Poison & Wine ~ Chapter XX

~ * • ° • ° • * ~

I struggled up the hill, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead. I started to step down, but never completely made it. My foot slipped and I fell straight to the ground.

"Are you okay there, love?"

I didn't answer, and rolled from my stomach onto my back before sitting up. I had cuts on my knees, actually on my right knee was now dripping blood. I huffed, looking over at Klaus with a glare before standing. It was his fault we even here. And now I was bleeding!

We were currently in the Smoky Mountains, searching for Ray's pack. I didn't mention it, but I knew exactly where they were since I had trained with them a couple of weeks back. I mean, Klaus knows I know Ray, but he's not thought about me actually knowing where Ray's pack is.

I looked at Stefan as I continued on, who had an unconscious Ray on his shoulders and wasn't even breaking a sweat. "I'm not the one carrying a full grown man."

Klaus looked over at Stefan as well. "You ok? Is Ray getting heavy?"

"I'm fine," Stefan responded.

"You sure about that? You know, we've been walking for quite some time now. If you need some water or a little sit-down…" Klaus offered, which I found generous considering it was Klaus, but Stefan was just irritated.

"You know, I get that we're, uh… we're stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great." Stefan bluntly said.

Klaus, not being able to drop it, continued on with Stefan. "So much brooding. Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend."

"Maybe it's 'cause I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves. We've been at it all summer," He responded. All summer? Geez, Klaus needs to get a life.

"Thanks to our pal Ray, we found ourselves a pack. There," Klaus pointed to a camp. My breath caught in my throat. What would Klaus do to them exactly?

We stopped walking for a moment before Stefan entered the camp. Everyone looked at him, and I instantly remembered each and every one of them. Stefan put Ray on the ground. A woman, Molly I recalled, rushed over to Ray's body.

"Ray! Oh, my God. What's going on? Who are you?" Molly looked up at Stefan.

Klaus rejoined Stefan. "The important question is who am I. Please forgive the intrusion. My name is Klaus."

"You're the hybrid," Molly said with shock as the rest of the pack stood with alertness.

Klaus smiled widely. "You've heard of me. Fantastic." I took a step forward where I'd be visible, and the pack's eyes widened.

"Andy! What are you doing here?" Molly demanded. "Why are you with them?"

"I—"

Klaus interrupted me, an unhappy glint in his eyes. "Oh, so you know her as well? Interesting,"

I swallowed, looking back to the pack with nervousness.

Klaus, Stefan, and I were sitting. Everyone was looking at Klaus with uncertainty.

"It's fascinating, actually…" Klaus begun, making my eyes shift to him. "A werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun. A true hybrid." Right then, Ray jumped with life. "Excellent timing, Ray. Very dramatic."

"What's happening to me?" Ray asked, breathless, as he sat up.

"Stefan?" Klaus looked over to his comrade.

Stefan stood from my side. "Are any of you human? Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die. And we'd rather not use Andy's."

I looked over at Stefan in shock. I would jump off a bridge before I'd let Klaus use me as a blood bag. "Doesn't take much, just a sip. Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?" Klaus looked around, his eyes hovering on me for quite a while. I had to look away from him. "You."

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Klaus rush over to a man and bite the man's forearm. Stefan caught him, and threw him on the ground in front of Ray. Molly protested, and I remembered that to be her boyfriend, Derek, and Klaus strangled her.

"If you don't drink it, Ray, I will. Problem is I don't know how to stop," Stefan warned. Who was he? I didn't recognize this Stefan, and wasn't sure if I liked him or not.

Klaus looked at Molly. "It's the new order, sweetheart. You join us, or you die."

"I'd rather die than be a vampire." She spat.

"Wrong choice," I watched as he gave her his blood, then as Ray drank the blood from Derek. "She'll thank me for that later. Heh," Klaus snapped her neck. "Ok, who's next?"

He turned where I could see him, and I looked at him with horrified awe. His eyes were yellow and his fangs are out. His face was difficult to not look at, because I was horrified, but a part of me found it fascinating. I had seen that exact face in my dreams.

After Klaus gave the werewolves his blood, he gave his blood to Derek and compelled him. "There. Good as new," Klaus said to him. "Now you relax, ok, mate? We're gonna need you when the rest of them wake up."

"They're dead. They're all dead," Ray said in shock, in the fetal position.

"Ah, he's through his transition. He should be feeling better soon," Klaus said to Stefan and I.

"So is this your master plan?" I asked, looking at the bodies of my dead friends. "Build an army of hybrid slaves?"

"No, not slaves. Soldiers, comrades."

"For what war, might I ask?" Stefan asked.

"Oh, you don't arm yourself after war has been declared, Stefan. You build your army so big that no one ever dares pick a fight," Klaus explained.

"What makes you so sure that they'll be loyal?" I questioned. "How can you be so sure that they won't turn on you the moment you say one wrong thing? I mean you aren't the most charismatic guy."

"Well, it's not difficult to be loyal when you're on the winning team," Klaus said to me, seeming to hint at something, but then looked over to Stefan. "That's something you'll learn once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder."

Stefan laughed at him. "That's why you're, uh… you're keeping me around? To witness my attitude adjustment?"

"You'll know why I'm keeping you around when I've decided that I want you to know," He said.

"And what of me?" I stood up, looking at Klaus.

"Well, I enjoy keeping one beautiful woman in my company at all times, of course," He smiled at me, and I rolled my eyes at him. His smile faltered slightly but I didn't care. Right then, however, we all noticed Ray's eyes were bleeding.

"Something's wrong." Klaus said, surveying his hybrid's eyes.

"That shouldn't be happening, should it?" Stefan asked.

"Well, obviously." Klaus said with irritation. Ray begun shaking and his eyes were still bleeding after many minutes of Klaus pacing and thinking of what to do.

"You said it was gonna feel better," Ray spoke to Klaus. "Why doesn't it feel better?"

"Some master race," I said.

"Lose the attitude," Klaus chastised me. Molly sprung awake before I could respond. "Derek, come feed your girlfriend."

Derek got up and begun to move toward Molly. Ray snarled right then and made a few inhuman, animal-like jumps and left. Klaus looked over at Stefan. "Go get him," Klaus ordered.

Stefan disappeared and I watched as Molly bit into Derek's arm. Klaus headed off and I followed. Klaus and I arrived to Stefan, but Ray was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Klaus questioned.

"He, uh... he got away. Forget him. Let's go," Stefan said, obviously uncomfortable.

"A fatal werewolf bite. Ouch," Klaus said, and I saw the bloody bite on his arm. I stared in shock at it. So that's what a werewolf bite looked like.

"Yeah. I'm gonna need your blood to heal me," Stefan said, glancing down at it.

"Well, I tell you what. You find Ray, and then I'll heal you," Klaus folded his arms.

"Can't be serious,"

"You better hurry, 'cause that bite looks nasty," Klaus stared to turn away, but I caught his arm.

"You can't do that! He'll die, Klaus, he needs your blood! He'll be of no use to you without it," I argued.

Klaus leaned closer to me. "Then I suggest he gets going on his search," Klaus headed back to the campsite. I looked back at Stefan with sadness before heading after Klaus. I stopped at the edge of the campsite, noticing all of their eyes are bleeding. I looked over at Klaus. What was wrong with them?

It got dark in just minutes. Klaus had forced Derek to supply his blood to each of the hybrids, and was now standing next to the said human.

"Bad news, my friend. End of the road for you," Klaus said to him, and before I could even step in, he killed him by drinking his blood. I stood and pushed Klaus from behind.

"Could you stop killing people?!" I demanded as he dropped Derek's body to the ground. Before he could respond to me, Molly walked in front of him.

"Careful, love. There's only one Alpha here," He warned her. All the werewolves' eyes were bleeding at this point. They looked like zombies as they stood around Klaus in a threatening stance.

"Bloody Hell," Klaus growled, then turned to me. "Go."

"What? Why—?"

"Andy, go," He snarled before he was suddenly attacked by Molly. Not hesitating a moment longer, I took off. I ran for quite a while, until I became tired and just could not go on any longer. I fell to the ground, holding my stomach and coughing.

Why would Klaus tell me to run? Why wouldn't he mind putting me in danger? It was probably because he was curious of why I looked like Anastasia.

"Andy?"

I turned to see Stefan with a lifeless Ray on his shoulders. "Stefan," I breathed in relief.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Some of those werewolves rightfully turned on Klaus. He told me to run." I explained as I stood.

"Let's get back," He said after a moment.

We headed back and walked in complete silence. We arrived back to the campsite after a ten minute walk and I was horrified to what we found. The rest of the pack were dead. Klaus was sitting down, looking absolutely broken.

"They went rabid," He begun to explain. "Some of them, I killed. The others just... Bled out. In the end... They're all dead." He threw the glass bottle in his hand and cried out, obviously torn up over this outcome. He began yelling. "I did everything I was told! I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse. I killed a werewolf. I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelgänger."

There were two different parts of me: one part, the stronger, dominate part, was satisfied with this outcome. He deserved this after everything he's done. The other part, the smaller part, was pitying him. But pity in the sense of suddenly realizing he would never be able to create hybrids, thus leaving him alone for eternity. Surely Elijah had nothing to with him since I hadn't seen him at all yet, and the rest of his family was daggered.

I glanced over to see Stefan was looking mildly uncomfortable. I, however, kept myself under control.

"You look like hell," Klaus told him.

"Last I checked, I'm dying… And you don't want to heal me," Stefan said to him. "I had to take him out. I didn't have a choice. I failed you. I'm sorry. Do what you have to do."

"It should have worked," Klaus said in defeat. He took an empty bottle that was once beer. He bit his wrist, put the blood in the bottle and gave the bottle to Stefan. "Bottoms up. We're leaving. It appears you two are the only comrades I have left." He walked off and I followed him.

"Klaus, you know I can't stay with Stefan and you, and I'm certainly not your comrade considering the shit you've done to me," I said after a moment of silence and stepping in front of him. "I-I gotta get back for school, and my family—"

"You will leave when I permit you to," He snapped at me before moving to walk off.

"That's not fair to me," I argued, cutting his passage off. He stared down at me with slight annoyance.

"Oh, it isn't?" He stepped closer to me. "I'm offering you a wondrous life, Andy. A life away from that one pony town. You should be thanking me."

"Really? After everything you have done to me?" I folded my arms. "I cannot stay here, Klaus! I want to go home, to Jeremy, to Alaric, to Damon!" I made sure to mentally add Elena.

He laughed bitterly. "Damon Salvatore? The boy who broke your heart and went after your sister's?" I didn't answer him. "See, isn't this life more exciting? Am I not more exciting than your previous lover?" He grabbed my hands and pulled me closer. Our mouths were inches apart. And I was completely disgusted.

But, I couldn't resist leaning to his ear. I whispered my next words. "I wouldn't choose you even if we were the last people on Earth. I would never be able to love a monster as yourself." I stepped away from him and started to walk off when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to face him.

"You might just need a little convincing, but you will realize I'm more of a suitor than your Salvatore... or Elijah," He said, then looked down at my bracelet before yanking it off and looking back to me. "I want you to kiss me, and tell me if what you feel."

In my mind, I was screaming protests, but he had compelled me. I only had my vervain bracelet on because I had ran out of my vervain supply a couple weeks ago.

I leaned in and pressed my lips against his own. I felt nothing. No feeling of hatred or bliss, until my hatred rose up in me, and after a few seconds of him responding to my lips, I pulled my lips off of his.

"I feel nothing," I spat in a bitter tone. "Nothing except for a burning hatred for you." I leaned down and picked up my bracelet before I glared at him. "I. Loathe. You." I turned away and ran off. I got so far before I had to stop, then Stefan and Klaus caught up with me. I wouldn't get near Klaus or look at him.

On the way back to the car I decided I would never trust Klaus, nor ever feel pity for the Original again.

~ * • ° • ° • * ~

The End of Chapter XX