A/n: Edited on 2/25/2015.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 30: Running Up That Hill
Mystic Falls
Present - March 19, 2011
Charlene's heart should have stopped. If it was possible, her heart would have gave out right there, and it would have done her a favor. Anything would've been better than hearing the worst news that could destroy everything. However, seeing Stefan bloody with bloody stakes sticking out of him like a bad Thanksgiving dinner forced her to push down her fears. As best she could, the witch swallowed the huge lump in her throat, forcing herself to get to work.
"Stefan! Stefan, try to keep your eyes open." Charlene ordered him firmly as she fought to keep him conscious. She turned to Damon whose face was wrecked with worry. "We need to get him inside. Those stakes aren't doing him any good. Hurry!"
Damon Salvatore didn't need to be told twice. He scooped his baby brother into his arms and swept away to the inside of the house. Charlene followed close behind as fast she could at her limited speed, worried about too many things at once.
Locking the door behind her, though redundant, it gave her a moment of peace no matter how temporary it may have been. Looking back to the others, she could feel the thick apprehension and worry everywhere in the room as she made it closer to the group. Her eyes landed on Stefan, who struggled to keep his balance, biting back the pain as the multiple number of stakes still protruded from his body.
"Oh, my God!" Elena cried out in shock seeing Stefan in pain. "Is he okay?!"
Charlene bit back her tongue from saying something ugly. Now, wasn't the time to play Captain Obvious. She decided to just come out with the truth.
"Klaus hurt Stefan. He's on the move as we speak." Her tone was solemn. As much as her fears tried to creep to the surface, Charlene held them at bay. They've had enough scares, and she would be the only witch capable to protect them until Bonnie was up to par again. That wouldn't be for a while now that she had to take care of the situation with Stefan.
Thankfully, Jeremy was there to catch his sister after almost fainting from the grave news. Damon was too angry and focused on ripping Klaus' head off from his shoulders that he didn't see Elena's state. Bonnie stood at the edge of the table not too far from Charlene, observing between the others and the situation. They needed to get this done now, or there would be no other chance.
"Tell us what to do, Charlene." Bonnie told her.
Charlene wasted no time. "You and Elena are get started on preparing to remove the stakes from Stefan. We need to get him comfortable before we do anything. The sooner we get those out, the better."
Bonnie nodded and gently urged Elena back up on her feet. "Come on, 'Lena. Let's help Stefan."
Elena glanced at her brother for a moment after he gave her an onceover. After making sure she was okay, Jeremy was fine in letting his sister go. Elena headed straight to Stefan and wasted no time in coming his aid. She ushered him to a wooden chair with Bonnie as help. Hearing him bite back the pain, she gently encouraged him.
"Hold on, Stefan. It'll be over soon," she soothed.
Charlene turned to Damon with a firm yet fearful look. She hated to force him to do this, but he was her only option. She grabbed his arm and guided him towards the front door, opening it only to see the clouds outside darken. The wind began to pick up in speed as it whipped through her hair and making Damon's short hair length fly in disarray. Her hands grew clammy and slippery with sweat as she tried to gather up her courage. It seemed more difficult since she had to dig deeper to the bottom of the barrel to even scrap a little something. However, with his electric blues focusing on her, a sobering mixture of dread and realization influenced her actions.
There was no doubt in what she had to do, but her heart ached in what could happen to him. No words could describe what she felt for Damon. Obviously despite her judgment, she cared for his welfare, but past that? Charlene didn't dare to go further into thought of question.
"Damon." She managed to keep her voice steady despite her fears gripping her. "You need to go now."
"You can't be serious?!" Damon raised his voice. "I am not stupid enough to leave all of you here with Klaus on the loose!"
"But if you don't leave and get those herbs I need, your over-protectiveness is going to result in our deaths at the end of the day!" Charlene hissed. "I need to get Bonnie's magic back, and if you hinder this...God help me, it's not going to be Klaus you're going to have to be afraid of. I don't have time for this right now!"
Damon's blood boiled with his aggravated anger as he argued with the woman in front of him. Why can't she just agree with him just for once?! Is it really that difficult to listen to him? He wasn't the loose cannon. He wasn't the mental lunatic that escaped from the asylum and running around for blood. His fists tightened as he glanced between the group taking care of his brother and the witch-turned-hellion that kept fighting him. It took all his strength to let his aggravation roll down his back. Facing squarely towards her, Damon held the witch's shoulders in a harsh grip, his face inches away from hers with his blue eyes against her own.
"You better make damn sure that NO ONE leaves this house, you understand me? Do not even make a step out of that door until I get back. I don't care if that bastard comes here with a damn army; don't leave."
Charlene was tempted to let herself be swallowed up Damon's intense stare, but she couldn't afford to with the situation at hand. Finally after several long silent moments, she nodded with a brave face.
"I promise we won't leave," she said firmly.
Momentarily stunned by her sudden cooperation, he let go of her shoulders, stepping back to head outside into the torrent of weather. Leaving the porch, the rain began to pour down hard, the coldness of the rain seeping into his bones. Or was it the fear getting to him? Nah, it was just the damn rain. He looked up to the sky, frowning at the fact that his black leather jacket was going to be ruined by the stupid water.
He gave Charlene one last sparing glance before he sped off into the rain, praying to a God he rarely believed in. He prayed that somehow in all of the damned chaos, Klaus would come for him instead of the others.
{Louder Than Thunder}
The smell of smoke and gasoline still clung to his clothes as he trekked through the familiar forest. This was a lot simpler than he thought. With a little compulsion and evasion, he managed to stir things to keep everyone busy. (For the humans at least.) Besides, when was the last time since this small town had a good barbecue? Hmm, he never did recall. For now, he'd let the humans attend to their own problems while the supernatural finished out their own war. Although he's not one to care about human lives being lost, he didn't want to be the one cleaning up the mess. He had too much to do.
Klaus was hardly bothered by the fact that his thirst still pricked at his gums. He didn't mind going out on a binge. In fact, he welcomed it.
He managed to gather two more humans: a male and a female. The man had proposed to his girlfriend of four years at the same spot of where they first met. (Klaus listened in as it occurred.) Seeing the smiles on their faces, the sickly sugary joy spreading throughout the room, and showing off their "special love" for each other were enough for Klaus to give them a gift from the bottom of his heart.
"My gift for the lovely couple is something that will be cherished forever," he said to them with a maniacal grin.
He left them hanging there like fresh meat to be hung on the rack; only this time they will be starving like a pack of wolves once they wake up. Hey, he gave them a gift. They better appreciate it. Besides, what human wouldn't give to have an ounce of immortality? They ought to be grateful. Klaus was unusually charitable considering the time of day.
He continued his walk through the forest, scanning for any food nearby to satisfy his ravenous hunger. Hybrids do have to eat.
The sharp snap of a branch caught his attention. Turning his head towards the sound, his mouth pressed into a tight line, eyes concentrating hard on the thicket of trees just ahead of him. He was waiting...wanting for one of them to come and let him rip their throats out just for the sport. Klaus breathed in deeply, letting the scents all around him jog his memory. One particular scent among them was familiar.
Hearing another snap, it only solidified his suspicions and he made no waste of heading towards the sound.
Like a lion hunting his prey through the savanna, Klaus waited for his prey to move. The itch to move began to creep in, and even the Original was having a hard time fighting it.
Klaus' eyes widened as his prey came out of the thicket. An overweight male hiker, all of his gear intact, practically threw himself right into Klaus' sight. Bingo.
"You may be a little over the calories, but you're definitely worth it." With his eyes glowing yellow and fangs sharpening, he tore into the hiker's throat, letting only his instincts take over. The black monster inside roared with evil delight, the ravenous bloodlust only being soothed temporarily by the human's blood. What it really hungered for was still out there. Still existing pathetically amongst the group that protect them. It didn't want to just taste their blood. The monster in him wanted to submerge in it until it would have to come up for air.
{Louder Than Thunder}
Damon didn't think twice of escaping the forest with Klaus lurking around. He didn't have time to question his morals with a vengeful hybrid using the forest as his hunting ground. The Salvatore hit a very small and fast stroke of luck when his eyes landed on the overweight hiker making his approach near the thicket not so quietly. He resisted to the urge to roll his eyes at the hiker's feet crunching the fallen branches underneath them. It didn't take long for Damon to hatch up a quick scheme.
He gave a heavy push to the hiker's back and ran like hell away from Klaus and his meal. He had enough being in this place.
It didn't take long for Damon to find his way back to the lakehouse. Despite the rain that began to pour down on him, he never felt more relieved to be back within the warm walls of the Gilbert's abode. For now, it was their safe haven. It would protect them for now until Charlene's plan worked in action. He rushed in through the front door with the herbs that the blonde witch needed, happy to be away from ground zero.
Startled from the noise, the witch stared at Damon with wide eyes, but she kept her composure in control. She had faith that he would come back safely to the lakehouse. However, it didn't hold back the worrying that formed tight knots in her gut. Nevertheless, she was happy to see him again despite him looking like a wet dog in leather.
"Thank God, you're back." Elena said as she rushed into Damon's arms, not caring about anything else.
Damon stood uncomfortably near the door. His wet clothes clung to him and his skin was slick from the rain outside. As much as he wanted to wrap his arms around Elena, he couldn't delay any longer on the plan that needed to work. He and Elena would have more time after they actually kicked Klaus' ass to do whatever. He'd make it up to her later, but the most important priority right now was the safety of his girlfriend and his brother.
Besides, he really wanted to get out of these clothes before they got ruined. He'd like to at least have his favorite leather jacket still intact while he had the chance.
Damon gently pried Elena's arms away from him, hating the almost hurt look that followed. "Let's do this later, Elena. I promise I'll make it up to you," he reassured her.
"I don't care about that," she argued. "I'm just glad you came back alive."
Those words made his undead heart skip a beat. Despite all the drama from their relationship, he was glad that there was a bit of something pure that came from it. Elena's concern for him was very touching, and it never failed to make him smile just a little more.
"Do you have the herbs, Damon?" Charlene's voice broke through their little moment.
Coming back to reality, Damon sent Elena a reassured smirk. "Go head back to the others, Elena. I'll catch up."
"Alright." Elena responded before she made her way to tend to Stefan.
The elder Salvatore paraded over toward Charlene, grabbing the herbs from the inside of his leather jacket. The herbs were surprisingly still dry and intact in his hands despite the downpour. Grateful for not failing that part, he was glad to be rid of those damned things. Goodbye to smelling like a wet dog. Hello to new dry clothes.
"If you excuse me, I'm going to try to save my favorite jacket before it's too late." Damon said as he walked away from the group, his wet boots clomping behind him.
"There's a set of clothes for you in the back," Elena reminded him.
"Thanks. The faster I get out of this crap, the better." The eldest vampire thanked her before leaving the room, grumbling more about the bad weather.
Charlene kept on her neutral mask during the scene that was displayed before she tried not to show it, watching Damon being who he was amused her. Charlene knew all too well about how not many people are fond of him. He had a nasty reputation as a vampire, and she danced the dangerous routine too many times. But the witch was clever. She may be more of the singing type, but she wasn't afraid to put her feet to the test. She's managed to keep herself alive after all that's happened. That meant something.
After setting the plants down on the table, Charlene walked towards the younger Salvatore. Stefan sat backwards in the wooden dining chair as he was tended to by Elena. The brunette vampire slowly wiped the stains of caked blood from Stefan's face with a damp rag. The blonde witch didn't miss the tender and worried look in Elena's eyes, and she was grateful to put her into good use.
"Hey," she greeted Stefan. "How are you holding up?"
Stefan shrugged. "About as good as a turkey feels being stabbed multiple times with a knife on Thanksgiving."
Charlene exhaled in small relief. His reaction was good enough for her. Inspecting his back, she gently pressed her hands against his back, softly muttering another healing spell to speed up the process. After she finished the spell, she took her hands off his back, and walked around to face him again. "This should be enough to heal your back for now. I don't want you to move too fast. It will only hinder the process of your recovery."
She would rather him at almost his best strength than completely incapacitated. The path she took to heal him was more work grueling and tedious, but everyone understood her reasons for the decision. After all, there was the hazardous danger of Stefan becoming a ripper from drinking human blood. But Stefan and witch blood?
'Bloody hell,' Charlene shuddered at the thought. Damn Klaus and his British curse words. She'd been stuck in his cage for too long. It's messed with her head too much.
"What happened to you, Stefan?" Elena asked with grave concern motivating her actions.
Stefan stayed silent, his eyes cast down in uncertainty and apprehension. How was he going to tell them? Their group didn't need any more bad news, but he had no use for lying either. It wouldn't do any good for any of them. All of them have enough weight to bear.
He glanced towards the blonde witch, searching for something impossible to ease the discomfort of his task. Charlene returned the searching gaze with a knowing haunted look. There isn't any salve that could to ease the upcoming burn that would sting them. She slowly nodded, giving her approval. They needed to know.
He began to explain. "I was at the grill trying to keep an eye on things. Since Jeremy and Elena were at the lakehouse, all I had to do was one thing...but I screwed up."
"What the hell happened, brother?"
Everyone's eyes shifted towards the direction of Damon's voice interjecting into the conversation. He stepped into the dining room in fresh clothes although they were a little worn. Oh well, he'd make do with what he had. At least he still had his favorite leather jacket after his almost narrow encounter with Count Hybrid Douche.
Stefan felt the weight of all of their eyes on him as they waited for his answer, especially his brother's. Despite all the crap that happened between them involving Elena, he couldn't see himself living without Damon. He would rather live in misery with his brother somewhere safe and undisturbed instead of the hell Klaus was causing. Inevitably, if they continued to linger in Mystic Falls, Elena would be dragged under it.
She would be joining her best friend if they didn't do something.
"Klaus stormed into the place, and I didn't see it coming." Stefan continued further. "He broke my neck before I could do anything. The last thing I remembered was waking up outside smelling the smoke."
"Smoke?" Bonnie asked in shock as everyone's mouths dropped, including Charlene.
Stefan nodded. "I woke up to see the Mystic Grill up in flames. I don't know how, but I'm pretty certain that Klaus had something to do with it."
"Oh, my God!" Elena cried out. "Please tell me no one got hurt."
"We don't know, Lena." Jeremy tried to calm his sister. "You know the fire department will do everything they can, and the sheriff isn't going to let the town burn in flames."
That did little to comfort them, and Stefan hadn't given them the worst news.
"Keep going, Stefan." Charlene gently reminded him.
"Klaus did his handiwork and staked me like you saw earlier, but he didn't leave without sending a message. He said he was taking care of our last liability as a favor, and we didn't have to worry anymore. I finally figured out who he meant when I was trying to head here."
"Who then?"
"Matt."
{Louder Than Thunder}
The darkness inside of him was winning. The monster inside of Klaus won the battle over control over his soul, and it was reaping the victories. It roamed freely, drunk on the blood of its victims as its hunger never ceased. Thriving in the darkness, the freedom was addicting. No rules, no morals, no regrets.
While the darkness reigned, Klaus' soul was restrained with chains that he would not be able to break on his own. He didn't have a key to the locks because he had the wrong keys. The chains were forged by his own sources. Forged by his anger, stubbornness, and thirst for vengeance, the last part of his prison that sealed him inside was his grief. The losses of his brother...and herdrove the last nail into the coffin.
NO! He can't think about them. He couldn't. Not now. Besides, it didn't matter anymore. They were dead in the ground, and nothing was going to bring them back. You can't bring back the undead once you killed them for good.
Klaus still couldn't bear to say their names. He barely could say Kol's name without the urge to break someone's neck. At least the rest of his siblings were sort of indisposed at the moment. It would give him a moment of silent peace.
However, the pain of even uttering her name was too much. He exercised his endurance enough to withhold himself from the temptation. It reminded him of the fiery hell that would follow if he didn't succeed. It was enough to dig deeper when he became worn and wary from the strain. After all, he was Klaus, was he not? The Original Hybrid. The mention of his name struck cold fear into others' hearts. It was natural order of things for him to be the predator, not the prey.
The screams in his domain lessened somewhat, but he paid no attention to it. His sharp hearing kept track on who was still alive and who was close to not being so lucky. In fact, one of his newest guests was waking. Just the one he wanted too.
"Wakey, wakey, Matt." Klaus crooned with an evil grin. "Not all of us can sleep forever."
Klaus had hung him there like the rest of his guests, but he set up in a special position for the others to see. Nevertheless, he used the bear traps with their steel teeth to dig into the fragile skin and muscle. They were still hung up like meat on the rack, and the scent of coppery rust still hung in the room. The blood never stopped flowing. Klaus found a sick fascination in trying to see how much blood that the human body could actually hold. No matter how old he'd get, the river of blood would never stop flowing in his life. It would always be running.
Matt coming to back to consciousness was the worst pain he'd felt in a long time. After being tossed around like a human punching bag for so long, you'd think that he'd be used to it. The innocent thought of him being impervious to pain was pretty easy to go along with if a person was naive enough. But Matt regretted waking up, especially with what felt like to be vampire fangs continuously digging into his wrists and ankles.
"What the hell...?"
"Trust me, lad. You'll wish you were in hell because down there isn't anything compared to what I am going to dish out to you and your friends. Just saying."
Matt continued to look at him with confusion. Why did he pick him of all people? Weren't Elena and Jeremy the ones he was after? "Why don't you just kill me now? I mean nothing to you, and you're just wasting your time?"
"Oh, Matthew, you undervalue yourself." Klaus replied as he sauntered toward Matt. "It's not a good habit to get into."
Matt didn't respond back to him. He figured that if he ignored him long enough, Klaus would grow bored and leave him alone. The human tried to bite back the pain-laced moan that wanted to escape with the steel teeth digging into him.
Klaus had to give the human male some credit. His endurance to pain and effort to hide it was almost better than the other brats. While his other victims (including a few vampires) reacted pathetically to whatever he administered, Matt actually tried to hold off against Klaus' efforts. He barely heard a word from the young man. The Original always held a small amount of respect towards the ones who held on. It made their deaths worth more.
Almost gently, Klaus took the silver knife in his hands, and dragged the blade down Matt's shirt. The sleeveless shirt tore into two, hanging there helplessly by the seams on Matt's body. It exposed his skin, and all he could do was watch as Klaus stared at him up and down. "It's really a pity. Out of everyone I've dealt with in this town, I never got the pleasure of getting to know you."
"Well, here I am now. Lucky me, huh?" Matt retorted with a small bitter laugh.
"Actually, Matt, you might actually pan out as one of the lucky ones. I had more of a gruesome death planned for you like April Young, but you've piqued my interest. I wanted to make up for losttime." Klaus' eyes almost glowed yellow at the sight of Matt's blood as he dragged the blade in a line across his abdomen. He leaned in closer, inhaling the coppery scent once more that mixed in with the fear. It was intoxicating. "I want to get to know you before you die."
His hunger dictating his actions, he sunk his fangs into the boy's neck, his blood reaching his taste buds. Damn, he couldn't get over the taste of human blood. It was always an addiction. But he didn't stop there. He bit Matt around his neck, arms, wrists, and ankles. He watched as the blood dripped from the wounds, the room filling up again with the thick coppery scent.
His ears perked at the sudden race of a heartbeat from one of the victims on the other side of the room. Hmm, it was about time.
"Hang in there, Matt. I shall return to you." Klaus reassured him with a pat on the shoulder, heading to one of his newborn vampires, knowing that they would need to fulfill their appetite. Their dinner would be coming to them shortly.
"Klaus..."
The Original stopped in his tracks. The sound of his name barely reached his ears, but it still held clarity. The monster inside of him rumbled and paced inside of its cage nervously. It hated the uncertainty that the familiar voice brought with it. A seed of anxiousness was planted, and if Klaus didn't get control of it, it would surely be disastrous.
"You can't just ignore me forever."
He didn't care. He was going to ignore it if he had the choice.
"I can try," he whispered quietly, not enough for anyone to hear.
"Seriously?! You can't even look at me?"
But he did see her. Sometimes, it was every day. Sometimes, he would catch a break from her presence. There were times he could see her with perfect clarity. She would still look the same before she died. Beautiful, strong, and full of light. No matter how much she was of a vampire, she still was the light he craved. But she wasn't the real thing. This wasn't the real light from the sun that had been once in his life. She was only a trick of a light.
He had been able to keep his silence to her presence until recently. She was getting stubborn.
"Klaus Mikaelson! What the hell are you doing?!"
He decided to humor her only this once.
"Why are you asking this of me when it's already obvious?"
Klaus had done more than enough towards her before all of it happened. He showed kindness, forgiveness, and pity all because of her. For a moment in his eternal darkness, there was a patch of light shown to him, and he felt a curiosity towards it. That grew to a fondness, which grew into something he did not dare to say aloud. All of this began because of her.
It would end with her as well. Her death would bring the end of the lives who stole hers away from him. Too many lives were taken away from him.
You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder.
There is thunder in our hearts, baby.
So much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
- "Running Up That Hill," by Placebo