes wide. Jeremy wasn't breathing, and he had a wooden stake in his heart. Panicking, Elena grabbed his hands and checked, sighing in relief when she saw his ring.
"So where did Damon and the rest go?" Elena asked Bonnie.
"That way," Bonnie pointed the way Elena had come. "To find you."
"Well we need to get you out of here. And Jeremy." Elena said, not planning on leaving herself. Bonnie nodded, and the two lifted Jeremy, carrying him slowly down the hall.
"I can't believe that it was so easy," Elena breathed. "Escaping."
"Yeah..." Bonnie whispered. "Uh, we ran into a bit of trouble on the way – watch your feet." Confused, Elena looked down quickly, seeing a pile of snapped arrows and a bloodstain on the dusty floor. As they took a few more steps, Bonnie's flashlight revealed a vampire's dead body slumped against the wall, unmoving.
"What happened?" Elena breathed.
"We ran into trouble." Bonnie repeated slowly. "She did this to Jeremy." She nodded at the vampire. Elena and Bonnie continued down the tunnel, but froze when they hear a noise. From somewhere far down the hall, they heard snarls and growls, as if a bunch of wolves were fighting rather than vampires.
"Come on!" Elena said, breaking into a slight jog, still carrying half of Jeremy's weight. They saw the light that filtered in from a hole up to the surface and put Jeremy down.
"I'll boost you up." Elena whispered. Bonnie nodded, putting her flashlight down to give Elena some more light. She let Bonnie step on her hands and jump out, landing safely on the grass. Next, Elena picked up Jeremy – who weighed a lot – and slowly brought him up towards Bonnie, who dragged him on to the grass.
"I'll be back soon!" Elena called up before snatching up the flashlight and Bonnie's dropped wooden dagger. Bonnie hung her head down the hole to look at her.
"What?" she cried. "Elena no...!" but Elena had already run down the tunnel, clutching the dagger to her chest and the flashlight in front of her.
. . .
They had finally run in to someone.
Damon, Alaric, and John had wandered into a wide cavern, searching for Elena. Damon could no longer sense Elena, but that luckily didn't mean she was dead.
As soon as they'd entered the cavern, they'd been met by a very angry vampire. He'd warned them to leave, but stubbornly, Damon had refused.
"Where's Elena?" he demanded. The vampire they'd just met smirked. Glaring, Damon rushed forward and put a hand around his neck, pushing him up against the wall. It only lasted a millisecond before the situation was reversed and Damon found himself against the wall. Alaric hurried forward and used his spear to stake the vampire in the back, precisely where his heart was. This didn't kill him, but instead infuriated him. Snarling viciously, the vampire ripped the spear out from his back and snapped it as easily as a twig, tossing the remains aside and advancing on Alaric, whose eyes were wide. Seeing a chance, Damon hurried forward, stabbing the vampire in the same spot, hoping to cause some damage.
This time, his dagger went in a slightly different course to the vampire's heart and finally paralyzed him, sending a jolt through his body before falling to the ground. Damon sighed in relief, turning to face an astounded Alaric.
"'You think he was an Original?" Damon wondered aloud, taking his dagger from the vampire's back.
"Oh, yeah." Alaric nodded, salvaging the pointed end of his spear. "Where's John?" he frowned, looking around. Jonathan Gilbert had disappeared completely.
"Crap." Damon muttered. "John?" he called, hearing footsteps approaching the way they'd come.
"Right here!" John called, stepping out. Another person stepped out beside him, her face serious and brave. Her dark hair was tousled and her shirt was torn, with dried blood covering a side of her neck.
"Elena!" Damon cried, rushing up to her. He pulled her into a tight embrace, and felt her hugging him back fiercely. She sobbed into his shoulder, her calm and brave facade dissolving. They stood like that for a while, clinging onto each other as if they'd never let go.
Finally, Damon pulled back at Alaric clearing his throat loudly.
"Are you okay?" Damon looked deeply into Elena's eyes, searching for any sort of pain.
"Yes, I'm fine." She replied slowly, her hand automatically going up to her bloodied neck.
"You don't look like you're fine," Damon frowned, pulling her hand away and examining her neck. The bite marks beneath the dried blood were ragged and looked painful, but Elena seemed alright.
"It's okay, really," Elena insisted. "Anyways, we need to go. Now."
"Alright." Damon whispered.
"Let's go, already!" John said loudly, exasperated. Damon ground his teeth and nodded slowly, taking Elena's hand and following her father out of the large cavern. They walked slowly through the cavern, wary of their surroundings.
"That vampire back there will get up soon," Alaric warned them. "And the woman – she might as well."
"What do you mean?" Elena asked, puzzled.
"Originals." Damon replied quietly. Her eyes widened as if she was remembering something.
"We have to hurry!" she cried. "Klaus – he's here, somewhere."
"I know." Damon said grimly, his walk already quickening.
"Bonnie is outside with Jeremy." Elena notified them. "I saw her."
"And you didn't go out with her?" Damon said with clenched teeth. Elena shook her head and looked at him as if he was insane, but Damon decided to ignore it.
"Come on – the exit's just up...Oh shit." He stopped dead, staring at the empty tunnel that they were about to proceed through. Elena's eyebrows were raised – she'd never heard him swear, even though it had always seemed like a Damon-sort-of-thing.
"What?" Elena said, a little annoyed.
"She's gone." Alaric murmured. "Let's go – quickly." Elena, still having no idea what they were talking about, let herself be surrounded by the three men as they walked down the tunnel very quickly, John nervously looking left and right.
As they turned a corner, Elena finally saw the shaft of light flooding in from a hole that lead up out of the caves, and the group quickened their pace. As they were finally just a few metres away, someone stepped in front of them. Damon seemed to recognise the vampire immediately, although Elena had no idea who it was – she could only assume that she was one of Klaus' allies.
Damon quickly tried to stab her with a dagger that Elena hadn't seen before while Alaric and John leapt forward to join the commotion, leaving Elena with her eyes wide, watching the fight. Damon was easy disarmed and a few shots from John's crossbow were dodged – even Alaric couldn't quite manage to stab the woman in the right places.
"Elena – go!" Damon yelled over the other vampire's snarl. Tears welling in her eyes, Elena nodded quickly and approached very slowly, seeing a gap between John's back and the wall. Alaric saw her and moved behind the vampire, nodding to Elena to go. She did, running up and slipping behind John. She ran to the hole and reached up to it, but embarrassingly found that she wasn't tall enough. Glaring at the shadows, she jumped up to try and reach it, but her hands only scraped across the edge. She cast a glance back to where the fight was and saw that the woman was losing against the three men. Elena looked back up into the sunshine, covering her eyes for a second.
"Elena?" she looked up and saw Jeremy leaning down.
"Oh thank God – Jeremy I need your help!" Elena said, holding up her hands. Instead, Jeremy jumped down, landing next to her with a loud thud.
"Jeremy what are you doing?" he grinned at her surprised expression, but then saw the fight down the tunnel.
"Alright." He positioned his hands to boost her up, and with hesitation she stepped on his hands, crawling up and outside. When she looked down at Jeremy, he gave her an apologetic glance before running down towards the fight, stake in hand.
"Jeremy!" Elena cried after him. "Don't!" but it was too late – he disappeared from sight. Biting her lip, Elena stood and saw Bonnie next to her. She jumped in surprise, but quickly relaxed.
"Bonnie," she sighed in relief. "Go get in the car – we need to go as soon as they're out."
"Elena." Bonnie put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I can help. You know I can." Elena was already shaking her head.
"No. No, I won't let you." She stated. Bonnie shook her head with a faint smile, before approaching the hole.
Go – get in the car, now. Damon's voice drifted to her mind, and she jumped at the sound, noticing that Bonnie had apparently heard it, too. They exchanged worried glances before hurrying to get in Damon's black convertible, waiting for Jeremy, Damon, Alaric, and John to climb out of the caves. First came Jeremy, covered in dirt and a little dried blood, he stood and stumbled over to the car, but before he got too close Bonnie was out and immediately helping him, putting him in the seat next to her. Next out was Alaric, who looked much worse. His hair was tousled and his childlike features were bruised and his eyelids were heavy. His shirt was ripped in some places and he used his tall spear to help him walk. He quickly entered his own truck, sighing and rubbing his eyes.
Finally Damon emerged, and Elena ran out to hug him tightly, but then returned to stand by his car.
John's taking a while...she thought with a frown.
"C'mon, Elena – we have to go." Damon said quietly, his face blank. He had started the Ferrari's engine but was waiting for her to enter.
"Where's John?" Elena asked, still staring at the entrance to the caves. When she looked back at Damon, she saw his expression was sympathetic.
Wait – Damon was never sympathetic. He shook his head slowly, and Elena's eyes widened.
No...No, no, no...He can't be dead. She thought.
But he gave his ring to Jeremy...Elena countered.
"But Uncle John..." she whispered, fighting back tears that she knew she shouldn't have.
"He's gone." Damon murmured, just loud enough for Elena to hear. Nodding slowly with a shaken understanding, she sluggishly sat in the passenger seat, closing her door. As soon as she removed her hand from the door handle, the car was speeding off back to Mystic Falls, followed by Alaric.
. . .
Elena felt guilty.
She didn't tell Damon, because she knew he'd comfort her and say that John's death wasn't her fault, but it was. That vampire in the caves was after me. She thought miserably. And John died fighting her.
Elena sat on her bed in her room, her diary open in front of her and her blue pen uncapped. She couldn't think up much to write, and so she settled with scribbling down her thoughts.
Uncle John – my biological father – died today, and it's my fault.
Damon, Alaric, Bonnie, Jeremy, and John had all gone to find me after Klaus did and on our way out of the caves where I was taken we ran into a vampire, who fought with Jeremy, Alaric, John, and Damon. Despite their numbers, it seemed like a tough match – well, I got this mostly from what they looked like when they exited and Jeremy's side of the story. John didn't make it though, and he had given his ring to Jeremy a few weeks ago, meaning that he didn't come back. I didn't even get to see his body (although I can't say I want to). I'm strangely calm about this – I should be crying at least, but I'm fine. Maybe I'm in shock. As much as I hate to admit it, I loved John. Sure, he was the crappiest father ever, but he was my father.
We haven't seen Stefan at all, and there have been no reported murders (thank God!) – But where is he? I guess that will be the new dilemma: Stefan.
For now, I think I'll concentrate on sleeping.
Yes, I know, crappy ending ;) I had to cut it off - I was writing too much! Did you know that this totalled 6 pages on Microsoft Word? That's a WOWER! I usually do 4.5! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll try to update before I leave - oh. Tomorrow. Lost the spelling bee last-chance-to-get-in-it competition today. :( Oh who cares, at least my spelling is ok in my fanfics.
Okay, enough of my nonsense,
Please Review! :D