Thad grunts, pushing off of his forearm to sit up. Damon hops off the table, making eye contact with Thad. He didn't trust the cynical look shaping on Thad's face.
He stands in front of Bonnie, not realizing it. "What's he doing now, Ross?" Damon keeps his watchful eye on Thad as he speaks. Bonnie steps around Damon's leg, side-eyeing him.
"It's the second stage, isn't it?" Bonnie narrows her eyes at Ross. He doesn't take a glance at them though. He slowly rises from the sofa, watching Thad. He puts his palm up at Bonnie and Damon.
"Just relax," Ross tells them in a too demanding tone, almost setting Damon off. Bonnie sees his mouth wrinkle in fury and she grabs onto his hand. He turns back and looks at her, his eyes moving slowly to the floor as his temperament calms. Bonnie lets Damon's hand go, their fingers pulling towards each other like magnets as their hands move away from one another.
Damon exhales, leaving his mouth ajar. He had in mind something to say, but decided not to create anymore animosity between him and Ross. Damon just doesn't want anyone to get hurt. He turns and lifts his head, looking at Ross. Bonnie watches Damon with increasing wariness.
"If he comes for one of us, I'm going to kill him," Damon says in a steadfast voice. He tried to commit to a less pressuring voice, one without vilification and more on par with integrity and respect.
Ross clears his throat. He hopes it won't have to come to that. He's seen Damon angry, and quite frankly, he'd much rather avoid it.
Thad stumbles as he tries to stand up and Ross places his hands on Thad's shoulders to help him up. Thad pushes him away in a panic, shuffling to the side.
"I don't know you people," Thad says under his breath, keeping his eyes low. Damon's head shifts to the side, feeling disrespected.
"What do you mean by you people?" Damon asks. Thad eyes rise to Damon's. He takes a deep, straining breath as he looks away from Damon, unable to stand his gaze.
"Do you know the city?" Bonnie says, thinking on her feet. She's wanted to reach city limits since she heard there is one nearby. Damon shuts his eyes tight, then opens them, a narrowing annoyance coming into his eyes.
Thad's troubling look turns to Bonnie's direction.
"The city? Wait a second…" Thad looks up, then around the entire cabin. He takes a few steps in Bonnie and Damon's direction, looking into the kitchen and down the hall. "This is my family's cabin…" Thad pounds his finger into his chest. Damon could smell the funky madness reeking off of Thad like road kill. "What did y'all do to them?!"
Damon steps up to Ross, millimeters from his face. He turns his head, menacingly, glaring into Thad's eyes and piercing his depleting soul. Thad bounces back, biting his bottom lip.
"I suggest you take a few steps back," Damon says in a raspy, low voice. He turns his head to the other side. "Before I have my friend here dismember your brain."
Thad peers over at Bonnie. He turns around, walking back to the center of the room.
Bonnie, Damon, Luca, and Ross feel at odds with Thad, and Thad feels surrounded, standing in the middle of these strangers. Bonnie and Ross step forward at the same time, their passionate selves erupting from within.
"I'm Ross," Ross says to Thad. "And these are my friends Luca, Damon, and Bonnie."
Ross waited for a response, but silence fell over the room. Thad shakes his head in fear and sprints out of the cabin. The gang chases after him, Ross yelling for Bonnie to grab the duffle bag off of the table. She does, following closely behind Damon and the others.
Bonnie walks outside, standing between Damon and Luca to see Thad collapsing to his knees, his hand out in a claw. Blue veins appear on his arm, disappearing and reappearing as they crawl through his skin and up to his hand.
Bonnie's mouth drops. She itches her eyebrow, dropping the duffle bag to the ground and looking through it.
"Stay back!" Ross orders them to stay behind him. Talons begin to protrude on Thad's fingers and he screams.
"What the hell is happening to him?" Damon's face is flustered. He thinks of himself in that position— mysterious talons growing on his fingers and the indivisible suffering that comes along with it. Damon bends down next to Bonnie as she pulls the notebook "Reduction" from the bag.
"It's like your little grimour," Damon chuckles. He looks up at the ongoing terror before him.
"Only if it contains the solution to this problem of ours," Bonnie says, flipping through the pages until she reaches degeneration. "Then it's just well-written depiction of your death."
Damon glares at Bonnie. "Way to sugar-coat it, Bon-Bon," The base in his voice deepens when he says her nickname.
Bonnie glares back up at him. "You wouldn't for me." She raises her eyebrows, then looks back down at the notebook. "Here." She points to a sketched picture of a famished hand with talons forming on its tips.
Bonnie and Damon read the caption under the photo:
Signs of stage two Degeneration: Endless suffering accommodated with… Bonnie stops reading, taking a breath. Endless suffering? Haven't they suffered enough? She stands slowly, her hazel gaze focused on Damon. Her eyes blink in compassion and sympathy as they thin in Damon's backside.
…accommodated with sporadic physical changes. Talons, teething. Veins moves through skin like worms— oh god.
Damon looks away from the notebook, holding his hand over his mouth. He blinks several times, revealing a confused and unhinged look.
When he first arrived to this unknown place with Bonnie Bennett, he was willing to die. The persevered and benevolent Bonnie rubbed off on him, and as he searched for her and felt her touch underneath his scars, she grew on him. She was a dark shadow and he was a lone wolf— he scared her, in ways no woman has been able to do so, and it intrigued him after a while. Now, he can't see himself in this world without her. Dying, this stripping of his humanity, is the last thing, on wherever he is, he wants to be.
Thad's neck jerked back and Bonnie jumps back. Damon holds onto her, making sure she doesn't fall, but really, he only wanted to feel her skin.
"Damon!" Arabess yells. He looks up in shock and sees her running towards him. He zips to her and stops her. She stares at Thad as he falls to the ground, unconscious.
Arabess puts both hands around Damon's hand, a mortified look on his face. Damon looks down at her.
"Don't worry, he's not going to hurt you," Damon tells her. But Arabess, as she sucks on her bottom lip, knows that's not the reason she's drowning in intense fear. Her face trembles so slightly, not even Damon realizes, and her eyes tear up. A tear falls down her cheek and onto her damp shirt. Another tear falls and a wormy shape forms in front of it underneath her skin, and the tear rolls over it. The worm moves across her cheek in an S-formation. She touches her cheek as the worm disappears, feeling nothing.
Ross crouches next to Thad. He awakes.
"What happened?" Thad asks.
An hour later, the gang is a mile away from the cabin, walking to find the city. Bonnie assumed the gang had enough energy to find the city, but they'd have to move fast. Thad's intellect is fading fast as his vampire abilities go dormant.
"So, I'm not a witch, anymore?" Thad asks Ross. Ross and Thad led the group through the forest. Luca walked behind Ross and Thad. Then, Bonnie and Damon followed along with Arabess in between them.
"You were turned," Ross said, putting the strap of his duffle bag on his other shoulder. Ross held the notebook in his hand. Thad looked at it and Ross handed it to him. He opens it.
"This looks like my handwriting…" Thad says.
"That's because it is, we wrote it together." They stare at each other, then Ross half-smiles and looks ahead.
Thad shoves the notebook in Ross' stomach.
"Are you okay?"
"Just—let's keep walking." Thad presses a hand to his forehead. He turns around, looking at Luca, then Bonnie.
"You two," Thad says to them. Luca turns around and looks at Bonnie, confused. She shrugs. "You're witches."
Bonnie hesitantly nods.
"So?" Luca says.
"So, I already knew you were one, saw you practicing earlier. But you," He points to Bonnie and she matches his arrogant look with a tantalizing glare. "I could smell you… shit, I STILL smell you now! You don't know how powerful you are."
"What're you talking about?" Bonnie replies, in disbelief.
"Luca, you can't tell me you don't feel that energy…" Luca didn't reply. He just puts his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow at Thad. "Ross… You," He points to Damon, "I know you all smell her blood. It's rich and resourceful. It's magnetic."
"Maybe it's because I'm not from here," Bonnie says, hopefully shutting him up. She's becoming scared of his accusations. She knows it's true, but she'd rather not believe it.
Thad furrows his brow. A smile develops on his face. Damon doesn't like it one bit.
"You're not from here?" Thad asks. Ross turns around, and the group stops walking.
Bonnie shakes her head. "Me or him," She turns her head to Damon.
"Oh my god…" Thad's mouth is open in surprise.
"What?" Bonnie replies. Thad just stands there astounded, chuckling to himself. Damon's brow furrows at him.
"Thad?" Damon calls to him quickly.
"How'd you get here?" Thad says, turning around and walking. Ross looks at Bonnie and Damon, then starts walking also.
"We died," Bonnie takes a step, walking in unison with Damon. "Then found ourselves here. We've been trying to find a way back but, we haven't so lucky."
"There's a gateway…" Thad says. Bonnie and Damon, look at each other, then back at Thad. "It only a takes a few things: A witch, a consecrated framed necklace, and—AHHH!"
Thad stops in his tracks, pressing his fingers against his teeth.
"It hurts!" Thad screams. Bonnie, Luca, Damon, and Arabess gather around as Ross puts his arms around Thad, attempting to console him. Thad's fangs elongate and bluish green veins appear under his red eyes.
"His vampire nature is dissolving!" Ross says. His face is filled with panic and fear, as he plans to hold Thad until he's certain he is okay. Thad passes out and his weight falls onto Ross. "Help, guys! Please!" Ross' voice heightens as he struggles to hold up Thad.
The others reach to help, but are too late as Ross and Thad fall to the ground. Damon and Luca roll Thad's body off of Ross. Thad rolls onto his back, his eyes shut but his mouth open. His fangs in clear sight.
Damon sits on the cold, moist forest floor, aching a bit. Arabess curls up next to him.
"What now?" Bonnie breaks the silence, her voice sounding urgent.
"We have to wait… until he wakes," Ross tells her. Bonnie sighs, leaning against a tree. Silence falls around them again, each enveloping it in their own way.
Ross, feeling weak, lays on his back and stares at the dazed sky above.
Damon pinches Arabess' nose and tugs on it. She laughs, and as he lets go her smile recedes to a frown. He looks over at Bonnie and narrows his eyes with a smirk. She chuckles, a quick breath of air leaving her nose.
She leans against a tree, staring at the beautiful distance ahead of her. It's nothing different, nothing she hasn't seen already. She feels the midday air pass through her, as its misty light shines through the trees in her view.
So beautiful, yet so…
Bonnie loses her train of thought when she hears a footstep behind her. Luca appears in her peripheral, standing next to her. Her eyes jump to him. He doesn't say anything.
He just looks on with her, captivated by the unique view.
Damon looks down at Arabess' sleeping body. He stands up, picking her up also. He didn't want her to lie on the ground. He walks over to Bonnie and Luca, stepping between the two, intentionally trying to upset Luca. Luca doesn't even acknowledge Damon's presence, he just continues enjoying the view before him. Damon's eyes become locked onto the view too. He lifts his head slightly, smelling the daylight air.
He closes his eyes. It's half-past noon.
"Hey," Ross calls from behind them. The three of them turn around. He understands how distracted this place can be. Living, surviving out here— it takes patience and courage and bravery. Only the strongest minds can last, and if they can, they learn to appreciate the beautifully dire scenery composed around them. Sometimes it's the only light in the middle of the day.
"He's awake," Ross continues. They walk over to Ross as he helps Thad up. Ross opens his notebook, silently reading it. "Degeneration has officially started. He's dwindling now. We need to move fast."
Ross turns, urging them to follow. They continue their journey to the city through the sunlit forest.
Ross' mouth is wide open in utter despair. He feels like he's falling apart, and having to hold Thad up so he can walk is only making his pain worsen. Beads of sweat form at the top of his head and begin to run down his face. He breathes in and out through his mouth, deeply, hoping to make it to the city before collapsing.
Damon can hear Ross' breaths. He looks at Bonnie, alarm in his eyes.
"I don't think Ross is doing okay," Damon says, his head shaking. "I can hear his breathing. He's starting to wheeze."
"Then we should stop," Bonnie responds, staring at the back of Ross' head.
"And what? Stop our trek to your precious city?"
Bonnie is surprised by Damon's tone. It's unsettling.
"Do you not want to go?"
"Vampires are BANNED from the city, Bonnie!" Damon glares at her. These thoughts have been racing through his mind since they left. He just didn't know how to communicate them properly without feeling angry. Maybe this was the only way.
"Maybe there is something we can do!" Bonnie tells him. He doesn't listen.
"There is NOTHING, Bonnie!" Damon yells, exploding, like he's been holding this all in. "THIS is IT! THIS IS ALL WE GOT!"
Ross turns around with Thad, wondering what Damon is freaking out about. Luca watches too as Arabess awakens on Damon's shoulder. He puts her down, pointing a finger at Bonnie.
"Because YOUR Grams brought us here! I would rather have nothing, than to be tortured by a bunch of weak-willed WITCHES!"
Damon backs away from Bonnie and she is still shocked by this reaction. He was right. She hadn't thought the whole plan through, but on their way to figuring out how to save Damon, the idea of the city sounded good. To her, at least. To Damon, it was a fairytale. Unreal, and if so, not exactly what they think.
He walks up to a tree and punches it. He feels the pain ache through his knuckles and up to his wrist. He clutches onto his fist, bending over. Bonnie walks up to him, touching his back. He pushes her away, mugging her.
She holds her hands out to the side, slightly bent, confused.
"I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm sorry that I—I" Bonnie hesitates. Her mouth moves but there's no sound. Normally, Damon would have walked away, but he was interested, vested, in what she had to say next. He wanted her to say something… to keep him here. So, he interrupts her on a hunch:
"We only have each other, Bonnie!" Damon walks towards her, pointing at himself then her.
"I know that!"
"You and I!" Damon's voice drops to a grave manner. He gets hot as his eyes feel with water. Bonnie is his only connection to Mystic Falls, and part of that is the reason why he wants her to stay, but it's more than that…
"Damon, I know!" She says in a gasp. Emotion consumed her voice like the sun in its conflicting innateness, patient but sudden. He walks toward her more and she takes a step. "So, forgive me then Damon… Forgive me, for wanting us to have a better life in this… hell!"
Damon's hands lift up to her face and he cups it, staring deeply into her eyes. He actually never thought about it in that way. Bonnie's eyes close as her face drifts into his.
"Enough with the melo-dramaticness!" Luca says, interrupting them. Damon and Bonnie step away from each other, then look at Luca. In unison, they say:
"Shut up, Luca!"
Ross groans loudly, collapsing to the ground. He lets go of Thad, who stands there unable to hold himself upright. Bonnie, Damon, and Luca run to Ross.
"He needs blood!" Bonnie says. She puts her arm out, but Arabess grabs it.
"I'll do it," Arabess says. Bonnie didn't want to let her, but something inside of her told her to. But she knows, there will be consequences. There always is.
"Let her," Damon interjects. Bonnie nods and Arabess puts her wrist over Ross' barely conscious body. Ross mumbles, shaking his head as tears fill in his eyes. Arabess picks up a small rock from the ground and slashes it across her wrist. Her blood drips onto Ross' dry, white crisped lips. He tightens them, refusing to drink the little girl's blood.
Damon slaps his cheek. "Hey!" Damon yells at him. "Drink it! That little mink is tough and you better honor that!" Ross lets the blood slip into his mouth.
He sits up, feeling a little better.
"Is Thad okay?" Ross asks, looking for him.
"He's still out of it," Bonnie tells him. They all look at Thad, who looks around aimlessly. When he sees Ross, he smiles and laughs, like he's high or drunk. Ross' frown dissipates and the corner of his mouth stretches a bit. He hasn't heard that laugh in forever.
"You're cute," Thad says to Ross. Bonnie furrows her brow.
"Is he high?" She asks him. Ross shakes his head, looking at the still red eyes and elongated fangs on Thad's face.
"No," Ross slightly chuckles, "He's just a little happy."
The six of them stand up, getting ready to continue their voyage. They start walking again and Bonnie can't help but feel the need to ask him about going home. He was close to telling her earlier, when he had said how powerful she was, and the thought never left her mind since.
She hesitates asking him though, peering at Damon. She does not think he will have another meltdown but, Bonnie can't ever know with Damon.
"Hey, Thad, earlier you said something about me returning home," Bonnie says. Thad turns around, looking at her, then he turns back.
"I did?" Thad wonders. He honestly can't remember. Damon and Bonnie exchange looks. He is indifferent about the question. He didn't care for the answer, Bonnie could see it in his eyes.
"Yeah," Bonnie continues, "Something about a necklace?"
"Oh yeah—"
"What about what's happening to you?" Damon cuts Thad off before he could finish answering Bonnie's question. She doesn't get angered by it though.
"My humanity stripping? Well, that's why we have to go to the city…" Thad tells him.
"Why?" Damon asks.
"Because. We have to find the witch that did it. And kill them."
Bonnie and Damon look at one another in surprise, then Damon's eyes lower and avert back to Thad.
"But witches are immortal."
"Not to other witches… all it takes is a knife to the neck. But it HAS to be a knife to the neck."
There it was. The loophole Bonnie and Damon were looking for. Bonnie, or Luca, would have to kill Kaya…
I'd have to kill Kaya? Could I actually do that? Bonnie thinks of the possibilities in her head. She knows what to do now. She just as to figure out how.
I… I could hire someone or… I don't know. I guess if it's in order to save Damon I should do it.
Damon looks at Bonnie, nudging her with his elbow.
"Hey," He says, giving her a smooth smile, "I understand if you don't want to do it. I'll just force Luca."
Bonnie shakes her head. "This isn't Luca's problem. It's ours. And, if… we ever make it to the city, we'll deal with it then."
"Hoping, assuming that the bitch Kaya doesn't start the process first… what if we don't have enough time?"
Bonnie shrugs. She really didn't know.
"Like I said, if we find the city. We'll handle it."
Damon didn't like it, but it was the truth. That's what he respected about Bonnie. Her love for honesty and passion for the truth. He can't think of anyone else he'd rather be stuck in this situation in. Other than Arabess, but anyone else? No.
After walking for a long time and taking frequent breaks in between, they find a paved road. Damon stomps on the road.
"Is this real?" Damon asks the group. He was happy to find something linked to his last existence. Bonnie is too. It's been a long time since they've walked on paved roads. She thinks of her little Prius, wishing she could drive it now.
Fucking Prius, she thinks to herself.
Thad points down the road, its path desolate and quiet. There were no signs of cars anywhere. It looked like a long ways to the city, but they'd travel it. Even Damon, if it meant saving himself, he would. Bonnie isn't going to let anything happen to him. He knows that.
"It's a straight shot right into city limits," Thad tells them. "Let's go."
They all follow his lead down the road.
The sun is starting to set as Ross looks up at it, using his hand as a way to block its rays. He looks to his left, seeing two abandoned train cars on an abandoned railroad track. It was a ways from the road and in the forest a little.
"I think we should rest for the night. It's getting late," Ross suggested. Bonnie nodded, agreeing. Thad gasps as his fangs retract and his eyes turn to their regular form. The talons on his fingers disappear.
"What just happened?" Damon asks Ross. He's looking at Thad, staring at his hands and fingers, then feeling over his face.
"His vampire abilities have gone dormant…" Ross tells him. "Let's go rest."
Ross walks into the forest, with Thad following close behind him. Arabess looks up at Bonnie and Damon, grabbing ahold of their hands. She starts walking and pulls them forward.
The both of them, Bonnie and Damon, wanted to keep walking to the city. But they did need the rest. And so did Arabess.
The six of them walk up to the train cars. Ross and Thad climb into the blue one on the right. Bonnie and Damon hop into the green one on the left. Damon helps Arabess into the train car. Luca hops into the same one, walking over to the side where Bonnie is sitting. Damon and Arabess sit on the other side.
Bonnie looks down, feeling a blanket on her hand. It's a red and white tiled design, lying underneath her, and though it's dirty, it still feels comfortable. She scoots up, laying back on the blanket.
Luca taps his foot against the floor of the car, not realizing how loud of a sound it is making. Damon glares at him, annoyed.
"Some of us are trying to sleep, Luca," Damon rolls his eyes and leans his head back. Arabess lays her head on Damon's chest and immediately falls to sleep.
As day turned into night, Damon slowly lifted Arabess' head and body, laying her delicately on the floor. He stands up and walks to the edge of the train car. Hundreds of small, blue orbs floated around in the distance. Damon turns around to see if Bonnie's awake, but she wasn't. He wanted her to see. He walked over to her, lying next to her, watching her as she slept. He placed his hands on the underside of his cheek. Her eyes opened.
"Damon…" She says, "Hey."
Damon scoots closer to her. "Hi. I had something to tell you but I forgot," Damon replies. He got lost in the spark of her eyes. He took a deep breath. "You know," He swallows, "I've been so cold lately."
"Well, you are a vampire," Bonnie replies, matter-of-factly. He curves the side of his mouth up in sarcasm.
"It's not that. It's something else… entirely."
Bonnie places her hand on his face. He inhales as the warmth from her hand dispersed into his face. He closes his eyes, putting his hand over hers.
"Are you cold now?" Bonnie asks him. He shakes his head, his eyes still closed. He opens his eyes to see the back of her head. He's disappointed at first, but then he feels her hand on his thigh, pulling him towards her. A smirk crosses over his face and he moves in closer. His arm wrapping around her and his chest closing in on her back.
She's warm… Damon thinks. Bonnie interlocks her fingers in Damon's, their hands resting together in front of her stomach.
"Remember when I was on the brink of death?" Damon asks her. She felt his breath on his neck, giving her goose bumps all down her back. She nods, urgently, but really her nerves were excited.
He loves the feel of her body rising and falling, as the human heart beats. He holds her closer.
"Yeah," Bonnie answers him. Her lips stay parted, and she turns to lay on her back. Their eyes meet and she glides her tongue across her bottom lip.
"Well, all I did was think about you…" His eyes don't leave her face; traveling from her eyes to her cheeks to her lips. He's enticed by all of her. Her hazel, honest eyes— her sharp, brown skin. The fluffiness of her hair— she stole my fluff. He thinks as he pictures his long, dark hair in his mind.
"It was like you were there the entire time. I could feel you, smell you… you were there weren't you?"
Bonnie smiles, looking away from Damon's intense stare.
"Hey, don't," Damon lifts her chin, locking onto her eyes. "…I wish I had the pleasure of kissing you first," His face lowers to hers. Their lips graze.
It was something Bonnie wanted to do. To kiss Damon. But she wasn't sure.
Their lips rubbed together. Bonnie's eyes closing. Damon's mouth opened, enclosing his lips around Bonnie's upper lip. Before his lips leave her, her bottom lip latches on at the last second.
She wanted more. His lips we're like the first time all over again. They were a falsity; thin and slim, but plump and luscious as Bonnie felt their touch. She opens her eyes, seeing Damon coming in for another. She lets him.
As his lips lift her up, she inhales. He inhales.
A passion, a fire… Something electric encompasses the energy between them. Damon's lips begin to gravitate lower, kissing the side of her chin and the underside of it. They traveled down to Bonnie's neck and stayed there for a while.
Bonnie pushes Damon away lightly and he furrows his brow.
"What?" Damon asks. He liked it. She loved it. But, something is bothering her. She lays on her back and he cocks his head to the side. He wanted to know why but, she didn't say anything.
After a moment of sitting in each other's presence, silence smothering them, Damon says something.
"Is this the hell you envisioned?" He asks. Bonnie looks at him a second before answering him.
"No…" Bonnie answers, "The hell I imagined was ideal. It was religious-like with Satan and bad people who did bad things… burning. Fire. I used to draw these pictures of them all the time as a child—"
"I know," Damon interrupts her. She opens her mouth in shock.
"What do you mean, you know?" She asks, searching his face for an answer. She didn't find a thing though. If anyone can hide emotion better than her, it's him.
"I KNOW," Damon tells her, inching his head closer to hers. She pressed her hand lightly on his cold cheek, moving it to his earlobe. He wanted to kiss her again. And the weakness in Bonnie's knees indicated she wanted to kiss him too. She leans in to kiss him again.
She pushes him onto the floor and lifts her leg over his body. She kisses him again, tracing down to his neck. Damon's hands scatter up Bonnie's thighs and to her hips. She lifts back up, removing her shirt.
She stops.
"Arabess!" Bonnie says, covering herself. Damon places a finger on her lips.
"She's sleep," He says, his finger sliding down her moist lips. "But if you're a screamer…"
"Ugh. Shut up!" She says, punching him in the chest. He groans, clutching it. He chuckles then bites his lip. Bonnie leans down, meeting his lips again.
The sun neglected to show its face. The white clouds dawned a muggy but bleak aura, distilled into the air. Damon steps over a bush, searching intently for Luca.
He's been gone since last night. He figured he'd be back in the morning, but he still wasn't there. Damon woke Ross and asked for his help. He knew Bonnie wouldn't hesitate to come looking for Luca, and so he decided to take it upon himself to look for him. He's had no luck since.
There's no scent, no trace of him anywhere. No lead for him and Ross to follow. They're walking through the forest using their own volition and instinct to find him. Ross looks up into a tree.
"Why the HELL would he be in a tree, Ross?" Damon asks. He rolls his eyes.
"You never know," Ross tells him, shrugging. "Do you think he was taken?"
"I don't know what to think."
He doesn't. The only thing on his mind is Bonnie. He can't stop thinking about her… everything about her. Ever since they had sex, he can't seem to shake her… This feeling rising inside of him, surging through his body, it makes him see differently. He may actually like her.
"I'll check over here," Ross says. He walks away, leaving Damon to himself and his thoughts.
He would try to escape her, to focus on looking for Luca, but her angelic appearance never relented. Everything he touched, he compared that to hers. It was like nothing he'd felt before. The bark on the tree is as natural and innate as the melatonin texture of Bonnie's skin, but never will it be a privilege to touch. Not only that, but the exquisite feel of her shape and the gentle glide of her touch would always contrast with the bark of the tree Damon's hand rests on.
He wanted so much, so eagerly to feel her again. He smiled to himself thinking of last night. Then he heard a thud behind him. He shifted around, scanning the area with devil's eyes. A small squirrel hopped out from behind a tree, then ran along.
Damon sighed in relief, turning back around to find Luca. He licks his lips, tasting Bonnie's. He remembers wanting to bite into her neck, but Bonnie wouldn't let him. Though, he hopes to one day be able to. To taste her blood from the vein in all its rich authenticity— he would become a new man.
Ross jogs back to Damon, putting a hand on his shoulder to rest awhile.
"He's nowhere to be found," Ross says through tired breaths, "We should go back."
"You hungry? Again?" Damon asks. Ross nods. Damon helps him stand up and Ross wobbles, blinking, his eyes widening.
"Don't make me drink her blood again… I won't," Ross struggles to get the words out.
"It's crazy, man. One minute you're doing fine… the next you're not."
"It's the curse of being a vampire in the land of the forgotten." Ross and Damon decide to go back to the abandoned train cars. That's where Bonnie, Arabess, and Thad were.
Bonnie awakens. She feels a shimmer of cold wind glide over her body. She looks up and sees Arabess standing over her, handing her some clothes. Bonnie looks down, realizing she's naked. She grabs the clothes from Arabess, putting them on.
"Hey Arabess," Bonnie says, pulling a shirt over her body.
"Hi," Arabess replies. "I saw you and Damon last night…"
Bonnie's eyes widen. She stands up, fumbling for what to say to Arabess.
"You guys were…" Arabess' eyes jump to the corner, "…doing kissing stuff."
Bonnie nods. "Yeah, we did… that's all we did though."
Arabess half-smiles. Bonnie thinks Arabess might've seen more, but decides to let it go. Arabess hops out of the train car.
Bonnie thinks of what she told Arabess. She knows that's not all they did. They did a lot more. They were every bit of intimate, every brush of sensual, and Damon, to Bonnie's surprise, treated her like a rare, endangered species—he sheltered her and nurtured her, in an accumulation of sexual surprises. She lost her breath for a moment as she thought of his breath hovering over her ear. She grabbed it, smiling.
Where is Mister "Full of Surprises" anyway? Bonnie thinks to herself. She hops out of the train car, looking around for him. She walks over to the other train car, hopping in. She sees Thad lying down, passed out. She looks over to see Arabess going through the duffle bag. Arabess picks up the triangular necklace, putting it on.
She started to say something to Arabess but Thad wakes up. Bonnie looks at him and he looks back at her, reaching for her. He starts saying something but she couldn't understand. It was just random sounds coming from his mouth like he'd lost the ability to speak.
Bonnie runs over to the duffle bag, looking for the notebook. She finds it, flipping through it. Arabess sits next to her, getting scared. She sees the look on Bonnie's face and she knows something is wrong.
Bonnie reads through each stage, trying to find symptoms that match what Thad is experiencing. She puts her finger on something that read: Loses ability to read, to speak… basic human functions begin to fade… The beginning stages of stage three: Dissolution.
Bonnie closes the notebook and looks at Arabess. She hugs her to try and comfort her.
"It'll be okay," Bonnie reassures Arabess. The little girl stares at Thad in unease.
"Why is he doing that?" Arabess asks Bonnie.
"He's in pain…" Bonnie rubs Arabess' back.
"Why?"
"Because he's losing himself. The last part of himself that makes him human."
Damon and Ross hop into the train car. Ross runs over to Thad and Damon to Bonnie and Arabess. He hugs the both of them, kissing Arabess on the head. He and Bonnie look at each other before Ross calls them over to help.
Damon runs over but Bonnie stops him, standing. She shakes her head.
"It's too late, isn't it?" Bonnie says to Ross. He didn't want to believe it, but he knows it is. Any minute now, Thad could lose it.
"No! Just please!" Ross urges them. Damon looks back at Bonnie then to Ross. "Please!" Ross pleads and begs, sobbing over Thad. Thad continues to make noises and sounds, wishing to communicate but unable to do so.
"Stop…" Ross says under his breath. His eyes thinning. He glares at Thad with eyes only worn on sadistic murderers. "I said stop." Ross closes his eyes. "Stop…"
"Where's Luca?" Bonnie asks Damon.
"That's where we were. Out looking for him." He replies. Ross pounds both of his fists on Thad's chest.
"STOP IT!" Ross screams. "STOP IT, STOP, STOP, STOP IT!" On each word he pounds on his chest, tears bursting through his eyes. "STOP, STOP IT, STOP… IT! STOP IT!"
Damon runs over, pushing Ross into a wall. He pins him up.
"Calm down, Ross!" Damon demands. Ross tries to get out of Damon's grasp and Damon puts his forearm in Ross' neck. "I said it cool it!" Ross stops, looking into Damon's eyes. "You know what you have to do… and if you don't, I will."
Damon keeps his forearm in Ross' neck until he knew Ross is levelheaded enough to be let go. After staring him in the eyes, he removes his forearm, walking away.
"Are you ready to do this? For the sake of our survival?" Damon says. Ross nods, looking at Thad's body. Deep down, he isn't ready.
Thad's body thuds on the ground as Damon drops him in the middle of the forest, far away from Bonnie and Arabess.
"I'll leave you to it…" Damon flashes away. Ross stands there, a stake in his hand, glaring at Thad. Thad doesn't make a sound anymore. He's paralyzed. He can hear, see, and think, but he cannot move. He cannot talk properly. His memories are stripped. He looks at Ross with that stake in his left hand and hopes to God he doesn't use it on him.
Ross ruffles his curly, red hair in anxiety. He didn't want to kill his one true love, but he had too. He jumped on top of Thad's body, raising the stake high in the air. Thad's eyes widen in terror and Ross brings it down.
He stops inches before Thad's heart. He stands up and walks away, covering his mouth. He sobs, staring at the ground and kicking it. He takes a moment to try and calm his emotions. Or, to separate them from his actions for now.
Then, he inhales and prepares himself. Wrath is the worst part of reduction and Ross will not unleash that demon unto this world…
Ross turns around, ready to plunge, but… Thad is gone.
"Oh my god…" Ross says to himself.
Damon, Bonnie, and Arabess wait at the abandoned train cars for Ross to return.
Damon and Bonnie start walking to the edge of the paved road.
"So, we should talk about last night…" Bonnie says. She puts her hands around her back, looking up at him.
"What is there to talk about?" Damon says. Bonnie rolls her eyes, knowing Damon isn't going to accept anything less than what she wants to explicitly state. He likes to take a chainsaw to a bush, rather than beat around it.
Arabess hops into the blue train car, seeing the duffle bag and looking through it some more. She puts her hand over the triangle necklace she wore around her neck, it glowed blue and she removed her hand, fast.
She picks up the notebook, opening it to a random page.
"Even worse than the rabid vampires roaming the land," Arabess reads, "the fourth stage shows a vampire whose strength is five times its original. It's faster than normal. And it's blood thirst horrifying. This is where a vampire's true nature is revealed."
Arabess hears something behind her. She gasps and turns around, but sees nothing.
"I just need to know one thing…" Bonnie asks Damon, "Was it real… this between us, or was it because we yearned for something… or someone…?"
"DAMON!" Arabess yelled. She's sprinting from the train car to the both of them. Damon and Bonnie sprint toward her too. Arabess trips, clutching her stomach.
"Arabess!" Damon flashes to her, but before he could touch her Thad appears out of nowhere, grabbing her and throwing her. Arabess screams die as she flies farther away.
Damon attempts to chase her but Thad close-lines him, smirking.
"Hello, fuckbirds," Thad says to the both of them. "Aw, I missed the Bamon brigade… The Donnie division—"
Bonnie uses her power to push Thad away. She runs to Damon.
"Come on, Damon! Get up!" She says, helping him up. They run away from Thad.
"What about Arabess?" Damon asks.
"We don't have time!" Bonnie says, then Thad flashes behind her, snapping her neck.
"BONNIE!" Damon screams as Bonnie falls to the ground. He could hear his voice echo in the distance, and his palpitating breaths, as everything around slowly fell apart. He catches Bonnie's lifeless body, bringing her to the ground. He looks around for Thad, but sees no sign of him.
He turns his attention back to Bonnie, the world suddenly moving too fast for him to catch up.
"Bonnie!" Damon says again. He knows she's immortal, but he can't stand it… seeing her die again. It's torture.
He reaches to grab her but his hands go right through her. He can't understand why and he tries again. He can't feel her… it's like he's a ghost or something.
"What the…" Damon says as he stands, running to a nearby tree to touch it. His hand falls through that too. The only thing he can touch is the ground. He begins to panic and runs back to Bonnie, crouching next to her and placing a finger on her cheek only for it to fall through. He can't feel anything.
Why can't I feel anything?
"Thad!" Ross screams. "THAD!" He screams again in the middle of the forest. He turns around, running into Luca. "Luca, oh my god!" He hugs him and Luca pushes Ross off of him.
"I'm sorry," Ross says to him. "Thad is on the loose. I think stage four has commenced! We gotta find him!"
"We don't have to do anything…" Luca says, glaring at him.
"What—AH!" Ross collapses to his knees as Luca boils his brain and cracks his bones with his mind.
"I've been waiting soooo long to kill you," Luca tells him. Ross slams to the ground face first, crying out for Luca to stop. "First… you. Then, Damon."
"Luca, please! I didn't do anything!" Ross pleads. Luca doesn't listen. He just circles Ross as if he's some inferior creature. Luca glues Ross to the ground so he wouldn't move. He summons a snake from the ground and it wiggles its way to Ross, gliding over his neck. The snake goes around Luca's neck until it has a good grip, then it tightens.
Ross' mouth opens as he tries to catch a breath. His face turns dark red and blood begins to spit out of his mouth.
Luca puts his hand out in front of Ross and twists it. As he did that, Ross' neck decapitates and the snake buries itself back into the ground.
"One down. Two to go."