Hi readers ;)
Another chapter is here and it is a long one again! It looks like something was wrong with the alerts the last time I posted, so go and read chapter ten first, if you didn't yet.
I would like to thank a guest reviewer Sorrybout'ya. I love to hear that you are really excited to read more and your reviews are just amazing. ;)
What else can I say? Enjoy.
AGirlThatDaresToDream
Chapter 11
"Three days, that's all I can give you." Blackmore's voice echoed through his in half dark wrapped office, black curtains veiling the outside view to protect every vampire without the daylight ring that would came here to talk, causing Damon's pupils to widen. He came on his weekly meeting with his boss, asking for one thing only: time. He never craved it like this before, not just for him, but for the girl as well. He needed it for her with the research still slowly but decisively coming to an end, and after so many years spend in this job, he didn't need to be reminded what happens when Blakemore estimates that they figured out everything there was to learn. But they didn't knew that he had so much to find out, he still needed to get to know the girl to see if there was still a possibility that his hopes are real. And besides; he owed her that much. Extending the process was his only chance and the girl's physical condition his only excuse.
"The CRS lay says that in cases where specimen is hurt like that the research is stopped for at least five days, giving it time to heal…" Damon let his voice to wonder off, his brow raised, trying not to sound like he is demanding anything.
His boss laughed. "Look. I know you probably hoped for longer vacation, but with Elijah watching our every move, this is all I can give you. This is an important research after all, and three days is just enough for your specimen to heal enough to not be close to dying every time you tried to take its blood. It should also be enough for you to rest, but after you end this process, remind me that I promised you a week off, OK?"
"That seems like a good plan," Damon forced a smile, before shaking the hand he was offered. "I will surely hold you on this one."
"Well you should, you deserve it." The boss answered and their appointment was over.
Damon stood up, closing the door behind him, his mind already focused on the girl, the questions he wanted to ask her running through his head like a waterfall. He didn't have much time to think, though, waking from his thoughts as he automatically headed towards the other end of the hall, not even being aware of his own movements until he bumped into something before taking a step back and realising that it was a woman.
"I am sorry," she said, glancing at his face, a strange look on her face surrounded with short, dark, spiky hair, her voice apologizing, but he could sense something playfully scorning in it. "I wasn't looking where I was going, I guess."
Damon scanned the hallway it was empty. If there was a chance that her move wasn't deliberated it was a small one especially because she was a vampire. Something was off.
"It's OK…" He read her badge, raising his eyebrows sarcastically. "Rose."
Her light green eyes scanned him again. "That's right. We met before, actually. I gave you the vervain you needed, remember?"
It took him a moment to connect her with what happened, before thanking her. Sure she was strange, but without her Elena would probably be dead.
She smiled. "Did mysterious, uptight Damon Salvatore just thank someone? Gosh that will certainly make it in to the new history book they are making."
He just stared at her, clearly not trilled about her comment. She was starting to get on his nerves and he was ready to snap and her next question coughed him completely off guard.
"So how is your research going? Made any progress yet?"
He stared at her. The first and most important rule of the institution they worked in was that they workers shouldn't exchange any data about their research; they weren't allowed to ask about it or talk about it at all. There was no way that she wouldn't know about this.
"Are the rumours true?" He stared at her, still trying to get himself back together. Was she trying to get him fired?
She must have finally noticed that she won't be able to get anything out of him, shrugging. "Everybody is curious, you know? They are making theories about what this specimen is every day at the lab. But they are chickens, and they never ask anyone."
Damon shot her a warning look. "Maybe they are just smart."
"Maybe, who knows? It was good to see you again Damon." She smirked at him, before leaving him alone, still shocked standing in an empty hallway.
….
Elena was blankly staring at the ceiling, the pain annoying her far less than boredom. Now, with enough of the herb in her system, the dreamless sleep disappeared leaving her wide awake, trapped between four walls, so there was nothing left for her but lying with her eyes closed, resting and trying to imagine what it is going to be like if she ever sees her brother again while waiting for Damon to come and see her like he said he would.
He came sooner than she thought he will and she couldn't help to notice that there was something troubling him, when he sat at the edge of her bed; he was thoughtful, quiet, but she didn't dare to ask why. Not yet.
"Hey," he spoke quietly, taking her hand without hesitation. "Feeling better?"
She shrugged. "I guess so… The pain is still there, but it is a bit weaker that yesterday."
"That's good." Damon replied, digging in his suitcase for a while, before pulling out a needleless injection. "Want something for the pain? When it will kick in we will be able to see if you can sit for a few seconds."
She nodded despite the fear of the pain she knew movement will bring her. She knew she needed to try if she wants to get out of this stupid bed soon so she let him empty the content of the needleless injection into her canal slowly and drank the vervain tea he handed her. It was not before their eyes locked when she finally realised how much his trust showed in this little act. They both knew that the herb is toxic to vampires and that it wouldn't be hard for her to spill it on him. But he trusted her with it just as she trusted him. And her thank you as she passed him the glass back meant much more than he will ever know.
…...
He stared at the girl for a second as the silence overtook the room. Her eyes were closed, her hair unfolded on the pillow and he could see the knots in them from where he was sitting as he caressed her soft hand. She looked so peaceful, like she wouldn't have to worry about anything, but he knew it was a lie as soon as a question left her lips.
"So what do we have to talk about today?" Her voice was fearful, like she was expecting him to say that they had to do another operation. He hated himself for causing her yet another fear, for what he did and for more than anything for what he will be forced to do when the research is over. She shouldn't have to have all this worries, this insecurity, this fear.
"What would you like to talk about?"
She looked at him, confused her question careful. "But… What about the research?"
He smiled at her squeezing her hand. "Let's forget about it for a while. Now tell me…" He searched his case for the book he brought her. "Do you like to read?"
The change on her face was amazing. Her eyes lit up, her lips forming a huge smile and for the first time he was able to see the expression of pure happiness on her face, even if only for a few seconds before a shadow of her previous emotions showed again, but it looked like it wasn't able to overflow her fully as she took The call of the wild by Jack London in her hands. And he didn't need an answer at his question; the way she looked at the book said it all. She loved it.
"Thank you so, so much."
He couldn't help but laughed. "It is nothing. Have you read it yet?"
She nodded. "It was at summer holidays a long time ago, but I liked it." She stopped for a second, probably trying to remember the contents, a smile still lingering at her lips. "It is a good book."
"It's my favourite." Their eyes locked just for a moment, before she broke the contact, her voice hesitant again.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," he agreed eager to hear what she wanted to know.
She looked scared again. "How do you cope with it? Living for so long, watching the people you know die, not being able to do anything about it?"
He thought about what to say for a minute. She didn't ask him this because she wanted to know the answer. She wanted advice, feeling trapped, knowing that her brother and aunt are living their lives on, while she is stuck here with nothing to do, not aging.
The words flew directly from his heart. "I tried to stay the same, clinging on good memories and my believes, appreciating the smallest things in life." Her doe eyes gazed intensely at him as he placed her palm on her heart, covering it with his. "You must never lose hope."
The pencil he was holding in his right arm was hovering above an empty page, sketching shapes he wanted to draw into the air. He never devoted much though at what he pictures looked like at moments like this one. He just drew what he felt, pouring his emotions onto the paper. Every time he closed his eyes the replay of what happened a few minutes ago appeared and he watched it few times before he tugged the first line.
Flashback
Alaric and Jeremy could hear Jonas's laughing as soon as they entered the house, as well as Ethan's complaints – they were playing poker at the dining table and it looked like he lost for a couple of times already. They were talking for a while about normal stuff, just chatting, waiting for the others to arrive to the first meeting that will include him too. They heard the two voices, obviously trying to get a dog to behave soon enough and meet the couple at the door.
One of them was Lynn and the other a man who looked around her age, his hair a little longer, gently curled, its brown colour shining on the sunlight as he held the dog's leash tightly. After both men at the door greeted them, Ethan still dwelling in the kitchen, Alaric pushed the boy forward.
"So Jeremy, I would like you to meet Kylan, Lynn's husband. Ky," he gestured towards his student. "This is Jeremy."
They shook hands, Kylan giving him a small smile. "It is nice to meet you."
"You too." Jeremy returned the gesture, but before he could say something more, he was interrupted, by Jonas's statement.
"We haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Work and all…"
Ethan entered the room with his hands crossed, struggling not to show happiness in his fake offending voice. "And that is your excuse not to visit your old mentor in over two weeks?"
"I called you every second day," Kylan just raised his eyebrows, before he was pulled in a hug.
"Well at least you kept me updated," Ethan smiled, tapping his back, before pulling away and scanning his son at heart with a strict gaze.
Lynn laughed before taking her husband's hand and messing his hair. "Oh, don't worry too much Ethan, you didn't miss a thing. He is just as childish as he was eight years ago."
"Hey!" Ky tried to squirm away, but it was already too late.
Lynn ignored him, taking a deep breath quickly. "Wait, actually you did miss something. Yesterday…"
Kaylen saved himself from embarrassment this time, stopping her words with a long kiss, until Alaric intervened, smiling.
"Okay, okay, lovebirds. Let's move thing into the living room where we will be able to talk."
It looked like the others agreed, because the room emptied quickly, leaving the boy alone. The scene hurt him. They looked like a family, caring about each other, laughing, teasing and joking around, but he knew they would probably risk their lives to save one another. No, he wasn't jealous, just scared, sad and lonely, when the scene reminding him of all the happy memories he had with his parents and his sister, the realisation that he doesn't have anybody anymore, hitting him like a train again. He had Jenna, yes, but it wasn't the same, she wasn't them. She will never be able to be them. He stayed in the room alone, leaning his back against the wooden wall before sitting down and taking his drawing notebook out of his bag, not showing any interest in joining the adults.
The present
The sketch was almost done, his pencil almost blunt, when something poked softly into his side, trying to get his attention. The dog's black eyes stared at him, full of sympathy as it rested its head over his notebook, waiting to be pet and preventing him from drawing more, its wet snout sniffing his sleeve. Jeremy established what the animal wanted from him, quickly obeyed and smiled as the big dog tried to pave its way further onto boys lap.
"Hey, hey, easy there. Aren't you a little too big to be a lap dog?" Jeremy laughed, before an enormous weight fell on to his chest, causing him to gasp as he felt his lungs squeeze.
"He really likes you." He heard a young men's voice that startled him and turned around quickly. At the other side of the small room stood a male, which looked like he just ended high school, his hair was black and really short, his skin a little darker, the motorbike helmet under his left arm. The boy was sure he has seen him at the Grill a few times, but didn't know his name. "He usually isn't like this around the people he meets for the first time."
"For the second, you mean." Jeremy stood up.
"Well even for the second, then. You surely have a thing for dogs. " He offered him his hand. "I am Luka, by the way, Luka Martin, Jonas is my dad. And this," he pointed at the dog. "Is Max, Lynn and Kaylen probably forgot to tell you."
"Jeremy Gilbert." They shook hands. "Did you go to school here? You seem strangely familiar."
"I did, yes. I actually moved to Richmond no more than a year ago when I started university there. I study computer science. And you still have a few semesters to go I guess… How old are you actually?"
Jeremy tensed a little, not so relaxed anymore. "I will be fifteen in October."
Luka whistled, rising his eyebrows before stating: "They really are lowering the reception border; there was no way I could convince them to take me in before I was seventeen." He smiled, for a second lost in his thoughts, before remembering: "We should probably get going or the meeting will start without us. They sent me to bring you to the living room, you know."
"Ok." The boy hurried to staff his things back into his bag, before following his new acquaintance.
….
"OK. Enough of the chatting, people, let's get to work." Ethan clapped and the room slowly grew quiet. "So let's start from the beginning. What do we already know?"
"I was asked to falsify the data of that night's event so I know quite a lot." Lynn spoke, her voice completely different from what if sounded like before. There was no emotion in it, she was just listing the facts. "The accident happened around eleven a clock at the old Wickery Bridge and someone called an ambulance. I was able to get to the medicine man's statements before the government blocked the data. When they arrived at the scene the car was completely under the water but they noticed that someone was lying unconscious at the embankment. They said that they noticed something was not right, one of them recognize Elena but they noticed that she had wings so they were scared a little and called the CRS just like the law is demanding. A few minutes later the vampires from the centre arrived and left with the girl."
"So the whole angel thing is true…" Alaric stated. "But there was no evidence that she has a special power or something?"
"Not that night, no."
Kylan was the first to break the silence that occupied the room, scanning Jonah's and Luka's faces. "So what do you guys think?"
"We can't say anything yet. We would have to spend time with the girl so that we could see if there would be any normal signs of magic, or at least talk to her. There certainly is a possibility that she has power, even if there wouldn't be any signs, she is certainly not human anymore and that is as far as my knowledge goes." Luka explained, after glancing at his father whose pen was floating a few centimetres above his hand. Jeremy's jaw almost hit the ground. Witches were supposed to be extinct in America.
Jonas nodded. "I know many stories about angels, in one of them they are just signs and don't have magic, in others they are some kinds of warriors and leaders and they have it. We don't have to worry about this now. The girl is important either way; we won't know what we are dealing with until we get her out. Let's just hope that is she has powers the vampires didn't notice yet."
"About that," Ethan jumped in. "I called one of my friends last night, you know from other group and he connected me to one of his spies at the CRS. She agreed to help us, so that we will be informed on what is going on. So Rose, that is her name, told me that a few days ago the head researcher of Elena's ran into her lab, dressed in surgeon clothes and screamed that he needed vervain. She figured that there was probably an operation that went wrong, but she is still trying to figure out the whole vervain thing."
An operation. Jeremy felt sick, but tried hard not to lose it. He needed to stay strong so that he will be able to save her. Alaric put a hand on his shoulder squeezing it in support, before they heard the noise of the door shutting and turned around to be welcomed by no one else than Bill Forbes, Caroline's father. Jeremy didn't see him in years, since he left Elena's best friend and her mum when the girl was only nine years old and never returned. Nobody ever talked about why this happened, so he never asked.
"I thought we were fighting the vampires not linking up with them." His voice was raspy and the boy didn't miss that no one really welcomed him, just nodded, what didn't seem to upset him.
"We need to this time, Bill" Ethan stood up, shoving Jeremy in front of the men gently. "You probably know Jeremy." The boy felt like he was guilty of something, when the grownup's eyes scanned his face.
"Indeed I do. He's grown." He paused for a moment before meeting Kylan's face. "You sure he won't do what Nate did?"
Ky stood up, sending the man a death stare, until Ethan put a hand on his shoulder, the hurt in his voice evident. "That's enough, Bill. We have more important things to discuss and no time to wait for you to start acting your age."
The man sat on a chair on the other side of the room, the victorious smirk still on his face as he watched Kylan's expression. "That we have."
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