Okay, two chapters to go, and then, on to the second part! Lucky you, you won't even have to wait for it.
Sooo... I'm pretty sure Damon's hallucination is me. How the hell did I end up there?
Adjusting to our reality, part 31: Wait a bit more
The youngest deputy was shaking a little. That surprised Alaric, but then he remembered his own face was covered in blood. As if he had himself drank some. Which wasn't exactly false. Though it had been accidental. Not his fault if Damon hadn't drunk everything, was it?
Elizabeth Forbes walked through the room to look him in the eyes, but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed the blood. Were they all going to be a pain in the ass because of three tiny drops of blood? The teacher had better things to do. Such as, preventing Damon from killing a bunch of innocent people in his delirious state. Or preventing Damon from attacking random people because he was going rabid. Or even preventing Damon from going on a raving killing spree.
Exactly what he had been doing until now. Right, while kissing, and so what? Had they not interrupted them, everything would have been under control.
"Don't start freaking out now. Damon's sick, he coughed on me, end of story. I'm perfectly human."
And perfectly cursed. And maybe the natural enemy of any police officer. But Alaric wasn't going to say that out loud. They had enough problems without him being in the crosshairs of the Sheriff's Office for being a natural born killer.
The youngest deputy, who wasn't stupid but wasn't patient either, lost, obviously, patience.
"Vampires don't get sick! And if that one wasn't sick, then you must be one too!"
The teacher sighed, starting to get impatient.
"Vampires get deadly sick when they are bitten by a werewolf. And if you're really trying to overawe me, stop trembling already, or I'll just seize the opportunity..."
And that was exactly what he did. When the youngster tried to get a better hold of his gun, Alaric lunged forward, caught his wrist and forced him to let go of the weapon. At the same time, he spinned on his left heel and placed the deputy between him and his colleagues.
He heard four safeties being undone a short moment after the gun fell on the ground with a loud sound. No choice, then. It wasn't playing nice, but the Falkenbach couldn't really care.
Alaric pushed the young man onto the other deputies. They took a step back, their eyes locked on their colleague for a second, which he used to overtake them. By the time they were aware of him being so close and raising their guns again, he had knocked out one of them, and twisted another's wrist. He was strangling him unconscious when the last deputy bypassed his fainted colleague to shoot the hunter.
From the angle, Ric could say it wouldn't be a courtesy shot, in the air, in the leg, or anything like that. More likely, straight to the chest, even the heart, if any luck. So he let go of his victim, who fell flat on the floor, and kicked his attacker's arm hard enough to have him let go of his gun. Then he reiterated, but this time, kicked the man in the stomach.
The deputy fell to the ground with a painful growl, leaving only the sheriff and the youngest deputy conscious to do anything. But they were pretty astonished, and needed time to react. Which Alaric wasn't willing to grant them. Quickly, keeping an eye on his opponents, he picked up two of the free guns from the ground where they had fallen, all thanks to him.
"So, what were we talking about? Right, the fact that I'm definitely not a vampire."
Elizabeth Forbes was looking at him with eyes wide open, still not sure of what had happened.
This was the high school history teacher, right? So why was he able to beat three people in a trice?
And she was sure he could have handled her too, if she had been able to do anything more than holding her gun right. Because he was definitely aware she was still shaking on her legs from her unexpected meeting with a wall, only minutes before.
"What the hell are you?!"
Ric slightly turned to take a look at the young deputy, still looking terrorized.
"Is he a rookie?"
"Yes, and so what?"
The teacher rolled his eyes then looked at him with might have been pity if he hadn't been dead serious. Alaric relaxed a bit, because, really, he had no reason to be so tense, and took a step towards the youngster.
"So, you can't go after vampires if you're barely holding it together. What, you can't even go after me, a mere human! Though I'm as dangerous as a human can be, I guess."
The young man was so focused on not letting his eyes wander off from his opponent's eyes, alarmingly blank-though-blue eyes, that he didn't notice the fist until it was too late. He fell unconscious, as the others. Which left only the sheriff to deal with, before going after Damon.
"You really need to train them better, you know."
Elizabeth gulped, but tried to sound confident.
"What are you planning to do, now? Kill us?"
She didn't know if she believed he would or not, but the fact that the man looked at her with only emptiness in his eyes, not even concerned, not the slightest amusement in his gaze, gave her the chills. She'd rather have seen anything in these eyes, even hatred, even madness, even pleasure, if the choice had been hers. She'd have liked it better, even if that had meant they were going to die.
Alaric Saltzman was able to kill them. And he was ready to. Worse, in fact. He didn't care. At all.
Worse than any psychopath. Not even enjoying the killing. Which was terrifying. If she was right, he was more of a monster than any monster, and yet less of a monster than any monster. He was human, but had no soul. Or lacked, at least, a part of it. Even monsters had souls.
"Do I need to?"
The question was genuine. He already knew the answer. She knew he knew it. She wouldn't answer.
Alaric waited a bit, then decided it was enough. He still had a more-or-less-boyfriend to catch, chain and watch die. Which wasn't to his liking, at all. But what could he do about it?
"Think a little, Sheriff. If you are here, then you surely know your daughter is a vampire too. Is she any different? Did the number of bodies go up after she turned? Maybe you know she killed a young man, the first time she went out after her turning. You do? Perfect. She died. She killed a human being. She's not the daughter you knew anymore. Caroline is a bloodsucking monster. Why aren't you killing her instead, Sheriff? What are you doing here, Sheriff Forbes?"
Elizabeth stiffened. She didn't want to hear. She didn't want to hear that.
"Why aren't you killing your own daughter, Sheriff Forbes?"
His voice was so inexpressive, it was so rational, she knew he was right. Why wasn't she killing Caroline, instead of going after Damon Salvatore first?
She dropped her gun. Her voice was trembling, and tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Because she's my beautiful baby daughter."
Alaric put his weapons down. He was enough of a weapon himself, anyway.
He smiled.
"There, you know why. It took less effort than last time."
He dragged the unconscious deputies in the cell, waited for her to enter on her own, locked the door.
"Take away their vervain. Ask Stefan to erase their memories when he'll come back. We're trying to keep the body count low, but it's not always easy. Oh, and he can erase yours too, or Caroline can do it, like last time, if you want it that way."
Liz didn't even think twice about it. Matt had told her she had already been compelled, but he hadn't said it had been her choice. Maybe it hadn't exactly been. Maybe he hadn't known.
"I'll keep my memories. We've seen what happens when I don't. I... I'll live with it."
She cast a glance over her deputies. This time, they were alive. Maybe they wouldn't next time, if she chose to take the easy way out.
Once everything was in order – or at least orderly enough – Alaric left. It was time to find Damon.
As he arrived in town, he saw Elena and the others, completely panicked. A deputy had seen Damon, tried to shoot him, and Jeremy had taken a bullet. He was with Bonnie, but no one knew if he'd make it.
The teacher bit his lower lip. He had to find Damon. Quickly.
When he finally spotted him, the vampire was alone in a field, not far away from the lively town center, with its constant party going on. Standing feverishly, gazing upon vacancy, talking to himself as if he was actually talking to someone, Damon was definitely delirious.
Who the hell was this girl, and why was she talking to herself in the middle of a battlefield?
The young confederate soldier was watching the now deserted battlefield. Deserted? Not so much.
He was there, and he wasn't alone. There was a girl, standing in the middle, not looking at him, at the corpses under her shoes, or at anything, really, only waving about a stick while talking out loud, things about death, about pain, about sacrifice, maybe. He wasn't sure. He couldn't hear her well.
It wasn't the time to idle about. He had to find Katherine. But... he didn't know Katherine, not yet. Still. He had to go. He needed to see Alaric.
...Who was Alaric? It was 1864. He did not know anyone by the name of Alaric.
Yet, he needed to see him. He knew that.
He was about to go, even if he had no idea where to, when he understood what she was saying.
It might have been because she had finally noticed him.
"Give me a blade to cut my head, give me poison to end my life, give me a rope to hang myself. But be it gentle, for I fear pain. May death be soft, or at least quick. I am not known to be reckless, neither I am to be dauntless. My oath is taken: they will comply, and in the end, Sadness will win."
He was going to tell her she wasn't making any sense. But he wasn't making any sense either. It was all a hallucination. He had forgotten.
Ric. Where was Ric?
The girl, no, the young woman, maybe, he wasn't certain of anything right now, smiled softly and looked him in the eyes.
"Too much drama, right? But it's more interesting that way."
She smiled one last time, and he felt hands on his arms.
"Don't worry. You'll be happy one day. You only have to wait a bit more."
She disappeared. And he woke up in his bed, bathed in sweat, Alaric lying down next to him.
"...What...?!"
Ric smiled poorly.
"Stefan hasn't called back. You're dying. For good."
"You... deserve... better than... me, anyway. I'm the inhumane... monster. You'll... get... over me."
Ric closed his eyes. His smile wasn't a hurt smile, not exactly. He was sad because he wouldn't get to see Damon anymore. Not because the one he loved was dying. Mourning had never been a Saltzman thing.
"Humanity is about feelings. Any kind of feelings."
Damon was humane, even though he wasn't human. Somehow, at least.
Alaric wasn't humane, even though he was human. Somehow, at least.
Damon closed his eyes. He was dying. He knew it, more than he had ever known in the last hours.
Death was coming for him.
Maybe the hunter thought the vampire was already gone. Maybe he believed he was asleep. Eitherway, he left, only saying this. Damon tried to respond, but he couldn't talk loud enough.
"I didn't get to save Jenna. I won't get to save you either. I didn't get to see her die. I won't stay to see you die. Too many blows to my heart, too many wounds in my flesh. I would want to stay, to take care of the kids, but... I'll never be able to do so. I'd be of no use if I stayed, carpet-like. So I'm on my way."
"Ric..."
"I'd have loved you, Damon."
The hunter closed the door behind him. That was the end of it.
"I do... love... you, Alaric."
"Well! That was sweet. Not that I care, but good for you, Damon."
Damon might have been startled, if he had been in any state to think. He only understood it was Katherine speaking. What she was doing here, he didn't know. He didn't care. She talked, he didn't understand. She made him drink some blood, which he reluctantly accepted. And then he felt that everything was alright. He wasn't going to die.
"Now, go after him, you fool."
Damon didn't ask why. He went. He had to find Alaric, even if he was barely standing still.
Katherine turned on her heels. She had to leave town as quickly as possible. Half a world wasn't enough distance between Klaus and her.
