Chapter One:
The heavy footsteps of Mr Sanders echoed as he sauntered down the line of cells. As he travelled, he leered in at the vampires he had managed to get his hands on for his Augustine work. His job was to continue on with the Augustine work from his father who did from his father before that and so on. He knew how to deal with vampires and keep them near death enough so that they couldn't overpower him. They each got given a few drops of blood a day to keep them alive. Barely that was though. He knew what he had to do, he tortured and experimented on these monsters for a living. It's what his father wanted of him and he was not one to give up a chance to continue a family legacy.
He came to a stop at the end of the hallway and turned slowly with a menacing smirk on his face. One by one each of the imprisoned vampires turned to look at him. Their facial expressions showing nothing but pure hatred and disgust for this sorry excuse of a man.
"So, who shall be going first today then?", he asked with a feigned look of innocence like he was asking kids to go down a slide.
Caroline scoffed. "God, do you seriously need to ask that every day. It's so overused when you do. Find something more original please", she uttered.
"Ah, dear Caroline, always a great volunteer", he said while shifting his gaze towards her.
The others watched on as he dragged Caroline out of her cell and into what they've deemed as "the torcher room". They all knew it was a bad name as things felt much worse than torcher in there but they eventually agreed on it.
Elena winced as yet another day of hearing her friends screaming helplessly commenced and she just sat there in her cell knowing that it was likely they would have to go through this forever.
Rebekah noticed this from her cell across from Elena's. "Come on Elena, she'll be alright, you know she will. Plus, we've been here long enough to know, that is what happens around here", she said trying to comfort Elena.
Elena sighed. "I just wish Caroline didn't always have to make a joke. She always ends up suffering because of it", she said.
"Trust me, our gorgeous is strong. She'll be fine like she always is ", Enzo said reassuringly.
"Exactly", Bonnie agreed. "She's been here the longest and knows what she's getting herself into when she makes comments like that."
"Well one day he might not be so merciful", Elena said tiredly.
"Okay. Now that we've cleared that up, who wants to go next?", Rebekah asked rhetorically.
Matt gave out a light humourless chuckle. "Shut up Bexs. This isn't something we should joke about", he said in a bored tone while counting the dark bricks on the wall.
"Oh Matty-blue, we've got to find humour in some things at least", Rebekah joked with a slight twinkle in her eyes.
"Only you would be able to joke about this situation", Matt replied.
The screaming eventually stopped and the doors slammed open. The others saw a very bloody looking Caroline being thrown into her cell by Mr Sanders causing them to worry slightly about her health even though there was no way she would be dead. Caroline lay there exhausted staring up at the gloomy ceiling she had gotten used to in the roughly 80 years she had been there.
Elena and Bonnie called out to Caroline to check if she was fine but she couldn't find it in herself to sit up and talk like nothing had happened just yet.
Mr Sanders stood there looking at them like they were his prey and he was gearing up for an attack. He was happy with his work today with Caroline, she had been in so much pain that it brought him great amounts of joy.
"Rebekah, you're looking rather happy today. Feel like getting your eyes ripped to bits? Or maybe you would rather I just pull out your intestines?", Mr Sanders questioned vindictively.
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "How could I object to such an offer?", she said. Sarcasm evident in her tone.
Mr Sanders began to advance towards her cell looking too excited for what he was about to do until his phone began ringing. He looked frustrated but answered the phone anyway.
"Hello?", he asked impatiently.
The surrounding vampires listened in to the phone call and interesting turn of events.
"Hello Mr Sanders. I have found two more vampires that I think you could use for your Augustine work, if you like?", a mysterious voice spoke.
"That would be wonderful, can you bring them in as soon as possible?", Mr Sanders said.
"Of course, I will be there in 5", mysterious voice spoke again.
"Okay see you then", Mr Sanders said, and then finalised the conversation by hanging up.
Everyone was shocked to say the least. Two more vampires being brought in after all this time? This had stirred old emotions in some of the vampires. Such as hope, interest and excitement.
"Exciting news! You lot can wait for now", Mr Sanders exclaimed as he exited the room.
Rebekah looked at them relieved. "Saved by the bell, right?" she quipped to the others.
There was a mix of responses varying from laughs to sighs at the terrible yet somewhat funny remark. Then it finally dawned on them that two more vampires are getting dragged into this hellhole.
"Well, who's excited for some new members to join our dysfunctional yet depressing family?" Elena asked them with hope and excitement clear in her voice.
"Definitely interested at least. I hope they're guys. We need more testosterone in here", Enzo pronounced.
"No! We need no more testosterone in here. You and Matt have enough testosterone to suffocate us poor girls", Caroline exclaimed. This being the first time she spoke since she got back, although she is still lying on the floor staring at the ceiling deep in thought about these new vampires.
Bonnie laughed. "I completely agree, sometimes I can't even breath because of the testosterone levels in here", she joked.
Enzo looked at Bonnie with a genuine smile as she laughed. Wow, she is so beautiful he thought. "Bonnie Bennett, are you sure you don't mean you can't breathe because I'm just so dashing", he said flirtingly.
The girls noticed as Bonnie tried to hold back a smile and her face flushed a slight shade of red. Elena and Caroline made direct eye contact and communicated through their eyes, that they needed to talk about this.
Rebekah decided to clear up the sudden awkward silence. "Enough flirting. Personally, I'm excited for some new faces around here. I can't look at the same five faces for the rest of my life", she spoke with a cheeky smile.
"Could not agree more", Matt agreed with a wink in Rebekah's way.
Rebekah saw the wink but chose to ignore it and turned to look at the others expectantly, waiting for someone else to share their opinion.
"I have always loved and hated when new vampires get brought in. It's good that we get more company and hope I guess, yet I don't want anyone to experience the torture and pain we go through in here", Caroline voiced her honest opinion sitting up straight. She was feeling conflicted like she always has been when new vampires get brought in.
"I know how you feel. It's unfair for them but then to us it feels like a beacon of hope", Elena agreed sticking her hand through the bars to hold Caroline's hand.
In Augustine there was 10 cells in that room. Obviously only 6 of them were occupied by Caroline, Elena, Bonnie, Rebekah, Matt and Enzo. On one side of the room it went Enzo, Bonnie, Rebekah, Matt then there was an empty cell at the end. And on the other side there was two empty cells, Caroline, Elena then another empty cell. That's how it had always been, they had never been in different cells.
Bonnie smiled kindly at the two oldest Augustine vampires. "Don't worry, we'll try make them happy when they get brought in", she said genuinely.
They then heard the door open and all vampires turned around, eager to see who was being brought in. In came Mr Sanders with two guys.