Chapter 8
Bloody Screams on Halloween
Light enveloped me as I flipped on the switch to my classroom. I was exhausted, trudging over to my desk and sitting down. It was still dark outside, but I had work to do before the school day started, groggily lifting my head to look over the plans that had been given to me by Mayor Lockwood.
Since I was the new teacher, Halloween plans fell upon me. Being the art teacher didn't help either, which was probably the other reason why he had assigned it to me. Carol probably put him up to it though, telling him of how great I would do. Personally though, I could have cared less. I just wanted something to take my mind off of things.
I looked down at my phone, scrolling through my inbox. I found my last conversation with Damon, going to new message and typing something in.
I'm the official Halloween decorator- Kali
That's what I sent, a sigh escaping my lips. I was bored. That's why I wanted to talk to him, take my mind off of it.
Oh, goody- Damon
I could just imagine the grin on his face, humor present. I bet he was laughing right now, thinking of was to use this new information against me with some sort of joke. His statement was sarcastic though, that much I knew.
Call me if you run into any vampires- Damon
That was his second messages, the words in particular catching me off guard.
"Vampires?" I asked, shaking my head.
Like you?- Kali
I smirked as I sat there, firing it back at him. I then looked over a few of the drawings, making some adjustments. If they wanted kids coming in through the entrance of the school, it'd be better to drape a few sheets over the entry way, removing the metal bracket in the middle where the two doors locked. That way it'd be safer. I put that down as a note in the corner of the paper.
Someone's bold with their assumptions- Damon
His message came as a joke.
I call 'em as I see 'em- Kali
I couldn't help, but to let a laugh escape my lips as I sent it, smiling to myself. It was always fun, playing with Damon, bantering back and forth.
Well, aren't you precocious- Damon
Just be careful, I might bite- Damon
I smirked. He was playing with me now.
Careful, Damon, I have plenty of stakes in the box- Kali
I got up from my desk, sliding my phone into my back pocket. I grabbed a box from the shelf, digging out said object. I was just itching to take a picture and send it to him just to prove my statement. It was then that my phone started ringing, quickly flipping it open and answering it.
"Hello?"
"I hope you're not planning on going as a witch, Kali," came Damon's voice, the smugness obvious in his tone.
"And why is that my dear Damon?" I inquired, tapping the end of the stake against my shoulder a couple times.
"I might just have to start rhyming my words," he chuckled.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, my lips twitching slightly as he laughed at me. "Smug bastard."
"Don't you know it," he chuckled.
"So, you just called me to insult me then?" I asked.
"Pretty much."
"Smart ass," I muttered, tossing the stake down onto my desk.
I then sat my phone down on one of the tables, placing it on speakerphone.
"What was that?" he asked, obviously hearing the slight shuffling when I put it on speaker.
"Speakerphone," I told him, grabbing another box and rummaging through it. "Had to put the phone down to grab something," I explained.
"Ah," he breathed. "So, having fun yet?" he asked, the sound of glass clicking meeting my ears.
"Not really," I sighed.
"Tired?" he assumed.
"You have no idea."
"I'm sure I could figure," he told me. "What's wrong?"
Great, the dreaded question. Should I even tell him though? I mean, the last thing I need is to seem even more out of my mind than usual. I decided to put a bit out there though, seeing what he had to say.
"Have you ever had something that just didn't add up?" I asked, pulling streamers out of the box, the strands of orange and gold rolling onto the table. "Where you know the truth, but I guess can't except it?"
"Kali, what are you talking about?" he asked, his voice almost wary as he spoke.
"I…" I licked my lip, biting down on it after a moment. "Nothing. Just forget it," I told him. "It's just in my head."
"No, tell me," he pushed, trying to get me to speak.
"You'd think I'm crazy," I said in protest, unraveling one of the streamer bundles.
I took that and the other one outside into the hallway, switching the phone off of speaker as I climbed up a ladder, pressing the phone into my shoulder.
"Now, you know me better than that Kali."
"Do I?" I asked. "Do I really?"
"Just tell me what's going on," he said, getting slightly irritated with me.
"How well do you know your brother?" I asked.
I didn't even know why I was asking. I mean, Damon was older. Why was I even thinking that?
"Well, I'd like to think I know him rather well," he snorted. "He's a brooding little killjoy."
There was that word, killjoy. Thoughts ran through my head and I had to steady myself. How could I be asking only one brother? I mean, they're brothers, they've been with each other all their lives.
"Kali?" I heard Damon's voice on the other end, something clicking in my head. "Don't make me come down there," he warned.
"Look, Damon, I'm sorry," I apologized. "I've gotta go."
"Kali, don't you dare ha-"
I closed my phone, taking in a deep breath.
"Ms. Henderson?"
I jumped, letting out a yelp as I nearly fell off of the ladder.
"Careful!"
It was Tyler Lockwood, Carol's son. His hands coming up and steadying the ladder.
"T-Tyler, what are you doing here?" I asked, looking down at him from my place up on the ladder.
"My dad said that you'd probably need some help," he told me, picking up the streamer set that I'd managed to drop.
"O-oh," I stammered, placing a hand over my heart.
"Sorry if I scared you Ms. Henderson," he apologized.
"No…no, you're fine," I told him. "And call me Kali. After all, I've known your family since I was small."
"Alright, Kali," he chuckled.
"Oh, shut up, Lockwood," I groaned. "Just remember, I used to be your babysitter on occasion," I told him.
"Yeah, a hot babysitter," he chuckled, tossing the bundle of streamers up to me. "Right when the hormones started kicking in too."
"Tyler, I swear to God, if you don't stop," I warned, glaring at him.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he told me, putting his hands up in defense.
"Yeah, well, you're also full of crap kid," I pointed out.
"Come on, Kali, I'm older now. It wouldn't be so bad," he told me, making me narrow my eyes.
He was worse than Damon, I swear.
"What part of me being your teacher don't you get?" I asked, tearing off a strip and tucking it into the wall next to the lockers.
I then tossed it onto the floor, slowly making my way down.
"I'll never understand where you got such vain confidence from," I muttered.
"Fine, fine, I'll stop," he sighed. "For now anyway."
I just shook my head, moving the ladder to the other side of the hall and climbing up. Tyler tossed the streamers up to me afterward. It was then that a thought came to mind.
"Hey, Tyler?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you…I don't know, noticed anything strange about Stefan?" I asked, glancing down at him.
"You mean Salvatore?" he asked, raising a brow in question.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"You mean besides him being annoying and freakishly strong? It's like the guy has super senses or something," he said with distaste. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was something out of that TV show, Supernatural," he joked.
Supernatural?
"I can just see it," he chuckled. "Demon masquerading around as a human."
"Okay, I get it, Tyler, you don't like him," I sighed, turning back to my work.
I didn't completely brush his comment off though. The whole super senses thing. I could list the things I saw, but it still didn't add up. Chilly hands every now and then, pale skin, quick reflexes, super strength. Then there was the nagging question of age. I had seen him 15 years ago, I was sure of it. Then, what Tyler said hit me. Demon. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was like something out of that book that Caroline seemed to love. I think it was called Twilight. Those were vampires though.
Call me if you run into any vampires.
My brows furrowed slightly, Damon's words running through my head.
Just be careful, I might bite.
There had been a certain amount of seriousness in his words, but I shook my head. That was just Damon being Damon, one of his weird innuendos. Everything seemed to have a double meaning to it though, that much I noticed, and Elena had said the same thing.
"He'd never hurt me," I told myself.
"What was that, Kali?" Tyler asked, arms holding a box of decorations.
"Uh, n-nothing Tyler, just set those up over there."
T
The school was busteling with sound as people put up decorations. They were being let out early in order to help decorate. I'd even given my students the chance for extra credit if they helped with setting things up. What can I say though, Halloween was busy when you were the one left with running the festivities. I was no exception and knowing my luck, I'd be here all day long finishing up.
"Alright, guys, set it down over here," I said, gesturing toward a spot in the grass.
They'd built a game stall and now we were setting it up. It was a ring toss game for the kids, something fairly easy to assemble.
"Tyler, you got the signs from Caroline, right?" I asked, turning to him.
He nodded his head, tossing a thumb over his shoulder.
"Yeah, they're already set up," he told me.
"Oh, good," I said with a sigh of relief.
The time was ticking away and I couldn't afford any mess ups.
"You're dad took care of the sound systems, right?" I asked.
"Yep. All ready to go," he nodded. "In fact, I was going to go back in and check them one more time."
"Alright. Go take care of that then. I'll finish up out here."
T
"Oh, Kali," I heard Caroline sing, turning around to face her. "Look, Caroline, this had better be important because I'm busy," I told her, pulling apart the cotton spider webs and stringing them about some of the lockers.
"Of course it is," she huffed, shoving a bag into my hands.
"What's this?" I asked skeptically, looking at her in question.
"Just open it and you'll find out," she said in a matter-of-fact way.
"Fine," I grumbled, reaching my hand into it and pulling out the contents.
I was shocked when I pulled out a Halloween costume, the white material laying in my hands.
"What's this?" I asked, repeating my earlier question.
"It's a costume, duh."
I looked at tiredly, my eyes narrowing slightly. It was a low cut white peasant top. The rest of it included a white choker necklace with feathers dangling from it, white feather earrings, dark gray dress pants, and an airy white waist wrap. There was also one of those headbands with an off the side hat. It was black with a little halo surrounding it, white and silver glitter dusting the rim.
"Caroline, I…" I started, not knowing what to say.
In all honesty, it was actually decent.
"I wanted something a bit more sexy, but know you, you wouldn't wear it," she said, sighing afterward as though she were disappointed. "This was my next option, so I went with it," she told me. "Besides, I doubted that you'd have picked anything up."
"Thanks, Caroline," I smiled, meaning it.
"Mmhm. Just don't forget the makeup, alright? It's in the bag."
After that, she walked off, instructing some of the students on what to do. I swear, sometimes she could be so annoying. Other times, she could actually be kind of sweet.
T
Four hours later, I was walking the halls of the school, strobe lights blinking frantically. You could even hear the screams from the speakers, the Halloween themed music and sounds echoing through the school. I nearly jumped though when one of the students jumped out at me, laughing as they ran off afterward.
"I things I put up with," I sighed shaking my head.
I felt the headband move slightly as I did this, reaching up and straightening it out. I didn't want it falling off. It was a shame that Elena and Jeremy weren't here to see. Then again, Jeremy was still a bit down that Vicki had disappeared. Although, she wasn't the only one that seemed to have disappear, Stefan had been gone too for some reason.
"Hey, Ms. Henderson, lookin' good," I heard one of my students call.
"Thank you," I laughed, moving into one of the rooms.
I had to stand there for a moment as the strobe blinked, making everything look choppy and sketchy as I went.
"I hate these things," I muttered, taking my time in walking so that I wouldn't fall.
These things always messed with my head.
T
Outside, Damon walked around, eyeing those around him. There were children running across the lawn, little fairies, angels, witches, devils, skeletons, and frogs. He swore that he'd seen a goblin or two as well, a smirk forming on his face.
"How things change over the centuries," Damon said quietly, leaning against a tree.
He looked down at his phone, going to his inbox. There was nothing new sitting around.
"Wonder what Kali's up to," he pondered, hocking a thumb through one of his belt loops as he pulled up his conversation list.
Where are you?- Damon
He looked around after sending it, watching a few kids walk into the school. Knowing his luck, she was likely somewhere inside, keeping an eye on things. After all, she was heading the event thanks to the Lockwood's.
Inside- Kali
"Great," he sighed, rolling his eyes.
Suddenly, a kid ran into him, nearly knocking his phone out of his hand.
"Watch it, kid," he called out, but they paid no mind to him, continuing toward the different stalls. "Ah, Bonnie," he grinned, walking over to the little blond haired witched.
She stood in front of a cauldron, a pointed hand on her head.
"So, where'd Caroline run off to?" he asked, feigning curiosity as he leaned forward and grabbed a piece of candy out of the massive cauldron, a knowing smile on his face.
He was trying to make her uncomfortable.
"Do yourself a favor, Damon, don't ask me about Caroline."
"Oh, Bonnie. So loyal," Damon tutted, lips twitching upward.
He loved playing with this girl.
"Just stay away from her," Bonnie said curtly, giving him a defiant look.
"What about Kali?" he inquired, even though he already knew the answer to that too.
"Leave Kali alone," she said bluntly, glaring at him.
It was then that Damon noticed the necklace around her neck, the yellow orange crystal hanging on the slightly bulky chain.
"Where'd you get that?" he asked, his curiosity genuine this time, eyeing her closely.
He'd dropped it the night that he'd tried killing Caroline, finding it gone when he'd gone back. Now, it was resting around Bonnie's neck, taunting him almost.
"From a friend," Bonnie said nervously, reaching up and clutching the crystal in here hand.
"Caroline," he stated, putting two and two together. "You know it's mine, don't you?" he pointed out, shifting his weight to his other foot as he stared her down.
"Not anymore," she said simply, rubbing it in his face.
He felt his mouth twitch slightly at her defiance, his fangs aching to come out. He held it in though.
"Funny," he breathed out, holding his hand out and snapping his fingers. "I'd like it back, please," he said.
"I'm not giving it to you," she said firmly. "Just because you're friends with Kali, doesn't mean I have to listen to you. I'll give it to Caroline and then she can give it to you if she feels like it."
She was really pushing his buttons now.
"Or I could just take it right now," he smiled, leaning forward and grasping it in his hands, fingers wrapping around it in order to rip it off her neck.
He was met with a surprise though as the skin of his hand started to sizzling, holding on as best he could. Finally, he pulled back with a grunt, panting. His eyes were wide with shock as he started down at his hand, before looking back up at Bonnie. The moment he did, she freaked, running off into the crowd. He stared down at his hand, the skin slowly healing over the scorch marks. He couldn't believe it.
T
Come find me. I'm gonna head out by the busses real quick, but I'll be back.- Kali
I slid my phone back into my pocket after that, making my way down one of the hallways, zombies staring at me as I went. I had to make sure that there were no shinnanagins going on out by the busses, one of the entailments of my job title at the moment. Granted, it's should have fallen on Mr. Lockwood or one of the other teachers, but still. I just shook my head though, making my way through the dwindling crowd, my wrap catching on one of the skeletal hands that had been sticking out of one of the lockers.
"I can't go anywhere without getting caught up in something," I told myself.
A moment later, I heard the sound of yelling from outside, eyes doing wide.
"What the…" I pulled free, quickly making my way forward.
"Vicki, no! Stop! Vicki!"
"Jeremy!" I cried out, running toward the sound of his voice as I broke through the doors.
"No! Ah!"
"Jeremy!" I screamed, eyes wide as I stumbled forward, my body freezing when I saw what was happening.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of standing there, the monster on top of him turning their head to stare at me. I was shocked to find out that it was Vicki Donovan, Matt's sister.
"V-Vicki?" I choked out, my breath coming out in patches.
"Kali, get out of here!" Jeremy yelled, but it was too late.
Before I could even respond, she hand me by the throat, crushing it in her grasp. I gasped desperately, grabbing at her wrist. She just snarled dangerously at me, before throwing me up against the side of the bus, my head coming in contact with the metal with a sickening crack.
"Kali!" I heard Jeremy scream, his voice slightly muffled as I slid down to the ground coughing, gripping my throat. "Kali!"
Vicki hissed in response, making her way toward him. I watched as he stared scooting back, fear written across his fear.
"Jer," I choked out, slowly pushing myself up as I felt something warm run down the back of my head.
I nearly fell as I took my first step, quickly making my way toward her.
"Leave him alone!" I yelled, pulling at her arm.
In return, I was sent back against the bus, my face pressing against it as she twisted my arm behind my back painfully.
"Do you really think you can stop me?" she hissed in my ear, her eyes dark and demonic.
I winced as he twisted my arm harder, her grip nearly breaking it.
"You smell good," she groaned out, sniffing the back of my head.
Within seconds, she threw her head back, fangs appearing from her mouth. At the last second, Elena came out of nowhere, screaming for her to stop. She was thrown into a pile of glass and wood by the dumpster and breaking a plank of wood over Vicki's back.
"Elena!" I cried out, a piercing scream escaping my lips as I felt Vicki's teeth pierce through me.
It was like I couldn't breathe, my breath catching in my throat, before she was torn away.
"Kali," Stefan breathed out, arms gripping me as I fell. "Go. Inside. Go!" Stefan yelled toward Elena and Jeremy. "Kali, just hold on," he told me, carefully leaning me up against the tire of the bus.
Moments later the sound of Elena screaming could be heard, my eyes welling with tears.
T
Within seconds of Elena's screams, a spit of wood was placed through Vicki's heart, whimpers echoing around. They were soon met with Jeremy's cries as he reached for her. Stefan held him back though, bloody tears falling from Vicki's eyes as she slowly crumpled onto the ground.
"Vicki. Vicki!" Jeremy screamed, fighting against Stefan.
It did him little good though as Stefan held him back.
"Vicki!"
T
Damon looked down as his phone rang, a smirk spreading onto his face as he saw Stefan's name on the caller ID.
"Hello?" he answered.
"I need your help," Stefan said, catching him slightly off guard.
"And why pray tell would you need my help?" he asked curiously, popping a small piece of chocolate into his mouth, tossing the wrapper onto the grass.
"Vicki's dead," Stefan said quietly, catching Damon's attention. "She bit Elena and Kali."
That was what really caught Damon's attention, his mouth twitching into a snarl, hand curling at his side.
"What?" he hissed.
"Please. I don't know what to do," Stefan said desperately.
"Where are you?" Damon asked quickly.
"I'm headed back to Elena's, their outside by the busses."
Damon hung up a second later, using him superhuman speed to reach the back of the school. Once he did, he felt his hand twitch, nose inhaling the smell of blood in the air. There, he found Elena on the ground beside Vicki's body. He noticed that Elena had blood coming from her side and shoulder, fingers twitching.
"You should go. I got this," he told her.
"What about Kali?" she asked.
"I got this," he said once more.
"You did this. This is your fault," she spat, glaring at him.
"I beg to differ," he snorted. "She's the one that did this, not me," he said simply, before adding, "You confuse me for someone with remorse."
In turn, Elena shoved him, getting annoyed when it did nothing. She then rose her hand to smack him, but he caught her wrist, squeezing it painful as he brought it away from his face.
"None of this matters to me," he told her, cocking his head to the side slightly as he gave her a hard look. "None of it," he told her, letting go of her hand.
"People die around you. How could it not matter?" she asked in anger. "It matters and you know it!" she yelled, before bringing her hand back in one final attempt.
Her hand met his cheek roughly, his head turned to the side. His face twitched again, daring her to move, eyes growing dark for a moment in irritation. The moment he made to move, she flinched, a cruel smile forming on his face.
"You need to leave," he told her, biting back the urge to bite her as the smell of her blood filled his senses again. "Your wounds are bleeding, and you need to leave," said firmly, lips twitching as his fangs pushed out a bit.
He was trying so hard not to bite her, his anger and irritation mixing with his blood lust. That in itself was a deadly combination. Reluctantly, she stepped back, staring down at Vicki for a moment.
"Kali's still over there," she whispered, gesturing toward one of the busses, before slowly walking away.
Once she was gone, Damon let out a sigh. He then looked down at Vicki, before making his way back over to the busses, sniffing the air. He stopped when he heard the sound of a cough, his eyes trailing down to the ground. He felt his breath catch for a faint moment as he spotted her, his shoes scrapping the ground.
"Kali?" he breathed out, slowly lowering himself to ground until he was in front of her, his hand coming up to brush her neck.
He felt her flinch as his touch, frowning.
"Kali," he patted her cheek, getting her attention.
His face was dark now, eyes veiny. He was irritated to say the least. He didn't like it when people touched what was his and Kali belonged to him.
"Look at me," he hissed lightly, just enough to shake her from her daze.
"Damon?" she replied weakly, turning her unfocused gaze toward him.
At this point, her top was stain with blood, her lovely neck sporting bloody bite mark. He had to bite back a growl as he stared down at it, eyes looking over the torn skin.
"I warned you," he sighed, reaching forward and touching her head.
He cringed when he pulled it back, the warm liquid coating his hand. He fought the urge to lick it from his skin as he brought it to his nose, inhaling the intoxicating scent. He felt his fangs pushing through, face growing darker, paying no mind to whether or not she was watching him. Surprisingly though, she wasn't scared. Like the last time, she stared at him, eyes becoming more unfocused.
"Hmm…"
He bit his lip as he leaned forward, inhaling her scent. He felt his tongue leave his mouth as he licked her neck, cleaning the blood from her skin, nearly sending him into a frenzy. It was all that he could do not to make it worse, to bite her. He'd never known himself to have so much will power when so frustrated and hungry. He hadn't fed all day and now her she was, bleeding in front of him, tempting him. He pulled back after a moment though, closing his eyes as he calmed himself. He then bit roughly into his wrist, gently pulling her away from the bus and into his arms, his bleeding wrist pressing against her chilled lips.
"Mmm…" she groaned, pushing against him.
He held her close though as she pushed, wincing at the pain in her body.
"Just drink," he whispered, resting his chin upon her uninjured shoulder.
He was pleased when she finally decided to drink, the liquid running down her throat, slowly attempting to numb the pain. She was weak in her efforts though, coughing as she tried to drink from, sputtering.
"Easy," he cooed, gently rubbing her arm.
He felt her slowly relax in his arms, trying once more to drink, coughing as she did so. If she could just get passed that, then he knew she'd be just fine.
"Damon…my head hurts," she murmured, leaning her head back against him.
"I know, but you have to keep drinking," he told her, moving her so that he could cradle her in his arm.
She found herself leaning against him even more as she closed her eyes, starting to drift off.
"Wake up," he said.
When she didn't respond, he let out a sharp growl.
"Wake up!" he hissed, rewarding him with a groan. "Now, drink," he told her, pressing his wrist to her mouth again, forcing her to drink.
She let out another cough, but did as order, swallowing as best she could.
"Good girl," he breathed, pressing his lips to her forehead, leaving it there for a moment before resting his chin on top of her head.
"Damon?" she spoke after a couple minutes, heaving a sigh of exhaustion.
"Hm?" he looked down at her, catching her sleepy expression.
"Can I sleep now?" she asked, leaning her head against his chest.
"Mm."
That was all he said as he held her in his arms, his ears listening to her heartbeat as it beat in her chest, pounding against his. For a brief moment, he felt his mind calm, his face relaxing into a peaceful expression as he held onto an angel in the darkness.
Okay, that was chapter 8. I REALLY hope that everyone liked it? Please, let me know what you think? Kali trails after an explanation in the next chapter and Damon is left explaining. She finds out that she's not as crazy as she thinks. Maybe you guys coud answer a few questions?
What was your favorite part?
Is there anything I can improve on?
What would you like to see in the next chapter?
THANKS EVERYONE AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW and MESSAGE