Whitmore was a grueling three hour drive from Mystic Falls. Damon was pushing 90 miles an hour the entire drive. He knew he had to find out all he could, and fast. There was no telling how long they would keep Elena alive, and if they didn't kill her right away it would only be so that they could torture her like they had been. Damon couldn't stand the thought of it.
When they arrived Damon put the car in park right in front of the admissions office. He raced to the door and tried it, only to find it locked. He ducked down to the side window and slammed his elbow into it, shattering the glass. From there he hoisted himself up and into the building. He didn't even think twice about security guards or late night students passing by, he didn't have time. He had pulled himself into some sort of meeting room. There was nothing in it except for a large oval table and several black leather chairs. He worked his way to the door, only leading him to a hallway. He ran down towards the left. Finally, he found a sign pointing him to where he needed to go. Student Admissions.
The walk from there was rather short. He rounded a few corners and practically ran right into the big wooden door. The hallway had ended abruptly and there in front of him was exactly where he wanted to be. He pushed on the door, and twisted the handle. It too, was locked. He didn't have time for all of these locked doors. Damon grabbed the handle again, and pulled with all of his strength. The deadbolt lock inside snapped in half as he yanked the door open. He went straight to the secretary desk in the back of the office.
The computer was sure to have all the files he needed, but it would require a pass code. If only he could compel the computer. He would have nowhere to even start on a code. So he searched around for another option. There was a another wooden door to the back left of the office. The plaque beside it designated it to be the Records Room. Bingo. Damon rushed back to the desk and rummaged through the drawer for keys. When he couldn't find them he decided that yet another door would have to be broken. If he had more time to spare he could be less barbaric, but for now this was the only choice he had. So, he broke it too, and walked in. He flipped the lights on and came face to face with stacks of filing cabinets all labeled precisely. This room held each of the students' information in little files that were conveniently alphabetized.
Damon located the drawer with a big W written on it's label and skimmed through it until he found the name he was looking for. Whitmore, Aaron.
He smiled to himself, pleased with his findings. The file contained his health records, academic history, and most importantly, his dorm room address. With stress building up in his mind, Damon slammed the drawer shut and made his way back out to Stefan and the car. He had made no effort to fix his mess that he had made getting into the office and building. It's not like it'd really be his problem when the workers arrived in the morning. He would be long gone by then.
Washington Building. Floor 2. Room 235. It seemed simple enough to find. There were only a few dorm buildings. So it seemed easy to locate. Street signs helped incredibly, pointing him straight to the Washington Building. When they pulled up Damon decided to bring Stefan with him for backup just in case there were any room mates to deal with. The two went in and up the back stair case to the second floor. Soon, they were in front of Aaron Whitmore's door. Damon couldn't break this door without causing a stir, so they had to figure out how to do this silently.
Stefan picked up footsteps coming from their floor. Damon looked at him skeptically. A large man rounded the corner pushing a large trash can in front of him. Damon smiled.
"Perfect timing," he whispered.
Damon vamped over to the man, stopping him in his tracks. His eyes were wide and he went pale.
"I need to get in a room up here, give us your keys," Damon stared into the man's eyes, his pupils contracting as he spoke.
"I have none. Only to the utility closets," he replied blankly.
"Well find a way to get us in room 235," Damon was annoyed.
The man stalked to the room, Damon trailing behind him. Stefan was waiting patiently by the door. The janitor knocked on their door and announced his title.
"There is a chemical spill outside of your door, for your safety please evacuate the room," the man said.
Moments later a sandy haired boy opened the door. He was rubbing his eyes, and spoke groggily.
"What is it now?"
Damon took this as an opportunity of intimidation. He quickly placed his hands on either side of the janitor's head and twisted sharply. The man's neck cracked loudly and he fell to the floor limply. The boy's eyes widened and he tried slamming the door shut. Damon caught it easily and put his foot in the doorway.
"You won't scream. Please, invited us in," Damon compelled him.
"Please come in," Aaron complied.
Stefan and Damon walked into the dorm room. Stefan stood by the door as Damon sat down on a stray chair pulling Aaron over with him.
"You're vampires. Real ones," Aaron murmured.
"Yes, we are. Now, your family created this group here at the college and they called it the Augustine Society. Do you recall?"
"No, I don't know what you're talking about," Aaron looked away from Damon.
Damon grabbed his face between his hands and asked his question again.
"What do you know about the Augustine Society, answer truthfully," he would have to compel the answers out of him.
"It is a medical research group. They study on vampires. It's supposed to be shut down, but Uncle Wes still practices."
"Good, now where can I find this Uncle Wes," Damon compelled him again.
"I don't know. I haven't been able to reach him in the last few days. He could be at his home, or his lab."
"Well which is it," Damon was starting to get loud.
"I don't know," Aaron cringed.
"He only practices on a few vampires now. At an old doctor's office. He calls it his lab. He had to relocate when the college destroyed their building to build another teaching hall. A former friend from the society gave it to him a few years ago. He normally spends most of his time there," Aaron hurriedly added.
"Take us to it," Damon sneered.
"I can't. It's too far away," Aaron said.
"You will take us whether you like it or not. Now where is the damn thing," Damon yelled.
"Some town called Mystic Falls."
Aaron didn't know it, but had gotten the last laugh. Damon had come all the way here hoping to find their hiding place. They had to have gone somewhere they were familiar with. Augustine hadn't been shut down long according to those papers he had found in Elena's house. Enzo and Katherine wouldn't have anywhere else to hide someone. They wouldn't be familiar with anywhere except Whitmore. It would make the most sense, but turns out, they had outsmarted him. He ran all the way here looking for them, only for them to be right where he had started.
"What was his friends name. The one who gave him the building," Stefan butted in.
"Uh, it was his partner. Grayson Gilbert, I think," Aaron answered.
"Thank you, you've been a big help, would love to stay and chat longer, but we have some girls to save. You won't remember this. You got out of bed because you heard the fire alarm sound," Damon compelled him.
He and Stefan vamped out of the room and to their car, but not before pulling a nearby fire alarm. Their cover was perfect. Damon fired up the engine and squealed his tires as he left the Whitmore campus.