Chapter 3: Highway to Hell

The sound of the motor of the car seemed to calm me. And if I concentrated enough on the sound of the windshield wipers moving back and forth on the windshield, I could almost forget what I was doing.

I didn't even think of a direction as soon as I had left Mystic Falls. I just picked one, and it happened to be North Carolina. Going south, then. You know, for a girl who had never been out of the town, North Carolina was a whole new world. Don't stay out too late, were the last words my mom had told me. Can you read me a bedtime story tonight? was the last sentence my little brother Chad had said to me. Can you pass me the coffee, Juliette? was the last phrase I heard my father say.

I had to leave. I would have died. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I had no other choice. I couldn't very well die in Mystic Falls if I was multiple states away, could I?

Then why didn't this lump of guilt and regret leave my heart? I had left everything behind. Everyone I cared about. My education, my future. Although I guess that my future was why I left for the first place. I hadn't even left a message for Caroline. In the morning, my parents would find my letter, and I would be wanted by the police. You see, the red Honda I was driving wasn't mine, but my mother's. And before I had left, I had taken all the cash I could possibly find in the house. Which might have been closer to 700 dollars. You might be thinking; what family would have 700 dollars lying around in the house? Well, mine had. They had of course been tucked away in a safe place, but I found that hiding place when I was ten.

"North Carolina, here I come." I whispered to myself and pressed down the gas pedal further.


"Shit. Shit. Shit." I banged my head against the steering wheel and took deep breaths. What had I done? I was only seventeen. No one was going to offer me a job. I couldn't rent my own apartment. I only had 700 dollars, and I needed to pay for gas. But I couldn't return. I had to get away from that hellhole. I had known it even before these crazy visions started. I only wished I could've waited until I had at least turned eighteen.

I had pulled up from the motorway before a sign that showed Columbia to the left and Atlanta to the right. It was seven in the morning, and I had been driving for most of the night, except for a stop at 3am to take a nap. The sun shone and it was a beautiful fall day, but I had a decision to face. With a sigh, I bent over the passenger seat and reached for the storage compartment. There had to be a map somewhere. And there was. I picked it up and sat down in my seat again.

"Now, where should I go?" I asked myself and scratched my head with a frown. I had no idea where to go. Then an idea lighted up in my mind, and I smiled to myself. I straightened out the map and put the palm of my right hand flat against it.

"These powers might be good for something." I mumbled to myself before dragging my hand along the map. The map felt cold against my palm, but a calm feeling settled in my stomach for the first time since two days ago. I traced my hand downwards on the map, and gasped when I felt a tug. It was like a magnet, and I stopped moving my hand.

"New Orleans." I stated, looking at the location where I had felt the tug. I thought of the only things I knew about New Orleans; There were a lot of french people there and jazz music.

"Sounds perfect." I shrugged and put away the map. I took one last deep breath before pressing down the gas pedal again. The car left a cloud of dust behind as I turned did a straight turn to the right, the tires rearing against the asphalt road.


"I'M ON A HIGHWAY TO HELL! HIGHWAY TO HELL!" I sang as loudly as I could, rocking my hair like a true rocker. The guilt I had felt two hours ago was completely erased. My heart felt light as a feather, and my cheeks were cramping from smiling. The music rang loudly in my ear, and the fresh wind blowing in through my open window made me feel alive. Why had I never thought of escaping before? I hadn't realized exactly how trapped I had felt in Mystic Falls before I had left.

"No stop signs! Speeding limits!" I had to admit my voice sounded pretty good, and the accuracy of the song was laughable. "Nobody's gonna slow us down!" I had my whole future before me. Now that I thought of it, I could do anything. I could make a career out of singing like I always dreamed, or maybe I could become a painter. That had always sounded nice, too. A painter in New Orleans. It had a nice ring to it. I could do that.

Without warning, I laughed right out loud. I couldn't help it, I was so goddamn happy. It felt like all of my negative feelings left my body along with the sound of my ringing laughter.


"Holy shit." I exclaimed once more as I entered the town of Atlanta, Georgia. The euphoric feeling I had felt when passing the border between South Carolina and Georgia had died down and been replaced with the same panic I had felt before. But there was something more important right now than my endless guilt and stress; I was starving. I hadn't even thought of stopping until I entered Atlanta city, but I had a feeling I would pass out if I didn't eat. Stop what you're thinking; It wasn't a psychic feeling. I just had this extreme gnawing hunger in my stomach.

The restaurants along the dirty streets of Atlanta City didn't look appealing at all. Stressed people with briefcases and headsets rushed along the streets, children ran around with footballs and old couples sat on benches holding hands. It looked exactly like Mystic Falls, although I have to say that the size of the city was pretty impressive. I watched the people interact with new eyes, and I realized that I would probably be like one of those stressed adults soon. Everyone had to get a job to earn money. I turned right and grasped the fact that the thought bothered me less than living out my life in a small town.

The hole in my stomach echoed sadly with hunger as I drove out of the town. What else could I do? Just looking at the restaurants had made me sick. I started regretting my decision half an hour later when I drove along an empty country lane. Old houses lined the road, and brown horses watched me as I drove past them. I couldn't see a human soul anywhere, and that was the case for another twenty minutes. Until finally, something caught my eye. I pulled off the road and turned left, my stomach screeching with famine.

"Bree's bar." I muttered to myself. Burgers. Oh God, yes. I parker the red Honda and stepped out of it carefully, but not before grabbing my wallet and phone. Mystic Falls was a pretty safe town (unless you counted the vampires and freaks like me), but you never knew with these country places.

A woman in her forties was cleaning the wooden counter, and I pulled out a stool. I threw down my backpack with a loud sigh and sat down.

"Aren't you a little young for being in a bar?" The chocolate-skinned woman asked me with a raise of her right eyebrow. I eyed her carefully while thinking of a reply.

"I'm not here to drink. I just want a hamburger. The biggest you've got." The words slipped out of my mouth, but I couldn't think straight from the hunger. The waitress chuckled and threw the rag across her shoulder.

"Alright." Her voice was low-pitched and her smile created lines on the corners of her eyes. "My name's Bree. What are you doing in these parts of the state?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked the owner of the bar while she shouted at a young kid to prepare their biggest hamburger. Bree's brown eyes watched me with a puzzled expression for a second before she continued.

"I can tell you're not from here. Local girls know better than to come to bars like these on the outskirts of town."

"I'm actually seventeen." I stated decisively and leaned against the counter. "Besides, I'm not afraid of bikers."

"Oh, it's not bikers you should be afraid of." Bree chuckled, but here was a knowing glint in her eyes. What did she mean? "Vampires visit this place more frequently than bikers." She said simply, and my heart stopped for a second.

"How did you–" I started, but she laughed out loud this time.

"Girl, I know you're not normal. So what are you? Witch, vampire, werewolf?" Her voice rang in my ears, and I noticed the ringing didn't stop even after she had stopped talking.

"I didn't even know witches and werewolves existed…" I mumbled, more to myself than to Bree. "Do all creatures from tales exist?" I felt embarrassed at asking these questions, but I wanted answers. Even if it was obvious that Bree thought I was naive. The woman turned around and avoided my question by entering the kitchen. She came out three seconds later with a plate with the biggest hamburger I had ever seen, and a tower of french fries surrounding it.

"You should probably eat something before we have this conversation." Bree stated and placed the plate before me.


"So you're a witch?" My head was thumping with pain, probably from the amount of information I had had to take in during those three days.

"Yes. You're supernatural too." Bree acknowledged with a puzzled look.

"What am I then?" I queried seriously, watching the with intently. It was the question I had been asking myself since the visions started. There was no way to find out for myself- It wasn't exactly like the secret society of supernatural creatures had their own Wikipedia website. I hope.

"I don't know, little one." The barista inquired while pouring a beer into a large glass and slipping it to the guy next to me, wearing a leather jacket. I hadn't even noticed him, but I felt a chill run down my spine when I looked at him.

"Here you go, Lee. Lexi coming over later?" Bree asked him with a smile. He laughed and showed his dimples before taking a swig of the beer.

"Nah, just me today." He replied. He had a handsome face with defined jaws and a tall nose, and his wide smile really suited him. Bree laughed in reply and turned back to me.

"You were wight about the vampires." I told her quietly. I had gotten the same cold chill when I watched him as I had gotten with Stefan and Damon.

"Lee? Oh, he's nothing to worry about. He's a nice vampire. He and his girlfriend Lexi visit from time to time." Bree said as if it was obvious he was a nice guy. Apparently, some vampires were nice. You learn new things every day…

"Did you say you get visions?" The witch inquired with a concerned expressions, and I hesitated. Could I trust her? Surely, my "powers" weren't that common. Was it really wise to tell her?

"Every time I touch someone, I see pictures of their future." She was after all a witch. I knew her secret, so why wouldn't I tell her mine? Besides, she had only been nice so far. It felt good to speak to someone who knew something about this freakiness. "And I can also see flashes of the past."

"Some witches are psychic. I myself don't have that specific power, but…" Her voice trailed and I saw a flicker of emotion in her eleyes. Longing, perhaps. "I would've felt it the second you entered if you were a witch." My heart fell.

"Then what am I?! Some unidentifiable freak?!" I exclaimed and threw my hands up in the air. I picked up the last fry on my plate and ate it with frustration.

"I know a lot of people who would kill to get your gift." Crap. I hadn't even thought about that. Of course many people would like to see their future.

"But I never asked for this. I never wanted to be some psychic nutjob." I told Bree with desperation, who looked at me with a brooding face.

"You can't decide your fate, Juliette." She said, and the earlier laughing happiness was completely wiped off the witch's face. The seriousness in her voice was frightening.

"Do you have any more fries?" I asked her to lighten the mood.


About ten minutes before I left the bar, Bree went to make a phone call while I reflected on the things I had learned. She had taught me pretty much about vampires, witches and werewolves, but even she had no idea what the hell I was.

Bree returned and gave me a smile as I packed my things.

"Good luck in New Orleans, honey." She told me with her deep voice and I smiled at her.

"Thank you for the help." My heart felt lighter as I walked out of the door. I left the bar with a full stomach, but my head seemed to be even fuller.


I parked my car outside the first motel I spotted in New Orleans, and checked the time. 6 pm. The evening sun lightened up the street as I got out of my car and put on my backpack. I figured I could visit some and maybe try to get a job before checking into the motel. The red car beeped as I locked it, but the sound was drowned in the noise of chattering people.

New Orleans was beautiful. There was jazz music playing everywhere, varying from pianos to trumpets and saxophones, and people on the streets were laughing. A stranger actually took be by the hand and danced with me as his buddy played a skippy song on his sax, and the feeling of being free returned to me. He complimented me on my pretty blonde hair, and I left him blushing to go and find some food.

I didn't have time to do much else before it got dark outside, and the teenager in me was still cautious. Now that I knew about vampires and werewolves etcetera, I was not stupid enough to stay out late. Even though I would've gladly stayed out and visited the town some more. I payed for my meal and stepped out of the restaurant and into the street lined with lampposts. The night had become chilly and I hugged my denim jacket closer to my body. I wished I had thought of bringing more clothes, but I decided that I could buy some more in the morning. Now, I just had to get back to the motel safely. I didn't stray very far, so I was certain it wouldn't be a problem.

I was wrong. Apparently, my sixth sense wasn't helpful when I actually needed it. Had I known that I was going to be targeted by a vampire, I would've gone straight to the motel. I started noticing the man following me about two minutes after I stepped into the broad street. There was no sound of footsteps, but I got this strange feeling in my stomach and my heart started racing. I didn't know what to do, so I just walked faster. I didn't want to run, because judging on what Bree had told me, that would do me no good.

I heard a swooshing sound and without warning, I was pressed against a wall in a small alley. Had I teleported or something? Probably not, judging by the grin of the guy standing before me. He had wide, curly hair and a dark complexion. His dark eyes were looking at me like I was an animal, and his arm was twinning a lock of my hair between his fingers.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing out this late?" He asked me and raised his eyebrow. I struggled against his grip and glared at him.

"Late? I wouldn't call nine 'late'." I challenged him, and his grip around my wrist tightened. "But I guess you bloodsuckers don't even wait until it's late before you attack your preys." The vampire backed a step at my accusation, and confusion filled his dark brown eyes.

"Step away, Diego." Another voice echoed through the alley, and another guy stepped forward. This one had short-shaved hair, smiling eyes and a dazzling smile. He was hot, frankly. Although I have to say that the fact that he was a vampire dragged that factor down a bit. He stepped closer to us, and his features were even more visible. He had chocolate skin, soft features and broad shoulders. He looked kind, actually. I found myself hoping that he would save me. I might have been putting on a brave face, but honestly, vampires scared the hell out of me.

"This one's mine." He added, and walked up to me with a sly grin. Crap.