Chapter 9: Cold hearts
The first thing Klaus noticed as he slowly returned to consciousness was the cold. It was an odd sensation since he was convinced he had lost the human vulnerability of freezing by now, unless it was under extreme measures of course. Which it must have been in this case since he was, for the first time in a thousand years, actually shuddering and chattering his teeth just slightly. It was the first movement he made as his eyes were still closed and his body remained in the paralyzing state that he'd been put in by the witches and…
Aurora.
The thought lit a fiery rage in him, making him move his toes and fingers by determination and aiding in ignoring the freezing sensation that consumed him. His instincts told him that he needed to push through the benumbed state and he immediately began focusing all of his anger on just that.
Sounds began to reach his ears as his mind cleared up from the fog caused by the spell. He could hear a wind passing through leaves and concluded that he must be in a forest somewhere. Soon he gained control over his hands and started clenching and unclenching them to speed up the waking process. He realized he was in a tight place, since his breaths kept ricocheting back to his face each time he took one.
His head still too numb to move, he finally opened his eyes and stared straight into darkness. A strong earthy scent filled him and he assumed he might be buried in a wooden casket somewhere in the woods… Since that seemed to be Aurora's favorite trick nowadays after what she did to Freya.
The question remained whether he was still in New Orleans or not. And if he'd been gone for minutes, hours, or days… Or perhaps even years, decades… Centuries…
A panic spread in his throat, down his chest and filled his stomach. Adrenaline followed and seemed to speed up the process of regaining sensation in his body. He could now lift his head up a little, a tingling shiver running down his neck and spine as he did so. His eyes adjusted to the dark and he looked down to see his theory had been correct; he was in deed in a coffin. Buried. Paralyzed.
Vulnerable.
Alive.
Another bolt of adrenaline rushed through him and he regained feeling in his stomach and arms. His legs were still numb, his feet were however slowly waking up from what felt like an eternal and distressed sleep.
He clenched his jaw and breathed through his teeth as he aimed all of his determination on raising his arms to try and push open the casket's lid. He lifted them to his elbows finally and he flexed his upper arms a few times to gain more power before pushing his hands up against the lid. It opened slightly but was quickly closed again, small amounts of dirt seeping through and hitting his face. He laid his arms back down and took a moment to concentrate. Then he threw his hands, palms first, up against the lid once more with as much force as his numbed state could allow him. It only resulted in more dirt filling up the sides of the casket.
He huffed in frustration, imagining there being some kind of restraint keeping the casket closed and listened as he pushed against the lid once more. There was a metallic rattle that he hadn't noticed before and he cursed as he identified it.
Chains.
Brilliant. Bloody brilliant.
As his abdomen and legs finally began freeing from the paralysis, he gathered the strength of his upper body and prepared himself for a third try. He pressed his hands up against the lid for a second, then he quickly pulled his arms back as far as he could in his small space and pushed upward with all of his force.
The chains tore at the impact and he growled as he tried one last time and finally managed to push open the casket. The lid flew up through the ground, dirt starting to refill the hole that had been created. It took a long moment before he had enough control over his legs to jump from the casket and he nearly flew up to the surface. He collapsed on the ground a few feet away, his body sore and a stabbing pain spreading from the energy-consuming act. Exhaling deeply as he let relief wash over him for a moment. He was free. Awake.
Alive.
Rolling over from his side, onto his hands and knees, he gathered every ounce of energy he could muster up. He took a leap and threw himself forward on his feet, beginning to run. Unsure of where he was going but determined to get far away from the grave behind him. He quickly set a pace that came as close to his hybrid speed as possible in his current state, running faster and faster until he finally felt like normal again.
A proud smile sneaked up on him as he realized he had just redefined what so many athletes would call walking it off. He stopped and focused once again on his surroundings. Clearly, he had been right about the forest. But he had no clue as to where he was. The wind in the trees was all he could hear as he listened closely for his brother. Surely, he had to be somewhere, perhaps even buried like Klaus had been. But there were no signs whatsoever on there being another presence in the woods aside from Klaus himself…
Furthermore, Klaus found it strange to see the sky so light and cloudless since there wasn't a sun anywhere to be found. That was how he realized this place was far less physical than it was spiritual. So there was a possibility that his brother wasn't here with him but in a prison of his own mind instead.
"Elijah!" he called out, his voice echoing through the forest and bouncing between the trees. He was about to call out again when a sharp breeze blew past behind him, making him spin around in search for whatever being might have caused it.
Another gust of wind passed a few trees a distance away, he ran in its direction and began to see that the woods thinned out not far from him.
This wasn't an infinite forest then, good to know.
He continued running until the green landscape began opening up and the trees were soon left behind him. That's when he found himself in a neighborhood with old and abandoned buildings. Standing at the beginning of a long, deserted street. Trees covering the opposite end of the neighborhood in the distant horizon which only his hybrid sight could detect. It all reminded him of some old western movie where the antagonist ordered a stand-off with the protagonist during sunset, whereas the town's habitants would all be hiding in their homes from fear of getting caught in the crossfire. He wondered for a moment whether he, in this particular simile, was the hero or the bandit and began walking further into the street.
"Klaus!"
He turned around and let his eyes search for the familiar voice. His blood turned to ice when he saw Camille emerging from behind a tree in the forest he'd just left. In the forest he'd just dug himself out of a grave from…
How convenient.
With no reason to even think about it, he raced up to her with her throat in a firm grip. "I see you peg me for a fool, Aurora." he spat as he could see his hybrid features reflect in 'Cami's' eyes. "Now, I might consider ending your life with much less torture than originally planned if you answer one single question honestly; What have you done to Elijah?" he asked through gritted teeth and loosened his hold around her throat only the slightest to allow an answer.
"Klaus…" she coughed up. "You're… hurting me."
His jaw clenched as he squeezed her throat even tighter than before, lifting her up from the ground and thereby holding her an arm's length away. He was disgusted that Aurora would stoop to such low depths as to try and trick him this way. Attempting to get him to lower his guard and probably end up back in another wooden casket a few dozen feet deeper into the ground than before…
"Please… Klaus…" she pleaded, gasping and running her hands over his to try and free herself from his hold.
"Enough!" he growled and threw her against the same tree which she had appeared from, making it break underneath her. But suddenly she was on her feet again and she seemed completely unaffected, not having a single scratch on her. That only confirmed what he'd suspected right away; this was not Camille.
Before he could give it a second thought, she had raced up to him and knocked him in the gut so hard that he flew backwards and into a building. A little surprised at the pain shooting up and down his back from the crash, he clenched his teeth to hold back a grunt.
As he was about to get up from the pile of bricks underneath him, he caught sight of her through the hole in the wall he'd flown through and tried to analyze the woman. Not even Aurora should be able to get in such a powerful blow when met with the Original Hybrid. Even if he had just regained his strength after having fought a paralysis spell… The blonde may not be Cami, but perhaps she wasn't Aurora in disguise either then.
"That's no way to treat a lady." she pouted and walked over to him casually and kicking a few pebbles from the ground to her side.
He stepped over the remains of the brick wall and clenched his fists, preparing for a fight. Whomever this creature was, Camille or Aurora, protagonist or antagonist, bandit or hero – he was not going to be beaten by them.
"Don't you recognize this place, Niklaus?" she said in a venomous tone. "Don't you see how lifeless it is? How cold it is? Ghostly even?"
He reacted to the way she had gone from calling him Klaus to Niklaus. That narrowed down the possible identities of the person standing before him. However, he refused to indulge in this bizarre game and glared at her without responding.
"You do, don't you?" she said with narrowed eyes and a wicked smile on her lips. "You know exactly what this place is. What it does. What you, being here, means."
She suddenly let out a cold laugh that made his whole body tense up. "Or are you so naïve that you honestly think getting out of that little pine box meant that you were safe? That you were… Alive?"
A lump formed in his throat at her words but he pushed the small panic aside. Of course he was wondering where the hell he was and what on earth he was doing here but there wasn't any time to dwell on this now. He needed to find and help Elijah, in case he had been buried alive as well, or otherwise incapacitated.
He was prepared to launch himself at her when a shriek from the other, far end of the street made both of them freeze and turn their heads in its direction.
"Nik!"
Klaus recognized his brother Kol's voice and could swear he heard his heart stop at the sound of it. He quickly shook it off though and turned back at 'Camille', taking the opportunity to attack her while she was still turned away in chock as he too had been. As he was about to jump at her he felt a gush of wind beneath him and then she was suddenly gone.
The moment his knuckle touched the pavement instead of her, he rushed up from the ground and turned to look for her. But she was nowhere in sight. Whoever or whatever she had been.
He began running over to the other end of the street, towards where he had heard Kol's call. When he reached the forest on that end, he looked around in confusion when he found no one there. Then the sound repeated itself coming from back where he had just been. On the other side of the street.
Was this a trick as well?
He pushed the thought aside at the memory of how Camille had reacted before at the sound of Kol's voice, as if she hadn't expected it either. If Aurora's own illusions hadn't planned on hearing it, then it must have been real.
With that in mind he began running towards the new direction, determined to find out whether his theory was correct or simply naive. But merely halfway there his eyes caught sight of blonde hair and he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned back and spun around in search for 'Camille', starting to wonder if perhaps she had simply lured him away from Kol's true location – wherever that might be. Irritation began painting his vision red as he ran back and forth and through each and every building in the neighborhood, looking for her. If he could not find his brother then at the very least he would make sure that Aurora, and her hallucinations, suffered for it.
Then a different theory hit him and filled him with sheer panic: What if it was all a trick?
What if Kol was never even there?
What if Aurora was playing him like a fiddle in this ghost town with more illusions yet?
As he walked past an alley he caught a glimpse of golden hair once more in the corner of his eye. He immediately ran towards it, prepared to prove that Aurora's games would not get to him, nor crack his sanity. No matter how many ghosts she threw his way. But he suddenly froze in place when he saw her.
The blonde standing a few feet away with his back turned against him was not the ghost he had been chasing.
Far from it.
He didn't even question her identity for a single second because he had painted her enough times to recognize her silhouette anywhere. And he had both studied and dreamt of her so often that he would always remember her poise, stance and the energy to her presence.
Caroline Forbes.
The strong young vampire; so full of light, fire and potential… Of brilliance.
His undead heart ached and battered in his chest at the sight. For a moment he forgot about his surroundings and the circumstances and simply allowed himself the overwhelming sensation of seeing her again after all this time.
"Caroline?" he breathed out, afraid that if he spoke too loudly that she would disappear into the same thin air which she seemed to have appeared from.
She turned around slowly to face him, her features as soft and beautiful as he remembered. "Klaus…" she said with a tiny smile on her lips and a spark in her eyes.
Warmth spread inside of him and with it an inevitable grin on his face… How poetic it was to see her here, in this deserted world, as if being sent to him like an angel of mercy… His last taste of hope. His last shred of light. His last everything.
That's what this is then, he thought as he figured it out. This is death. It has to be.
But since there was no real afterlife to expect as an Original, this must be something else. Something similar to death or close to it…
The other side may not exist but there most certainly was death. And therefore the souls of the supernatural would need to pass over through some state before facing their fate…
Limbo.
And she must be here to guide the way to his end then… It was all so Shakespearean and morbid, beautiful and tragic… And much too good to be true.
But it had to be… There was no way for Aurora to know –
Caroline's expression changed after a moment and the newfound confusion on her face hit him like a wave as he was suddenly reminded of reality. His awestruck features hardened, his lips pressed firmly into a thin line and his eyes glared with hatred.
"Enough with the illusions, Aurora." he growled and spun around with his hands in the air. "I don't care for this game of yours…" he shouted into the sky with open arms, daring her to stop hiding behind her ghosts. "Drop the theatrics already and show your true self!"
He had turned away from Caroline but still caught her flinching at his tone in the corner of his eye. It made him spin around and stare at her, waiting for her to attack him like the past illusion had done. Or at the very least turn into any other shape so that he may feel even remotely capable of actually fighting back.
Because hurting Caroline, even if it wasn't truly her, was not within his abilities.
"Why are you here, Klaus?" she asked him, looking so lost and confused that he felt the strongest bewilderment consume him.
What is she talking about!? The words ran around in his mind and made him want to shake her in the hopes of getting her to finally give up the act.
She took a step towards him and he immediately stepped back. All of her confusion formed into a wrinkle between her eyebrows at his reaction. "I don't understand." she said and shook her head. "What's going on, Klaus?"
Then she attempted moving closer to him once more, he mirrored every step she took to close the distance between them by enhancing it with his own step backwards.
He waited for the genuineness in her expression to crack or fade in any way, thereby revealing that she was in fact faking all of it. But she only shook her head as if waiting for him to explain it all to her. He, however, was just as confused and expected the very same from her.
Another long moment passed, or well… it felt long to him since every moment where he was so close to her without actually touching her had always felt like an eternity to him. A sting of hope nudged at his heartstrings and he felt the burning desire to go to her, to hold her, to inhale her scent and absorb her warmth…
Before he could stop himself, he had taken a step towards her this time instead of the little dance that had previously taken place between the two of them.
She didn't back away nor make any move in response, so he took another step, observing her intently the whole time. Once there was only a mere foot between them he took a deep breath, letting her scent fill him.
Still afraid she'd disappear if he moved too rashly, he raised a hand and carefully cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb across her cheekbone. Searching her face for any traces of deceit… but he found none.
Her eyes fluttered close at his touch and she leaned into his hand, making his breath hitch slightly. "Is this a mirage?" he asked as he tried to keep himself from falling for this trick as he had with the one of Kol's calls.
She opened her eyes and met his with a soft smile on her lips. "I could ask you the same thing." she giggled and laid a hand on top of his.
He felt a flutter in his chest at the sound, the most beautiful and blissful sound in the universe. An involuntary smile spread across his lips as he dared hope that this might not be yet another of Aurora's illusions. But then another thought crossed his mind and filled his lungs with gravel.
If this is not a trick than how is she here?
His hand dropped from her face as the worry rooted inside of him. He took a deep breath and looked closely into her eyes. "Did something happen to you, Caroline?" he asked with a serious tone.
She seemed confused for a moment and stared into the air to her side as if trying to remember something. Then she nodded her head and looked down at her stomach. Her hands moved softly over her shirt before looking back up at him with a sad frown tugging at her lips. "How did you know?"
He shut his eyes, a grunt escaping his throat as he could indeed feel the painful verification stab him in the chest… Caroline was hurt. That's why she was here.
And as if having read his thoughts she soon repeated her earlier question. "Why are you here, Klaus?" her voice was merely a whisper, filled with hints of panic as she seemed to understand what he now knew for sure.
He opened his eyes and failed to fight back a wide grin as he met her wide blue ones. "Don't worry, love." he reassured her and took her face in both hands, tilting it slightly so their lips were merely inches apart. "I won't be here for long." he smirked and looked down at her mouth. He had to fight hard not to kiss her senseless now that he was certain it was indeed her.
"So, this is a real place?" she asked, making his eyes return to look into hers for a moment.
"Yes." he said and nodded before looking back at her lips again. His right thumb stroked her lower lip to free it from its sudden captivity between her teeth. "And it is no place for you." he told her as his gaze moved back to her eyes.
He began wondering that if Caroline had somehow ended up in here as well, then perhaps that meant Elijah was nearby after all… He hadn't seen nor heard him whatsoever so it was possible his older brother was absent from this world. Then again… What about Kol?
His thoughts dimmed out when she cleared her throat. She looked at him with so much concern that it made his heart ache. "How do we get out of here?" she asked with a surprisingly determined tone and wrapped her hands around his wrists.
He smiled at her. "Caroline…" he sighed and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to clear his thoughts.
He wanted to tell her the truth that he was beginning to dread; that there was no way out of here. Not one where they could get out together anyway. It was most likely necessary that an external source bring them out of this state through some kind of spell. Freya would surely be on it as they were speaking.
But he couldn't know whether Caroline had anyone on her end attempting the same.
He promised himself to find her and have Freya rescue her right away, if he ended up leaving this place before she did. Then he pushed the unwariness aside as he just wanted to enjoy her company for a moment. He had missed her so much that he began thinking he would go completely mad if he'd have to wait another year for her to take him up on his ever-lasting offer.
Her racing heartbeat was like music to his ears, clearing his mind on anything other than the earth shattering and mountain moving fact that he was finally seeing her again after all of this time. How come so many centuries had passed him by and yet the last two years had felt like the longest of time?
"I really hope this is just another dream." she whispered after a moment of silence.
It made him open his eyes and tilt his head back a little, studying her with a smirk and a suggestively raised eyebrow. "Another?" he echoed amusedly. "Have you been dreaming an awful lot of me, sweetheart?"
She rolled her eyes. "Now I know it's not. Thanks for ruining it." she scoffed and took a step back, making his hands fall from her face.
He chuckled and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Well, be that as it may… I do believe we are imprisoned here together so we might as well make the most of it." he said with a wide smirk.
She snickered and crossed her arms over her chest. "We're both stuck in this place and your first thought is sex!?"
Laughing again at the mixed expressions on her face, he shook his head and sighed. "Oh, no. Not at all, love. I was suggesting we catch up on the rather long time we've been apart for or perhaps put our clever heads together and start working towards leaving here." he said, feigning false innocence. "It's you who went straight to that assumption."
She scoffed in disbelief. "Whatever." she muttered and looked up into the sky. "What's going on with the sun by the way?" she asked.
He shrugged and smiled at her. "Come on, sweetheart. I thought I saw a still perfectly stocked-up Gin-joint on the other side of the street that seemed fit enough for a woman of your standards."
She sighed. "We don't have time for small-talk over drinks, Klaus. We've got to find a way out of here!"
He rolled his eyes but couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Very well. Where do you suggest we start?"
Pursing her lips in thought, she looked down at her stomach again for a moment. The act seemed odd to him and he raised an eyebrow as he was prepared to ask her about that, but she beat him to it. "I feel like I'm forgetting something…" she murmured.
"Like what, Caroline?" he asked softly with furrowed eyebrows.
She looked up at him and shrugged. "Something important... I feel it in my gut… There's something missing that I can't figure out."
He studied her for a moment, wondering if he was remembering everything perfectly himself. Was he forgetting something too? Perhaps something essential to how he was put in this place?
"Hey, you said something weird when you saw me." she commented with a confused look. "You said a name… Aurora, was it?"
The reminder made him tense as he realized Caroline being here might mean she was in far more trouble than he'd originally thought. Especially if Aurora's illusions were still present and lurking in the shadows… If Aurora found out about Caroline –
"So?" Caroline asked impatiently. "Are you going to explain what that whole monologue you had earlier was about? You got girl troubles or something?"
He sighed and looked to his side, as if expecting all of his problems to appear at the mere mention of them.
"Oh…" Caroline said, making him snap his eyes back to her. "Oh!" she said again, stroking her arms with her hands as if she was feeling cold… An uncomfortable look on her face and an off smile on her lips. "I see."
He shook his head. "Caroline –" he said, beginning to clarify everything but she held up a palm to silence him.
"Did you hear that?" she asked and glanced over her shoulder.
"Hear what, love?" he said carefully and took a step closer to her.
She looked back at him with a distracted expression. "I thought I heard Bonnie…" she said and slowly her face morphed before him as realization dawned upon her and her eyes grew wide. "Oh my God…" she gasped and threw her hands to her abdomen, drawing both their attentions to it. "Oh my god! Klaus, I have to get back right now!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his arms.
"Caroline…" he began as he attempted to calm her but she only shook her head.
"You don't understand, Klaus." she said with a panicked chuckle. "They're dying!"
"Who is?" he asked seriously, reaching for her cheek but she only shook her head away from him.
Ignoring his question, she drew her hands up to her forehead in sheer panic. "I can't believe they didn't stop the spell…" she breathed out and turned away from him. "They're going to die and I can't do anything to save them…"
"Caroline, you're not making any sense, love." he said and reached for her arm but she pulled away yet again. "Take a breath." he pleaded.
She stared at him. "You heard her right?" she asked. "You heard Bonnie? It was like she was right here except she wasn't… I swear I heard her, she… She has to –" she stuttered on before freezing up and snapping her head back to her side. "There!" she said and looked at him. "You heard that, right?"
He shook his head in response as she began walking to the wall at the end of alley, holding her hands up over the brick wall.
"Where is she?" she mumbled and spun around to look to him for answers.
He gulped hard, suddenly feeling useless as he can't help her find her way out of here. "Perhaps it was coming from a different direction, sweetheart?" he suggested.
She nodded. "Right. Yeah. You're right. There's probably just bad acoustics in this particular spot… Right? That's it?"
Her eyes were glossy and filled with panic as she looked at him, making his heart clench in pain. He wished he could tell her something, anything to calm her down…
"Wait…" she gasped and looked over his shoulder for a moment, making him glance back to see if there was anyone standing behind him. There was nothing there but before he knew it Caroline was running past him and in that very same direction.
"I think it's coming from here…" she murmured as he walked up to stand beside her on the sidewalk.
He studied her closely as she suddenly gasped.
"There! That's her." she breathed out in relief and looked at him with a teary smile.
He swallowed hard as disappointment filled her stomach because he realized she was leaving… Her face from earlier stuck in his mind as she'd asked him if he had been having 'girl trouble'…
"You don't hear it." she said as her smile faltered at realization. "What does that mea–" she began but he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers and cupping her face firmly.
She was leaving and he'd be damned if he let her go without a proper farewell.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as she kissed him back, making him smile victoriously. She sighed slightly as she held him closer to her and he relished in the sweet taste of her. In the sensation of finally having her in his arms once more. His hands becoming desperate to keep her there for as long as possible.
After a while he sighed as he slowly pulled away, holding her face as he rested his forehead against hers and looked at her intently. She looked so beautiful with her slightly swollen lips, her somewhat darkened eyes, her breathing incoherent and her heart racing like a hummingbird's in his ears. It brought an amazed smile to his lips.
"How come I am constantly saying goodbye to you, Caroline?" he sighed and stroked her cheeks tenderly.
Her face turned distractedly to her side as she seemed to hear something once more. She looked back at him with an uncertain expression, biting her lip nervously.
"It's alright, sweetheart." he said and put a lingering kiss on her temple. Meeting her slightly glossy eyes with a reassuring, soft smile. "I highly doubt this will be the last we see of each other."
She laughed a little at his words, but it was a bittersweet chuckle that hid the tears that seemed determined to form in her beautiful eyes. "Good." she said and sniffled softly. "Because if I wake up to find out that you're dead… Then I will come after you."
He chuckled and pushed a strand of her hair away from her face, feeling so many words build up in his mind that she was not yet ready to hear. Perhaps one day, in a few years, she would be. And then he would be waiting to show her everything in life as enchanting, fascinating and captivating as her. Although very few things seemed to even shine when in comparison to her light.
She jerked her head over her shoulder once more and sighed with frustration. "I have to go." she whispered, still not meeting his eyes. "Goodbye, Klaus."
It stung him but he decided not to overthink it. Instead he let go of her and watched her as she slowly turned away. Taking a slow step after another and seemingly fading into oblivion with each and every one of them. She didn't turn around even once to glance back at him as she left, which made him feel so abandoned that he wished he could turn his back on her as well.
But he didn't.
He couldn't.
All he could do was watch her as she disappeared and then keep staring into the air that had once been her, almost expecting her to reappear before him again. But she didn't. She was gone.
She is safe, the thought made it suddenly a thousand times easier to breathe. He was so very relieved that she had managed to leave. Because that meant she wasn't trapped here, in this limbo ghost town…
That meant she was no longer hurt or in need of help. That meant she was returning to her life and to her friends. To the land of the living.
And him, on the other hand, was not.
And with that he finally allowed himself to explore the thoughts that had been trying to fill his mind ever since he left the casket in the woods.
After having spent a millennia running from his father and at the same time trying his best to enjoy life; he had constantly been caught in the uneven balance of living and existing. At one moment he was experiencing the world fully and wholeheartedly, the next he was fleeing with his siblings to a new country or even a new continent in hopes of staying away from Mikael.
All that time he had struggled to find the pleasures in life that could keep his heart warm as they fled from yet another place that they would've wrongfully believed to be safe…
And now, after finally freeing himself of his father and his mother – even of his aunt and everyone else that had tried to take away his power, freedom or life during the past few years. After all of that, he was now stuck in this place where living was a luxury he could not attain.
This was his hell; he would be forever doomed to merely exist instead of actually living. To breathe and live but to never truly experience life itself. It was a cruel punishment, one that he was glad Caroline was free of.
On the other hand, Caroline had grown to become one of the more expensive luxuries in his life that made his world colorful, animated and vital again. Without her here, he had now sealed his own faith and damned himself to the life-less existence that he was facing.
A place which he would solely inhabit for the rest of eternity if he did not manage to escape.
He shook himself out of his thoughts as he realized they were only making the situation worse. There was enough time to dwell over how he'd gotten where he was and what he'd lost in spite of his lifelong fight to keep said things. Now, though, was the time for action – not reflection. He needed to find a way out of here, and then make sure that Caroline had truly done the same.
Then a thought hit him as he was walking down the street: Caroline had been able to leave because she'd heard Bonnie Bennet's voice.
That could suggest that the sound of Freya's call wasn't a hallucination… That could mean that her voice had caused Aurora's tricks to seize to appear…
He immediately rushed over to the far end of the street from which he had heard his sister's voice the first time. With Caroline's scent fresh in his memory he felt a bigger need than ever to leave this place. He had after all people to protect in the real world. Not only Caroline, but his family. Not to mention the things he had in store for the ones responsible for putting him in here in the first place.
With that he heard a sudden echo from the trees and felt a relieved smile cross his lips. Perhaps the key to staying alive was the same as to actually living; to constantly remind yourself of what you were living for.
The thought circled his mind as he heard another echo in the forest and turned to follow it.
It was time to return to life. Where he had loved ones to keep safe and enemies to bring hell upon.
