Arc One: From the island


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chapter 2: it's not just Jeremy

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It had been less than 48 hours and Stefan already felt like he couldn't do it anymore.

Elena danced around the house, played with makeup, browsed Instagram. She acted like a normal girl, but it wasn't real, none of it was real. It wasn't better than grief.

Last night, he caved in and talked to her in her room at their mansion. She was laying on the bed, scrolling through her phone.

"Elena," he said and sat down near her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you, I feel much better," she replied, not looking up.

He shook his head. "It's been only one night… this isn't normal."

"Nothing's normal in my life, Stefan," she said. "And it's true, I'm not lying." She dropped the phone and eyed him. "What else do you want me to do?"

The room was quiet.

"I know it wasn't your choice to be a vampire, Elena, but-"

"It wasn't my choice to be a doppelganger."

"-you can still live out a human life if you try to."

His eyes searched hers for a spark, something, anything, but she was just as detached as in the moment she had let go of that match. How much lower would she sink?

"Thank you, Stefan," she said, voice raspy. "For respecting my choice that night." Her words stabbed him in the heart. "I know it might look as if you cared more about Matt than me, but I know how much it meant to me."

His eyes pressed shut. "You know I'm sorry-" She let out a puff. "-for not getting to you in time after I pulled Matt out. I'm sorry-"

"It's been almost five months, Stefan. I've accepted it."

"That's a lie." She started to say something but he continued to talk. "Up until two days ago you wanted the cure, you wanted to be human."

Elena shrugged. "Now that the cure's gone, I guess I've accepted it."

He drew a hand across his face. "Elena, you can't be happy," he said and the mantra in his head automatically continued as a vampire. "…like this."

She pursed her lips. "I can't be happy as a vampire?"

"Without your humanity, I meant," he said and she rolled her eyes. Stefan grabbed her left hand in his, both palms covering up the lapis lazuli ring. "Elena, please, turn your humanity back on." She yanked her hand from his and got up. "I'll be right here, I'll help you through it, we'll get through it together."

She walked to the door with strong steps.

"Doesn't he deserve it?" he asked and she halted, hand on the handle. Still sitting, he looked at her over his shoulder. "Doesn't your brother deserve to be mourned?"

Elena sighed.

"Take a moment and grieve for him with the town-"

She spun on her heel. "The town doesn't care, Stefan, they never did!" She took a deep breath and composed herself. "I'm going to get a blood bag from the cellar. Don't be here when I come back."

He respected her wishes. That night he didn't pry anymore, but she was still on his mind, her image tossing and turning in his mind as he imagined her going further down this road towards the darkness. When this was all over, how would she recover?

This thing never lasts, he thought. It might look like it, but the off switch was always a temporary fix. He learned this on his own skin.

Everything Elena was at her core, the good, compassionate girl with morals, didn't change when she turned. If she hurt someone like he did, she would never forgive herself, she'd be devasted. He had to prevent it, whatever it took.

Which was why, in the late hours of the night, when Elena was sound asleep, he snuck into her room. He took a good look at her… how peaceful she looked—regular breaths, parted lips, relaxed eyelids.

The left hand hung on top of her belly, covers tossed to the side.

He gulped and grabbed it gently, swiping her ring —the ring he put there on the first day— off her finger. It looked so small in his palm, so fragile… But it had to be done. In order for Elena to have light, he needed to take it away from her.

For the few seconds it took him to get the deed done, Elena didn't make a sound. Perhaps a part of her was still accustomed to his presence even though their relationship was far behind.

The outburst was much quieter than he expected. This morning she had walked into the living room as he was putting on his shoes. She strayed away from the light, stopping into place and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Give me my ring."

Stefan tied his shoelace. Finally, he said, "No," grabbed his backpack, and went past her for the door.

"Stefan-" she said, voice more gentle now.

"I have to get to class."

"I'll show you," she said. "I'll show you you're wrong."

When he opened the door, a beam of light entered the house. Her head was shaking but her eyes were closed as she stepped away.

It was the last time he saw her for the day. It had been a few hours that he was back from school now and she didn't make an attempt at anything, overall just avoiding him.

Stefan poured himself a glass and watched the fireplace even though it wasn't lit.

"Oof, brother, drinking on a Monday… how will you graduate at this rate?"

Stefan ignored him, taking another gulp. How could he be this nonchalant? He poured himself a drink and walked around with a pep in his step to nudge him with his foot.

Damon had his glass stretched in front of him. He sent him a piercing look which was enough to make him shrug and sit down opposite to him.

"I don't get the doom and gloom, Elena's happy-"

"She doesn't feel anything. She's not happy."

"Really? Because she seems to be enjoying herself around the house. Did you know we played pool yesterday?" he said and smirked.

He let out a harsh breath. "The day-" He gripped the glass tighter. "The day after her brother died, you take her to play pool?"

"We never use it, it was getting dusty," he said and took a sip. "Everyone grieves differently."

Stefan nodded and broke out into a dry laugh. "Did you really pull that on me? She's not mourning. And she should-"

Damon gave him a look. "Why?"

He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. How could he be so ignorant? Did he even know Elena a bit? He breathed in and out and said, "From now on and until the rest of eternity, she'll remember playing pool while her brother is at the morgue. She'll remember enjoying it. She'll remember all of her choices —our choices— that led to this. And all of this because of you-"

"Because of me," he repeated with a nagging voice.

Stefan stood up so quickly, some of the liquid in his glass spilled. "I trusted you-! You did this, this is your fault!"

His eyes grew darker when that last line hit, but to Stefan's surprise, he didn't snap back at him. Voice calm, he said, "You told me to help her, I-"

"Yes, Damon, help her. Tell her to calm down, to get some air, to hold on-" The man before him looked even more disgusting than ever. So many things he put him through and now this. It never stops, he thought. "You were supposed to use the sire bond to contr-"

Damon sprung to his feet. "Don't." They stood toe to toe, neither of them backing down. "Don't talk about trust." His jaw tightened. "Not to me."

He rolled his eyes.

"You said you'll always protect Elena. But it was a lie. You lied. You let her die under the bridge-"

"I respected her choice, Damon. Not forced her to act a certain way, feel a certain way-"

Damon put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Let me make it clear: I know what I'm doing," he said and squeezed harder. "I know what I'm doing."

He had so many things to say to that, but for a moment he was stunned. It was enough for Damon to let go and leave the living room.

Stefan threw back the rest of his glass, then filled it back up. As he stayed drinking that afternoon, it wasn't Elena who was on his mind, but her little brother, the teenage boy who had all his life in front of him until they got involved.

With Elena being the way she was now and Damon following her close behind, it seemed like he was the only one who cared about him anymore.

,.,

Elena's throat burned for release by anything but the same old blood bag, which had just as much flavor as a ready meal from the grocery store. No heat, no personality, no spark.

No enjoyment.

Here she laid because in due time someone would have to pass by this road and selflessly offer her help. Even better, it was midnight. She could take her time.

Rumbling engine, white beams, and ground vibrating underneath her spine. They were finally here and they were coming in fast.

Body just as stilted, she accepted her future. Would they run her over, would they ditch her once they realize, or would they stop? Whatever it'd be, she wanted it now.

The tire rubber screech scratched the insides of her ear until the car was so close to her, the heat from its front brushed against her face.

"Miss, are you okay, are you hurt?" she asked.

She had dark hair and a feminine look, flower dress and all. And she was dumb, it seemed, asking her two closed questions that answered with the same word meant opposite things.

"Turn off the car," was all Elena said, words which were mirrored on the girl's lips.

When the hum of the car was gone and the night was free, she went to her and said, "Don't fight me. Don't yell."

Elena pushed away her dark curls and traced the outline of a pulsing vein on her neck. Steady strong beats turned quick. No need to delay it more, especially since she was being watched.

She dug deep into her neck, warm sweet blood flooding her mouth. It didn't satisfy her need, each drop making her crave more.

The girl grabbed onto her arm while begging words in a soft voice. No cursing, no pitying, no threatening, she was just as sweet as her blood.

Elena pulled away and touched the back of her hand to the girl's rosy cheeks. "Are you enjoying the show?"

"A bit out of character, but yes," Damon said over her shoulder.

She turned to him, one arm supporting the girl. "What, you're denying the nature of vampirism now?"

"No, I'm denying the nature of you."

Arms crossed over his chest, he was looking only at her.

"Interesting… you deny it, but you didn't do anything to stop me." She wiped the corners of her mouth. "You're hungry."

"I had dinner already and you know what they say about snacking at night, it goes straight to your hips."

"Vampires don't gain weight," she said, then looked at the girl. "Offer yourself to him."

The girl left Elena's side and her dress swayed in the wind as she took the few steps to be in front of Damon. She pushed her hair back, revealing the gash from the bite.

"From the vein," she said. "Fresh."

Damon held her eyes for a moment, then uncrossed his arms, grabbed the girl's shoulder, and dug into her neck. His head moved as he was taking more and more and underneath the noises from the girl, there was an undeniable moan.

Elena flashed behind the girl, pulled back her hair, and sank her teeth into the other side of her neck. She was making much more noise now, even whimpering, but she didn't want to pull away as long as he was there.

When they stopped, Damon held the girl's hands —one of which had a colorful braided bracelet— as she fell, passing out at their feet. The only barrier between them was gone, now just the two of them face to face.

Their lips clashed against each other. Saliva, blood, and passion. Her hands cupped his face, while his tugged at the loops of her jeans to bring her closer to him.

In a flash, she was against the hood of the car. Kiss after breath after kiss. She grabbed his shoulder as he bit her bottom lip and pulled only to release it at the sound of a moan.

When he placed bloody kisses to her neck, she asked, "Are you going to tell Stefan?"

A curt "no" was what he gave her and she was smiled. This was what she came here for.

,.,

The sole of the sandals clapped against her feet as she traversed the couloir of the hotel in hurried steps. Damn it, she was way behind her schedule, having woken up at 12:30 instead of much earlier like she planned.

When she walked past the reception desk, a voice perked up, "Good afternoon."

Yes, afternoon it was, 2 PM. She should have continued on her way, but she couldn't let this comment go unchecked. "What's the point of making requests to wake up at a certain hour if you're just going to ignore them?"

The woman blinked rapidly. "Miss. Downright… No one-… last night no one asked me to wake them up the next day." Her voice was defensive but respectable. She was the type of employee to take her job seriously: hair bunched up in an elegant bun, white collar shirt perfectly straight, black blazer, and modest makeup. The face of the hotel.

"Do I look like I don't know what I'm talking about?" she snapped with a firm voice that would have fit her appearance every time but today. She was dressed in a graphic T-shirt, ripped jean shorts —both of which were the only ones she owned— and strappy sandals. Her dark brown hair was wavy and pulled to one side, pinned steady with two colorful clips.

She let the silence hang between them, before breaking it with a hoarse voice. "If you want to keep lying, that's fine, but when I won't be coming back to this hotel tonight, don't wonder why." It was when she saw her eyes get glassy that she turned away.

She didn't get too far before she heard the receptionist speak with a softer, but shaky voice. "I'm sorry." This made her stop and listen. "I didn't want to lie, I didn't intend to forget. It's just that-" She sniffed and whimpered.

Kaithlyn turned around and walked back to the desk.

"My friend, she came by to visit me last night, but she-" Her eyes furrowed together and she hugged herself. "She didn't make it. The Sheriff told me-… The Sheriff told me she was found on the road just outside town, badly injured." She was trembling now, curls freed up from the bun moving in perfect sync with her head.

This doesn't sound good, she thought and gave a reassuring smile. There was more to this story she wanted to hear.

The woman nodded and wiped her tears with her palm. It was then that the sleeve of her shirt slid down and she could see she wore a bracelet as well. It was colorful and braided, made out of some type of string. This wasn't uniform, this was personal.

"It was an animal attack and she said it was a miracle she was even alive. She lost a lot of blood and she was supposed to get a transfusion…" she said and blew her nose.

Her intuition was right. She leaned on her elbows against the desktop and asked in a low voice, "Animal attack? Do they know what kind of animal?"

The woman backed away in her chair, eyes pointed at the floor but the mind clearly somewhere else. Eyes still empty, she gave a short head shake.

Kaithlyn had seen this many times before. A relative, friend, lover found the days after going out alone at night, with wounds that had no explanation. That a regular person would be aware of. In the end, it always came back to an animal attack, an answer just for the sake of having one so they could move on. For the rest of their life, they'd believe a lie, cursing the beast that took them away when the truth was the monster looked 100% human.

This was a mere name on a list that didn't seem to end. Her nails dug into her palm as images of their protectors flashed into her mind.

As much as they brag about it, vampire hunters don't do shit.

"Her blood type is O-. Mine's different and none of the people I know have it," she said. "The hospital doesn't have any for her and neither do the ones in the surrounding area." She put her palms together. "Is yours O-? Please-"

"No," she replied dryly.

The change in her tone woke her up and she mumbled apologizes under her breath as she composed herself.

"The animal attacks… do they occur often? Since when…?" she asked.

She gave a small smile. "Mystic Falls used to be a quiet happy town. It was September 2009 when it started. For 15 months it was hell. Got worse as time went on… I prayed, every Sunday for my family and friends." A spark light up in her eyes and she reached for her neck, where she probably used to wear a cross necklace outside work. "The Lord answered. The last three months have been more like before…" She gave a curt shake. "Some say the animal reproduced and it needed food for the off-springs… "

They were on the right track, but not in the way they were thinking. A rise in this type of death in her world meant new vampires: thirsty, inexperienced, uncontrollable vampires. No one caught them, yet. They had to have compelled the people in town. Or could it be they had help for a cover-up?

"I'm afraid," she said, then left the word hanging in the air. "That it's starting again…"

Before she left, she said, "I'm sorry for your friend. Hope she gets well soon. See you tonight." The receptionist light up as she realized what it meant, saying goodbye and wishing her well.

When Kaithlyn was finally out of the hotel, she inhaled, taking in the shiny weather. Perfect for vising a friend.

On the way, her mind was spinning with thoughts. Hospitals could be low on a certain type of blood, but the surrounding hospitals as well? What about the other blood types? This situation looked like textbook vampirism: blood missing, animal attacks, secluded town. Why didn't any vampire hunter know about this again?

Of course, brag and brag, but don't walk the walk. It wasn't her business to notify anyone and she wasn't in Mystic Falls for any of this. But from the way things transpired on the island, it was only a matter of time until they came here.

,.,

Kaithlyn made it back to Jayden just as he was pushing the boat off the beach. They send two doctors only, which she didn't recognize, but they had fixed Galen up for the better part. Still unconscious and wrapped in a blanket, it looked like he'd still have some recovery to do.

Flicking her curly black hair out of her face, one said, "Where were you?"

"Scouting," she replied, ending the conversation.

They didn't know what she did, where she was, because not only wouldn't they dare to do a locator spell to get that info, but she left nothing behind for them to do it with.

They were silent on their way back, arriving in Vermont in the early hours of the next day. Galen was rushed to the intensive care ward, while she was given a key by the council to spend the night there. They had odd doorknobs here, the type to rotate in order to open the door. Needless to say, she didn't sleep well that night.

There was no Sunday when it came to the council, so she got to work on her report, filling out the basic information and recounting the events from when that boat hit the shore.

When she was done, Kaithlyn passed by Galen's hospital room. He was unconscious still and hooked up to several beeping machines, but more importantly, Jayden was there.

"Did you write the report?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I just finished mine and wanted to check up on him," she said in a sweet voice. "I'm on my way to drop mine off, I can get yours too if you want."

Jayden didn't answer, just shook his head as he dug into a pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed it to her and she grabbed it, but he wouldn't let go.

"We're on the same team, remember?" he asked and let go only after she nodded.

Kaithlyn left them alone, walking around the corridors while reading up on what he wrote. Much to her pleasure, he didn't mention she strayed off after they found him. Good.

The mission was written up for Jayden as the hunter, while she was appointed as the tracker. The protocol said he would be the one to hand them over, but they could make an exception for her as she was a council member while he was not.

They weren't even paying her. As a new member, she was supposed to do them favors until she established herself, moved up the ranks. Of course they'd take this opportunity to make her run around the whole country, from Denver all the way to Vermont and to Nova Scotia. To be fair, her situation was a bit different from other recruits…

After dropping the reports off, she spent the rest of the day in her room thinking about Jeremy mostly and what she had found in the cave.

Kaithlyn was taken out of it by a knock on the door, telling her to go to a certain office. After sunset, on a Sunday.

She was invited in and asked to take a seat in front of the desk by a dark-skinned woman with braided hair. Her tattoo snaked up her right arm all the way to her shoulder, the sleeve of her T-shirt rolled up.

"I read the reports. A situation of this caliber couldn't wait," she said, propping her elbows. "Galen means so much to us."

So much that he spends his time as far away as possible.

She read the plaque on her desk. Imani Williams.

"He's a good hunter."

"We could talk all day about the hunters from Vermont. I know you're from Denver," Imani said, but she shrugged. "You're new in the council… almost three months." She clicked her tongue. "But you've been with us for five years already."

Kaithlyn gave a girly smile. "Some of us are late bloomers," she said with a happy voice. Oh, how much she loved when vampire hunters snooped into her past!

"I'm glad you came to your senses," she said, picking up a dossier.

She curled her toes inside her heels, but gave a curt nod. As if anyone could call what made her join at last "coming to your senses"…

"Your work is incredible… You tracked Galen well." She pulled two pieces of paper from the dossier, their reports. "But it's not over… The place you found him, it's not just any island…" She drifted off, analyzed her reaction —a mere spark of curiosity—, then shook her head. "Of course you don't know, you've just joined."

Kaithlyn gave in and asked sheepishly, "Does Galen know?"

"He's been in the council for longer, he does," she said and flipped over to Jayden's report. "Which is why I'm afraid of… his intentions."

Nothing in that incriminated her, what was she going to bring up?

"For the sake of the mission, I'll tell you. On that island, there's a man buried down into a cave." She underlined a passage on the report. "The council has a group of witches there to watch over it, to make sure it stays that way."

Oh. The village they found, but… "He's no ordinary man, is he?"

Lips pressed together, she shook her head. "No. He's someone very dangerous… an immortal being that cannot die. Not a vampire, older than the Originals." She got up and went to the window behind her desk, looking out. "His desiccated body was put in those caves a long time ago by the council. The Caves of Confusion. No one can traverse them and get to his chamber without the map in the completed vampire hunter tattoo."

Now that nobody watched her, Kaithlyn gulped. This was the place she found, but there was no one in the chamber. And the dead witches…The event that made her link there had to be Galen rising this creature.

Damn you, Irish prick.

The red ink underneath "witch massacre" jumped into her eyes. "You think he's awake now?"

Her head bobbed. "Silas is his name. And there's one more thing… buried with him. A vial of blood. The cure to vampirism."

Air escaped her lips as she heard that. To think a cure for vampirism existed and the council had it all this time hidden somewhere only a few could get it. Why was Galen there and more importantly, why was Jeremy?

"His mark isn't complete. He couldn't have got there… alone." Imani turned and still standing, eyed her down. "Do you know if he knew any hunter whose mark is completed?"

They got her connection with him from his mission reports, the ones they did together. The council could get a psychic to read his mind and get all this info when he woke up. To make them resort to a classic investigation, the situation had to be urgent.

"No, we weren't that close. Jayden knows him better."

"But you know him for longer. He told us he didn't think Galen was close to any other vampire hunter. The solo hunter type," she said and pointed at the underlined part. "Did you feel anything when you touched the woman beside the time of death?"

She shook her head.

"As expected, Silas's a psychic. He'd be able to cover his trail." One last time she leaned against the desk and eyed her as she asked, "Did you find anything else on the island?"

Kaithlyn's reply was stern. "No."

Imani mumbled, "We'll have to wait for Galen and what the research mission finds on the island…" She tossed the papers back into the dossier. "You can go."

She got up with steady feet and when she got to the door, she looked over her shoulder and said, "I'm leaving tomorrow, Mrs. Williams." The woman perked up. "I have to work on my presentation for the council meeting in June…"

"Right… it's shaping up to be an interesting year. I can't wait to hear what you'll come up with." She smiled and by the look in her eye, she could tell she was remembering something. "Oh, and it's in Denver. Your first time and it's in your home town. No pressure."

Kaithlyn giggled and nodded at her. "Just my luck, but I'll make it work. Goodnight." To these people only the council mattered.

She went back to her room and mulled over the information behind closed doors. They already had a team sent out to the island to investigate the bodies and look for any trace of Silas. They couldn't have got a hunter with a completed mark to go there already, could they?

No, they asked her for information… They were waiting to get one of them and after that, they'd get to the chamber, they'd find what she did. They'd find Galen's backpack, witch blood, and Jeremy.

How in the world did the teenage human boy manage to get there? Did the witch force him? Did Galen's accomplice? How did they even know him?

Her second night in Vermont was more restless than the first one.

The next day, after she packed, she did her rounds, coming by Imani's office to say "hello" and ask "how the situation was going", ending it all in a compliment before saying "goodbye". Imani was beyond herself. Oh, how much vampire hunters loved getting their ass kissed!

Kaithlyn was such in a rush to wrap it up and go that it cut her appetite short. She hadn't eaten anything that morning, but it didn't matter: she was finally at the wheel of her car, ready to go.

Someone tapped on the window on the passenger's side. It was Jayden and he had two zip-lock bags with sandwiches with him. She let him open the door and get inside.

"Hey, leaving without saying goodbye?" he asked with a smirk on his face. "Let's have some brunch."

Kaithlyn didn't get it until the last part, after which she noticed him pull out a tiny bottle of perfume from a pocket. She smiled and snatched one of the bags. "I'm famished!"

Two puffs and the smell of sage filled the car. They couldn't have someone listening in or reading their lips.

He bit into his sandwich and said, "Something's going on. The two women they sent for us are the top two healers here." He bit again, moving the sandwich in and out the front of his lips. "They don't come on the field, ever."

She was munching as well. "When we left, they didn't act with this urgency. After you called, told them where we were, it changed…"

"There's something on that island." He grinned and twirled some of her hair around his finger.

"I'll tell you what I can," she said, moving her sandwich around and giving a laugh. "Galen did a very illegal thing and they won't stop until they find out everything that happened on the island and why he was there."

He bit his lip as he looked at her chest. "It's really bad then."

She licked her lips back. "They'll want to know what he did in the weeks leading up to it… Hide it and stall them as much as you can, until he wakes up and you have a plan."

He nodded and reached out to hug her, his lips hanging under her ear, hidden by her hair. "I won't snitch on you. And I'll keep you updated if anything happens."

Jayden let go and exited the car, hanging out at the open door. Good, now they could be heard. She blew him a kiss and waved.

"Drive safe, beautiful," he said before closing the door.

When she was a way's away, she let out a long sigh. What a show they put on! Two lovers saying goodbye in private. At least she got an ally out of it, an informant to give her a head's up for when the council acted. She could scrub herself clean when she got to her destination.

Kaithlyn focused on Jeremy's presence and the one she picked up from the witch blood. Two inner compasses appeared, both their needles pointing in the same direction for the majority of her trip, parting only as she passed the welcome sign to the town of Mystic Falls.

Jeremy's hometown.

,.,

Mystic Falls was a small town.

It was a short ride from the hotel on the outskirts to Jeremy's address. That info she got in a simpler way: he noted it in her phone himself when he invited her to visit him.

The sky was a clear blue with puffy clouds, on the road of his house. How would he react to seeing her? It had been five months already. They didn't keep in contact all that much, it was true, but the type of connection they had wasn't one that could be easily forgotten.

At least not for her.

He should have just got back from school. He was probably hungry. She could take him out for lunch, maybe?

A slow spring breeze blew the air, bringing with it black dust and sticking it to her windscreen. How long would it take to get the truth out of him? She had to know what he did on that island so she could protect him from the council.

Because to her, he meant more than them.

Kaithlyn parked in front of the now discovered source of the dust, or ashes, more precisely. It was a one-story house, charred and devastated on the inside, the smell of smoke still pungent. She checked again, but she was at the right place.

Her intuition told her something was wrong.

Feet moved on their own accord, carrying her across the street to a neighboring house. Her hand knocked, not too hard, not too quick— normal as if she came to ask for a cup of sugar.

An old woman opened up. She gave her a long look, then put on the glasses which were hung along her neck.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Mrs," she said and pointed over her shoulder even before asking. "Do you know where the family living there moved?" The wind felt colder against her naked legs. "The Gilberts?"

She took her glasses off and sighed. "I don't know where she lives now, but it must be hard for her. Poor girl…"

Her brows furrowed. Was she confusing people? Crazy old lady!

"No, that's not…" Her voice drifted off but picked up more poignant. "I'm looking for Jeremy Gilbert. Do you know where I can find him?"

She was shaking her head, slowly and with sad eyes. Why was she shaking her head? Who was this woman and why was she shaking her head at her like that?!

"He died in a house fire this weekend. The only Gilbert alive now is his sister, Elena."

Silence.

It was quiet and nothing moved, outside and inside her mind. For a moment they were a snapshot of life, a framed picture where all the words were implied. To think it was the second time in the last six months this happened to her…

Did she just say that? No, no, she's joking. She's celebrating April fools five days earlier! Jeremy cannot be dead!

Something gripped her heart and squeezed it tighter and tighter with the second. Features still, she whispered with a voice that was not her own, "Dead?"

The woman lowered her head in response.

Kaithlyn turned around and walked away, towards the car, towards the house. There was nobody around on the street and that damned house was empty!

She slammed the door of the car and gripped the steering wheel. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman's door was shut again. She was truly alone.

A whimper.

Which broke into a heaving, which broke into tears.

How could this happen to him out of all people? To the one person she had been so far away from? It wasn't fair, it wasn't right but it was real.

Jeremy was dead.

And she cried for him and for herself, for what she lost by losing him. Memories hit her as she sobbed, head against the steering wheel so nobody could see her face.

What a cruel way the universe chose to prove that everything she was doing didn't change the past.

,.,

She failed at the one thing she was supposed to do.

The town was counting on her, her friends were counting on her, she was counting on herself. And she failed everyone when she was two steps away from getting it all.

When it mattered the most, her powers failed. She had the chance to put an end to everything that was happening in Mystic Falls for the past year and instead things reached the worst conclusion.

Silas was raised because of her, the cure was gone because of her, Jeremy was dead because of her.

If she had raised her hand and slammed Katherine against a wall, none of this would have happened. But she couldn't.

Her powers had always belonged to everyone but herself: nature, fear, her family, the spirits… And now the keeper was Silas, who watched over her while she mulled everything over.

"It doesn't have to be this way, Bonnie," he said.

This time he was leaning against her drawer, while she rested at the edge of her bed. It was the third night in the row that she woke up by not noise or light, just thoughts.

Tonight was different. There was light and warmth… a full-blown fire through her covers, which blew off with a swift move of her hand.

It hurt and she couldn't breathe, coughing up when she tried to take in air. Was this what it was like to burn alive? How did Jeremy's body look now…?

"You did this," he said and kicked out the burnt covers at his feet.

Yes, difficulty with a candle turned into this under his tutelage.

"You can still fix this, Bonnie."

She shook her head.

"Drop the veil and you'll get him back…"

"…along with every monster who died."

"You can kill them again. Look at you, Bonnie, look at how far you've come, how strong you are. Listen to me," he said and she raised her eyes. "You're strong enough to protect everyone."

Tears fell.

"What a pity he died so young…"

Her heart ached again and she whimpered. Jeremy was innocent. He would want to live, that much she knew.

She looked at the covers again. Silas didn't have powers, he needed her. If she controlled her magic, she could drop the veil for just enough time to get Jeremy out.

Miracles had happened to her before when she begged for his life. This time she didn't have anyone to beg to, she'd have to do it all herself.

She drifted off to the words "the final massacre".

The next day Caroline came to her house after school. She was complaining about Elena while she cleaned around her room. Bonnie didn't pay attention, hearing only that it would happen tonight.

Caroline gasped as she picked the burned blanket from underneath her bed. She turned to Silas for an explanation. "Shane, what is this?"

"Bonnie is losing control of her powers-"

"And you can't help her? You taught her!"

"She needs help from witches, this is beyond me…"

They paused and Caroline came over to hug her.

"She should call her mother…"

Bonnie closed her eyes as Caroline rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"I think you should do it… If this goes on, you could get hurt," she said. "I can talk-"

"No," she whispered.

Maybe it was a result of her sweet voice or her warm arms, but for a moment Bonnie felt like she could do it. She grabbed her phone and called her before she lost it.

"Hey, Bonnie?"

What a strange voice Abby had.

She didn't speak at first, she had nothing planned, she didn't think about it, she just moved.

"Hello?" she asked again.

When she felt she was a second away from her hanging up, she said in a whimper, "Last night I set the bed on fire…"

The rest was easier. She told her what happened with her magic from losing it while trying to save Elena to learning expression and now losing control over it.

"I'll send help," was all she said before she hung up.

Late that night when she was alone again, she got the message.

12 of my friends will come. Witches. They know what to do.

The three dots were still wiggling while she read it. Then she got the rest.

Tomorrow evening.


A/N: Writing "Kaithlyn giggled" hurt me as much as it hurt reading it. Haha. I didn't plan for this chapter to be this Kaithlyn heavy, but as I was writing her first scene it followed naturally that I'd show what happened when they got back from the island. The next chapter has more of the TVD cast.

I'd like feedback on Kaithlyn. How do you feel about her so far? And since this is TVD, I have to ask if you ship her with anyone already.

If you have suggestions, I'm all ears. It could be a character you want to see more of, a ship, etc.

I have some hot takes on TVD written on my profile if you're interested. The writing schedule is there too.

If you want to know what happens next, you have to review.