The Other

Something had happened to Elijah—that much was certain.

Not that Luka or Jonas had said as much, or really anything beyond what was necessary, but there was a subtle restlessness that hadn't been there before.

Although I didn't really know what was causing their unease, Elijah's absence and Luka's reaction to my mention of him seemed to confirm my suspicions.

If there was ever a time to contemplate escape, it was now. Without Elijah's superhuman abilities, I actually had a chance of making it out of here. Still, I knew it would be wrong to underestimate Luka or Jonas, an understanding that was as solid as my memory of Jonas's last display of his skills.

I flinched at the remembered pain, feeling a shimmer of unease crawl under my skin even as I resisted the urge to race to the door. Speed alone wouldn't be enough, as I was certain that even without Elijah's speed, they wouldn't have had trouble catching me. It was purely luck that the woman had driven by last time and I knew that they would have found me quickly had I been forced to run much longer.

With these thoughts in mind, I tried to remain calm, knowing that he would notice if I seemed poised to take off at any second.

I watched Luka prepare our meals, even as my plan began to take form. Once again, my escape would be a long shot and would almost entirely depend on luck. In fact, it wouldn't be much different than my last spontaneous attempt.

I hoped that the lack of Elijah and Jonas would be enough, as one was missing—maybe even dead—and the other probably wouldn't return for some time. I had taken to monitoring Jonas's departures and keeping track of the duration of his absences.

While Jonas was often gone for hours at a time, there were the instances in which he wasn't.

Regardless of my own worries, I knew it would have to be now. Something told me that wherever Elijah was, he wouldn't remain there for long.

Luka slid the plate in front of me and the clink of the glass on the counter yanked me from my thoughts. Despite my own preoccupation, Luka didn't seem to have noticed anything and barely shot me a glance as he took his seat at the table, returning to his studying.

This was how the days had gone by: Jonas would leave, Luka would prepare my lunch, and then he would spend the next several hours studying, pretending I didn't exist. I was grateful for his dismissal as I picked at my sandwich, waiting for him to become engrossed in his textbooks.

As my hands slid underneath the now empty plate, I contemplated what I was about to do and how unlike me it was.

I was the pathetic, defenseless human who was too weak to fight back. The girl who had no choice but to give in to the whims of others because what could she do? How do you fight stone?

Staring at the back of Luka's head, however, I realized that I could do this. He wasn't an indestructible vampire who could kill me in the time it would take to blink.

He was human. A warlock—maybe, but still a human.

I was human too and I knew better than anyone about the frailty of our species.

In one swift movement, I smashed the plate over his head, taking a moment to marvel at my success as Luka fell out of his chair. The stinging in my hands from the shattered glass eventually roused me from my shock enough to bend over and check that he was unconscious.

I was cautious, despite the adrenaline now coursing its way through my veins, half-expecting him to reach out and grasp me with the intention of inflicting the white hot pain of a spell.

When I was certain that he was out, I wasted no time in digging through his pockets for a cell phone, internally rejoicing as I found it. I didn't want Luka waking up and calling his father to inform him what had happened.

My triumph was short lived as I found myself unable to use the phone, something I thought might've been the result of a spell. Still, I slid the phone into my jeans along with a carefully wrapped shard of glass, before finally giving into my urge to flee.

I ran down the driveway as quickly as I could, wishing that Luka had his own car as I cut into the trees. This would have been so much easier if there had been a car for me to steal.

I felt déjà-vu as I made a similar trek through the trees, although this time, it would get darker a lot sooner. With this in mind, I stayed close to the road, wondering if I would be lucky enough to find someone else to hitch a ride with.

My breathing grew ragged and my legs ached when nightfall came, but I didn't stop running. I had gotten much farther than the first time, but I was unsure how long it would take Luka to wake or Jonas to realize I had escaped.

My steps faltered at the sudden blare of sound coming from my pocket, so loud and shocking that I didn't notice a wayward root protruding in my path. The feeling of dirt and rocks under my already injured palms when I instinctively tried to break my fall caused me to hiss in pain, as well as the scraping of my knees.

Carefully reaching into my pocket, I slid out the phone, not surprised to see Dad flashing on the outer screen. Jonas would know something was wrong now, and wouldn't waste any time in returning to that house. My time was almost up.

At the same time, a bright light began to cut through the trees, originating further down the road. Unlike last time, I didn't dare make my presence known. For all I knew, that could be Jonas on his way back and even if it wasn't, there was still the chance that the driver might not notice me.

I didn't want to go through the trouble of escaping only to be hit by a car.

The sound of the phone ringing only seemed to be getting louder and I had a moment of fear that its volume would lead them right to me. I threw the phone as far as I could from my position on the ground, waiting for the lights to fade before I continued running, lest the driver somehow notice me darting through the trees.

The trees seemed to be thinning and I breathed a silent sigh of relief when I finally found civilization.

"Mystic Falls," I read aloud from a sign as I crept from the trees.

I was struck by how magical the name sounded and how ironic it was that a vampire and a pair of witches would choose such a place as their home.

The streets were empty and quiet, the only sign of life coming from a building in the distance. The steady thrum of music and the array of parked cars around it suggested that it would be my best bet at finding help.

I slipped in the building as casually as I could, surveying what was essentially a bar. The room was filled with people drinking and laughing, enjoying the benefit of a live band. They seemed to be celebrating, but I could scarcely remember the date and didn't think there were any holidays coming up.

I stood there for a moment just within the doorway, at a loss for what I should do now that I was here. Somehow, running around claiming to have been kidnapped didn't sound like a good idea, considering that I had been abducted by supernatural beings—not your run-of-the-mill psycho.

I took a deep, shaky breath, trying to ignore the ache of my lungs as I moved into action. There had to be a phone somewhere for me to use.

Some people gave me odd looks as I walked toward the back of the bar, no doubt from my appearance. There was blood on my jeans and twigs in my hair, not to mention my hands. My hope that no one would question me was dashed as a girl stopped me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concern evident in her voice despite our lack of acquaintance.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I spoke too quickly for my lie to have fooled her. "I just really need to use a phone."

Her gaze grew assessing and I took a deep breath in an effort to try to calm down. Somehow, her stare seemed far more probing than the others, as if she could actually see into me. I quickly shook the thought away, wondering when I had become so paranoid.

Probably after I was kidnapped and held prisoner in some dilapidated house, I thought wryly.

She nodded to herself, seeming to have decided something, before holding out her phone with a smile.

"Here. You can use mine."

"Are you sure?" I asked, even as I began to reach for the phone.

There wasn't really time for this and I knew that, but I couldn't stop myself from double-checking.

"Of course. Anyway, I'm not sure what the code is to call out of here and well...the waiter is kind of...busy, if you catch my meaning," she laughed.

I smiled back despite the circumstances, thankful to have found someone who was kind enough to help a stranger.

For a moment, I wondered who to call. Although I thought it should be Charlie, I knew that he wouldn't really be able to do anything. There was really only one person—one family—that would be able to handle this sort of thing.

I took a deep breath and dialed the number I had used more than any other in my life. It would probably kill me to hear his voice, but despite his new disinterest in me, he had asked that I remain safe. Surely if he knew about my current predicament, he would help?

I felt my hope dwindle as an emotionless female voice informed me that the line was no longer in use.

I disconnected the call, my chest feeling strangely empty at the lengths he had gone to in order to prevent me from bothering him.

I took another breath and dialed Alice's number, knowing that even if he ignored me, she never could.

Oh, how very wrong I was.

The same voice once again informed me that the line was no longer in use.

I didn't even bother trying any of the other Cullens, knowing that if those two had distanced themselves so thoroughly, I had no chance of reaching the others.

"Couldn't get through?" she asked as she reached for her phone.

I returned it without protest, the idea that I should call Charlie anyway becoming overshadowed by the knowledge that I was on my own in this. As was the case merely hours ago, I would have to do this alone, without the aid of a family of vampires.

Before I could answer, something caught her eye behind me and she mumbled a quick excuse as she headed toward it.

I turned around and found myself frozen in place as I watched her walk up to one of the men who had been keeping me prisoner.

"Where is she?" his inquiry made my eyes widen and my heart pound.

"You don't understand," the girl replied and I began to wonder if it was a coincidence that she had spoken to me.

Had she known? Was she in on it? If she had...if she was...then why did she let me use her phone to call for help?

"My son is dead."

I gasped, my chest filling with guilt as my breath whooshed out.

I hadn't meant to really hurt him. I just needed to get away. Despite everything that had happened, I didn't think Luka was truly a bad guy. And I had killed him.

"Whatever it is that you think you need to do, there is a better way," the girl spoke earnestly now.

Remembering how Jonas had reacted when I had last hurt his son made it easy to see why. The memory of the pain once again swept over me, drowning out their conversation.

Suddenly, the lights were shattering, drawing me from my memories as my panic increased.

"Where is she?" I heard him demand.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her!"

More lights shattered and although I knew I should run, I remained immobile.

"No one's getting out of here until I have her," his voice was cold and harsh and I knew he meant it.

"Don't do this. Please, don't do this," she pleaded with him.

I stepped away from the counter as glasses began to shatter, spilling liquor on the surface, before suddenly being consumed by fire.

Jonas grabbed the girl then and used magic to either kill her or knock her unconscious—I wasn't sure. All I knew was that he was here for me and whatever had happened to her was my fault.

Around me, people were beginning to panic, many fleeing the building while an employee tried to smother the flames.

I knew I should be fleeing too. There were so many people that I actually had a chance of slipping by unnoticed. Yet, the knowledge that I was the reason he was doing this prevented me from doing so.

"Dr. Martin!"

Another girl had called out to him, immediately gaining Jonas's attention. There was familiarity there, and an anger directed at the girl and the boy beside her that I recognized.

"Stop!" The demand slipped passed by lips unbidden.

Jonas's dark gaze instantly shifted to me, as did the girl and the boy she was clinging to. I didn't know who they were, but I couldn't just watch them get hurt because of me.

"You need me. You don't have to hurt anyone else."

The pair were obviously confused, but Jonas's expression only grew more determined. When he stepped forward, I couldn't restrain myself from faltering back, an involuntary movement I regretted as the boy's pained cries entered the air.

The girl knelt at his side, pleading for Jonas to stop.

"This won't stop. Not until I get what I came for."

Jonas surged forward, coming within an inch of grabbing me. The flames grew around us with a harsh crackle as I circled the table to avoid him. The boy was still hunched over in pain while the girl tried desperately to soothe him.

Despite whatever pain he was inflicting on the boy, Jonas's attention seemed to be focused on me. With a wave of his hand, the table flew across the room, leaving nothing between us.

I gasped as a blonde girl suddenly pounced on him, her teeth now elongated into fangs as she lunged directly for his neck.

Jonas yelled as she pierced his flesh, but little damage had been done as she fell off of him, clutching at her head.

The spell Jonas had been using on the boy seemed to be affecting her too. Her shrieks quickly earned the attention of a busboy, who rushed to her aid.

I watched Jonas reach for a beer bottle and a sudden burst of courage struck me as I slipped the shard of glass out of my pocket.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had jammed the shard into Jonas's leg, causing him to drop the bottle. The crash seemed significantly louder to my ears, despite the surrounding chaos.

Jonas howled in a combination of rage and pain, somehow managing to grab me while simultaneously removing the shard from his leg.

I screamed at the pain in my arm, feeling as if the surrounding flames were licking my flesh. As Jonas increased the pressure of his grip, I noticed another feeling underneath the agony. I began to feel unusually weary, my knees buckling at the weight of my own body. My eyelids fluttered against the onslaught, desperate to remain conscious.

I knew what would happen if I passed out now. Jonas would take me back to that room where he would no doubt torture me for my actions. The realization that I would probably die in there did nothing to aid me in my efforts to stay alert.

Suddenly, Jonas's grip was gone, leaving me to slump to the floor. The drowsiness was receding and the pain had dulled, but I could still feel a steady throb pulsing in my arm.

Across the room, a dark haired man was ripping Jonas's throat out.

...