Hello, my lovely readers. I'm really sorry about how long it took to writer this chapter but it was extremely hard to write it… On with the show…
Warning: Character death…
Chapter 10: A Long Time Running
When you spend five hundred years running from someone, you gain the ability to be able to sense them. That is why Katherine Pierce sensed Klaus Mikaelson nearby. It was somewhat akin to that comic book hero, Spider Man. Klaus made her senses' tingle, in all the wrong ways. Feeling him so near made her instinctively want to run. Running was what she was used to doing. Flight.
"Katherine? Something wrong?" Caroline asked, her expression hard and unforgiving. She was the picture of a slayer who had been on the job for too many years but Caroline had been doing this for less than a year. It was Klaus. When counting on her fingers and toes off all of the people and circumstances that made people get the look that Caroline had on her face, it all added up to Klaus. Always.
Shaking her head slowly, Katherine put on her best smile. "No. Everything is fine," she reassured the slayer. When Caroline simply nodded, Katherine knew that the girl did not want to know. She, too, should be feeling Klaus, and if she was not, it was because she chose not to.
"Right. Let's go back in," Caroline said briskly. Dropping the ice scoop into the freezer, she nudged the door with the heel of her hand, without looking at it.
Katherine feel into step beside Caroline, trying to not allow her terror to show. If Klaus was here, he would do one of two things. He would first kill Katherine. Then he would take Caroline, leaving her friends wondering where in the hell the young woman had gone. This meant that Katherine would need to get the hell away from the group.
Entering the little motel room that she had chosen, Caroline dropped the ice bucket on top of the table before moving to the curtain and peering out. "What's wrong?" Bonnie Bennett asked, coming to stand by her friend's side.
Caroline continued to stare, at what, Katherine didn't know. "Klaus is here," the blonde female said, alerting Tyler, who was about to dump some ice into a washcloth.
"Like now? And, here, as in right here?" Tyler echoed with a wide eyed stare. "No! No way. He's going to kill us all," he muttered, going to sit on the bed. "No. He'll kill Katherine. Then Bonnie. Me, I'll be right after that as his failed wolf bitch. God knows how long he'll keep Care alive before he rips her head off, or worse yet, turns her into what he his," the young hybrid seemed to be talking to himself.
"He's not going to kill anyone!" Caroline snapped. She was so very sick of all the arguing.
Bonnie got up and moved toward the window. "You know, there are other alternatives," she told them slowly.
"Like what?" Katherine drawled with a bored look to cover her frustration and growing sense of impending doom. She had been able to live this long, why had she gotten herself into a situation that would most likely end with her dead?
"The three of you can go. I'll set up a spell to cover your tracks so that no one will know where you've gone. And if Klaus comes, then I will keep him at bay, to buy you time," Bonnie told them with her arms crossed over her chest.
Katherine sat up with a slow smile. "I'm beginning to like you. You remind me of Emily," she told the witch who looked confused.
Bonnie wasn't able to ask Katherine what she was talking about because Caroline jumped in. "Bonnie, you nearly died in that cabin. You're injured. And there is no way that I'm leaving you here. What if Mikael came and found you all alone? He would kill you without blinking."
"You think I can be killed that easily?" Bonnie scoffed.
Katherine could smell the witch's fear coming off her in waves. She would be a fool to stay here, by herself, with the likes of Klaus and Mikael about to descend on this place at any moment. But if that was the risk that she wanted to take, let her slit her own throat. Katherine was a survivor and all her instincts were telling her that it time to go. "Look, let the witch stay, if she wants. Or we can drag her along, like an unnecessary piece of carry-on luggage. Whatever you decide, do it quickly, it's time to go."
"I think that we should stay," Caroline argued with a look that said she was not going to discuss this. "I think that we all need a rest. If we don't, we all become dead weight."
Unfortunately, the little slayer had a point. Katherine sometimes forgot that humans needed things such as sleep and food. It was really a pain to have to worry about others needed. "Fine. One night. Tomorrow, at dawn, we're gone, no arguments. And, thank God, they have cable in this cesspool."
Picking up the remote that someone had thrown on the bed, she began to flip through the channels while Bonnie and Caroline argued. The wolf went into the bathroom, probably to check for fleas, while Katherine pulled out her cell. There were no new messages or missed calls from Elijah which was strange because he usually called to check up on her every so often. Rolling her eyes at her moment of insecurity, she re-pocketed the cell. He would call. Elijah was nothing if not predictable.
Letting out an aggrieved sigh, Katherine glanced at the witch and the slayer who seemed to have come to the end of their conversation. Neither looked happy. Kat hide her smile. The little witch had it in her mind that she could fight off an Original and Caroline was sure that that was impossible. Katherine had learned to not underestimate people, it could get you killed.
"Hey, Little Hunter Girl," Katherine called to Caroline who turned to give her a lethal look. "Why don't you and the dog go get some puppy chow? You have to be hungry and there's nothing but snack machine here, in Chez Cockroach."
"Cockroaches?" the mutt uttered, returning from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Did you take a shower?" Bonnie asked dubiously.
Tyler shook his head. "No and yes. I used the sink since the shower has not been cleaned since… I don't know. The early seventies."
"Ugh," Caroline moaned. "I just wanted to take a bath."
"Next time, bring some cash," Katherine snarked with a grin. "Or find a rich lover. I know I would if I were you."
"Good thing, she isn't you," the witch snapped, giving Katherine a toxic glare. If only she could boil Katherine's blood with that look alone, she might have half a fighting chance.
Rolling her eyes back to Caroline's direction, Katherine waited for the Slayer to make up her mind. "Tyler, we're going to the diner down the street to get something to eat. Don't kill each other while we're gone," Caroline ordered Katherine and Bonnie, her gaze lingering on the vampire in the room while Tyler went into the bathroom to throw on a T-shirt and jeans.
"Why is that you assume the worst of me?" Katherine asked with a pout and flicking the remote to the bed in disgust. She couldn't even find a rerun of Game of Thrones. Thank you, HBO, you useless bastards, she thought grimly.
"Because you're the one with a list of dead bodies scattered from New York to California," Caroline snapped, her eyes glowing with her anger.
Katherine smirked. "Yes, and don't forget my work in Canada and Mexico."
Tyler emerged from the bathroom. "I'm ready," he told Caroline who nodded. "Be safe, Bon. If that anyone tries anything, stake her ass."
"That's not where it goes," Katherine informed him. Moving to her knees, she placed her hand over her heart, leaning over to give the boy a good look at what he'd never touch. "It goes here," she told him, watching Tyler's face turn crimson. Men were so easy. Especially the babies, like this man-boy.
"Yeah," Tyler ran a hand through his hair before he hurried to catch up with Caroline who had already opened the door.
"We'll back before you know we were gone," Caroline called to Bonnie who had taken a seat on top of the dresser, facing the door.
The witch lifted a hand and waved without a word as the door closed behind her friend. "Guess it's just us now," Bonnie glanced at Katherine with a wary look.
"Yeah. Don't worry, this is not my ideal way of how to kill the next hour either," Katherine got her feet and caught Bonnie tensing up from the corner of her eye. "If I wanted to kill you, trust me, you'd have been dead two minutes ago."
"Yes, because I should trust you to not get thirsty and go for my jugular?" Bonnie scoffed, shifting from one foot to the other.
Turning to Bonnie, Katherine smirked. "You know, being friends with her is only going to get you killed, right? Sure. You might live to see your senior prom. Maybe you'll get to be roommates at whatever dinky, little, small town university you both end up at. But you're smarter than that, Bonnie, you can leave. You could have a normal life. Get married. Have kids. Persue the American dream, rather than spend the rest of your short life being Caroline's number two."
"You don't know anything about me or my friendship with Caroline," Bonnie snarled. Pushing away from the dresser, she walked past Katherine.
Smirking, Katherine whirled around and grabbed Bonnie by the throat, choking her. "You still don't get it, do you? You're powerful but you're not the Slayer. You're just an add-on, a little helper, a nobody. You're going to die, horribly, and, Caroline, Caroline's going on doing what she does best, slay, screw another vampire, and die at the ripe old age of twenty, if she's lucky. If not…"
Bonnie began to chant and Katherine snarled, letting go of the witch and backing off. "Caroline is not going to die because she has me and Tyler and her mom. She has people who love her and will do anything to protect her. What do you have, Katherine? The ability to say 'Oh, yeah, look who I killed this week?' You're pathetic and you're the one who's going to end up at the end of Caroline's stake one day."
"You just tell yourself whatever you need to hear to get through the night," Katherine hissed out before striding into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. She hated the witch. It would give her great pleasure to be the one to rip her beating heart out of her chest and to walk the hell out of this room. However, Caroline would hunt her down and kill her if she made that mistake.
Gritting her teeth, Katherine made up her mind that the minute that they went to sleep, she was the hell out this dump. Let Mikael come and burn the damned place down while they dreamt of a vamp-free world. Little fools. This wasn't worth Katherine's life. This wasn't her fight. Exiting the bathroom, Katherine felt her skin crawl. Not because Klaus was right outside the door but because Bonnie had left the room.
What was the little fool thinking anyway? Wanted to die today, instead of tomorrow? Snorting, Katherine went over to the bed and took a seat. This was not her problem. Flipping the TV back on, she settled on a rerun of the X-Files.
Ten minutes later, Bonnie had not returned and Katherine heaved a sigh. If Caroline returned, she would assume the worst, and probably try to kill Katherine. Although Katherine knew she could fight the young slayer off, she didn't look forward to the fight. Tossing the remote down on the comforter, she swung her legs off the bed. It took Katherine five seconds to open the door and set out after the witch. She knew the girl's scent and should be able to track her.
"Bonnie," Katherine growled in a quiet tone, keep her senses tuned to any sign of Klaus. She couldn't feel him anymore. He was probably following Caroline and the dog to whichever burger joint was on the highway.
Walking by the ice machine, Katherine thought she heard Bonnie talking to someone. She kept walking until she found that Bonnie was standing around a corner with her cell glued to ear. "Kol, I can't. No. You shouldn't come. Why? Because Caroline would be pissed, that's why! I know. I miss you, too. Yes. I know you're sorry. Yes. I saw all of the messages. No. I was busy. Yes, we'll come home soon. You stay out of trouble. I've got to go. Why? Because. Seriously! Kol!"
Katherine wanted to vomit at the sound of the love-sick teenager's giggles. It had been so long since she had been a teenager that she had forgotten what it was like to feel the way that Bonnie felt. Shaking her head, Katherine turned on her heel and headed back toward the hotel room. She would wait for the witch there.
"Katherine," a voice called and Katherine felt her body tense up when she turned to face the monster calling to her in the darkness.
"No!" Katherine gasped. She moved to flee when the older vampire grabbed her, speeding her behind the motel's rooms. Her body was slammed against the cold, metal of a garbage container. "What do you want?" she demanded of her assailant.
"What do I want?" Mikael let out a bitter laugh, moving forward and grabbing her by the chin, holding her against the container. "What I want is to kill that bastard who calls himself my son. What I want is for that damned slayer to get out of my way. What I want is my children back and my wife to be alive. But we can't always have what we want, now, can we, Katherine?"
Katherine shook her head. She was trying to think of ways to stall, to escape, to offer Mikael help, anything that would allow her to live through this confrontation. "I can help," Katherine chocked out.
Mikael moved his head closer to her mouth. "I'm sorry, dear, you'll have to speak up," he hissed back, loosening his grip a fraction.
"I can help you. I hate Klaus almost as much as you do. I'll do anything. Anything at all. Just tell me what you want? I'll kill the slayer and her friends. I'll bring you their heads. I'll lure Klaus into a trap. I'll talk to Elijah. Anything. Name it and I'll do it," Katherine gasped.
Mikael let out a chuckle. Dropping Katherine, she sunk to her knees while he knelt before her, stroking her curls behind her ear. "Oh, Katherine, are those the kinds of promises you offer my son while you slip into his bed? My poor deluded son. He believes you love him. Truly? I think not. I think that the only person you love is yourself. Don't you think that Elijah deserves someone who is less of an opportunist?" Mikael asked Katherine with a demented grin.
"You're right. Elijah deserves much better. I'll break it off with him. I'll tell him that I never really loved him. Whatever you want me to say. Tell me. Tell me what you want me to say?" Katherine hated to beg for anything but she knew this was only card she had to play. All she wanted was an out. She would lie, steal, kill, anything to get away from Mikael.
"Katherine. Katherine. Katherine. You know that I would never have allowed another to force my hand like this. I would have died willing if someone were to tell me 'death or your wife.' Where is your loyalty, girl?" Mikael shook his head at Katherine who could know see what he was just taunting her. He had no intention of letting her go.
"Fine." Katherine nodded, forcing herself to her feet. "Can I have one last request?" she questioned the vampire who was about to end her life.
"What?" Mikael asked.
"BON—" Bonnie's name died on Katherine's lips as Mikael's hand shot through her chest, breaking her ribs to minute pieces to float inside her while his fingers laced around her pounding heart and tore it out. Katherine's eyes widened as she looked at the bloody fist wrapped around the organ that caused her so much trouble over the centuries. He was wrong, she had loved Elijah, in her own way, maybe not in the way that people wrote about, but she did, oh, yes, she did.
Slipping to the ground, Katherine no longer felt anything. No love. No pain. No fear. She was free. Finally. After five hundred years of running, of loving, of killing, of living every second as if this was the day she would die, Katherine Pierce, ceased to exist.
Mikael dragged Katherine's body behind the trash container, waiting while Bonnie Bennett's feet came running across the asphalt. She looked around, her eyes picking up blood but nothing else. No sign of a struggle. No sign of anyone. After a long moment, the witch turned away and left. Picking up Katherine, Mikael walked around the corner and over to the ice machine. He carefully smoothed ice out of the way, to make room for the body. This would be a bed that Katherine could not complain about as Mikael laid her down on it and then shoveled ice back on top. Closing the door, he looked around. It was not that he cared if anyone bared witness to his handiwork, it was that this death needed to be laid at Niklaus' feet.
Spotting a young man, staring at him in horror, Mikael sped over and grabbed him by the shoulders. "You saw a man kill the girl. He was tall. Had an accent of some sort. Curly hair. Medium build. The girl called him 'Klaus.' Do you understand me, boy?" the boy nodded and Mikael smiled. "I was never here."
"You were never here," the boy echoed with a glazed look in his eye.
Feeling satisfied, Mikael slunk back into the shadows as Bonnie came back out of the motel room. "Hey, did you see anything weird?" she called to the boy who took a second to register that she was talking to him.
"Yeah. I saw this guy arguing with this chick. He was tall, had an accent, medium build. She called him Klaus. That's like German? I think. They were arguing. It happened so fast." The boy began to cry. He would have died back when Mikael lived as a human. "I would tried to help her. But… But… I don't know what happened… I saw him put her in there…" the boy's finger trembled as he pointed at the ice machine just as Caroline pulled up with Tyler.
"What happened?" Caroline demanded, looking from the boy to Bonnie. She shook her head and strode over, yanking the ice machine's door up before anyone else could speak. "Katherine," she spat out with a growl.
"Klaus…" Bonnie had barely uttered the word before Caroline began to stalk back to their room.
"Where are you going?" Tyler called after Caroline.
"I'm going to get my stuff and then I'm going to hunt Klaus down. That is the last person he kills during my watch!" Caroline yelled back.
Mikael grinned and walked away.
Okay, so that's that for now. It should be easier to writer another chapter a lot sooner. It's just really hard to kill characters off but this was true to the plot of the story. Sorry to all the Kat lovers…
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
Jessica