Title: No Church in the Wild
Chapter 5: Glory & Gore Part 1
Date: November 23, 2014
Pairings: Klaroline (Brief), Baroline, & Marcel/Davina
Caroline had officially given up her search for the night. Bonnie Bennett was nowhere to be found. She searched every major boutique (though she admit that was more for her benefit than anything), compelled a few store owners for information but in the end she came up empty. She was frustrated but more than that, she was pissed. Here she was looking for someone who clearly didn't want to be found and even though Caroline's emotions were turned off, she could feel something stirring inside of her that felt like hope. Her driving force behind turning off her emotions had been simple. Elena was dead and so was Jeremy, Tyler had been exiled and Bonnie vanished without a trace which left Caroline feeling utterly lost. She had outgrown Mystic Falls and knew she had to leave. It was either that or be forced to watch someone else she loved die, vanish, or get chased away. Matt wanted nothing to do with anything supernatural and after the year her mom had, neither did she; which was completely understandable. So when Stefan offered her a ticket out of there, Caroline left and never looked back.
Calling it a night, Caroline accepted her defeat and made her way back to Bourbon Street. The walk through the cemetery was quiet, safe from the crickets, cicadas, and occasional bullfrog. If she listened close enough she could hear the shifting of the dirt as it settled atop freshly covered graves and could hear the foundations of the tombs above ground crack and creak. The earth crunched beneath her heels and she honed in on the sounds, finding it therapeutic. It was while she was allowing the sounds of the night to lull her restless mind at ease that she heard grunting. Her ears twitched as the grunts became more guttural. Even though the person never spoke a word, it was no mistaking who it was. Quickly, she sped in the direction of the noises to find Klaus struggling to stand up. Her heart leapt in her throat as she moved closer to him cautiously as if she—well; technically she was approaching a wounded animal. She started to speak when she caught a whiff of a peculiar scent that stood out against the smell of blood and death.
"Bonnie," She instantly recognized. Without warning, Caroline sped up behind Klaus and flipped him onto his back just as soon as he made it to his feet. "What did you do to her!?" Using his weakness to her advantage, Caroline twisted Klaus's arm and pushed her heel clad feet into his skull, pinning the temporarily weaker vampire to the ground. Klaus grunted and fought in vain to get up but it was no use, he was completely drained and needed to feed. Even then, he still had a small thing for Caroline that prevented him from mustering up the strength to rip her heart straight from her chest.
"I didn't do anything. As you can see I'm the one on the ground, not her." A valid point was made and Caroline slowly loosened her grip. Still, she wasn't naive enough to think that Klaus was completely faultless. However, she couldn't focus on that. Bonnie's scent was getting fainter and fainter by the minute and if she wanted to follow it, she'd have to act fast.
"You better pray that's the case. Don't follow me." Before Klaus could respond, Caroline reached down and snapped his neck quickly to give her a head start on finding Bonnie without worrying that he'd follow. Chances were, she'd pay for that stunt later but she didn't have that to think about. Bonnie was her main priority.
BCBCBCBCBCBCBCBC
Bonnie's eyes fluttered open and immediately she realized that everything was out of whack. For one, she did not recognize where she was and two; she was laid out on the ground in a pile of leaves. The August sun had already dipped below the horizon but its glow dimly illuminated the sky above. The forest trees were thick, casting shadows all around her and with the rapid withdrawal of light, the sounds of night creatures could be heard growing louder and louder. She had nothing to fear however, she was an all-powerful witch, right?
True, but above all else she was a teenage girl; barely legal, and things still made her jump in the night.
She stood to her feet, rustling the leaves around her and brushing off her attire. She still wore what she left the house in that morning, assuming it was the same day; a quick glance at her slowly dying cellphone confirmed that it was. In that glance, she saw that she had several missed calls from Marcel and—that was it. No one else had her number. Rather than call back, Bonnie shoved the phone into the side of her bra and glanced around. Darkness had just about fallen completely thanks to the thick forestry, and her vision was limited. She closed her eyes and whispered a few words in Latin before opening them. Suddenly everything was tinted green and her hearing increased about fifty percent. A quick scan of her area revealed no grave threats; just a few small rodents, a shit-ton of bugs—yuck— and the occasional deer. No humans. No vampires.
Her trek through the woods was haste but effective. Her energy was just about depleted meaning no teleporting. She could've easily called Marcel but she wasn't sure she wanted to see him just yet. She wasn't up to par for a possible confrontation and if he truly was killing witches, she needed to be on her toes whenever that time came. As she walked, she buried herself in her thoughts. Klaus was here. Damon was here. Marie knew Klaus. Klaus knew Marcel. Klaus wanted to kill Marcel and so did Marie. Damon wanted to kill Klaus. And they all wanted her help to do these things. Meanwhile Marcel was supposedly out killing witches while fucking her on the side.
Nothing made sense anymore; but then again, when did it ever? Vampires and witches weren't even supposed to exist so of course, logic was long since out the window. Bonnie was annoyed by it all. The thing she sought to stay away from was the very thing she now found herself smack dab in the middle of. She ran from Mystic Falls because she was always the 'monkey' in the middle. Stress had taken a huge toll on her and when she left, it was literally for the sake of her life. Two years spent running from it all and within a day it all went back to square one. Same shit, different day, slightly different scenario. She was sick of it. A thought occurred to her to pack up her shit and find a new town and let everyone else deal with their own shit but as history has already proven, running was futile. Trouble was destined to find her and snuggle up with her every night she went to sleep until the day she died; and with the way things looked, that day wouldn't be very far away.
A snap in the distance made Bonnie's movements halt abruptly and the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. Her ears twitched as she strained to look for any threats and her eyes widened to make sure she didn't miss anything. Although night vision helped to see shadows and outlines of what was out there, it still left her pretty vulnerable if she couldn't fend for herself. Feeling her magic pull on her body, Bonnie ditched the super hearing and relied on just her eye sight. She suddenly felt naked and exposed and tried for the most part to ignore the feeling of dread that washed over her. She remained still as she scanned the area around her top to bottom, left to right, front to back, making the least amount of movement as she possibly could. She was frustrated that she saw nothing but also relieved. She really wasn't up for a fight; especially after taking on Klaus earlier.
"Bonnie?" A voice shouted in the distance and Bonnie's confusion only tripled. It was a voice so familiar yet very foreign because it was so out of place. She couldn't fathom whether it was real or not. She wondered briefly how hard she hit her head when she passed out. "Bonnie! I can smell you but barely. I know you're out here. It's me…"
"Caroline," Bonnie whispered as Caroline said her name out loud. Bonnie heard the rustling of leaves several yards ahead of her before Caroline's bright green silhouette came into view. She could see the blonde's ever vivacious curls swing about her head as she stood with her feet apart, looking to the left and right of her. Bonnie shuffled to move towards her and Caroline's head snapped in her direction. Bonnie hefted the ends of her maxi dress and ran through the thick shrubbery as Caroline ran using her human speed to meet her. Unshed tears met Bonnie's eyes as she threw her arms around Caroline and hugged her tightly. The hug was interrupted when Bonnie violently jerked away. The feeling of death overwhelmed her as a dozen images of dead faces flashed before her eyes. Bonnie faltered and backed away leaving Caroline confused for a few seconds before realization hit her.
"Okay, before you freak out, let me explain—"
"You turned off your humanity. Why?" The usual reaction she got from touching vampires usually dulled the more time she spent around them. For the most part she'd gotten to the point where she could block it out, unless she met a new vampire with a lot of blood on their hands. Caroline wasn't new, but she may as well have been. What she'd seen was a lot of faces; a lot of victims—Caroline's victims.
"Can we get into that later? We need to talk." Caroline stated with a roll of her eyes that made Bonnie's face harden along with her resolve. As Caroline reached for her, Bonnie pulled away and stood with her feet planted as she glared up at Caroline.
"I don't trust you like this. Turn it back on," Bonnie demanded even though she knew it was technically wrong of her to dictate what Caroline did with her free will. Caroline sans her humanity was as foreign a concept as her randomly stumbling across her in the woods. Nothing added up.
"Get over yourself, Bonnie! I've spent most of my day looking all over for you! Now let's get you out of here before you ruin your pedicure worse than it already is." Caroline joked haphazardly, but Bonnie didn't budge. She simply folded her arms and stared at the shell of her once best friend. It reminded her of a similar time when Elena tried attacking her only less volatile. For now. History sure did come around full circle. "WOW! Seriously? We're doing this?!"
"Turn it. Back. On." Bonnie ignored how petulant she sounded but she couldn't stand to see Caroline like this. She was bright, and bubbly, and airy, and happy—and while this thing before her acted, talked, and dressed like Caroline, she was not fooled. A vampire without its humanity could not be trusted and Bonnie knew better than this front Caroline was putting up; no matter how good it was.
"No! Deal with it. You can't fix me, Bonnie. I'm not broken!" Caroline was shouting now which put Bonnie even more on edge. She hadn't seen her best friend in over two years and this was their homecoming. She imagined it so differently.
"Yes you are." Whatever happened after Bonnie left had to have been too much for Caroline to handle because she would never willingly turn off her humanity. It was never even an option for her. The thought made Bonnie's chest ache with grief.
"Oh, don't act like you give a shit! You left remember? Whatever I've done is not your concern. Let's go!" The agitation in Caroline's voice could be heard and although her humanity was very off, Bonnie could still read Caroline like a book. She was pissed to say the least. Bonnie expected that much. Still, Caroline without emotions was a cold splash of water to the face.
"Care—"
"Don't make me use force," she threatened. "I told Damon and Stefan I'd bring you back. This can either be voluntarily or involuntarily, take your pick." Caroline's face twitched as if it was about to shift into its animalistic form. Bonnie felt her magic thrum just beneath her fingertips as she braced herself for an attack that never came. Caroline simply looked at her with dead eyes, waiting for Bonnie to make a move. She didn't want to attack simply because she saw the condition Klaus was left in earlier and she didn't want the same fate. Still, she had one thing riding for her; Bonnie was once her best friend and Bonnie would never hurt a friend. Not the Bonnie that left Mystic Falls, anyway.
For a moment, Bonnie made no moves. She wasn't prepared for a battle with Caroline. Physically, even though she was drained from her earlier assault on Klaus, she could still take Caroline out however, mentally she could never hurt Caroline. Could she? Caroline was still her best friend and Bonnie spent most of her teenage years trying to keep her out of harm's way. How poetic would it be that she'd be the one to end her life?
The thought sent a shiver down Bonnie's spine. "Fine. Lead the way." Damon was the last person she wanted to see and while she was always more fond of Stefan, if Caroline flipped her switch, she'd hate to see what state he was in.
As she walked behind Caroline, Bonnie ditched her night vision and followed the white of Caroline's shirt. She couldn't help but feel she was walking into the beginnings of a shit storm. In less than twenty four hours everything she ran from caught up with her and already she was being pulled in every direction. Despite what she was told about Marcel, a small bit of her loyalties still lie with him; but, with her turbulent history with Klaus and the Salvatores, she at least knew what they were capable of.
Better the devils you know, right?
MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD
Marcel growled in frustration as Bonnie's voice directed him to leave a message after the tone. He'd been calling her all day and though he was used to her falling off the grid every once and a while, he couldn't help but question the timing of it. Klaus was in town and according to Marcel's flunkies they had last seen him leaving Marie's following Bonnie before the two of them disappeared. Something was up and he didn't like being on the outs. He couldn't afford to not know what was going on in his city. His suspicions about Bonnie were just that at first—suspicions—but after what he learned today, he knew something was definitely up. There was more about the Bennett witch that met the eye. The fact that she was on Klaus's radar unnerved him, the fact that they were both seen leaving Marie's put him further on edge.
As he sat on the driver's side of his black on black Mercedes CLS, he fiddled with his phone, stroking his chin while he calculated his next move. He could spend time looking for Bonnie but knew that if she didn't want to be found, that time would be completely wasted. He could snoop around Marie's to see what people knew but in lieu of recent events, that wouldn't be wise. Bold, definitely, but not wise. Sighing, he ran his hand down his face and sat up in his seat, putting the idle car in reverse before swerving out of its parking space. He peeled out in a flash, racing through the streets of The Quarter, dodging jaywalkers and those sitting in traffic, not particularly in a rush but lacking the patience to sit on his thumbs any longer. As he made it out The Quarter's limit's he stopped his car at the edge of the river where the ferry to Algiers Point was docked and hopped out, giving the keys to the attendant before boarding.
The ride out to Algiers seemed to go by in the blink of an eye for Marcel, who was trapped in his thoughts. He was already pulling up to his destination, a giant, oversized, house that was right in the middle of everything but still very secluded. The house was once a plantation, like many of the houses in New Orleans, but like many of the homes that were destroyed hundreds of years ago; it had since been modernized and restored. Still, it retained some of its originality and for the most part, hadn't been touched in years. Marcel scoffed at the sight of it and swallowed the bitter taste the house always left in his mouth before entering. Despite it being mid-August, the house carried a draft, thanks to the trees that surrounded it. Unbothered by the temperature change, he ascended the double staircase and walked down the long hallway, keeping to the left. He reached a door and entered the room to see that it was untouched and empty. Smiling to himself, he looked around at the details of the room, slightly impressed before nodding his head.
"I came alone." Almost instantly, the view before him shifted lightly like a flawed scene on a DVD before the glamour dropped and the room's true valor surfaced. There before him was an ill-lit room decorated in the rich brown tones of oak wood. The walls and floors were paneled and long, thick, burgundy curtains covered three giant window panes except the window on the wall directly across the room, which filtered in the light from a rapidly setting sun. The room was clean, safe from the thick dust that settled naturally, but there were piles of important clutter all around. On the left wall was a queen sized bed with iron rails and on it sat a girl; fair skinned, no more than sixteen years of age. She had long, dark, wavy hair that rested past her shoulders. The dress she wore was white with pink floral patterns scattered on it. She smiled at the sight of Marcel and stood to hug him tightly when he made his way over.
"You should come more often. It gets pretty wild up here," she sarcastically remarked. Marcel grinned before looking at her sincerely.
"You know we can't risk that, right? If people find out where you are—" Davina cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, they'll have my head on a pike," she finished with a wave of her arm. Marcel frowned at her callous humor but said nothing as he moved to sit on the bed next to her.
"Something's going on and I wanted to make sure you were okay." While he was concerned, he was sure that Davina was capable of taking care of herself. Still, this was where he came whenever he needed to regroup or in this case, brainstorm.
"Something like what? I'm fine. What happened?" Now that she looked, she could see the slight worry on Marcel's face and frowned. There was a long pause before Marcel spoke up and filled her in on what happened within the last twenty four hours which, once he said it aloud, he realized was a lot.
"So you have no clue where she is?" Davina asked at the end when Marcel revealed that he hadn't been in touch with Bonnie for hours. Marcel shook his head with a shrug and Davina stood to her feet, walking over to the small desk in the corner of the room near the door. She pulled out a small golden necklace with an emerald pendant before making her way back to the bed.
"I can use the amulet I made with her essence to find her," she revealed. Marcel nodded his approval, obviously stunned by how much Davina picked up from the grimoires he collected for her. "It's not the real deal but, its close." Without another word, Davina closed her eyes and focused on the magic she siphoned from Bonnie. "Quod spiritus, quaero, quo loco ille locus Bonnie Bennett. Ostende mihi quaeso in visione." She chanted in a low frequency, her tone measured. The longer she chanted, the deeper the trance she fell into until she was no longer seeing black.
Her eyes opened but she was no longer in her room. She was walking down The Quarter. She felt confusion and anger that wasn't hers and walked at breakneck speeds for a human. Her arms were folded as she struggled not to look back. Someone was following her. Davina surveyed her surroundings and recognized the place to be Ann Street. As she passed a shop window, she looked at her reflection but did not see herself. Instead, she saw Bonnie Bennett. Her surroundings shifted and she was now standing in front of a man; blond, with a menacing, but smug look in his eyes. He was watching her with a calculated look in his eyes, matched with a bit of curiosity. There was word exchange before Bonnie turned to leave. In a flash the man was in front of her, hand around her neck. Davina began choking fell to the floor, holding her neck.
Marcel, who had been watching curiously, rushed to Davina's side and grabbed her as she choked. "Davina!" Davina stopped choking abruptly and stood to her feet as she stared at nothing in front of them, Marcel stood as well and watched as Davina extended her hand as if she was attacking someone. Moving behind her, Marcel watched wearily as she went through the motions of whatever the hell was happening, exhaling when Davina gasped moments later and glanced around room, startled. "What happened? What did you see?" Marcel asked, grabbing her shoulders and inspecting her for—he didn't know.
"I don't know. I… I lost it." Her confusion was palpable and Marcel sighed in defeat. "I don't understand. It was supposed to work. It was working. I'm sorry. I can try again." Davina pleaded as she looked up at Marcel with determination. Marcel sighed and shook his head, pulling her in for a hug.
"You did your best, s'okay." He muttered, trying to think of another chain of events.
"She was with someone, a blonde guy, before she disappeared. That I know. They were in a graveyard and he tried to attack her but he bit off more than he could chew. She left but… I don't know; she teleported away and then… nothing. Everything went black." She revisited what she remembered from the dream. Bonnie had reached down to snap the man's neck and stood to leave. She could feel her own body begin to dissolve as if the elements that made her up was breaking apart to travel into thin air but instead of the vision shifting, everything went pitch black dark. She saw nothing else and it stayed that way for a while until…
"I heard crickets," she revealed suddenly. "And bullfrogs. I couldn't see anything but I could still hear for a little while before I came out of it. Maybe she shut me out. Do you think she knows," she panicked. Marcel shook his head.
"No. If she shut you out completely, I doubt you would have heard crickets…" he reasoned, still very confused by Davina's account of things. Davina relaxed visibly and nodded. That made sense. "What if the reason you could no longer see was because Bonnie couldn't either? Like you said, you could still hear, right? So that means she could hear…" Marcel didn't know where he was going with this but it was a shot in the dark.
"Like, someone in a coma? They can hear but they can't see!" Davina suggested, then added, "But why would Bonnie be in a coma? That doesn't make sense… and why the hell would she be hearing bullfrogs?"
"I don't know but this doesn't seem right." Marcel paused for a moment, trying to sift through Davina's words to gather any details he might have missed. "The guy you saw… was he blonde? Blue eyes? Scruffy? Smiles like he owns the world and everyone in it?" When Davina only nodded, Marcel shook his head and stiffened a growl. "That was Klaus. If you ever see him, anywhere, you run like hell. You got me?" Instead of arguing, Davina simply nodded. He didn't seem too dangerous, not the way Bonnie brought him to his knees, but she'd trust Marcel on this one and keep clear. It wasn't like she'd be caught out in the middle of the streets no time soon anyway. Not while she was cooped up in this room.
Marcel shook his head and grabbed his key from the bed. "I'm going to go out and look for her. Call me if anything happens; I'll be back later on tonight if I don't find her, okay?" Davina nodded and watched as Marcel made for the door.
"Wait!" Marcel stopped abruptly and turned to Davina with furrowed brows. His confusion prompted her to hold up the amulet and drop it into his hand. "This will burn hot in her presence. Hold on to it. The closer you are, the warmer it'll get until it glows." Fascinated, Marcel took the amulet, and stared at it for a moment before placing it into his pocket. He gave Davina a squeeze on the shoulder as if to say 'thank you' before leaving.
A/N: I really suck at updating. I'm a Graphic Design major and we literally don't have time to do basic human functions, let alone sit down long enough to write out a story. I'm so sorry. I had this part finished since September and kept forgetting to edit and I apologize. Happy Thanksgiving! Don't kill me until after the holidays please. :) I'll give you eggnog and cookies... and pie.