a/n: There are so many amazing things going on in the show right now, although I'm not really going to use much of them in my story. I like the storyline I have created and plan on carrying it through. I am currently very obsessed with "The Wasteland" by T. S. Eliot. I think many chapters will start with excerpts from it. And please let me know what you think about my story. I would love to have an idea of how many people are really reading my story. If you would review, that would be amazing. =) Thanks. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three Betrayed

My friend, blood shaking my heart

The awful daring of a moment's surrender

Which an age of prudence can never retract,

By this, and this only, we have existed.

-"The Wasteland" by T. S. Eliot

"Hello Elena."

"Uncle John," Elena glared as she crossed her arms over her chest. Whatever charade he was playing, she was tired of. "Is there a reason you brought me here?"

"Is there a reason, yes," he replied as he moved out of the shadows and toward the teacher's desk. One of his fingers traced the dark wood and a smile crossed his lips.

Then, he turned toward the darkest shadow of the room. He nodded his head only once in that direction before he turned back to Elena. Elena's eyes, however, didn't live the corner. A teenage boy stood there, his eyes blood red in the soft light. He gave Elena a wicked grin before he rushed to Mrs. Vaughn and broke her neck. Her limp body fell to the ground and Elena forced herself to look back at her uncle. Showing any emotion now could get her killed.

"You've had an interesting development in your story," John continued as he walked in front of the desk and sat down on its edge. "Stefan has escaped the manor and is bloodthirsty. You're out here looking for him with really no clue where to look. Did it ever occur to you that he might be with you?" Uncle John laughed then and his laugh was so cold, so demonic, that Elena felt a shudder race through her body. Silently, she wondered if he was being compelled, but when she gazed into his eyes, she quickly learned he wasn't. Whatever he was doing now was of his own accord.

"Do you know where Stefan is?" she finally asked.

"Of course I know where Stefan is." He laughed again. "Have you not been paying attention to what I've been saying? I know how this is going to end Elena. It isn't going to end well."

"If you're going to kill me," Elena spoke slowly. "Why not just get it over with?"

"You have to understand the beauty of this first," John smirked. "You have to understand everything that's at stake. You need to learn why you have to die."

For a few seconds, Elena glanced away and acted like she was thinking. She used those few seconds to take in more of her surroundings. There were no windows in the room and only one door out. Getting past John and the vampire seemed impossible, but she had to try. She needed to keep him talking as long as possible.

"Tell me why I have to die," she spoke softly.

"What she has planned for you is far worse than death," John said as he looked to the door. Apparently, he was starting to get nervous. "I plan on making this quick. She'll drag out your death for hours. And when she gets finished with you, she'll turn you and start torturing you all over again."

"Who is she?"

"It doesn't matter." He shook his head. "What does matter is that your death will end all of this. When you die, this will be over."

"How?" Elena was starting to lose her patience. Every answer she received was met by more questions.

A frown crossed John's face as he stood up. "If you're going to die, you might as well know the truth. When they find your body, they'll also find your journal. They'll read about how you befriended two vampires. They'll also read about those vampires being Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Damon won't stand a chance against the army we have ready to fight him. His death will make her happy."

Thousands of questions were racing through Elena's head. She was trying to make sense of all she was hearing, but it still sounded very enigmatic. Finally, she decided to start with the simplest question. "How did you get my diary?"

"It wasn't that hard," John replied as he reached into his jacket. He pulled the diary out for Elena to see. "You shouldn't leave things like this lying around."

"I didn't leave it lying around," Elena snapped. "How do I even know that's mine? There are thousands of journals that look exactly like that."

"Then let me prove it," he shrugged. After flipping through several pages, he came to one that seemed suitable for him to read. A smirk crossed his lips as he read, "Most days I feel torn between my feelings. Ever since Stefan drank human blood, he's been different. Sometimes, I like this new form of him. He's more spontaneous, more passionate, more like Damon. But this side of Stefan is also destroying him. He doesn't understand how to control this new side of him. He's moody, jealous, and unstable. He can't keep going on like this. I've spoken to Damon and he's agreed to help me capture him. Whatever happens after this with Stefan will happen. If we're meant to be together, we will." He looked up from the page. "Is that enough for you?"

Elena glared at him. Even though John seemed bent on destroying her, he was also taking his time. Some form of her uncle had to still be in there or he would have killed her long ago.

"You said earlier that this will make her happy," Elena sighed as she ran a hand through her long hair. "Who is she?"

"You look so much like her Elena," John breathed.

Elena creased an eyebrow. "Are you talking about Katherine or my mother?"

Before John could say anything, the door to the classroom burst out. Damon didn't waste any time grabbing the other vampire and launching him into the wall. Unfortunately, the vampire got right back up. Elena glanced deeply into Damon's dark eyes for only a few moments before she looked back at the place John was standing. All that was left now was empty space.

"Take care of him," Elena said as she motioned to the vampire. "I'm going after John."

She didn't give Damon time to argue as she raced from the room. She hoped Damon was safe, but also hoped he'd hurry. She didn't want to fight her uncle alone.

As the vampire crouched down and prepared to lunge, Damon only laughed. From the small amount of muscle on this boy's body, the fight would be a quick and simple one. Instantly, Damon decided to call this vampire Unlucky. This fight was uneven, but Unlucky didn't seem to care. He had his mission and so did Damon. They would fight until one vampire was dead.

For a few more seconds, Unlucky took in Damon's appearance. Although Damon wasn't much bigger than this guy, he knew he had a strong advantage. Unlucky didn't seem to know what exactly to do, but Damon had been in many fights. Experience was definitely on Damon's side.

When Unlucky charged toward Damon, Damon moved away easily. He then grabbed onto the back of Unlucky's neck and slammed him headfirst into the floor. Damon turned the vampire over and hit him square in the nose. A smile crossed Damon's lips as his predator instincts kicked into overdrive. He punched the guy's jaw a few more times before he eased up.

"Who sent you?" Damon barked.

"John," Unlucky breathed. "I work for John."

"Who's he working for?"

"I don't know."

"You're wasting my time," Damon hummed as he looked into the young vampire's eyes. "Is there any useful information you can give me?"

"The person John is working for wants to kill all of you."

"I got that much. Anything else?"

Damon counted to three in his head and when Unlucky only continued to stare at him in fear, Damon ripped a piece of wood off a nearby desk. Then, he plunged the wood deep into the vampire's chest. Elena was somewhere alone and he didn't have time for this.

As Damon stood back up, he spat on the vampire's dead body. Then, he turned and raced down the area Elena had disappeared down earlier. If anything had happened to her, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

When Elena left the classroom, she ran straight into Alaric. He held an odd expression on his face, but shook his head when he saw Elena.

"I wasn't sure whether to go after him to not. I wasn't sure if you were safe."

"It's okay," Elena replied quickly. "Damon is in there taking care of a vampire problem." She motioned vaguely to the classroom. "I have to catch up with John."

"Here," Alaric said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a long dagger. "I don't want you going into the lion's den without protection."

"Thank you," Elena nodded as she grabbed onto the blade's handle. The blade sparkled a beautiful silver color that completely captivated her attention. She had never seen anything like this before. "What is this made of?"

"Silver," Alaric half laughed. "I'll explain it later. Right now, we need to go after your uncle."

Elena nodded before she turned and ran down the hallway. No matter how hard she ran, her uncle always appeared slightly out of reach. She could never see him, but always heard doors opening and closing in front of her. When she saw the door to the stairway close, she took a deep breath and entered the stairway too.

At first, Elena stood silently and listened for footsteps. When she heard none, confusion enveloped her being. Either he was already out of the staircase, or he was waiting quietly for her to approach him.

Elena motioned for Alaric to stay at the base of the stairs. He frowned at her, but nodded in understanding. She moved up the first few stairs quietly. When the staircase turned, she forced herself to remain calm and quickly turn too. The next few stairs were clear, but she wasn't sure how much longer this would go on.

Her palms were sweaty and it made holding onto the blade even more difficult. She wanted for this to end, but was also doubting her courage at facing her uncle. She hoped she didn't have to fight this fight by herself.

When she turned onto the next flight of stairs, she looked out the stairwell doors. Although she didn't see her uncle, she could see that the front door of the school was open. There was no telling how far ahead he was by now.

She opened the doors to the first floor then and took a step toward the front doors. A scream escaped her lips as she was tackled and sent to the floor. The dagger clattered to the floor and skidded across its surface. It was completely out of reach, and Elena had no hope of getting to it.

By that time, John was on top of her and choking her. She could barely breathe and didn't have enough space to try to launch an attack of her own. A gasp escaped her lips as she tried to move away from his restraining hands. When all of John's weight was knocked from her body, she saw Alaric mounting an attack of his own.

For a few seconds, Elena laid there and gasped for breath. She held onto her neck and felt a new wave of terror wash over her being as she didn't feel her necklace.

Elena forced herself to get up then and move toward the location the dagger was housed in. She grabbed onto its hilt quickly, but then moved slowly toward the fight. Alaric was easily winning as his fists connected with John's face time after time. There was some form of deep vengeance in this fight. Elena liked watching them fight, and that thought completely scared her.

"Alaric, get his ring off," Elena finally said. Alaric looked up at her in question, but he grabbed onto John's hand and tugged at the ring. It came off easily and then Alaric tossed it to Elena.

"Where is my necklace?" Elena asked John with hatred filling every word.

"I don't have it," he said before he spat at Alaric's face. A frown crossed Alaric's face before he punched John again.

"Tell me the truth John. You don't have your ring anymore. You can die."

"Really? I wasn't aware of that," John replied sarcastically. "I didn't take it Elena."

Confusion claimed Elena as she thought back to the past couple of hours. She knew she had the necklace when she left the Salvatore Manor to come to the school, but that was the last time she remembered seeing it. If she didn't have it on in the classroom, the vampire could have compelled her to do anything he wanted. If she had been that vulnerable, why had John not acted on that weakness?

"Let him up," Elena told Alaric as a frown covered her face. "Search him for the necklace."

Alaric nodded weakly as he pushed John around. John didn't appear too happy about being searched. In one swift motion, John pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot Alaric in the chest. Alaric staggered back a few steps before he fell loudly to the floor.

"You can either let me go Elena, or I will kill you too," John spoke slowly.

"You were going to kill me before, why not kill me now?" Elena asked as she crossed her arms. "Nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed," John whispered softly.

But then Damon showed up out of no where and quickly snapped John's neck. John's body fell to the floor with a thud and Elena shivered.

"He can't hurt you anymore."

Elena nodded slowly as Damon came to her. He wrapped her in his strong arms and for just a moment, she allowed herself to become lost in them. Her uncle had tried to kill her and now he was dead. That thought alone was enough to drive her crazy.

"Put that ring on," Damon said as he looked deep into Elena's eyes. She knew he could have compelled her to do so, but was glad he didn't.

After she put it on, she motioned to her neck. "I need my necklace."

"I know," he cursed. "I don't remember you losing it. You had it when you came into the school, but it was gone when I entered the classroom to save you from John and Unlucky."

Elena arched an eyebrow before she finally caught on. Then, she rolled her eyes. "Do you name all your victims?"

"Only the pathetic ones," he grinned. Then, he turned to the floor where John's and Alaric's bodies lay. Alaric's body had already started to heal and he occasionally twitched on the floor. Thankfully, John's body stayed still.

"Alaric can take care of this," Damon reassured her. "He can tell the police about John killing the secretary in the dark classroom. He'll talk about how you escaped and how John ran after you. Then, he'll say that he met up with you here and killed John before he could kill you. I'll dispose of the vampire's body and no one will ever truly know what happened here."

"Thank you," Elena smiled weakly. "Can part of Alaric's story consist of telling me to go home and get some rest?"

"I'm sure it can," Damon nodded.

It felt like hours passed while Damon snuck away to erase the security camera footage and prevent it from capturing what was about to happen. When Alaric finally regained consciousness, Elena filled him in on the details of the lie. He didn't seem too thrilled about the cover-up, but understood why it had to be done. By the time Damon had returned, Elena was ready to go.

"Be careful Alaric," Damon nodded.

"You too," Alaric replied.

Damon took one last look at the mess before he turned and opened the door for Elena. It was still raining outside, but the sun was attempting to break away from the clouds. Even though this storm appeared to be over, another dark cloud hung on the horizon. Hopefully they would have some answers before the next wave came.

a/n: So, was John working with Katherine, Isobel, or was he independent of everyone? And what happened to Elena's necklace? Please review and tell me what you think!