a/n: So this chapter is shorter than most of my chapters have been, but I deeply enjoy the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoy! Please review! And the more reviews I receive, the quicker I will post the next chapter.

Chapter Seven Dying Alone

I told myself the constant pain,
Could've eased the tension burning inside,
But the nights were cold…
I will die here, alone I will die.
A Vampire's Lament by Atreyu

Damon had watched Alaric's car pull out of the driveway with a mixture of worry and confusion on his face. It made absolutely no sense that Jeremy had randomly been killed during this time. Damon still thought Jeremy would be alive, but something didn't feel right about the whole situation. And if Jeremy really was dead, they were going to have to be ready to fight back.

He grabbed his jacket from off the back of the couch and found his car keys. He had just opened the door when he saw another car pull up into the driveway. After a few minutes, Anna opened the car door and looked at him through tear soaked eyes.

"He's really dead Damon," she said softly as she moved up to the door.

Damon frowned. He was in no mood to offer sympathy to her.

"I was just getting ready to leave," Damon said as he pointed to his own car. "You can come with me and fill me in on what happened."

"There's something you need to know first." Anna glanced into the night and allowed her fear to reflect on her face. "Can we talk about it before you leave?"

Damon heaved a heavy sigh. "If we must." For just a few moments, he turned his back on Anna and looked back into the house. Then, he felt the intense pain that catapulted through his body as a foreign substance entered his veins. He had a brief moment of sanity where he saw Anna drop a vervain dart beside his body before everything went black.

Elena had to suppress the desire to scream when she heard the doctor's body collapse to the ground. The backup lights flickered on then and brought a dull yellow light to the gray room. When Elena glanced around the area, she didn't see anything unusual. The doctor lay in a crumbled mass on the floor, but there was no one else besides Jenna in the room. At least Elena didn't see anything until she detected movement behind one of the many counters.

A scream echoed throughout the area and it took Elena a minute to realize it had come from Jenna. Her aunt was quickly backing away from the closest counter and toward the back wall. A wave of fear raced through Elena's body. If they kept backing up, they would be trapped.

Glancing back to the place she had seen the movement come from, she saw a tall man she assumed was a vampire stand up and glare at them. He didn't look too happy about being in this morgue or that Elena and Jenna were in here. Stifling a scream, Elena took one more hesitant step backward.

Then, she glanced around at the medical supplies around her. She saw countless scapulas, scissors, and other various medical instruments that would be no help against a vampire. She needed something wooden if she had any chance of surviving this mess.

With tears in her eyes, Elena grabbed a scapula from the nearest cart. She turned to Jenna then and offered her aunt a weak smile.

"Run Jenna," Elena said softly. "Just get to safety. I'll be alright."

"I'm not leaving you here," Jenna gasped. "You're my responsibility."

"We don't have time for this," Elena snapped. She took the scapula and sliced her forearm. "Go get Alaric."

She had expected the pain to come immediate, but it didn't. Instead, it took almost a minute for her to feel the brute force of the unbearable pain. She screamed; she couldn't help it. Jenna had taken a few steps away from her and the vampire had inched his way closer. He looked hungry, almost feral, in his quest for Elena's life.

Jenna dashed from the room and the loneliness of it all consumed Elena. She had never pictured dying like this and the fact that she had to face death by herself was almost too much to bear. The only relief she had was that the vampire moved slowly toward her. He apparently wanted to take his time in ending her life.

But then, everything changed. Elena watched as Anna raced and fluidly staked the vampire. The vampire crumbled to the ground and Elena nodded weakly at Anna.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Anna glanced quickly at Jeremy's cold body before her gaze returned to Elena and her bleeding arm. "We need to get that fixed." She ripped a piece off the nearest sheet and walked over to Elena. Quickly, Anna tied the tourniquet around the wound.

Then, Elena grasped Anna in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry about Jeremy."

"Yeah," Anna smiled weakly as she pulled away. "We can worry about sympathy later. Right now, we just need to get out of here."

"I couldn't agree more."

As they left the room, they were met by a frantic Jenna and a worried Alaric.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jenna breathed as she hugged Elena. "I was so scared I wouldn't get to Alaric in time. And then Anna showed up."

"This isn't the time for this," Anna huffed. Her patience was growing thin. "I doubt the vampire was alone. I'd rather not find out."

Nodding, they all turned and raced out of the hospital and into the parking lot. They were mere feet from Alaric's vehicle when Anna's phone rang.

"That's strange," Anna said before she picked up the phone. "Damon? Is everything okay?" Her eyes met Elena's. "Of course. I'll bring Elena there now." She quickly hung up the phone and turned to face the group.

Elena's mind was reeling. "What's going on?"

"He found an area in the cemetery where white magic is very strong. He thinks we can use it to beat whoever is after you."

Letting out a deep breath, Elena looked to Jenna. "You two need to get back to Alaric's house and gather as many weapons as possible. We're going to need everything you have if we're going to get through this."

"I'm on it," Alaric nodded. "Be careful Elena."

"I will," she smiled. "I'll let you know how everything goes."

Elena gave Jenna a brief hug before she turned and walked to Anna's car. She had never seen the car before, but deeply admired Anna's tastes. It was a beautiful red Mustang that looked like it could handle anything that was thrown at it. Elena deeply hoped it could get them back to her house in one piece.

As Anna drove, Elena sat there in silence. Everything inside of Elena wanted to ask Anna about Jeremy's death, but right now, Elena felt like the comment would be insensitive. Anna had more than likely already retold the story to Damon and Elena wasn't thrilled about making someone relive that sort of pain. There would be plenty of time for grieving later. Right now, they had to focus on their plan of harnessing the power in the graveyard.

Taking out her phone, Elena typed a quick message to Bonnie explaining the events of the previous day. Tears formed in her eyes as she mentioned Jeremy's death, but those tears quickly turned to anger as her phone refused to get signal.

"We're too close to the cemetery to get service," Anna spoke up from the driver's seat. "Who were you trying to contact?"

"Bonnie." Elena frowned. "If we're going to utilize this white energy, it would help to have a witch."

"You'll see her soon enough," Anna shrugged.

Elena arched an eyebrow, but didn't speak as the car came to a halt. Slowly, Elena pried her door open and took her first step out into the cool night.

It was disorienting being here now, especially with the death of her brother consuming all her thoughts. She could see the outlines of the various tombstones as they spread out across the vast land. Trees occasionally disrupted the otherwise flat landscape and the immensity of it all was hard for Elena to deal with.

"Where exactly are we supposed to meet Damon?" Elena asked when she forced herself to gaze at Anna.

"Just follow me."

It took all of Elena's strength to follow Anna through the cold tombstones. The moon hung behind a thick span of clouds and refused to reemerge from its hiding place. Elena had to use her cell phone to help her maneuver across the rough ground. For a second her cell phone registered that she had signal, but before she could get back to her saved message, the service disappeared again.

After they had been walking for about five minutes, nervousness started to creep its way into Elena's body. They hadn't been able to see the car for quite some time and if anything happened, Elena wasn't sure what exactly they would do.

"Here we are," Anna spoke up.

Elena glanced around and frowned. The area was void of any graves and trees. The openness of it all made Elena feel unprotected. And when she glanced around for Damon, he was no where to be found.

She had just opened her mouth to say something to Anna when she caught movement from the other side of the small clearing. Letting out a deep breath, Elena allowed her gaze to fall on the woman.

In that moment, Elena's breath was completely taken away. The woman was beautiful with her curly brown hair and deep chocolate eyes. She wore an elegant green ballroom dress that made her look otherworldly in this ghostly place. Yet when the woman smiled, Elena suppressed a shudder.

"Hello Elena," the woman mused.

Elena stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hello Katherine."