The next day, the group met up at the Boarding House really early. "Okay, is everyone here?"
"I think so." Caroline said.
"Alright, now we can get started."
"Uh, I know I'm not really part of this group, but I got a report before coming here." Liz said. "Five bodies, all drained of blood."
"Well, she's either lost control of her group or she's sending us a message." Damon said.
"How many people need to be murdered for you to realize this is a problem?" Bonnie asked him.
"I know it's a problem, but we have no idea where these idiots are." He shot back.
"Okay, fighting each other isn't going to solve anything." Elena pointed out.
"What do you suggest we do?" Jeremy asked.
"Here's what I suggest we do, we try to find them rather than the other way around." Maria told everyone. "Ever since last night, my tracking spell's been all over the place."
"If Katherine's the one in charge of this, we better try to find her first." Matt said.
"Yeah, but our tracking spells are off." Lauren pointed out.
"I have an idea." Bonnie said. "Do you remember when we had to track Elena to Rose and Trevor's hideout?"
"We had to use a blood spell to track her." Jeremy said.
"But they're not blood related, and she's a vampire." Nate pointed out.
"Actually, that's not quite true." Maria said.
"We're doppelgangers." Elena said. "And I'm descended from her."
"Which sort of makes them blood related." Stefan finished.
"You don't have to do this, you know." Maria said. "We could find another way to track her."
"If I don't, then we'll have no way of finding her." Elena pointed out. "I know there's a chance it might not work, but we need to try anyway."
"You are the bravest person I've ever met." Allison said.
"Well, you know Elena." Caroline said. "She's always thinking of the big picture."
"Yeah, but we can't all stay here while they do the spell." Alaric pointed out. "Some of us better investigate in case they attack again."
"And then what, call an angel for help?" Damon asked. Maria looked at him.
"He has a point, Damon." Caroline said. "I think most of us should into town and look into this case, while the others work on the locator spell."
"I don't think this is a job for a group of…" Liz began.
"Mom, do you trust us or not?" Caroline asked. "Look, I know it's your job to protect this town, but it's our job, too."
"She's right." Tyler said.
"Okay." Liz said.
Fifteen minutes later, most of the group had gone into town. "I thought you'd stay with Bonnie and the others." Caroline said.
"No way. I might be used to vampires, but even I can't stand the sight of blood." Lauren said. "Though Maria did teach me about blood spells before."
"At least you don't get sick." Allison pointed out. "If I stayed there, I'd probably be in the upstairs bathroom the whole time."
"I just don't get why he's here." Nate said, indicating Matt.
"Honestly, I don't know, either." Matt told him. "I guess I wanted to get away from the magic for a while."
"You're still getting used to it, that's normal." Tyler said. "Even I'm not used to witchcraft or magic or whatever you call it. I'm kinda used to the werewolf-vampire thing."
"Well, you had some help in that department." Allison pointed out.
"So, should we split up or something?" Matt said. "You know, cover more ground."
"Good idea." Caroline said.
"You know, for one of the few humans in this group, you're pretty smart." Allison said.
"Well, I've been around this group my whole life." Matt said. "And I've read a lot of mystery books."
"This is the weirdest case I've ever done." Allison said. She ended up going with Caroline and the vampire hunters.
"You've done stuff like this before?" Caroline asked.
"Never this big, usually just small cases, like tracking a vampire or finding evidence of an attack." Allison explained.
"You'd make a good forensic detective."
"I would if the whole thing didn't make me squemish." Allison said.
"Yeah, it's hard to deal with some of this stuff sometimes." Liz said. "Becoming the sheriff wasn't an easy choice, but I knew I wanted to protect my daughter from all this."
"Well, things sort of worked out." Caroline said. "In a way, you still are. You didn't turn me in."
"I could never do that. Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to get used to it, but I get that you and your friends aren't going to hurt anyone." Liz said.
"I make no promises about Damon." Caroline said.
"Oh, please. The guy's so wrapped up in Maria I doubt he'd commit murder." Allison pointed out.
"At least he's got us to keep him in line." Alaric pointed out.
"I still don't get how…" Liz began.
"Mom, quiet." Caroline said, focusing. "I hear something." Allison was focused, too.
"It's really quiet around here." Tyler said. "I wish we could hear as well as Caroline."
"Well, you guys have me." Nate pointed out. "I may not have a lot of abilities, but I can hear pretty well."
"So, you can't control the transformation and change every full moon?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, but we usually chain ourselves so that we don't hurt people." Nate said.
"You said that you could control your actions in wolf form though."
"Yeah, but it takes practice. I recommend not doing it in the forest for the first time." Nate said.
"Don't ask, I wasn't there." Lauren said.
"So, are you picking up on anything?"
"Aside from the tension in the group, nothing."
"Lauren…"
"Look, I get that you're not used to this. Heck, I'm not even sure I'm up to any of this." Lauren said. "I only met Maria and the others last year and my magic's not that developed."
"Can't you combine powers with the others?" Matt asked.
"Sort of, but that takes a lot of power." Lauren said. "And I know of witches that have died from over-exerting themselves by using too much of it."
"Well, I think you can handle it." Nate said. "You've been practicing with the girls for a few weeks, and we can all tell."
"Thanks."
"Sometimes, you just have to go for it no matter what the risk is." Matt said. "I wish I'd figured that out before."
"Hey, man. I was surprised when I found out, too." Tyler said. "But then I found out that no matter what, they're still normal, just a little different."
"Yeah, I get it."
"Speaking of different, I think I'm getting something." Nate said. "It sounds like it's coming from that ally."
At the Boarding House, everyone else gathered in the living room. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bonnie asked.
"We don't have a choice." Maria pointed out. "Would you rather have them ambush us?"
"A lot of enemies have gotten the drop on us that way."
"Not this time. If we let that happen…" Elena began.
"It won't happen." Jeremy said. "Look, we've been working on this for nearly a month now. I think we can all handle this."
"Okay, I think we have everything we need." Maria said. "Elena…"
"Let's just get this over with." She told her.
Back in town, Caroline was looking at a person. Allison had to leave the group because she was still bleeding. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I don't know. I was walking down this ally with some guy and I think I passed out. When I woke up, I found out I'd lost blood. I have no idea how the heck I ended up here."
"Do you live around here?" Caroline asked.
"No, I was on vacation with…my parents! Oh, God! What are they going to think when they see this?"
"It's okay." Caroline said. Liz had been watching the entire time. "My mom can help. She's an officer." She turned to her.
"Can you help her? I'm going to try and find the creep that did this." She explained.
"I can handle this." Liz told her. Caroline left. "So, where are you staying?"
Meanwhile, Tyler's group found a guy on the other side of town. "What do you think?" Lauren asked.
"Looks like he's one of them." Nate said.
"So, now what?" Matt asked.
"Stand back." Tyler said. "This could get ugly." They headed over to him, with Matt standing at the entry of the lot.
"Excuse me." Nate said. "Is there anything we can do to help you?" Tyler looked at him, but he nodded, indicating him to follow his lead.
"I collapsed here the other day. But I'm sure I'll be fine." Suddenly, Lauren knocked him back with a blast of power.
"Save it, we know you're one of them." Tyler said. "And we know who turned you. What are you doing out here?"
"She sent some of us out here to try and get you're group off her trail. Others, like me, just came out here to feed."
"Well, the trail of bodies you and your friends left have made that obvious." Nate said. "Where is she?"
"I don't know." He said. Nate let go of him.
"If you want to live, I suggest you leave town." Nate told him. He took off.
"You let him get away?" Tyler asked.
"He was telling the truth. I could sense it. He really doesn't know where Katherine is." Nate said.
"Yeah, but I don't think he'll make it far." Lauren said. "I think I accidentally broke his leg as he took off."
"How's that possible?" Tyler asked.
"I don't know. I just hope my magic's strong enough to handle the fight." Lauren said.
Back at the house, the girls were casting the spell. Elena was pressing a tissue to her wrist. Everyone was looking at the map as the blood drops merged and started to head in a direction on it.
"You really think this will work?" Jeremy asked.
"It has to." Elena said. "Otherwise, Katherine and her group will tear the town apart." She winced.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
Maria and Bonnie were still concentrating. Suddenly, the line, which had been going straight, suddenly swerved to the right.
"Whoa, that didn't happen before." Jeremy said.
"Are you sure they're doing this right?" Damon asked
"Positive. This is the way Bonnie set up that locater spell last time." Suddenly, the line stopped. Everyone was looking at the map.
"Looks like it goes on for three hundred miles." Jeremy said.
"More like six hundred." Bonnie said.
"Look over here." Maria said. She was looking at where the line had stopped. "It looks like they're in the forest at the edge of town, the one that borders this one and Oak Hills."
"You can tell all that just by looking at it?" Elena asked.
"I've got a pretty good sense of direction." Maria said.
"I think she's right." Stefan told them. "Look at where the line curves here, that's probably the trail that was abandoned several years ago."
"I remember that, they said it was because of a possibility of an avalanche." Bonnie said. "Of course, Grams said it was because there was some kind of supernatural hotspot over there, like it attracted all kinds of supernatural beings."
"And I remember finding a group of campers there once, all drained of blood." Damon said.
"I'm betting that's definitely where Katherine's hiding." Maria said. "It has to be."
"We better tell the others." Elena said. The others were already calling the rest of the group.
"So, what's our strategy?"
"Well, we're not sure if they're expecting us, so I say we take this route over to their campsite." Maria took a blue marker and lined out a trail between the forest and the Boarding House. "If we take this path, they won't be able to see us until we've entered the clearing."
"How do you know you're way around this town?" Damon asked.
"I've had plenty of time to look around while everyone else was busy with their personal drama last fall." Maria said.
"They're on their way back." Bonnie told her.
"Okay." Maria said. "We should probably get moving. We've got to stop them before they have the chance to attack us first."