There was a long pause as Bonnie's mind tried to catch up with the bombshell that Damon had just dropped on her. Trying to comprehend what he had just told her.
After a while of her not saying anything Damon spoke. "Hey, Bonnie did you hear what I just said?"
Bonnie blinked to break herself out of it. "Yeah, you just hinted that the General of the Militia I mentioned, wasn't just a random general, but Alaric himself."
"Right, it's what I think." Damon confirmed.
"That's insane, Damon." Bonnie gawked.
"I know it's crazy." He shook his head. "I didn't even realize it until you mentioned the last part about how you slashed The General in the face with the knife to escape. But, now it hits me that we may have had something in common earlier in our lives than we ever thought and that something is Alaric."
Bonnie said slowly to try and understand. "So, you really believe the same pig who abused and tormented you as a child was also responsible for the death of my Dad and therefore the struggle that I had to survive as a child."
Damon frowned. "I believe that he could be, I mean brutally executing a person the way that The General did your dad, is right up Alaric's ally. And he was known for murdering many people in the same fashion. It's also now that I remember back how it fits with the timeline of my own childhood."
She went. "Then please…..explain to me how you believe our time lines as children, could be connected to me stabbing the General."
Damon began. "Well, I remember back to the time that I was twelve and it was one of the clearest memories I have as a child about Alaric."
Bonnie knew that he was two years older than her, so he would have been twelve when she was ten.
"Alaric wanted me to go on a mission with him. But, I figured that it was going to be one of those missions which usually ended up with people killed or hurt. Knew that Alaric would make me kill someone and throw me into the pit if I didn't comply. So, to avoid both, I had to come up with a plan to avoid going." Damon muttered.
"How exactly did you avoid going on the mission. Knowing how Alaric forced you into such things with his abuse over you?" Bonnie wished to know.
"I knew that the only way I could avoid going is if I did something extreme." Damon stated.
"So, what did you do?" Bonnie wondered.
Damon returned. "I forced myself to be sick basically, I knew that if I just told him I was sick that he wouldn't believe me and just say I was making an excuse not to go on a mission. So, I drunk something I knew would get me sick and threw up right in front of him."
Bonnie said. "And let me guess you getting sick didn't earn any sympathy from your so called adoptive father."
Damon confirmed. "Nope, not at all. A kid vomiting would get most decent parents concerned and just wanting to make their child feel better. But, Alaric he screamed and yelled at me for making a mess, called me too weak to go on a mission with him and his men. Even though he gave me a verbal lashing I was relieved not to go on the mission with him."
A twelve year old boy shouldn't have to force himself to be sick just to avoid being around a person. Once again she felt sorry for what he had went through in his childhood. "I understand where you are coming from and can't blame you for it."
"Going on to the connection that I mentioned between what happened in to your father and Alaric. " He continued. "I didn't know exactly the details of the mission or the exact location, however I did know that they were going some place up North and our base was located in California."
"The state of Washington is North of California." She began connecting the pieces to the direction that Damon was going.
"Right, Alaric, along with the men he took with him were gone for about a handful of weeks. Now before he left his face was clean, meaning he didn't have any injuries or bruises on it. When he returned from that mission through, he had a nasty gash under his eye. As if it had been cut by something sharp." Damon explained.
"On the right side of his face, just below his eye." Bonnie swallowed.
Damon let out a long breath. "Now, that just could be a coincidence, that you happened to have slashed a General's face with a pair of scissors and Alaric came back with a gash in the exact location where you said that you stabbed that man."
It washed over Bonnie, as she connected the last pieces of the puzzle. "No, it's not a coincidence, the timeline of what happened back then. The fact that you said they were going up a mission up North. Alaric returning to your camp base with a wound exactly where I cut that General at. I believe you may be right."
Damon pressed his lips together in grim silence.
Bonnie kept on. "It all fits perfectly together. I don't know what Alaric looks like of course. But, from the demeanor that you describe him as when he abused you, it's the exact same cold and heartless demeanor that the General had when he killed my Dad execution style. How he reacted towards me after he had murdered my Dad, I believe, I know now that he was the one who had my Dad's blood on his hands during that awful night."
"And you gave him exactly what he deserved once you slashed him in his face with that knife." Damon said.
"I didn't slash him enough in time to save my Dad." Bonnie's lips curved sadly.
""But, you did do it in enough time to defend yourself and escape. That is what matters. You cut him so deep that he still has the scar on his face on this day." Damon mentioned.
"Does he." Bonnie mumbled.
Damon pointed out. "It's one of those scar where one gets hurt so severely that it never completely goes away, he has a permanent scar there because of what you did to him."
Bonnie sighed, "You know at some point in the future it might give me some satisfaction to know that I wounded the pig so badly, yet at this moment I'm too into the emotion of learning that Alaric of all people murdered my loved one in cold blood."
He wanted to reach out to her in comfort. but spoke instead "For what it's worth, I think that having the scar on his face really bothers his ego and pride, being the vain, narcissistic man he is."
"I hope that is does, so it forever be a reminder to him of what happens when a person fights back against his terror." Bonnie lashed out
"Believe me it is, ever since he returned from that mission with that nasty cut on his face, I could tell it hit his pride and ego. As if he was embarrassed and shamed on how he got it, now I know why." Damon commented.
"Really, you're not just saying that to make me feel better." Bonnie made it sound like half way between a question and a statement.
Damon glanced at her. "I'm not, I know that's how he acted, because I asked him how he had gotten the cut on his face, just hours after he returned from the mission. He reacted towards me in an aggressive manner and it wasn't just because he was being his usual abusive self towards me, there was something more in his reaction."
"How did you get hurt, what happened to your face?" A twelve year old Damon asked, just out of curiosity.
"Shut up and mind your own damn business boy." Alaric barked in anger as he backhanded Damon across the face, so hard that it made the twelve year old's lip bust open.
"He responded to my question as if he were ashamed of the reason of how the deep cut got on his face. Like he was humiliated by it and now I know why, it was because for once his attempts at overpowering and overtaking someone had failed. He wanted to use his violence and intimidation tactics on you in order to force you to do his bidding and it backfired." Damon pointed out.
"Good, then I hope he still feels humiliated to this day about what I did to him." Bonnie sneered.
Damon shifted slightly. "I'm sure that he does. I could remember eavesdropping on a conversation that he had with the other top leaders of our Militia group about the mission. Men who weren't with him."
"Some coward snuck up on me while I wasn't looking and cheap shotted me, cutting me in the face with a knife. But, I still killed him because I'm a Militia man and we are superior to all other men." Alaric told the others as they sat around the table.
Twelve year old Damon was behind a wall listening in.
Bonnie scoffed. "The nerve of that pig, he flat out lied about a grown man injuring him when he knew it wasn't the truth."
Damon rolled his eyes. "He twisted the facts, because he couldn't handle the truth of what really went down. And told those which were with him on the mission that they better not ever speak on what really happened."
"Being the misogynistic bastard that he is, being outsmarted and outmaneuvered by a female would have enraged him on the inside and harmed his pride. Not just by a female, but by a ten year old girl at that. You wounded him not just physically, but deeper on an mental level." Damon murmured.
"I hope that he sees the scar everyday on his face and always be reminded of the little girl who kicked his ass, that little girl being be especially." Bonnie smirked coolly.
"Believe me, knowing Alaric it bothers him, even if he refuses to admit it." Damon told her.
"And he's responsible for the cold blooded murder of my Dad. And the complete reason why my life fell apart and came crashing down at ten years old. The reason why I had to be out starving in the streets and in the wild, afraid that I was going to die. Everything which went wrong in my life after that point was started by Alaric." There was pure bitterness in her tone.
A bitterness which Damon felt as well towards the man. "I already hate him for what he has done to me. However, knowing the pain he caused you when he killed your dad, I would hunt him down just to behead him for it."
The Bennett woman punched the air in her growing rage, she wished that Alaric had been on the other end of her fist so that she could break his nose with it. "I completely agree with you on what you just said, I would no doubt kill him if I ever saw his face again."
Then another thought entered into Damon's mind and he cursed at himself. "Now I need to tell you I'm sorry for your life falling apart on that night."
"You're sorry." Bonnie looked at him. "Why are you making it sound like you personally did something wrong in relation to that night."
"Because I am. And I'm sorry" Damon huffed out.
"In the hell, what are you apologizing for, Damon?" Bonnie questioned in perplexity.
A brooding expression entered into his icy blue eyes. "I was suppose to go on that particular mission, remember?"
She returned. "Yeah and so what if you were?"
Damon hinted. "Yet I stayed behind."
Bonnie still didn't understand. "I still don't get why you are apologizing."
"Well, if I did go after all perhaps things would have turned out differently." Damon grumbled.
"How so." Bonnie moved her head from side to side in a negative fashion.
"Your Dad could have still been alive maybe if I just had done something differently." Damon expressed.
She furrowed her brows. "How in the world do you figure such a thing."
He shrugged. "Maybe if I had gone, I could have been there to stop them from murdering your father."
Bonnie blinked in disbelief. "Are you serious, you're feeling bad about a situation which you had zero control over."
He nodded. "I didn't go because I chickened out, could of and now should of."
"You didn't go with good reason and as I said I can't blame you for that...What exactly did you think you were suppose to do predict that Alaric and his crew were going to go and kill my Dad in cold blood." Bonnie gestured.
"I already knew that they were most likely going to murder at least one person on their mission, it's their MO and why I made myself sick on purpose not to go in the first place." Damon rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yet, you still had no idea that they were going to come to my house specifically and do what they did." Bonnie point.
Groaning, Damon went. "No, but If I had gone with them, I could have been there to do something to stop them."
Turning her lips downward, Bonnie went. "Like what?"
Damon threw his hands up. "I don't know, anything to make sure that your Dad stayed alive. Physically stop them from doing what they did."
"Come on, Damon. You're being ridiculous." Bonnie quipped out.
"Bonnie….." Damon started.
"Let me remind you that you were a child back then, just like I was. Only two years older than me at twelve." Bonnie interrupted.
Damon sighed. "I know that, but…"
Bonnie cut him off again. "Even if you had of gone with them, you would still be outnumbered by Alaric and his men. As a kid, do you realistically think that you would be able to fight off a bunch of men who were taller, bigger and stronger than you at the time with the intent on killing."
He knew that she had a point.
"We both know that even if you had tried to stop them, they would have used their numbers, along with their size and strength advantage over you to restrain you. Then they would have still murdered by father anyway, regardless if you tried to protest or prevent their actions in that night." Bonnie added.
"You're absolutely correct, I wouldn't have been able to stop them no matter what, certainly not since I was a child then." Damon commented.
"Now I don't want to dare hear you utter even a thought about having guilt for the murder of my Dad. You were just a boy and had no control over those grown Militiamen. So, you better not ever think about blaming yourself for what happened again, you understand me Damon Salvatore." Bonnie's tone was firm.
His lips curved upward slightly. "Yes, Yes I hear you and I won't ever think about blaming myself for what happened to your father again."
She softened her voice. "Good, besides of knowing that they still would have murdered by Dad, even if you had been there. I know if you had attempted to intervene that Alaric would have punished you for it, since he tortured you all throughout your childhood. Just as he did with anytime that you disobeyed him. He would have put you in the pit or beaten you as punishment."
Damon agreed. "He would have dragged me back to the pit and made me stay there for days, if I went against him on that mission."
Bonnie briefly touched a hand to Damon's shoulder. "Then on top of them murdering my Dad, you would have been severely physically punished. And put in that pit, maybe he would have left you there to die and that would he the last thing that I would want to happen when I was ten, and the last thing I would want to happen now. Especially since if you had died back then, I wouldn't have you sitting here as my friend today."
"I'm glad that I'm here with you too." Damon stated touched.
"The main one that I blame for the slaughter of my Dad is the General and now I have learned Alaric was that General. He is one hundred percent at fault for the pain he caused when I lost my Dad." Bonnie moved on.
"He is one twisted son of a bitch, who gets off on preying on the weak and defenseless. Hiding behind his Militia and using them as his source to gain power to make himself feel like a man." Damon sneered sharing in her bitterness.
"Alaric is far from a man and is closer to a cowardly snake, who uses cruel, evil tactics to cover up for the fact that he has an inferiority complex. He thrives off of the fear and pain of others because he is nothing but a pig inside and out." Her anger was working itself back up.
"A pig who is deep down nothing but a true coward, uses the Militia to build himself up, Murders people to spread intimidation of him every where that he goes and uses it to force people to do things against their will. The bastard gets some sort of sick thrill off of causing pain and heartbreak on others, like he truly enjoys it." Damon stated in disgust.
"And that is exactly why the scum of the earth abused and tormented you as a child. He knew that he had the strength advantage over you and did so because it made him feel powerful and strong." Bonnie snipped.
Damon's face was reddened with anger towards the man which they were discussing. "Yeah, he wouldn't have the guts to face anyone one on one, or at least without a group of his men backing him up."
Bonnie said. "He gives me the vibe of a type of man who would abuse women and children, but then back down from a fist fight against a man of his equal size and strength."
Her vibe was correct, Damon thought. He never recalled Alaric actually facing a man of equal size and strength in one on one hand combat. When he did go against a man, it was always with a weapon or him ganging up on the man with a group of his Militiamen backing him up, just like what had happened on the night in which he murdered Bonnie's father.
"For as me as he put me through as a kid, he's responsible for the pain and struggling which you went through in your childhood and that makes him irredeemable. Not that I found him redeemable before, but this seals the deal on my hate and rage about him." Damon mumbled.
"He was already an unforgivable man the second that he decided to emotionally, mentally, and physically cause harm to you as a child. I will always hate him for taking my Dad out of my life and wouldn't forgive him in a thousand years for it. He is the number one cause for the pain and suffering in both of our child hoods which is unacceptable." Bonnie muttered.
"Kind of a terrible circumstance for us to have in common of the same man who completely screwed us over and caused us as kids to go into a painful down spiral. " Damon gave a humorless half smile.
"It's truly unfortunate because neither of us deserved what the pig put us through. However, also knowing that we have this connection, which happened so early in both of our lives can be used as a good thing." Bonnie mentioned.
Damon eyed her. "Really, how so?"
Bonnie brought up. "We can use the cause for our shared painful childhoods to support each other and have our relationship grow stronger over it."
Damon nodded. "I agree the only single positive result of Alaric interfering in both of our lives is that it will make the bond between us even stronger."
"Yes, I have no doubts that we can use our pasts to make our bond rock solid, and never to be broken. Something which will make our friendship last forever and beyond." Bonnie agreed.
"I still hate what he did to you still." Damon said.
"As I hate what he did to you, but then that's a sign about how much we care for each other. Being able to feel empathy for what the other went through." Bonnie quietly told him.
Damon whispered. "Still I regret your Dad being murdered by my so called adoptive Dad. Not because I feel guilt as if it were my fault. But, because I do indeed care for you."
Bonnie gazed at him. "I know that, Damon."
Damon added. "Just if you ever need to lean on me about what happened in your childhood, know that I'm always here to listen twenty four hours in a day and seven days a week."
Those words made the heartbreak of reliving her past come through, which allowed her to open up more emotionally. "I've never completely moved on from what happened to my Dad. He died years ago, yet often it feels like yesterday when I lost him. It still hurts a lot and I just can't move on from it."
He heard the sorrow in her voice and it made his heart break for her. "There isn't a time table or a rule when it comes to the length of mourning a loved one passing away. Especially when they are murdered like yours was. Whether its months or years, people mourn for what's right for them. So don't feel like you should put it behind you, because it happened years back. You take a long as you need to mourn and grieve."
"I still miss him a lot." Her emerald greens welled up with tears. She made no attempt to hide them or brush them away. Because she didn't feel ashamed of showing this type of emotion in front of him.
"You know what." Damon reached out and put a comforting hand on hers.
"What?" Bonnie sniffled.
"I'm not one hundred percent sure if there is a heaven. If there is one though, I know that your Dad is up there looking down on you." Damon told her.
"You really believe so." Bonnie returned.
"Yes, I believe so. He would be up in the big sky watching over you through every step you have made it your life," Damon was sincere.
She gulped with emotion. "Then if that is the case, it does give me some comfort knowing that he is in a better place, away from the cruelty of this world."
Which was his goal in telling her that her father was in heaven at this very moment. "And you know what else."
She wondered. "What else?"
As Damon spoke, he meant every word that he told her next. "You dealt with a major setback in your life when your Dad was murdered. And that might defeat a lot of people, but it didn't defeat you. You took an horrific event which happened to you and moved forward, you survived and became a strong, badassed woman."
"You grow to learn how to fend for yourself and became the biggest of fighters. And more so from the inside you are this compassionate, kind, woman who can feel empathy despite what she went through. And it results in you in the present being this tough, brilliant woman. And you know what I truly admire you for that, Bonnie Bennett."
"Wow, you have no idea how much what you just told me, moved and touched me. Those are such kind words." Bonnie gave him a warm look through her teary eyes.
"Well, I mean every bit of it. You know in the long run, despite what Alaric did to you, you became a bigger person than he ever could dream of being." Damon finished.
A couple of tears spilled over and rolled down her cheeks. "I still loathe the rat for destroying most of childhoods."
Inching closer to her, Damon wrapped an arm around her in an one armed hug as a way to offer her support.
She leaned towards his body, completely accepting the physical support which he offered, as his one armed hug comforted her.
"Trust me, one day Alaric will pay a dear price for the pain that he cost us, he'll be ruined eventually, I promise you that. Karma is going to catch up to the bastard one way or another." Damon finished in a harsh tone. And he hoped that the karma would catch up one day soon.
She couldn't immediately fall asleep, because she was high off of the emotions of reliving her past. That was no problem for Damon, he just stayed up with her all night until she could go to sleep and then fall to sleep himself.
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
A week passed by and they keep on forward with their track on foot. Because of her learning that Alaric murdered her Dad and her having to go over again what happened that in the terrible event, Damon knew that the emotion of it weighed heavily on her. So, just like she did for him when he relived his childhood, he focused on lightening up her mood and lifting her spirits.
He did so by doing and saying things which he knew would make her laugh. And if worked since after a couple of days, her mood was back up and she was feeling lighthearted and content because of him. She would always mourn her Dad, but having Damon around helped her out a lot. And she was just glad that she had such a great friend around.
Now on the current day, after spending the first hours of the day walking, they had stopped to rest for some hours. They sat down and ate a shared meal of lunch today, along with a drink of some water. Afterwards they still sat to relax and rest for a while, before they would spend the next half of the day walking until nighttime fell.
The both of them spent this relaxation time reading their books, which they had gotten from the book store. Bonnie was just finishing up the last few chapters of 'It', when she looked up noticing that Damon seemed to be really into a magazine that he was reading.
"What are you reading over there?" Bonnie questioned out of interest.
"I'm reading up on this article on professional wrestling." Damon answered.
"You're into wrestling?" Bonnie arched a brow.
Damon scanned over the article, which had pictures of wrestlers to go along with it. "I have been since I have been reading some of the magazines that I picked up from Barnes and Noble."
Bonnie just said. "Oh, okay."
Damon chattered on. "You know it's a very entertaining. Like how the WCW and the WWF used to compete."
Bonnie guessed. "The WCW, WWF, they were wrestling companies."
Damon popped. "Yep."
She folded the tip of the page in order to bookmark her spot. "And what did they compete in."
"Monday Night wars. Back when TV was still as thing, around the mid to late 1990's. They would compete for ratings. WCW was winning at first, then the WWF did the kick ass attitude era and they took over in the ratings war. Which would eventually lead to the WCW dying as a company." Damon informed.
"That's….something else. Is there anything else that caught your interest in those wrestling magazines." Bonnie closed up her book.
"You bet." He rattled on very excited. "Like learning about who the best wrestlers were. From what I read I'm trying to decide on who the best wrestler of all time was, maybe between Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan."
Bonnie was amused. "Uh huh."
Damon pressed on. "Then there was a dude named Triple H."
Bonnie arched both of her brows. "Triple H, what does that stand for."
"Hunter Hearst Helmsley." Damon let her know.
"Who in the world would name their kid that name." Bonnie made a face.
"It's a wrestling name, duh." Damon waved a hand.
"Oh, I see." Bonnie pursed her lips.
Damon fanned the magazine that he was holding. "He was World Champion a bunch of times, according to an article I read though some only think that he won so many times because he had an advantage."
Bonnie cocked her head to the side. "You're going to tell me what that advantage was."
Cupping his hand over his mouth, Damon leaned in and lowered his voice. As if he were trying to keep a secret for no one else to hear, even though there was no one else around but the two of them. "Because he was married to the bosses daughter. Some think that it's the main reason why he was able to win so many championships. Because he had dated and married into the boss's family, becoming the favorite. Some in the locker room didn't like that and some wrestling fans didn't like it either."
She clucked her tongue. "Sounds like it was quite the scandal."
Damon added. "Plus he became one of the CEO's of the WWE later on, so it turns out marrying the boss's daughter does have it's advantages."
She chuckled slightly. "I have to say that I'm glad you found something of interest to you in those magazines, as a way of passing the time when we rest."
"Would you like to read this, I'm almost done with this one." Damon showed her the cover, which had some tag team duo on it, looking out with similar menacing expressions in their faces.
"Nah, you do you though." Bonnie redirected.
"Sure that it wouldn't be of some interest to you?" Damon asked.
"I'm good, out of all of our shared common things in which we are interested in, professional wrestling interest one of them." Bonnie replied.
Damon wondered. "Why not, have you ever seen a wrestling match to know you aren't interested."
Bonnie said. "Of course not, neither of us has seen a wrestling match obviously. But, it's just not my cup of tea."
Damon returned. "From what I read it's a great sport."
"Which is the problem." Bonnie commented. "Professional wrestling is far from a sport."
"How can you say that?" Damon asked.
"Hate to break it to you, Damon but wrestling is totally fake." Bonnie playfully patted him on the shoulder.
"Nonsense, it isn't fake." Damon pouted.
She smirked. "It is, none of the crap that they did back then was even real."
He squinted. "Blasphemy, don't speak down on an epic era called professional wrestling."
She quirked. "Trust me, I wouldn't lie to you about something like that, because what would the point be."
"To kid around with me." Damon hinted with a slight smirk.
"I'm not kidding around with you." Bonnie returned.
"Oh, yeah then how can you tell wrestling is fake, if you weren't yet born at the time that it existed, Bennett." He made a goofy face towards her.
"Because I heard passing by a place when I was smuggling, Salvatore." She laughed.
Damon made a verbal sound like he didn't believe her. "Hmmmm."
Bonnie insisted. "It's true, I was smuggling items for goods in Nevada and there was this man in his sixties, who lived at a time before the world went to shit. He was a prepper, one of those people who stacked up on years worth of food and water because he believed that a apolypolatic like event would happen. People called him paranoid, for storing away all of that food near in his home. They were living comfortably before the machine went haywire and no one believed that the world would ever be as it was now."
"Turns out that he was right and his prepping was why he was able to survive what happened and make it to sixty years old."
He gave her a look of confusion as to ask her why she was telling him this, when the discussion was about wrestling.
"My bad, I just thought that his story was interesting and wanted to mention it…..anyway back on the subject. The prepper was a huge fan of wrestling. He had a bunch of wrestling action figures in his shop. Told me that even though he was a wrestling fan, professional wrestling was fake and it was all scripted storyline wise. Hate to burst your bubble there."
"Bummer, you party pooper." Damon's tone was lighthearted.
"Hey, the moves that they do are supposedly somewhat real and dangerous. But, the rest all fantasy." Bonnie said.
"It's still real to me, damn it." Damon joked pretending to be disappointed.
"Ha Ha, sure." Bonnie teased him.
He jutted out his chin. "Well, I'm still going to be a big fan of professional wrestling, so there."
She shrugged good natureturly. "Cool, if you have the same tastes as a kid."
Damon narrowed his eyes. "Hey, do you enjoy raining on my parade."
"Let's see." Bonnie tapped her chin. "Yes, I do."
"Not nice." Damon waved his finger at her.
"I much prefer a actual real fighting, like the underground fight club I used to attend when I was sixteen. There men punch, kick and hit each other. And it can be brutal, but useful." Bonnie mentioned.
"You ever participated in your fight yourself in that underground fight club, Bon-Bon." Damon became curious.
Bonnie rubbed her arm. "There were some women vs women battles as well, but no I didn't fight in it myself. However, I did make bets on who would win the matches and when I did, I earned enough to fed me for a good solid month."
Damon was once again impressive with her. "You are always resourceful."
She directed. "When you're in a situation of surviving, you'll find every way that you can in order to get food, water and goods to sustain yourself. As I was saying the fight club had actual blood spilling and teeth getting knocked out of mouths. Unlike the fakeness of professional wrestling."
Playfully he poked her forearm with his finger. "You're going to stop dissing wrestling."
"What are you going to do if I don't." Bonnie snuck out her tongue at him.
"Don't make me tickle you into begging for mercy once again." Damon snickered.
"Oh no, the tickle monster, whatever will I do." She dramatically brought her hands to her chest.
Damon puffed out his chest. "I'll show you how real wrestling can be."
Bonnie paused. "Wow…..is that a challenge Salvatore."
Mumbling, Damon fought off a smile. "Could be."
"Could be or is." She challenged.
"It is." Damon declared.
"What you're saying is that you're challenging me to a wrestling match." Bonnie delivered.
"As a matter of fact I am." Damon confirmed.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what am I going to do with you."
Damon gave her a wicked grin. "What's wrong too chicken to accept the match."
She snorted in return. "Please, I'm far from chicken."
"Prove it then, let's have a wrestling match right now." Of course he only meant a playful match and not a serious one, he just figured that it would be something fun the two of them could do to pass the time.
"Fine, if you want your ass to be kicked." Bonnie jumped to her feet.
"Bring it on, Bennett." Damon jumped to his feet as well.
"It's already brought." She showed him her teeth, in a humor sort of way.
He just smirked at that.
She placed her hands on her hips. "If we are going to go through with this match then something needs to be on the line."
Damon arched his eyebrows. "Like what, we don't have any championship belts."
Bonnie suggested. "I have a taste for meat and the only way we can get some meat is through hunting. So, how about the loser has to hunt for our next meal when the opportunity is arises. Whether that be rabbit, squirrel or whichever wild critter we happen to come up on."
"Alright, I can deal with the loser having to hunt for our dinner tonight." Damon accepted.
"Not just hunt, but the loser has to kill the animal with my bow and arrow." Bonnie pointed.
"Come on, you know that I'm not experienced with the bow and arrow like you are." This time Damon snorted.
"Guess I'll have to give you a crash course then, once you lose that is." Bonnie simply stated.
Damon ran a hand through his dark locks. ""Yeah, I might still suck though. My chances at success would be much higher if I could use my rifle."
Bonnie mocked the noise of a chicken. "Afraid to accept the challenge of using an bow and arrow."
He folded his arms over his chest. "Nope, not afraid. Besides I won't have to, because you're going to be the one to lose the match."
Taking a set forward she went. "Prove it then Mister, this was your idea afterall."
"Alright, but good luck in hunting for our dinner tonight." Damon said.
"Yeah, sure. Can we get started." Bonnie faked a yawn.
"We'll get started, but we should do entrances first." Damon put in.
Bonnie wrinkled her nose in an adorable way. "Entrances."
Damon added. "Entrances, you can't have a decent match without them."
She slapped a hand against her forehead. "Good grief, you are really taking this wrestling deal far."
"Hey, it will be fun." Damon insisted with a grin.
"You go ahead and do your entrance, I'll just wait here." Bonnie chuckled.
"Okay, prepared to be beaten by the destroyer." Damon returned dramatically.
Again she rolled her eyes in a light hearted nature at the wrestling moniker he had given to himself.
Then Damon proceeded to do his entrance, which included him pretending that there was a music theme playing. Then he did some sort of cocky wrestling pose.
Amused nearly to the point of laughter, she said "This man." Under her breath.
When he was done, he turned to her. "Now we can get this match started."
"I'm so going to win." Was her response.
So, the two of them started their wrestling match, which wasn't an actual serious match, but still something the two of them wanted to win. They just went with their best guess of what they thought wrestling moves were, even though neither had seen an actual professional wrestling match.
Damon proceeded to mimic doing wrestling moves on her, without actually doing them. Because this was a pretend match and they were messing around with each other, so he took extra care to avoid doing her any type of physical harm. He pretended to do moves such as the bodyslam and the back breaker.
For someone who wasn't impressed with the notion of professional wrestling, Bonnie was getting into their play match. She was having fun, while at the same time trying to find a way to beat him. Damon then lifted her up over his head with ease, since she was so petite and held her up there in the air.
"Let me down right now you foe." Bonnie half giggled.
"Not a chance, I'm the destroyer." Damon chuckled.
So, she kicked out her legs, until she was able to slip out of Damon's grasp. Which made her fall towards the ground.
This briefly startled Damon and he caught her before she landed on the ground. "Whoa, be careful." He placed her on her feet.
"I'm plenty careful." Bonnie then took him to the ground.
"Wow, I just kept you from falling on your ass and this is how you repay me." Damon widened his ocean blue eyes.
"You were the one who lifted me in the air and I did it on purpose knowing that you would catch me." Bonnie was now hovering over him. She tried to pin him to the ground. "Now, I'm going to defeat you."
Before she could blink, he quickly flipped them over so that he was on top. "Not so fast there."
This time it was her eyes that widened as he move had caught her off guard, but only for the moment.
The two of them then rolled around on the ground, play wrestling and trying to outmove the other. All while laughing. Finally, after a few minutes of this going on, Bonnie managed to outmaneuver him and she put him in an arm bar type of move.
"You give up now,Salvatore." Bonnie demanded.
"No way." Damon refused.
"Do it now or I'll be forced to break your arm." Bonnie's tone was that of a person kidding around.
"Okay, Okay, I tap, I tap out." Damon laughed.
Bonnie wanted to make sure. "You give up?"
Damon acknowledged. "Yes."
Bonnie released his arm, quickly jumping to her feet. "Hell yeah, victory is mine."
He stayed where he was on the ground, looking up at her. "You got lucky is all."
"Right." Bonnie dragged out the word.
"I went easy on you." He shifted on his knees and leaned back some. "I let you win."
"No, need to be a sore loser." Bonnie teased.
"Ha." Damon snorted.
Her expression was triumphed. "So, that means you're hunting down dinner for us tonight, hope that you can pick an animal with some meat on it's bones."
Standing, he brushed the dirt off of his pants. "Fair is fair and you don't win, but I'll still need to learn how to use the bow and arrow better."
"Fine, I'll give you a crash course, as I said I would." Bonnie grinned.
"I'll think I will need all the pointers that I can get." His tone was still filled with laughter and he had zero problems with losing to her.
"Pay close attention." Bonnie grabbed her bow and arrow.
He did pay close attention as she showed, taught him how to use her weapon. And later, after a few tries, he managed to hunt them down their meal for that night.
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Two days later they were making their way down a very narrow dirt road and having conversation with each other, as they often did while traveling.
"Whew, it really is hot out here." Damon wiped the sweat off of his forehead.
"Yes, it is, but we are in the middle of summer, in Texas so it is common for it to be this hot, during this time of the year." Bonnie commented.
"I know, still it's a scorcher. Must be at least ninety degrees" Damon stated.
"Over hundred even, I would say but yeah it is pretty darn hot." Bonnie deadpanned.
Damon huffed. "This heat caused me to have to get rid of the lovely leather jacket that I had gotten, it was too hot to wear it around."
Bonnie glanced at his muscular arms, with it bulging biceps that were exposed by the short sleeve shirt he was wearing. "Yeah, leather and extreme heat don't go together very well."
He sighed. "Had to decide between fashion and not overheating. Not overheating ended up winning."
She pursed her lips. "I'm sure that you could find another leather jacket one day, to wear in more fitting weather."
"I just prefer for the current weather to cool down, I'm sweating buckets right now." Said Damon.
She saw the front of his shirt damp with his sweat. "You're not kidding on that part. Up there is some trees, we can get under the shade, take a break and drink some water."
Damon looked ahead to the large group of trees which were yards away. "Sounds like a great idea."
Walking slightly ahead of him, she headed towards those trees.
Noticing that his boots were untied, Damon paused in his steps to bend down and tie them.
Which had Bonnie getting ahead of him as she continued to walk.
When he had finished tying up his boots, she was about fifteen feet ahead of him. He walked casually behind her to catch up.
Once Bonnie got to the trees, she looked to her left and all of a sudden taking a break, drinking water was forgotten about. "Oh my god."
"What is it?" Damon asked.
"You've got to be kidding me." Bonnie was amazed at what she spotted through the branches of the trees.
"What do you see?" Damon was still several feet behind her and therefore couldn't see whatever made her mode suddenly excited.
She didn't answer him, instead she perked up and turned left into the trees.
This caused him to lose sight of her for a moment, so he jogged to get to the spot that she was in. When he looked to his left to see where she was, she had already disappeared through the trees and brushes. She was fast he thought to himself.
Damon called out. "Hey, where are you going?"
"Come here, you've got to see this." Bonnie called back from some distance ahead.
"Bon?" Damon questioned.
But, she didn't answer from for the second time.
So, Damon marched through the trees to see where she had went to. Then he spotted her crotching just in front of where the tree line stopped on the other side. "Why did you run off like that?"
"Shhh, don't talk so loudly." Bonnie signaled with her finger to her lips.
"Are you hiding from something." Damon stood there, did she see a threat, some more people that would be a danger of them. Then he thought negative, because she wouldn't be reacting the way that she did if it was a threat.
"Sort of." Bonnie replied in a quiet tone.
Damon tapped his foot. "Wish you would tell me what is going on."
Bonnie looked back at him, where she remained low to the ground. "If you would lower your voice and get your ass over there you could see what was going on."
Damon shrugged, then proceeded to approached the area that she was in. He crouched down next to her and lowered his voice. "Here I am."
"Look." Bonnie pointed.
Looking in the direction which she was pointing in, he saw what she had spotted and what caused her excitement. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Told you." Bonnie returned.
"This is for real, those are…" Damon stopped mid sentence.
"Elephants." Bonnie finished.
About one hundred yards away from them was a large herd of elephants, out in a big grassy field.
"That's quite awesome!" Damon exclaimed.
Her emerald green eyes beamed with glee. "I know, it's amazing to see them out there, graceful animals despite their size."
He watched as the elephants roamed around peacefully. "Those are African elephants."
She nodded. "I believe so."
Damon wondered. "Then what are they doing out in America, they look wild."
"I'm thinking that they escaped from the zoo, there used to be zoos back then right." Bonnie kept her eyes on them.
"Yeah." Damon confirmed.
"Then they must have escaped, some time in the past. Once humans weren't around to maintain the zoos. Now they've had years to be out and they adapted to the American land. Mated, breeded and their population grow." Bonnie gave her best explanation.
"They appear to be thriving, even though they aren't native to this land. You can tell by the size of the herd they have been around here for many years." Damon rubbed his chin.
Bonnie was filled with awe for the large animals. "It really is a sign of hope in a way."
Damon tilted his head to the side. "Elephants, they're a sign of hope for you?"
Bonnie looked sideways at him. "They are."
"How?" He pressed to understand.
"Well, a few decades ago the entire planet went into ruin and destruction, which caused mass loss of human life, resulting in the planet being in the current condition that it is today. Yet, despite all of that life still thrives. At least with mother nature. Here you see these elephants living and going on about their lives. It's a sign of hope, life can move on in one form or another no matter the disaster." Bonnie gestured.
"I get what you are saying now, not just with these elephants, but with every place we have come across so far, you can see mother nature reclaiming the earth. Both animal and plant life have rebounded and are managing much better than the human race currently is. It's like a moment of peace in a time of war." Damon completely connected with what she was trying to say.
"Exactly." Bonnie was glad they knew the other so well, they could totally connect to each other at times like this.
Damon added. "Seeing these elephants, it's a positive sign and it shows hope just as you said. Perhaps if animals can bounce back in such a major way, than the human race will be able eventually to as well."
Bonnie mentioned. "We both know that the human race will never be able to get back to what it once was, but I get what you're saying. Perhaps there are pockets of populations scattered around the earth and although isolated, they had large populations where people are living happy and peaceful, despite the circumstances."
Damon put in. "Like the settlement we are trying to reach in Mystic Falls, Virginia. I bet there are hundreds of people there, living happy and peaceful. They don't have to worry about how they are going to survive everyday. They just thrive and live happy in their community."
"Yeah. Each day now I have dreams of how great it will be once we get there. I long for such a community after spending so much of my life fighting to survive. That settlement in Virginia is a beacon of hope for humanity. And I want so much for us to be successful in getting there." Bonnie told him.
"We will get there, we'll reach the destination of that settlement and once we do, we won't have to deal with any of the shit we have had to dealt with so far." Damon assured her.
"I believe that you are right." Bonnie gave him a half of smile.
He smiled as well. "You know I am."
She turned her attention back to the elephants. "Wow, would you look at that."
He turned his attention back to the grassy field. "Whoa."
"Seems like someone is interested in joining us." Bonnie said with amazement.
Sure enough a baby elephant, which appeared only to be a month or two old, had parted it's way from the herb and was approaching them like it was interested as to what they were.
"Why in the world is the baby elephant coming over here." He pondered with a mixture of excitement and caution."
"I would say that it's interested in checking us out." Bonnie guessed.
The baby elephant eagerly trotted it's way over, as if it couldn't wait to see the human duo which was kneeling in the bushline. The baby elephant stopped right before them.
"Be careful, we don't want the herd coming over trying to trample us, thinking that we are trying to hurt their baby." Damon spoke.
"Relax, I will be. Just don't do anything to scare it off." Bonnie returned in hushed tones.
"I won't." Damon whispered.
Then the baby elephant did something that surprised them both. It reached out it's trunk towards Bonnie as if it were offering her it's handshake.
She reached out her hand and was thrilled when the baby elephant wrapped its trunk around her fingers.
He watched on engrossed by their her interacting with the elephant, yet weary at the same time. Mainly because there were large elephants, one hundred yards away. And he didn't want them to get the wrong impression and attempt to trample them to death.
Bonnie, however was far from weary. She spoke to the baby elephant in a gentle tone. "Hey, little guy, how are you."
"Little guy? So you think that it's a male." Damon commented curious.
"Yes, it's a male." Bonnie confirmed.
Then Damon glanced at it's underbelly, seeing that it was indeed a male. "He's kind of cute."
Bonnie giggled. "He is, want to pet him."
Damon did, but then he hesitated.
"Go ahead, the herd would sense when the baby is in danger, and we're clearly not a threat to harm him. We aren't going to get trampled trust me." Bonnie insisted.
"Okay." He whispered, then reached out and touch the head of the baby elephant lightly with his hand.
"See." Bonnie made sure to keep her tone hushed. "Told you it was safe."
Damon redirected. "I think he really likes you."
Bonnie released the baby elephant's trunk. "He's just curious. Exploring everything like babies of all species do. Animal or human."
Damon eyed her. "Maybe so, then I'm sure that this baby is drawn to the person that you are. Like his instinct tells him how sweet and kind you are."
"You're the one who is being sweet with that comment." Bonnie grinned.
"So, I am." His lips curved upward.
After a minute the Mother or what they assumed was the mother made a trumpeting noise from the middle of the main herd.
"Whoops, someone is in trouble by Mom for going astray." Bonnie joked.
This earned a cackle from Damon.
Hearing his mother's call, the elephant turned and trotted back to the herd. Soon the baby elephant had rejoined it's mother and the herd.
Then Damon and Bonnie just remained croched in the bushes. Watching the herd of elephants feed on the grass and interact as a family. They watched the herd for an hour or so, both of them cherishing this moment that the only the two of them were witnessing. Realizing this moment was so inspiring, because they were with the other, as they experienced mother nature's sign of hope in the middle of a war like world. And they remained watching the herd, until the herd began to move on.
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They moved back to the trees which bordered the narrow dirt road they had been walking on, before Bonnie spotted the elephants. Then they sat near the base of the trees and went along with their original idea of taking a break under the shade and drinking some water in order to get some relief from the Texas heat.
They discussed how it was an unique and rare opportunity for them to have seen elephants in the wild and how they both would remember the experience for a while.
Damon moved on to the next topic, after the elephant discussion had ended. "I have something to show you."
She took a long drink of her water. "You do."
"I uh…..was just waiting for the right day to show you and now I think it's the right day." Damon went on.
"My interest is peaked, so show me." Bonnie inquired.
Turning to his duffle bag which was laying next to him on the ground, he put his hand into it and felt around until he came up on the item that he was looking for. "Okay, now close your eyes."
"Really, close my eyes." Bonnie expressed.
"Yes, close your eyes." Damon repeated.
"Why not just show me." Bonnie pressed her lips.
"Because I want to surprise you, duh." Damon admitted
Bonnie simpered. "Sure, I'll be surprise either way."
Damon did the wild eyed thing that he did. "I'm not going to show you unless you close your eyes.
She put the cap on her water bottle. "Alright, alright." She closed her eyes.
"No, peeking." He said to her.
"I'm not." She had her eyes shut tight.
Damon observed her to make sure she had her eyes closed. "Hold out your hands."
Bonnie did as he requested of her.
Placing the item in her hands he then went. "Open them."
When she did, she immediately looked down to see what he had put in her hand and her mouth fell open.
He rubbed his hands together anticipating her reaction.
"You just gave me a camera." Bonnie was taken aback by this.
"Yes, I just did!" Damon exclaimed.
"How…..where did you get this?" Bonnie had animation in her voice.
"Back in Midland, saw it in a store before we left the city and immediately thought about you. So, I grabbed it and put it in my bag while you were exploring somewhere else." Damon explained.
Bonnie beamed. "I had no clue you have found a camera."
Damon accounted. "Well, as I said I wanted to wait for the perfect opportunity to give it to you. After we saw those elephants the perfect opportunity has arrived."
She studied the camera in her hand, she only had ever used those disposable cameras when she was a kid and was familiar with the design or make of this one. "And you can take pictures with this."
"That is correct." He insured.
"Where would we develop the film?" She needed to know.
"That's just the thing, it's an instant camera. Polaroid, a model which was made in 2016. There isn't a need for somewhere to develop the film because one you take the picture, it immediately comes out." Damon described.
Bonnie was getting hyped up. "Truly."
Damon gestured. "Truly, go ahead and try it yourself."
Inquisitive she brought the camera up to her eye, aimed it at a spot in front of her and clicked the button. The camera made a noise, then from the bottom a picture slid out of the slot.
It came out with an image that she had aimed the camera at.
"Oh, it actually works!" Bonnie squealed.
"I was hoping that it would, since it decades old." Damon pumped his fist.
"I haven't had a camera since I was a little girl, now thanks to you I have one which produces automatic pictures." She clapped her hands together.
"And that camera is full of film, plus I grabbed some extra film for when these ones run out, so you'll be able to take hundreds of photos." He snapped his fingers.
Bonnie clutched the camera to her chest. "I just love it, this makes my day. I'm so happy right now!"
Damon smiled. "Wonderful! Seeing your reaction right now, makes it totally worth it to make room in my bag to put that camera in."
She gave him a look of appreciation. "You thinking of me and grabbing this for me, it's very generous for you to do for me. More than you'll ever know."
Damon gestured. "Well, I knew that you would have been a photographer if the world didn't slip into chaos. So, here's you chance to live out your dream in a way."
"I'm very grateful for this camera, Damon. All that I can say is that this is very meaningful and significant to me." Bonnie told him sincerely.
"Then consider it my gift for you allowing me into your life, especially after I screwed up at first. This is me showing you the appreciation for our friendship." Damon returned.
"You really know what to say to impressive a girl." Bonnie laughed.
His voice was serious as he said his next words. "You are an astounding, remarkable woman, Bonnie Bennett. And the most special person I have ever had in my life. I would always do anything to see the smile you have on your face."
His words touched her heart. "And you are the most special person I have ever had in my life, Damon Salvatore. It was truly the best twist of fate when I ran into you being in my cabin. This relationship between us is of the utmost importance to me. You'll always be a part of my life."
He could hear the feeling which she expressed in those words and it lifted it heart. "Yeah, always…..I'll always be a part of you life, huh."
"You always will be and that is a promise." Bonnie stated softly.
"And I promise you that you'll always be a part of my life as well." Damon told her.
Both of them were overwhelmed by this sentimental moment between the two of them and Bonnie inspired by the gift of the camera he gave to her.
Leaning over she embraced him. "Thank you so much for this, Damon."
He returned her embrace. "Always for you, Bonnie."
They lingered in this for embrace for a long while, as if they didn't want to let the other go. Then when they parted from the embrace, they did a lingering stare into each other's eyes. A stare which was filled with intense meaning.
The both of them realized that they had a strong friendship going on between each other, and now their relationship was beginning to grow something even beyond that.
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Thank you to all who are taking the time to read this story. Especially with the long chapters I am writing. Your support is really appreciate, please leave feedback when you can. I'm enjoying taking the time to develop and build Bamon's relationship, as they get closer to taking it to the next level!
I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors I missed.