The drive back to Mystic Falls seemed to take longer than the drive there had. Maybe because Damon had so much resting on his shoulders right now. So many things he knew he would have to tell Stefan, and even worse, Elena. Once he saw her again, and saved her, he promised himself he would explain everything. He would confess every single thing about him and just hope she would still care for him. The more he thought about it, he wasn't going to tell her absolutely everything. Just the main things she needed to know. Extra details such as the janitor he killed tonight, and how he knew of Aaron Whitmore...that stuff could be kept to himself. Surely, Stefan would question him enough on Aaron. Almost instantly, Stefan did.
"How did you know," he looked at Damon.
"Know what, " Damon tried avoiding the topic.
"About Aaron. He couldn't have possibly been a random person you just thought up," Stefan urged.
"I just knew his family, and that he had connections to Augustine. That's all," Damon lied.
"No, there's more Damon. I know you. Tell me. Stop hiding all of this from me. We are brothers, start acting like it."
"Fine, if you must know. I killed his family. Remember how I told you how every vampire would love to kill their tormentors? That was from experience. I tore out Dr. Whitmore's throat along with his wife and sons'. But I left one to procreate. I didn't want my vengeance to be so short lived. I wanted to kill off every single member of his family that I could, but always leave one to continue the tradition. Right now, Aaron was that one. Are you happy now," Damon angrily asked.
"Wow, Damon, that's horrible even for you," Stefan grunted.
"I'm sadistic what can I say," Damon laughed.
"What about Elena? What if she makes you mad? Are you just going to kill her off too," Stefan's voice took on a serious tone.
"No, Stefan. Elena means more to me than that. You don't understand. She makes me want to be a better person than I am, and as much as I hate that, I also admire it. She could be something good for me. For years I've been mesmerized by her looks down at the bar, but now that I know her, she is completely amazing inside too. She is the most beautiful, most pure person I've ever met in my life. I couldn't destroy her."
Stefan considered this, and didn't speak. Damon was as wild as someone could be. Ever since he was turned, he lost his shy, selfless demeanor. He grew into himself, and became a more dominant, selfish person over the years as a vampire. He took what he wanted, when he wanted and held himself to no rules. He went through countless women for blood, sex, and whatever else they had to offer. The mere fact that he was still giving Elena the time of day was surprising to Stefan. Mabye, this was something good for Damon, or maybe it was something that would push him over the edge again, depending on the outcome of this rescue mission.
"Damon, I think I know where the office is. Well I only know of one doctor's office in Mystic Falls, so hopefully that's it. I had to take Bonnie there before."
"That would count as the only helpful thing you've done so far today," Damon smirked,
"Why would you have to take Bonnie to a doctor though Stefan. Think about it, couldn't she just use her witchy ju-ju to heal herself," Damon was making small talk.
"No Damon, she's a witch not a vampire. She can't just heal herself. She wouldn't have had anything wrong with her had you not turned your humanity off and stabbed her in the hand with a fork for interfering with your so called dinner date," Stefan sneered at him.
"Well look, now that trip to the doctor finally paid off for me," Damon smiled.
"Now where is it," He added.
When they crossed the Mystic Falls city limit sign Stefan started pointing Damon in the direction of the office. The best they could do was hope that it was actually the right one. When they arrived, the car's headlights blasted through the front windows of the building.
Dr. Grayson H. Gilbert
Family Medicine
Damon read the writing on the front door. Without wasting time, he ripped the door from it's hinges. He had a thing for destruction today. He had convinced himself that it was all necessary damage so he could get to Elena. He studied the lobby. Chairs sat around the perimeters of the room. A front desk was present, and a large wooden door behind it. He opened it, and walked through. Damon checked each and every room he could find and came up with nothing. No signs of distress, nothing at all out of the ordinary of a regular office. Where else could they have gone? This doesn't even look like it could be used as a testing lab. It was way too public.
Stefan came in and handed a paper to Damon. It was a small flier, advertising the business. It looked pretty dated, then he noticed the date. 2013. Two years old.
"I found this in the desk out front. I think this could be where they are at. Take a look," Stefan said.
Say Goodbye Fuller Ave.
Same Doctor, New Location!
Now offering faster service, in our bigger, better office!
Let us know what you think!
Of course. The only way Dr. Gilbert would give away his office would be if he had gotten a new one. He wouldn't risk his patients finding his vampires, and outting him. No, he would keep and use his former office for his "side job." This is the lab Aaron was talking about. Lorenzo and Katherine must have been taken there and used. They couldn't have been out long or they would've gotten to Elena and her family much sooner.
Damon grabbed Stefan by the arm and ran to his car. They jumped in and sped down the street to Fuller Ave. It was hardly a five minute drive before they pulled into the parking lot. The building was small, and gave off a deserted vibe. The perfect makeup to hide such a horrible place. Damon swung his car door open and ran to the front door. No, too obvious. He ran around to the back, and peered in a low lying window. There was nothing but dusty floors and a few chairs. He busted in the window and crawled through. He stood there listening. He could hear multiple heart beats. They were there for sure.
Damon raced through each hallway, looking in quickly to see if he could find Elena. Nothing. He could hear them, but couldn't find them. He had been through every single room. Damon tried to calm himself down. He might be able to follow the beating if he could slow himself down enough. Damon blocked everything out except the noise. As he followed it it became louder, and louder. It lead him into a back patient room. In the room there was a large metal door to the far side. It was slightly ajar. He pushed it open a little more to reveal a descending staircase. He planned his sneak attack silently.
Damon decided to quietly walk to the front and motion Stefan in for help. He let him in and they both quickly went back to the metal door. They conferred quietly for a moment until their conversation was broken by a loud scream.
"No, no please. Stop. I can't do it anymore. Just kill me already," she was crying hysterically.
Damon stopped talking and practically jumped down the stairs. What he saw was worse than he'd imagined. Katherine was lounged back against one wall stroking Caroline's blood streak, blonde hair. Her body was mangled, bones sticking out of her arms and legs in various places. Caroline looked weak, lifeless. Her eyes were closed. She was dead.
"We forgot to heal this one. Wanted to see how long it would take her to die. She was just our test dummy. Funny how that works, huh," Katherine laughed.
"I wondered when you'd finally come down here. Had to stomp around the whole place first didn't you," Enzo chimed in.
Damon looked around for Elena. She was laying on a red-stained gurney, strapped down at her hands and knees. The thick leather bands kept her from moving. She was crying. Long cuts streaked down her arms and legs producing thick garnet streams pouring over her skin and pooling onto the gurney sheets. One arm was twisted unnaturally beside her. Damon was fuming. He tried vamping to her. He wanted to tear her away from those cuffs. Poor, sweet Elena shouldn't be going through this.
Enzo had stopped him just steps away from her. Damon could smell her blood and it was the most decadent thing he had ever encountered. His mouth watered at the thought of the warm nectar running down his throat. Veins scattered across his cheekbones, his eyes were burning red. He needed control. He didn't want to feed on her. He cared for her. He didn't want to ever hurt her. Damon's face returned to normal. He turned to see Stefan fumbling down the stairs.
"About time," Damon growled.
Stefan was in attack mode. Until he laid his eyes on Caroline. At the sight of her, Stefan was visibly taken back. Stefan's heart shattered. The only girl he had let close to him in a very long time was now dead. Stefan lunged at Katherine, only to be easily knocked aside.
"I'm 300 years older than you Salvatore. Do you really want to try that again," She flashed him a smile.
Stefan laid on the floor. Katherine walked towards Damon and stopped in front of him. She traced her delicate finger up his arm and smiled seductively.
"And you. I was crazy about you. I thought you loved me as much as I did too until you left me behind. Not even a single glance back. How selfish of you Damon. Even I was nice enough to include you on our memorial wall in Dr. Gilbert's living room," Katherine pursed her lips.
She tilted her head back to stare into his eyes as she circled around him.
"Then you pick her. Now that was plain reckless. You had to have known something bad like this could happen to her," Katherine smiled.
"Well, most of the women whose emotions I toy with are human and don't remember me after a few days anyways. I just thought you were dead. Not that I minded that much. You were just to pass the time while we were all in hell," Damon sneered.
He tried moving to Elena again only to be held back by Enzo's firm grip. Damon swung his shoulders violently trying to break free, but it was useless.
"Oh, really now. Well the last I remember you were crazy about me. You told me I was the most beautiful girl you'd ever seen,"
"You were, until I met Elena," Damon smirked.
"She is exactly like me Damon, just human, easily controlled and very breakable. I very fondly remember the night I had her right our numbers on that mirror in the bathroom. And how scared she was when I was playing with her dreams. How gullible humans are. Did I mention how fragile?"
With that, Katherine reached over and snapped one of Elena's fingers to the side. Elena screamed and thrashed under the straps.
"Damon, help me," the longing in her eyes was heart breaking.
"I will Elena, I promise they won't hurt you anymore," Damon pleaded.
"Don't make promises you can't keep Damon, you're awfully bad about that," Katherine reached for Elena's hand again.
An object whizzed through the air and into a small, rectangular window. Light flooded through the massive hole it created. It must have been morning already. Enzo shot backwards and away from the beams. Steam rose from his skin as he fled. Katherine hissed and clung to a far wall still soaked in darkness. Light cut the room into sections because of the jagged hole that had been created. Stefan still laid on the ground, a smile creeping across his face.
Damon took this chance and rushed towards Elena. He grabbed her hands and ripped away the straps holding her in place. Then he moved onto her knees. Once she was freed he took her up into his arms and carried her to the stairs.
"Just going to leave us here again, Damon," Katherine yelled at him.
"That's exactly what I plan to do. I'm going to take my girl, and my brother and get the hell home. I hope you two burn down here," Damon laughed.
"Why aren't you on fire," Katherine shot.
"Guess we are just immune," Damon laughed again and reached down to pull Stefan to his feet.
Stefan walked over and scooped Caroline's body into his arms. His face was stone cold as he followed Damon up the stairs and to the car. Damon gently placed Elena in the passenger seat and looked over her.
"Your arm is broken, but your cuts have stopped bleeding," he said running his fingers along her arm.
That was the first time he had thought of the blood since having to force down his craving earlier. It still wasn't bothering him, but he worried about it for her sake. Who knows how many times they hurt her, just to have her pass out and healed to start again. Did she have to watch Caroline die? How was he going to fix her without starting an uproar at the hospital this early in the morning? There was only one thing he could do, but dreaded because it'd bring out all of his secrets. He decided that it was worth it and brought his wrist to his mouth. Damon tore across the flesh and held it out to Elena. Blood was pouring out of it.
"Drink it Elena. Please trust me," Damon mumbled.
"Are you one of them too," Elena looked at him, but took his wrist into her mouth and sucked.
Elena let go and the deep cuts that laced her arms began to slowly close back together. Damon hung his head and nodded slowly in response to her question. She didn't say anything else. Just swung her legs into the car and shut the door. Damon walked over to Stefan who was still sitting behind the building, away from sight. He placed his hand on Stefan's shoulder. Stefan continued looking down at Caroline.
"I need to take Elena somewhere. She needs to get out of here for a while. I'm going with her. What are your plans," Damon questioned him lightly.
"I don't really know. Guess I might just go with you. There's nothing else here I need to stay for. Bonnie left, Caroline's dead. This place is a curse."
"Come on. Let's get our things and we'll head out," Damon turned back and walked to the car.
His brother deserved a moment to say goodbye to Caroline. Stefan ran his hands through her tangled hair. He held her in his lap and whispered to her.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you. You were a blessing for me. Now that you're gone I don't see anymoe good in the world. At least not right now. I wish I could've given you everything in the world. I wish I could at least give you a proper goodbye. But I can't. I'm sure if we would have been together longer we could've loved each other til the end of time like we joked about in your room."
Stefan closed his eyes and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Hurt filled his heart. All he could think of was this heartbreaking pain, this new hole his heart had acquired. He decided to let it all go, Damon and Elena didn't need him. Nobody needed him right now. Stefan shut himself off. When he opened his eyes a whole new Stefan emerged. One that didn't care, one that needed one thing over all else. Blood. He placed Caroline's head down on the grass and took off into the thick woods.
After several minutes of awkward silence in the car with Elena, Damon started getting frustrated.
"I need to get Stefan. He can't say goodbye all day," Damon said.
Elena just nodded her head and turned back to the window. Damon got out and rounded the corner of the building. Stefan was gone. Only Caroline's body remained. Instantly Damon knew what was going on. Stefan had flipped his switch, his humanity was turned off. As if Damon didn't have enough to worry about right now.
He shook his head and returned to Elena. She was pretty much healed by now except for her arm still jutting out slightly. He would have to pop that back into place for her later and he would rather them be on speaking terms first.
"Stefan said he will catch up to us later. He's having a hard time coping right now. Best to leave him alone," Damon said softly.
Elena still just nodded her head. The silence was driving Damon crazy. What was she thinking? Was she scared of him now? Was she traumatized from has happened? Any answer would be better than what he is getting now.
"You know you need to leave Mystic Falls now, right? Where do you want to go," Damon pushed gently.
"Home. I want to go home. Then, anywhere. As long as you go with me," Elena spoke softly.