Why all the time jumps? Simply because I wanted to write this part first. So we might rewind a bit in the next one.
I'm a whisper lost upon wind
I'm the ember that'll burn you down
I'm the water that'll drown you
I'm a star that's just a black hole now
I'm a terrifying danger
I'm a fruit decaying on the ground
I'm a swallower of anger
I'm the tree that falls that makes no sound
I make no sound
Seether, "Nobody praying for me"
65. Envy is the bond (between the hopeful and the damned)
"Why are you doing this?" It's the first thing his shadow self asks when he wakes up.
He's confused because he thinks he's excluded himself from anything related to this complicated entanglement with Caroline Forbes. But Silas knows better, and that's why he is here, ready to get rid of any possible complications to his plan.
"Here's the thing", Silas says, smiling at his doppelgänger, "if it's a human version of me what Caroline wants, it's enough to have Stefan as a competition. You can't be in the picture anymore."
Tom laughs at him.
The nerve of this simple boy.
"Do you seriously think you stand a chance? Caroline is going to marry Stefan in two days."
Silas smirks.
"Is he, though? My other annoying shadow self is human now, and not only that, Caroline is human now. With simple human senses that won't let her tell the difference between one or the other. I, on the other hand, I'm human AND an incredibly talented witch who happens to know all what's going on in people's minds. Including yours."
As Tom starts to understand what is going to happen, he becomes horrified, which is a pleasure to see.
"You are sick. Why can't just let her be happy? Didn't you start all this madness because you wanted to be with your one true love or something like that?"
"Amara is at peace. I'm never seeing her again. Besides, I want our Sweet Caroline to be happy. It's him who doesn't deserve that happiness."
Why, when Stefan Salvatore has done just as many horrible things as him? Why is he forgiven so easily, and why can he have a second, and a third, and countless chances given to him time after time?
He's never going to reunite with Amara, Silas has come to understand that Peace is out of his reach, and he has no intentions of going to hell yet. If that is his ultimate fate, shouldn't he grab what his heart desires and make the best of his time alive?
He and Caroline, they have both been given a second chance at life. Stefan would never appreciate it for what it really is, but Silas does.
"It's for her own good."
Eventually, Stefan will do something stupid that will get him killed, and he will break Caroline's heart again.
Silas would never make that kind of mistake. He's selfish enough to go after what he wants.
Right now, he only needs to eliminate those who are a real threat.
He flicks his wrist, liquefying Tom's internal organs, and he doesn't stop until his shadow stops breathing and his heart stops for good.
Then he drags him outside and dumps his body in the river nearby the cabin.
"Where are we?"
"Just a dungeon I had time to build in the past couple of months. No one else knows it exists, in case you are wondering."
Being human means facing the finality of death. Perhaps it isn't so for other humans, but for him, who's taken the cure, it certainly is. Stefan used to see his vampirism more as a curse than an improvement (due to his ripper tendencies, any physical advantage came with a price too high). However, after being a vampire for over a century and a half, he's come to rely on that magic to survive threats that would have easily killed him as a human.
So at a time like this, he should probably be more scared than he is.
Although he's made himself many enemies, It's not much of a surprise to realize that his kidnapper is no other than Silas.
"What do you want from us now?"
"Nothing much. Just that perfect life you don't deserve."
All this time living quietly, the mad man has probably just been waiting for this moment. Now that both he and Caroline are human and easier prey.
"She's going to notice."
"Please, she's having fun with the girls at her bachelorette party, and she thinks you're on your way to your own. And you will get there," Silas takes a look at the watch on his wrist, "in five minutes, tops."
Stefan growls, trying uselessly to escape the chains that wouldn't have been a problem if he were a vampire.
"You are sick."
"Funny. My other shadow self said exactly the same. See? There's not much difference between us, you are just lucky that Caroline met you first."
"What did you do to Tom?"
"I killed him. An act of mercy."
Act of mercy?
"Don't worry, Stefan. I'm a great actor. I've had over a year to know all that it's important to know to impersonate you. And I know all about Caroline. She's going to be happy. Just not with you."
"And you're going to be satisfied with that? You are so full of yourself, and you are going to be satisfied living a lie?
Silas seems to be deep in thought, then purses his lips.
"Yeah, I struggled with that, wanted to do it the right way." He shrugs, "But that's not who I am. I got tired of playing nice. The only reason why you could play house with her for so long is because I made it easy for you. I got rid of all the enemies that could cause her trouble, and thanks to me you haven't gotten the chance to break her heart like you would have a long time ago."
He grabs a dagger, and Stefan stares at him in the eye, wondering if this is the end. The knife cuts into his arm, though, without hitting any vital point.
"The truth is, staying as a vampire was more convenient for you. Did you know that your brother was thinking about stealing the cure for himself and Elena months ago? Of course I stopped that ridiculous idea because I knew Caroline would eventually want it. In exchange, I only had to free your dear mother. And your brother was even nice enough to send me an invitation for the wedding."
"You're lying."
Stefan wants to say that Damon wouldn't, but they both know better about the older Salvatore.
"Everything you have up until now is thanks to me."
Silas kneels and puts his hands around Stefan's head.
"So I'm not going to make it easy for you, Stefan. I'm not extending my merciness to you." He smirks. "You deserve to stay here, where no one will find you, and knowing about all your sins. Or the other-you sins, it's all the same. After what Caroline has been through, she deserves better than you."
Leaving his shadow-self trapped and useless, with no possibility to escape and knowing that someone else is in his place, with no one missing him. This punishment is much better now than it was when he first locked him into a safe two years ago.
The final touch, the cherry on top of the cake, comes now.
Coughing up water after he reaches the shore, Tom is fully aware that the burning sensation in his throat has little to do with the fact that he's been unconscious and floating down the river for hours (judging by the position of the sun, or maybe he's too far away from Virginia now).
From the moment he knew the truth about his origins, and all the supernatural stuff going on in the world, this was a possibility he had to contemplate many times. When he went back to Atlanta, he couldn't unsee the presence of vampires who weren't as nice or human as Caroline and her friends. In those circumstances, death is obviously a possibility.
It's just that afterwards you stop thinking everyone is out to kill you, or else you will lose your mind worrying about it.
Was it before arriving at the airport in Atlanta? He had a car accident, there were several people hurt and he drank that vial of blood that Caroline had insisted he should carry around after learning that he occasionally helped Jeremy in vampire-hunting duties. It was all so he could help the others, but here's the result.
He died.
No, he was killed.
And there's only one way to survive now.
"DAMON! DAMON!"
He has no idea where this dungeon is located, but it can't be that far from town. Silas was sure no one would be worried about his absence, which means it hasn't been long since he knocked him unconscious at the cellar of the grill. Powerful witch or not, Silas doesn't have a vampire speed, so they must be in town.
His brother has to hear him. Someone has to hear him.
The images crossing his mind aren't his. He looks at himself through another person's eyes, Caroline's eyes.
And this hurt, it isn't his either.
Perhaps it was never his intention, but how could there be any version of the world where he made her feel this way?
Growing old by her side… that's something she was promised once before, and now he's failing her again.
He has to get out of this place.
The question is how.