The woods of Mystic Falls were quiet as I walked along the trail away from town. The past two days have been eerily calm despite what happened in Chicago. A sense of uneasiness washes over me as I think back to my meeting with Klaus Michaelson. The sociopathic and arrogant man haunted my nightmares last night and left me waking in a pool of sweat. Would Klaus consider me a challenge to exterminate? After I had left the bar and made it home, I had researched the self-proclaimed "Original Vampire." A message board on talked about how dangerous the hybrid was and some of the atrocities he committed with his family over his 1000 year existence. The supernatural world quaked at the mere mention of the Mikaelson name. According to the site, there were five siblings in the infamous family: Finn, Elijah, Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah. Most of the vampire world assumed Klaus had killed his siblings, but there was no proof of this. Plus, according to Elena and Damon, Klaus' older brother Elijah had rescued him in the hopes to be reunited with their other siblings.
I had also researched how I was immune to the compulsion. Theories around the vampire world suggested I could be a "Shield" or a vampire with the ability to protect their mind and body depending on the circumstances. There was also the possibility that I was also a hybrid of some sort. I only laughed the latter off of course. I knew my family lineage, and there were limited amounts of supernatural blood in it. Despite the lack of magical blood, I was aware that the inability to be compelled by an Original Vampire had made me a target not just to the Original Family, but for their enemies as well. Already my inbox on the site had been accosted by hundreds of vampires seeking vengeance and alliances against Klaus and his siblings.
Sighing loudly, I looked around the forest and smiled. As a girl, I had loved to play in the Washington forest with my sister. We would explore the woods and creeks around the town to the point we knew each square foot like the backs of our hands. At the sweet age of 13, my first kiss was surrounded by the woods as the rain dripped through the canopy above us. The sweet smell of oak, gypsy flowers, and thimbleberries had drawn me and my friend, Levi Uley, into the forest at first. As we were picking the flowers, I had laughingly called Levi my dearest heart to which he then confessed that he liked me. As the rain started trickling down, I stood immobile as my childhood friend walked towards me and kissed me gently on the lips.
I remember Levi's reaction when I resurfaced after my disappearance decades later. I had been traveling by through the forest near Forks when a pack of wolves had formed a line across a small creek ravine. I had tilted my head just as Levi had changed from a dark gray wolf. Naked and confused at my transformation, he had crossed the creek while I smiled softly at him. The boy I had grown to love when we were teenagers had grown into a rather handsome man.
"Isabella?" He had asked timidly while reaching towards me.
"Hello, Levi," I whispered while pushing a strand of hair from my face.
"What? How...when?" Levi stammered, and I watched as his shapeshifting friends retreating into the woods. Despite not seeing them, I knew they would be able to hear our conversation. I looked back to Levi and saw the tears slowly filling his eyes. "How long has it been? Nearly 30 years, and you look the same."
"I know you will hate my kind, Levi. I remember the Quileute rules that you shared with me long ago." I touch his face gently, and his eyes widen at the chill emanating from my body.
"Vampire." He hissed before I could silence it with a finger.
"You know I would never hurt you or the tribe." I give him a dark look, and he nods his head. "I am sorry. I wish I could be human again." I sigh and look up to the clouded sky. "You have no idea how much I have hated what I am."
My cellphone's ringtone brought me out of my memories with Levi. I fished the device out of my denim jacket pocket. Damon had sent me a text message requesting that I get to the boarding house as soon as possible. I sent him a quick message telling him I would be there shortly. Groaning, I turn on my heel and start back to town.
Arriving at the Salvatore Boarding House, I can hear Damon and Elena arguing softly. I make my way quickly to the living room and watch as Damon's hands Elena a glass of dark liquor. Elena takes a sip slowly and grimaces as the alcohol touches her tongue. Neither had realized I was standing at the hallway entrance.
"Yeah, it's strong." Damon laughs before taking a seat beside her. Leaning forward, he gives her a soft look before patting her back. "You know, I can help you forget too. At least the memories you don't want to keep."
Elena frowns into her glass before looking into Damon's eyes. "No. No compulsion. I need to remember. All of it." She shuddered despite the warmth in the room.
Damon holds up an intricate necklace and Elena gasps softly.
"I stole it back for you." He whispers gently.
I see the tears drip down Elena's face as Damon lowers his hand.
"He's gone this time." Elena sobs. "I watched it happen. After everything that we went through to get." She wipes her face roughly. "Now he's just… gone."
Damon went to give her a comforting hug, but I coughed softly to alert them I was there. Despite Elena's love for Stefan, she had begun to cling to Damon and he to her. I would never intervene, but I did not want to bear witness to anything they might do.
Damon looked up at me and instantly scowled. "Where have you been?" His voice was gruff, and I could see the flames of anger burning in his blue eyes.
"Well, Lord Protector, my life is my own to live and none of your concern." I started to walk towards the bar when Damon flashed in front of me. He was snarling at me.
"Damon stop!" Elena screeched as she turned to face us.
"What the hell has gotten into you?" I say as I push past him with enough force to send him stumbling to the ground.
"Elena nearly died today, and you were nowhere to be found!" Damon hissed as he came to a stand.
"What?" I turn quickly to look the girl in the face, but she is glaring at Damon.
"Yeah, well neither were you!" Elena huffed before getting up from the loveseat.
"Elna, I'm sorry," Damon says as he walks toward her. "I shouldn't have left." He whispers in her ear before cupping her cheek in his hand. "I promise you…" He stares intently into her eyes. "I will never leave you again." He smiles softly.
I am all but gagging when the sound of a familiar voice fills the hallway.
"Well isn't this cozy?" Stefan utters.
I look at Stefan and realize that the man standing in the hallway is not my mentor and friend but my creator: The Ripper.
Damon and Elena both gasp in surprise before stepping away from each other. Damon quickly suppresses his feelings before walking closer to Stefan. "What are you doing here brother?"
Stefan scoffs at Damon before striding into the room. He stops at the drink table and pours himself a glass of bourbon mixed with human blood.
"Last I checked, I live here." Stefan takes a deep drink from his glass. "Klaus is gone," Stefan shifted so that he was staring only looking at Elena. "But he asked me to keep watch on you until he returns." Elena returned his jovial stare with an eye-roll. "From now on, you're under my protection." Stefan holds up his drink in a mock toast before taking another sip. "Mmmm, by all means. Carry on." Stefan finishes his drink before placing it gently on the drink station before leaving the room.
Damon and Elena watch him before sending each other anxious side-eye glances. We quickly left the Boarding House and made our way to Elena's home. On the front porch step, I listened as she told me of the disastrous night in which Stefan had drunk from her and Klaus had killed her friend Tyler. Despite Tyler becoming a hybrid, the group had learned that only Elena's blood could turn werewolves into hybrids. As the girl cried in my arms, I suggested that she start training to defend herself against further attacks.
Two days later, Elena, Alaric, Jeremy and I had begun that training the depths of the woods. Alaric and Elena spared while I trained Jeremy. The teen had a strong idea of how to fight, his technique just needed to be perfect. A few months of smoking had caused him to become frequently winded to the point he was cursing the cigarette companies while we ran laps through the woods.
"Why are we even practicing running?" Jeremy grumbled as he jumped over a fallen log.
"Well, you'll never be able to outrun a vampire, but they do get tired. So stamina is a key factor when fighting one." I call out as I dipped underneath a tree branch.
"What are the other keys?" Jeremy asked after a moment.
"Well, Stamina," I leap over a large tree trunk. "Quick thinking, and a will to live." I send him an encouraging smile.
"Will to live?"
"Yes. Even the strongest of the supernatural can lose that will to live which can cause them to lose a battle. Never lose your will to live." I stop and turn to stare at him as he comes to a slow halt. "Everyone is destined to die, but that doesn't mean it has to be in that battle. Fight to live, hold on to whatever you can and never lose that will." He nodded his head, and I smile as he races away,
"Come on slow poke!" Jeremy tease and I smile before running full speed past him.
After a few more laps, we walk back to here Alaric was showing Elena how to use a hidden sleeve stake.
"So the pressure of your punch ejects the stakes," Alaric says while demonstrating on a mannequin.
"Easy enough," Elena says as he hands her the sleeve.
Elena sends a swift punch to the mannequin but frowns as the device fails to eject the stakes.
"That's weird." She mumbles before trying again. To her dismay, the stakes again do not move from the holster.
"Must be jammed or something." Elena shrugs.
"You're not strong enough," I say, and she whips around to give me a solemn look. "Better start lifting some weights."
"Putting some meat on your bones will help." Alaric agrees and chuckles when Elena's shoulders drop.
"Thanks for not sugar coating it," Elena grumbled.
"You may not have strength, yet," Alaric said as he reached into the duffle bag next to the mannequin. "But there are other tools you can utilize." He hands her a circular device that reminded me of a grenade. "You know what this is?"
"A vervain grenade. I've used one before." Elena smiles at a memory.
"Then you know the element of surprise is your only advantage when it comes to a vampire." Alaric nodded before pulling the pin out and tossing the grenade to her. "Surprise!"
"Oh my god!" Elena screeches and throws the ball into the air.
The water droplets cascade down on us and the three look at me wearily. A droplet touches my face, and I wait for the pain to begin but I felt nothing but the cold and wet droplets of vervain water.
"Huh. Weird." I say as I hold my arm out letting the droplets hit a larger area of skin. "Isn't this supposed to be painful to me?"
"It's supposed to." Alaric glowered and pulled out a small bottle. "Here," He tosses the bottle to me. "That is a concentrated mixture of vervain and holy water."
I open the bottle quickly and pour a small amount on my hand. "I don't feel anything," I mumble as I stare in confusion at the small bottle. I can smell the vervain, but for some reason, it was not affecting me.
"That's what she said." Jeremy laughed softly.
"This isn't a time to be joking, Jer." Elena scolded.
"Elena, it's fine. Besides, these kinds of experiments are exactly what we need. Vampires will take whatever they want. They will hurt whoever they want. And they'll do it without remorse. It's their nature." I put the cap back on the bottle and toss it back to Alaric.
"You don't have to use pronouns. You can say, Stefan." Elena fussed.
"Look, I get why you're here," Alaric stated as he began breaking down the mannequin. "Stefan hurt you. You don't want it to happen again."
"But you think I'm crazy! To believe that I can protect myself from a vampire who flipped the switch on his humanity." Elena moaned softly as she began to massage her shoulder blade.
"I think, you found a way to get out of bed this morning." Alaric turned around and gave her a soft smile. "That makes you the strongest person I know. I think that you can do pretty much anything." He tosses her a small bundle before picking up his duffle bag and making his way down the trail.
Elena unwraps the small bundle to see a silver pair of stakes attached to a leather sleeve. She looks up, and I can see the little tear droplets running down her face. She quickly brushed them away before picking up her duffle bag.
"Come on Jer. We don't want to be late for school." Elena says softly before walking down the same path Alaric had taken.
I watch the Gilbert siblings leave the woods before making my way back to the boarding house. I had been avoiding Stefan, but I know I need to talk to him. No, it wasn't Stefan I was avoiding but The Ripper instead. When Stefan turned his emotions off and became, The Ripper was an entirely different person who cared about nothing. Lexi had learned how to break that side of Stefan, and now I must do it instead. I would have to craft a trap to disarm Ripper first carefully.
I remembered Elena had talked about a bonfire happening after school. According to her, the bonfire was a yearly tradition to celebrate the first day back after summer vacation. If Elena could somehow catch Stefan off guard with even the slightest bit of emotion, we could strike and get him unconscious long enough to get him in the Salvatore cellar. The boarding house came into view when an idea popped into my head.
As I walked into the boarding house, I found the living room stained with blood and Damon in an apron scrubbing the flooring near the bar.
"Woah, who did you kill and why wasn't I invited?" I pouted.
"I didn't do this. Stefan decided he wanted to play twister with his lunch." Damon slapped the floor with his brush before looking up at me. "Where have you been?"
"Just exploring the woods as normal." I grab one of the spare brushes and dip it in the foamy water bucket by Damon.
"We have a guest staying with us," Damon whispered, and I gave him a puzzled look.
"Who?" I whisper back as I get down on my knees and start to scrub at the red stain by the loveseat.
"Her name is Rebekah, and she is Klaus' sister." Damon scrubbed harshly at the stain in front of him.
"Are her or Stefan here?" I look up towards the stairs hoping the answer would be no.
"They decided to go to school. To watch over Elena." Damon mutters.
"Oh good. I have an idea and I… I mean we need to get the steps prepared now." I whisper.
"Why are you whispering?" Damon asks while putting down his scrub brush.
"So we aren't overheard by anyone who could be outside." I roll my eyes.
"Ok. What's your plan Game Master." Damon smirks, and I toss my brush at him. He catches it quickly before sticking his tongue out at me.
"Oh real mature." I snicker at him. "I plan to get Stefan unconscious, and yes, we will need to use Elena as bait."
Mystic Falls High School
"I used to know every constellation." Elena sighed heavily as she looked at the night sky. Lying on the bleachers with a bottle of Crown Royal mixed with cola, Elena listened as Stefan sighed heavily before climbing up the bleachers. "How did I forget them all."
"You're drunk. You need to go home." Stefan stated as he looked down at her from the step above.
Elena groans loudly as she lazily sits up. "Fine." She stumbles a bit as she stands up. "Uhh." She puts a hand to her head before looking around. "Let me find my car."
"You're joking, right." Stefan scoffs.
"Uh-oh." Elena hiccups as she points her finger at Stefan. "It's the fun police." She picked up the bottle and took a sip from it. "I thought that Ripper Stefan was supposed to be the life of the party." Elena taunted as she started walking up the bleachers.
"Well, all right," He mumbled. "Hey, you're going the wrong way. Uh. Fine, I'm driving you home." Stefan dragged his hand through his hair before climbing the bleachers with her. "Come on." He demanded as he tried to grab her arm.
Slapping his hand away, Elena climbed over the railing and looked down. Her back against the railing, she let her hands fall lazily against the cold metal.
"What are you, five?" Stefan shouted at her. "Get down."
"Why?" Elena looks over her shoulder at him. "Are you afraid that I'm going to…" Slipping a bit, Elena grasps onto the railing tightly. She looks up at the sky and starts to laugh hysterically. "Oh. Ha! That was close!" Elena looks back at Stefan. "Klaus would not be happy with you." She giggles slightly before hiccuping.
"You're hilarious." Stefan groans as he reaches for her.
"Look, Stefan!" Elena giggles. "No hands." Elena let's go of the railing and spreads her arms out wide. She starts to laugh, and Stefan angrily tries to grab her arm. Before Stefan could grab her, Elena screams as she falls from the bleachers.
Stefan rushes down the bleachers and catches the screaming teenager just before she hits the ground.
With a gasp, Elena looks into Stefan's eyes and touches his face gently. "I knew you'd catch me." She whispers.
He lets her down gently and opens his mouth to speak. Suddenly his face grimaces before he falls forward onto the grass. Elena looks up and smiles as Alaric places his vervain dart in the holster behind his back.
Walking towards her, Alaric gives her a soft smile. "You okay?" he asks gently before picking up Stefan.
"Yeah." Elena looks at Stefan's unconscious body and frowns. "I'm all right."
"You look, uh, not sober," Alaric grumbled as he set Stefan's body down next to his car.
"Bella's plan worked." Elena took Alaric's car keys and opened the trunk. "That's all the matters. Let's just get him out of here."
Alaric struggles for a moment, but with Elena's help, get's Stefan's body into the trunk.
I remove the binoculars from my face and turn to stare at Damon. "See, I told you it would work."
Damon glanced at me for a brief second before looking into the binoculars again. "If it did, then why is Alaric's car on fire?" Damon hissed between clenched teeth.
"What?" I look back at the scene and realize he is right. "Son of a.." I trail off as I flash in front of Alaric. He is struggling to open the car door, and Elena's panicked face is warped by a brunette girl sitting beside her. I look a bit closer and realize her body is transparent. Snarling at the ghost, I wrench open the car door and pull Elena out.
"I'm sorry Elena." The ethereal girl's voice whispers.
I glare at the ghost who looks shocked when she realizes I can see her. The spirit starts to dissipate just as Elena begins coughing harshly from the smoke inhalation. Giving her a pat on the back, I look to see Alaric emerging from the smoldering car with the unconscious Stefan in his arms.
"Move, move, move!" Alaric yells, and we rush away from the car just as it explodes.
"What are you staring at Bella?" Elena asks after she had calmed down a bit.
"There was a ghost here," I say as I nodded to the fire.
"A ghost?" Elena frowned.
"Yeah. The ghost was female and had dark brown hair that curled down her back, dark green eyes, tan…."
"Vicki." Elena sighed and touched her cheek. "Ow." She exclaimed and wrenched her hand away.
Looking closer at her cheek, I see a small red burn just under her cheekbone. "Come on, let's get some cream on the burn." I smirk at her as we begin the trek to the Salvatore's.
Dear Readers:
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AndriodScout