Okay, this starts right where the last one left off. Rebecca had just been having lunch with Elena and Bonnie, and Bonnie admitted to her dreams.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
After Bonnie had admitted to her dreams, Rebecca had suggested having another girl's night - her, Bonnie, Elena and Caroline. She had to take care of something first; she wanted to talk to Diana about objects that could possess people. She went to Diana's house from the school - she was sure Diana would want her to train since she'd been slacking there lately.
The gray-haired woman took Rebecca to a warehouse and they went into the basement. Then Diana put a blindfold on her.
"What are you doing?"
"Testing your responses in total darkness and silence."
"Uh, okay. What about the other thing?"
"After this, this won't take long. I'm going to throw a ball at you and you need to catch it - it's just a bouncy ball, it won't hurt you if you don't."
"Okay."
The first two times Rebecca didn't catch the ball, but she didn't get hit either. She was able to use her senses to tell where the ball was being thrown from and stay out of the way.
"May I ask why I need to know this? I'll never wittingly put myself in total darkness with a vampire."
She caught the ball the third time and threw it back the way it had come. She grinned when it made contact with her Watcher.
"That hit my head," Diana said with a huff.
"Sorry. I'm blindfolded, can't see. My bad."
"You . . . have a very smart mouth."
Rebecca shrugged and took the blindfold off. "Can we talk now?"
"Objects of possession."
"Right. Spirits attached to an object. Said spirit is possessing a friend of mine. It's an ancestor of hers."
"Well, there's always your classic exorcism for cases of possession."
"No, no. I've seen that movie. Even the priest died."
"Well, then . . . You have to get rid of the object. Destroy it magically."
"How do we do that?"
"Well, it depends on what the object is and why exactly a spirit is bound to it."
"What if the spirit is only trying to communicate with us?"
Diana smiled softly. "Well, then . . . Maybe you should just try to listen. Chances are the spirit doesn't mean any harm."
Stefan had stopped going to school - he was avoiding Elena, Damon knew - and so he was sleeping in, sort of. Damon had made coffee and had poured Stefan one, but since his brother wasn't up yet he thought Stefan needed a wake up call.
"Rise and shine!" he said as he entered his brother's room.
Stefan sat up quickly, seeming startled. "What're you doing?"
Damon held up the mug and said, "Peace offering."
Stefan stood up, rolling his eyes, and went towards the bedroom door. He was just going to leave, apparently.
"Come on, you need it for blood circulation," Damon said, standing in the way of his exit. "Does dead flesh good." Stefan didn't even blink. "A'right, I'm sorry." Damon was almost sincere, but only almost.
"Step aside please."
"I got the town off our back, it was for the greater good, but I'm sorry. And to prove it . . . I'm not gonna feed on a human, for at least a . . . week. I'll adopt the Stefan diet. Only nothing with feathers."
"Because I realize that killing your closest and oldest friend is beyond evil and yet somehow it's worthy of humor," Stefan said, moving towards the wardrobe now instead of leaving the room.
"Are you mimicking me?" Damon asked.
"Yes, Stefan," Stefan said. "Now that the secret society of vampire haters is off our back I can go back to my routine of "How Can I Destroy Stefan's Life This Week."
Damon decided to play along, so he began mimicking his brother. "And I can go back to sulking and Elena longing and forehead brooding. This is fun, I like this."
"And I will finally reveal my ulterior motive behind my evil and diabolical return to Mystic Falls."
Damon guessed that meant his brother didn't believe that he was there just for Rebecca.
"Yeah. I'm done," he said and began to walk away. "That's just like you, Damon. Always have to have the last word."
And, just like that, he did have the last word because he left the room.
That night Rebecca stopped by the Grill to get four separate meals for her, Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline. Rebecca didn't want to cook so they were getting take out - hamburgers and French fries.
Ironically, Damon was there at the bar.
"Hm. We run into each other everywhere," she said, sitting beside him.
"Can't see why you'd mind," Damon teased, smirking. She could tell, though, he was tense. His shoulders were held too tightly for him to be relaxed.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm on edge," he admitted. "New diet."
"Huh?"
When Damon spoke again his voice was quieter. "I told Stefan I wouldn't feed from a human for at least a week. Peace offering for . . . Lexi. I promised I'd try the Stefan diet. Only nothing with feathers."
Rebecca laughed at the last part, but she was also wondering if he thought that was really going to work. He'd killed Stefan's friend. Him not feeding from a human for a week wasn't going to change the fact that she was now dead.
"So why're you here," Damon asked.
"Girl's night at Elena's. I'm picking up the food."
"All girls? Can I come?"
She slapped him on his leather clad arm and said, "No!"
The food came and she kissed him quickly before leaving. When she got to Elena's the other three girls were talking about manicures, and Rebecca rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Bonnie said her kit was in her bag so Caroline went to get it from the living room. Rebecca noticed that Bonnie wasn't wearing her necklace and she commented on it.
"I threw it away," she said. "I had to get rid of it."
"No, it's right here," Caroline said, holding the necklace in one hand and the manicure kit in the other.
"But I saw her throw it into a field," Elena claimed.
"Well . . . How do you explain it?" Caroline asked.
Elena and Rebecca looked at each other. "Emily?"
"She is connected to Bonnie," Rebecca added on her own.
"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked, and Rebecca realized Caroline really had no clue about what was going on. She was oblivious.
"The ghost."
"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" Caroline asked sarcastically.
"I wonder why she won't just leave me alone," Bonnie asked, frustrated.
"Okay, what are you talking about?" Caroline complained. "And how come I'm not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time!"
"Caroline, that's not true," Elena said.
"Yes, it is," Bonnie replied, and then looked at Caroline. "I can't talk to you; you don't listen."
"That's not true," Caroline said, insulted.
Bonnie pursed her lips and just looked at Caroline. "I'm a witch."
"And don't we all know it," Caroline snipped.
"See, that's what I'm talking about," Bonnie said. "I'm trying to tell you something, and you don't even hear it."
Bonnie stalked off into the living room and then Caroline looked at Rebeca and Elena. "I listen. When do I not listen?"
"Is that a trick question?" Rebecca asked.
"No, actually, it's a very simple one," Caroline said, hurt.
"You listen, Care, I just don't think you take things seriously enough sometimes," Elena said. "This necklace thing is real for Bonnie. It was giving her nightmares."
"The necklace was giving her nightmares?"
Elena and Rebecca gave Caroline a summary of what Bonnie was going through without mentioning the witch thing even though Caroline knew about it; Caroline didn't believe in it.
After that, Caroline went and apologized to Bonnie, telling her she was listening now since she knew it was real for Bonnie now. After Caroline and Bonnie made up, the former called Elena and Rebecca into the living room.
"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Caroline asked. Rebecca was going to mention the forgotten food, but then Caroline shot up off the couch so fast that her blond hair bounced. "I know. Let's have a seance."
Rebecca grimaced; Elena looked unsure; Bonnie looked scared.
"Oh, come on! Let's summon some spirits," Caroline said excitedly. "This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do."
Rebecca smiled at the enthusiasm in Caroline's voice and she quickly agreed, stating that if the seance worked then at least Bonnie would be free of Emily. Elena and Bonnie agreed rather reluctantly. And Elena went to get some candles. The four girls decided that Elena's room would be seance central. Jeremy and Jenna weren't home, but the girls didn't want them to come back home to them performing a weird spirit summons either.
So there they were in a circle, candles alight on the hardwood floor, Rebecca, Elena and Bonnie participating only to make Caroline happy.
"Okay, now, concentrate," the cheerleader instructed. "Bonnie, call to her."
Rebecca held back a grin. "I've seen this movie, Care. Only one of us walks away at the end."
"Shh! Be quiet and close your eyes."
"Fine, bossy."
Rebecca closed her green eyes and took a deep breath only to chuckle when Bonnie said, "Emily, you there?"
All the girls opened their eyes.
"Really? 'Emily, you there?' That's all you've got?" Caroline asked.
"Okay, Jeeze. I'll try again," Bonnie said.
So they grew serious now, and when Bonnie spoke Rebecca could tell she'd changed her mindset; this was no longer a game - they were doing this for real.
"Emily. I call on you. I know you have a message for me, and I'm ready to listen."
Even with her eyes closed Rebecca could see that the flames from the candles had flared for a second. They all opened their eyes again.
"Did that just -"
"Yeah, that's just happened," Caroline interrupted.
The room suddenly grew chilly but Bonnie tried to convince herself it was just the ventilation in the house.
"Ask for another sign," Caroline said, but Bonnie refused. "Emily, if you're with us, show us another sign."
With bated breath, Rebecca and the others waited, but nothing happened. Bonnie seemed relieved, but then the flames flared again and the windows flew open on their own.
"Okay, that's it." Bonnie stood up. "I'm done. I can't." She threw her necklace on the ground and the candles blew out.
Elena hurriedly turned the light on, and then . . . the necklace was missing.
"Uh . . ."
Rebecca didn't scare easily but she was scared now. Vampires were one thing; ghosts were completely different. They couldn't be seen, for one, and this whole thing was giving her tummy rumblings. Before showing any outward fear, however, she decided they should look for the necklace just in case. They searched the whole room, including under the bed, and got nothing for their efforts. Then Bonnie found it in the bathroom.
How the hell had it gotten in there? Before Rebecca could warn Bonnie against touching it, since it seemed to be moving on its own whether it was from the field or to the bathroom, the bathroom door closed, locking Bonnie in. Rebecca was stunned into inaction for a second because the door had closed on its own, but then her friend started screaming for help, and it startled Rebecca enough to try and help.
There were two entrances to the bathroom, but neither would open. Elena and Caroline were both hitting the door and begging Bonnie to open it.
"I can break it down," Rebecca said, getting ready to kick it off its hinges, but then she found she couldn't move an inch. "Uh . . . I'm stuck."
Both Caroline and Elena looked at her oddly but she didn't care. She literally couldn't move at all - it was like the air had thickened around her and had trapped her.
Screw you too, Emily, she thought, not liking that she'd been stricken immobile and basically useless. Only when Bonnie had stopped screaming was Rebecca able to move - better late than never. Rebecca watched as Elena opened the door, and saw Bonnie covering her face for some reason. The air was tense as the three girls in the bedroom waited for the one in the bathroom to give them some sign she was okay.
"Bonnie?" Rebecca said, stepping forward. "Everything okay?"
"I'm fine," Bonnie said, dropping her hands to her sides. "All is fine."
And just like that Caroline went from concerned to irritated. "Unbelievable. You were totally faking it the whole time. You scared the hell out of me!"
Rebecca didn't say anything but something felt wrong. Bonnie wasn't acting like herself at all. Even her facial expressions were off.
"Bonnie?"
"Everything's fine." Bonnie was too calm and steady to be Bonnie. Her whole demeanor was different. "I must go."
"If she's leaving, I'm leaving," Caroline said.
"You guys can't leave," Elena said.
"Oh, I can. I've had enough freaky fake witch stuff for one night."
"Thank you for having me," Bonnie said. "I'll take it from here."
"Where are you going?" Elena asked.
"Back to where it all began. It must be destroyed."
Bonnie rushed down the stairs, and Rebecca noticed that she didn't even move the same. And it clicked.
"Oh, my God!" She swallowed convulsively. "Emily?"
Bonnie/Emily turned to look at her but then she was rushing out the door. The door that wouldn't budge when the girls tried to open it.
Come on, super strength, Rebecca scolded herself.
Rebecca was going to suggest breaking a window - she didn't like feeling trapped - but Jeremy opened it from the outside.
"I'm outta here," Caroline said before running outside.
Rebecca and Elena couldn't see Bonnie anywhere even though it had only been seconds since she'd left.
"Fell's Church," Rebecca said. "We need to get to Fell's Church. That's where she'll go."
"Why Fell's Church?" Elena asked, already grabbing a jacket and following Rebecca out to her car.
"Emily said she was going back to where it all began. Well, that's where it started. I guess she has to destroy the necklace there because it's the only place it could be used for. I'm not sure. But the important thing is we have to help Bonnie."
"I'm gonna call Stefan, see if he knows what to do. He told me he wanted to give me some distance, but this is important."
"He'll understand," Rebecca said.
They were driving now, and Rebecca vaguely wondered if she should call Damon but then figured he was probably with Stefan, so he would hear the conversation anyway.
When the two girls arrived at their destination they saw that the Salvatore brothers had already arrived. Emily was explaining to Stefan what she had done, how she had saved Katherine and the others.
"You saved everyone in the church?" Stefan asked, mystified.
"To save her, I had to save them. With one comes all."
Bonnie/Emily was drawing something in the dirt around her when Rebecca spoke up.
"Hello, Emily."
A hint of a smile fell upon Bonnie's lips. "Rebecca. Thank you for being a good friend to my grandchild."
Rebecca shrugged, not know what to say other than she was welcome.
"These people should never have to know such evil," Bonnie/Emily said. "I can't unleash them into this world."
Rebecca nodded understandingly. "I think we all agree they are better left where they are."
She glanced at the other three. Elena and Stefan nodded, and Damon shrugged.
Bonnie shouted Incendia and she was engulfed in a bed of flames - Rebecca would've feared for Bonnie's life if she hadn't been possessed by Emily. Rebecca watched, fascinated, as Bonnie/Emily threw her necklace into the air and it exploded, creating a small fireworks display. As soon as the smoke and fire cleared Bonnie fell to the ground in a faint, and Rebecca was fairly certain that Emily was gone now. Emily was a spirit, she had no reason to faint, if spirits could faint.
Elena and Rebecca fell to the ground beside her, and the Slayer checked the witch's pulse - it was steady and strong.
"She'll be okay," Rebecca stated. "Assuming she's not traumatized for life."
"I think our little witch can handle it," Damon said. "Once she gets her feet back on the ground."
Rebecca, Elena, and the two brothers waited patiently for Bonnie to awaken and she did, finally, gasping and looking around in fright.
"How'd I get here?" Bonnie asked.
"You were possessed," Damon said bluntly. "Emily brought you here, you destroyed the crystal, and now you're you again."
Rebecca held back a smile - Damon seemed oblivious to the fact that he lacked subtlety. He obviously didn't believe in breaking things to people gently.
"Tact, Damon," Stefan said. "Look it up."
Damon rolled his eyes. "Like you could've done it better? Besides, she asked a question and I gave her an honest answer, explained the whole situation in about fifteen words. If you had answered, we would've been here all night, Stef."
Rebecca shook her head but thought - happily - that they weren't trying to kill each other, at least. Then she focused on Bonnie.
"Are you okay? I don't think you have to worry about Emily anymore. She got what she wanted. She should be able to rest now."
"I'm . . . I feel like I haven't slept in a month."
"Side effect of the possession, probably," Rebecca surmised. "Come on, we'll get you home, okay?"
Bonnie nodded. "I still don't want to be alone."
Rebecca and Elena helped Bonnie stand up and Rebecca swiped the leaves off of Bonnie's clothes.
"We'll stay with you, don't worry." Rebecca winced. "You have serious damage control to do with Caroline. She thinks you were just messing around and she freaked out."
"Ugh! Remind me in the morning. I don't need any more problems tonight."
Rebecca nodded and smiled fondly at her witch friend. "Okay, now come on."
Rebecca and Elena had stayed with Bonnie that night, even though they went back to Elena's. They didn't fall asleep until she did. Bonnie was understandably scared - possession couldn't be easy; not that Rebecca wanted to find out personally. She would hate not having control of her own body.
The next morning Rebecca fixed them breakfast - everyone in the Gilbert house appreciated it. Jenna couldn't cook but she liked to eat; Jeremy's expertise stopped at coffee and sandwiches.
After breakfast Rebecca went home just because she wanted to see how her dad was - since she'd talked to Damon about it and had found out about the compulsion she knew why he'd been acting odd. Did compulsion last forever? If not, how long would it last? There was more talking and less arguing and she liked it even if it had made her suspicious at first. And she kind of realized that she was maybe a hypocrite. She hadn't wanted Jeremy to be compelled and yet she was okay with this.
She ended up riding in the car with her dad about an hour later. They had left Chelsea at home with Tina. Rebecca wondered where they were going.
"Well, I'm contracting this new project and I'd like you to be a part of it. The historical society wants me to pick a building to restore, and I picked the original Salvatore house."
"Ha!" Rebecca had to laugh. "You can't be serious; it's a wreck." The place was practically burnt to a crisp. She remembered why; people had been burned inside.
Her dad laughed with her. "Yes. That's where my crew and I come in. We'll rebuild the whole thing if we have to, which is probable. But I figured, you know, since you know them you might be interested."
She was touched by his inclusion of her, but she was also sad because it wasn't real. It was an un-Dad thing to do, and if Damon hadn't compelled him to be this way . . . she wouldn't be here with him right now.
"Thank you," she said anyway. "And I am interested. Is that where we're going now?"
"Yes. I need to take everything in, estimate the construction fee. The bank is paying for it since it's an historical monument. We're going to use the original site and make a replica of the original house."
Her dad didn't really have a construction crew anymore since he didn't work for a company now, but she assumed that, because he had, the town was leaving this little detail to him. Rebecca had to admit that excited her. She wondered what Stefan and Damon would think about it. It had been their home, and hers, for a while at least.
"Before you tear it down . . . Can I look inside? I'll be careful, I promise."
"Sure. The foundation's pretty strong for such an old building. You should be fine."
Rebecca and her dad pulled up outside the dilapidated remains of the old Salvatore house. The pristine white of the house had turned a disgusting grayish-black over the years, helped by the charred look it had from the burning 145 years ago. Rebecca's breath caught because she had lived here at one time - she had fallen in love with Damon here. Granted he was a vastly different man now, but he was still Damon Salvatore.
"Hey, Dad?"
"Hm?"
"How . . . how did you find out about vampires?"
"Your mother," her father said hesitantly.
"What?"
"When we were together . . . she always went on and on about all these things that go bump in the night. I don't know if you know this or not, but your mother was from one of the founding families. I'm not, of course, and she took my name, which she wasn't supposed to do. The females from the founding families are not supposed to take their husbands names when they marry. So the name will live on."
"Oh . . . so she . . . mom knew before you did, and . . . why did she tell you?"
"She told me because she knew she wasn't going to be around to watch over you anymore. I needed to know the signs to watch out for."
"Oh . . ."
Rebecca didn't know what to say about that. She'd never even considered that her mom would know about vampires, that her mom had been part of a founding family. Rebecca guessed that that honor was taken away from her when she'd married an outsider. They'd never been invited to Founders events until after Robert had started working for them.
Rebecca stopped thinking about it and looked around her. The yard and the gardens and the maze had all become overgrown and wild, and had lost their splendor. Rebecca thought it was a real shame. This place had been beautiful once. She didn't even want to see what the pond looked like; it was probably covered with algae. It might have snakes and other slithery things in it now.
"Can I really be a part of this - the remodeling, the refurnishing, all of it? This would be a beautiful place to bring back to life." Rebecca smiled. "Did you mean it when you said I could?"
"You can help, yes."
"Great. You won't be disappointed, I promise."
She got out of the car, suddenly glad that Chelsea wasn't there. She wanted to go inside and she wouldn't have taken Chelsea in there to save her life. The house could maybe fall down any second.
She carefully went into the house while her dad stayed outside to look at the grounds. Her dad was right; the foundation was still sturdy. Still, better safe than sorry, so she watched her step anyway. She made her way up to the attic only because of a conversation she remembered having with Damon - she would revisit his and her rooms later, if there was time.
One thing she was sure of was that the new house would have electricity and plumbing. The only reason she could see up here was because of the sun. There were about three or four old pieces of furniture stored here. Books cluttered the floor and others were stacked against the wall These objects didn't appeal to her at all, though she was going to suggest to her father that they should try and restore the furniture too. What Rebecca wanted was in the corner covered with dust, and when she cleared it off she sneezed about four times.
What she wanted was a picture - a painting of Damon's mother. She had the same raven hair, the same blue eyes that Damon did. She had softer features because she was a woman . . . but one could find the resemblance easily if they knew what to look for.
"What're you doing up here?" her father's voice carried through the doorway, frightening her a little.
"Old house, hidden secrets and all that." She smiled softly because she saw how uncomfortable being paternal made him. That was how her dad acted. "I was careful, and the floor up here is just as sturdy as the one downstairs. Also, Damon told me his ancestors used to store things up here. Like this picture. I'm sure Damon and Stefan would love to have it; they don't have many family heirlooms. Do you think I could have this remastered, make it look like the original?"
"I'm sure they have a place like that in Richmond. Wouldn't hurt to try." Her father grimaced. "It's a little expensive, though."
Rebecca felt a little thrill go through her. It was time to see what Damon's compulsion would get her dad to let her do. "Well, what if I pay for half of it, and then you pay for the other half?" She blushed and looked down. "Damon does so much for me that I want to do this for him."
"You guys are pretty serious, huh?"
"Um . . ." Was she really supposed to be having this conversation with her father? "We're, um . . . I guess it depends on your definition of serious."
"I mean am I going to have to worry about him making an honest woman out of you," her dad said bluntly.
Rebecca blinked a few times and then laughed. "No. Believe me, that's not a problem for us. We're taking things slow, as per my request." Plus . . . vampires couldn't procreate. Damon's swimmers had died when he had.
"Hm. And he's okay with that?"
Rebecca shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. "He's not complaining. I think . . . I think he just likes being with me, around me. Things are good the way they are and he doesn't want to mess it up."
Rebecca had never really thought about whether Damon was okay with it or not that they weren't really moving forward in their relationship. But that was because they weren't in a regular relationship. Intimate to a vampire was different than intimate to a human. Her letting him touch her where no other man had was what she called intimate. Intimate to Damon was her letting him drink from her, willingly, and without being afraid. Intimate to him was her trusting him not to take too much or hurt her.
Considering she was human and he . . . wasn't . . . she thought their relationship was right where it was supposed to be.
Later that same day, after Rebecca and her dad had gotten home, Rebecca decided to go to the boardinghouse. She felt like walking so she took the scenic route through the local park. The problem with that was . . . she found a body behind a dumpster. A female in a jogging suit, neck wound, drained of blood. Victim of a vampire.
"Damn it!" she exclaimed. She continued to use every expletive she knew until she got it out of her system. Then she called Sheriff Forbes. Within minutes Liz arrived on the scene; she was by herself because she didn't want to cause a scene.
"What happened?"
"Uh, I don't know. I just found her." Rebecca sighed. "There's no blood in her mouth, so I don't think she'll become a vampire. Whoever did this, though, is new or just doesn't care. Maybe they're trying to send a message. If they know about the Council or -" she broke off, looking down "- I don't know, but I'll look around. I know their usual haunts, so it shouldn't be too hard."
"You mean a vampire doesn't just have to bite?" Liz asked. "To turn someone?"
"No, you have to have vampire blood in your system when you die. But mostly they're just gonna kill you. A vampire usually only turns a person if they have a reason to."
"A reason?"
"Um . . . you know, like they need someone to do their dirty work, or . . . they want to be with someone forever. It's neither of those, though. If it were like that we wouldn't have found the body. So like I said, I don't think she'll become one."
The sheriff used the yellow police tape to close off the area and then called for back up. She needed someone to come and pick up the body. Rebecca let out a deep breath, suddenly tired. It was like she wasn't allowed to have even one day of peace. If it's not witches, it's vampires, she thought.
"I was just going to see Damon. Did you want me to fill him in?" Rebecca asked.
"I'll give you a lift," Liz said.
So they got in Liz's cop car and arrived at the boardinghouse in five minutes. So much for her walk.
Damon met them at the door with a smirk. "You need a police escort now, Becca?"
"We need to talk," Liz said. "May I come in?"
Damon looked behind him - probably looking for Stefan - and then nodded. "We can talk out back. Come on."
Rebecca had never been out back of the boardinghouse, and she didn't have the time to take in its beauty yet, not today. But there was a garden pathway, much like there had been at the original Salvatore house. There was no pond, but there was a fountain made of stone that was trickling water.
"I hope you understand the secrecy. Stefan doesn't know about any of this yet, and I'd like to keep it that way," Damon said, sounding like a protective older brother. Rebecca knew that if Stefan was anywhere nearby he'd hear whatever they were talking about.
"Of course," Liz replied. "Kids are too young to be brought into this."
Rebecca wanted to raise her hand and say 'what about me?' but she didn't.
"So, what do you need?"
Damon was being perfectly polite, Rebecca noticed. She didn't know if that meant he was guilty or innocent. It had been bugging her, though, since she'd found the body, whether or not Damon had done it. She needed to know.
"There's been another attack. A female victim, her throat torn out, completely drained of blood. It fits the pattern."
Rebecca watched Damon's reaction. She could usually tell if he was lying just by the sound of his voice.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand. I thought we solved that problem when I staked the blond one."
"I'm thinking she must've turned someone. Or multiple someones, I don't know. The story for the town is another animal attack, but I'm not sure how long we can keep lying to them. The Council is in an uproar. We thought we were past this."
"I told Liz I'd look around, check out a few places. Thought you might want to join me," Rebecca said, relief coursing through her because she knew Damon hadn't had anything to do with this. Thank God. She didn't have to feel guilty about letting him get away with this.
"Of course," Damon replied. "You're not going by yourself."
"Actually, Rebecca, I was hoping you could help out at the Career Fair tonight in case someone stops by. My deputies will be out searching," Liz said. "I'm the only one aside from the mayor who will be there. Might need back up."
"Oh. Okay," Rebecca said. "Sure. And I have a question, or more like a request, actually."
"What?" Liz asked.
Rebecca flushed at the thought that had popped into her head. "This is a disturbing request, I know that, but the coroner is in the Council, yes? And the undertaker, obviously, how else would one explain seeing a vampire on a bed of metal?" She broke off when she realized she was babbling. "Anyway, my request is that I have a key to the, uh, wherever you take the dead vampires after you find them, that way I don't have to call you every time. You know, so I can just incinerate them. I mean, I'll tell you when I find one, but I don't have to bother you if it's, oh, say, three o'clock in the morning or something."
Damon had looked away to hide his smile at Rebecca's unusual request. She wanted a key to the incinerator room? Granted, the point she'd made was valid, but he'd been surprised that she'd thought of it. Talk about big picture thinking. Rebecca was awesome. And she'd been rambling. Only when he'd put a hand on her back had she fallen into silence.
"Uh . . . I can see if I can work that for you," Liz said. She seemed surprised by Rebecca, too. "Anyway, please let me know anything you guys find."
"Absolutely," Damon said, beginning to show the girls back into the house. He was going to show Liz out.
As soon as the sheriff was gone, Stefan shoved Damon against the door. "What is wrong with you? You killed somebody?"
"Get off me," Damon said, shoving back.
Oh, brotherly love, Rebecca thought, wryly.
"A, don't touch me," Damon said. "B, if I had, I wouldn't be so obvious about it. And C, there's another vampire in town."
"That's impossible," Stefan countered.
"Obviously not," Damon and Rebecca said, both with the same snarky attitude.
"Well, who could it be? How are we supposed to find this person?" Stefan asked.
Rebecca looked at Stefan as if he'd suddenly come down with a small case of stupidity. "Uh, vampire compass, hello!" She shrugged. "Simple solution. Just give it to me and I'll go -"
"You're not going by yourself," Damon interrupted.
"Well, you can't come with me; you'll interfere with the signal."
"So we'll get somebody else to do it."
"Somebody like . . ."
"Caroline," Damon said, shrugging.
"No," this time Rebecca talked with Stefan.
"She's human," Rebecca said. "She could get hurt."
"You're human, you could get hurt," Damon said, turning her words around on her. "Your life is more valuable."
Rebecca looked heavenward, praying for patience. "That's not how it works, Damon, and that's not what I meant. She's a regular human - nothing to help her if she gets in trouble."
Damon rolled his eyes. "I'm not not going to ask her to fight anyone. I just want her to find 'em. Besides, it's daylight. Me and Stefan are the only ones in town who can walk in the sun."
"While you two argue, I'm gonna go warn Elena," Stefan said. "Work it out, it's good for you."
Damon and Rebecca gave Stefan the same exasperated look as he walked out the front door. Then Damon was calling Caroline. Rebecca supervised him and made sure he wasn't making her do anything that could get her killed. As he'd said, he didn't want her to confront any vampires; he just wanted her to find the person.
"Blondie's coming to get it after school."
"You compelled her over the phone," Rebecca said. "How do you compel someone over the phone?"
"A new vampire can't." Damon shrugged. "But, since I am very old, I don't have a problem."
"Hm. I just don't understand why she answered the phone. If you treated me the way you treat her, I would never speak to you again."
"Yes, you would. I would bug you until you gave in."
Rebecca rolled her eyes. He had totally missed the point. The point had been she didn't think it was right of him to treat Caroline the way he did. No, Rebecca wasn't going to tell him what to do, but Caroline's blood had kept him alive for a few weeks; he should at least be grateful.
Around four o'clock that day Damon found himself in the warehouse district of downtown Mystic Falls. Caroline had called to tell him where the compass had led her and he'd met her there. He'd compelled her to forget he'd even asked her to do something for him.
Only Rebecca knew where he was, and that was only because he'd been with her when he'd gotten the call from Blondie. Damon went into the dark warehouse and realized a human wouldn't be able to see inside very well. It was completely dark.
Within ten seconds of going inside, Damon was on his knees. Someone had shot him four times - once in each shoulder and once in each knee.
Fuck! And they were wooden bullets too.
Damon, grunting in pain, fell to his side to take the pressure off his knees and glanced up.
Logan Fell stood in front of him. Logan Fell, who was supposed to be dead-dead, not vampire dead, had a gun in his hands. It didn't matter, though because Damon already had murderous thoughts in his mind because the little bastard had shot him. Four times. And it hurt like a bitch.
"I have tons of these wooden bullets, so nothing funky," Logan warned.
"You don't wanna do this, trust me," Damon said, feeling a fresh bout of pain as he dug a bullet out of his left shoulder with his fingers.
Logan shot him again, this time in his left bicep.
"Ow!" If only Damon could move, he'd rip Logan's head off.
"That's what you get!"
"For what?"
"You made me like this," Logan accused, squatting down in front of the injured Damon.
"I killed you, but I didn't turn you." He couldn't stand the man, why would he have turned him?
Damon held his breath to keep from screaming as he dislodged the bullet from his arm.
"See, I know what you and your brother are. I've been watchin' the two of you. I know you'd show up here and I'm glad you did, because I have some questions."
"Me first. Who turned you?" Damon removed another bullet. Two more and he'd be well enough to at least get out of here and into the sun where Logan couldn't follow.
"How should I know? Last thing I remember is I'm about to stake your brother and then you grab me. That's it."
Another bullet gone. Just gotta keep him talking, Damon thought. He really wanted to kill Logan and make it where he wouldn't come back this time.
"Until I wake up in the ground behind a used-car dealership on Highway 4. Somebody buried me."
"It happens."
"You bit me. It had to be you."
"You have to have vampire blood in your system when you die. I didn't do that. Some other vampire found you, gave you their blood."
Damon fell back, exhausted. Holy hell, getting shot hurt even worse when you were a vampire. At least when he'd been human he'd died quickly. In the back of his mind he was worried about Rebecca, but he knew that this wouldn't have any lasting damage on either of them. The night Stefan had staked him in the stomach he'd gone to Rebecca's when he was well enough to move, and she'd been fine. If she'd known anything was wrong it hadn't hurt her permanently; she'd be fine.
"Who?" Logan said to Damon's earlier statement.
"That's what I wanna know." Damon hadn't changed Logan, and Stefan hadn't, so that meant that there was at least one more vampire in town that they didn't know about.
"Dude, it's not like the welcome wagon was out waiting with a Bundt cake and a handbook. It's been a learn as you go process. You know one minute I'm a small-town on-the-rise news guy . . . and next thing I know, I can't get into my house because my foot won't go through the door!"
"You have to be invited in."
"I know. So now I'm at the Ramada watching pay-per-view all day, eating everything in sight including housekeeping. All I can think about is blood. And killing people. I can't stop killing people. I keep killing, and I like it. I'm conflicted."
"Welcome to the club."
Damon finally got the last bullet out and felt his body healing slower than normal due to blood loss. He needed some of the red elixir now, so he could kill Logan for even thinking of shooting him. Insane bastard.
"Wait a minute. The cops only found one body."
"I left one. I was tired. I've been hiding the rest of the bodies. They're right back there. They're just piling up."
"Oh, you're kidding . . ."
Damon looked to where Logan was gesturing. Sure enough, there were about ten bodies there, mostly girls. Oh, God, Logan was another Stefan; he wasn't able to control himself apparently. Damon might've considered helping the guy if he hadn't shot the hell out of him. But, no, the only thing he wanted to do was kill the guy, and slowly at that.
Damon was going to make him suffer first.
Rebecca had fainted again. She'd felt Damon's pain again, because he was in trouble again. He got in more trouble than anyone she'd ever met.
It had been like the time Stefan had staked Damon. She'd seen everything. She'd felt everything.
Logan Fell was alive and a vampire. And he thought Damon had turned him. Damon wouldn't have, because Logan was a problem. He knew about the Salvatore brothers and would use it against them. Logan had been hoarding victims; he'd killed so many people in so little time. It hadn't even been a month since Damon had killed him, which meant it hadn't been a month since he'd become a vampire.
How had he become a vampire? Who had done it? How many vampires were really in Mystic Falls that she didn't know about? How many vampires did she have to worry about, and what where they here for? Was this just a mystical hot spot?
Was it going to be like 1864 all over again with vampires everywhere?
No, her family was here. Her friends were here. She wouldn't let it get that bad.
She couldn't.
Okay, so here's the latest offering. LOL. I know that in the show Damon attacked Bonnie, but in this Damon doesn't need the necklace from her so he has no reason to. So . . . this is going to be a little different in that Bonnie isn't going to be hating Damon for attacking her. But don't worry, it won't changed Bonnie's attitude much.
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