Chapter Twenty-One:
Three days later Nik and I were back in Mystic Falls because we got a call from Mayor Lockwood telling us that Tyler was attacked by a new hunter in town named Connor.
Nik and I were at the Lockwoods mansion with three hybrids named Nate, Dean, and Chris waiting for Mayor Lockwood and Tyler to return from the hospital. As we waited Nik and I were in the living room sitting on a couch while the others stood in the foyer.
A few minutes Mayor Lockwood and Tyler walked into their mansion and Tyler was not happy to see the hybrids standing in the foyer.
"Who the hell are you three?" Tyler asked them angrily.
"Tyler, it's okay. They're here for your protection." Mayor Lockwood said to Tyler.
"More deputies?" Tyler asked his mom in disbelief.
Nik and I then walked out of the living room to make ourselves known.
"Not exactly." Nik said to Tyler.
"They're hybrids." I said to Tyler.
"We were halfway to Chicago when we heard you were attacked. We had hoped to leave Mystic Falls for good, but duty calls." Nik said to Tyler.
"Nice to know you care." Tyler said to Nik sarcastically.
"I don't. I should have killed you for the little stunt you and your friends pulled. Stopping my heart, leaving me in a coffin to rot." Nik said to Tyler walking up to him.
"Yeah, well, you used my body as an escape hatch, so maybe we're even." Tyler said to Nik.
"Not even close. But you hybrids are a dying breed. I can't make more of you, and I won't have anyone taking liberties with the ones I have left." Nik said to Tyler.
Nik then pointed at the three hybrids.
"Consider them your new bodyguards." Nik said to Tyler.
After that I went to the school and met up with Rebekah and we went to our first period class.
When we walked into the class room we started handing out fliers to everyone because Rebekah was throwing a party at her new house.
"Morning, everyone. So I'm throwing a little anti-curfew party at my new house. Starts in the fifth period, goes till whenever. Spread the word." Rebekah said to everyone.
Rebekah and I then walked over to Elena and Stefan and she handed her a flier.
"You're welcome to join, Elena. If you'd like to bury the hatchet." Rebekah said to Elena.
"It's a pretty enormous hatchet." Elena said to Rebekah.
"Well, I'm feeling generous of spirit." Rebekah said to Elena.
Elena then looked at the flier and then at Rebekah.
"New house, huh? Did your brother finally kick you out?" Elena asked Rebekah.
"He didn't kick me out. I left." Rebekah said to Elena.
"So you left the only person on Earth that actually likes you?" Elena asked Rebekah.
"Elena!" I yelled at Elena.
I then saw the hurt look on Rebekah's face and I knew she wanted to get even.
"Well, your boyfriend liked me once. Actually, a lot more than once." Rebekah said to Elena staring at Stefan.
"Why are you still in town, Rebekah? Don't you have anywhere else to go?" Stefan asked Rebekah.
"Well, history's my favorite class. Actually, where is Mr. Saltzman?" Rebekah asked us.
"Rebekah, don't." I said to Rebekah.
Rebekah then leaned into Elena.
"Oh, that's right. I killed him." Rebekah whispered to Elena smiling.
Elena then picked up her pencil off of her desk and threw it at Rebekah's head.
Rebekah then caught the pencil in her hand before it hit her in the head and threw it back at Elena and it landed in her shoulder.
Elena then pulled the pencil out of her shoulder and then she and Stefan stood up and walked out of the class room.
"That was uncalled for, Rebekah." I said to Rebekah.
I then walked out of the class room and went after Elena and Stefan.
"Relax, Elena. Calm down." I said to Elena.
"Just breathe, just breathe. You haven't felt this kind of rage before." Stefan said to Elena.
"I hate her. I didn't think I was capable of hate, but I hate her… and I hate that I hate her." Elena said to us.
Elena then looked down the hallway and saw that the vampire hunter Connor was talking to our principal.
"That's the hunter." Elena said to us.
Stefan and I then looked down the hallway and saw Connor talking to our principal.
"What?" I asked them.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Stefan asked us.
We then watched as Connor walked over to Jeremy who was standing at his locker.
"That's Jeremy." I said to them
"No." Elena said to us.
Elena then started to walk towards Jeremy and Connor but Stefan stopped her.
"No, no, no. Hey. You get this, okay?" Stefan asked Elena.
Stefan then pointed at Elena's bloody shoulder.
"I got that." Stefan said to Elena pointing at Jeremy and Connor.
"He's right. The last thing we need is the hunter seeing blood on you and no wound to go with it. Let's get you cleaned up." I said to Elena.
Elena and I then walked into the girls' bathroom and we cleaned her shoulder of the blood.
Then one of the girls from our class named Heather walked into the girls' bathroom.
"There you are. Rebekah sent me to see if you were okay." Heather said to us.
"I'm fine, Heather." Elena said to Rebekah.
"I'm not." Heather said to us.
Elena and I then noticed that Heather was holding her hand to her neck and then she moved it and we could see blood coming out of a bite wound.
Elena's eyes then turned red with the veins around them protruding and I could tell she was doing everything in her power not to pounce on Heather.
Rebekah then walked into the girls' bathroom and stood next to Heather smiling smugly.
"What's wrong, Elena? Getting hungry?" Rebekah asked Elena snidely.
"No, get away from me." Elena said to Rebekah.
Rebekah then wiped some of Heather's blood onto her finger and then licked it.
"But she's so delicious." Rebekah said to Elena.
"You shouldn't be here. This is my school. It's my life, and I'm not gonna let you ruin it." Elena said to Rebekah.
"It's my school now, my life. Maybe you're the one who shouldn't be here. And I couldn't help but overhear that there's a vampire hunter roaming the hallways. How inconvenient for you." Rebekah said to Elena.
Rebekah then wiped some more of Heather's blood onto her fingers and then she spread it onto Elena's face.
Elena then growled and lunged at Rebekah but I stopped her by pulling her away from her.
"See you in gym. I think it's dodgeball day." Rebekah said to Elena.
Rebekah and Heather then walked out of the girls' bathroom and I tried to calm Elena down.
"Elena, calm down. You losing control right now is exactly what she wants. Don't let her get to you." I said to Elena.
Elena then calmed down and started breathing slowly.
"You're right, you're right. I can't let her get to me." Elena said to me.
"Good. Now, go clean yourself up and I'll have a little chat with Rebekah." I said to Elena.
"Okay." Elena said to me.
I then walked out of the girls' bathroom and walked after Rebekah.
"Rebekah! What the hell was that? Do you want the hunter to discover us?" I asked Rebekah.
"Of course not. I was just having some fun with your sister." Rebekah said to me.
"Fun? You almost made her lose control in there. Look, Rebekah, you are my best friend and I love you, but if Elena gets exposed, then I get exposed. So think about that the next time you want to have fun with my sister." I said to Rebekah.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'd never wanted to put you in danger." Rebekah said to me.
"I know, Rebekah. I hope your party turns out great." I said to Rebekah.
"You're not going?" Rebekah asked me.
"No. I'm moving into Nik's mansion today after school since I haven't been invited into my home yet." I said to Rebekah.
"So things between you and my brother are getting serious then?" Rebekah asked me.
"I guess so. It's not like we're sharing a room or anything." I said to Rebekah.
"Well, have fun with my brother. I'll see you later." Rebekah said to me.
Rebekah then began to walk away but then I stopped her.
"Hey. If I get done with the unpacking early, I'll show up at your house for the party. But no promises." I said to Rebekah.
"Thanks. I appreciate it." Rebekah said to me.
"No problem." I said to Rebekah.
Rebekah and I then walked away from each other.
After school was over I went over to the Lockwoods' because I knew that Nik was still there and I looked around the mansion and when I walked into a den and I saw that a girl was there.
"Hello. Who are you?" I asked the girl.
"Hayley. And you are?" Hayley asked me.
"Caitlin. I'm a hybrid." I said to Hayley.
"Right. Klaus' girl." Hayley said to me.
I then chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess I am. And you're a werewolf." I said to Hayley.
"I am." Hayley said to me.
Just then Nik walked into the den and looked at Hayley.
"You're a new face." Nik said to Hayley.
"And I take it from your accent you're an old one. Klaus." Hayley said to Nik.
"My reputation precedes me. Hopefully not all bad." Nik said to Hayley.
"A little bad. Mostly repulsive." Hayley said to Nik.
"So you're a friend of Tyler's. That's strange. He's never mentioned you." Nik said to Hayley.
Nik then seemed to have heard something from somewhere in the mansion with his hybrid hearing and smiled.
"And I think I know why." Nik said to Hayley.
After that Hayley left and Nik sat down at a desk that was in the den and I sat on top of it.
Tyler then walked into the den thinking that he'd find Hayley there.
"She's quite fetching, that Hayley." Nik said to Tyler.
"Where is she?" Tyler asked us.
"Oh, she had to run. But don't worry, I had her take the back door so Caroline wouldn't see." Nik said to Tyler.
"Whatever you think you know…" Tyler began to say to Nik before he interrupted him.
"I don't know anything. But I've put together a pretty convincing picture. Why don't you tell me… where my imagination deviates from reality?" Nik asked Tyler.
Nik then stood up and walked up to Tyler.
"You went off to the Appalachians to break my sire bond. There you met a pack of werewolves, begged them for help. Among them was a girl. She was gorgeous. With the same animal instincts as you. Emotions ran high, inhibitions ran low." Nik said to Tyler.
"Nik." I said to Nik warningly.
"Stop it." Tyler said to Nik.
"Then, in a moment of weakness, the thick sexual tension… became something much more real." Nik said to Tyler.
"I said, stop!" Tyler yelled at Nik.
"And Caroline has no idea." Nik said to Tyler.
Tyler then had a guilty look on his face.
"Tyler, how could you?" I asked Tyler in disbelief.
Then the telephone that was on the desk began ringing and Nik walked over to it and picked it up after seeing who the caller was on the caller ID.
"Hello, Damon." Nik said to Damon.
"Klaus, where's Tyler?" Damon asked Nik over the phone.
"Tyler's otherwise occupied… making big decisions about honesty and whatnot. Is there anything I can do?" Nik asked Damon.
"I'm going after the vampire hunter. So if he'd like to join…" Damon began to say to Nik over the phone before he interrupted him.
"He wouldn't. I, however… would." Nik said to Damon.
Nik then hanged up the phone and I got down from the desk.
"I'm going with you." I said to Nik.
"No, you're not. That hunter is too dangerous." Nik said to me.
"That hunter has some interest in my brother. I want to know why and you can't stop me." I said to Nik.
Nik then let out a sigh.
"Fine. But you do exactly what Damon and I say." Nik said to me.
"Of course." I said to Nik.
Nik and I then went to the hospital where Damon came up with a plan to lure Connor into a storage closet where he set up some traps for him.
Connor then walked into the storage closet and then saw Damon.
"Is a hospital really the best place for a germaphobe?" Connor asked Damon.
"Did I say that I was a germaphobe? Pfft. Sorry. I meant vampire." Damon said to Connor.
Connor then pulled out a gun and was about to shoot at Damon but by doing that he set off one of the traps and an arrow wired to a bomb shot into Conner's arm making him scream.
Connor then reached for his gun with his other arm but that set off the other trap and another arrow wired to another bomb shot into that arm making him scream again.
"Ooh. Stings, doesn't it?" Damon asked Connor smiling.
Connor then tried to reach for his gun again but that was when Nik and I came out of our hiding spot and I kicked the gun away from him.
"Hello, mate." Nik said to Damon smiling.
Connor then tries to get the arrows out of his arms without setting off the bombs.
"Keep it up, buddy, they'll be scraping you off the ceiling." Damon said to Connor.
"You three are gonna kill me anyway." Connor said to us.
"Well, let's not be too hasty. I feel like we're just getting to know each other." Nik said to Connor.
"Let's start with the basics. Where are you from? What do you know?" Damon asked Connor.
"What do you want from my brother?" I asked Connor.
"Maybe you can cue me in on this greater evil, because I fought this guy… and there's nothing more evil than that." Damon said to Connor pointing at Nik.
"Yeah, truth be told, I'm as evil as it gets." Nik said to Connor.
"I'm not telling you anything. You think if you kill me, it's gonna be over? There's another waiting to take my place." Connor said to us.
"Jeremy." I said to them.
"See, this is what I like to hear. Vague threats, ominous prophecies… disappearing tattoos." Damon said to us.
"What do you mean, tattoos?" Nik asked Damon.
"Don't bother. You can't see the damn thing." Damon said to us.
Nik then kneeled down in front of Connor.
"There's more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" Nik asked Connor.
Connor then pulled out a stake and tried to stab Nik in the heart but he grabbed his arm.
"Nice try. But I'm faster than your average vampire." Nik said to Connor.
Nik then twisted Connor's arm making him drop the stake onto the floor.
"Aah!" Connor yelled.
Nik then picked up the stake and then noticed a carving on it.
"You're one of The Five." Nik said to Connor.
Damon and I then looked at Nik confusedly.
"The what?" Damon asked Nik confusedly.
With our attention elsewhere Connor decided to make a drastic move.
"I'm faster than your average hunter." Connor said to us smiling.
Connor then pulled on the wires that were connected to the bombs making them explode.
Before the explosion could do anything to Connor Nik grabbed him and he and I used vamp speed to run out of the storage closet while Damon did the same thing.
Nik and I then used vamp speed to run out of the hospital and ran to an RV that belonged to Connor.
Nik then put Connor who was unconscious and put him on a couch.
After that we went to the Salvatores' Boarding House because Stefan has left multiple messages on each of our cell phones.
When we got there we walked into Stefan's room where Elena was lying on the bed and Stefan sitting next to her.
Stefan then saw us and then walked up to us.
"You came." Stefan said to us.
"I did. And for future reference, one voice-mail is just as effective as nine." Nik said to Stefan.
I then walked over to Elena and sat down next to her on the bed holding her hand.
"What's wrong, love?" Nik asked Elena.
"She has werewolf venom in her system. You know you're the only one that can heal her, Klaus. Please." Stefan said to Nik.
"And what would you have done if I were no longer here? Hmm? If you and your friends had succeeded in ridding the world of me. Let's play that game for a moment, shall we?" Nik asked Stefan.
Nik, please don't." I said to Nik.
"Whatever you want from me…" Stefan began to say to Nik before he interrupted him.
"I don't want anything from you. Her, on the other hand… If you had told me a few hours ago, I wouldn't have cared a lick about her dying." Nik said to Stefan.
Nik then walked over to Elena and me and then sat down on the other side of her on the bed.
"But as it turns out… you may be of use to me after all." Nik said to Elena.
Nik then bit into his wrist and then brought it to Elena's mouth and she began drinking his blood.
When Elena was healed from the werewolf venom Nik and I went back to Connor's RV and waited for him to wake up.
Soon Connor woke up and tried to stand up but Nik just pushed him back down on the couch.
"You saved me?" Connor asked us.
"Congratulations. You just became worth more to me alive than dead." Nik said to Connor.
"What…? What did you mean when you said I was one of The Five?" Connor asked Nik.
"You don't know your own history? Well, let's just say it's made you… the most well-protected vampire hunter in town." Nik said to Connor.
After that we took Connor to Nik's mansion where he would torture him for information in his torture room while I unpacked my belongings.