Chapter 13-

Knowing what I did now I still walked on to Sheila's. I was hyperventilating and nauseous, but I still walked on. I was lucky that the doors in this town were never really knocked and just strolled on in Sheila's place, finding her having a drink in the kitchen. She saw me distraught and in tears and thought nothing of enveloping me in her arms.

"What's wrong Baby?"

I couldn't speak. Literally, I couldn't get the words out so instead I sobbed into her arms pouring out this panic that wouldn't go away. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Wait, I don't think I am breathing.

"Maverick Can you hear me?" Sheila asked so worriedly but I couldn't understand why. "Maverick, nod if you can hear me?" I did so slowly, struggling to get air into my lungs.

"Name five things you can see?"

"I- I see a table, a stove, chairs, overhead light and the fridge."

"Four things you can feel?"

"Your sweater." I rubbed on the soft fabric. "My hair tickling my neck. My shoes are too tight and I feel hot." Slowly I was calming down.

"What are your three favorite colors?"

"Pastel Pink, Blue and Yellow."

"Two things you can smell."

I took a deep breath in and found those smells that I always associated with Sheila. "Your liquor and perfume. It smells like flowers."

"Favorite food?"

"Your French Toast." I smiled at even the thought of the french toast with lots of syrup and powdered sugar. I felt better, I was calmer now. My heart was still racing but it was slowing down. I still had a shake to my body but I'd prefer that over being completely helpless.

Shelia stayed with me, keeping me grounded by holding my hands. "What happened hun?"

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Something in me was telling me not to mention the vampires. I hated not being able to tell her exactly the problem but I couldn't fight this feeling. Sheila could be trusted but it was something else.

I tried a different approach. "It just seems like every step I take, I take five steps backward. I can't ever make progress. And if I do make progress or do something that could be good, I feel like I'm losing myself. I've lost the person I've wanted to be before I've even become her."

Shelia looked thoughtful for a moment. "When I was a younger witch, I had helped one of our own to put away some bad people. I didn't feel good about it but came to eventually understand that what I did was right and given another chance would do it again because I was helping to save people."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that maybe the actions we do aren't the best but if we weigh that against the better outcome then we can easily reconcile with ourselves." She patted my hands with a warm smile.

I took her words to heart. "I need to think." I got up and gave Sheila one last hug. "And please don't tell Bonnie I was here. She always worries too much."

"I won't. And next time don't bring a bag. You have enough clothes here." She grumbled. I let out a weak laugh, picked up my bag that I had dropped during my attack and left. I took the secluded way home again, calmer and in a good headspace to think.

If I kill for the right reason, to protect my friends who live in this town and my family, that shouldn't make me a bad person. It shouldn't make doing what I have to do a horrible thing. Killing feral vampires is different from even allowing Elena's parents to drown in a preventable accident. When the time comes to decide whether they live or die, I know what I'll choose.

Night came all too quickly and they were here all too soon. Like before I could sense them, two one a few years old and the other at least 100. One was latched onto my signal I guess and headed for me while the other was headed in my direction but again more away. I was attracted to someone else.

I was calmer this time around. I was prepared. I had fashioned stakes as soon as I got home and even dressed for the occasion as cliche as that sounds. Just in case a human passed by or caught me I covered my face and put a scarf over my hair. I dressed in all black, a tank top and leggings, and chose my black Timbs to go with it. I had five stakes but could only carry two which I would need to rectify later. I grabbed some matches for cleanup and slid those into my pocket. I don't know what else I would need but I think this would be better than my first fight.

I pre-transformed my hands into those same weird claws but had shorter nails that curved in. I was ready.

I didn't think about the action of killing them, I just went for it. The one already coming my way I met halfway in the woods. He hissed and moved fiercely towards me. I dodged some of his fast movements which were not calculated and seemingly mindless but they are strong. I had enough scratches to rival Tylers that was still healing. There was even a bruise on my sternum that would have seriously injured a normal person. At some point of trying to not to lose my arm I had lost one of my stakes. I was breathing heavily and most of my magic focus was on keeping my speed, strength, and shielding up.

Catching him off guard by slashing him with my nails I then put my stake in his side. He screeched at the top of his lungs from the pain. I knew I couldn't allow those cries of pain to shake my resolve. Not when he was still coming at me with sluggish movements. The stake was deeper than I had thought.

I used the magic I would have used for my strength and directed it to that shockwave attack. It stunned the vamp into submission. He fell to the ground unable to move so I took the opportunity to get my stake and stabbed him in the heart.

I was done with him, I couldn't think about him again because there was still another vampire here. They had been moving further away and they were almost in town. I grabbed my stake from the desiccated vampire, struck a match and lit his ass on fire.

I was getting tired physically however my magic was too excited to stop. It knew it needed to get the last vamp and sadly, I was a slave to its will in this moment.

It gave me the extra energy I needed and I managed an extra burst to my speed.

I was able to catch up to the vampire, a female this time, just before we reached the inner town. As soon as she spotted me she was on me so I was able to lead her deeper into the woods. I stopped when the sight of the trees were thicker, the vampire saw her chance and aimed straight for my neck.

I waited until she was just close enough with her hand, moved to the side a bit and brung my stake up through her arm. She hissed, even more so over her continuous one, but wasn't deterred nearly as much. She brought her other arm up and hit me in the abdomen. I didn't stay down for long, coming back with unskilled punches that were doing just as much damage to me as it was to her.

I slipped up.

I made the wrong move and that's how she wound up with her hands on my neck, not even trying to choke me but tear my head off my shoulders. My shield was doing its best to keep my head on but she would eventually succeed if I didn't do something.

I couldn't mimic and make a noise that could alert anyone to what was going on. She had me pinned and I couldn't breathe.

Whatever air I still had in my lungs I hope would give me enough time to do this.

I stuck my nails into her arms, flattened them, and lengthened them until they were all the way through her wrists. She threw her head back to howl. Her fingers had loosened and I could breathe more. I curled my claws, hooked onto her hands to make the cuts even deeper to the point I was able to take her hands.

I grabbed onto the blood base of her arm with my stake still in it, took it and stabbed her through the heart.

She fell backwards in her final moments of life.

I got up, collected her hands and threw them on her body. I lit a match and got rid of her evidence. I should really be concerned about starting a forest fire but hell, if one broke out tonight I wouldn't be able to care.

Tonight marks my second and third kill.

The second Monday of break rolled into Tuesday tonight.

Morning came, I didn't care. My body hurt, I hadn't even looked at the mess I was in the mirror yet.

I had come in the house and stripped off everything, showered and passed out on the bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

The house phone was ringing and I could have ignored it but I was so over noise at this point, The person on the other side of the line would be better than the annoying ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ricky. You want to come over?"

My eyes stung hearing the ignorance my friend could have because of what I did last night. That she could avoid vampires for a little longer because of what I did.

"Yeah. Be over in a bit."

Hey guys. I want to say THANK YOU FOR OVER 2000 VIEWS! That's amazing. In a few days this story will be turning a month old and it's crazy. I check the status of this story everyday for reviews and to make sure people enjoy it and still get amazed. This is the best thing ever and it's all thanks to you guys.

Um… Off topic there was something in this chapter that you should be on the lookout for. I ain't saying much but I aint saying nothing. I really do want to start moving onward because this story is one the second official week of summer vacation and so much has happened in those weeks it's kinda crazy.

I'm considering some major time skips between these three years but not before I address one more situation which I have finally been able to get to thanks to the set up at the end.

Until next time- BigSmallWonder