Chapter Thirty-Eight

Ella did her best to fight against the sedative, but she couldn't and eventually unconsciousness took her again. When she awoke again it was dark outside and she was alone. She was still too weak to fight against the collar that restrained her, the sedative made her limbs feel heavy, she was barely able to keep her eyes open for more than a few minutes.

Marcus' last words to her still rang in her ears, he was going to kill all of her friends and he would make her watch. She couldn't let that happen, she wouldn't allow him to hurt them. If he touched one hair on any of their heads she would rip him apart both emotionally and then physically. There was no way she was going to sit idly by and let him kill the people she loved, the only people who ever cared about her except her mother.

With shaking arms, Ella pushed herself up into sitting position again; it felt like forever before she was leaning against the wall where she had sat earlier. She rested head against the cold brick behind her, taking a deep calming breath, and then she reached up, wrapping her hands around the metal collar and pulled.

The metal whined slightly, but didn't budge. It remained locked around her throat, she didn't have the strength yet, but the sedative couldn't last forever and she wasn't on an IV eventually it would begin to wan and when it did she would be ready to rip the collar from around her neck and go after the lying, murderous creep who had pretended to be her father for nearly eighteen years.

"Good morning Ella," a voice from above sounded.

Ella jerked awake, not realising she had fallen asleep, sitting against the wall. She looked up, blinking against the sudden light that filled the room. Marcus was standing at the bottom of the stairs, his arms flooded across his chest.

"Go to hell," Ella croaked, closing her eyes against the light.

"Now is that any way to speak to your father?" Marcus smirked.

"Not my father," Ella shook her head.

Marcus shrugged. "Step-father."

"What do you want now? Why don't you just kill me and get it over with? That way I won't have to look at you anymore."

"Someone's grumpy this morning," he teased. He unfolded his arms and Ella could see that he held her phone in his hand. "I thought maybe we could talk some more."

"I have nothing to say to you," Ella spat.

"Good, then you can listen," he said, sitting on the bottom step and fiddling with her phone. "You know when I moved us here to Mystic Falls I thought we'd be here for quite a while. I thought that the council hadn't managed to find the infestation yet I'd have a time doing it too. I never in my wildest dreams thought that my loving daughter would befriend the very filth I was here to kill. You made it so much easier, because now they'll come to me."

Ella felt sick to her stomach; she knew exactly what he planned to do with her phone. He was going to pose as her and lure her friends here. Just as she realised that she also realised what the mist that was still being slowly dispersed through the room was. It was vervain.

"Don't hurt them," Ella pleaded. "Please."

"They're all very worried about you," Marcus explained, ignoring her plea. "They've all been texting and calling you all night. They even threatened to come over to check on you if they didn't hear back. In fact, your friend Caroline is already on her way here. She should be here any minute, so don't worry sweetheart. You won't be alone for long."

"No!" Ella tried to scream, but it came out as a slightly louder whisper. "Don't hurt her, please. She didn't do anything to you. If you ever loved me just leave my friends alone."

"I did Ella, truly, but it doesn't change anything now. Your friends are monsters and they deserve to die."

Then he was gone, leaving Ella alone again. All she could do was sit on the freezing cold floor and struggle uselessly with her restraint. She was utterly helpless and all she could do was listen as someone knocked on the front door above her.

"Caroline," Ella whispered, hoping but knowing her friend wouldn't hear her. "Run Caroline, it's a trap."

There was a scuffle from above then a loud thump, like someone falling to the ground. Tears fell down Ella's cheeks as she heard footsteps from above and the basement door opening again. She could see a shadow above her then something was thrown unceremoniously down the steps, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Caroline!" Ella screamed, seeing her friends pale face, coated in blood from a large gash on her forehead.

"She's not dead," Marcus assured, coming down the stairs. "I gave her a shot of vervain to knock her out. She was very surprised to see me when I opened the door, it gave me the precious moments I needed. She'll wake up in a little while, but with the vervain being pumped into the room she'll be as weak as you are. Then eventually she'll die."

When he had reached the bottom of the stairs, Marcus bent down and grabbed a handful of Caroline's blonde hair and dragged her over to the collar nearest Ella. He secured the heavy metal band around Ella's friend's throat before smiling at Ella and retreating back up the stairs.

"I'm so sorry Caroline," Ella sobbed, looking over at her friends unconscious form. "I'm so so sorry, this is all my fault. I promise I'll find a way to get us out of here."

TBC…

A/N: So things are still looking bleak for Ella and her friends. Will they be able to beat Marcus, will everyone survive the ordeal or will someone be lost to them forever?