No lie, guys, I've been struggled with this chapter for months. I've literally written it 4 times. Admittedly, I had to put it down for a while, and, though this may feel a little rushed, I can't see it ending any other way. It truly had been a pleasure, so, without further adieu
Goodbye My Love
Dazed, I struggled for mere seconds to clear my vision before realizing the futility of it. Even if I could focus long enough to discern shapes, everything was black here.
Don't move, Thea. Damon ordered almost desperately. Don't make a sound. I'm almost there. Damon… My gaze blindly fell, remembering clearly the dark hilt. My eyes burned. Don't go there, Thea. Just focus on me.
He killed her. I wanted to sob. I wanted to shout and scream, but my body was frozen. I'm sorry, Damon… I'm
Stop! He shouted aloud. I could feel him straining to keep the tears from his eyes. Lukas did this! Not you. For a moment he was silent. We just need to focus on getting you out of there. Movement. Don't move. Don't breathe. Every atom strained to listen. He killed her. Thea. I didn't hear Damon's call. Couldn't focus. Rage. He killed her. Again, he called me. My teeth ground together, forcing myself to wait.
Damn it, Thea! No! Damon screamed near panic. Knowing his words were futile. Knowing I couldn't stop. Drawing a deep breath, I screamed. A shrill cry of despair and anger and pain. Something crashed to the ground. Vaguely, I knew Damon heard me. Close. So close…
"No Screaming!" The feral command filled the room and, in a heartbeat, he was on me. Confined or no, I would snap his neck. I gave myself over to the rage storming through me and, catching my weight on the restraints around my raw wrists, I swung my leg around his neck just as he neared me. A choked gurgle briefly sounded from his throat. Shouldn't have been able to move that fast. The feral cry still resonating from my lips, I wrenched my thighs together and jerked him down. He killed her. A loud pop rippled up my leg. Not enough. I wanted the bones in his neck shattered.
His hand latched around my throat. Shouldn't be able to move. Without the slightest hesitation, I released his neck to ensnare his arm. In one smooth motion, I kicked down at him with every bit of strength I had, tearing his shoulder from its socket and shattering numerous ribs.
He laughed. For just the smallest second, I hesitated, but that was all it took for him to grasp my ankle. I had time only to gasp before he pulled. The coarse ropes shredded the skin from my hands and I slammed to the ground. Desperately, I struggled for my footing, wings beating furiously in the tiny room, but his hold was relentless.
He killed her. Damon's cold words seemed to consume my entire being. With something like a snarl, I turned on him. If I didn't have a stake to pierce his heart, I would rip it from his chest.
Something crashed above us. For just a second, fear passed over his eyes. He wouldn't escape. I pounded my fists against his face, his chest, his arms; anything within reach, leaving a crimson print in my wake as blood seeped from my skinned hands. Didn't matter. Light pierced the darkness. Damon. The world seemed to stop. Just for a minute; the smallest second as our eyes met. And I felt his relief. I felt his anguish. I felt his pain and sorrow. And I felt his rage.
And, as one, we surged toward the mad vampire. With a desperate snarl, Lukas dodged Damon's initial assault, avoiding the stake by just a hair's breadth. He killed her. I didn't know whose mind the thought ran through. I don't know how he danced so perfectly around us. But it was only a matter of time. Damon and I fed off each other's rage until there was no thought. There was no fear or uncertainty. There was only hate.
Lukas managed to knock the wood from Damon's grasp, but, in the same heartbeat, I snatched it from the air and continued after him. Just before the tip touched his chest, his hand locked around my wrist, instantly shattering it. Numb. I felt nothing, but Damon redoubled his assault, managing to catch Lukas' arm and slamming him into the ground. Not fast enough. Lukas had already grabbed the fallen stake and, just as his back slammed into the ground, rammed it into Damon's chest.
"No!" I screeched, throwing myself back at them. Even as I shouted, though, I knew Lukas had missed his heart by inches. Still, it stunned him just long enough for the ancient vampire to escape from Damon's hold, tearing the stake out as he ran. Without a moment's hesitation, I drew my wings down hard, just catching his throat before he escaped through the blinding light. I strained to throw him down, but it backfired. He used my momentum to ram me against the wall, robbing the breath from my lungs.
Despite how his injury hindered him, Damon charged, suddenly panicked that Lukas would kill me purely to allow him to escape. But he was too slow. And Lukas still had the stake. He wouldn't miss a second time.
"No!" I roared, somehow finding the strength to throw myself between them. Horror lit in both Damon and Lukas' eyes in that spit second; knowing it was too late to stop.
But then the door opened. And everything stopped; the stake a mere inch from my chest. Bonnie stood in the doorway, the sick light illuminating her honey skin; hair appearing almost golden. Her image seemed to blur without moving; to shift until I was certain it wasn't Bonnie.
"Evelyn." The sound of wood clattering to the ground fell on deaf ears as Lukas fell to his knees; mouth agape. Transparent wings; if you looked too hard, they vanished, but they were there; each feather the most luminous white. She didn't move, yet the very air danced around her; the slight draft toying with pristine golden hair which floated lovingly around her heart-shaped face.
"Oh, Lukas." The sorrow in her voice brought tears to my eyes; yet I was suddenly unsure if she had truly spoken. Nothing seemed real; as though my senses were simultaneously enhanced and muted.
Heavy, uneven breathes shook the vampire's entire being as he stared at her. As though his limbs had suddenly grown foreign, he stumbled back to his feet; taking only a few steps toward her. The whole world stopped. Damon and I ceased to be. At that moment, nothing could compare to the awe and hope and sorrow and heart-wrenching regret storming so violently through the ghosts of what was. He could only stare. Don't move. Don't breath. It's okay if reality was suddenly washed away and we never moved again; just so long as the glimpse standing before him didn't vanish.
"My love." she whispered with a sad smile. With a sob, he reached for her; hands trembling; begging with every ounce of his being; nearly frozen with absolute terror. What if… But he had to try. And, for just half of a heartbeat, the wind brushed a strand of hair against his cheek. Real. He felt it. She was real. Tears streaming from his eyes, his shaking arms embraced her; movements agonizingly slow for fear that she'd disappear. But she didn't. As he clung frantically to her, she didn't disappear.
"Evelyn!" he gasped. Over and over; hands desperate to draw her ever closing. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He tried to shout, but could barely whisper. It didn't matter. The words would never be able to portray the meaning. But they didn't have to. She knew. With the most loving of movements, she held him, soft murmurs dancing across her lips. Forcing air back into his lungs, Lukas allowed her to lean back and look at him.
"I love you." The very earth trembled at the power within his voice; the terrifying weakness. Such a smile graced her lips as to rid the very world of shadows; and yet, still, it was just a ghost. She sighed and drew him toward her.
"I love you." I don't know if her reply was spoken or merely conceived from nothing, but, somehow, it was there. As her lips touched his after a lifetime of waiting, it was there.
We hadn't seen the stake. He didn't feel it. As the sharpened wood pierced bone and flesh alike, he didn't feel it. It didn't matter. Only when the darkness had taken him and his body slipped to the floor, did his lips leave hers.
"Thank you."
And they were gone.
We waited several seconds before moving; trapped in the haze of emotion. But, when Damon's hand brushed mine, reality crashed back around us. I started to offer my wrist, but he stopped me.
"Let's go." He murmured, eyes fixed on Lukas' still form. Bonnie was nowhere to be seen, and, again, I doubted if she had ever really been there. In silence, we made our way out of the decrepit building concealing the cellar. Steffen and the others had only just found us as we stepped into the sunlight and I realized Damon had abandoned the car and ran towards me the instant I screamed. They stopped maybe a dozen feet away, as though waiting for us to speak. But there was only silence. What could we say? Damon pulled a lighter from his coat pocket and flicked it to life. He paused briefly, mind whirling with a morbid understanding. Lukas had lost the love of his life. And it was his fault. Over and over, the same question tormented him: What would he have done? If their roles were reversed and Damon's actions had caused my death, would he do any different?
"We don't need to worry about that." I whispered. "You and I, we won't turn out like them." He gave a half smile and sighed before tossing the lighter into the house. Almost instantly, flames roared to life throughout the building. The wood groaned weakly, but offered no resistance. For an eternity, we stood there; if only to bear witness to the final moments before the fire finally erased him.
Tears stinging my eyes, I couldn't stop my hand from roaming to my abdomen. And I gasped. Damon immediately turned his attention to me with something like panic. But, as he saw my stunned eyes, he felt only confusion.
"Damon." I barely managed to breathe. His gaze roamed to my hand. And he froze, expression instantly hardening. But then the corners of my lips tilted up. Hope. Terrifying, but still it lit within him. Trembling, he allowed me to place his hand under mine. And the breath fled his lungs. Awe. Disbelief. Joy. Absolute and overwhelming
"She's okay." He could say nothing for several seconds, feeling the life still growing within me. "She's okay." And his arms locked around me and he cried. Laughter and sobs freely shook his form and he held me. Everything he cared about had been ripped from him in the cruelest way. He watched us die again and again. But we survived. Both of us. We survived and, finally, everything was alright again. Breathing hard, he pulled back, staring at me for several seconds. I'd never seen such a smile before. Without warning, he swept me in his arms and kissed me. And, in that instance, I knew that we were finally going to be okay.
So... that's it. I plan to write an epilogue to wrap up a few loose ends, but this will not turn into a trilogy. That being said, I have some deleted scenes, as well as some alternative chapters that were scrapped due to either it being impossible to turn it around or because it wouldn't fit right. Let me know if anyone's interested, and, as always, let me know what you think.
Oh, and I'll likely go over both stories to fix snip-its of bad grammar, spelling, or just overall writing, so stay in touch!