a/n: SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! I left a note on my profile that all of you should go take a look at, a shorter version of that is: After I finish WitS I'll be taking a very long, if not permanent break from Delena and fanfic in general so that I can work on my own stuff. I do have a FB /mayghaen if you want to chat about whatever and a fictionpress account that I'll be posting regular stuff to shortly.
Also, whoever has seen Daybreakers tell me in your reviews or PMs if my storyline is at all similar to that. I have an idea that I'll share with you guys later :)
And I've decided to just post every other day because I only have a few chapters to write before I'm finished :)
TWELVE
"I-Isobel?" the taller man stammered after a very long bout of silence. Damon could see Lexi and Caroline let go of the men knowing that they weren't going to go after Damon at the moment. "You're alive?"
She smiled and nodded, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes as the men approached. The taller one, reached out and touched her face as though he couldn't believe it. "It's me, Alaric. It's really me."
Damon looked away as Alaric drew her into his arms. "How is that possible?" John asked, looking at Lexi.
Instead of waiting for someone to answer him, everyone's attention went to Elena as she stood up and moved closer to the newest female vampire. "Elena," Isobel whispered in disbelief and pure joy.
"That would make you my mother," Elena wondered aloud. Isobel nodded and smiled at the young girl.
Damon took that as a distraction and pushed himself to his feet. He grabbed Lexi and moved away from the reunion. "I'm not going to stay and watch this. Just promise me that you'll keep her here and tell her I'll be back."
"Damon, what is going on?" Lexi demanded to know.
"Elena said there were other humans that heard about what she and some others did the other night and decided to do the same thing only they weren't as prepared as they thought. Elena went after them, but it was during one of my patrols. Two of them were killed and two were taken back to the mansion. One of them was said to have gotten away, but I assume you haven't found him yet."
"So you came back here?" Caroline asked, making him aware of how foolish that decision had been.
He nodded anyway. "Elena asked me to so that I could fill her in on what happened. That's when John and Alaric showed up and started fighting with me. Then you showed up and then Isobel."
Lexi nodded and looked over his shoulder to check on the other four. "We'll let them have their reunion. We need to go search for the one that got away," she said and started to move, but stopped when Caroline spoke.
"What about the ones that were captured?" Caroline asked.
"I'm sure Katherine will make me interrogate them."
"Come with me," Lexi demanded and Damon hesitated. He looked back over his shoulder and Elena's gaze met his for a brief second. He noticed the questioning glance she gave him and he averted his eyes before rushing off after the blondes. When he caught up with her she held out her hand with two clear capsules. "Find out if they said anything and then give them these."
Damon was taken aback. "Poison?"
"Eventually the vervain will wear off and they won't have any resistance to compulsion. I can't break them out and if they were foolish enough to get caught, then this is their only option. We are days away from taking back the planet and I will not risk the lives of thousands for the lives of a few." She shrugged. "It's either that or you kill them and risk exposing yourself. Your choice," she said as she placed the capsules in his hand and closed his fingers around them.
He nodded and slipped them into his pocket. "Make sure Isobel stays here. I can't have her coming back to the mansion knowing about her family being here. I'll tell Katherine that she was hit with vervain and there was no body to bring back."
"I'm sure she won't object."
"Katherine will also be raising the amount of raids for a few days over this, I'm sure of it. When she starts to back off again I'll meet you at Anna's."
"Understood," Lexi said and inclined her head. "See you in a few days," she added and watched as he vanished from the colony. She then gestured for Caroline to follow her as they went in search for the sole survivor of the group Elena had been tracking.
Katherine must have been notified of his return because Damon found her in the foyer the moment he walked in the door. She glanced over his shoulder for a brief second before taking in his appearance. "Where is Isobel? They said she went back to make sure the area was clear."
He nodded. "It wasn't clear. She found me in the midst of a fight. The guy had a stake gun and got me in the side. Isobel went after him, but he had vervain." He swallowed thickly, making it seem as though he were disturbed. "I'm sorry Katherine, there was nothing left of her to bring back."
Instead of getting angry in true Katherine-like fashion, she continued to stare at him and said, "The prisoners are the in the holding rooms. I'm giving you lead on this one. They will be kept alive as Donors so don't hurt them too badly," she said and walked away to deal with the news of Isobel.
"She's dead?" Stefan asked, stepping out from around a corner.
Damon nodded, not wanting to talk about it. He figured he had lied enough to everyone for today. "Go make sure she doesn't do something stupid," he demanded. Luckily, Stefan understood that Damon wanted to be left alone and stopped following him.
He got to the holding room to see the two humans strung up by their wrists. Their ankles were tied to the floor so that they couldn't kick out and ropes bound their wrists as they were raised above their heads, attached to the ceiling. Their heads had fallen forward from exhaustion and blood loss and the sight of them made Damon sick. He had to force his emotions off for the time being.
He walked over to the man and yanked his head back by grabbing a fist full of his hair. "What is your name?" he asked, keeping his tone light.
"W-William," he replied, his voice weak and full of fear.
"And hers?"
"Andie."
"Any vervain in your system?"
Damon wasn't using his compulsion yet, but William was smart and kept his eyes shut anyway. He nodded as best he could with Damon still gripping his hair. "Yes."
"Has anyone else spoken with you?"
"Yes."
"Did you tell them anything?" There was no response and Damon checked to see that he had passed out. He took a deep breath and lashed out with his free hand, taking a chunk of flesh from the back of William's body. The pain made him wake with a scream. "Did you tell them anything?" Damon asked again.
"N-no."
He wasn't sure he believed William. Trevor had said that this one passed out from the fear of facing a vampire that was trying to kill him. Damon let go of William and moved to Andie. Her eyes were open and she was crying silently. "Did you tell them anything?" he asked her.
She shook her head lightly. "There's nothing to tell."
Damon looked her right in the eye. "Do you have any vervain in your system?" he asked, using his compulsion on her.
"No," she answered and pressed her lips together, indicating that she hadn't wanted to answer that at all.
"Good. I was instructed to inform you that there will be no rescue attempt and in order to keep the secret that I know you have, safe, I need you to take this," he said, taking out one of the capsules from his pocket. "Did you or William tell anyone anything?" he asked again, using compulsion this time.
"No," she whispered, her eyes glued to the pill in his hand.
"Open your mouth," he compelled her and inserted the capsule. "Now swallow."
He watched as more tears streamed down her face, but she did as she was told. Her body began to shake violently and he continued to stare until the light left her eyes and he was sure that she was dead. Then he turned his attention to William and before the human could even protest, Damon forced the capsule down his throat and forced him to swallow it. In a matter of seconds the same thing happened to William and just like that he was gone.
Damon stepped back as his emotions came back on. As he realized how close he had come to losing everything tonight, the door to the holding room opened and Katherine came in followed by Stefan. She sighed as she inspected the bodies. "I thought I told you to keep them alive?" she deadpanned.
"The boy was so frightened he gave himself a heart attack and the girl was dead when I walked in. Too much blood loss."
"Did he say anything of use?" she asked, accepting his explanation. Damon shook his head and she sighed. "Get someone to clean up this mess and get some rest. Tomorrow we start organizing more raids," she said and left as suddenly as she had entered.
"Go get some rest, I'll take care of this," Stefan said, having stayed behind.
"Stefan-"
"It's okay, Damon," he assured him and Damon chose not to protest again.
"Thank you," he said and took his leave.
Lexi pounded on the door of Meredith Fell until she opened it. It was clear that she had been woken from a deep sleep, but Lexi didn't care. "What do you- Logan?" she gasped when she saw her brother in the vampire's arms. "What happened?"
"He and four of his friends decided to take some weapons and test out their fighting skills."
"Oh God."
"He's not that bad. I found him passed out just inside the barrier. Most of the blood doesn't belong to him and he has no visible wounds. He's going to be fine, Meredith, I just thought I would bring him home."
"What about the others?" Meredith asked as she knelt by Logan after Lexi placed him on the couch.
Lexi gave a slight shake of her head. "Two were taken captive and won't make it to morning and the other two were killed on site by vampires on patrol."
Meredith placed her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he would do something so stupid."
Lexi shook her head. "I will be talking with him in the morning, but for your sake, it wasn't entirely his fault. Elena, Matt, and Tyler decided to the do the same thing a few nights ago and they were successful."
Meredith reached for Logan's hand and squeezed it as she looked at Lexi. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome. Get some rest," she demanded and left the pair alone.
