Ch. V
Disclaimer – All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plots are the property of the creator. The director/author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I only do this for fun. ~*D*~
Author Note – I'm so sorry that its taken me a while to update but the chapter I'm working on is being a pain in the behind. (UGH) While I don't have the chapter I'm working on finished, I decided to update anyway. (Winks) I also hope everyone is keeping safe with this Covid-19 going around. My mother and I already got our first shots without any side effects except for a slight sore arm. (Smiles Brightly) And thanks to everyone who have left reviews. (Gives Thumbs Up) You guys are awesome and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter of Life & Death.
**POLLING RESULTS SO FAR**
Klaus/OFC – 9
Damon/OFC/Klaus – 9
Kol/Damon/OFC/Klaus – 7
Damon/OFC – 4
**POLL CLOSED**
Notes:
Personal Thoughts
"Phone Calls"
(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)
(Day Of The Car Wash, Gilbert House – 7:40 AM)
Being the weekend, Erica usually slept in late but with everything that had happened so far she was up bright an early. Not wishing to wake up Jenna or Jeremy, she headed out for a run, something she hadn't done in a while. As she dressed in her running outfit, she noticed Damon's little pet sitting on her window sill. Luck seemed to be on her side as she whispered to the crow to follow her once she was outside. The little shit was extremely smart because it was waiting on her and followed as she took off jogging away from her home and into the woods. People in Mystic Falls already knew she could be violent, they didn't need to think her crazy as well.
"Ok, Poe." Erica stated, turning to find the crow sitting on a fallen log. "Let's get something out of the way first off." She felt stupid for speaking to a crow, "We need a system of communication. Two caws for yes, one caw for no. Do you understand?" She waited for a few seconds, wondering if the crow would actually answer.
"Caw caw." Poe cawed, fluffing his wings as he tilted his head to the side.
Erica blinked, brows raised high on her forehead in surprise, "Alright then." She licked her lips, "Does Damon have a connection to you?"
"Caw caw." Poe cawed once more telling Erica that Damon did have a connection to this crow.
"Is he with you?"
Poe cocked his head, "Caw." He seemed almost hesitant to answer, "Caw caw."
"Um….." Erica frowned, trying to figure out what Poe meant. "Yes and No?" She pursed her lips, running a hand through her hair when it hit her, "Do you mean that he can see through you but is either asleep or doesn't have the energy?"
"Caw Caw!" Poe fluttered his wings excitedly as if he was praising her for her thinking.
Erica shook her head, chuckling, "This is so weird." She whispered to herself, "I never spoke to animals before." She reached forward, uncrossing her arms and stroking the feathers on Poe's chest, "Does Damon have any blood bags at the Boarding House?"
"Caw caw." Poe bobbed his head the best he could with her stroking his chest feathers.
"Good," Erica nodded, a plan forming in her mind as she thought about how to get away from the car wash without anyone following her. "Tell Damon to wait just a little longer and I'll get him out. He just better not eat me when I do." She winked at Poe, tapping the underside of his beak before heading off to continue her jog.
As she set a steady pace, she could feel eyes on her which meant a number of things. Such as Stefan was following her, trying to keep from being seen or Noah was stalking her since he hadn't gotten invited inside the house on his first attempt. Erica had no doubt he'd try again but the question was when was Noah going to try to get at her. With two thick wooden hair sticks holding up her hair, along with a scrunchie, she was more then ready for he made his move. Of course, it could also be Annabeth or Anna as she goes by watching her and trying to figure her out.
Deciding not to worry about it at the moment unless they attack her, Erica continued her steady pace as she grew closer to the house. Arriving home, she stopped out front of the house, bent over and caught her breathe as the odd feeling she had finally went away. Pushing what it could mean away, she headed inside to find Jenna up and in the kitchen fixing coffee. Quickly greeting Jenna, she hurried upstairs to grab the shower before Jeremy got up. Thankfully her brother was still sleeping when she stepped into the bathroom to take a shower.
After shedding her clothes, she climbed in to the hot water to ease her aching muscles. Having not ran in a while, her body wasn't use to the strain of running like she had been. In the back of her mind, she could hear Master Chi scolding her for letting her training go and not staying on top of it. With a chuckle, Erica shampooed her hair then conditioned it before cleaning the grim and sweat. When the door knob giggled, she told Jeremy she'd be right out as she rinsed off, stepped out and wrapped a towel around her before unlocking the door and headed to her bedroom.
As soon as she was in her room, she shut the adjoining bathroom door and locked it from her side before going about getting ready for the day. With not having school, she really didn't need to dress for school but Caroline would kill her if she didn't turn up for the car wash. Having already picked out the swimsuit she was going to wear, Erica decided to go ahead and put it on along with a pair of jean shorts and sheer black beach cover shirt before heading downstairs. Passing by Jeremy's room, she suddenly remembered the watch and that Logan would be trying to steal it soon.
If she was going to try and kept Logan from getting his hands on the watch then she would have to keep it hidden since it had been in Jeremy's possession when Logan found it on the TV show. Not wanting either Jenna or Jeremy to ask questions as to why she stole the watch from her brother, Erica decided to wait until they were both out of the house which was lucky since Jeremy was going to meet up with Chad later at the Grill and Jenna was suppose to be going on a date with Logan. Of course, Jenna didn't realize the entire date was a ruse for him to get into the house for the watch.
Thinking of something she had read in one of the many fanfictions of Vampire Dairies in her past life, Erica decided just what she was going to do as she continued downstairs. It wouldn't do any good for Jeremy to find her loitering outside his room without a logical explanation. Stepping off the stairs into the living room, however, she found Jenna dressed in a nice pair of faded jeans, royal blue short sleeve blouse and had both her makeup and hair done. Warning flags started going off as she cleared her throat to gain her aunt's attention.
"Please tell me you are not going to give that ass hat a second chance, Aunt Jenna?" Erica pleaded, dressed in her two-piece swimsuit and a pair of cut off jean shorts and a see through top she would usually wear at the beach then at home.
"Nope." Jenna answered with a shake of her head, "I'm going to string him along then turn him down." A sly smirk spread across her face as she posed, "How do I look?"
Erica gave her thumbs up, "Looking good." She hated knowing that Logan was using her aunt to get into the house, "Just don't fall for his bullshit. You told me yourself he was a sweet talker."
"I won't." Jenna promised, smoothing out the none existent wrinkles in her shirt, "What time is the car wash?" She did need to get her car washed and hadn't really had time to get it done.
"It starts at 9." Erica reminded her, having already told Jenna when the car wash started, "Caroline, of course, told us to arrive an hour early to make sure that every thing is perfect for when customers started showing up."
Jenna chuckled, shaking her head as she picked up her purse, "I'll make sure to one of the first in line." She told Erica, dropping a kiss on her cheek as she walked pass her, "Now wish me luck."
"Good luck but make sure the dick doesn't step foot in this house." Erica pursed her lips, deciding to warn her aunt the best she could, "I have a really odd feeling about him trying to get close to you. Carol Lockwood seemed rather disappointed when I arrived to the party without the pocket watch and now Logan Fell, who I know is on the council, wants access to the house." She shook her head, giving her aunt a sheepish look, "I'm sorry Aunt Jenna, I didn't mean to ruin your date."
"Don't." Jenna gave Erica a stern look, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm glad you told me." She walked over and hugged Erica, "I'm also proud of you for standing up for what you believe." She pulled back giving her a sad smile, "Now I'm still going but at least now I know what to expect." A grin spread across Jenna's face, her eyes sparkling with mischief, "He wont be getting anything from this house."
Erica chuckled, nodded as she followed her Aunt to the door, "Have fun, Jenna!" She called after her aunt before shutting the door, "Now, Jeremy." She whispered to herself as she made her way back upstairs, not knowing what she was going to find when she opened the door, "Jeremy, you up?" She called out, knocking on the door, "Come on, Ere. I need to talk to you."
"Just a minute!" Jeremy yelled through the door at her but it was the other voice that whispered harshly at Jeremy that had Erica's attention.
"Oh hell no." Erica whispered, trying to open the door only to find it locked, "Open this door Jeremy." She ordered, praying that she did not hear what she think she did.
There was mumbling coming from inside the room before the bathroom door opened. A smirk slid across Erica's face because she had locked her bedroom door and it only unlocked from the outside. Hearing the door unlock, she waited until her brother opened the door with a hesitant smile on his face when he saw her. She didn't say a word as she pushed pass him and jerked his bathroom door open. Inside the bathroom was none other then Vicki Donovan, who was quickly trying to redress and open the door to her room at the same time.
"You really are a stupid bitch, aren't you?" Erica professed as she stood in the bathroom's doorway, glaring at the older female, "Why the fuck are you here?"
"I'm dating your brother." Vicki stated bluntly, ignoring Jeremy who was shaking his head at her, "I love him."
Erica narrowed her eyes at the elder girl, "I don't think so molester." She sneered, walking over and punching Vicki in the face, "If I ever find you near my brother again, I'll do worse then mess that pretty little face up." She didn't let up on Donovan, who now was sporting a few bruises, "I also want those pain pills back."
"What?" Jeremy's eyes grew wide as he went to pry his sister off, only to stop when she pulled her pain pills from Vicki's jeans pocket, "Vic?"
"She doesn't need 'em, Jer." Vicki tried to reason with Jeremy, spitting blood from a cut lip on the bathroom floor, "I do."
Jeremy just stood there, staring at Vicki as if he was seeing her for the first time, "No, you don't." He swallowed, hoping with everything she did love him, "Is the only reason you came here because you knew there were old pain pills here for you to steal?"
"No!" Vicki tried to deny it, not realizing that Erica had gotten off of her and pulled out her phone, "I love you Jeremy. You have to believe me!" She climbed to her feet slowly due to the pain she was now in thanks to Erica.
"You do?" Erica spoke up, glaring at Vicki, "Then when I send Jeremy to rehab you can go with him." She stood as tall as she could, "Do you know why I don't like you, Vicki? Its because you have a little brother to take care of and all you do is cry about how life has been hard on you." Vicki tensed, glaring at Erica, "So what if your parents left you, grow the fuck up and take care of Matt. He doesn't need another problem to deal with on top of everything else." She grabbed Vicki by the back of the neck, hitting certain pressure points, "Now lets go. Someone's coming that wants to speak with you."
Jeremy's eyes grew wide, hurrying after his sister, "What did you do, Erica?"
"Something mom and dad would have done," Erica replied, dragging a rather pissed off Vicki by the back of the neck and arm down the stairs. "Do you really think they would approve of you hanging with her with everything she's been doing with her life?" She cut her eyes towards her brother, hearing a car door shut as flashing red and blue lights could be seeing coming through the windows.
"What the fuck!?" Vicki exclaimed as Erica opened the door and shoved her through it, "Just wait til I….." She wasn't able to finish her sentence when someone else spoke.
"Victoria Marie Donovan you are under arrest for statutory rape of a minor and providing said minor with illegal narcotics." Elizabeth Forbes stood behind Vicki, handcuffs in one hand while the other was resting on her taser.
"But I was willing!" Jeremy yelled, not caring who could hear when Liz slapped the handcuffs on Vicki, "She didn't force me into it."
Erica scoffed, "No, she just manipulated you into it." She grabbed her brothers shoulder, turning him to her, "I couldn't live with myself if I had allowed it to go on. You are my brother but you are only 16."
"You're only 17!" Jeremy countered, not seeing Vicki being 'helped' into the back of Liz's police car, "You had no right."
"Actually she did, Jeremy." Liz interrupted them, moving to stand next to the siblings, "While Jenna may be your guys' guardian," She motioned between then, "Erica is responsible for you. She has custody of you, not Jenna." She took a deep breathe, "Now are you really going to file suit against Vicki Donovan, Erica?"
Erica pursed her lips, "Yes." She looked pass Liz towards where Vicki was glaring at her, "It may just save her life."
"Alright." Liz nodded, turning her gaze to Jeremy, "Don't be mad at your sister, Jeremy. Erica is just trying to protect you." She nodded to the siblings before returning to her car and climbing in.
"Jeremy," Erica started only for Jeremy to shake his head as he headed back into the house. "Don't walk away from me, Ere! We need to talk." She told him, following after him and stopping him from shutting his bedroom door in her face.
Jeremy stood in the center of his room, staring at the wall in front of him with his back towards her, "What's to talk about." He spun around, glaring at her with hatred in his eyes, "You are trying to control me!"
"Oh bullshit!" Erica yelled back, shocked at the turn of events since she walked up here this morning, "I did it as much for you as I did it for her." That caught Jeremy's attention, "I made sure that Liz knew what was going on and why I was calling. Vicki is more then likely to get 2 ½ years with a year on parole and she wont have to register as a sex offender because you were willing."
"Why?" Jeremy sat down on the end of his bed, shocked at what his sister just told him.
Erica sighed, moving over to sit beside her brother, "Because she needs help, Jeremy." She nudged him with her shoulder, "We had mom and dad to look after us but Vicki didn't really have anyone. This may be just the thing that helps her get her life straightened up."
"Did you really have to hit her?" Jeremy winced, remembering the blackening of Vicki's right eye.
"Yes," Erica answered, honestly. "She was leading you down a dark path." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Now, the reason I came up here is I wanted to look at the watch dad was gonna pass on to you." She looked up at him, shifting her head to where she could see him without raising her head.
Jeremy rolled his eyes, standing up and dislodging his sister as he walked over to his dresser and opened the top drawer, "You better give it back."
"You know I will." Erica stood up, taking the watch from Jeremy as she slipped it in her jean short's pocket. "You coming to the car wash?" She raised a brow, wondering if Caroline had snagged her brother into helping.
"No." Jeremy shook his head, holding his hands up in a surrendering motion, "And there is nothing you can do to tempt me to go." He had been one of the few lucky guys who had been looked over for the car wash, not that he was complaining.
Erica smirked, tilting her head to the side as her eyes sparkled, "Not even girls in their bikini's?"
"Nope," Jeremy shook his head, having already heard the arguments from Chad, who would be helping out. "Not if I have to wear what Chad's wearing. I'm headed to the grill so a group of us can meet up after the car wash is over." He ran a hand through his sleep styled hair, "Now can you get out of my room? I need to get ready to head to the grill." He shooed her out of his room with a wave of his hand.
"Sure, sure." Erica rolled her eyes, ruffling Jeremy's hair before hurrying out of the room and dodged a pillow he threw at her. "I'm heading out. Lock up when you leave." She yelled out as she made sure she had her wallet, sunglasses, Emily's talisman around her neck with her dragon necklace and car keys before heading out of the house without waiting for a reply from Jeremy.
As she made her way to the gas station that was near the school Caroline booked for the Fundraising Car Wash, her mind kept going over what she needed to do in order to get away from the car wash without Stefan following her. She knew her best bet would be when they ran out of towels. While it was a risk, Erica had to take it since it had worked for Caroline in the show. Her only worry was Zach Salvatore not only had Damon had killed him after Caroline released him but he tried to stop her from releasing Damon from his cell.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her stomach growling at her, reminding her she hadn't eaten. With everything going on, she had forgotten to grab something earlier. Turning into a Starbucks, grateful the franchise transcended dimensions, and pulled through the drive thru ordering her a caramel frappuccino and vanilla scones. After paying for her order, she pulled over and pulled into an empty parking place to eat her scones and drink her frappuccino. Once she finished eating her scones, she tossed her trash away before heading towards the grill, where she was going to park.
Not only was the grill in the opposite direction of the school but it was a few blocks away from the gas station Caroline booked for the fundraising car wash that was to raise money for the school's athletic department. With Tanner, the football coach, being killed, the school board had decided to suspend the rest of the football season until another coach could be found but it wasn't looking good because the funding for the athletic programs were running low thus Caroline's idea of having a 'Sexy Car Wash' to raise money.
After finding a good parking place that was close enough to walk but out view of the street, Erica pulled in and parked. Pulling out her wallet and the compass, she placed them in the glove compartment for safe keeping. She then unhooked her car key from her key chain and slipped it on the chain her dragon key was on before slipping it back over her head. Getting out of the car, she proceeded to take off her sheer white shirt beach cover and jean shorts because she knew for a fact Caroline had told her point blank she had to wear a 'sexy' two piece swimsuit or else.
Not wanting to find out just what else Caroline had planned, Erica had asked Jenna to take her swimsuit shopping. It was difficult trying to find a two piece swimsuit that was sexy enough for her but modest enough but in the end she found one she was comfortable enough to. The swimsuit was a two piece with a halter style top that had black mess on the upper part while the lower half, that covered her breast was a solid black material. The bottom half of the swimsuit was low riding and had three thing strips of black material across each hip connecting the front and back.
Even though it showed quite a bit more skin that she was comfortable with, Erica loved how she looked in it thus the main reason she bought it. The other reason was because she knew it would meet Caroline's standards for the sexy car wash without being…..to sexy for her age. People that were coming were those who had watched them grow up and she didn't like the idea of them even thinking of her naked since quite a few men already knew. Forcing herself back the present, she tossed both her top and jean shorts back into the car before shutting the door and locking it.
"Caw!" Poe cawed, soaring over and landing expertly on her shoulder as she went to take a step away from her car.
"I know, Poe." Erica whispered, rolling her eyes as she ignored the looks she was getting from people she passed on the sidewalk, "Tell Damon I'll be there as soon as I have Stefan busy elsewhere. I don't want to be interrupted when I free his stupid ass for getting caught by his brother." Assuming that Stefan had been the one to vervain Damon.
Poe pecked Erica on the head, "Caw." He then pulled her hair before flying off as she rounded the corner to the Circle K's parking lot where the car wash was being held.
"No?" Erica whispered, stopping as she watched Poe fly off into the distance and disappear from view, "Then who vervained Damon?" She frowned, nibbling on her lip as she started walking and not paying any attention where she was going causing her to bump in to none other then Stefan.
"Whoa!" Stefan exclaimed, grabbing Erica to keep her from falling only to finally get a good look at what she was wearing, "Um…" He swallowed, adverting his eyes quickly as he let her go, "You ok?" When he did look back at her, his eyes didn't go any lower then her chin.
"Yeah," Erica gave him a smile, brushing her hair back and remembered she had been going to braid her hair for this. "Thanks for catching me. It seems like I keep trying to fall at you and your brother's feet."
Stefan tensed at the mention of his brother, "No problem." He offered her his arm, "Shall we? From what I hear Caroline is a control freak and we are suppose to already be there."
"Shit!" Erica's eyes grew wide as she looked to her watch as she began walking without Stefan, "Come on, Dude! You do not want to be on Care's bad side!" She yelled over her shoulder, praying Caroline would let her off the hook when she realizes she ran, literally, into Stefan and she was ready for the car wash.
"No, you really don't." Caroline Forbes stated, staring at both Erica and Stefan, "You two are late." She glared at the both of them before looking them over, "Good job on the suit, Eri but Stefan you need to lose the shirt. This is a Sexy Car Wash, not a Friendly Car Wash. That means no friend discounts, No freebies, No pay ya laters and no Family discounts." She stared Erica down on that one, "We are raising money for the school's athletic department, so lets go raise some money." She clapped her hands, her head snapping to the side, "Damn it, Tiki!" She hurried over to where the girl was washing her own car as the customers began lining up.
Stefan stared after Caroline with a stunned look on his face, "Did I just get scolded?"
"Yup!" Erica snickered, poking Stefan in the side, "Now take off that shirt or she's gonna come back over here and take it off for you." She tilted her head, waiting for him to follow through with it.
"She wouldn't," Stefan turned to look at Erica, shock written across his face as plain as day.
Erica snorted, shaking her head as she headed over to where Bonnie stood with Matt, "Then you don't know Caroline." It was at that time that the water from the bucket next to Tiki exploded all over her, "Damn Tiki who you'd you piss off in a pass life?"
"Fuck you, Gilbert." Tiki sneered, hating the girl with a passion because of how pampered she was, "Shouldn't you be washing a car?" She pointed to a car that just pulled up.
"Bitch." Erica retorted, turning her attention to Matt and Bonnie, "Hey guys." She then turned her gaze to Matt, "How are you and Vicki doing?"
Matt shrugged, eyes darting over to where Caroline was telling Stefan off and laughing with him, "I'm…..a…..doing ok." He licked his lips, looking away when Caroline grabbed Stefan's shirt, "Vicki's making a full recovery and is healing great but she didn't come home last night."
"Oh." Erica's eyes grew slightly when she realized Sheriff Forbes hadn't told Matt about Vicki yet, "Um, Matt? There's something I need to tell you." She winced, not knowing how he was going to take it, "This morning I found Vicki in Jeremy's bedroom and called Sheriff Forbes to come and arrest her."
"What!?" Matt yelled, looking at Erica in disbelief, "Why would you do something like that?" He had thought she was his friend but she went and had his sister arrested.
Erica pursed her lips, "For one, she slept with my 16 year old brother and she's 18." At those words, Matt cringed, "And for the another, I told Liz that I wanted her in a drug rehab program while she was in jail. I didn't do any of this to be cruel, Matt. I would never do that to you but Vicki needs help with her drug habits. There was a bottle of my old pain killers in her pockets when I searched her."
"Shit." Matt looked lost, running a hand through his hair, "I need to go and see her." He looked over at where Caroline was, "Can you guys tell her that I left? I don't want to but….."
"Go on, Matt." Bonnie waved him off, "We'll make sure that Caroline understands." She knew it was going to be hard on Matt since Vicki had been his guardian but with her going to jail he was on his own or a ward of the town.
Just as Matt pulled out of the parking lot, Caroline came over with a frown on her face, "And just where the hell is Matt going?" She didn't look thrilled about him leaving, "We are holding a car wash."
"Vicki was arrested this morning." Bonnie explained which seemed to deflate Caroline's anger towards Matt leaving, "She...um…" She cut her eyes towards Erica.
"She slept with Jeremy." Erica divulged with a shrug, knowing that everyone would end up knowing by the end of the day anyway, "Vicki also had the audacity to try and steal some of my old pain pills from the crash while she was trying to hide from me." She scoffed, not really surprised about Vicki's actions, "I wasn't about to let her off the hook like so many others have. She needs help and the only way she's going to get it is if its forced on her."
"What's going on?" Stefan asked, walking up next to Bonnie who shifted to the Other Side of Erica.
Erica just raised a brow to her friend before turning her attention to Stefan, "I had Vicki Donovan arrested this morning." She could see the other volunteers standing around, eavesdropping on their conversation, "Not only did she sleep with my 16 year old brother but she tried to steal some of my pain killers I got from the crash a little over 4 months ago."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Stefan wondered, not really knowing this Vicki Donovan person.
"Trust us, it is." Caroline injected, trying to gain his attention but his eyes were on Erica, "Now lets get back to work people!" She clapped her hands, startling those who were listening, "And don't think I didn't notice no one washing the cars!" She pointed towards the line of cars that were waiting to be washed.
Bonnie and Erica chuckled at their friend while Stefan just stared at her in awe as the three finished up the car they had been washing before moving on to the next one. Over to the side, Logan Fell was reporting on the car wash and what it was for while Jenna stood off to the side, looking rather bored. Thirty minutes later, Caroline came back over and told Erica to head to the tent to watch over the money while Ashley O'Neil and Dana took over washing a few of the cars. Grateful for the break out of the sun, the two girls left Stefan to finish the car and made their way to the tent.
"Ok, spill." Erica told Bonnie as soon as they were alone.
"What?" Bonnie raised a brow, not understanding what Erica was talking about.
Erica just leveled her gaze to Bonnie, "Why did you move away from Stefan earlier?" She questioned, only to stop when a young woman walked up with a baby to pay for her car to be washed while she was eating at the Grill, "Thank you and have a good day!" She turned back to Bonnie once the woman was far enough away, "Well?"
"I don't know ok." Bonnie told her, looking rather tired, "Every time I'm near him, all I want to do is run the other way." She ran a hand through her hair, "I'm starting to think that Grams may be right about all the witchy stuff." She nibbled on her lip, "I think I was the one who caused the water to explode over Tiki."
"All you can do is talk to her, Bonnie." Erica nudged her friend with her shoulder, noticing that Caroline and Stefan were heading their way, "Hey guys." She called out to let Bonnie know that Stefan was coming over.
Bonnie mouthed thanks before smiling at the elderly man who stepped up to pay for his car to be washed, "Thank you sir. Have a good day." She told him completely ignoring Stefan as he stepped up to the table, his eyes locked on Erica. "What's up Care Bear?"
"We're out of towels." Caroline groaned, looking around with a frown on her face, "And Bethanna had disappeared to some unknown place." She looked slightly frazzled, "I swear I'm going to end up killing someone if they don't start doing what they're suppose to." She hissed at some of the football players hitting on one of the drivers waiting for their car.
"I'll get the towels and see where Bethanna is." Erica volunteered because it was a perfect opportunity to head to the Boarding House, "I'm sure that Bonnie can tend to the children." She pointed to the three football players that didn't seem to hear Caroline.
Caroline looked relieved while Stefan frowned, "You guys are awesome." She hugged both Erica and Bonnie, "I'll love you forever."
"You already do." Bonnie chuckled, hurrying to vacate her chair so Caroline or Stefan could have it, "Now if you three excuse me." Her grin got wicked as she stalked over towards the three flirting with the young mother.
"And I'm off to get the towels." Erica said, stretching from having sat for a while, "Do I need the key to get into the school?" She asked Caroline since she knew her friend had the only key.
"Oh!" Caroline blinked, having forgotten she gave the key to Bethanna, "I gave the keys to Bethanna." She hit her head on the table after she slumped in her beach chair.
Erica bit her lip from laughing at her friend, "Don't worry." She patted Caroline on the shoulder, "I'll head to the school to see if I can find her and the keys while grabbing some towels."
"Thank you again," Caroline raised up, looking a little better then she had a few seconds ago. "If I lost those keys, I would have been hung up and flogged by the school board."
"I'll be back soon." Erica promised, not really knowing how long it would take her to do everything she wanted, "Have fun." She told them as she walked away before Stefan could say anything about coming with her.
Twenty minutes later, Erica was heading to the Boarding House with both the towels that Caroline needed and the keys that Bethanna had left in the door of the school. It appeared that Bethanna had disappeared but if her hunch was right, she knew exactly where the girl was and doubted she was alive. Pulling up to the Boarding House, her hunch was right about Bethanna because her car was parked next to a car that was no doubt Damon's. Hoping that she had been able to get Damon out of his cell, she pulled up next to Bethanna's car and parked.
Waiting a few minutes to see if anyone came out, Erica pulled her key and slid the key back onto her dragon necklace before getting out of the car. It was then that Poe came out of no where and landed on her shoulder, cawing at her while he preened her hair. Finding it a little odd that Damon's crow was taking a liking to her, she decided to ignore him as she headed up the stairs onto the porch. The front door was wide open but from what she could see, there was no bodies in view which didn't make her feel any better.
"Damon?" Erica called out softly, knowing he would hear her even though Zach wouldn't, "Damon?" She continued on through the front door and was about to head towards the basement when she felt a rush of wind behind her, "That better be you Damon."
"And if it wasn't?" Damon's mocked her in a slightly deeper voice which didn't do much to change his voice.
Erica turned around, not flinching at the blood he had on his mouth and covering him, "I would have kicked your ass." She smiled sweetly, looking around, "Did you already clean up?"
"The best I could at the moment," Damon replied, jaw clenching as he flexed his empty hand that once had the sun ring located on his middle finger. "Finally get away from my annoying brother?" He raised a brow, finally realizing just what she was wearing, "Damn, wish I could have my car washed."
"Yes," Erica answered, rolling her eyes as she headed into the sitting room that had bright sunlight shining in the room. "I left him with Caroline tending to the money we made for the school." She moved around, closing the curtains so he could come into the room without fearing of burning, "You didn't kill Bethanna did you?" She asked, looking over to find Damon watching her with an odd expression on his face, "What?"
"You are one weird human," Damon muttered stepping into the room rather hesitantly before making his way over to the bourbon and pouring himself a glass.
Erica smirked, "I'm sure that isn't going to be the last time I hear that phrase." She chuckled, walking over and snatching the glass he poured for himself, out of his hand and drinking it as she sat down on the couch. "So, about Bethanna?"
"She's resting upstairs in a spare bedroom." Damon answered, rolling his eyes at her as he poured himself another glass, "She should be up soon." He tilted his head to the side, listening to something she couldn't hear.
"And I take it Zach's dead." Erica sipped her bourbon, trying not to cringe at the burn as it went down.
Damon snorted, "Yup." A sick smirk slid across his face, "Bastard vervained me after I snapped my dear brother's neck."
"What!?" Erica almost spit out her booze, "But I thought Stefan vervained you!" She was shocked that a human was able to get the better of Damon enough to vervain him.
"Nope." Damon shook his head, downing the glass before filling it back up, "He tried but I snapped his neck before he could then went to talk to Zach about where he got the Vervain. Imagine my surprise when my dear nephew came out of no where and hit me in the back with four or five darts filled with vervain." He rubbed his neck where a few of the darts had hit him.
Erica frowned, taking another big sip of her bourbon, feeling a warmth fill her as she stood, "Sit." She ordered pointing towards the couch as she moved around behind him, "Come on Damon, sit down." She pleaded when he just stood there staring at her, "I promise I wont hurt you."
"Funny sweetheart." Damon chuckled as he finally turned around and sat down, his glass of bourbon in his hand, "Now what?" He asked, about to turn to look at her when he felt her hands on his shoulders.
"Now, I'm going to massage your shoulders." Erica explained to him as she moved her hands in certain directions, earning a groan from Damon every so often, "You ok? I'm not hurting you, am I?"
"Nope." Damon murmured, sounding half asleep, "Keep going." He finally had to sit his glass on the table that was beside the couch.
Erica chuckled but continued to rub the soreness out of Damon's shoulders. She didn't know how long she was at it but before she knew it she heard movement upstairs that caused Damon to jump to his feet. Before she could say anything, he was gone from sight. With a sigh, she grabbed her glass and headed over to pour her some more of Damon's bourbon. She could hear Damon talking to some one which could only mean that Bethanna was awake and he was no doubt compelling her to leave and keep quiet about where she was.
A short time later, Damon returned with his shirt unbuttoned and a blood bag in his hand that he was sipping on like a juice box. Erica wrinkled her nose but did her best to ignore him drinking the blood as she watched him heading over to what could only be a stereo system. She wondered what in the world he was doing until music started blaring through speakers she couldn't see. Damon gave her a wink as he danced over to where the booze was kept and grabbed a full bottle of bourbon. He had half of it down when My Darkest Days 'Move Your Body' came on.
As soon as the song came on, Damon grinned as he placed the half full bourbon bottle on the mantle above the fireplace before vamping over in front of her. He didn't even ask if she wanted to dance as he jerked her up and began dancing with her around the room. With what little alcohol was in her system, Erica was feeling rather good as she closed her eyes and lost herself in the music. She allowed the music to move her body which seemed to mold perfectly against Damon's. Feeling his skin against hers caused a chill to rush through her.
Erica had no clue as to why she felt this way when she was with Damon but it both thrilled and frightened her. She had never felt drawn to someone before. Yes, she could feel the Doppelganger spell, that the Travelers cast all those centuries ago, pulling her towards Stefan but something more powerful was drawing her towards Damon. While the Doppelganger spell felt as if she had to be with Stefan, which she had no problem in fighting, whatever was drawing her towards Damon felt like a suggestion, as if someone was telling her she had a choice in what she chose to do.
It was a kind of pull that felt welcoming, not harsh which was something she had never heard of before. Feeling Damon press into her revealing how turned on he was dancing with her caused Erica to spin in his arms, straddle his right leg and began grinding down on him as her arms were gripping tightly on his shoulders. Damon's hands automatically went to her bare sides, tighten their grip until she was sure there would be a bruise left behind. Throwing her head back, she immediately felt Damon's lips on her throat, kissing, nipping and licking her.
The feel of the attention he was paying to her throat caused a moan to force its way out of her throat which in caused Damon to release a deep growl. It was at that moment, the next song came on which just happened to be another My Darkest Days song, Nature of the Beast. Another one of Erica's favorite songs for just this reason. Bringing her head up, she began singing along with the band as she pushed Damon onto the couch deciding to give him a little something she hadn't done in this life but had done in her past life once or twice.
Of course, the next song was just as good as the last. Ariana Grande's 'Side to Side'. As soon as the music began to start, she began moving her body along with the beat and when she got to the side to side part of the song, she shifted her hips side to side. Damon seemed to be enjoying the little performance if the bulge in his pants were anything to go by. Just as Nikki Minaj's part came on, Erica climbed into Damon's lap and straddled his hips as she began to rap along with Nikki while grinding down on the growing hardness beneath her.
Damon seemed to reach his breaking point because suddenly his hand was on the back of her head and he slammed his mouth to hers. Erica moaned as she ground down on him harder as he thrusted up against her. Her hands traveled up his neck with feather touches to tangle in now messy hair. When she pulled slightly on his hair, a growl ripped through Damon as his other arm latched around her like a steel bar, keeping her pressed tightly against him as they rutted against each other like wild animals trying to reach their peak.
Just before they fell over the cliff into ecstasy, Damon's eyes suddenly grew dark as the veins began to travel up his cheeks to the white of his eyes. Knowing exactly what he wanted, Erica tilted her head to the side and offered her neck as she whimpered as she grew closer. That was the only encouragement Damon needed as he buried his fangs into her neck just as he felt himself fall off the cliff, reaching the most intense orgasm he ever experienced. Erica wasn't much better as she cried out her release at the same moment Damon's fangs pierced her skin.
"Maybe we should take this up to my room." Damon whispered against her neck, licking the blood away as it clotted.
"I'm not sleeping with you Damon." Erica told him as she pulled away, flush from what they had just done, "No matter what I feel."
Damon smirked, his brow raising, "Feel, huh?" His hands moving to her hips to keep her from moving, "What do you feel for me, Erica Gilbert?"
"I don't know." Erica answered his question, honestly, "I want to be with you but I know you're here for something and I can guess it has something to do with this necklace." She picked up the necklace Damon had left with her.
"Your right," Damon's mood instantly shifted, lifting her off him as they both stood. "Be right back." He disappeared from the room only to return with a shirt of Stefan's and in completely different clothing, "Put that on." Damon threw the shirt at her before moving over and shutting off the stereo.
Erica pursed her lips, feeling an ache in her chest as she slipped the shirt on to cover her swimsuit, "I suppose I should leave." She crossed her arms, wondering what Damon was thinking as he stood with his back to her.
"Her name is Katherine Pierce." Damon's voice was just above a whisper, "I saw her first but Stefan ended up being the first to bed her." There was something in his voice that caused Erica to cringe, "Before long, though, both of us were gracing her bed and while she may have compelled Stefan to love her. Katherine was always honest with me. I loved her and I'm going to release her from the tomb my father threw her into to die." He then turned, his face completely blank of any emotion, "Emily Bennett was her handmaiden as well as a witch and saved her on my request."
"I see." Erica bit her lip, feeling her heart break even though she knew everything already, "I'll help you." She wanted to bang her head against the wall for saying it but the sparkle that returned to Damon's eyes was enough to quell the desire.
Damon hadn't expecting Erica to offer her help but he felt something inside him ease, "Thank you." A true smile spread across his face as he vamped over in front of her and hugged her, "Now, any idea where Stefan would hide my day ring?" He pulled back looking down at her as if she had all the answers.
"Nope," Erica said, shaking her head. "But I'm sure I can find out." She thought for a moment, "I still need to get the towels back to the car wash, if its still going on."
"No need to worry about that," Damon waved off her concern as he moved over to where he sat the half bottle of bourbon. "I compelled her to take the towels and keys to the school back with her."
Erica breathed a sigh of relief, glancing to her watch, "I do need to get out of here." She shook her head when Damon held up a glass as if to offer her some, "If I don't get back, Caroline will kill me and I don't want Stefan getting nosy." She wrinkled her nose, "By the way, can you rip the strings on one side of my swim bottoms?"
"Why?" Damon's sly smirk came back as she sauntered over, "Not that I don't mind. Of course, I could think of something fun to do afterwards." He giggled his brows as he did as she asked.
"Alibi." Erica replied, pointing to where he ripped the strings off one end, "I had to go home and change my swimsuit." She grinned, seeing the surprise on his face, "I do have a brain." She rolled her eyes as she headed to the front door, holding her ripped suit so it wouldn't fall.
Damon snorted, staying in the shadows as he watched her stop at the front door, "Then why don't you use it more often?"
"I like to be underestimated." Erica gave him a wink before walking out into the sun where Damon couldn't follow until he had his sun ring back.
All the way to her car, Erica could hear Damon laughing. She shook her head as she opened the drivers side door and climbed in. Once she was buckled up, she pulled away from the Boarding House and headed home to change. Even though she had been drinking, her tolerance for alcohol was rather high because of how much small town kids drank to pass the time. Having been born and raised in a large city in her past life, she had always wondered how the small town kids had fun. It wasn't until she was reborn into the small town of Mystic Falls that she found out the answer.
Pulling into the driveway, Erica saw Jenna's car parked where she usually parked while another car, which could only belong to Logan Fell, was parked out front. A sly smirk spread across her face as she pulled Stefan's shirt off, mentally kicking herself for not taking it off before she left, and tossed it into the back seat. She then pulled the car keys, opened the door and got out all the while trying to keep her swimsuit bottoms from falling to the ground. While she could have put on her jean shorts, she needed an excuse to be home.
"Anyone home?" Erica called out when she stepped into the house, shutting the door behind her.
"Erica?" Jenna replied, wondering why her niece was home so early since she knew the car wash was still going on, "Why are you home? Is everything ok?" She asked, Logan standing next to her.
Logan suddenly cleared his throat, "Do you mind if I use the bathroom?" He looked to Jenna for an answer which told Erica all she needed to know.
"Sure," Jenna waved him off, more worried about why Erica was home. "Use the one upstairs. Something is happening with the one downstairs." She explained, suddenly remembered what Erica had warned her about.
"Of course," Logan was mentally patting himself on the back as he dropped a kiss on Jenna's cheek before heading upstairs, but not before stealing a glance at Erica.
Erica waited until Logan was gone until she revealed the reason she was home, "I had a wardrobe malfunction."
"Bet your glad you bought the other swimsuit now." Jenna gloated poking Erica in the arm, "You better go change and head back to the car wash." She winked at her niece, heading back into the kitchen.
"Weirdo," Erica whispered to herself as she headed up to her room.
Passing by Jeremy's room, however, she couldn't hear anything which she did find weird. It wasn't until she walked into her room that she realized she hadn't heard Logan going through Jeremy's things. Logan fell was bent over searching through the bottom drawers of her dresser. The other four drawers must have already been searched because they were pulled out slightly. What really bothered her was the fact her top drawer, which was her underwear drawer, was still pulled out quite far. Narrowing her eyes, she cleared her throat gaining the asshole's attention.
"What the fuck you think you're doing, Fell?" Erica sneered as she stalked towards him, using one hand to keep her bottoms up, "I always knew you were a creep but I never thought you'd stoop so low."
"Wait!" Logan cried, eyes wide in shock he had been caught, "This isn't want it looks like!" He glanced around, only to wince as it didn't look good for him.
Erica scoffed, grabbing Logan by the ear and twisting it, "Whatever, Asshole." She snapped as she frog marched him down the stairs the best she could, "Aunt Jenna! I found the Asshole going through my underwear drawers!" She gave him a push when they reached the bottom of the stairs to get him away from her.
"WHAT!?" Jenna's screech echoed through the house as she came around the corner from the kitchen, "You went through my nieces underwear drawer?" Her eyes blazing with anger as she stared Logan down as he righted himself from where he stumbled from Erica pushing him down the last few steps.
"I can explain Jenna," Logan began only to be silenced by a fist from Jenna.
Jenna hide the pain she felt in her hand, "Get out." She ordered him, wanting nothing more since she had through he would go through Jeremy's things, not Erica's. "You are no longer welcomed here and if you ever show up again, I'm going to call Liz."
"But Jenna….."
"Get the fuck out!" Jenna snapped as she jerked the door open, "NOW!" She didn't want to hear anymore excuses from the asshole as her niece called him.
Logan did the right thing as he left without a word. Once he was outside the house, Jenna didn't say a word to him as she slammed the door in his face. Erica found it quite funny but didn't laugh because Jenna looked rather upset as she stood there facing the door. Deciding to leave her aunt alone with her emotions, she turned around and headed back up to her room. The first thing she needed to do was change out of her swimsuit and into regular clothes because by the time she fixed her room from where Logan went through her drawers, it would be to late to return to the car wash.
(Salvatore Boarding House – 6:20 PM)
After Erica left, Damon returned to the living room and stood there staring at the place where they had gotten each other off until the sun began to set. When the sun was down far enough he could leave the house, he headed down into the basement where Zach's body layed and proceeded to take him to the family crypt. Just as Zach had said, Damon hadn't felt any guilt in taking the man's life but he was family thus he'd give him the same respect he believes Zach would have bestowed upon him if Stefan's plan had went off without a hitch.
Once he finished putting Zach with the rest of the Salvatore's from long ago, he stood still listening to the area around him and allowed his thirst to take over. Seconds later, he was acting as if he were sick while he stumbled through the trees into an area where a group of highschoolers were hanging out getting high. Everyone seemed worried about him as he fell forward, sprawling out on the ground without breathing. It was then one of the girls hurried over and rolled Damon over to check on him which was exactly what he wanted to happen.
Five minutes later, Damon licked the blood off his lips as he stared at the mess he had just made for allowing his bloodlust to take over. A sliver of remorse blossomed in his chest but he quickly squashed it as he started making the scene look as if a wild animal came through and attacked the group of kids. Once he was sure it looked good, he threw a rock at one of the loose logs that someone had placed on the bonfire the kids had going causing it to fall over onto one of the bodies. Taking one last look at his work, Damon turned his back on his own little bonfire and called Stefan.
"Hello?" Stefan answered, not realizing it was his brother calling him.
"I want my ring." Damon decided not to beat around the bush as he took another step away from the fire, turning to look at it as it caught on one of the kids lighters causing a small explosion.
There was silence for a few seconds, "Where are you, Damon?"
"Oh you know," Damon grinned, his eyes reflecting the fire that burned in front of him, "I went to the sizzler for a buffet." The grin washed off his face, "Now where's my ring?" While he had a few others, that ring meant something to him because it had the Salvatore's family crest.
"I don't have it," Stefan chuckled, acting as if he wasn't worried but Damon could hear a slight tremor in his voice. "Where are you? What have you done this time? And where is Zach?" He did sound worried when he asked about their last living relative.
Damon tilted his head, thinking he heard something but it was nothing more then a bird returning to its nest, "You can pin this on me, Stefan." His eyes narrowed as his hand tightened on his phone, "You're the one who locked me up in the basement and starved me, so its not what I've done. Its what you've done because I was starved."
"Your carelessness is going to get us both killed, Damon." Stefan tried to reason with his brother even though he knew it was hopeless, "How many more animal attacks are the council going to believe, huh?"
"I do know how to cover my tracks, brother dear." Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Where. Is. My. Ring?" He asked once more, realizing his brother was stalling him for some reason.
Stefan chuckled, sounding smug, "I gave it to Zach to hide," There was silence as if Stefan was thinking before he spoke again, "Probably shouldn't have killed him."
"Well you know me, brother," Damon began moving away when the fire began to die down. "I don't handle betrayal real well." He searched for his link to the crow he had spying on Erica only to find him on a perch inside her room sleeping. You got to be shittin' me. Damon thought turning his attention back to Stefan, "Now I'll ask one more time before I head over and see Erica. Where is my ring?"
"Leave Erica alone, Damon." Stefan ordered, not realizing that he'd already been with Erica more intimately then he ever has or will.
"Then get me my ring, Stefan." Damon told him, hanging up as he took one last look at his handy work before leaving the area.
There were a few things he needed to get done before the sun came up and he was stuck inside the house. As Damon ran his errands, Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes received a call about smoking with an odd smell coming from the cemetery. Praying it wasn't what she believed it to be, Liz headed out to take a look at the scene. When she arrived, however, she was greeted with what to be an animal attack but she knew better. The amount of animal attacks that had happened in such a short span of time meant the vampire hadn't been passing through as she first believed.
"I've never smelled a scene this bad before," Logan Fell stated, walking up next to Liz with his hands in his pockets looking rather defeated.
"They tried to cover their tracks." Liz told Logan motioning towards the burnt bodies, "It seemed whoever it is tried to make it appear as if an animal attacked but ran away when it knocked a piece of wood out of the fire." She frowned, wondering what she was missing as she stared at the scene in front of her.
Logan pursed his lips, "I couldn't get the watch." He admitted quietly, "I was searching Erica's room when she came in."
"Oh god," Liz groaned, realizing what it must have looked like to Erica if Logan was searching her room. "Where were you searching?" She looked to him, waiting for him to answer but also dreading what his answer was going to be.
"Hwerdweser." Logan mumbled, not making any sense to Liz causing her to just stare at him. "Fine," He sighed, a slight blush spread across his cheeks, "Her dresser drawers." While he may be a perv, he would never think of looking at a young woman under the age of 20, he did have some morals.
Liz just closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I'll take care of it." She told Logan, wondering if Erica knew they were searching for the device and had hit it, "As for what happened here," She sometimes hated her job, "Lets say it was a drug deal gone bad because in a small way it was."
"Got it." Logan nodded, understanding what Liz was talking about, "Do we know who they are yet?" He didn't have to know the names of the victims but it did help when he reported the story.
"Doc'll have to check their dental records because their finger prints were burnt off." Liz explained, sighing, "I'm heading back to the station. I'll call you if I find anything."
Logan just nodded, a shiver running through him as if someone walked over his grave as he looked one last time at the scene before following the sheriff and leaving. What he didn't realize was someone was watching him in the distance with a sinister smirk on their face. If he had known, he wouldn't ever leave his house after dark again. As Logan headed home, Liz looked at the time and headed to the station before heading home herself. There wasn't much she could do until the sun rose other then the small amount of paper work she needed to get done.
Of course, she wasn't able to focus on the paper work she needed to get done because Erica's words about why a vampire kills kept swirling in her mind. Now knowing there were real reasons for a vampire to kill humans made her question why the vampire had slayen the druggies in the cemetery. From what she knew, Liz could guess that the killing of those kids wasn't for any type of revenge which could only mean that it had to be because the vampire had been starved or extremely angry and those kids were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Just thinking about what happened to those kids made her wonder what she would do if, god forbid, her own daughter was turned into one of those creatures. How would she feel? Could she stake her own daughter? Or would she follow Erica's belief and see if her daughter was still in there? Millions of thoughts and questions swirled in her mind not letting her get anything done. Unable to finish, Liz put everything away before turning off the lights. She then locked up and headed home. As she walked into the house, she walked upstairs and peeked in on Caroline to find her fast asleep.
In that moment, Elizabeth Forbes made a decision that would change a million of small details. No longer would she think of vampires as only monsters when she knew humans could be just as vile as any vampire. She also needed to speak to Erica because she knew she hadn't told her everything. Liz felt as if Erica knew more then she was letting on and made Liz wonder what else was out there besides vampires. Her mind then went to Shelia Bennett and the rumors of her being a witch, making Liz wonder if the rumors were true.
(Dream)
Erica knew she was dreaming because of the fact she went to sleep in a tank top and shorts but was now wearing a dress that reminded her of the 60s. Looking around, she quickly realized she was standing in the middle of what could only be Mystic Falls during that time which made her wonder just why she was here. Her mind went to Emily Bennett's necklace causing her hand to come up and grab a hold of the amulet. It was then the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Turning, Erica was greeted by a young dark skinned young woman that looked remarkably like Bonnie.
"Emily Bennett." Erica greeted, tilting her head to the side, "While I'm grateful to meet you, how am I here?" She raised a brow, "I don't have any magical abilities."
"While you do not have the spark necessary to practice magic," Emily Bennett explained stepping closer, "You do have a connection to Death that allows me to bring you here." Her eyes zeroed in on her amulet, "I see he allowed you to hold onto it." She sounded slightly shocked which was because she was since she knew Damon wasn't very trusting without making a deal of some kind.
Erica hummed, "Why am I here, Emily?" She had a feeling she didn't have long before she would wake up in the real world.
"I can not allow him to open the tomb." Emily stated bluntly, not having expected Erica to laugh at her, "You find this funny. Why?"
"Because if you really knew Damon, then you'd know he will find a way to open the tomb even without your talisman." Erica retorted, wanting the spirit to realize just what she would be jeopardizing if she went through with her plan in destroying the necklace, "If you destroy this," She held up the necklace still around her neck, "Then I can guarantee that Shelia will die trying to open the tomb. You know as well as I do that Damon isn't the only one wanting in that tomb underneath the church."
Emily frowned, tilting her head to the side, "I can see now." She whispered as if speaking to someone else, "You know more then you let on Erica and I shall heed your warning about destroying my talisman." Her eyes narrowed, staring the young woman down who her descendant cared for, "But I request that you allow only those who you deem worthy to leave the tomb. Some of those I had to spare truly should have been burned all those years ago." She looked off into the distance, remorse flashing in her eyes, "If released, they will reek havoc on Mystic Falls and blood will run in the streets."
"That ain't gonna happen." Erica promised, knowing exactly just who Emily was talking about, "I had planned on only letting Pearl and Harper go." She shrugged, thankful that Emily had listened to her about her talisman, "As for the others, I was thinking of putting a stake through their hearts. While they were monsters that the tales of vampires were written about, they still deserve some type of peace in the end."
"They are abominations!" Emily hissed, hating vampires for what had happened to her, "They deserve nothing more then suffering they have placed on those they have killed." She argued, wondering why this girl was so against seeing vampires for what they truly were. "Vampires should never have come to be. They are against the Laws of Nature."
Erica snorted, wondering how many times she was going to have this conversation, "That's funny." She chuckled, shaking her head as she looked around at the 'trees' and knew that Qetsiyah and Esther were no doubt listening, "Because I hate to be the barer of bad news but Nature is neither light or dark. It is both."
"You do not know what you speak of." Emily argued, not listening to this copy of the woman she had been friended and lead to her death, "Only witches are able to hear the call of Nature and what she wishes."
"Really?" Erica pretended to be shocked, "Because I would think none of you could hear the Call of Nature from the voices of your ancestors in your head telling you what to do." She grinned, feeling an eerie calm surround her, "Why don't you ask Tessa just who she spoke to before this place was created." She leaned forward, whispering, "Because I guarantee it wasn't her ancestors."
Emily narrowed her eyes at Erica, frowning, "It is time for you to go." She waved her hand over Erica, "You are to wake soon."
"Just think on what I said," Erica could feel herself being gently pulled away from the Other Side. "When you look at nature when the sun is shining? You can not have light without darkness." And with those last words, Erica disappeared back into the land of the living.
"She is correct." Qetsiyah stated, appearing beside Emily Bennett, "I did not have my ancestors to look to for guidance but the Truth of Nature." The creator of the Other Side grinned, "I do believe some interesting things are coming. A Doppelganger touched by Death himself. She will certainly shake things up and to think she is of Amara's line. Truly a pity."
Qetsiyah chuckled, before disappearing to where ever she usually went, leaving Emily alone once more. Emily heard what her ancestor had said and it swirled in her mind. Before the Other Side was created, witches did not speak to their ancestors but the Truth of Nature. It made Emily wonder if everything she had learned the moment she knew she had been gifted with magic was wrong. Troubled with thoughts she was unaccustomed to having, Emily to disappeared to where ever spirits went to rest when they did not haunt the land of the living.
(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)
Author Note – And another chapter is done. (Winks) I would also like to state that while I may not have watched Vampire dairies, I have been doing research into each chapter. (Smiles Brightly) Not to mention, reading other finished stories that I find entertaining. (Chuckles) Now, I have decided that Kol will not be a love interest of Erica's but I still want to know who you guys think she should be with. (Raises Brow) Klaus? Damon? Both? (Wiggles Brows) Because I have to admit that would be one yummy sandwich I want to be apart of. (Clears Throat) Til the next chapter, keep reading and reviewing!
~*Dragon*~
