Elena and Ezra ran along the back alley ways, trying to stay unobserved, but it was slow going with Elena's pain slowing them down. Several times Ezra picked her up to jump from one alley way to another. Yet on the occasion where they had to leave the alley, Elena had to walk, in order to not draw attention. She was wearing a flowing cloak which Tamanthia had given her, which hid her belly for the most part. Elena did her best to keep her eyes downward, in a submissive position. The cloak hood covered her hair to help her not be recognized, since this was not her first time here.
Finally they entered a tunnel. The tunnel seemed to go on and on, and she could hear the water in it, but there was not enough light for her to see how long it went on for.
It was what she could best describe as a sewer tunnel. She couldn't help but wonder if that meant they were nearing the top. She hoped so, as the pain was starting to become unbearable.
Suddenly Ezra's earlier comment about: the "baby falling out if she didn't sit down" no longer seemed so funny. It felt like it actually could.
She knew when her water broke, as she could feel it running down her legs. She was thankful for the long cloak affording her some modesty.
The sewer or river whatever it was, smelled like it was where things went to die, It took all she had to not throw up on the spot, but she knew she had to press on. She couldn't imagine what Markus would do when he returned to find her and Ezra both gone. That thought alone was enough to keep her on task.
She had beads of perspiration dripping down her forehead, and shouted for Ezra to stop for a moment, and let her take a brake. He had been pulling her arm behind him, which had helped her maintain the pace, but the pain was getting to be to much.
"Ezra, stop! I have to take a break; I can't go on, please! Ezra looked down at her, and told her they had no time. "If we get caught here, not even I can save you, we must keep going." With that he swung her into his arms again, and kept running down the tunnel. Elena was crying no longer able to bite her lip to stop the cries from escaping.
It was then they both spotted the light. Both heaving in relief, he whispered down to the girl in his arms, "not much further, we can do this; it's going to be okay, hold on!"
Ezra seemed to triple his speed going towards the light. Elena wondered if maybe he was better at seeing in the dark than she was, for surely she would of fallen over the side by now, if on her own, and the water did sound like it was a ways down, but she had no idea how far down.
As the light grew nearer she started to be able to make out the outline of a boat. It reminded her of the grim reaper guy in movies she had seen that people paid to get to the other side of the lake. Actually it seemed like exactly that, and she couldn't help but now wonder if whomever it was that had first put that in a movie, had actually been here. Not much seemed surprising anymore, and fairytale's of ghost and goblins witches, and monsters, seemed all but fiction. In that moment she decided she would not be reading any of them to her son.
Rock-a-bye baby falling from the tree tops, ashes ashes we all fall down. London Bridge is falling. Did people even bother to think what they taught or sang to their babies? The Boogie man was all to true.
It was hard to see the old man even with the light, but Elena told herself it was probably a blessing in disguise.
Ezra handed the amulet to the man and said "it's from Tamanthia" as instructed. The man moved aside allowing Ezra to jump down into the boat with Elena still in his arms. The man seemed to be sniffing at Elena, and she did her best to stay perfectly still, till he seemed satisfied and turned away.
It was then that the strongest pain racked through her body, feeling like it was tearing her guts outs. She screamed a bloodcurdling scream, and yelled "The baby is coming!"
"Baby, No babies allowed to leave the dimension" the old man grunted, as his head snapped around towards her rotating like an owl, whose body stayed still , yet the whole heard could turn backwards. ( More than a little unnerving). Ezra took a fighting stance, and hit the man so hard it knocked him backwards into the water. Using the man's staff, he tried to push the boat onward. Unfortunately, the old man bobbed up yelling "baby escaping!"
The tunnel was suddenly alive, with eyes everywhere, as if they had been there all along only sleeping, till that the alarm had been sounded. Elena had been warned to say nothing but could not help herself, and now she had put the fate of her life, Ezra's, and her child in jeopardy.
Things started attacking Ezra, from every angle, while he tried to stand straddling Elena, to keep her safe, but they were coming from every direction. Elena wasn't sure what they were, as she still couldn't really see anything but the outline of their glowing eyes. She knew they were doomed. she could hear the blows that Ezra was receiving, and knew he cold not protect her much longer, there was just to many of them.
It was at that very moment, she heard a ground shaking 'STOP!" It was Markus. She had never thought she'd be so happy to see him in all her life. He too started fighting the things off. He appeared much stronger than Ezra, and unfortunately Ezra had already taken the brunt of trying to fight them off alone.
Ezra was seriously injured. What had she done? Ezra had fallen inside the boat now lying beside her wheezing.
Elena tried to help him, tried to reach out to him but couldn't. Her labor was intensifying, "Oh Ezra, I'm so sorry, please forgive me. Don't leave me Ezra, hang on please, please hang on."
"I'm sorry child, I failed you, do not blame yourself for my shortcomings. It is an honor for my kind to die in battle. I'm fulfilling my destiny. I'm just sorry I failed you Mistress, and was unable to get you to safety. It is my only regret."
NO EZRA, don't talk like that, you will be okay, you didn't fail me, I failed you, by asking you to do something so dumb, please Ezra , hang on, don't go, I need you, you are going to be Uncle Ezra."
It was already to late she realized, as although he was looking at her, his eyes were no longer blinking, no breath came from him, just a blank stare locked onto her eyes.
"Oh My God," she screamed as she felt herself tearing down at her genitals, like a seam that had just popped. She looked up just as she saw Markus kill the last one. He had been swarmed just a minute before, but now they all lay dead at his feat. She could see he too was pretty injured, but clearly not as much as the dead that surrounded him.
At that moment it didn't register in her mind to fear him, or his anger at her for trying to escape, nor if there would be a punishment. She was just glad he was there, and had saved her.
He Jumped down into the boat and gathered her up into his arms, and jumped up onto the solid embankment again. She screamed again feeling more tearing. "It's coming Markus, the baby is coming now"!
It took half a second for him to get the blood lust look out of his eyes from all the killing he had just done, and re-center on what was happening. He jumped back down to the boat grabbing up the lantern, and was back at her side, before she was even done, with her next scream.
He ripped up her cloak tearing it in half with one tug, as if it were a piece of paper. He brought the lantern to her privates, to get a better look at what the situation was. All while holding her hand, in an attempt to sooth her.
He could see the baby's feet, and knew there was a problem.
Elena saw the look of concern come over his face, and started to panic.
'What is it, what wrong? Please God don't let my baby die" She wailed. Inwardly blaming herself, for drinking a potion made from some witch or kitsune. What had she been thinking? She started screaming and loosing it. Lost in her panic she started hyperventilating.
Markus slapped her hard, stunning her. "Stop it now, I need you to focus, the baby is breach, and I won't be able to save it, if you don't help and control yourself. Do you understand me?" He barked at her.
"Yes, yes, I understand, please, please save him, I don't care about me, save him!" Elena gasped out while trying to stay calm.
"I need you to stop pushing for a minute, can you do that? It's the only way I can reach my hand in there, and turn him around, but I can't do it with you bearing down or I'll split you in two, (which, I do care about). If I don't do this ,you will smother the baby.
Don't make me choose between the two of you, or I'll choose you, you can have more children, but there is only one you."
Elena was shocked by what he had just said; to her nothing was more precious than Damon's child. She didn't care if she died in the process, as long as he lived. But in the panic and confusion of the moment, one thing was clear to her, if she did not obey him; her child stood no chance of living. She mustered up every strength she had ever possessed, for this one moment. When time stood still, and she willed herself to stop pushing and not scream when his hands disappeared past his wrists into her, and she felt him turn the baby inside her. Suddenly when his and re-emerged her baby was in it.
Tears streaming down her face blurred her vision, so she could only see this small perfect being with skin the color of porcelain and little wet curls in a patch of brownish hair on the top of its head. Its whole body seemed to fit perfectly within Markus's hand. But she heard no cry.
She saw something sparkle on Markus's check. "Markus ,why isn't it crying?" She whimpered, in horror. Isn't it breathing? You have to save it; please Markus don't let it die. She saw Markus try to breathe into to the baby's mouth, but nothing happened.
He then bit his wrist and let his blood drip into the baby's mouth. A second later which felt like an eternity, she heard the wail, of that tiny little sweet voice. She saw Markus look down at it with awe, and a look that most closely resembled worship. It was beautiful, in her hazy dream like state. She felt herself getting weaker, and tunnel vision setting in as the pain still seared through her.
"Markus, I think there is something wrong?" she croaked out barely above a whisper. Markus tore his eyes from the baby, looking over to her, and she saw in his eyes what looked like fear, or was it panic? "You're losing too much blood." she heard him say muffled, like from some far away land.
He set the baby down, and brought his wrist to her mouth, she took a couple sips, and looked up at him horrified, as she saw the flash of an object come down on his head. His body was propelled forward, landing limply on top of her. He was so heavy, and she was too weak to push him off, in order to see who this new attacker was. She was loosing consciousness, when someone kicked his body off of her, which she heard splash into the water on entry, before sinking to the bottom, of whatever.
Sure she was either dreaming or dying, she thought she saw Stefan, or his image standing in front of her. Her hero had finally come to rescue her. Her and the baby would be safe now. She thought she heard him say, " I'm here now my Lovely Love, everything's going to be okay, we're going home."
The relief of seeing his face was the last thing she saw, before loosing consciousness.