A/N- Hey! I took a test and I'm pretty sure I failed it. Ugh. I really hope that I did well on it because I can't get a grade lower than like a B on it. I'm updating this story while doing my homework. That shows my dedication to this story haha. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer- I don't own TVD or the characters unless they're my original characters. And I didn't realize this but there was a Vaughn in TVD! Just so you know, there is no correlation between those two characters, it's merely just a coincidence.
I totally forgot about doing this for the past few chapters! But thank you soo much ShiningStar324 for reviewing, as usual! I love your support! And maayan21051 for giving me awesome advice and your continuous support of this story! I'm so grateful! And Extacy925 for reviewing! I'm glad you like this story! Although, I wouldn't exactly consider her "taken" by Vaughn. You'll find out in the next chapter which hopefully won't take long to post because I'm a procrastinator. ;)
Chapter 14- Dakota Appears
"Damon! Hey, Damon!" Seraphine whispers. "Wake up! Damon, Wake up!" She slaps his face. Damon awakens and slowly opens his eyelids. His eyes were empty- no emotion no nothing. It was just blank.
"What?" He says, his voice softening.
"I heard something in the forest. I'm scared." She whispers, nudging Damon.
"You'll be okay."
"No, I won't. I'm going to go and see what it's about. I can't sleep like this." She says before trudging away. Damon groans as he sits against the tree. The moonlight is dim and the sky is smothered in clouds.
He wants to tell Seraphina not to go, but words weren't coming out. He feels hopeless. He doesn't care if he gets saved or not. They probably gave up searching anyways. All of a sudden, a voice- sounding like Seraphina's- lets out an ear-piercing scream.
Damon's eyes are alert and he tries to stand up. He stands but then he falls, his face right into the dirt. His face is now streaked with blood and dirt. He props himself up using his hand and sits on his legs. He needs to go and save Seraphina. He needs to go, no matter how much it hurts. He's her only friend in this big and empty world. He inhales in the fresh air and puffs it out. He steadies his nerves and starts crawling.
Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. I need to keep going. COME ON DAMON! CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT? Hurry up. You need to save her. You need to make sure she's okay. Go faster. Go faster. GO FASTER!
Damon crawls into the dark eerie set of trees ahead of him. Dirt is getting in his fingernails. He groans at the pain of moving, but like a soldier, he continues going. His hands are freezing despite the fact that it's the middle of summer.
He crawls for what seemed like an eternity until he senses blood.
He feels himself crawling faster. The blood lures him into a secluded section. It's a circle, outlined by trees. Standing in the middle is Dakota, holding a knife to Seraphina's neck. His eyes are big and he can feel his stomach turning in knots. He sees the distraught look on Sera's face.
"Stop." Damon managed to scrape out. Sera's face is dry with tears. Her eyes are all puffy and red, and her tears are escaping from her eyes.
"Hello, Damon."
"Who are you?"
"You have to remember."
"Remember what?"
"Unlock it. Take the key and unlock it."
"I don't know what you're saying."
"Remember, or I will kill her."
"Please don't kill her."
"Who is she to you?"
"She's… She's my friend." Damon stumbles out. He can feel the tears starting to swell up in his eyes. Dakota brings the knife closer to her neck.
"Okay, I'll remember. I just don't know what to remember." Damon pleads.
"Where you are, why you're here… Anything." Dakota says.
"I don't know. I really don't know." Damon replies back.
I don't know what she's talking about. I really don't. I don't know what memories she wants me to remember. How does one remember something if they don't remember it? But I can't let Sera die. I can't let one more person die because of me. I need to stop this woman. In order to stop her, I have to remember. I'm so confused; I can't comprehend what's going on. This all seems like a blur, a daze. If I pinch myself, I'll wake up in my bed. I'll wake up in my clean and soft bed, my warm and cozy room; walk downstairs and see Stefan swallowing Elena's face in the living room. Elena? Is that Elena? I think I see Elena. Why is she here? Does Stefan know nothing about protecting her? It included her not wandering off into the middle of a forest. Idiot.
Damon squints to get a better view of the brunette in the forest.
"Elena?" Damon says out, stunned.
"What?" Dakota whips around, still having Sera clutched tightly in her arm.
"Is that you?" Damon says, his instinct is to immediately walk forward. Seraphine is still crying, but the Elena-like figure distracts everyone's attention from her. Damon walks out of the enclosed area and finds himself in front of Elena.
"Damon! You're here!" Elena says, smiling brightly. She kneels down and picks up a daisy.
"Of course. Why are you here?" Damon says, staring at the brightly flourished flower she's holding in her hand.
"I was looking for you!" She looks up from the flower and bores her eyes into Damon's.
"Shouldn't you be with Stefan?" Damon asks, confused with everything.
"I thought you knew," Elena replies, her face immediately dropping.
"Know what? What did I know?"
"Stefan and I broke up," Elena says, her eyes glancing down at the dirt.
"I'm sorry," Damon says. He puts on a saddened face, but his heart was prancing around, for what reason, he doesn't know.
"I'm with you right now," Elena says matter-of-factly.
"What?" Damon replies stunned.
"You're my boyfriend, silly." Elena nudges him playfully.
"Since when?"
"Since Stefan and I broke up… Which was a year or two ago? Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm feeling fine. Just a little confused- that's all. But uh are you sure that we're dating?" Damon asks.
"Yes, of course! But I wanted to talk to you about our relationship…" The whole world silenced, and everything was muted except for Elena's beating heart. They're like bells ringing in Damon's ears. "I think we should break up." Elena blurts.
Damon's stomach falls, and his heart stops beating for a minute. He turns pale, and he can feel himself scattering his breath.
"Wh-what?"
"I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore." Elena's eyes are tearing up.
"Just remember Vaughn and the rules. Listen to them, okay?" She has red blotches all over her face, and she starts running away. Damon just stands there, his legs like noodles. He can't carry his weight anymore and so he falls. The world comes crashing around him and soon he realizes he's back in front of Dakota and Sera.
"Damon! Please wake up!" Screams Sera. She's crying and her face is stained with dry tears. Damon flutters his eyes open and looks up.
"Vaughn? I remember Vaughn and something about rules." Damon says, his brain fumbling in his skull.
"Recite the rules, and then I'll let her go. I promise." Dakota says, the evil glint in her eye shrinking.
"Uh. I'm not sure." He hates himself right now. He can't give her a straight answer.
"You know it. It's not hard."
"Rule one… Listen to Vaughn?" Damon says cautiously. He gets a nod of approval from Dakota.
"Two, don't run away. Three reply back with a 'sir' or 'ma'am'. Four…" Damon thinks hard. He doesn't want to let everyone down. Dakota clenches the knife and digs it a little in her skin.
"AAAAH! OH MY GOD!" Sera shrieks.
"Four, ask before I do anything. Five, don't disobey my captors? How am I remembering this?" Damon pauses to think, but the small amount of blood racing down her neck is distracting him. The veins underneath his eyes pop up, and his eyes turn red. His fangs appear, and he's growling.
"Control yourself. Do you want her to die? It'll all be your fault." Dakota says, trying to convince him that she isn't food.
"I need blood." Damon urges. Every bone in his body tells him to move and drink out of the running faucet, but he can't. If he did, he wouldn't know what to do.
"And you will get them. Just behave and you will get a reward. So control yourself."
Damon adjusts himself and looks away from the faint Sera. His veins die down and he finally looks back up again.
"Continue please."
"Six is not telling you guys what to do. Seven is not lying. If I break it, I'll receive a consequence." Damon finishes.
"Not only you, but the people closest to you will suffer as well, so you better watch that mouth of yours," Dakota warns.
"Yes, ma'am," Damon replies back, robotically. His voice didn't hold the attitude it had before. Dakota releases the knife from Sera's throat and she plops down. Damon rushes to her, not caring about his screaming muscles. He sees her sweet and innocent face.
"I'm sorry. It was my entire fault. I'll do anything to protect you, I swear." Damon whispers. He sits down and starts to cry. His eye's becoming watery, and his heart becomes heavy with guilt and sorrow. He lets it all out and starts crying in his hands. He wipes away his tears but more comes streaming through on his face. He can't control himself. What he needs right now is just some love and protection, but he can't get any of that in his current state.
He slowly recites the rules under his breath. He lies down on the grass and whispers himself to sleep, but Elena keeps popping up in his thought. Tears swell up in his eyes. One slides down from his cheeks, creating a trail on his face, and plops into the dirt underneath him.
Now I really have no one.
Aah! Okay! So, he's finally broken! We can finally move on with the story now haha. Have I been dragging this story on for too long? Or do you like this? Haha. I might not update for the rest of the week because I have a social studies test that I have to ace, and loads and loads of homework to do. The struggle is real. I'll definitely try and post more often next week, but don't count me to it! Anyways, please review this chapter! Constructive criticism would be appreciated too! Favorite and follow this story for updates! I love all of you guys, you're the best!
-Angela
