Encounter of the Bloody Kind
"Hmm…nice shack!" murmured Istas.
The three stood on the front steps of the Salvatore mansion. The brisk, morning air filled their nostrils as the frantic chirping of birds filled their ears. Strands of clouds struggled to cover the expanse of light blue in the sky as it blended with the bright, golden streams of sunshine as the bright star slowly made its ascendancy into the sky, creating a halo of light around the Salvatore mansion. The entire atmosphere betrayed the ominous vibe that the trio was getting from the mansion itself.
For all the times that Caroline and Alaric had been to the mansion, neither one of them had ever felt such an apprehension. And yet, it was there—invisible, elusive, and but present. Something was different about the mansion and yet neither one of them could explain why. Alaric, almost instinctively, squeezed the crucifix in his pocket. A strange sensation jolted through his hand. The crucifix felt warm, seemingly getting warmer the longer he held onto it. He decided to let it go.
"Before we go in, I want you two to understand something," Alaric said, turning to the others. "Damon and Bonnie may not be who they say they are. They might not be what they say they are. If that's the case, I don't want either of you to hold back. Take them out!"
"What?!" asked Caroline. "Take them out? What the hell is going on, Ric? You don't just blurt out a line like that without even so much as an explanation. What are we facing?"
"I don't know. I'll know when I see them."
"Well, that's not good enough! You can't expect me to 'take out' Bonnie all because you've got a feeling that something is wrong."
"Well, I don't know either of them so I'm good to go!" replied Istas nonchalantly.
"Yeah, well, one of them is my best friend, so if you decide to take her out, trust me…you won't have to worry about revenge on Elena because you won't be alive to do it!"
Istas raised her eyebrow and sauntered over to Caroline, sizing her up. "Did you just—"
"Alright, that's enough!" barked Alaric. "We have some work to do. We'll take different floors. Caroline, you take upstairs. Istas, you take the basement floor. I'll take the main floor. We meet at the front entrance in five minutes…no later! Agreed?"
The two women eyed each other and then Alaric, nodding their agreement. All three entered the mansion to proceed with their investigation.
The moment they crossed the threshold, all three of them instinctively stopped. None of them knew why, but it was just something they each felt they had to do. For as many times as both Alaric and Caroline had been in the mansion, they had never felt anything like what they were feeling as they stood in the front hallway. Something was different. Something! It reminded Caroline of the time when Bonnie and Elena played a prank on her, moving her all of her bedroom furniture by a mere two inches. When she walked in, everything looked the same but something in her head told her that something had changed. She found herself repeatedly hitting her shins and feet against the bed and dresser because they had been moved, though her eyes couldn't tell her why. It was only after when Elena and Bonnie confessed of their crime that Caroline marvelled at the perceptive powers of the human mind. It was the same feeling here, as though everything looked the same, but there was something off about the whole thing.
For Istas, it was like she had just stepped onto a different planet that looked like Earth. Things looked quite normal and yet the atmosphere was somehow dissimilar. It felt musty and heavy, like something alien had made its home there and like geese in a marsh fluttering up when their home and tranquility was disturbed by a hunter, so too did it seem that the environment itself was somehow protesting the presence of whatever it was that was in the house.
Alaric motioned for the two ladies to go on their way and they split off. He stepped into the main living room. Daylight slowly brightened the room, lifting the months of dust off the floor and furniture, swirling the particles around in a chaotic dance, outlining the invasive rays of the Sun. Alaric could sense that something wasn't right amidst the normality of the scene. It was clear that no one had occupied the mansion in months, and yet he could sense a presence. An atmosphere of sinister intent seemed to fill the room around him. Like a deer in the forest that somehow knew that it was being stalked by a nearby predator camouflaged amongst the bushes and trees, so too did Alaric know that he was being watched and was in danger by something that was apparently out in the open, yet he could not see it.
He focused his hearing to pick up any sound that his voyeur might be making. He picked up the sounds of Caroline and Istas' footsteps on the other levels of the mansion, the birds chirping outside, the critters scurrying about on the lawn, the insects buzzing and flying about. He could pick up the faintest of sounds and yet none of them seemed to come from that presence that was stalking him.
Alaric walked over to the fireplace, knelt down and began rubbing the ashes in between his fingers.
"For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
A disembodied whisper broke the silence in the cavernous living room.
Alaric immediately stood up and scanned all around him, but saw nothing. He walked away from the fireplace, continuing to scan when suddenly, as though the mouth was right against his ear, Alaric heard the whispering voice again.
"Aren't you going to say 'hello,' Ric?"
Caroline tried her best to sneak around upstairs, but her Steve Madden Myranda ankle boots weren't exactly meant for stealth work. Caroline silently scolded herself for not thinking ahead and wearing her sneakers, forcing her to scruff her nice boots when she ran from the border to the mansion. She clomped through the musty corridor, peering into the various rooms along the way. Everything seemed undisturbed, with Damon's room in particular seemingly untouched and kept in pristine order. His bed had been made and nothing was left lying out. Caroline smiled as she credited Elena more than Damon for the state of affairs of his bedroom.
She walked on and headed upstairs towards Stefan's room. Upon entering, Caroline felt a mustiness and atmosphere that was different than what she had felt in the corridor. She exhaled and suddenly saw her breath as though she were outside on a cold, winter morning.
A strange smell also suddenly began to fill her nostrils. It was a smell that she couldn't immediately identify. It was neither human nor animal, neither perfume nor stench that she had smelled before.
" …Sweet Caroliiiiine…dah, dah, dah… "
Bonnie's melodious singing of the Neil Diamond song abruptly broke Caroline's concentration on the smell. Caroline looked around but she couldn't see Bonnie anywhere. She whipped open closet and bathroom doors, hoping to find her hiding behind them, but Bonnie was not there.
"Bonnie?!" Caroline bellowed.
Without warning, Caroline was knocked off her feet by some unseen force and was slammed backwards onto the floor. Before she could process what had happened to her, her body was rapidly levitated off the ground, turned in mid-air so that her back was facing the ceiling. She was suspended, unable to move her limbs in any way to bring herself down again.
" …good times never seemed so good… "
Bonnie continued to sing as she came into Caroline's view, grinning like the Joker while her demon eyes sparkled ever so menacingly at her.
Istas made her way into the cellar of the Salvatore mansion, maneuvering her way through the wine racks and barrels, seemingly impressed at the Salvatore's affection for fine liquor. She felt a slight temptation to grab a bottle and take a chug for good measure. As she ran her finger along one of the barrels, leaving a clean line in the dusty landscape, she continued to look around the dank environment, keeping her ears open for the sound of another presence there.
She knew there was someone in there with her. She could feel it. She didn't need her years of training to let her know that she was being watched. The presence was undeniable if not strangely elusive. As she continued to weave through the wine racks, the lights in the room began to flicker. Istas immediately stopped walking and remained motionless. She focused her hearing for the slightest sound that would signal an oncoming attack. The lights continued flickering but she paid no attention to them, regarding the meagre light show as a distraction that she wasn't going to fall for. She kept her focus on the sounds that were going to betray her attacker's presence and strategy.
Someone whistled behind her and as she turned around, she stared dumbfounded as a wine bottle came hurtling towards her forehead. She barely dodged in time, feeling the bottle graze the side of her head before smashing against the wall behind her.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a kunai blade while she widened her stance, ready to attack or defend against whoever it was that threw the bottle at her. She cursed under her breath for letting Abby keep her gun. As she looked over at the direction from where the bottle came from, she couldn't see anyone. The lights stopped flickering but the room was still too dimly lit for her to separate shadow from object.
"Did you miss me, my little Red Prairie Flower? I sure missed you…especially this time! Heh, heh, heh!"
The hair on her arms and neck stood on end, her own body growing cold at the sound of that distinct male voice—a voice that she had not heard for decades, a voice that she was positive she would never hear again. A tear began forming on her eye as panic began to overwhelm her body. Her muscles became tight and unresponsive, to the point that she almost dropped her blade. Her heartbeat increased so much so that she almost fainted.
It can't be. He was human. There is no way he's still alive!
Anger replaced the fear as her fangs and vampire eyes emerged, her body suddenly becoming alive with rage as she stomped around the room, challenging the voice to reveal itself.
"It's been far too long," said the disembodied voice. "All this time and look what's become of you. You need to be taught your lessons again. Looks like I have to teach you all over again! Red-skinned bitch! You know I like it when it is I who makes your skin red!" The voice was smooth, cold and brutal, just like she remembered him.
Anger and fear collided inside of her, vying for dominance of her emotions. She started quivering at the sound of that voice—his voice, his words. The way he used to talk to her when he….
"SHOW YOURSELF!" Istas yelled, anger having won the battle but not the war. She looked around and took a few steps backwards when she suddenly saw something out of the periphery of her vision. She turned to look to the far side of the cellar where there was no illumination save for two glowing golden points that seemed like headlights in the darkness. Istas recognized them as eyes when she saw them blink. The eyes moved up the wall to the height of the ceiling, then moved across the ceiling of the cellar towards her. The eyes never deviated from staring straight at Istas.
As the eyes came closer to her, moving into the light, she could finally see a head and then a body. It was Valene, crawling on the ceiling like a spider, her head horribly and impossibly twisted upside down so that she could gaze at Istas, grinning with her vampire teeth in full view.
"We'll make you red!" Valene said, in the male voice that Istas was hearing the whole time. "Like he did. And you'll love me for it, like you loved him for it! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Alaric turned around to face Damon, but he wasn't there.
"Damon!" he bellowed.
"We marvel," Damon said, his voice echoing throughout the room as though it was state of the art, stereo sound. "We marvel at how you even got here."
Alaric roamed around the room, trying desperately to pinpoint where Damon's voice was coming from, but it seemed to shift from one side of the room to the other, from one corner to another, from floor to ceiling.
"Ahhhh! An Ambrosia Ring! How ironic. Ironic indeed!"
Alaric looked at the ring on his finger. "Damon? Come out and talk. I'm here to help you."
"Do we look like we need help?"
The voice was finally localized, coming from one specific location rather than from the overall atmosphere. Alaric looked directly up and saw Damon standing on the ceiling. He had his arms crossed and was looking down at him like some kind of bat, his demonic eyes glistening with hatred and amusement.
"Damon?!' Alaric gasped.
In an instant, Damon vanished, suddenly appearing on the opposite side of the room, perched like a bird on the back of one of the living room chairs, the sunshine falling on him, creating an effect that made it seem like Damon was heavenly blessed.
"Ric! Rico! Ricky Ric Raca Ric!" Damon giddily blurted, bobbling his head in tempo to the sound of each name. "It's been a while, buddy!"
Having been so used to seeing Damon walk around in the daytime, it suddenly occurred to him that Damon wasn't burning up in the daylight. His daylight ring should have been rendered useless by the Traveler spell, and yet Damon remained in the sunlight unaffected.
As though reading Alaric's thoughts, Damon smiled and turned towards the sunlight, closed his eyes and basked in its warmth.
"Loopholes, my man! When you have a witch in your service, loopholes find their way. As you have already demonstrated," Damon said, nodding towards Alaric's ring.
Damon jumped down from the chair and walked over to him. "Speaking of which, where, oh where, did you acquire such fine jewelry?"
Alaric's instincts immediately kicked in as he observed Damon ever so subtly lower his chin and his body overall. His legs seemed out of step with his arms, another sign that an attack was imminent. Alaric reached into his pocket and grasped the crucifix. It was much warmer than it was before, bordering on hot. The sensation startled him for a moment but he realized he had no time to waste as Damon continued his approach. Alaric whipped out the crucifix and held it up to his old friend. Damon immediately recoiled, hissing and growling as he put his hands up, turning his gaze away from the cross.
"Who are you?" Alaric interrogated.
"Lookssss like you already know," Damon said, in a voice that was not his own.
"How did you come to—"
With a speed that Alaric had never seen nor could match, Damon swatted the crucifix out of his hand, sending it hurling through the living room like a ninja star until it pierced through a wall, completely going through it as though it was made of paper.
With his one weapon gone, Alaric went on the offensive. He threw a left haymaker, a right uppercut, a left jab, a right haymaker followed by a spinning backfist, all at the highest speed that he could muster.
But none of his attacks found their target.
Alaric remained stunned for what seemed like minutes. He could feel his fist just grazing Damon's skin as Damon dodged his attacks. As fast as Alaric was, it appeared that Damon was just a hair faster.
Damon smiled and countered. He threw the exact combination of punches that Alaric had just thrown, only all of his landed. Alaric could feel his right cheek bone, his lower left jaw, his right orbital bone around his eye, his left temple and then the left side of his head all begin to ache and throb as Damon's punches found their mark. Bright flashes of light alternated with darkness after each hit, leaving Alaric woozy.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Did you really think it would be that easy, Ric?" Damon sneered as he kicked Alaric in the stomach. Alaric keeled over, his eyes bulging out as all the air pushed out of his stomach in one excruciating blow. Damon grabbed Alaric by the hair and forced him to look up.
"We were Mars the Romans…"
Damon slapped him.
"…Anhur to the Egyptians…"
Damon slapped him again with the back of his hand.
"…Ares to the Greeks…"
Damon grabbed Alaric by the throat and brought him up until he had him suspended in the air. "We taught you talking chimps the art of war! You do not surpass the master. Not when we enhance the soldier. Not when we augment the warrior. Never!"
He then threw Alaric back against the far wall with such force that Alaric's body became embedded. He blacked out momentarily. When he came to, there was Damon standing in front of him, clutching Alaric's jaw, grinning with his wild, demonic eyes shining brighter than before, his skin an ashen grey as though it was made of stone.
"Don't leave us yet, brother. You have something…that we want—"
Alaric screamed as his felt his rib cage and internal organs burst and give way to Damon's thrusting fist that punched its way to his heart.
"—and you're going to give it to us, whether you want to…or not!"
Telekinetically breaking pieces of wooden furniture in Stefan's room, Bonnie arranged the sharper pieces to stand on end like spikes on the floor, directly below Caroline's suspended body.
"Bonnie! Why are you doing this? It's me!" Caroline pleaded, helplessly struggling in the air. "Whatever it is that has you, fight it! Fight it, Bonnie!"
"What do you know of us?" Bonnie asked, her voice smooth and sensuous. She circled below Caroline like a lion in a pit waiting for some raw meat to drop. "What do you know of me? Did you ever really know me?"
"I know that whoever you are that is inside of her, you don't know a damn thing about her!"
"I know that she detestsssss YOU! You, and your idiot friends. Those like Elena and Stefan and all of them. All of them that…that she….that I…I…I gave my life for multiple times over. The life of my mother. Oh yes! I hate you. HHHHATE YOUUUUU!"
Bonnie's appearance was such a contorted mess of abhorrence and contempt that it reminded Caroline of a gargoyle, with its stone cold appearance, craggy texture and lifeless complexion. Her eyes glowed more brightly than ever, the glimmering demonic brilliance of the gold and red drowned out the black slit in the center of her eyes.
Caroline's heart cracked at the hatred Bonnie was spewing. Even though a part of her wanted to believe that it was the feelings of the person that was possessing Bonnie, Caroline couldn't help but feel that some of that hatred was Bonnie's own.
Bonnie closed her eyes for a moment and a moment only. Instantaneously, her face changed. The hate was gone and it was as though it was never there. She opened her eyes again, which were still demonic but soft, and looked back up again at Caroline.
"Bonnie is with us. Bonnie is us, and we are Bonnie. As for you, Caroline—"
With a wave of Bonnie's hand, Caroline suddenly felt whatever force that was keeping her suspended in the air disappeared, and the force of gravity took over, pulling Caroline down to the floor onto the splintered piece of furniture that Bonnie had set up.
Like a leopard clawing and swiping at a rival predator for food, Valene attacked Istas, leaving deep and bloody scratch marks on Istas' arms and face. Istas was not ready for the lightning speed that Valene was moving at, at first being overwhelmed to the point that Istas could only throw her arms up haphazardly, trying to block and deflect Valene's attacks while she stepped back. Istas realized that she was losing a lot of blood, since Valene was attacking so fast that none of her wounds were healing fast enough.
Istas moved back and weaved in out of the wine barrels, trying to put some distance between herself and Valene. But Valene impressively mirrored her, keeping pace, still clawing at her. Istas realized that she was running out of space and spontaneously stopped retreating and launched a front kick to Valene's chest, ramming her back. Valene dropped to one knee clutching her chest, her demon eyes shining in the dimness of the wine cellar. Istas saw her opportunity and grabbed a random wine bottle and, with her vampire speed and strength, chucked it at Valene's head. The bottle cracking against Valene's skull rang like thunder echoing throughout the cellar. Dazed and drenched in vintage Italian wine, Valene looked up in time to see another bottle streaking through the air, crashing into her forehead, knocking her flat onto the floor.
Shaking her head, trying to regain her full senses, Valene's vision rapidly came into focus to see Istas standing over her, one of her kunai's grasped in her hand. Istas swiftly brought the wooden blade down into Valene's chest. However, Valene caught the blade in between her hands, stopping it from stabbing into her heart.
"NO! You won't…*ugh*…you won't take this body from ussss…we will not be cast out! WE WON'T!" Valene hissed in a voice that sounded like neither male nor female to Istas.
Valene pushed the blade upwards towards Istas, and when she had enough room, pulled her left leg back towards her own chest, placed her foot on Istas' abdomen and thrust her back against the wall. The back of Istas' head slammed hard against the concrete wall, causing her to crumple on the floor, dropping her weapon. Both of them struggled to get up as quickly as possible, trying desperately to recover from the damage the other had inflicted upon them.
Istas realized she had lost her advantage. Valene was stronger and faster than her, and her ally of Surprise had disappeared. But seeing Valene's hair clinging to her face, drenched in wine gave her an idea. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her lighter.
"If you don't want to leave…fine! Then stay in that body and burrrrrrrrrn!"
Istas rushed towards Valene and ignited the lighter. Immediately, Valene began screaming as her body became engulfed in waves of orange and yellow. Istas could hear multiple voices amidst the screams, as though there was more than just one person inside of Valene's body. Like a comet streaking through the sky, Valene vamp-sped out of the cellar, leaving a trail of light and then black smoke in her wake.
Istas picked up her weapon and pursued her, determined to finish the job.
"It's kind of the…epitome…of our little 'friendship' that I should touch your heart so, don't you think Ric?" Damon asked smiling, amused as his arm remained imbedded in Alaric's chest, his hand clasped around Alaric's heart. "But it doesn't have to be this way. We don't want to kill you, brother. We need something. Something that we were not privy to see. An event! Yessss! An event that you were there for. An event that only one of us saw. The Daring One won't tell us. But you saw it. Somewhere in that chimp mind of yours is that event stored. And you're going to give it to us!"
Damon placed his hand on Alaric's head and closed his eyes. Alaric tried to shake Damon's hand off of him, tried to lift his own hands to push Damon off, but Damon grasped his heart all the tighter, slightly tugging on it, demonstrating to Alaric that all it took was a simple twist to completely displace his heart and remove it from his chest. Alaric realized that he was at Damon's mercy.
Images began flashing in Alaric's mind's eye. Images of the past—memories. His memories. Damon was probing, scanning through every memory, trying to find a specific moment. Alaric couldn't tell which one. He closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind. The flashes of memories were quick, like someone rapidly flicking through television channels. Alaric tried slowing those images down. He was partially successful. The flashes were slowing down, as memories were being played out longer in his head.
Alaric screamed as Damon wiggled his hand inside of his chest. "Don't play with us! We're not here to play anymore!"
The flashes continued until they finally stopped. The memory was unfocused for a bit. As the memory began to stabilize, Alaric found that the memory was familiar, yet unfamiliar. He was in a crypt, dimly lit by a few candles. Esther Mikaelson walked into the crypt with Elena in tow. He could see Elena protest but he couldn't hear her, nor could he hear Esther. It was as though someone had turned the volume off while the memory was replaying. He could see Esther magically slice open Elena's hand and forcing her blood to spill into a chalice. He could see her command him to drink from it. He did. Then suddenly, he could see Esther pull out the indestructible white oak stake that she had fashioned from his Gilbert ring and drive it into his heart.
"That's it! Well done, Ric! Or should we say, Alternate Ric. Because of course, that wasn't you, was it? But the memory is there. We'll give you gibbering chimps credit. You certainly know how to take what we give you and make it all your own!" Damon said gleefully. "Esther Mikaelson certainly knew how to make what we gave all that much better. An ingenious slut, that one! Creating you. Creating them. Fulfilling what we have always wanted! Now THAT was a woman after our own hearts! Oh, the fun we could have had with her." Damon looked off to the side, his face filled with both wonder and regret.
He turned back and looked at Alaric, slowly removing his hand from Alaric's head. "Well, no point crying over spilt blood, huh Ric? And now…now…we're going to see how good that Original Bitch really was. Because the spell she put on you…linking you to Elena's life? She's dead! Did you know that? Elena's dead!" Damon said whimsically. "Well, she's undead now. So what does that mean for you? Before, nothing could kill you. Not the sun. Not a stake to the heart. Not even white oak. But now?"
Grinning maniacally, the diabolicalness of the situation accentuated with his glowing demonic eyes, Damon grasped tighter onto Alaric's heart.
Istas arrived at the top of the stairs. She took a whiff of the air, trying to follow the scent of burning vampire flesh. She made her way into the living room and saw Alaric pinned to the wall with Damon's hand impaled within his chest. Immediately assessing the dire situation that Alaric was in, Istas vamp-sped towards Damon and punched him in a specific point along his spine with the tip of her knuckle. Damon gasped as his hand involuntarily spread open, causing Alaric to wail in pain at the expansion of Damon's hand in his torso. Istas grabbed Damon's arm and pulled it out of Alaric's chest, leaving him to collapse onto the floor, clutching at the gaping hole in his chest.
Istas spun Damon around so that he would be facing her. She launched a straight right punch to his face, but Damon caught her arm by her wrist before she connected. He wiggled his right arm that Istas had forced open just in time to catch her other fist that was coming for his face. He overpowered her as she struggled to pull her arms free.
"Well, well, well! Pocahontas to the rescue! Not this time, my little prairie flower," Damon said beaming.
Istas noticed Damon was holding her right hand downwards, letting it hover roughly an inch away from his chest.
An inch. That was all the room she needed to hurt him.
Istas looked up a Damon and smirked. Had he known that she had trained in the Jeet Kun Do system under its founder for a number of years, he would've had understood her smile. She repositioned her left leg so that it was behind her and that she was standing, more or less, adjacent to Damon. Closing her right hand into a fist and bending her arm slightly, she dropped down momentarily, allowing her knees to bend faintly. She then straightened both legs, the sudden jerk giving speed and power to the twisting of her hips, transferring over to the lurching of her forward arm. The sudden of extension of her elbow drove her fist forward to rapidly cover the one inch space and plow into Damon's chest.
His sternum cracked like an egg as he stumbled back a few meters. He grasped at his chest as he tried to breathe in, the punch sending bits of bone into his lungs and heart. As he looked up, he could see Istas already in motion with a vampire's speed, her right legged cocked and loaded, lifted and bent at her waist as she stepped over, her left foot planting itself a few inches from him. Istas extended her right leg, the side of her foot striking where her fist had just punched Damon in the chest. The side kick sent Damon flailing through the air, through one of the walls and into the wall of another room.
Istas walked over to the first hole in the wall that Damon made and made it bigger so that she could walk through it. She observed as Damon thrashed around on the ground, clutching at his chest as he tried to breathe. Blood was coughing up from out of his mouth as he tried to stand up but he kept collapsing onto the floor. Istas reached into her pocket and pulled out the last of her wooden blades. She grabbed the blade end of the weapon and held it up, waiting for a clean shot at Damon as he continued to flounder uncontrollably. When he finally stopped and stood up, Istas' eyes widened as she drew her hand back, ready to release her kunai blade into Damon's heart.
The blade flew through the air, cutting the atmosphere with a whizzing sound, the power of Istas' vampire strength causing it to almost break the sound barrier. The blade almost arrived at its destination until it was caught in Alaric's hand.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Istas yelled as she saw Alaric standing in between her and Damon, holding the blade she had just thrown in his hand.
"You can't! You can't kill him!" Alaric said, panting as he grasped at his chest, the wound left behind by Damon slowly closing as his supernatural healing powers were working at full force. He threw the blade away and turned around to look at Damon, who was clutching at his own chest, smiling at Alaric.
"Thanks brother! We kinda like you too!" Damon said, winking at him before vanishing.
Istas stood with her mouth gaping open and her eyes wider than an owl's, looking around the room before settling her eyes once again on Alaric. "Did you not say that we might have to kill them? DIDN'T YOU?! WHAT THE HELL?!"
"It's not that easy. He's my friend!"
"Your friend?! He almost ripped your heart out, and would have had it not been for me, I might point out! We could have ended this!"
Istas vamp-sped towards Alaric and rocked him with a haymaker. Alaric stumbled backwards onto the floor, clutching at his jaw.
"This was your idea!" Istas berated, looking down at Alaric. "And now you go ahead and change your mind about—"
Alaric swiftly stood up and rammed Istas against the wall. Her head snapped back and hit hard against the surface, leaving her temporarily dizzy. Alaric scrutinized her, studied the smoothness of her skin, her powerful and athletic frame. He became irrepressibly aroused. He could smell the faint traces of her own blood on her. It was vampire blood, but blood nonetheless. It was all over her. The smell along with her own natural musk that was steaming off her skin through her sweat was overwhelming. Alaric couldn't help himself as his eyes turned and he buried his fangs into Istas' neck.
Istas gasped for a moment, Alaric's powerful bite clearing the dizziness she suffered moments before. She struggled against him but he was too strong. She instinctively raised her knee, which found its mark against Alaric's groin. Alaric immediately stopped biting and bent over. Istas looked down at him, the scent of his blood filling her nostrils. With her own fangs coming out, she grabbed his head and bit into it like an apple, blood spurting outwards like a small fountain away from her face.
Alaric shook his head to shake off Istas and her bite. With his own blood cascading down the front of his face, he lunged towards Istas and tied up her arms. He pushed her back against the wall and bit into her shoulder multiple times. Istas began biting into his bicep and shoulder in retaliation.
Neither one of them could seemingly control their bloodlust and fury as they continued their mutual slaughter.
Caroline looked up at the ceiling, tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision. Her own blood started gurgling in her throat and she coughed and spat some of it out. She looked down to her chest to see various pieces of wood impaling her like darts on a dartboard. Some of the pieces went so deep that they pierced her lungs. However, none of them had pierced her heart.
"Sweet Caroline," Bonnie said with a velvet tone as she walked around Caroline's inert body on the floor. "It's not your time yet. Not yet. But we are salivating at the thought. Because you belong to us! You are ours. Because you touched us. Like Bonnie, you teased us. Flirted with us. And we have such plans for you!" Bonnie knelt down and stroked away the stray hairs that covered Caroline's face, and continued caressing her in an almost loving manner.
Bonnie looked over her shoulder, seemingly picking up on the raucous going on downstairs in the living room. "But now is not the time. We have other matters to attend to. We have what we need. And you and your idiot friends are becoming annoying." She looked down to the Ambrosia Ring that Caroline had on her hand. "Ahhh, Ambrosia Rings. Ironic that you should be wearing them to get to us considering we were the ones who crafted them. And while I could just as easily rip this off your finger and let you perish here and now, I think it's far more entertaining to see you mumbling chimps try and kill each other."
Bonnie grabbed Caroline's hand and grasped the Ambrosia Ring. She closed her eyes and began murmuring something under her breath. In the midst of her pain, Caroline could feel a change come over her. It was a fleeting change and she felt normal again, but there was a change nonetheless. She looked up at Bonnie who opened her eyes and once again caressed Caroline's face.
"See you soon, sweet Caroline!" Bonnie said, bending down and placing her mouth over Caroline's, passionately kissing her, ramming her tongue into Caroline's mouth. Caroline gagged from the violent intrusion as well as from the foul taste coming from Bonnie's mouth. It was evident she hadn't brushed her teeth in days, and mingled with Caroline's own blood, the mixture produced a grotesque palate that made Caroline want to vomit.
Caroline managed to push Bonnie away. She spit out both her own blood and the residue of Bonnie's saliva from her mouth. She looked up at Bonnie who was smiling at her. Her mouth covered in Caroline's blood, along with her demonic eyes, made her look some kind of eerie version of Ronald McDonald.
Bonnie waved goodbye and turned her back to walk out of the room. However, she paused ever so briefly.
"Caroline…help!"
It was feint. Barely above a whisper. Caroline wasn't even sure that she had heard it. But it was Bonnie's voice—desperate, earnest and afraid. It was not the way Bonnie had been talking to her all this time. There was no hint of malevolence in it. Caroline looked on as Bonnie walked away.
She reached down and tugged and yanked and pulled out all the splintered wood that were embedded in her chest. After taking the last piece out, she stumbled over in attempt to stand up. She could feel her wounds begin to heal, her lungs clearing up. She took a deep breathe in, and suddenly picked up something else.
The scent of blood. Not human, but blood nonetheless. Her hearing picked up the sounds of Alaric and Istas struggling downstairs.
Caroline vamp-sped downstairs and found Alaric and Istas. Their fighting sparked a primal urge within Caroline. Her fangs began growing out of her mouth. Her eyes began to change. She began salivating at the sight of blood flowing from the both of them. As she wiped her mouth with her arm, anticipating the taste of blood and violence that she was about to enjoy, she saw the Ambrosia Ring on her finger. She suddenly remembered Bonnie's comment on it.
The rings. Bonnie did something to the rings!
Caroline clenched her eyes shut and tried to concentrate. She breathed in deeply, trying to focus away her rage and bloodlust. The sounds of Alaric and Istas grunting and biting each other didn't help. It sounded like some kind of violent, sexual blood orgy between two vampire sadists. The smell of blood and the sound of viciousness was becoming too much for Caroline to block out.
She ran towards Alaric and Istas and pulled them apart with all her might.
"ALARIC! ISTAS! STOP IT! STOP! YOU HAVE TO—"
Alaric and Istas pushed Caroline back as they tried to once again go at each other. Caroline yanked Istas back by her hair and brought her to the ground. She then rushed towards Alaric and slapped him hard across the face.
"ALARIC! STOP! IT'S THE RINGS! WE HAVE TO GET THE RINGS OFF!"
Alaric lunged at Caroline but was once again met with a slap. He stood back and closed his eyes shut. For a brief moment, he found focus and opened his eyes again. "Caroline! We…*ugh*…we have to…run! Don't stop…until we reach—"
Alaric didn't finish as he sped away in a flash. Caroline looked down at Istas, who also clenched her eyes shut. When she opened them, she nodded at Caroline and both of them took off.
Pacing back and forth along the border to Mystic Falls, Elena looked at the time on her phone. "We should have given them a time limit, or at least a time to check in. Waiting for them could take forever!"
Stefan stood cross armed looking into Mystic Falls. He didn't respond but wholeheartedly agreed with Elena. He kept looking in the distance, waiting for some sign of Caroline or the others.
Elena stopped pacing and turned towards Stefan. "What if they—"
"They'll be fine. So will Damon. Just…we just have to be patient," Stefan said, the impatient tone in his voice quite palpable to Elena and Abby and Luke, who were standing some distance away.
Elena was about to retort when she turned her attention towards Mystic Falls. She and Stefan could hear rapid footsteps coming towards them. It was barely audible, but they were there. By the time the footsteps got loud enough, Alaric had already passed the border, followed swiftly by Caroline and Istas.
All three collapsed on the ground, ripping their Ambrosia Rings from their hands and tossing them away. Panting heavily, they looked up to see Elena, Stefan, Abby…and Luke. The trio suddenly looked like a pack of wild hyenas eyeing an injured gazelle on the plains of Africa. Their eyes turned and their fangs appeared, and before anyone could react, they were on top of Luke, with Alaric biting his neck, Caroline biting his wrist, and Istas biting his thigh. Luke toppled to the ground screaming in pain as his blood and life was quickly being drained from him.
Elena rushed to pry Alaric away. "RIC! STOP! YOU'LL KILL—"
Alaric broke off his feeding to deliver a wicked backhand to Elena that knocked her onto the ground before returning to his feeding frenzy. Stefan ran to Alaric, pulled his head back and twisted it to snap his neck. He did the same with Caroline and Istas in quick succession.
He looked down at Luke, who looked up at him. Luke was blinking incessantly, trying to stay awake and alive.
"Hel…help! Hel…l—"
Stefan's nostrils flared as the familiar iron smell of blood wafted around him. His eyes turned, his fangs extended. He licked his lips as his mouth watered.
"Stefan!" Abby bellowed. She pushed him out of the way and knelt down beside Luke. "Easy. Stay with me, kid!" She bit her hand and fed him some of her blood. Luke began drinking and broke off, breathing in deeply as his bleeding stopped and his wounds started to close.
Elena groggily got up and checked on Luke. She then looked over Caroline, Alaric and Istas. "What happened to them? They were like wild animals—completely out of control!"
Stefan turned and walked away. "I know the feeling."