Chapter 21 - Confessions of a Blood-Drunk Vampire

*Peeks out from hiding place* Hi everyone. Remember me? :S

Full recap in the previous chapter.

This chapter is dedicated to Debbie since she was the one who bugged me to update! ;) x

"Stefan?" Damon said carefully.

"Damon!" Stefan cried to his brother. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"What did you do?" Damon asked, eyeing him warily. A sense of unease came over him as he watched his brother in frenzied dismay; he was crouched on the concrete ground, shaking like a crack addict; his clothes were ripped, his shirt half open and the unmistakable tinge of blood was smeared across his mouth.

"Something bad," Stefan said, his voice shaking.

Damon rolled his eyes. His skilled at deduction had ascertained that he did something bad.

"What happened after you left, Stefan?" Damon pressed on.

Stefan shook his head feverishly, unwilling to divulge the horror he'd committed. He wasn't the monster. He was the good brother. He was the brother who could do no wrong.

"I'm not bad. I'm not bad," Stefan repeated as he bit his nails nervously. He rocked back and forth as he mumbled his words till all they were was incoherent bubbling sounds; but still, he carried on - his bloodshot eyes were full of conviction as he willed himself to believe the words leaving his lips. I'm not bad…

But he was far from good.

"Stefan," Damon warned.

"I-I couldn't control it," Stefan said slowly, almost trying to understand himself the cause of his actions. How could he have let it go that far? As if drinking human blood could give him even a fraction of strength compared to Katherine. Katherine who was dead now, Stefan reminded himself. "I've turned into you," Stefan said, the truth of his words sinking deeper as the vampiric urge in his body grew.

"Tell me what happened, Stefan. Now," Damon said. He was growing impatient, and quite frankly, he had better things to do than playing the interrogator; like finding a way to reverse the dhampir curse.

Stefan looked up to his brother, tears began to well in his eyes as his face contorted into a mask of pain.

"I killed them. I killed them all."

14 Hours Earlier

With fast, determined strides, Stefan left the boarding house. He was intent on hunting in the woods; intent on feeding from animals. He could feel his blood boiling from the remnants of human blood; the memory still fresh in his mind; the taste still fresh on his tongue. It tantalised his senses, causing a burning sensation to race down his throat. Stefan swallowed hard. The call which was always just a small nag in the back of his mind had increased ten-fold and he was struggling with the urge with every excruciating step he took.

The urge wasn't helped by the faint thrumming of life a few miles away. A party, Stefan had deduced. The frantic beats of drunk teenagers beckoned him like a siren's song. The sound was all Stefan could hear as he ran along his path, he could feel himself salivating at the sound and moved to wipe his mouth; only to cut himself on his fang. Stefan mumbled a curse, grunting in anger as he increased his pace - all the while telling himself that he was fine. Yes, he was fine, and he could control it.

He had to.

… … …

Stefan finished off feeding from the large deer. He choked back the last bits of dirt-like blood as if it was his first drink in years and tossed the animal into the bushes, panting as he wiped the still wet blood from his mouth. He licked his lips as he began to scan the area for other animals; usually the one deer could tide him by, but not now. Not after knowing the taste of human blood.

After drinking the last drop of blood from a baby deer, Stefan made his way back. He walked at human pace to save energy, making sure to take the back route through the woods to avoid any party-goers.

He made it a whole twenty minutes without being interrupted. He had been reciting all the important dates of history in order to block out the beating hearts; but his plan backfired as two drunk girls stumbled straight into his path. Right into the arms of a blood-drunk vampire.

"Hey – you're Stefan, right?" A voice called.

Forcing down the trembling sensation that was ricocheting throughout his body, Stefan looked up.

Sarah and Aimee, two girls from his school stood before him. Sarah, the young brunette smiled as she leaned on her friend for balance.

"We're lost," Aimee said, fluttering her eyelashes girlishly. Little did she know, Aimee was failing pathetically in her attempt to be seductive and looked more drugged than sexy. Stefan didn't care either way.

Stefan paid no notice the other girl. His sights were set on Sarah. A girl who looked a lot like Elena.

He took a step forward, thankful that the darkness hid his vampiric visage. He stayed silent as he nodded, not uttering a single word as he advanced on the two girls.

The girls turned, expecting Stefan to take lead and guide them back to the road. Instead, he took their disadvantage and pounced. He knocked Aimee out, throwing her head first into a tree. He left her alive to feed on later. Stefan's eyes were on Sarah. The poor girl still had no clue of what was happening.

"S-Stefan?" Sarah asked.

Stefan pinned Sarah to the wall and leaned in slowly to smell her hair. Strawberries. Stefan smiled in an almost grinch like fashion. Strawberries; just like Elena.

Sarah shuddered as Stefan licked her cheek. "So warm," he muttered. She scrabbled to get away; wiggling her body to try and break free. Stefan simply pushed himself closer, smiling as Sarah screamed, her bones crushing from the force.

Sarah cried out, piercing shrieks of terror filled the night air. Stefan roughly covered her mouth with his lips, muffling her sounds as he forced his tongue down her throat. Sarah choked on Stefan's assault. She was in agony yet still fought with every ounce of strength in her. Just before she fainted from the lack of oxygen, Stefan removed himself and looked her straight in the eyes.

"This will only hurt for a bit. Don't scream," Stefan said.

Without waiting for an answer, Stefan sunk his fangs into Sarah's neck and drank, gulping down the velvety blood and revelling in the sensation as it slid down his throat. Tonight Stefan had let the monster within him loose, and unlike last time, there was no way the monster would be caged again.

Stefan moaned as he pushed himself closer to the girl, feeling her tiny body pressed up against him as he bled her dry. He imagined it to be Elena's blood he was drinking; an elixir so potent he could live off purely her forever. Licking the wound, he dropped Sarah to the floor and went for Aimee. She had just begun to rouse back to consciousness. Stefan watched in morbid curiosity for a moment before smiling a cruel smile and leaping to perch on a tree above.

Aimee slowly lifted herself up from the ground and took in her surroundings. It was dark and her eyes were still adjusting.

"Sarah?" Aimee called out.

No response.

Aimee began blindly taking small steps as she waited for her eyesight adjusting to the darkness. Through the bushes, she could see a shape on the ground and sighed, assuming Sarah had fallen asleep in her drunken state. Taking more confident strides, Aimee bent down and shook Sarah. She didn't answer.

"She's dead," Stefan said as he jumped down from his spot.

Aimee turned. "What?"

"Your friend. Is dead." He said more slowly.

"What! Fucking hell, Stefan. Don't say things like that!" Aimee laughed nervously.

Stefan took small steps towards her.

Aimee instinctually stepped back; falling over Sarah's dead body as she did so.

Stefan chuckled darkly as he grabbed Aimee and pulled her upright. He brought his nose close to her body, smelling the sweet smell of fear perspiring from her body in waves.

"W-Why?" Aimee mumbled, her voice shaken and small.

"I was hungry!" Stefan shrugged, smiling as he sped in front of Aimee and waited for the scream.

And scream she did.

Aimee spun on her heels and ran through the woods. Stefan was only too happy to grant Aimee her last dying wish for a jog in the woods.

Stefan took in the scenery as he gave Aimee a ten second head start. Ten seconds turned to twenty as he stared at Sarah's corpse. The reality of his actions caught up with him and Stefan collapsed to the ground; his head in hands, shocked at what he'd just done. He slowly stood up, the guilt worming its way into his mind as the screams from his victim echoed in the air. What had he done. How could he have thought he could control it. He was a mons-

Aimee tripped on a tree branch and went hurtling to the floor. Her leg sliced across a twig; the blood gushing out from the wound. She crawled along the muddy floor, she had no idea where he was or why he let her go. She just had to get back to civilisation.

Stefan's eyes blacked out; the animal returned as he ran off into the night.

It happened so fast. Stefan scooped Aimee off the ground, held her up against a tree and sunk his fangs into her in less than a second. He could feel her body twitching as she slowly died. He felt no remorse. No sadness. The need for blood was too strong. Stefan was no longer 'Stefan the good brother'. Stefan was now 'Stefan the ripper'.

"Step away from her," a voice suddenly called.

Stefan continued to drink; the only sound he focused on was the sound of the girl's faltering heartbeat. She'd be dead in a few seconds and Stefan was waiting to hear his last draw of breath.

A gunshot rang.

Stefan stood dumbstruck for a moment, his fangs retracted as he stood limp, blinking a few times he heard another shot, then another. This time, he fell straight to the ground. It was all over.

… … …

Stefan awoke. It was dark and dank. It didn't take him long to realise he was caged. Trapped. He had no idea how he'd got here and vaguely remembered sucking the girl dry. His fangs showed again as he reminisced of the blood. The call had been too strong for him.

"How is it possible," the very same voice from before asked.

They came into the light, revealing the short blonde sheriff. Stefan groaned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stefan replied, trying the tactic of feigning innocence.

"Is - Is Damon a vampire too," Liz asked. He could sense the regret in her voice.

"No," Stefan said. Though he was drunk on blood he knew he had to protect him brother. "That guy from the news attacked me," Stefan lied.

"Logan," Liz said to herself. "That bastard," she muttered.

"I'm sorry, Stefan. But after what you did I have to…" Liz said as she drew her gun and aimed.

Stefan used his speed to stand and rock the cage. Gripping the bars he used his strength to pull them aside and walk through. Shots rang as Liz fired shot after shot, but Stefan kept advancing. He refused to back down.

He stood nose to nose with Liz, he could hear her heart pounding. The adrenaline pumping frantically through her veins. She shook from head to toe as she pressed the trigger. It clicked. The rounds were empty.

"What a shame," Stefan said, smiling gleefully as he brushed a finger against her cheek then lowered it to her neck. He could feel her heart racing. "My turn."

"Stefan…"

The sound of his name snapped him back to reality as he saw the pain in her eyes. His conscious was fighting back as it tried to subdue the animal that was threatening to take over.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Stefan repeated to a quivering Liz.

"So am I," Liz replied. She pulled out a stake from behind her back and aimed straight for his heart.

Everything ran in slow motion in that millisecond. Stefan saw the sharp point of the stake and acted reflexively; he grabbed the stake and pushed Liz away. Liz hurtled back and hit the brick wall with bone-crushing force. She had been knocked unconscious and was now pinned to the wall. Held in place in a standing position - held in place by a jagged water pipe which protruded from her chest.

Liz Forbes was slowly dying.

And Stefan Salvatore ran away.

"Why did you leave her!" Damon bellowed as he kicked Stefan across the room.

"Where is she," Damon demanded. He sped to his brother who lay on the floor and dragged him up by the collar. Stefan refused to fight back. He knew he deserved it.

"I swear, if you killed her -"

"She's at the old warehouse. The one Logan was hiding in," Stefan said, looking away from Damon. "I'm sorry."

Damon ignored his apology. "Is she alive," Damon said, shaking Stefan as he's eyes went blank.

"I'm sorry," Stefan repeated.

Damon released Stefan, letting him hit the floor hard as he left the room. He was determined to get to Liz as he sprinted off into the night.

Hope you liked this chapter and it wasn't too boring.

The next few chapter will be more of a filler until a certain character is introduced and the action begins ;)