Chapter 26: Almost Fifty

Cutler-

2 days ago

I could hear the couple laughing as they walked through the suburbs. I stood a few hundred feet away from them, cloaked in darkness that their weak human eyes couldn't penetrate. The man whispered a joke into the woman's ear. It wasn't funny, but she still laughed. A high, shrill sound that could so easily become a scream. I began walking forward, hands in my pockets, slowly twisting and turning into claws that would tear through flesh like paper. I felt the veins below my eyes bulging, straining against the skin, my canines sliding out of my gums to their full length. I could feel a growl building in my throat, ready to rip through the air and send the icy fingers of fear shivering down the spines of my prey.

Just as I was about to lunge forward and sink my teeth into the throat of the man, a hand placed itself on my shoulder. "I'm sorry to interrupt," said Elijah Mikaelson, "but I am in need of your assistance." He held open his coat, revealing several blood bags. "There's a meal in it for you if you would be so kind as to hear me out."

I drained the first bag of blood within seconds. Sitting beside me on a bench, Elijah handed me another. "I suppose you are wondering why I would need your help?" I nodded, still slurping down blood. "Well, as I am sure that you are aware, my mother made an attempt on the lives of my family a few hours ago. She failed, but she and my brother Finn escaped. As we are all still linked,it would be most beneficial to know of his location. Due to the fact that we do not have any witches who would be inclined to help us do so, we cannot perform a locator spell, we require a werewolf to track him. You are familiar enough with your abilities to distinguish scents, are you not?"

I finished the bag. "Yeah, I am. But why do you need me? Why not Klaus?"

"My brother is not experienced enough in lycanthropy to do it, though he will never admit this."

"Then why not one of his hybrids?"

"None of them are in the area, and I fear by the time they arrive, the scent will have gone cold. So tell me. Can I trust you with this task?"

I thought about it. "Alright. I'll do it. But I need a favor from you."

"And what might it be?"

I dug into my pocket, and pulled out my car keys. "Give these to Rebekah. She can use my car while I'm gone. Tell her I'm sorry. She'll know what I mean."

"You have my word, I will do as you ask."

I handed him the keys. He rose to leave. "And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Tell her not a scratch."

Cutler-

"You've found one?" I asked.

"We think so." Replied the voice at the other end of the phone. "We're not positive yet. I'll arrange it so the boy comes into contact with a witch."

"If the results are positive, inform me immediately. Keep him locket in a cell with no access to anything magical. Do not even enter the room. If he manages to leech of your vampirism, he could gain enough power to escape. I don't want this to turn out like the last time. I have waited over two millennia to gather components I need for this spell, Marcus. Do not fail me." I ended the call.

"Mrrph!" Came the muffled cry from behind me.

I turned to the girl tied to the iron chair, and gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry my dear, I didn't mean ignore you. I was just taken by an urgent matter." I pulled the gag out of her mouth. "Since I can't mind control you, we're going to have todo this the old fashioned way. The more compliant you are, the less pain will be inflicted upon you. So tell me, where is this siphoner of yours?"

I received a globule of saliva to the face. "Go to hell!" Hissed the witch.

"Very well. We shall do this your way then." I held up my left index finger, and transformed it into a claw. "I always did like finger art. You'll be my canvas."

Cutler-

Now

I weaved through the crowd of people, trailing after my quarry. Finn Mikaelson was not in any hurry. He walked along with the flow of the human current. The sun was beginning to set, and hopefully, Finn would stop for a rest. It was mind bogglingly boring just following him around all day. I briefly wondered why I was doing that. I had found him. I'd told Elijah where he was. What was I doing here? I didn't know. I glanced back at Finn, but he wasn't there. I cursed under my breath. I pushed my way through the people, until I was standing where Finn had been. I looked around frantically, and suddenly I was wizard by the arm and dragged into an alleyway, and pinned to a wall. "How are you still alive?" Snarled my former quarry.

"Same way you are. I died with that little Elixir in my system." I shoved him off me.

The Original looked stunned. "That's impossible!" He grabbed me by the jacket and looked my directly in the eye. "Tell me who turned you!"

I grabbed his arm, and flung it off. "Can't compel Originals, dumbass."

He pursed his lips. "Yet another reason I deserve to die. For inflicting this curse upon a child."

"It's a gift, not a curse. Geez, man. Why do you hate yourself so much?"

"I am a monster who preys on innocents, just as my siblings do. We do not deserve life.."

"Why do look for reasons to die? You should be looking for reasons to live!"

Finn regarded me balefully. "And what reasons would those be?"

"You're a vampire! You can chose to feed on criminals! You can make them confess their crimes! You could save people from burning buildings. You could be a superhero!"

Finn snorted. "Foolish boy. There are no superheroes. Only the strong, and the weak. And far too often, the strong abuse their power, and use it to exploit others for their own selfish gain and amusement. My brother Kol, for one. And most other vampires as well. Perhaps you." He turned away. As I reached up to pat him on the shoulder, Finn whirled, catching me by surprise, and snapping my neck.

When I awoke, night had fallen. The only way I could tell was the fact the street lamps were on. The yellow light was hard to see unless I looked directly at the source. Stupid hybrid night vision. Damn! I was so easily distracted! I leapt to my feet, and raced down the street, following the scent of the most ungrateful Original. He was going to get a major ass kicking.

I tracked Finn to a bar on a sparsely filled street. When I entered, I tracked the scent to a table in the corner, but instead of Finn Mikaelson, I came face to face… With myself. "Well, well." Said Future Me. "If it isn't the little weakling me, unable to accomplish the simplest tasks. Looking for Finn? He isn't here. But guess who is? Several of my hybrids."

I turned, and saw five, ten, twenty, thirty pairs of glowing eyes staring back at me. Sitting at tables, standing behind the bar. "Crap." I muttered.

"Let's see how you fair against my elite." Said Future Me. "Get him."

I moved first. I grabbed one of the hybrids by the head, and ripped it from her shoulders. A plunged my hands into the chest of another, and spread my arms, tearing him in half. I removed the heart of another. I killed them, again and again. One lunged at me, but I flung him across the room, sending him crashing through the bar. One more left. Running toward the exit, but I rushed to block her path. My hand flashed out, decapitating the hybrid Elijah-style. The headless corpse fell to the floor. I breathed a sigh of relief. They were all dead…. A cry of fury rang through the room. "What have you done?!" Screamed the hybrid I had thrown. He rushed at me, punching wildly. He was surprisingly strong and quick, almost as much as me. Almost. I seized him by the throat, and lifted him high into the air. My fingers slowly tightened, cutting through skin and muscle, until they finally closed around bone…. I gave a final squeeze. The bone didn't yield. Then his faced changed, and I realized why. "Finn?"

The Original glared down at me. "Do you find this amusing?" He growled angrily. "Do you enjoy shedding the blood of innocents?"

"What are you…" I began, but stopped as the smell hit. Blood. Human. Blood. "They were hybrids…" I said quietly.

"No, you fool. They were humans. Humans who never did you any harm whatsoever!"

I dropped Finn as the realization hit. "I killed one of the Five… The Hunter's Curse!"

"What Curse?"

"It was a hallucination…" I sank to my knees. My legs were made even more sticky with blood. It was everywhere. Spreading in pools on the floor. Soaking my clothes. Running in streaks down my face, dripping from my hands. "Oh my God… Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my Gooood!" My voice grew shriller and shriller, and I raised my face upward, then I screamed.

Author's Note: I sense this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Another fun write. On a less positive note, I am sorry for the late update. I was planning to do it Saturday night, but you know, family drama. I'll leave the rest to the imagination. Back to the positive, can anyone guess exactly who FC has spent the last two millennia collecting? Bet you can't guess. Also, does anyone remember exactly how many people have been killed by our wonderful protagonist? There was the first kill, seven people the first turn, Marcel's nine Daywalkers, Liam, then these thirty in the bar... Any I left out? One final question. Who's shipping who? - Updated my profile, by the way. If you guys want, you can go check it out.