Previously on Flightmate...

E, C, B are on a trip to Europe. E and D bond. Their plane crashes and E finds herself, alone and drowning in the middle of the ocean. She spots D.

Chapter 8: Erasing Life

Elena smelled something good. Delicious.

Smiling, she snuggled closer to the smell, realizing she'd tightened her hands around someone's neck. Pulling herself away, she opened her eyes in alarm and registered the following information: the delicious smell was a man; she was lying horizontal on said man's back; and he was a crazy fast yet steady swimmer.

In fact, he was so steady that Elena was completely above water.

She lifted her head. She was in the middle of the ocean, the sun was shining bright overhead. Her middle was tied with a black leather jacket to the waist of her rescuer. Her legs were pressed against his, her face on the hollow in his back. She was wide awake. Her head rested on his back, his smell attacking her head and memories hit her like a tidal wave.

'Good morning!' Damon's voice sang, loud and teasing over the splashing waves surrounding them. His voice wasn't strained or breathless. Elena stared.

'Damon? How-what' she spluttered. Words failed her as she tried to connect the dots. How did I end up on his back? What logical string of events can bring me to here?

'Not the worst way to wake up after a semi-death, is it?' he smirked cockily. He turned to me, eyes shining with amusement, continuing to swim without faltering. Elena could just tell he'd been waiting for this moment for atleast a few hours then.

'What happened?' she asked, ignoring his remarks.

'Long story. Buy the e-book' Damon suggested and resumed swimming, headed to nowhere.

'Where are we going? Damon?' Elena demanded, concerned then. He said nothing.

Elena considered an escape plan. There is nothing I can do now. I don't have a choice. I could try and get off of him, but I can't swim. Moreover, Damon'd probably forcefully pull her back anyway.

'Where are you taking me? It is the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!' she cried. Thanks to Caroline's incessant rewatching of Titanic, Elena was well aware of the freezing cold and deadly icebergs of the Atlantic during night-time. However it was bright sunny afternoon then. The ocean water was lukewarm, drenching her body whenever Damon splashed her and let them sink under the water just a bit. Elena squealed whenever she contacted water. Although it was frustrating, she found it melt away as she heard Damon chuckling every time he splashed her. She'd never heard Damon laugh. He was busy moping and bumping into strangers.

'Just go to sleep Elena,' Damon commanded, after a while.

'I can't! Not when you keep trying to choke me with water!' she exclaimed.

'Choke you? That's a little overdramatic, don't you think?'

Elena could practically see him doing the eye thing as she glared at the back of his head. She hoped fervently he'd feel the frustration she felt.

'No, I'm not sleeping now. Not until you tell me where we're headed.'

Damon stopped. He jerked himself, upright. Elena held on to his shoulders to keep herself from drowning. The water loosened the jacket's hold on her. Damon looked down, yanked his jacket, slamming Elena into his back. The wet black jacket slid off. He turned around and met Elena's eyes.

'Okay listen up. You were drowning and unlike your friends, you can't swim.' He declared harshly, arms steadying her as she almost drowned again, serving to emphasize his point. 'Maybe you can be a little grateful and stop badgering me! Every one of your million questions will be answered when you are safe and won't die on me.'

Elena blinked. She wanted to be thankful. He saved her life. She should show a little more gratitude but she couldn't help feeding off of Damon's anger and throwing it back at him.

'Why do you care if I'm dead or not? How did you save me, anyway?' Elena demanded, her voice increasing in volume, ordering him to answer her. 'I am not going to stop asking until I get an answer, Damon. I don't remember you leaving the plane. I didn't even see you beside me when we crashed. You'd have to pass me to leave the plane, right? And I definitely didn't feel you moving,' Elena piled her suspicions on the metaphorical table between them, her voice growing louder, realizing she was onto something. 'Where were you, Damon?' she whispered suspiciously.

Damon was stumped and unable to say anything. Elena floated, arms crossed, waiting for his answer. He didn't seem to have any.

He grabbed her face and made eye contact. Elena was surprised at being in such close proximity with him. Damon's pupils grew and shrunk rapidly. Elena didn't understand what he was doing until her brain was forced to listen to his voice and only his. How was he doing that?

'You will go to sleep. I will answer all of your questions when I want to. You will be okay with that.' He proclaimed. All Elena wanted to do then was to go to sleep and her body seemed to oblige as well. She blankly repeated the words - as if on instinct, completely out of her control. He hauled her behind him and proceeded to retie the jacket. Elena feebly fought but sleep did win in the end.

Elena sat by the bonfire burning in front of her. The glare of the fire was bright and penetrating. She shut her eyes on reflex but the fire burned under her eyelids. Elena slowly reopened her eyes and let them adjust to the light. She took in a deep breath. She smelt him.

'What the-' she looked down, noticing for the first time a familiar jacket wrapped around her. Fighting her instinct to shrug out of it, Elena merely pushed it downwards, away from her nose. Her ego will have to lose this time against survival. Taking the jacket off meant losing the comfortable cocoon that Elena had no intention of getting out of. The cold bit her jeans. She didn't want to risk a frost bite. The freezing wind attacked at that precise moment, watering her eyes and lighting out the fire in one blow.

Elena blinked in confusion when she opened her eyes. It was pitch dark. The sudden light deficit made her see flashes of orange and red behind her eyelids. She cautiously tried focusing again. Examining her location, Elena could tell the ocean from the land because of the rippling waves. That was all.

She lay there, still as a rock. The night was slowly getting to her. Decreased vision increased her fear, making her acutely aware of her state of solitude. Anything could attack her right now and she'd be gone. Without a trace. Her existence wiped off the planet in this dark and desolate island. She was expect croaking of bats or the hooting of owls but the place was spookily eerie but nothing.

Just the soft waves sweeping over the sand. Erasing life.

Elena pondered over her options. She could get up and find something to eat. However, the presence of the fire a few minutes ago proved that someone was around. She didn't light the fire. So who did? Someone found me and looked after me. She had vague visions of blue, clear water swallowing her whole and desperately trying to stay afloat. The image scared her. She did not know if it was a dream or history.

As she tried to fish for information in the clouded, addled mess that was her mind, an unexpected gush of wind slapped her face. Officially alarmed, she stood up and waited for a sound. It wasn't the wind and it wasn't a sudden chill. It was like a zap, quick and unnoticed yet creating ripples in the air.

The blast of wind was back. It left the orange flames of the relit fire in its path.

Elena took a few steps back in shock. Is it natural for wind to put off and reignite a fire? It has to be a someone behind this. Then that she could see, she looked around. There was absolutely no one in sight and the place looked just like it did when she woke up. Bravely, she walked to a nearby tree and picked up some sticks. She bundled them together. The resulting package was too big to hold in one hand so Elena had to hold it in both hands. She lit it on fire. Holding the make-shift torch in front of her for light and protection, she headed to explore the place.

Swiftly sliding into the jacket, she walked closer to the sea. She had an urge to yell 'Hello?'. However, Elena wouldn't do it. She wasn't stupid. Elena was not going to attract the possible kidnapper's attention, like the stupid people in horror movies.

After a few moments of utter silence, Elena walked back breathing a sigh of relief. There was no one there. Just some freaky wind situation.

As she walked back, she tried to figure out what she happened. Was a small portion of the fire not completely put out? Is that why the fire relit; had the wind rekindled it?

In spite the peculiarity of it all, Elena felt a sense of relief coming over her. The scientific part of her brain was refunctioning. The familiarity calmed her down as she plopped back in her place beside the fire. She put out the make-shift torch and placed it near her feet. Warming herself and resting, she watched the waves rise and fall, higher and higher as time progresses.

Elena however, finally caught up with her hunger. She lied down flat on the ground, ridding her mind of all delicious thoughts of food so she could sleep. After ten minutes of twisting and turning, she got up. Oh please let me sleep, she pleaded with her mind to no avail. Her eyes scrunched up in annoyance at the idea that she'd have to find food in the world of dark and creepy awaiting behind her. What if I get eaten alive by a hyena? she mused. Or bitten by snakes? Who knows what dangerous creatures stroll here?

Starving herself was not any better though.

Tired, she got up and relit the torch. Maintaining a low profile was key although she knew that the likelihood of being spotted and eaten alive by predators was far less than stepping on a sleeping giant anaconda and eaten alive.

Smiling pitifully at her plight, she grabbed her torch and started walking into the forest.

Elena's hair was standing on its edge. Every instinct in her body told her to be careful. Make no sound. She cautiously stepped over a branch, holding the torch above her head. It was a careless move, she thought later. The torch could have brushed against the rough bark of the tree, setting it on fire, then the forest, ensuring the death of all life within, including her. Elena was more tired and food-deprived than she'd ever been.

Dragging her legs, she stopped to lean against a tree, catching her breath after walking stealthily for an hour. She focused on slowing her heart rate. Being in danger was new. The way she felt every nerve on her body only reminded her of her vulnerability and how easy it was to find a good spot and kill her. She warily scanned the forest.

The tall green trees as beautiful as they were, bore no fruits. A breed of coniferous and boreal, the sharp pointy leaves on the trees were coated with wax - a human poison, if ingested. They scratched Elena's clothes and legs, adding to her misery. The entangled vines and branches on the ground were like a hurdle race that never ended; the huge bee hives on the branches hanging over her head, threatening to fall any second and the blaring quiet, made Elena extremely paranoid. Anyone would lose their mind if they spent more than ten minutes here. I am too tired to go back; I might as well just rest here for a bit.

Just as her mind slipped into the chasm of dizziness, she noticed a movement behind the tree opposite her. Elena forced her eyes open to observe. It looked like the shadow of a person. Elena tried to focus on it, taking a step forward but her legs gave way at the same instant. She collapsed on the ground, the leaves crushing underneath her. Her butt ached with the sudden weight. Her knees formed a tent in front of her and blocked her view of the shadow. Instantly, she forgot all about the movement behind the tree. She was too busy trying to regain some control over her tired and exhausted body.

'I give up,' she muttered out loud, finally letting exhaustion overcome her.

A flapping sound filled the empty forest air as Elena's hair whipped violently. A single black crow landed on Elena's knee. She stared at the bird. The crow's black orbs sucked her in and held her captive. How was a crow doing that? Have I seen this crow before? The crow did not look away and neither did Elena. You wanna go? Let's go.

After what seemed like eons, the bird tilted its head to the side and Elena snapped out of it. She jerkily stood up and brushed the crow off her leg. The crow'd already took off.

After it was safely out of sight, Elena decided to keep walking. Her short timeout brought back a little of her strength. Maybe it was the crow that boosted her strength, she pondered lightly.

Since when do crows sit on your knee and engage you in a staring contest, anyway?

She walked on laboriously and heard distant rumblings that Elena could only perceive as water. She'd walked away from the ocean- this was either a river or a lagoon. Probably near a tree filled with fruits, she fantasized. If not, I could atleast quench my thirst. Her pace quickened, the new hope fueling her legs with more energy. The water grew louder. Elena's excitement grew exponentially and her legs walked forward as though a rope pulled her ahead.

She ran. She ran until she reached the front of a hedge. Intercrossed branches and thick leaves stood between her and the potential water source.

'Run through it Elena,' she motivated herself, taking a few strides back. The short pause gave her body time to protest so Elena prepared herself. She leaned forward, raised her hands in front of her eyes for protection and sprinted.

The branches were rough and they hurt. The leaves scraped the multiple wounds on her body, tearing them further apart. The hedge was rather thick and stretched for a while. It was suffocating.

Unfortunately, the ground ended there.

Elena Gilbert dropped fifty feet, falling into the black abyss.

I have glorious news! For this year's FanExpo (Comic Con of Canada), I got in as a volunteer! Guess who's coming. MISTER SMOULDERHOLDER OF COURSE. It's in the last weekend of August. I AM SO EXCITED. If you have a question to ask Ian, let me know down below because I got nothing. I'll pick the most interesting/never-answered-before question. I do need cosplay ideas. If anyone knows a very easy cosplay - a casual dress wearing, no makeup character'd be nice - please let me know in the review box as well.

See ya next monday!

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