Chapter Fifty-Three
The night before the Founder's Day parade, Damon and Rebecca made love in the shower once and then twice in the bed. Rebecca had been the one to initiate it because she had almost nothing to worry about and she could really focus on him and his needs. It wasn't a disaster, not like the last time she'd initiated sex.
After the second time in the bed, Damon stayed inside her even though they were both sated; they liked the feeling of being so close. Damon made a trail of butterfly kisses down her jawline and licked the little bit of blood she had on her from his multiple bites.
"Mm . . ." She was completely satisfied. "We're good at this."
Damon chuckled. It sent shivers through both of them. Then he said, "Well, you have a good teacher."
"Agreed. High marks for us both."
He kissed her again before moving off of her and to the side. Damon noticed her emerald eyes were sparkling even though she looked tired. He'd worn her out.
Within minutes they were both breathing evenly and sleeping deeply.
Rebecca was standing outside the building that had been Grayson Gilbert's doctor's office. She was alone unless she included her mother, who couldn't be there because her mother was dead.
But she was there. Same green eyes, same honey-blond hair. Both qualities had been passed down to Rebecca and Chelsea.
"Mom?"
"You have to know what to see."
Then all in quick succession, like flashes, she saw John Gilbert, Mayor Lockwood, and the sheriff. Liz was on one side, the two men were on the other.
Next was Anna. She looked worried and she said, "A lot of people are gonna die."
Then there was Bonnie, who was saying, "I couldn't do what she wanted me to do. And when Elena finds out, she's never going to forgive me." There was a quick flash of Bonnie in the parlor of the boardinghouse in front of the fireplace de-spelling the Gilbert device.
Then Rebecca was suddenly in an old building, in the basement maybe. She wasn't alone here. There were other vampires, some of the ones from the tomb, the ones that had been left behind. John was there with a stake in his hand. There was a smell of gasoline.
Near the staircase was Anna, who was looking up at John and, a few feet away, on the opposite side of the room was Damon.
John was planning something; he wanted to get rid of all the vampires.
Rebecca's eyes flew open when the information clicked. They were all in trouble.
Rebecca realized that her heart was pounding triple time and she focused on breathing properly. She got up and went straight for a piece of paper. She needed to be able to remember everything.
Damon didn't have paper in his room, unless she counted the first edition books Damon had. She had more respect for books than to use one as a notebook, so she had to leave the room.
When she got back, she saw Damon was sitting up in bed running a hand through his already messed up hair.
"What're you doing?" he asked, sleep still in his voice.
"I had a dream, I have to write it down."
At any other time, Damon probably would've made a dirty comment about the dream, but now he could see that she was serious because she was frantically writing down whatever she'd seen.
"What happened?" Damon asked. "What do we need to look out for?"
To Damon's knowledge, Rebecca had never had a premonition due to her Slayer thing. How ironic that they wanted to start up now that she was a vampire.
"My mom," she said. "I saw my mom. She was warning me. And John Gilbert, he's going to try and kill every vampire in this town - including you."
Damon watched Rebecca close her eyes and then take a deep soothing breath.
"Anna, you, gasoline. Bonnie, the device. The mayor and the sheriff. That was all I got. I don't know what everything leads to, but something's going to happen and it's gonna be because of John."
Gasoline was probably going to lead to fire. The vampires were going to be burned to death in a building. John Gilbert was going to be the one to try and pull it off.
"I know I promised not to ask, but . . . whatever you're planning on doing to him . . . do you think you can get it done before whatever this is happens?" Damon asked.
"If everything is taken care of . . . yes." Rebecca sighed. She should've known she couldn't keep things from Damon. "Diana is helping me. She owed me. Once everything is taken care of . . . John will be just a footnote in history."
Damon nodded. He could appreciate using any means necessary to get the job done. But . . . "Are you sure you can trust her?"
"No, but she knows if she betrays me that she'll end up dead. I think she values her life too much to do anything too underhanded."
Rebecca didn't sleep much the rest of the night; she kept obsessing over her dream. She'd never had a prophetic dream before. She didn't really know what she was supposed to do. Where the flashes from her dream literal representations or should she be taking things symbolically?
She even obsessed over it when she went to help Elena with her dress at the school. Jenna was already there lacing up the corset, and Elena did not look happy.
Rebecca helped Elena fix the sash the way it was supposed to be done, and Elena grimaced.
"Ow. This dress hurts," the brunette said.
"Medieval torture device, I'm telling you," Rebecca muttered, distracted.
Elena's dress was made of all different shades of green. The dress itself was a dark forest-green; the other layers and her accessories were an almost yellow-green.
"Suck it in, baby," Jenna told Elena playfully.
Elena placed her necklace around her neck and Rebecca watched Elena's new curly hair bounce whenever she moved. Rebecca noticed Elena looked more like Katherine now than she ever had before. Only the eyes were different now.
Outside the school, Damon saw cheerleaders . . . well . . . cheering. There were teenage guys dressed in Union and Confederate uniforms carrying replicas of Civil War rifles; Carol Lockwood was telling the marching band they were in the wrong place.
"The marching band is in front of the historical society."
Then the woman told Matt that it was time for him to get on the float. She bossed around a few volunteers and went in search of the rest of the parade committee.
Then Damon saw Stefan. "Look at you, all retro."
Stefan was in a costume that would've been his normal attire when he'd been human.
"What're you doin' here?" Stefan asked.
"Why wouldn't I be here? Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention, Isobel's gone, and it's Founder's Day."
"Hm. Where's Chelsea?"
"With Robert," Damon said nonchalantly. "Rebecca and I will get her back later." Robert had conveniently decided to stay until the old Salvatore house was done being rebuilt. Damon smirked a little. "What about Elena? Have you told her who John is yet?"
Stefan's jaw twitched in irritation.
"That'd be a no," Damon muttered under his breath. "I'd be happy to help, but . . ."
"Don't start with me, Damon."
"Oh, you started it, Stefan, with your whole "leave Elena alone" speech. I'm still enjoying that."
"As long as you heard it."
"Wait, huh?" Damon placed a hand to his ear, pretending he couldn't hear. "What?" Stefan didn't even smile. "You have no sense of humor, Stefan."
"Actually, I just have no sense of Damon humor."
"Damon humor?"
Stefan began walking away and Damon followed him, deciding to give up on the charade.
"Look, I promise I don't intend to hurt Elena, okay? Just because you killed my girlfriend doesn't mean I'm gonna kill yours. She's my friend," Damon said. Friendship meant something to him.
Their conversation was cut short because Elena, along with Rebecca, came toward them and both Salvatore brothers were struck speechless by Elena's period dress. The dark green had blended to an almost murky brown because of the sun hitting the material.
When Elena saw them she curtsied shyly and playfully. Rebecca smiled at the gesture and the two girls stopped in front of them.
"She's all ready," Rebecca said.
"Uh . . . Elena, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Stefan asked.
Elena nodded and the two went off on their own. Rebecca watched on curiously and a little worried.
"Is everything okay?" she asked Damon, who had an almost sad expression on his face.
"No. Everything is just terrible. I don't even know -"
"What happened?" Oh, God, somebody had died . . . again.
"You didn't even kiss me when you saw me. I just feel so neglected."
Rebecca let a laugh escape and she sighed with relief. Damon was just being Damon. He was being his goofy adorable self.
Rebecca quickly remedied the fact that he felt neglected by searing him with a very passionate, should've-been-done-in-private, kiss.
"Better?" she asked softly, holding onto his arms and squeezing gently.
"Much."
"Good. I promise to never neglect you again." She looked over toward Stefan and Elena. "But something is going on. What did Stefan have to say?"
"We think John Gilbert is Elena's birth father. Or I do; Stefan wants proof."
"Oh." Rebecca didn't know what to say because she'd figured that out already. All the clues pointed to John being the dad. "Well . . . can't say I didn't see that one coming."
Damon grinned. "So there is another person who can put two and two together."
"Oh, yes. I'm very good at that."
Rebecca felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket so she pulled it out. "Jeremy," she said before answering.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, uh . . . are you busy?"
"Not really. I'm at the school, where you should be."
"Yeah, I'm on my way, but I have something important to say. Anna came over earlier and -"
"How is Anna? I mean, with her mother and everything."
"She's . . . coping." She heard Jeremy sigh. "John killed her mother. He killed Pearl. He doesn't understand; he hates all vampires."
"I know."
"He's just doing what he thinks is right. I do understand where he's coming from. Anna told me the vampires from the tomb want revenge on this town; John's trying to protect it."
"No, what I do is protecting this town. You can't kill a whole -"
"Shh!" Damon hissed, and she gave him an apologetic grimace.
"What I mean is you can't blame a whole . . . species . . . for something only a few members have done."
"I know. I'm not defending him. I was just saying . . . don't get angry."
"I'm not angry, I just . . . He was in on a plot that could've gotten me killed, I think."
"He what?" Jeremy asked.
Rebecca didn't answer since he obviously knew what she'd said. He'd heard her right the first time. And her snapping had almost nothing to do with John himself; it had to do with her planning to kill John. He was Jeremy's uncle and Elena's father.
Jeremy and Elena would hate her if she went through with her plan. But John needed to be taken care of.
After Rebecca got off the phone with Jeremy she went over to Elena and Stefan. Elena seemed to be in shock.
"John?" the brunette asked. Apparently Stefan had given her the news. "Is - is that even possible?"
"Well, there's no proof, but he dated Isobel when he was a teenager and he was the one who brought her to your dad's office for the delivery."
"My whole life I've never liked this man. I -" Elena swept her curls back from her face.
God, with the wavy hair she really did remind Rebecca of Katherine. She knew Damon and Stefan must've noticed.
"I'm sorry," Stefan said. "I just wanted to tell you before Damon dropped it on you in some typically inappropriate way."
"No, I'm happy that you told me," Elena said. "I just - I really hope that it's not true. What am I supposed to do? Do I just confront him and say "Are you my biological father?"
"Well, I guess when you're ready," Stefan said.
"I'm never gonna be ready."
"Play dumb," Rebecca said. "Pretend you don't know anything."
"No, it's just . . . I have enough problems with the family that I actually care about. Jeremy hates me, and why wouldn't he? My journal gave him every reason to."
"Yeah, about that," Rebecca said, becoming distracted with a new topic. "Why do you write about that in your diary? Anybody could read it. Hence your problem with Jeremy."
Both Stefan and Elena glared at her and she honestly didn't know what they were staring at.
"What?"
Stefan shook his head and said, "Nothing. You just . . . when you were human you had no problem speaking your mind and letting people know what you thought about certain things they did. That's magnified now."
Stefan turned his attention back to Elena and said, "Jeremy's hurt, he's confused."
"He's never gonna forgive me for Vicki. For taking away his memory, for lying to him."
"He's your brother," Stefan said. "He'll forgive you."
Says the guy who's got a brother who hates him again for killing his girlfriend, Rebecca thought.
"Just give him some time," Stefan said.
"Like 145 years worth of time?" Rebecca asked.
"Rebecca . . ." Stefan said warningly. "You're being difficult on purpose."
Rebecca smiled cheesily. "Yes, I am."
A few minutes later Jeremy walked by. He'd sort of appeared out of nowhere so Rebecca assumed that Anna had brought him here.
"Hey! I was wondering where you were," Elena said. "You look great."
Jeremy was wearing an old Confederate uniform. It was dirty, but it fit him. He was only fifteen, but it still fit him.
"You guys did a really great job on the float."
"Go away, Elena," Jeremy said.
"Jeremy, come on, please. I don't want it to be like this between us."
Elena followed Jeremy, but Rebecca and Stefan stayed put. They were going to eavesdrop.
"Then why don't you get Damon to erase my memories again? Then I could go back to being your in-the-dark little brother."
"Jer, please."
Rebecca watched as Jeremy began walking away from Elena, but the brunette grabbed his arm.
"Elena, just don't. You can't fix this that easily. Something like this doesn't just . . . get fixed."
This time Elena just let Jeremy go. There really wasn't much she could to. Rebecca wanted to go over there and say she'd told Elena how it would end if she got Damon to erase Jeremy's memories, but she wasn't that mean.
Carol Lockwood came to tell Elena to head to the float and Stefan made his way to his girlfriend.
Rebecca found Damon in the crowd and went to stand with him. She was, again, thankful for the necklace that allowed her to walk in the sun. She couldn't have been here otherwise. Though, truthfully, she was getting annoyed by all the noise from the marching band. And she was getting hungry. Being in a crowd wasn't helping things at all. All these people, and her wanting to feed . . . not a good combination.
The float that Tyler had been in charge of, the one that was a reenactment of the Battle of Willow Creek, went by with Tyler and Jeremy on it. Then came the float that held Elena and Stefan, Caroline and Matt, along with the other Miss Mystic Falls candidates and their escorts.
Caroline was wearing a poofy yellow dress; Elena was in her green dress; the other two runner ups were in white. Caroline was totally soaking up the attention. Rebecca thought this was good for the blond. She would be less apt to feel second best now.
Elena was waving at the crowd, and at specific people; Rebecca, Damon, and Bonnie specifically. Bonnie had stopped behind Damon and Rebecca.
When Damon looked at Bonnie, she said. "What d'you want?"
"Just watchin' the parade."
Bonnie didn't smile or blink. She just turned to walk away.
"Where're you going?" Damon asked.
"Away from you."
"Wait. I wanna say somethin' to you."
"Just leave me alone."
"Thank you," Damon said.
Rebecca looked at Damon; he was being sincere.
"The device that Emily spelled could've killed me," Damon said. "I don't take what you did lightly, so . . . Thank you."
Rebecca didn't say it, but she was really proud of Damon. She knew he hadn't agreed with de-spelling the device just so they could give it to Isobel so she could give it to John, and yet here he was thanking her anyway. Because the device could've been used to hurt Damon and her and Stefan. Bonnie had deactivated it, though, rendering it useless.
"I did it for Elena," Bonnie said, watching Damon closely, like she was waiting for the punchline of a very bad joke.
"I know that, but I'm still very grateful. And I owe you."
Damon was being very sincere and he didn't even seem uncomfortable about it. This was how Damon would've acted, Rebecca was fairly certain, if he'd been human at the moment. This was the reason she had fallen for him to begin with back in 1864.
Bonnie was still looking at him as if she didn't know him. Damon, though, wasn't joking at all.
"Enjoy the parade," Damon said.
Rebecca felt his hand on her back and she turned where Damon directed her to go. When they were together but away from Bonnie, she grabbed Damon's hand and squeezed. She turned to him and smiled before kissing his cheek.
"I love you," she whispered in his ear. "Very, very much."
Damon gave an almost imperceptible nod and smiled softly.
Jokingly, Rebecca nipped his ear. "Is it bad that watching you do that made me want you?"
Damon rolled his eyes. "Out of all the things I do that could make you want me . . . that turns you on?"
"Yup." More seriously now, she said, "Damon, I'm hungry."
Damon looked around and realized that there was no lack of people to choose from.
"You want to fresh feed?" he asked softly. "I can show you how."
Damon watched Rebecca bite her lip and nod hesitantly. Damon knew what was going through her mind. She didn't want to kill anyone or hurt anyone, but this was the only way she'd be able to feed now. And she needed to learn some time.
"Okay, but don't let me hurt anyone, okay?"
"I promise," he reassured. "Now pick someone."
Well, she couldn't drink from Jeremy or Matt and she didn't want to drink from Tyler. Besides, all three were on floats.
She then thought about Ric and his nifty little come-back-to-life ring. But no . . . Ric was sort of her friend, and she wouldn't eat her friends. Well, unless they were willing; that would be a different story.
Damon watched her scan the crowd, and her eyes stopped on a young woman, twenty-something. She was already wearing a scarf, so they wouldn't have to worry about that little detail.
Damon went up to the woman, compelled her to follow him to the alleyway by the Grill. Rebecca was waiting there for him.
"What is this?" the woman asked.
"Never you mind. You won't remember this after we're done," Damon said, still compelling her.
He gave Rebecca the go-ahead and watched as Rebecca took the scarf off of the woman. Rebecca's eyes were glued to the woman's neck.
"Nice and easy," Damon said, while also keeping an ear out for anyone who might happen by.
Damon had to watch Rebecca closely. This was her first time feeding from an actual person. Her instincts would make her go straight for the carotid artery, but that would kill this woman. Rebecca didn't have the experience of controlling blood flow, so it was best to stay away from any main veins or arteries.
Once Damon showed Rebecca where to bite, Rebecca was able to bite without much fear of killing the woman she was drinking from. It tasted as good at it did the first time, maybe even better this time because it was fresh. But Rebecca couldn't let herself focus on how good the blood tasted; she wouldn't be able to stop if she did.
After Rebecca was satisfied - or at least satisfied enough to be able to control her hunger in a crowd - she compelled the woman to go home and rest. Take vitamins, drink orange juice.
"You're a terrible vampire," Damon said, and Rebecca shrugged.
Rebecca and Damon made their way to the Grill - Rebecca was clean as far as her face and clothes went, but she needed to wash her mouth out to be sure someone wouldn't see red if she happened to speak.
Elena was coming out of the girls bathroom as Rebecca went in. Elena was no longer in her 1864 dress.
"I like you better like this," Damon said. "Period look, it didn't suit you."
"Is that an insult?" Elena asked.
"Actually, Elena, it is a compliment of the highest order."
Elena smiled and shook her head. "Look . . . I know Stefan is worried about our . . . friendship."
Well, that was a lead in if there ever was one . . .
"Did he say something to you too?" Damon asked.
"No." Elena became serious. "Did he mention something to you?"
"No. Nothing worth repeating."
The brunette looked past Damon and he followed her gaze. Jeremy was sitting at a table eating French fries.
"Damon, I have to go, but what I was going to say was I know Stefan's worried about our friendship, so . . . let's try to ease his mind. Don't make me regret being your friend, okay?"
Those were some of the more sincere words Elena had said to him. He nodded because he hadn't been lying when he'd told Stefan that he considered Elena to be a very good friend.
Elena touched Damon's arm when she walked away, and he watched her go over to Jeremy.
"I don't believe that we can't fix this," the brunette said when she reached her brother. "I lied, I was wrong. But you're my brother, Jer, and I love you, and I have to fix it. So just tell me, what can I do?"
Damon noticed that Jeremy looked his way before looking back at his sister. "You can go to hell, Elena."
Jeremy got up, walked away from Elena and past Damon. Damon followed the juvenile with his eyes. He really didn't understand why Jeremy was giving Elena such a hard time. Elena hadn't been the one to take away his memories. She'd only requested it.
Without much thought, Damon began following the youngest Gilbert. Once outside, he started walking right behind Jeremy.
"I have so many emotions, but I don't have any way to express them," Damon mocked the teen. "Being a teenager is so hard."
"Dick."
"You do not talk to me like that. I'm not your sister. And from now on -" Damon jerked Jeremy around so they would be face to face "- don't talk to your sister that way either."
"So, what? Are you gonna kill me just because I hurt Elena's feelings?"
"Cut her some slack."
"She erased my memories."
"No, I did. She was protecting you."
Damon was silent for a moment, hoping he was getting through to the kid. But it wasn't to be, it seemed.
"That wasn't her call to make," Jeremy said, turning around.
Damon grabbed his arm again. God, why was Rebecca friends with this idiot?
"Let go of me before I cause a scene," Jeremy threatened.
"You'd be unconscious before you even got a word out."
To give Jeremy credit . . . the kid didn't flinch. Then Stefan appeared out of nowhere.
"Let him go."
Damon rolled his eyes, but let the kid go anyway.
"What my brother is trying to say is don't blame Elena for this. Damon's blood turned Vicki. I killed her. She was a threat to you and she was a threat to your sister. I'm sorry that it happened and I wish that it hadn't."
"You shouldn't have made me forget."
Damon watched Jeremy walk away thinking that his attempt to help Elena get back in her brother's good graces hadn't gone as planned.
"What're you doin'?" Stefan asked him.
"He's bein' a punk," Damon said.
"Elena's relationship with her brother is none of your business, so stay out of it."
"Oh, there's only one do-gooder hero role available. My bad. I'm sorry," Damon said, laughing sarcastically.
"Get over yourself. We both know that you're not doing this for the right reasons."
"Then what are the right reasons, Stefan. Enlighten me, please." Damon crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
"See, Damon . . . it's only real when it come from your desire to do the right thing, for nothing in return."
"Right," Damon agreed.
"And I know that is an entirely foreign concept to you. I completely understand why you wouldn't get it."
Stefan gave him a smug grin. Damon was sure Stefan had learned that from him. Before Stefan could walk away happy, Damon grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and leaned in close.
"Before you get all righteous . . . let's not forget who killed my girlfriend, yeah?"
The grin faded from Stefan's face, and Damon pushed him away roughly. Just because he and his brother had worked together on the Isobel thing didn't mean things were okay between them. Things weren't okay on an epic scale. Rebecca may have been able to forgive Stefan, but Damon wasn't as understanding.
After Rebecca had made herself presentable - meaning she got the blood out of her mouth - she went in search of anyone she knew. Bonnie was at a table with Elena and Caroline; Tyler was playing pool with a few of the football players, and Rebecca didn't know where Matt was. Maybe changing back into present day clothes.
Ric was at the bar and he nodded her way when she waved. Rebecca smiled when she saw Jenna beside him. They must've just ordered something and were now waiting for their food.
Rebecca went to the table her friends were seated around and took a seat herself.
"You guys looked great up on the float," she said to Elena and Caroline.
Caroline gushed and Elena smiled softly.
"Where's Damon?" Bonnie asked.
Rebecca shrugged. "Around. Somewhere. We're not attached at the hip, you know."
Meanwhile, Damon was contemplating who to annoy to make himself feel better. It was getting dark now and many people were gathering on the grass in the town square. There was going to be a fireworks display around nine that night. The mayor would do a speech and then the fireworks would start.
Damon suddenly felt a presence behind him so he turned around. Anna was there.
"You're still around?" Damon asked. He'd thought that since her mother had been killed that she would've been long gone.
Anna looked around, grabbed his arm and began leading him away from the crowd.
"There's something you need to know. The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight."
"How do you know this?"
"I went to them. They think I'm with them, but I'm not. They want the founding families dead."
Elena, Jeremy, Tyler, and his parents, Caroline and her mom, the Fells. A lot of Rebecca's friends. Damon didn't know if Rebecca herself counted as a Founding family member, because her mom had given up the legacy when she'd married Robert, but Damon wasn't going to chance it.
"When is this supposed to happen?"
"When the fireworks start."
"John Gilbert wants to use that invention on 'em," Damon said. It made sense; if John knew all the vampires were going to be in the same spot, what better way to take them out at once.
"Then we can't be here," Anna said.
"It doesn't work. It's been deactivated," Damon assured her.
"Well, then a lot of people are gonna die."
"I'm aware." Damon wasn't going to let this happen, not to his town and not to his humans. Because that's what Damon had come to think of them as. His. "Where are they right now?"
"They're already here, Damon. And they're dressed as civilians, so . . . it'll be hard to separate them from the rest."
"Damn it."
Damon got his phone out of his pocket and called Ric's number.
"Yeah?"
"You keep those nifty little vamp weapons in your car?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Because the square is crawling with tomb vampires. I think we might need a stake or two."
"Yeah. Got it."
"Go. I'll find you."
"Excuse me, Rebecca, may I borrow you for a minute?" Rebecca looked up at the familiar male voice and saw Alaric Saltzman.
"Sure. More than a minute, even," she replied, smiling. "I'll be back, guys."
Ric placed a hand on her back and led her to the least crowded place in the Grill.
"What's up?"
"Damon just called me. He said the tomb vampires are here. I'm going to get my weapons from the car. Wanna join?"
"Of course. You don't even have to ask."
Rebecca was finally getting the chance to get back at them for kidnapping her and torturing her and almost killing her.
"Okay . . . I'm gonna call my dad and tell him to get Chelsea out of here. Uh . . ."
Before she called her dad she texted Stefan telling him to get his ass to the Grill so he could get Elena home. She wasn't too worried about Bonnie; Bonnie could hold her own. Caroline was with Matt, who had been changing like Rebecca had earlier thought. Tyler was still playing pool. Jeremy was missing. Maybe she would call him too. Or not. Elena would take care of that. She wouldn't leave Jeremy here once she knew there was danger.
"Come on. I'll call my dad as we walk."
Across town, in the old doctor's office, Damon was confronting John Gilbert. Whatever happened, whoever got hurt, it would be on John.
John was doing something with the device, Damon didn't know what. He could hear the mayor making his speech and then the fireworks. Whatever was going to happen . . . it was happening now.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Damon asked, and John turned to him.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."
John turned back to the device and fiddled with it again. It looked like he was putting another piece in it. And like that Damon's head was filled with screeching. Like nails on a chalkboard. Then the pain started. His brain was on fire and it was being stabbed, that was what it felt like.
He was aware of someone screaming; it took him a few seconds to realize it was him doing the screaming. A few seconds later, the pain stopped but was replaced by another pain. John had filled him with vervain.
Before Damon passed out he realized Rebecca's dream had come true. Or was about to come true. John was trying to kill all the vampires, and Bonnie hadn't deactivated the Gilbert device.
They were all going do die.
Meanwhile, Rebecca had been with Ric at his car waiting for Damon to show up. All of a sudden an intense pain filled her head. The worst migraine known to man multiplied by infinity.
She grasped her head in both hands and almost fell to her knees.
"Whoa!" Ric said, catching her. "Rebecca? What's going on? What's happening?"
"My head." Rebecca groaned and screamed. "Please make it stop!"
Ric didn't know what was happening, but it wasn't only Rebecca it was happening to. Other people were falling down and then being stuck with needles - vampires were being dosed with vervain.
Well, the tomb vampires deserved to be dealt with, but Rebecca hadn't hurt anyone. She hadn't had a choice in whether or not she'd become a vampire.
"God, what's that noise?" Rebecca yelled.
Ric knew if she didn't quiet down someone would come for her. He had to get her out of there. Ric grabbed her up and held her head against his chest to muffle her screams. He helped her into his car and just held her for a minute. Her screaming didn't cease. He knew the merciful thing would've been to knock her out - he had a dart full of vervain so it could be done - but he would need her to help find the others once everything had quieted down.
"Rebecca, hey, you need to calm down. If they hear you, they'll come."
Rebecca clenched her mouth shut and that was when Ric got a stupid but brilliant idea. He put his wrist to her mouth and nodded when she looked at him.
"Go ahead."
Ric didn't know why, but he trusted this girl not to kill him. He may have had a come-back-to-life ring, but he would never have to worry about using it with her.
"Vervain?" she said through clenched teeth.
"I don't ingest it."
Ric watched her face change and felt a small pain when her fangs entered his flesh. Then there was a small pleasure when she began to suck. It was the pleasure he imagined mothers had when they fed their baby from their breasts. The pleasure of giving, nourishing.
Rebecca had her fangs in Ric's wrist for maybe thirty seconds and then she let go. She no longer seemed to be in any pain.
"Good?" he asked.
"Tasty," she said, smiling softly. "I'm fine now. But -"
"Stefan and Damon. I know."
Rebecca couldn't stop thinking about what Ric had done for her. He seemed to keep saving her life - or keep helping to save her life. That one night at the park; the tomb vampires; Chase; and now this. He'd literally put his life in her hands.
He'd trusted her enough to let her bite him just so she'd keep quiet, so she wouldn't be caught.
They found Stefan and Elena in a back alley and Elena seemed worried. "He just dropped," the brunette said.
"He's not the only one," Ric said. "Cops are grabbing everyone who's gone down. Injecting them with vervain."
"They're rounding up the vampires," Rebecca said. "John. He's doing this, this is his fault."
"Are you okay?" Elena asked Stefan.
"It's like needles were piercing my skull and then it just stopped," Stefan said.
"I saw at least five vampires go down," Ric said. "They're takin' 'am to your family's old building."
"My dad's office?" Elena asked, and Ric nodded.
"It's the Gilbert device. It has to be," Stefan said.
"But how did he get it to work? Bonnie unspelled it."
"Or maybe she didn't," Ric said.
I couldn't do what she wanted me to do. And when Elena finds out, she's never gonna forgive me.
"Bonnie!" Rebecca muttered, feeling a little piece of her heart break.
"No, we saw her do it," Elena said.
"No, they're right. Think about it," Stefan said. "We asked her to deactivate a device that protects people against vampires."
Rebecca felt a rage at her supposed friend. Bonnie had lied to them. Made them think she had taken the spell off of the device when she hadn't. And now . . .
"Where's Damon?" Stefan asked.
"I don't know," Ric said. "I haven't seen him since this started. He was supposed to meet me at my car but he never showed."
"You said they were taking the vampires to the doctor's office?" Rebecca asked, and Ric nodded. "I'm going. We have to hurry."
"Can you find my brother?" Elena asked Ric. "Take him home?"
"Of course."
Elena nodded. "Let's go."
At the office and in the basement, Damon came to hearing the annoying voice of John Gilbert. Damon could barely move, and when he did it was very slow.
"The device is done. The only thing keeping them down is the vervain. We don't have much time. Let's finish this."
Damon heard a splashing noise and looked for the source of the sound. Someone was pouring gasoline on the floor over the bodies. The vampires had been rounded up. John and another guy were the ones pouring gasoline everywhere. Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed John's ankle.
Anna. She'd been caught too. Damon did a quick once over and was relieved that Rebecca hadn't been caught.
John turned to his partner. "You can head up. I'll take it from here." The man listened and left.
Anna tried to get up but couldn't, and all Damon could do was watch. John took out a stake and stood above the girl. Anna shook her head. Damon knew the girl was trying to move; he also knew she couldn't. The vervain was too heavy in her system.
Damon felt the need to do something, help her in some way, but he couldn't move either. He watched, helpless to do anything, as John shoved the stake into Anna's heart.
John poured more gasoline as he walked up the stairs, leaving a trail behind him, and out the door. Then suddenly the place was on fire. A few people who had been directly in its path started screaming.
Damon forced himself to roll over, away from the flames, which brought him closer to more people, including the mayor.
"Mayor. Is that you?"
"What're you doin' here?" the mayor asked.
The mayor was bleeding from his ears. The man had obviously heard what Damon had heard. But the mayor wasn't a vampire - what was he?
"I'm a vampire," Damon said. "What's your excuse?"
The mayor backed away fearfully from Damon even though, had Damon wanted the man dead, he could've killed him at any time.
"No, really. The vervain didn't affect you. You're not a vampire, so what the hell are you?"
The mayor had backed into another vampire and this one did want him dead. Within seconds the Mayor's neck was broken.
The flames were getting closer and closer to Damon. The heat was intense; it felt like he was burning already. Damon was going to die here. He was thankful that Stefan and Rebecca weren't here with him.
Outside the office building Rebecca , Elena, and Stefan were confronting John Gilbert. As soon as they had gotten close enough to the building Rebecca and Stefan had been able to hear the flames.
God, my dream, Rebecca thought. It's happening for real.
"Damon!" she said. "Damon's in there."
"How d'you know?" Stefan asked.
"I know. I know," Rebecca repeated. She looked at John with hatred. "You did this."
"It's over for Damon."
"No."
"You're crazy," Elena said.
"Why?" John countered. "Because I'm doing what should've been done 145 years ago? This is the right thing, Elena."
Both Stefan and Rebecca had been fidgeting, both had been inching toward the building.
"Go ahead," John said. "You won't make it out. You'll save me the trouble of killing you myself."
Before Rebecca could stop herself she had punched John in the face. Neither Stefan nor Elena had stopped her.
"You know the building well, is there another entrance?" Stefan asked Elena.
"A utility door. There's one around the side."
Rebecca and Stefan took off and reached the door Elena had mentioned. Stefan opened the door and Rebecca was right behind him.
"Hey! You can't go in there!"
Rebecca didn't know where Bonnie had come from and she didn't really care. She didn't even want to see her right now.
"The fire will take you out."
"He's my brother, Bonnie," Stefan said.
While Stefan had stopped to say that, Rebecca had made it to the actual basement door and had burnt her hand on the door knob. She's yanked back at first but then had forced herself to open the door anyway.
Stefan pulled her back as fire came to life because of the oxygen. Fire was on the staircase.
"How're we supposed to get down?" Rebecca asked.
Then, as if on cue, the flames died down. Like magic. Bonnie. She was making up for lying to them.
Then Stefan and Rebecca raced downstairs and saw Damon; he was on all fours trying to get up.
"Damon!" Rebecca said, reaching him first. "Come on."
She helped him up. She was on one side; Stefan was on the other.
"Run," Stefan said.
As soon as they made it upstairs the fire came back to life.
"Oh, God. Oh, my God!"
Bonnie was no longer standing there in the alleyway, but John was. He was there to make sure they only rescued Damon, probably.
Rebecca let go of Damon so Stefan could get him out of there - it was a little hard matching pace with Stefan because he was slower than she was.
"This is the second time you've been part of a plan to take someone I love from me," she said, walking up to John.
The door to the basement was still open and Rebecca could still feel the heat from the fire. She began to stalk John, backing him toward the door.
"I understand what you were trying to do," she said softly. "I do. But you never should've tried to hurt Damon. That was your mistake."
Seeing that he was right where she wanted him to be, she grabbed his head and twisted hard enough to make his neck snap. Before he could hit the ground she caught him. She felt a little pang go through her at the thought of her killing someone, but what really got her was that she was going to keep him dead. He had a ring like Ric did; this could easily be fixed. But before she could change her mind, she grabbed the ring off of his finger and tossed him into the burning basement.
If she had really wanted him to suffer she could've left the ring on his finger so he'd wake up on fire and then die again. But she didn't want him to suffer, she just wanted him dead.
When she reached Damon, who could barely stand, Bonnie was there holding onto Elena's arm. Elena had probably been trying to get to Stefan, and Bonnie was keeping her in place.
Rebecca wasn't sure how she felt about Bonnie's betrayal. It wasn't that Bonnie hadn't taken the spell off of the device, it was that she had lied to them about it. If Bonnie had just . . . told them that the device was still active, none of this would've happened. Rebecca, Stefan, and Damon would've known to get the hell away from the town square before the device was activated. Damon wouldn't have almost died and . . .
But, on the other hand, Rebecca completely understood where Bonnie was coming from. If anything had happened to Damon Rebecca may have never forgiven Bonnie, but she understood why Bonnie hadn't deactivated the device. The tomb vampires were now dead because of it.
One good thing had come of this horrible situation, at least.
"Damon, are you okay?" Rebecca asked. "God, you could've died tonight! I don't know what I would've done if -"
Even though Damon had been the one to be stuck in the burning building, Rebecca was the one who had tears running down her face. Damon could've died, but here he was comforting her.
"Hey, I'm okay." Damon grabbed her, cupping her cheeks and bringing her closer. "I'm okay. Nothing a few blood bags won't cure."
"Yeah?"
Stefan broke into their little world and said, "We need to go. Someone called the cops, the fireman will show up soon. We can't be here."
Okay, so as we see in this chapter, I have no problem killing a character that I find useless or if I can get around without him in the future.
Let me know what you think.