Hey guys :) I'm about to start school this week so updates might be less frequent, but I'll try to update once a week :)

Also, we're almost to 1K! I can never thank you enough :D

Without further ado, here's Chapter 12 :)

In a matter of seconds, the quiet atmosphere turned into hell on Earth. Three masked men came barging in, forcing the front door open and slamming the security guard against the wall, almost knocking him unconscious. The screams surrounding me pierced my ears, merging together with the loud pounding in my chest. Managers, tellers, young, elderly… everyone ran as their life depended on it.

"I said get down!" Unable to process what was happening, I found myself being shoved to the ground, landing face first hard. My head throbbed in pain, but I didn't dare move.

The screaming didn't stop. It all became a hurricane of sounds as I clung to the cold tiles underneath me, trying to breathe.

I could hear one of them trying to say something, but the screaming was too loud. Covering my head, I heard shots being fired. I was too terrified to look. After the shots went off, the screaming came to an abrupt stop. It became so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

I should mention, one of my worst fears is being attacked from behind. Yet here I was, in the middle of a bank, head down, with my back towards a trio of armed robbers.

Someone grabbed my arm. Petrified, I wanted to scream, but nothing came out.

"Shh… Maya, it's okay, it's me." I slowly looked up, and saw Kol, a solemn, yet comforting look on his face. I nodded, tears threatening to form.

He looked at me up and down, checking that I was alright, when a look of horror formed on his face.

"Maya, you're hurt…" he said, gently touching my forehead. Wincing slightly under his touch, I shook my head, letting him know it wasn't as bad as it looked.

The guy who seemed like the ring leader started walking around on the small shards of glass that covered the floor like deadly snowflakes. Another man was positioned at the front door, making sure no one got in, while the other was towards the back.

"Okay folks, here's how it's gonna be," he said in a menacingly quiet voice. "My friends and I are here to make a very large withdrawal, and anyone who comes in our way better start saying his prayers. You stay out of our way, no one gets hurt. Got it?" Everyone mumbled a terrified yes in response.

"Good. Let's all be civil, shall we? Everyone in a line, empty your pockets, hand in your phones, keys, wallets… all in this bag. NOW!"

Taking a sharp breath, I quickly got up and stood in line, as did Kol, and put my stuff in the bag. As he passed in front of me, he looked me straight in the eyes, sending shivers down my spine. All I could see was his eyes, but they were deep, soulless pools of darkness descending into the abyss… they were death. I felt Kol tense up next to me and he put his stuff in, his hands curling into fists.

Everyone held his breath as the robber stood in front of a man at the end of the line, who looked like a manager. He had only handed in his wallet.

"Okay. Sir? What's your name?" He asked with that voice that was dripping in venom.

"B-Bill."

"Bill what?"

"Bill Doyle."

"Okay, Bill Doyle. Where are your keys, Bill?"

"T-They're in the wallet."

He grabbed the wallet to check, which thankfully included the keys, to everyone's relief.

"Good answer. Now, where is your phone, Bill?"

"I left it at home."

The masked man stopped for a few seconds, the tension level in the room soaring sky high.

"Are you sure about that, Bill Doyle? Think about your answer Bill. Or else, your gravestone is going to read: Here lies Bill Doyle. He tried to be a hero and ruin the perfect robbery, but instead, got a bullet IN THE HEAD.'" He yelled as he pressed a gun to the man's head, resulting in a number of muffled screams from the line.

"Let's try this again. Where's your phone, Bill Doyle?"

"I – I'm telling you, I left it at home," Bill replied a little less convincingly.

"Hmm." He moved away from Bill, almost as if he was going to let it go, much to the relief of Bill, when he suddenly turned to one of his gang members.

"Check him."

His fellow accomplice barged towards him, slamming him to the wall. He raised Bill's hands over his head and checked every inch of his body.

Suddenly, he stopped, looking at his leader.

He had found the phone.

What little colour was left in Bill's face quickly left him like his soul had left his body, as he faced the horror of what was going to happen next.

"Thank you," he said calmly when his accomplice gave him the phone.

"Come with me," he then growled, forcing poor Bill into one of the bank's rooms.

"No, no please! I'm sorry!"

"Too late."

The air was suddenly filled with Bill's screams, and the leader's punching… hitting… kicking. I closed my eyes, trying with all my might to shut it all out, to just block out all my senses and wake up and find myself in bed, waking up from a nightmare.

I discreetly pinched my thumb with all the strength I could muster. But it was all in vain. The screaming was still there.

It was all real.

Now unable to hold back my tears, they forced themselves through my eyelashes, forming a wet trail on my face. I took in short breaths when I felt someone grasping my hand tightly. Opening my eyes slightly, I looked down to see the owner's hand, and lifted my head to look at Kol, in his own way telling me it's going to be okay.

We were now all sprawled in the main meeting area, seated with our backs to the wall. Some were hiding behind tables, others seeking the comfort of a simple wooden chair. The three robbers had now separated, with one of them emptying the vault, another at the front door, and the last one here, watching us. I tried to pin point something unique in his body: a tattoo, scar, something, but it was all for nothing. Apart from his eyes, I couldn't see anything.

I looked at Kol, who was staring into nothingness, probably void of all hope. Opposite me, on the other side of the bank, was Bill Doyle, now all bloodied and sporting multiple bruises. What if this was it? What if I never see my friends, my brother, again?

Tears threatening to form again, I turned towards Kol. "I'm sorry."

Looking back at me, he whispered, "What is it Maya? Sorry for what?"

"You were right," I started, looking down. "I was avoiding you."

"Don't worry about it," he said, shaking it off. "You had every right to, I know my reputation."

"No please. I want to apologise in case, you know…" I stopped mid-sentence, voice cracking, unable to finish.

"Hey, hey, look at me," he said, gently grabbing my face in the palms of his hands. "Don't talk like that. We're going to get out of here, you hear me? You, me, and all these innocent people, we're all going to get out of this, safe and sound. Okay Maya?"

"Hey, shouldn't Kol be here by now? He left like three hours ago… what is it with that guy and disappearing?"

"Where did he run off to?"

"I don't know, but he said he had a few errands to run… 'one hour tops', he said."

"Klaus, you worry too much. He's a big boy… let him be."

Damon, Stefan, Enzo and Kai had all made their way to the Mikaelson household, who had invited them over for some friendly beer and bro talk by the pool. Kol had supposedly said that he would be back soon, but as things were, it seemed unlikely.

"I'm sorry, but after the camping trip I can't help but worry," Klaus said, looking at Kai.

"What you looking at me for, it's not like I threw him over!" Kai retaliated in defence.

"We don't know that."

"Klaus, give the guy a break, I'm sure Kol's fine," his older brother told him. "Now what do you say we enjoy this beer while it's still cold, huh? I actually have an off day and I want to drink my cold beer on my off day, if you don't mind, little brother," he smiled, opening his beer bottle with sheer satisfaction.

After some time in the sun, the boys decided to head inside and talk in the kitchen for a while.

"Elijah, switch on the telly, will you? Just leave it on for some background sound, anything to make me not worry about Kol," Klaus said as he entered the room.

"Like I said, you worry too much, but fine." Elijah turned on the television, leaving it on whichever channel was on, which was apparently the news.

"Is that the bank?" Stefan asked suddenly, looking at the screen. "What's happening? Are those police cars?"

"Is it being robbed? Elijah, turn it up," Enzo added, intrigued.

"'We have just heard news that the Western City Bank on Merchant Street is being robbed as we speak. We also have official word that there are hostages inside, but it is still unclear how many there are, and if any have been hurt.'"

"Damn," is all that Damon said, going back to his beer.

"Klaus? What's wrong?" Stefan asked, looking at his friend who had gone as white as a ghost.

"Elijah?" he managed in barely a whisper. "Didn't Kol say he needed to go to the bank?"

The silence that had conquered the room was all the response he needed.

"And now you wonder why I worry!" he yelled, as it dawned on everyone that Kol might be in real danger. He quickly grabbed his phone, dialling Kol's number, but it went straight to voicemail. "His phone's off. His phone is never off!"

"Brother, I'm sure he's fine," Elijah said, trying to calm Klaus down as well as reassure himself. "Let's go down there, I'm sure he's okay."

"Elijah? Your phone's vibrating, you have a text," Kai said softly, handing Elijah his phone.

"What the –" he started, staring down at the phone.

"What? What is it?" Klaus asked agitated.

"It's Kol."

"Kol? How could it be, his phone's switched off!"

"It's the other one. The old Nokia one."

"They still make those?"

"What does it say?"

When Elijah didn't respond, he asked again, louder. "Elijah, what does it say?"

"'Sos mer str ban rob w my'," he said, almost feeling faint.

"Oh my God," Klaus said, holding on to the sofa for support.

"Wait," Kai started. "w my? What's that? With my? With my what?"

As everyone tried to figure it out, Enzo suddenly jumped on his feet. "Elijah, give me the phone."

"What?"

"Give me the phone, now!"

"Enzo?" Damon tried to ask his friend, who just hushed him up, waiting for the person to respond.

"Come on come on – Caroline! Where are you?" he asked on the phone.

"Enzo? Hi, I'm at the library, where else would I be?"

"Is Maya with you? Caroline, is Maya there?"

"No, she had an early shift. Why?"

"Shit." He promptly hung up the phone, giving it back to Elijah and practically sprinting towards the front door.

"Enzo! Bro, talk to us. What is it?" Damon asked, concerned.

Enzo turned to face them, eyes flaring with anger and determination.

"It's Maya. He's with Maya."

"Kol, what the hell are you doing, you're going to get us all killed!" I whispered in horror as I realised that Kol was hiding a second mobile phone on his person.

"Relax, I keep this for emergencies… I'm pretty sure this is one."

"You did not just tell me to relax. You saw what they did to that guy!"

"They did that because he didn't hand in his phone. I handed in mine," he replied, hiding the phone behind him to text quickly, his eyes never leaving the robber.

"What are you doing?"

"The police. They don't know. No one's here yet."

"Kol put it down, please."

"I need to text Elijah. They need to know," he whispered, still focused on his phone.

"Kol he's turning this way!"

He quickly hid the phone inside his pants, acting like nothing ever happened. When the robber turned his back to us again, he once again took out his phone, texting as quickly as possible before putting it back in.

"You crazy idiot," I mumbled, almost laughing at the hopelessness of it all.

He grabbed my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "We'll be okay," he said, nodding his head before turning to face me. "I won't let anything happen to you, Maya. I swear."

At that moment, gazing into his eyes, for a moment I swear I forgot where I was. If it weren't for my constant shaking with fear, and my throbbing head, I could have easily thought I was in the middle of a field, just me and him. Nothing else.

Someone's whimper brought me back to reality, when I realised I was still staring, and he was still holding my hand.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked, looking away just as he removed his hand.

"Shoot."

I stared at him, raising my eyebrows, when it dawned on him what he had just said in light of the current situation.

"Talk about bad timing… you know what I mean."

Taking in a deep breath, I proceeded with my question, not sure I wanted to know the answer. "What's the deal with you and Kai?"

Raising one side of his lips slightly, he talked as he looked at the ground. "Uhh… let's just say we have irreconcilable differences."

Confused, I asked, "What, you don't like the same things?"

"On the contrary." He let out a small laugh before looking at me again, letting his eyes rest on mine.

Before I could even try to decipher what he meant by that, the robber who was guarding the front door came rushing in suddenly, making his way towards the ring leader who was now emptying the tellers' counters.

"Boss… the cops are here. The area's surrounded," he whispered.

Giving a glare that could melt away concrete walls, he stomped towards us, making lions seem like little new born kittens.

"Someone in here," he growled, "has let the police know what was going on in here. Did I not tell you, that if someone gets in our way, PRAYERS NEED TO BE SAID?"

Everyone retreated back to the walls as much as humanly possible, willing themselves to just melt into the concrete. Beside me, Kol grabbed my hand again, moving in closer, when I realised he was almost sitting in front of me.

He was protecting me.

Unfortunately, the leader noticed this, and walked our way.

Towering over us, he laughed in a menacing voice when he said, "Protecting your little lady, are you? Think you can protect her from me?"

He may have been sitting down, but Kol's face stood so tall, he may as well have been a tiger talking to an ant.

"Don't you dare touch her," he growled.

"Hey hey hey! We have ourselves our own little Rambo! Let's see how tough you are, when I shoot a bullet in your brain!"

He suddenly pulled Kol away from me, holding him in the middle of the room, one arm around his neck, the other holding a gun against his head. Kol desperately grabbed the robber's arm, trying to loosen the grip.

"KOL!"

"My little sister's in there!"

"As is my brother!"

"I understand that gentlemen, but for now, please let the police do their job and stay behind the bars!"

The young policeman who was ordered to control the growing crowd went back to where he was stationed, keeping an eye on Enzo and Klaus, who were threatening to burst through the bank with brute force. They had all made their way to the bank as soon as they heard, sending word with Rebekah to stay on call next to Caroline all the time, just in case. They didn't want their baby sister to be anywhere near the scene.

"I swear, if anything happens to any one of them… there'll be hell to pay," Klaus snarled, grabbing the bar so tightly, his knuckles were starting to turn white.

"Klaus, stop." Elijah turned on his younger brother, trying to knock some sense into him, as was Damon with his best friend. "This won't do any good, there's nothing you can do. Come, staying here will only come in the way of their job."

"Elijah, our brother, your brother, is in there, and is being held hostage. Do you not hear what is coming out of my mouth?"

"I hear you loud and clear brother. And I promise you, if anything were to happen to our brother, they will pay."

Stefan, who had cautiously been surveying the scene from a step back, noticed Kai, who had separated himself from the group and now sat on a bench just outside the crowd. He was staring intently at the ground, his hands curled into fists.

"Kai?" Stefan asked slowly, proceeding with caution. When he didn't get a reply, he decided it was safe enough to sit down.

After a few seconds of silence, Kai finally spoke. "I can't stay there. In the crowd. It's too intense."

"Okay," Stefan replied, looking at him. He didn't have to talk. All he had to do was listen.

"I had to take a step back, I had to – I had to, breathe." His breath was becoming shallower, more hurried.

"I had to – I have to do something… I can't… Stefan, I can't…" Stefan remained as he was, listening intently to what Kai had to say.

"She's – she's in there. And I'm here. I promised Enzo I would take care of her. And she's in there. Wh-what am I supposed to do?" He turned to face Stefan, tears now threatening to escape.

"You're supposed to be here, ready to support her when she comes out of that door. Not if, when. You will be here, ready with the biggest bear hug you could muster, ready with the biggest shoulder to cry on. You will help her through this, you will be her rock, and you will be there when she needs someone to lean on. Like you always are."

Forcing a laugh, Kai looked toward the ground before looking back at Stefan. "She means the world to me, Stefan. I don't really have a family, she's all I have. I don't know what I'd do if anything happens to her."

"We're all worried, Kai. We're all scared, both for her and for Kol. But together, we'll get through this. You have to be strong. For her."

Just as Kai was about to respond, his reply was promptly cut short when they heard a loud bang in the distance.

A gun shot.

As soon as the gun shot was heard, the policemen immediately sprang into action and burst through the front door, shielding themselves as they threw cans of gas towards the robbers and the hostages. Some tried to find their way through the screaming hostages in the growing smoke, trying to find the robbers, while others led the hostages outside, who quickly ran away from harm's way.

"Maya! Where are you?" Enzo yelled at the top of his lungs, climbing up a tree in the square to be able to see more clearly. Desperate to find his sister, he scanned the panicked hostages that were running by.

"There! Enzo, I see her!" Upon hearing these words, Enzo jumped off the tree, sprinting towards where Damon was pointing. Kai came rushing to the front, needing to see with his own eyes that Maya was okay.

There he was. My brother. My beautiful big brother.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, stopping only when I was in the comfort of his arms, the water works in my eyes coming out full blast.

"Thank God, Maya," Enzo whispered, squeezing me so tight I thought I would stop breathing.

But I didn't mind. I never wanted to leave.

"Maya…"

I turned round just enough to see Kai behind me, with a look of total relief on his face. I noticed that his eyes were bloodshot; he had been tearing up.

"Kai…" I breathed as I let go of Enzo's comforting arms and draped myself around Kai, pressing my face against his chest.

"I was so scared Kai, I thought I'd never see you again," I sobbed.

"Shh… it's okay Maya, you're safe now." He hugged me tightly, resting his head on mine after planting a kiss on my forehead.

I was perfectly content staying there forever when a shiver ran through me, forcing me to pull away.

"Maya, what is it?" Kai asked with a look of concern.

"Kol… where's Kol?"

I frantically looked around to try to find my neighbour, noticing that Klaus and Elijah, although glad to see me, were doing the same.

"Where was he? Was he with you?"

"I – I don't know. One minute he was there and then they grabbed him and it all happened so fast…" I scanned the crowd panicking, trying not to get dizzy.

"Didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily, did you?"

And just like that, there he was, almost as if the crowd had made way for him. Klaus and Elijah rushed towards him, sandwiching him from both sides, before backing away when he winced.

"What is it Kol?" Klaus asked, when he noticed that Kol was holding his arm.

"Kol… the gun shot we heard…" Elijah started.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a flesh wound," he said, letting go of his arm to show them. "Still burns though."

"When I get my hands on those guys, I swear I'll…"

"Klaus. It's okay. Let them be, it's over," Kol said before adding, "Doesn't mean I didn't give them a taste of my own fist though," he smirked.

Klaus patted his younger brother on the back, a look of pride bursting through his face. "You little rascal."

He grinned before holding his arm again. "Wait, Maya, where –"

"– she's right there brother." Elijah turned his head towards me, with Enzo protectively watching over my shoulder.

He started making his way towards me, a look of concern on his face. "Maya! Are you o–"

Slamming into him, I cut his sentence short, hugging him with all the strength I could muster, when I felt the hug being reciprocated, albeit with one hand.

"Kol, your arm…" I said when I noticed he was wincing.

"Don't worry about it," he said, cutting me off. "You can hug me all you want," he smiled.

He lifted my face away from his arm and towards his face, wiping away tears and loose hairs behind my ear. "Are you okay?"

I responded by hugging him again, before finally looking back up at him and kissing him gratefully on the cheek.

"Thank you."

It's a bit intense compared to the others, but I like it :) Also, for anyone who has seen 'The Inside Man', there's a part which will be familiar :)

Please let me know what you think, I love reading your reviews! I want to know your opinion... please tell me if you like it, love it, downright hate it... just let me know :)