Disclaimer: Yet again, I own nothing!
-Brighton POV-
Man, my head hurt and my body ached all over. I tried to move my arms but they wouldn't. I opened my eyes only to shut them fast. It was too bright. I opened them more slowly and took in my surroundings. I was in some room that had ugly, beige carpet with stains. The wall paper was yellowing and flaking off the walls. Some parts of the room looked charred. I was chained to the ceiling in an upright position. This wasn't good. The door opened and in walked a man and a woman.
"How is our guest feeling this morning?" the woman asked.
"Quite chipper. Thanks for asking." I wasn't going to be weak in front of them.
"I'm glad." She walked closer to circle me. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, hanging from the ceiling."
"Not at all." I replied sarcastically.
She laughed at my response. She was pretty with honey blonde hair and a bronze complexion. She looked like some one who spent their days on a beach, relaxing in the sun. The man, on the other hand, was built like a tank and had Russian features. He would've fit right in with the Russia crime bosses.
"Of course." Her smile was sickly sweet. "You did something that greatly hurt me and I feel the need to return the favor."
"What did I do to you? I don't even know you."
"Oh sweetie," she ran her finger down the side of my face and I pulled away as far as I was allowed, "you killed Phillip."
I was confused. "Phillip?"
"Surely you remember Phillip? He was a vampire."
"Ya, but.."
"And my mate. My name is Gabriella." My jaw dropped.
"But he told me he didn't know any other vampires."
She laughed again and it was grating my nerves. "Dear Brighton, You're so naïve. He was turned in the seventies. At his age, he was bound to meet other vampires eventually. Besides whom do you think turned him?" She gestured at herself before turning to leave.
I was astonished and scared. Phillip had lied and I had believed him. How could I have been so gullible? A forty year old vampire that hadn't met any others of his kind? It's near impossible! I hung my head and tried to stop the tears. I had never been in this situation before. This woman wanted revenge for me killing her mate. I didn't even know that he had a mate. I was scared and I wanted Damon- shit, Damon! Did he even know I was missing? Had he noticed? I didn't know what time it was so I didn't know how long I had been out. I looked over at the big vampire standing guard in the corner. I summoned words.
"Hey, Neanderthal!" He just stared straight ahead. "Hello! Could I get the time please?" He didn't answer me. "Really? You can't even tell me what time it is? Or maybe you can't tell time? That must be it. You never learned. Or maybe you're not too bright-"
Before I could blink, he had his hand around my neck, squeezing just enough to make it hard to breathe. "You'll want to shut your pretty mouth before it's doing not so pretty things." With my eyes watering, I nodded. He let go and I started coughing. He went back to his spot by the door. "By the way, it's morning."
As I inhaled air, I knew that Damon had realized I was gone. If I hadn't been taken, he would have driven me home and possibly stayed the night. I could be sleeping peacefully next to him in my bed. But instead some bitch has decided to take revenge for her asshole of a boyfriend.
Some time passed before she came back. I was tired and my shoulders hurt from being extended above my head.
"I know you're wondering why I've made you wait so long." I shrugged nonchalantly. I wasn't going to give her any satisfaction of seeing me scared.
She stepped right up into my face. "I had to decide what I wanted to do first." As if rehearsed, another vampire walked in pushing a covered cart. She walked over and uncovered the cart dramatically. Every item was some weapon of torture.
I began to laugh. She stopped and walked toward me. "What are you laughing at?"
"You're such a cliché. A vampire that is into torturing? Learn new tricks."
She grabbed my jaw tightly to shut me up. "Oh, I've got some tricks you've never seen before." She leaned in further. "And when I'm through with you, you definitely won't be laughing." Then she punched me, her fist colliding with my cheek bone.
The next time I woke up, I couldn't see out of my left eye; it was so swollen. I had been sliced and punched and poked. Gabriella's favorite had been the hot poker. But even through it all, I hadn't screamed. If I screamed, it meant that she won. I was determined not to let her win.
I sucked in air when I heard the door open.
"How are you today?" Gabriella strode to me quietly. She brought a wash bowl with her. She began gently wiping away at my dry blood with the damp cloth. I was confused.
"I'm just trying to help you. I want to rid you of the memories of Phillip."
"And you think that by torturing me that that's going to help me?" I scoffed. She was insane. But she continued wiping delicately at my face.
"Yes."
"It won't. You may be replacing his torment with yours but pain isn't just physical." She remained quiet as she helped clean me.
She ran her fingers through my hair to smooth the knots. "I know that pain isn't just physical." Gabriella yanked my head back and pointed my face towards hers. "I know because you caused my pain." She spit in my face and walked around to my front.
"See, I knew he had found someone. We had what you 'humans' call an open relationship. We were both allowed a plaything just as long we always came back to each other. But when he didn't come back, I knew something had happened. And then I found out about you." She ran her hand down my side and back up to my hands. "He touched you with his hands and you touched him with yours. I can't leave that unpunished." She grabbed my index finger and pushed it back until it snapped. I clamped my teeth together to keep from crying out. She hadn't broken anything until now. "Oh, you're not going to say anything? Okay." She said slowly and proceeded to break every finger on my left hand. I buried my face into my shoulder to hide my pain.
Before she left, she had broken my fingers and my wrist. She had stuck her thumb into a wound from yesterday that had been caused by a hot poker. Plus it felt like she had broken at least two of my ribs. I couldn't breathe without some pain. I didn't know how long I could take this anymore. If Damon didn't come soon, I don't…I just don't know.
-Damon POV-
"Did you find out anything?" I stalked urgently through front door.
"Yeah, there is an abandoned house about twenty miles west of Mystic Falls. I talked to my contact and there has been recent vampire activity out there." I looked at Alaric. "You think it's them?"
"It has to be. We've tried everything else." We moved and started to stock up on weapons. This was war.
After I had realized Brighton was taken, Stefan cleared out the party goers and I called Alaric. I explained the situation and we agreed to settle our differences to find Brighton. If these sonofabitches thought they could just take her without consequences, they are sorely wrong. I planned to kill every last one of them.
The past two days without her have been miserable. I hadn't realized how much she mattered to me until she was gone. She brightens my day until it's too bright to handle. If I don't get her back, I don't know what I'll do.
Ric, Stefan, Elena, and I packed a van with weapons and sped out of town.
I was going to get my girl back.
-Brighton POV-
I listened carefully as vampires were yelling outside in the hall. Something was happening. I groaned as the door banged against the wall behind it. My ears hurt, hell, everything hurt. Gabriella and her Russian bodyguard stormed in.
"Seems like your boyfriend found out where we were stashing you." She motioned for him to watch the door. She strode cockily toward me and pulled my head to the side, giving her full advantage of my throat. "Too bad he won't here in time to save you." Her face changed and she bit into my neck. I screamed. I never wanted to feel this ever again. She threw her head back and spit out my blood.
"What is that?" She wiped her mouth. "Vervain! But it should have cleared out of your system!"
I chuckled, coughing up some blood. "I have a slow metabolism."
Gabriella struggled to recover from drinking my contaminated blood. "Saul, drain her. I won't let Salvatore get her alive."
Saul, the Russian bodyguard, grabbed a wicked looking blade off the cart and made a wide arc in the skin of my stomach. I cried out, no longer able to hold back the sounds of my pain.
I watched Gabriella and Saul run out. I listened to the sounds of fighting as I felt my blood running down my legs. I glanced down and saw the puddle become a pool. I began to see white spots everywhere. I was dying.
"Damon…" I whispered before everything went dark.
-Damon POV-
I fought through hallway after hallway trying to get to Brighton. I could hear Ric and Stefan killing vampires behind me. Suddenly, after staking a female vampire with red hair, I saw the big one that confronted me that night. I chased after him and tackled him to the floor. I slammed his head into the floor and staked him through the heart.
The female vampire looked down at me and smiled. I knew it was her, Phillip's mate. But she ran off before I could grab her.
"Stefan!" I pointed towards the blonde vampire. "Get her!"
I looked to where they were coming from and then I heard it.
"Damon…" It was Brighton. I ran, searching through three rooms before I smelt her.
I pushed open the door, afraid of what I'd see. I gasped. I almost didn't recognize her. Her face was purple and swollen and her shirt was missing. I could see everything that they had done to her. But the pool of blood is what frightened me. I skidded over her. The gaping wound on her stomach was still leaking blood. I tried to control myself. I had never tasted her blood but the smell of it was consuming me. I pushed back my demon and began to pull her down from the ceiling. I laid her on the floor away from the blood and examined her. Her left wrist and hand were mangled and her broken ribs were making her torso look deformed. I gagged at the damage that had been done. I pushed back her hair to see her face. She was still breathing; I could tell from the painful whistling she made. Her heartbeat was slowing and I had to work fast.
I looked up to see Ric, Stefan, and Elena in the doorway.
"It's done." Stefan said. I knew he had done what I longed to do: he had killed the vampire that had tortured Brighton. I looked at Alaric.
"Bri.." He slide through her blood and settled down next to me. "Is she.." He couldn't say it.
"No, she isn't. But she will be if we don't do something." I looked him in the eye, hoping that he understood.
"No Damon! I won't allow it! She won't become one of you!" he yelled.
"Ric." We looked down to see Brighton's eyes open. "Damon."
"Hey baby." I ran my fingers through her hair softly. I couldn't bring myself to say anything else. I didn't know if I could get it out. My throat was closing fast.
"Bri, god, you…you're gonna be okay. We're gonna get you out of here." Ric held her good hand tightly.
She chuckled which turned into coughing as she choked on blood. I looked away. Elena was sobbing, holding onto Stefan as he cried quietly. How had this girl wormed her way into our lives so easily?
"Ric, stop lying. I always…know when you're lying." She spoke quietly and slow as drawing in air took tremendous effort. "I know I'm not going to be okay. But I love you anyway." She smiled and her teeth were caked in blood. She moved her eyes to me and her smile grew brighter. I tried to smile back. "Damon, you came." I laughed but it came out as a sob. I had finally started crying. She made it sound like I had come for a party.
"I'm here, Bri. I'm here. Don't worry." She kept looking at me, trying to relay something to me.
"Damon, I want you to." Ric looked at me.
"We talked about this before Ric. It's okay. I want to." She coughed again. Her smile turned sad. "I don't want to die."
Ric couldn't speak through his sobs. But he nodded and just kissed her hand and held it against his cheek.
"Are you sure, Brighton?" I wanted to be with her forever but I wasn't going to do it without making sure.
She nodded and smiled at me weakly.
I smiled back at her. I bit into my wrist and brought it to her lips. She took it gently and began sucking.
After a few moments, I took my wrist back.
"Make sure to swallow it." She nodded.
We watched the life drain from her: Stefan holding a weeping Elena; Ric, sobbing into Brighton's hand; and me, stroking her soft hair. I cried silently as I listened to her heart finally stop and her breathing cease. I leaned over her and buried my face into her shoulder.
Moments passed before Ric gasped. I looked down to find Brighton's wounds healing themselves. All of the swelling went down and skin returned to its normal color. The gash on her stomach knitted itself back together. I waited moments longer before she opened her eyes. They wildly searched the room for anything familiar. They fell upon me and she smiled. I felt my face split into the widest grin.
-Brighton POV-
I assessed my body before I opened my eyes. I could feel no aches or wounds. I could move all of fingers and my wrist. I finally felt no pain. My throat burned for something and my stomach grumbled in hunger. I opened my eyes and scanned the room. I looked at Damon in amazement. God, he looked gorgeous. I smiled at him and he returned it. I slowly sat up and looked at the figure holding my hand. It was Alaric.
"Ric." I didn't know what to expect from him. He hated vampires with a rage. How would he feel about me?
I didn't have to wait long before he pulled me into a tight hug.
"God, Bri. I love you." My face was tucked into his collarbone and the smell of him made me crazy. I shoved him away and he slid across the room.
"Brighton!" I looked at my hands. I hadn't expected to be that strong. I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, but you were making me thirsty." Ric's face turned hard. He stood and left the room.
"Give him time to adjust." Stefan stepped forward, putting himself between me and Elena. I knew I couldn't be trusted until I was fed and I had finished transitioning.
Damon stepped behind me and turned me around. "It just takes time." He slung his arm around my shoulder. "Let's get you something to eat."
We walked out of that house hand in hand.
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