When Hope's call had dropped, the school had jumped into action, sending out a search party for the four girls.
Landon, Rafael and MG had been driving for several days - Rafael had picked out some kind of trail, and Landon had some kind of sixth sense as to what direction Hope was in, so the three of them had decided to give it a shot.
By the time they realised the trail was taking them out of town, it was too late to turn back without losing the trail altogether.
"Anything?" MG asked.
Landon hung up. "Lines are still dead."
"Have you tried …?"
"The landline's dead," Landon said. "And every cell number I have is dead. Unless you want me to try your phone?"
MG tossed his phone into the back seat. "Knock yourself out."
Rafael sighed, pulling over to the side of the road. "Let me check the trail again."
The three boys got out of the car, Landon stretching as he did so. "No, your phone's not getting through either."
"Maybe we should just turn back," MG said. "It's been three days - for all we know, the rest of the school have found them by now."
"Okay, and why are all the lines dead?" Landon asked. "Dr Saltzman said his phone cut out when Hope called. We found her phone; we know it wasn't out of battery." He groaned. "We should have brought it along and tried calling her family."
"They'll be at the school," Rafael said. "If there's a spell, they'll be affected too."
Landon frowned, looking around. "Where are we?"
"Didn't catch the sign," Rafael said, sniffing the air. "Why?"
"I swear I recognise this," Landon said. He staggered suddenly, a wave of magic slamming into him like a punch.
"Whoa," MG said. "You alright?"
"Fine," Landon gasped out. "That … That was Hope's magic."
"I didn't feel anything," Rafael said.
"It was Hope's magic," Landon repeated, taking off running in the direction the magic had come from.
Through a set of iron gates, into a cemetery, he sprinted, Rafael and MG close behind him, jumping over gravestones. "Hope? Hope, can you hear me?"
"Son of a …" Rafael grabbed his arm, as one of the graves suddenly erupted in front of them, a hand reaching up towards them.
"Zombie!" MG yelped.
But the face that followed the hand was not that of a zombie - and if it was, it was like no zombie Landon had ever seen in a horror movie.
No, this woman's skin was in tact, dark veins skittering under blood-filled eyes.
"Vampire," Landon corrected.
"I'll get a blood bag," MG said, speeding away.
Landon grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the grave.
"Landon!" Rafael protested.
"She looks terrified," Landon said. "It's okay; the sun just went down."
MG reappeared, handing her an opened blood bag. "Here; eat."
She did as she was told, sucking down half the bag before asking, "What's the date today?"
"May 16th," Landon answered. "2030."
The fear in her eyes faded into something almost heartbroken. "Oh."
"How long ago …?" Landon asked.
"I've been dead just over 20 years," she whispered.
"LIZZIE!"
"That's Josie," Rafael said. "Where …?"
"The crypt," Landon said.
Josie's screams weren't stopping - if anything, they were getting steadily more hysterical.
Leaving MG to look after their new friend, Rafael and Landon raced into the crypt, almost falling down the ancient stone steps in their concern.
The room was dark, lit only by some flickering torches, but the stench of blood was clear even to the two non-vampires.
As their eyes adjusted to the light, the harrowing scene came into view.
An unconscious woman lay slumped against the wall to their right. A man lay in a pool of his own blood to their left.
Straight ahead were four cages; the outside ones were empty, but the centre two held the four girls they were looking for.
Hope lay motionless in one, Lizzie in the other. Josie was slumped over her sister, switching between screaming for her to wake up, and sobbing that she was dead.
Penelope was crouched beside her, trying to pull her away.
"Penelope?" Rafael asked cautiously
Penelope looked up sharply, before seeming to sag with relief. "Oh, thank God …" She rose to her feet and approached them. "I've never been so happy to see you in my life."
Landon hugged her. "What happened?"
"I have no idea," Penelope admitted.
"Oh my God …"
Landon looked up sharply. "MG, this may not be …"
MG closed his eyes. "Too late, I'm here. How did I not smell that from out there?"
"There's about ten dozen spells on this place," Penelope said.
Their new friend was taking deep breaths, clearly trying to ignore the blood. "Are you all the age you appear to be?"
"Yes," MG said.
She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay."
When she opened her eyes, they were clear, blue and blood-free. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Penelope said.
"She just got resurrected," Landon said.
"Of course she did," Penelope muttered.
"Who's hurt and how badly?"
Penelope sighed. "The man over there is Luke Parker, he's dead; it's his blood. I don't know what happened, but Hope and Lizzie are unconscious …"
"She's dead," Josie sobbed. "She's dead."
"And Josie's hysterical," Penelope finished.
"Alright," the mystery woman said. "Someone just double check on Luke and - I assume Hope's the brunette?"
"Yes, ma'am," Landon said.
"Thank you." She crouched beside Josie, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Josie?"
"She's dead …"
"She's your sister? Honey, your sister's okay. I can hear her heartbeat. It's not great, but it's steady, okay?"
"Penelope, why did you think this guy was dead?" Landon asked.
"Because he is," Penelope said. "I saw him die."
"Well, he's got a pulse," Landon said.
"That's not possible," Penelope said. "I saw him die. Hope and I both saw him die."
"I died 20 years ago, just after I became a vampire. Apparently, it's a thing."
"Hang on," MG said. "Hang on. So you died after you became a vampire and you've been dead 20 years - there's blood all over the walls; how are you not losing it right now?!"
"I learned a long time ago to bury my issues when people need me," she said with a sad smile. "I should have been buried in Mystic Falls, Virginia, is that where we are now?"
"Yes!" Landon said triumphantly. "That's why it looked familiar! We all come from a school in New Orleans. The only people who know the town well are Hope, Josie and Lizzie."
The woman looked at Josie and got to her feet. "Well, she's not in any state. I guess I'm the only option. Let's hope people are still where I left them."
"Shut up!"
"Jenna," Elena chided automatically.
"Mom, she won't leave me alone!" Jenna whined.
"Ariana," Katherine said tiredly. "Please stop teasing her."
"I'm not teasing her!" Ariana protested. "I'm just asking a question!"
"That's enough," Katherine said firmly, handing her daughter a dishcloth. "Come and help me dry the dishes."
"We have a dishwasher," Ariana said.
Katherine rolled her eyes. "I know that, honey, but that's full so we may as well get it over with."
Technically speaking, the school was still open so Jenna and Ariana should have been in New Orleans. However, it was nearly the anniversary of Elena's parents deaths, so, as every year, the girls had come home for the week.
Ariana helped her mother in silence for a few minutes. "I really was only asking."
"We're just friends!" Jenna protested.
"I know, sweetheart," Elena said soothingly. "You and Henrik are far too young to be dating."
"You think so?" Katherine asked.
"Henrik's only just turned 15," Elena said. "Jenna's not 14 until September."
"I wouldn't say that's too young," Katherine said.
"Okay, first of all," Elena said, "you were born at a time when 15 was middle-aged. Second of all, we're not talking about your daughter."
"Now, now, ladies," Damon said from the doorway. "Settle down."
"Henrik and I are just friends," Jenna said firmly. "We are not dating."
"Well, I should hope not," Damon said. "You're far too young."
Elena pointed at him triumphantly. "Thank you!"
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Stefan, they're ganging up on me again!"
"Wow, I wonder why."
Katherine narrowed her eyes at her brother-in-law. "You really can be such a …"
The doorbell drowned out her last word, much to Elena's relief.
"Alright, children, that's enough," Damon said.
"I'll go," Elena said hastily, before he could move towards the door. "That way I can make sure whoever it is leaves with the same amount of blood they arrived with."
"You make it sound like we eat everyone who arrives on the doorstep," Damon said.
"Dad, that's the only reason this place is ever used as an actual boarding house," Ariana said, rolling her eyes. "They're too anaemic to leave straight away."
"Well, they're almost always from out of town," Damon said. "It's about the only way we can get fresh blood these days."
"Look, can you stop talking about this for a second?" Elena asked, making her way to the front door. "At least long enough for me to help them."
She pulled the front door open and the blood immediately drained from her face, her hand gripping the door to keep herself upright.
"Jenna?"