Chapter 5

Feeling more human and hooked on her flesh I

Lay my heart down with the rest at her feet

Fresh from the fields, all feeder and fertile

It's bloody and raw, but I swear it is sweet

Damon had gone straight home after school, feeling drained. His day at school had moved quickly and yet had seemed to drag on indefinitely. He could not remember a single thing his teachers had said, or, upon trying, anything else from the day. Perhaps he was coming down with something. He resolved to fall a little behind on his work in favor of rest, so he made his way to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed, falling into a fitful sleep.

Damon slept through the night, but was plagued again and again by disturbing images and dreams that seemed to make no sense. When he finally woke, he find he couldn't remember the dreams, but had a vague sense of dread. He touched the side of his neck and found it was very sore. He moved to the bathroom to further inspect the tender area and saw two tiny pinpricks with a small amount of dried blood around them. A symptom of his sickness? After all, he still felt off, but better than he had yesterday. Apparently the extra sleep had paid off. Damon checked the time and realized he was going to be late for school if he didn't hurry, so he took a damp washcloth and dabbed at his neck until it was clean, threw on some clean clothes, grabbed his backpack, and hurried off to Mystic Falls High School.

At the Gilbert house, Aunt Jenna, Meredith, Bonnie, and Matt were in a frenzy. Elena hadn't come home from school and was still missing. Jenna was practically inconsolable and out of her head with worry. Meredith remained calm as always and was the first to devise a plan.

"Okay, we can't call the cops to report her as missing because it hasn't been twenty-four hours since someone last saw her, so I say we take matters into our own hands. Jenna, you can stay here and wait by the phone for one of us to call – or for Elena to come home," she added, seeing the terror flash across Jenna's face. "Bonnie and Matt, you two can check by the cemetery. She goes there when she has a lot on her mind, so that could be a possibility. I'll go to Damon's and see if she's there."

The three of them filed out of the Gilbert house and into their separate cars. Bonnie had already texted everyone in her contacts to keep an eye out for Elena and to let Bonnie know immediately if they saw her. They had, of course, tried Elena's cell first thing, only to find it next to her bed, still on its charger. Meredith didn't say anything about it, but the fact that Damon wasn't answering his phone either was concerning. She knew he'd seemed out of it at school the day before, but considering he cared about Elena more than anything, she would have expected him to respond immediately. She held out hope that Elena was with him.

Damon was just locking his front door behind him when Meredith pulled up. He didn't recognize the car at first, since she usually walked to school, but once her tall, dark figure emerged from the vehicle he gave her a small wave and a smile. His smile fell when he saw her expression of worry and fear.

"Meredith," he said in greeting. "Is something wrong?"

"Elena isn't with you, is she?" Meredith said, ignoring his question.

Damon shook his head. "No. Should she be?"

Meredith sighed. "She's missing. She didn't come home after school yesterday and we were thinking that maybe she was here with you."

Damon swallowed hard. "Missing? Have you tried calling her?" His eyes were wide with worry. That sick feeling of dread returned to his stomach.

"Of course," Meredith said quickly. "Wasn't she supposed to come over here after school?"

Damon scratched his head. He had no recollection of such plans, but that wouldn't be at all out of the ordinary. He and Elena hung out at least three times a week. "I – Well, I don't remember. All I know is that I got home right after school and passed out on my bed 'til morning."

Meredith ran a hand through her long, brown hair, her dark, well-defined brows furrowing. She was looking toward the woods with a far away expression on her face. She turned back to Damon. "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

"I really don't," said Damon, "but I'm helping you look."

He threw his backpack onto the porch and he and Meredith descended the stairs and got into her car, driving off to meet up with Bonnie and Matt. On the drive there, Damon found he was functioning much better than he had been the day before. He had been lethargic and barely able to keep his eyes open. Now, he wasn't sure if he was just feeling better or if the news about Elena had triggered a release of adrenaline. Either way, he knew he wouldn't be okay until she was found.

When they caught up with Bonnie and Matt at the cemetery where Elena's parents were buried, their news was much the same. No one had seen hide nor hair of Elena after school had let out.

"We didn't see anything. Nothing to suggest she even came here," Matt said. "She always leaves flowers for her parents and there wasn't anything there."

"Wait!" Bonnie cried, furiously texting. When she'd finished, she nearly dropped her phone in excitement. "Aimee Bradley said she saw Elena talking to Damon and she said she was going to his house after school." Everyone turned to Damon. "Did she ever come over?" Bonnie asked hopefully.

"Judging by the fact that I don't have Elena in my back pocket," Meredith quipped, "I'd say no. But you don't remember that, Damon?" she said somewhat suspiciously.

Damon shut his eyes and tried to remember the conversation, but he kept coming up blank. "I really don't remember anything from yesterday. I was so out of it – I didn't feel well," he said, seeing the look Bonnie was giving him. "Trust me," he said, "if I had remembered that, I would have said so right away. I want nothing more than to find Elena." No one disputed this fact, especially Meredith, seeing how she knew everything that had recently transpired between Elena and Damon.

"I say we go back to your house, Damon," Meredith said, and no one had a better idea so they did just that.

On the way there, Bonnie called Jenna and told her the abridged version of what they'd just found out. Jenna seemed only more worried by this information, now concerned about Damon's well-being. "We'll find her," Bonnie said, not knowing if she was trying to convince Jenna or herself.

"Okay," Meredith said when they arrived back at Damon's house, "where should we start?"

"She might have gotten here yesterday, but for some reason didn't go into the house," Matt offered and immediately wished he hadn't because of the sinister images as to why Elena might not have gotten into Damon's house in his mind were enough to make him sick to his stomach.

"The woods," Bonnie said quietly. "We should check the woods."

"You think she's in there?" Matt asked, eyeing the dark brush.

"It's a possibility," Meredith said. "We should stay in groups – don't get separated. Just shout if either one of us find something."

Meredith and Damon headed to the left of Damon's house while Bonnie and Matt went right. As Meredith and Damon broke through the edge of the woods, Meredith thought it best to make a little conversation. It took her mind off the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Elena told me some things," she started, watching Damon from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah?" he asked quietly. "Like what?"

"She told me you two slept together." Meredith wasn't really one to beat around the bush. "And I just want you to know that she loves you. Maybe not in the way you want, but she really does care for you."

Damon nodded, dodging a low-hanging branch. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I could never leave her."

Meredith gave a slight chuckle. "I think we all knew that, Damon. You two are inseparable and you have been for ages. But I wanted to make sure you knew that she never did anything to intentionally hurt you."

"No, I know. It just sucks," Damon said. Meredith realized this was the most serious conversation she and Damon had ever had. They had never gotten particularly close, but Meredith couldn't say she at all disliked Damon. He was good to Elena, even if he said largely inappropriate things at school. "We, you know, had sex and it was like maybe she actually feels –"

"Ssh!" Meredith said suddenly, cutting Damon off. "I think I heard something."

They stood stock still, Meredith bracing herself against the trunk of a massive sycamore tree. And then a sound broke through the silence. It was a muffled cry and Damon sprang into action. "It's her!" he shouted and Meredith tore off after him. Every so often they stopped and called out, trying to follow the sound of Elena's voice.

"Damon," her voice croaked and it was impossibly close.

"There!" Meredith half-screamed, finally spotting Elena's dark hair against the forest floor.

"Elena," Damon murmured, kneeling down next to her. She looked all right, but weak and extremely tired. "Elena, what happened to you?"

She shook her head, eyes filling with tears. "I don't remember."

"Ssh, ssh," Damon whispered, petting her hair. "It's okay, you're okay. Meredith and I are here. You're safe now."

"How are we going to get her out of here?" Meredith asked Damon. It was true it would be a difficult job. The brush was thick in some places and the ground uneven and it didn't look like Elena would be up to walking very far.

Damon didn't answer, but instead scooped Elena up with some difficulty and put her over his shoulder. He was unsteady for a moment, but eventually got his footing. Damon wasn't the strongest guy Meredith had ever seen, and he was on the shorter side, but what he lacked in physical strength, he made up for in determination.

"Just lead the way," he muttered.

It took Damon and Meredith much longer to get out of the woods than it had to get that far in, but they finally emerged out onto the road, not too far away from Damon's house.

"Are you okay to get to the house?" Meredith asked, noting how red Damon's face was. He nodded. "If we can just get her to a car . . . . I'm going to go find Bonnie and Matt. I'll be right back."

Meredith sprinted down the road to where Bonnie and Matt had entered the woods. She yelled for them until she was hoarse and finally they stumbled back out of the brush.

"Come on," Meredith said, already running back to the cars. "We found her."

Bonnie and Matt were right behind Meredith as she reached Damon's house. Elena was sitting next to Damon on the front porch steps. He had a blanket around her and was making her take small sips of water.

"She's freezing and dehydrated," he said. Meredith could see he was exhausted, but knew he could rest easier now that Elena had been found.

"I'll call Jenna and have her meet us at the hospital," Bonnie said, stepping away to make the call.

"Elena," Matt said, kneeling in front of her and taking one of her ice-cold hands, "Elena, do you know what happened to you?"

She shook her head again, curling closer to Damon. "I don't know."

Matt didn't press the issue, not wanting to upset her. Whatever had happened had clearly affected her deeply. Everyone's first priority was getting her to a hospital. They all loaded into Meredith's SUV, with Elena shivering in the front seat – so much so that Meredith cranked the heat – and Bonnie, Matt, and Damon in the backseat. Damon had reached forward and held Elena's hand the entire way.

A/N: This chapter (lengthwise) should more than make up for the tiny one I posted last night! I hope you guys enjoyed it and that I didn't drive you too crazy. But yeah, please let me know what you guys think! Reviews are super, super awesome and give me a lot of inspiration!

'Til next time,

Taylor :)