Elena's POV

I had finally learned to trust him. I had finally learned to bear his presence, but it was all ripped from me. He walked in and raped me. He had only made it feel good in the shower so that he could rip me apart. He wanted me to get my hopes up, so he could simply shatter them. Two days? It was a diversion...it was mind game. He wanted me to believe in two days everything would be fine, but I knew it was a lie. I was trapped.

For five minutes I actually considered suicide as the answer. What was left for me? Could I escape somehow, even with no knowledge of what was beyond these gates? Could I simply keep hoping that it would get better? This man, this monster tricked me into believing things would improve, but it was all a lie in order to crush my spirits.

I had to get away, but how? No one could help. But could I let my future children grow up here...my sons abusing other innocent girls? My daughters being subjected the same way? What kind of life was that for any child?

I rose from my bed, throwing the suitcase I had brought on my wedding night onto it. I filled it with the few things I owned, sobbing as my body throbbed relentlessly from the invasion. I slammed the case shut and walked over to the window and opened it all the way until I could throw the suitcase onto the ground.

I then climbed onto the wood frame before jumping and never looking back. I felt my feet hit the ground and I took off running through the woods of the backyard. The suitcase was surprisingly light and it bounced off my hip as I ran. I knew the main road could not be far, so I just kept running.

I must have been running for a good twenty minutes before the sky was engulfed in complete darkness. The moonlight was strong enough that I could see in front of me, my pace beginning to slow as each muscle fatigued one by one until I could barely move.

That's when I saw it. The main road had a steady amount of traffic, plastering a smile on my face. I ran towards it, hoping to catch a ride or at least walk along it to what I hope would be an asylum. I was at a walking, but steady pace and I let out a sob of relief at the thought of escaping this nightmare.

I tripped suddenly and I peered down to see a hand wrapped around my ankle.

I turned around to see a group of men surrounding me, two or three grabbing at my body. A younger man snatched my hair, forcing me to drop my suitcase. I let out a scream before he punched me square in the jaw. It was the infamous Committee. They had found me. How? Had Damon called them once he saw me missing from my room?

I don't know if I was angry in that moment, or just solely afraid, but either way, I knew I hated them all.

Every punch the men threw brought me closer to what I hoped would be death. They held me by the collar of my dress and I was unable to escape them. I remember screaming when I felt the first of the blood run down my temple. All I could hear were their grunts and laughter as they continued to beat me on the hard, cold ground.

"You will learn your place here, woman," A man with a beard growled at me while a chorus of deep chuckles filled the air behind him.

I could not believe I had been caught by the Committee, like they had hunted me like an animal in the woods. I just kept desperately screaming 'stop' and the men formed a circle around me. The world seemed to spin as the blows kept coming. I wondered what heaven was like to distract me from the misery before me. Would I know when I died? Would it hurt?

I felt them drag me for a while before I felt someone grab my hair in a rough grip once again. I softly hummed a hymn, trying to find peace in my demise. My face was thrown into the dirt, forcing me to taste the ground below me. I continued to plead, but the men just laughed at me and before long I heard their voices gasp in unison. I couldn't see what they were getting excited about, but I knew it wasn't good.

That's when I felt the blade at my throat, digging into my skin. My body was trembling as the man grabbed my hair in a tighter grip than before. I was in a state of hysteria, my wails rising higher and higher into the cold night.

"If you want to live to see tomorrow, you listen to us. You are woman, we are men. You do what we say. That is the way the world works. Now get up on your feet," He hissed into my ear, my body so weak I wondered if I could actually comply.

Every inch of me ached as I pushed myself to my feet, the men shouting curses at me in the process. Another man walked up to me from behind, causing me to flinch. He began removing my dress, immediately instilling fear in me. I was screaming now, my frail body covered with my own blood.

"Please don't," I cried and the other man slapped my face in response.

"Shut up. Listen to your superiors," He snapped and he finally pulled his hand back.

I just sobbed, trying to hold the tears back when the man finally peeled off my dress. With a rough shove, he pushed my body to the ground where I hid my face with my hands in humiliation and complete exhaustion. I felt my body weaken as they kicked me over and over until the pain just became numbing.

I felt my body slip away and the blood continued to drip in a pool beside me. Finally a boot slammed right into the back of my head, causing me to see black. When the pain finally seemed to stop, I knew I was no longer conscious. All I could see was black. I couldn't hear or see or smell or taste. All I knew was that I was in a better place.

Damon's POV

At around ten O'Clock I got a call from the Prophet. I picked up the phone, knowing it must have been urgent. No one ever called past eight.

"Damon, Elena has decided to run away. I sent the Committee after her immediately," He said bluntly, "She was doing so well. It's unfortunate it had to come to this."

My face became tight and I almost dropped the phone when I heard what he had said. I didn't even answer Mosiah and I ran to her room, ripping the door open without even thinking. She was gone, her window wide open.

My body was trembling as I thought of what to do. Where was she? Did they find her yet? I didn't even have time to think. I ran as fast as I could out the back door and through the woods behind the house. I knew there was a highway tucked behind them. All I could think about was what they were doing to her. The worst part being that she believed it was all my fault for everything.

I had made love to her in the shower and later that night I raped her. How could she not be confused and angry? If she had only waited two more days. Two fucking days. The moon was very bright, allowing me to run faster than I normally would in the woods at night. It felt like hours, my legs vibrating violently as I ran. What if I was too late? What if they were...were...I pushed the thought out of my mind. I could hear myself panting when I stopped to breathe. How much farther could it possibly be? I had been running forever.

I pushed myself to keep going, I couldn't let her down. I cared about her. There I said it. I cared about Elena Salvatore, the girl with a fire, with resistance, with bravery. This was the girl that refused to be subjected, refused to be thrown around. She was the bravest person I had ever known and she was my wife. I would fight for her, no matter what.

I could finally see the highway up ahead, the lights almost blinding me as they passed. I kept running, searching for her. I panicked when I couldn't find her anywhere, until finally there she was.

She was alone on the hard ground, her naked body sprawled out. I could see the blood splattered everywhere around her, covering everything in red. She was soaked in it, the bruises just barely peeking through. I cried her name when I reached her lifeless body. I ripped off my jacket, wrapping her broken body in it and I picked her up into my hold and carried her in my arms.

I ran back toward the house. It was a far distance, but I felt the adrenaline pumping, every ounce of me propelling forward. I thought of a plan, watching as her head bounced very time my feet pounded against the ground, her neck drooped back until it dangled over my arm. I needed to get to my truck in the driveway, the one I used to get to work each day. I had a contact I knew who had run away years ago. We were good friends when we were kids, but he left this life as soon as he was old enough to get a job. I still had his card hidden away somewhere in my desk, not that I ever thought I would have to use it.

I was gasping tirelessly for air when I finally reached the back door. I stumbled through the door and set her on the countertop of the kitchen island. My mind scrambled for things to bring. I needed to get Elena medical attention, but I needed money and identification and clothes. This wasn't going to be a short trip. The second I left this compound, I would be gone forever. Everything and everyone here would be dead to me. I was a traitor.

"Damon? What happened?" Rebekah was standing in the entrance of the kitchen while I frantically threw the money from the safe in my office into a bag.

"She's hurt," I whispered.

"A-Are you leaving?" She was on the verge of tears.

"Elena needs medical attention," I told her.

"So you're just going to leave your family for her? You're going to abandon us?" She spat the words.

"She's my wife, Rebekah. She'll die," I tried to explain, walking into Elena's room and grabbing what I could find of her belongings, most of it still sitting in a suitcase back in the woods.

"I'm your wife, too," She barked, "Caroline is your wife, too. You're going to give up everything for a girl that has NEVER been the wife you deserved?"

"I would have done the same for you," I said softly, throwing my car keys into the bag.

"You are selfish, Damon Salvatore. You are so unbelievably selfish," She sobbed.

"I'm sorry, but I was selfish with Elena and I owe it to her to save her." I looked into Rebekah's eyes, which were drowning in tears.

"So it's true then. You care about her...you have feelings for her, feelings that Caroline and I will never be able to give to you, right?" She accused cruelly.

"I don't have time for this," I hissed, maybe avoiding the question out of fear.

I returned to the kitchen, throwing the bag over my head before grabbing what medical tape we had lying around and wrapping any bleeding wounds I could see. I wrapped her head to stop her bloody wound, along with her arms and legs. I then scooped Elena up into my arms. There was a small puddle of blood from where I had set her down and I walked toward the front door of the house promptly,

"Damon, please don't go. Please," Rebekah begged in a last minute attempt.

I pushed past her and opened the front door.

"I'm sorry, Rebekah," I breathed before stepping onto the porch and quietly closing the door behind me.

I sprinted to the truck, pulling the passenger door open until I could gently sprawl her out on the front seat. Her body was still limp and bloody and I cringed at the sight. I ran to the driver's seat and quickly turned over the engine before zooming off into the night. I approached the main gate after endless turns this way and that.

I saw two men guarding the fence and they put their hands out to stop the car. I needed to act normal and although lying was a sin, it came naturally, especially after I had relentlessly lied to Elena's face each and every day since of wedding. I threw a blanket over her and calmly rolled down the window. One of the men smiled at me.

"And why are you going out so late at night?"

"We just ran out of milk and the children won't stop crying," I said with a smirk.

"Understandable, sir," The man laughed and he signalled at another man that pulled open the gates. It was incredible how gullible people could be.

As soon as the gates were wide enough for the vehicle, I pressed down on the gas pedal and sped out of there, never looking back. I gave up everything, but Elena and I couldn't go back there. She needed medical attention and I was now a traitor; I had helped her. I had saved her. I had broken their rules and I was already dead to them now.

I pulled the blanket from her body and my throat grew tight in panic. She felt cold against my touch.

"Elena, open your eyes, please baby. Please just open your eyes," I begged, but they remained inert.

My foot instinctively sunk lower on the gas until I was reaching speeds up to 90mph. I was becoming increasingly anxious. I kept looking down at the card's address as if it would make the journey faster. Elliot's house was a good 30 minutes away, but Elena couldn't wait that long.

So why didn't I take her to a hospital? I ask myself that all the time, but you must understand that the hospital would have gotten the police involved. I would have been their primary suspect and our compound would have come under investigation. Everyone I loved was in that place. My parents, my wives, their families. I could not rat them out like that. I was keeping the police out of this no matter what. I don't know what I was thinking; maybe I wasn't thinking at all in the moment.

I finally found the correct street and I slowed down enough to read the mailbox numbers. When I read the appropriate one, I pulled into the driveway and opened my door. I leaned over to grab Elena, my heart racing so fast I thought it would explode. The porch light was on and it assured that I would not trip on my way to the front door. I knocked with my trembling and bloody hand and I waited impatiently, my eyes welling up with tears of panic.

The door then swung open and a man in his pajamas answered the door. He wiped his eyes tiredly, obviously roused from his sleep by my knocking. I looked closer and I barely recognized him.

"Elliot?" I breathed. "It's Damon Salvatore."

"Damon! What happened? Damn...what happened?" He asked in concern.

"The Committee. They beat her badly," I whispered.

There was blood everywhere and it was a gruesome sight. He gestured me inside, running upstairs and shouting for a woman named 'Diana'. She came out of the room in a robe, her face as frantic as all of ours, her blonde hair tousled on top of her head. She came racing down the steps, her mouth open in surprise. She pointed me upstairs.

"Turn left, it's the second door on the right," She commanded me.

I obeyed, hopping the steps even though my legs were giving out from under me. I was dying from exhaustion. I forced myself to keep going and before I knew it, I was pushing the door to the bedroom open and setting her on the neatly made bed. Elliot and Diana came in moments later with towels, bandages, IV fluids, and other medical equipment I didn't recognize.

"You're lucky I married a nurse," Elliot said gently with a smile of encouragement.

He looked so much older, almost unrecognizable. He had crows feet and a beard full of orange stubble, the same hue as the hair upon his head. I watched as his wife scrambled to attend to Elena's wounds. She threw the jacket I had used to cover her onto the floor, my wife now completely naked before everyone, but the blood was almost like clothing on her. I was choking back a sob.

"Damon, we got this, okay? You've already done so much," Diana told me breathlessly.

The woman was prodding her with needles, her husband being directed on how to set her broken arm, which was protruding just under the skin. It was all happening so fast and I barely had time to register the chaos. I heard Elliot's grunts as he and Diana worked together to snap the bone back where it belonged. I couldn't take it anymore and I left the room without another word. All this girl knew was pain and although she was too out of it to comprehend the pain, I could not witness it any longer.

I sat against the wall in the hallway, sobbing into my hands. I wasn't one to cry, but there was no one around to notice. I allowed the emotion to purge itself through my tears and I for a split second I felt regret for leaving the compound. What had I just done?