A/N : I'm just going to blame my lack of a gargantuan amount of reviews on the argument that no one believed me when I said I'd update super fast. Well I did, so HA! I even made this chapter super intense for you guys so review, everyone, and I'll update just as quickly for the next chapter!
Don't say I didn't warn you- intenseness follows...
And, just a brief little disclaimer, cause I never do them: I own everything. Except for the pictures of the characters on my profile. But still, EVERYTHING.
I awoke the next morning to Courtney's soft snoring and was more than a little surprised. It was rare that Jonathan didn't pop up during my sleeping to taunt me about my weakness. I let myself adjust to the stiffness of my back and could tell, without looking in a mirror, that I was in bad shape. It couldn't be long now until Jonathan finished with the rest of me. My eyes searched the rest of the small cell until they landed on what I had been searching for- a tray of food. It couldn't really be classified as food, not when I had been spoiled by the incredible cooking abilities of Damon and Gabriel these past few weeks; but bread and milk would have to do. I stared down at my legs, now wrapped in a thin gauze cast, and frowned. How demeaning would it be to drag myself across the room for some bread and a glass of milk? I was amazed that my pride had managed to remain intact after my ordeal, and my pride wouldn't let me lower myself to such humiliation.
Damn Jonathan. Damn him to the deepest pits of hell.
There was a small sound from Courtney, and a few seconds later, she stirred. Her deep brown eyes met my frowning ones and I quickly morphed my face into a smiling one.
"Morning, sunshine" I said playfully, waving my wrapped hand at her. She smirked at me, wiping nonexistent drool from her face.
"Glad to see you've kept your good humor" Courtney replied, crossing to the corner of the room and sliding the tray of food my way.
I gave her a grateful glance before devouring the bread and milk.
"Do you have any idea how long I have left?" I asked her curiously. Courtney shrugged, her matted hair brushing across her shoulders.
"Master Jonathan doesn't speak of his plans to slaves" Courtney said, somehow managing to make the word "Master" sound insolent.
"I think I'm freaking myself out more by waiting for it, then I am knowing that it's coming" I said honestly.
"What about his brothers?" Courtney asked "Jonathan was sure they would come for you"
"They will" I conceded "But, they'll be pretty helpless against Jonathan, seeing as he can control them and all. He probably just wants them to come to my rescue so that he can kill me in front of them and then finish them off himself"
Courtney nodded "That sounds like something he would do"
"That doesn't give me much time" I whispered, more to myself than anyone "The boys should be here any minute now"
"If," Courtney said quietly "Jonathan hasn't done something to them- to slow them down"
I shook my head, my thoughts far away. "No" I replied "This is what Jonathan wants. His brothers are doing exactly what he wants them to" I said, sounding more sure of myself than I felt.
Courtney and I looked at each other, exchanging a brief glance before we both resumed our usual positions in the corners of the room.
This was it.
This was the end.
Third Person
"It can't be long now, right?" Peter asked, looking to Nathaniel for confirmation. Nathaniel shrugged helplessly, and turned to Gabriel.
"How in the hell should I know?" Gabriel said in reply to his brother's thoughts. Nathaniel glared at Gabriel and bit down hard on a snarky reply, instead handling the situation like Damon would have, and resorting to violence and public humiliation.
"Where'd the crazy one go?" Peter asked, quickly diffusing the argument that was about to erupt between Nathaniel and the younger vampire. Both Felling's snapped to attention and searched for their missing brother.
"You should've been watching him" Gabriel muttered under his breath. Nathaniel knew Gabriel was directing the comment to him, and chose to ignore it- not before slapping Gabriel upside the head, though. The youngest Felling narrowed his eyes but turned back to search the wide expanse of trees in front of them.
"Damon" He called "Did you really have to go that bad that you couldn't wait until we got to Jonathan's? I'm sure that, feud aside, he would have let you use the restroom before he kills us all"
"Shut up you twit" Damon snapped, appearing out of thin air, and absently smoothing out his shirt.
Gabriel gave Damon a goofy grin as he brushed a hand through his hair.
"Vampires are so weird" Peter whispered as he watched the entire exchange.
"No," Nathaniel replied, coming to stand beside him "I'm pretty sure that's just our family"
Peter spared Damon and Gabriel one last glance before taking a few steps away.
"Figures" He muttered, eyes on the eldest of the three brothers. Nathaniel smiled at the werewolf and watched as he morphed into a giant dog- as vampires liked to call it.
Peter's morph was the push they all needed. In the blink of an eye, they were all back to running at top speed; tracking the scent of the werewolf that had delivered Chloe's finger, and hoping that the damn thing wasn't leading them on a wild goose chase.
It was a few hours later when they found it. They recognized the area immediately, and wrinkled their noses in disgust.
"He's fucking sick" Damon hissed through a clenched jaw. His face was so contorted in fury that Gabriel was surprised he hadn't morphed into Mr. Hyde yet. It would have been amusing had Gabriel not felt his own fury echoing Damon's exact expression. The smell of werewolf and Jonathan was strong and pungent here. There was also the faint smell of Chloe amongst other humans.
The brothers and accompanying werewolf were standing at the top of a hill. The hill over-looked a small valley, which nestled a nice sized cottage. The cottage had been the boys' summer home when they had been young- and human. But now, Jonathan had turned it into some dark, twisted version of the cottage they used to know. Lining the perimeter of the house were long stakes with the heads of humans attached to the top. The grass was stained with dark puddles of blood from some poor, unknown creature, and the windows of the cottage were blacked over and caked with blood.
Their brother, ever the artist, had created some barbaric, violent, nightmarish place of the cottage they once spent their summers. It sent Damon into a rage to see the building defiled like it was.
"Fucking sick" He ground out again, staring past the stakes of beheaded victims and at the small army of werewolves that were now forming a perimeter around the cottage.
"Well, here comes the welcoming committee" Gabriel groaned sarcastically before adding "I'm really starting to hate life"
Damon's cool blue eyes snapped to Gabriel's and he snarled "Well after we're done with these dogs I'll be happy to fix that for you. How does ending your life, permanently, sound?"
"Just peachy, Damon dear" Gabriel growled, a brilliant contrast to his too sweet smile.
Damon shook his head angrily and took a threatening step towards Gabriel. Nathaniel quickly got between the two- reminding Damon to focus his rage on the werewolves and on Jonathan.
And that was the end of it.
"Well," Gabriel said cheerily "Let's get rid of these werewolves so that Damon can hurry up and end my sorry life, permanently"
Damon actually managed a small, smile at this "Don't tempt me, Gabby"
Gabriel raised a curious eyebrow when Damon made the shameful nickname sound like an endearment.
"Let's go get the big bad wolves" Nathaniel sighed,
"Sounds like a plan" Gabriel replied, as Peter clawed at the ground anxiously.
"Let's go get Chloe" Damon said softly.
Chloe's POV
"Your boyfriend's here" Jonathan teased lightly as he sauntered into the room. Without even giving Courtney a second glance, Jonathan swept me up in his arms; a romantic gesture had it been done by any other man.
"Time to finish the job" He sighed, touching my face with a gentleness that I had hardly experienced since I had been kidnapped by Jonathan.
"I'm afraid this'll hurt a bit, love" He said softly.
I glared past him at the far wall of the cell.
"Do your worst, leech" I spat.
Jonathan's cool gaze turned dark, as red began to swirl in the depths of his irises. I shivered involuntarily, and turned away.
"As you wish" He replied before sinking razor fangs deep into my flesh. The choked cry died in my throat as an entirely new kind of pain spread to every surface of my body.
I began swirling in and out of consciousness as Jonathan drained me.
There was blackness, and then I could make out Courtney trying to pull Jonathan off of me, more blackness, Courtney in a heap on the ground; a small puddle of blood forming near her head. More blackness.
And then, there was nothing. I felt myself slipping away, felt something slipping down my throat. My own blood?
I felt the pressure of the ground as Jonathan carelessly dropped me, but there was a numbness that kept me from feeling much else. I felt my heart, pumping futilely as it struggled to keep me alive. I felt my lungs, expanding as they tried to accommodate the large breaths of air I inhaled. I tried to hold on, tried to fight, but soon I realized I could do nothing but give in. I was taking the easy way.
Soon, the blackness became my world. I was alone. I wasn't hurting. I was content.
One brief flash is the darkness, sprang me out of my selfishness.
Pale skin, angular face framed by black hair, cool blue eyes…
I didn't want the blackness anymore. Not when I could still fight. Only now, I was fighting to hold on for a completely different reason.