AN: Sorry about the wait. It's summer and I had a busy week with tennis tryouts and the last week of work. I'm going on vacation for this week, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to update next week. I'll do my best. Anyway, here's chapter 5. Sorry it's a little short!

Damon wandered through the Old Wood. Though it was only afternoon, the Wood was dark as night. It was always dark these days. It seemed that Elena's light couldn't penetrate the evil that lurked within the Wood. Frankly, it was a bit unsettling. Damon shoved his hands into his pockets and plodded on. He was only just realizing the horrible situation he'd just put himself in. He was weapon-less, Power-less, and one of his arms was useless. So, why had he done this again? Oh wait! He knew the answer to this one. He was trying to prove himself…again.

Since becoming human, he had felt an overwhelming urge to prove himself to everyone. They all thought he was no good to them anymore. Stefan hated him for stealing his "gift", though how anyone could call it a gift was beyond Damon. Elena was a little angry with him because Stefan was angry with him. And, everyone else hated him to begin with, so that didn't change. The only one on his side was Sage, ever faithful. Sage had become a friend to Damon. It hadn't always been like that. They'd been partners in crime way back when, but nothing more. Now, after going through what they had, they were much closer.

Damon heard a rustling in the trees and turned towards the sound. He didn't see anything, so he chalked it up to nerves and left it alone. Then, his foot got stuck and everything went downhill from there. It was muddy in the forest and Damon had sunk in. But, when he tried to pull his foot out, it didn't work very well. He got his foot out alright, but his shoe didn't come with it. Groaning, he bent and tried to pull his shoe out of the gunk. It was stuck. Damon could see that it wasn't going to happen. Maybe, if he could use his left hand correctly, he would've been able to un-stick it. But, his left wrist was in a cast, so that wasn't any help. Damon decided to leave the shoe and continue. He tried calling Stefan in his mind, before realizing that there were two problems. One, he couldn't call people with his mind. And, two, Stefan hated him. So, how was he supposed to find them?

Damon was getting dizzy. Hadn't he passed this tree before? But, that was impossible. He hadn't turned once, so he had to be imagining things ((AN: He forgot about Shinichi's snow globe things when the kitsune took his memories.)). That didn't stop the situation from being unsettling. There was another rustle. This time, there was no mistaking it, there was something there. Shaking, Damon began to run. He'd completely forgotten his instincts, the ones that told him running would do no good. He was a human and completely and utterly vulnerable. He hated being vulnerable. Where were his brother and Sage when he needed them? Then, predictably, he tripped. Landing on his bad wrist, of course, he cursed and stood back up. Damon heard a noise and looked behind him. As he did, there was another noise from the opposite direction. He turned the other way. Then, there was a noise to the side. His head snapped to the left. Suddenly, there was a hand over his mouth and a voice in his ear.

"Don't move and don't scream or I will kill you, Damon Salvatore."

*At the boarding house*

Stefan pulled up to the boarding house, Sage in the passenger seat. He was still angry, but he felt useful which was better than sitting around doing nothing. He actually felt for Damon. He knew his brother wasn't one to sit behind the scenes and watch the action. He instigated the action. Stefan couldn't figure out how this fight would play out. And, how would they win without Damon, one of their strongest players? Sure, his brother would want to fight, but Stefan would make sure he stayed out of it. He couldn't lose Damon. As angry as he was at him, he was his brother. Looking over at Sage, it seemed the other vampire was lost in thought. Stefan got out.

As they entered the boarding house, Stefan immediately took a seat next to Elena. Sage, however, chose a spot closer to Bonnie. The humans looked worried. Matt was biting his nails. Obviously, they'd done their research and it hadn't been good. Stefan noticed that Damon was absent. Where had his brother gone? He couldn't hear Damon's strange breathing. Because his brother had to think about breathing, he took deeper breaths. So, where had Damon gotten to?

"Hey, you didn't happen to see Damon on the way home, did you?" Elena asked him. This worried Stefan. Damon was probably doing something stupid.

"Uh, no, we didn't. Why, is something wrong?" Stefan replied with another question, trying to hide the worry in his voice.

"Maybe. He's been gone for a long time… And, he's human." Bonnie put in. Stefan looked at her. He used his Power to search for Damon. However, Sage had the same notion. He'd beaten Stefan to it.

"I'm not sensing anything, Stefan. Where could he have gone for us to get nothing?" Sage looked at Stefan, very worried. Stefan groaned. Stupid, arrogant, asshole of a brother!

"He must have gone into the Old Wood. Let's go… Who knows what's in there? And who knows what kind of trouble Damon will get himself into?" With that, everyone was up. Stefan and Sage made it out first, literally jumping into the car. Elena, Bonnie, Meredith, and Matt followed. As soon as everyone was in, Sage floored it. He had opted to drive this time because he had better reflexes than Stefan and could drive much faster without any danger of crashing. The Old Wood loomed ahead, black and uninviting. How could Damon have walked in there? Stefan sighed. Damon was Damon and nothing, not even humanity, was going to change that.

AN: Hmmm...Another cliffie! Gosh, I'm so mean. Review because I know you want to know what happens next!