Lassie is Dead (3a/3)
Title: Lassie is Dead (Or How to Tell the Difference between a Vampire and a Rough Collie) (3a/3)
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Violence, sex. Slight dub-con moment
Pairing: Damon/Alaric Stefan/Elena (Canon, non-explicit)
Beta: jussy_baby Thank you!
Length: This Part ~11500 words, all 3 parts total ~23000
Summary: Bonnie disappears, the gang go on a road trip to find her, hi-jinks ensue. Final part
Disclaimer: Not mine, I do not own. Just for fun; No copyright infringement intended.
Elena watched her boyfriend as he crossed the square outside the lecture hall again and again. She fanned herself with a map, trying to find some respite from the summer’s heat.
“Anything?” she asked.
Stefan shook his head. “Lets try the car park,” he suggested squinting in the bright sunlight.
Elena walked slowly over and took his hand as they wandered through the campus. The grounds were quiet with the students away on summer break and Stefan had been encouraged that the scene would be relatively undisturbed. They had started with the area around the exhibition hall, but found no trace of Bonnie there. Undeterred they had traced her route trying to find some clue to her disappearance.
Once they had reached the car park Elena retreated to sit under a tree that offered some shade. Stefan began to circle around the baking tarmac trying to find some hint of his friend. Suddenly he stiffened, then crouched to touch the ground.
“Elena,” he called.
Elena hurried over. “Did you find something?” she asked hopefully.
Stefan nodded. “Blood,” he declared, pointing to a tiny smudge on the ground. “I’m pretty sure it’s Bonnie’s” he added.
Elena froze for a second, unsure of whether she was pleased to find a lead or horrified at the thought of her friend injured and alone. With a deep breath she pulled herself together.
“It’s right by bay number 137,” she noted. “This area is all for reserved parking. I bet if we go to the administration building we can find out who this space belongs to.”
Stefan nodded. “Good idea,” he said. “But will they just tell us? I can try to compel them but it doesn’t always...” he trailed off.
“Don’t worry,” Elena reassured him. “Just follow my lead.”
Marching over to the other side of the campus, Elena hurried into the administration building dragging Stefan behind her. Ducking past reception she checked the notice board by the elevators before entering and selecting a floor. In the elevator Stefan watched bemused as Elena rubbed her eyes to redden them and hyperventilated several quick breaths before pulling a wad of loose paper from her bag. She winked at him, then stepped out onto the floor heading for the first occupied desk she saw.
“Oh God, Oh God, I’m so sorry,” she babbled at the woman behind the desk. “It was a total accident, I only lost control for a second, but it was too late.”
The woman looked up, alarmed at the near hysterical teenager in front of her. “I’m sorry, what...” she began.
“It’s only a little dent,” swore Elena tearfully, “You’d hardly notice it. My dad is going to kill me, I’ve only had the car a month and I’ve crashed it already.”
“You crashed your car?” asked the woman.
Elena nodded. “Just a little bit, with a car in your car park, and the guy at security said you would be able to tell me whose car I crashed into so I can get their details for the insurance,” she said without pausing for breath. “I have the number here,” she slid over a note with 137 written on it.
“Well I suppose I can tell you in the circumstances,” agreed the woman tapping at her computer.
“Oh, thank you so much,” gushed Elena, pulling a pen out of her bag and beginning to write. “This is my name,” she said as she wrote, “and my cell number, this is the name of my insurers.”
It was obvious the woman wasn’t listening to her, instead she was staring at her screen. “That’s odd.” she said.
“Huh? What’s odd?” asked Elena breaking off her monologue.
“That’s Professor Elgin’s parking bay,” the woman told her, “But he shouldn’t be here. He’s just gone on sick leave,” she shook her head. “It’s not important.” She wrote down a number on a piece of paper. “This is his office telephone,” she said scribbling away, “and this is his office location. I imagine he would be in if his car is here.”
“Thank you,” repeated Elena with a brilliant smile. “You are a life saver.” Taking Stefan’s hand again she returned to the elevator, job done.
“Wow,” said Stefan, once they were safely downstairs. “You were incredible.”
Elena grinned at him. “Well I was the lead in the school play in Junior High,” she preened before her expression turned serious. “So, Professor Elgin,” she frowned.
Stefan nodded worried, “We have to warn Damon and Alaric.”
Once out of the building they ran down the steps and towards their hire car. Stefan jumped in and took the wheel, starting the engine while Elena fastened her seat belt. As he pulled off the campus Elena was already scowling at her phone.
“I’ve tried both their phones,” she said. “No one is answering.”
Stefan grimaced. “Send them a text anyway,” he advised. “It could just be that they don’t have coverage where they are.”
“Do you really think so?” asked Elena hopefully.
“No,” replied Stefan. “But it won’t do any harm if I’m wrong.”
Stefan drove quickly as Elena tapped a message into her phone.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked, once she had finished.
Taking one hand off the wheel Stefan fished a folded square of paper from his pocket, he passed it to Elena.
“I copied Rick’s directions.”
“Wow, you’re a regular boy scout.” said Elena, relieved. “Did you think Professor Elgin was behind Bonnie’s kidnapping all the time?”
Stefan shook his head. “As much as I’d like to claim that I did, I only took the directions because Alaric was going off alone with Damon. I wanted to be able to track my brother down if I had to.”
“Damon wouldn’t hurt Alaric, would he?” asked Elena. “I thought they were friends?”
“Damon doesn’t have friends,” said Stefan, glancing over at his girlfriend to see if she was paying attention. “He has people who are useful and people who are interesting. And as soon as they stop being so they become food again.”
“I don’t believe that,” disagreed Elena. “I think he wants friends. He was really touched when I called him my friend.”
“Elena, he wants into your pants,” Stefan dismissed her. “Don’t confuse that with friendship.”
“But he doesn’t,” Elena denied. “Not anymore. He hasn’t done anything on this trip. No trying to get me alone, no sly innuendos. He hasn’t even flirted with me, and Damon flirts as often as he breathes.”
Stefan frowned. “That doesn’t mean he’s give up,” he protested. “He could just be being subtle.”
“Yeah, so subtle I don’t even notice,” scoffed Elena. “Since when has that been Damon’s style.”
Stefan scowled and managed to bite back a comment about Elena being too young and innocent to understand what Damon would or wouldn’t do, knowing that actually saying it would start a fight. He settled into an uneasy silence, wishing that there was some way he could convince Elena that Damon was never, ever to be trusted. Eyeing the speedometer he drove as fast as he dared praying that they wouldn’t be too late.
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Wiping his forehead with a trembling hand George Elgin watched as his offering grudgingly returned to consciousness. It had been more difficult than he had anticipated to hang the vampire above the altar. Even with the pulley system he had rigged up beforehand it had taken all of his dwindling strength to hoist him aloft. It did not matter though, everything had gone to plan so far and soon he would not have to worry about his own frailty.
He reached out and slapped the sacrifice across the face. “Wake up,” he instructed. “You must be awake for the ritual.”
He peered into the vampire’s face and determined that he was aware, if still drugged. That would be sufficient, Elgin assured himself, he did not want him able to fight back after all. Even with his wrists manacled behind him and suspended upside-down by his ankles it would not do to underestimate the left-handed twin’s strength.
Elgin moved over to a table at the side of the room. He picked up some metal tongs and a pair of secateurs. He frowned at them, wondering again if such inelegant tools had a place in his ritual. He quashed his doubts quickly. A lifetime of research into the occult and several months of frantic study had brought him to this point. The driving force of his brain tumor spurring him on to find a solution.
It would be so simple. The left-handed twin created all the evil in the world and his sacrifice would rid the world of evil. Not on such a scale of course, Elgin reminded himself firmly, trying to keep his mind clear. The vampire was only an effigy after all, a stand in for the real thing. He was not planning to destroy all bad things, only the cancer. It would work, he was certain. He had done the research, checked and rechecked the legends, agonized over the details but in the end he had done it. He had found the way.
Steeling himself, Elgin reached into the vampire’s slack mouth with the tongs, taking a firm grip on his tongue. Pulling the tongue out as far as he could he brought the secateurs up and snipped. Elgin almost lost his hold as the creature thrashed violently as the first cut was made. A burst of fear shot through the professor, the adrenaline rush fortunately tightening his hold with the tongs. He didn’t waste any time and quickly sheared through the tongue with three more cuts.
Elgin looked down at the severed tongue in distaste, flicking it from the tongs into the large bowl sitting on the altar. The offering was still writhing, and the blood spilling from it’s mouth was not running neatly into the bowl as expected but instead was splattering around the altar as the vampire moved. Elgin shuffled back so as to avoid being splashed.
He was also disturbed by the amount of noise the creature was making, not quite screams - more similar to grunts. Whatever he called them they were not part of the dignified ritual the professor had envisioned. He winced as the subject vomited.
Shaking his head in disgust Elgin moved further away from the altar. He tried to block out the noise and smell of the sacrifice. It was vital that he remained focused, it would not do to make an error at this late stage. He walked over to the lectern where his notes were waiting. Elgin took a deep breath and began the chant.
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Elena ran back to the car. They had somehow managed to get lost, Alaric’s directions not as clear as they had seemed to be. Luckily they had driven past a farmhouse where a woman had been hanging out her washing. She had been kind enough to give them directions.
“We’ve driven about twenty minutes too far,” she told Stefan. “We need to turn around and go back.”
Stefan changed gears and swung the car around. He stamped down on the gas pedal, not bothered about the speed limit on such rural roads, trusting to his reflexes to avoid any accidents.
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Alaric tried to spit, but found that his mouth was too dry to rid itself of the foul taste he had awoken to. Somewhere nearby he heard the ‘thh-dub, hiss, thh-dub’ of the stylus on a record that had finished playing. He shook his head, trying to remember what he was doing here. He pulled himself to his feet and looked around the empty room. Didn’t he remember coming here with Damon? Alaric decided he should go and look for him.
He staggered out into the corridor and found himself at a loss. He had no idea where to look in this unfamiliar house. There were several doors off the main hallway, one of which he thought he remembered as being the front door. He went to check. He was right, it was the front door. Alaric squinted out into the bright sunlight, relieved at seeing his car was still there. Damon couldn’t be far away then, he reassured himself.
The fresh air felt good and he took in several deep breaths that cleared his head a little. We were here to talk to the professor, remembered Alaric. We were going to ask him about Bonnie. He thought for a while but couldn’t recall the professor’s answer. He rubbed his eyes. He must have fallen asleep, Alaric decided, he had been tired from the long journey and must have dozed off. Damon and the professor must have moved elsewhere so as not to disturb him as they talked.
Alaric re-entered the house, this time finding the kitchen where he splashed cold water from the sink onto his face before gulping down several handfuls to clear the vile taste from his mouth. Refreshed, Alaric wiped his mouth on his sleeve before resuming his search.
Picking another door at random, Alaric frowned to see stairs leading down to another hallway. Damon and the professor would hardly be chatting in a cellar he thought and he moved to close the door. It was only at the last second he thought he heard a voice from the room below. Alaric paused to listen. There was definitely someone down there.
Still feeling a little light headed, Alaric made sure he had a firm grip on the banister before he walked downstairs. The voice became louder as he neared the foot of the stairs and Alaric realized that whoever it was wasn’t speaking English. He paused to listen before shaking his head, whatever language it was Alaric couldn’t place it. At the foot of the stairs Alaric realized he could smell something, a thick cloying odor that he had once only associated with butcher’s shops - the smell of blood.
Alarmed, Alaric looked about himself. Spying a pile of firewood stacked neatly in a corner Alaric picked up a branch, now armed he turned to face a second door. Both the voice and the smell were coming from behind it. Alaric took a deep breath and shoved it open.
For the space of several heartbeats all Alaric saw was red. Red splattered the walls, it painted the floor. It ran in a never ending stream from the mouth of the man hanging from the ceiling. It ran down into a bowl, from which it overflowed to drench a stone slab. It seemed far too much to come from one body, yet clearly it had.
Alaric wasn’t sure how long he stood motionless before he stepped into the room. He was sure he had taken several sharp breaths before he recognized the hanged man as Damon. He didn’t remember noticing Professor Elgin until he was right behind him, raising his makeshift club to bring it down on the back of the old man’s head. Elgin crumpled without a sound.
He didn’t recall exactly how he lowered Damon to the floor, laying him carefully atop of his bound arms, not even sure if his friend was alive. Blood, thought Alaric, he will need blood to heal. He cupped his hands and drew a double-handful of blood from the filled bowl. He poured it into Damon’s open mouth. Much of it spilled and added to the mask of red the vampire already wore.
Worried when Damon failed to respond, Alaric tried again and again without Damon stirring. Alaric pressed his fingers into Damon’s neck, trying to find a pulse. He couldn’t find one. Unsure of whether Damon was truly dead or still dying Alaric looked around the room in desperation. His gaze caught on a table against the wall where bloodstained secateurs lay. Alaric reached over and grabbed them.
He checked that Isobel’s ring was securely in place, then braced himself. Taking the sharp edge of one of the blades, Alaric made a deep slice across the skin of his wrist. Gasping in pain, he pressed his wrist to Damon’s mouth as the blood flowed from the wound. Nothing happened and Alaric worried that the wound would soon heal. Just as he began to withdraw his wrist Rick felt Damon’s teeth bite down, hard.
Alaric was so relieved to see his friend wasn’t dead he began to laugh, even through the pain of the bite. His joy stopped when it became clear that Damon wouldn’t let go. He tried saying Damon’s name, but the vampire didn’t respond. He tried to push Damon off his wrist but he couldn't dislodge him. Starting to feel faint again Alaric picked up his branch and hit Damon with it, across the top of his head. The vampire growled and released his wrist. The reprieve was short lived though because as soon as Alaric scrambled away Damon pounced on top of him and knelt astride his chest, pinning him to the ground with his superior strength.
Alaric struggled in panic as he got his first glimpse of Damon’s eyes. He had known they would be filled with red, what he hadn’t expected was the look of mindless hunger. He couldn’t see any trace of his friend in that black stare, only the predator remained. Damon curled back his lips in a snarl, revealing rows of sharp bloodstained teeth. Alaric flinched back against the floor and Damon struck, biting deep into his neck.
Alaric was surprised at how painful it was. Even as his vision began to dim his thoughts turned to legends of the vampire’s bite and how it was meant to cause the victim untold pleasure. This was not pleasure, only pain, the tearing of his flesh, the ripping of life from his body. He pushed at Damon, trying to escape, but his strength had deserted him. Alaric could hear his own heartbeat slowing with each swallow Damon took. Soon the beat faltered and stopped and all he could hear was a roaring sound. Then nothing.
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Stefan barreled the car along the driveway at least twenty miles an hour faster than was safe to do so. Elena could hear the ping-ping of dislodged stones swept up by the tires hitting the car. She gripped onto the door handle to steady herself on the bumpy road, unwilling to ask Stefan to slow down.
They had managed to overshoot Elgin’s driveway once more, and had had to backtrack slowly until they had spotted the entrance concealed amongst overgrown bushes. Elena had grown more panicked with each wasted minute and she knew Stefan wasn’t much better, for all he managed to conceal it.
When they reached the house, Elena released her seat belt and was opening her door before the car had stopped moving. Pulling in beside Alaric’s car, Stefan wasted no time in joining her at the open doorway. Elena moved into the hallway cautiously, listening for any sign of life.
Stefan paused at the threshold, testing its integrity before he slowly stepped inside.
“Elena,” he warned.
Elena stopped to look back, noticing that he had been able to enter the house.
“What does that mean?” she asked him wide-eyed.
“It means that no one who lives here is alive,” Stefan replied, walking up to take her hand. “I don’t know how or why.”
“Where should we look?” asked Elena.
Stefan let his senses roam before pointing to the cellar door. “Down,” he replied, stepping past her down the stairs. “Stay behind me.”
The scent of blood became stronger as they reached the bottom, it was clear which direction it came from but Stefan instead moved to a door from behind which he heard a faint sound. The door was bolted from the outside, the metal scraped noisily as he freed it. Cautiously he pulled the door open to reveal a small, dark room.
A figure was huddled in a corner of the bare room. “Bonnie?” asked Stefan.
The girl slowly lifted her head to look at them and gasped. “Elena,” she whispered, her speech heavy and slurred, “is that really you?”
Elena launched herself at Bonnie, wrapping her arms around her. It wasn’t long before they were both sobbing in relief. Stefan let them have a minute before interrupting.
“Elena, I think you should take Bonnie out to the car,” he suggested.
“Why?” Elena asked, helping her friend to her feet. “We still need to find Alaric and Damon. Wouldn’t it be better to stick together?”
Stefan shook his head, drawing her aside. “I can smell blood,” he said quietly. “A lot of it. Bonnie is already in shock and she smells like she’s been drugged. I don’t want her to see anything that would cause her to panic, her powers might react badly.”
Elena nodded her understanding.
“Stay with her up there,” said Stefan. “I’ll shout if I need you.”
Once Elena and Bonnie had retreated to safety, Stefan took a deep breath and opened the door. The room inside resembled a slaughterhouse, blood everywhere and three unmoving bodies on the floor. Stefan was thankful he had sent the girls away as he felt himself react to the blood. He clenched his fists to steady himself, forcing himself to ignore his instincts to feed.
Alaric lay alone, furthest into the room. His brother lay slumped on top of a man Stefan didn’t recognize, he assumed it must be Professor Elgin. He walked over to his brother wondering why Damon’s wrists were manacled. He gave Damon a small nudge, worried when he didn’t respond. Stefan could smell that most of the blood in the room belonged to Damon but he couldn’t see any obvious sign of injury.
Unsure of why Damon was unconscious Stefan quickly checked Elgin, as he had expected, the professor was dead, the savage bite ripping through his throat was a clear sign that Damon had killed him. Lastly Stefan knelt next to Alaric. Checking his neck Stefan could not find a pulse, the teacher was dead - another bite mark showing the reason why. Stefan sighed with relief when he saw that Alaric was still wearing his ring. With luck that meant that Alaric would revive soon and be able to explain what had happened here.
Stefan stood and moved back towards the door, when he heard a soft tread on the stair. Elena peered around the corner. “Stefan?” she called, as she stepped forward. “Bonnie’s fallen asleep in the car, I came to see if you needed..”
Stefan moved in front of Elena, drawing her into his arms to try and shield her from the scene of carnage. It was not possible to block the sight of blood completely though and Elena gasped.
“What happened?” she asked, not flinching at Stefan’s red-rimmed eyes.
“I don’t know,” Stefan replied. “Damon’s been hurt, most of the blood is his, but I can’t see how he was injured. Alaric and Elgin have both been bitten and drained.”
“Alaric’s dead?” Elena asked faintly.
Stefan nodded. “He’s still wearing his ring though, he should revive.”
Elena wriggled out of Stefan’s embrace. “Let me see him,” she demanded.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” replied Stefan.
“He’s my friend,” said Elena. “I want to see him. I was the one who asked him to come after all.” She pushed past her boyfriend and walked to crouch by Alaric. Gingerly she stroked his hair.
“He looks like he’s in pain,” she said softly.
Stefan placed a hand on her shoulder. “He can’t feel anything, he’s dead,” he told her gently.
Elena stood, hugging Stefan once more, the contact calming them both. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t see Damon begin to twitch. Or notice when he opened his eyes. The first thing they were aware of was a low growl rumbling through the silence of the room. Stefan tensed immediately, his head snapped around to look at his brother who had silently raised himself up onto his knees.
Damon was growling continuously, his bloody gaze focused on Elena. Stefan could see from his expression that his brother wasn’t in control of himself. Slowly Stefan drew Elena aside and stepped between her and Damon.
“Go towards the door,” he instructed her. “Slowly. Don’t make any sudden moves.”
Once Damon saw that his prey was retreating he levered himself up onto his feet, vainly trying to pull his arms free from their bonds. As Elena reached the doorway he darted forward, only for Stefan to bring him to an abrupt halt by flinging an arm out and around his neck. Stefan quickly capitalized on his hold to force Damon to his knees as he thrashed wildly. Damon’s lack of strength was worrying, but right now Stefan was glad of it, if it meant he could protect Elena.
Damon struggled violently, trying to break free or to get enough space to bite. Stefan clung on grimly, unable to calm Damon but unwilling to let go. Only the chains holding Damon’s wrists made it possible to keep his hold, otherwise Damon would have escaped. Even with his reduced strength, the frenzy Damon was experiencing would drive him to free himself at any cost.
Stefan considered what he should do next - whether it was possible to keep hold of Damon until he calmed down. He didn’t think that was likely as his brother showed no sign that his rage was cooling. To his horror, Stefan saw Elena returning to the room. “No,” he cried.
Stefan wasn’t the only one who noticed Elena, Damon renewed his struggles, desperately trying to get to his prey. Elena didn’t run though. Instead she walked right up to the struggling brothers and calmly stabbed Damon with a tranquilizer dart.
“Vervain,” she explained to Stefan as he felt his brother go limp. “Rick keeps them in the boot of his car. I thought you might need some help.”
Stefan sat for a minute to catch his breath before gently rolling Damon onto the floor.
“Thank you,” he told Elena. “You should go, get Bonnie to a hospital, I’ll take care of Damon and Alaric.”
“But...” began Elena.
“Elena you have to go,” Stefan insisted. “Bonnie needs your help and I need to get Damon somewhere safe.”
“What if he wakes up?” Elena wanted to know.
“Right now I’m more worried about him not waking up at all,” replied Stefan sternly. “I need to get him home and see if I can find out what happened. You get Bonnie out of here. I’ll stick around long enough to dispose of Elgin’s body, you can make up a story to tell the police, but then I need to go.”
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Alaric woke to a feeling that had become disturbingly familiar. His stiffened limbs and aching chest told him he had died, again. It wasn’t a sentence he would have even considered using before he had moved to Mystic Falls, now it was becoming routine. He blinked several times until the world came into focus.
He was in the passenger seat of a car and it was moving along a highway. A blanket had been laid over him. It was night, the streetlights overhead giving everything an amber glow. Alaric turned his head to see Stefan driving, wincing as the bones in his neck cracked. Stefan took his eyes off the road for a second to glance over to him. He visibly relaxed at seeing Alaric awake.
“Rick,” exclaimed Stefan, “Good to see you awake. You’ve been gone for over half a day. I was worried that you had got a dose of Damon’s blood. Are you feeling OK?”
Alaric tried to answer but all that he managed was a hoarse grunt. He coughed several times then tried again.
“I’m fine,” he managed. “Still human. What happened?”
“I was hoping you could tell me,” replied Stefan. “When Elena and I reached the house you were dead, so was the professor, and Damon was hurt, badly hurt.” he glanced over to the back seat where Damon’s unconscious form lay under two heavy blankets. “Don’t you remember anything?”
Alaric rubbed his eyes and tried to concentrate. “I remember we drove over to Elgin’s house,” he began. “But from then on it’s all jumbled. I remember waking up alone in the study, but I don’t remember going to sleep. I went to look for Damon...” he trailed off.
“What?” prompted Stefan.
“Elgin tried to kill Damon,” said Alaric. “I don’t know why but he had him strung up above an altar and Damon was bleeding everywhere, I mean the whole room was red.” Alaric shuddered.
“I know,” nodded Stefan. “I saw it. But I couldn’t find any wounds on Damon.”
“I gave him my blood,” Alaric remembered. “But then he wouldn’t stop, it was like he didn’t recognize me. I think he killed me. Again.”
Stefan nodded. “He woke up when we were there. I don’t think he knew who we were. He tried to attack Elena, but I stopped him and Elena gave him a dose of vervain to put him under.”
Alaric blinked. “Vervain,” he exclaimed, “there was vervain in the incense. I remember Elgin telling us that.”
“That’s....really bad,” said Stefan, his voice tight.
“What is?”
“Vampires are very good at enduring slow starvation,” began Stefan. “But we’re not as resilient if the blood loss is very rapid. If Damon had vervain in his system as well, it could have interfered with the healing process, and when Elena gave him another dose...” he trailed off.
“Go on,” said Alaric.
“Lexi told me a story once of a vampire who had been drained and ended up permanently damaged,” said Stefan quietly. “He reverted to a feral state, totally mindless, living on instinct. She took care of him for two weeks but then had to kill him, he wasn’t getting better and he was too dangerous to be allowed to live.”
“Do you think that has happened to Damon?” asked Alaric alarmed.
“I hope not,” Stefan replied. “But the way he acted when we found him, it was like he wasn’t Damon anymore.” He worried at his lip, bright spots of blood appearing then vanishing back inside. “We’ll get him back home,” he decided. “Once he’s awake we can see how he is.”
“And if he’s not OK?”
Stefan’s hands clenched on the steering wheel. “I don’t know,” he said, his expression grim. “I’ve never been very good at killing my brother.”
They continued in silence. Stefan drove until past dawn, when Alaric insisted that he let him take over. Stefan quickly dropped off to an exhausted sleep in the passenger seat, leaving Alaric alone to worry. He cursed to himself when he realized he hadn’t asked about Bonnie. Too much had happened for his brain to keep track of it all.
The drive was uneventful, although Alaric did spend a few tense minutes watching a highway patrol car catch up and pass them by. He felt fortunate that he had chosen to wear a dark shirt yesterday - it meant that the bloodstains were hardly visible. Not that Stefan hadn’t done a good job of cleaning him up while he was dead, the vampire had managed to remove most of the blood from his skin and hair so he hadn’t awoken to a dried and flaking mess. He wondered how much practice Stefan had had over the years at tidying up crime scenes. He wondered if he really wanted to know the answer to that question. He spent a few minutes considering if he could think of any explanation the Highway patrol would accept should they be pulled over. He didn’t think they would go for ‘bitten by a vampire’ as an excuse for his bloody clothing, and he was at a loss as to how he could explain Damon.
Once he had crossed the border back into Virginia Alaric felt some of the tension ease. He felt even better when the road signs began to point to Mystic Falls, where the cops would happily accept the bitten by a vampire story. Pulling up outside the boarding house he nudged Stefan awake. To his relief, Stefan told him that they found Bonnie and she was alive if not unharmed. After he helped to carry Damon inside Alaric drove home.
Alaric had never been happier to live in an apartment block full of working singles. It meant nobody was home to see him as he staggered in, tired and bloody. Of course in this town would anyone have batted an eyelid at his bedraggled state? Slamming his apartment door shut behind him, Alaric made a bee-line for his bed. He collapsed onto it, not even waiting to remove his shoes. Exhaustion dragged him down into sleep before his head touched the pillow.
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Alaric dreamed that he was stuck at the bottom of a deep well, waist deep in freezing water. Rain was pouring down from the grey sky, far above him, making the walls glisten. He had tried several times to get a grip on the stones to climb out, but each time he had slipped and fallen back. He was running out of time, his hands becoming numb with cold. Shivering he tried once again.
He ran his hands along the old brickwork, feeling for a handhold. Finding one he carefully began his ascent. Looking up, he found himself blinded by the rain. Taking one hand from the wall, he rubbed it over his eyes to clear them, it came away red. It wasn’t rain falling on him anymore, it was blood. Blood everywhere. The walls ran with red. Alaric lost his grip in shock and fell, this time into a pool of blood.
He tried to stand but found that he couldn’t, the pool had grown too deep. The well was too narrow for him to tread water properly and he struggled to keep afloat. Tiring, Alaric had taken several swallows of the bloody water before something fell down on top of him. Grabbing for it wildly, he found it was a rope. Alaric wasted no time in taking hold of it and with the help of whoever was on the other end, began to climb.
Half way to the top Alaric caught his first glimpse of his rescuer, just a black silhouette in the shape of a man. He continued to climb, then a flood of doubt paralyzed him. Who was this man who was rescuing him? What did he plan to do with him once he reached the top? Alaric shivered, suddenly certain that a worse fate than drowning waited for him above,
Alaric’s feelings of alarm grew when the rope drew tight and began to pull him up. Panicked he let go, willing to let himself drown rather than face the demon above. His fear sparked into terror when he didn’t fall, the rope had somehow tied itself around him and he was now hanging limply in it’s grasp, unable to stop his ascent.
It got lighter as he neared the surface. The black silhouette began to show shadows that then began to resolve themselves into features. Alaric could almost recognize a face as he drew closer, he squinted into the light, trying to focus.
Then jerked awake as his phone rang, still stuffed into the pocket of his jeans.
Alaric fumbled with the phone, still half asleep. He finally managed to hit the right button and pressed it to his ear. “Hello?” he mumbled.
“Rick? It’s Stefan. I didn’t wake you did I?”
“Yeah, you did, but don’t worry about it,” replied Alaric, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “I was in the middle of a weird dream and I wasn’t keen on seeing how it ended.”
“I wouldn’t have called, but...can you come over,” Stefan sounded tense.
“Is something wrong? How’s Damon?” Alaric asked.
“He’s asleep,” replied Stefan. “Can you get over here?”
“Right now?”
“As soon as you can. Now would be good.”
“I could do with a shower,” Rick hesitated, slowly realizing that the smell that had been hovering around the edge of his senses was himself.
“Take one here,” Stefan offered. “Please, I just need you to come now. Can you do that?”
“Sure, I’m on my way,” agreed Alaric.
“Thank you,” said Stefan sounding relieved. “The door’s open, let yourself in.”
Once Alaric had rolled himself out of bed and winced at the way his joints creaked he began to regret agreeing to leave straight away. He was a mess. Dirty, bloody clothes and skin. Dark rings underneath his eyes. His stomach was growled at him, annoyed at the way it had been neglected.
Alaric pulled new clothes out of his wardrobe but found he couldn’t bear the thought of wearing anything clean until he had cleaned himself. Sighing, Rick added them to the bag that was still packed from the road trip. Stefan had better not have been lying about taking a shower he thought to himself. He quickly gulped down a glass of water and scoffed a cereal bar, tucking another two into his pocket. Grabbing his car keys he was on his way.
He drove in darkness and pulled up at the boarding house just as the eastern sky was beginning to lighten. Staring for a moment Alaric realized he had seen dawn from the wrong side far too many times recently and that at some point he had lost track of what day it was. Shrugging off his melancholy feelings he entered the house and went towards the lone room where a light was on. It turned out to be the kitchen, the fluorescent tube making everything a bit too bright and slightly off color.
Stefan sat slumped over the kitchen table, his head pillowed in his arms. He started when Alaric entered the room, the movement overly quick before he settled back into human slowness. It seemed that Alaric hadn’t been the only one to be woken up too soon.
“You look like crap,” blurted Alaric.
Stefan smiled tiredly, eyeing him over. “Considering who that’s coming from I must really look bad.”
“I’d say you look like death warmed up, but seeing as that’s how you always look...” Alaric grinned. “Seriously though, how are you?”
Stefan sighed. “Tired and hungry,” he admitted. “I’ve been too afraid to leave Damon alone.”
“How is he?”
“Sleeping again,” replied Stefan. “He woke up a couple of hours ago. I fed him what was left of the stash of blood I stole from the blood bank when..” he trailed off.
Alaric remembered. Stefan on human blood - lying and stealing. Not his finest hour.
“Is he any better?” asked Alaric.
“No,” Stefan replied shortly. “Just the same,” he paused, choking in a breath. “He wouldn’t take the blood from the bags at first. I had to force his mouth open to get him to take the first one. He...Alaric, Elgin cut out his tongue.”
Alaric froze, horrified. Even though he had seen Damon in Elgin’s basement, he hadn’t realized why blood had been pouring from his mouth. He suddenly remembered the bloodstained secateurs and shuddered at the thought of what they had been used for.
“Is he... will he..” Alaric stopped to take a breath. “Will he be all right?”
“I don’t know,” replied Stefan sadly. “Damon’s strong but between the massive blood loss and the vervain....” he trailed off.
“Is there anything I can do to help,” Alaric offered immediately.
Stefan smiled wanly. “Actually there is something you can do,” he replied. “We’re all out of blood. I need to go steal some more and I don’t want to leave Damon alone while I’m gone.”
“Sure,” agreed Alaric nervously. “I guess I can babysit for a couple of hours, he’s sleeping right?”
“He is,” confirmed Stefan. “But, I’m going to be gone more than a couple of hours.”
Alaric looked puzzled so Stefan began to explain. “All the local hospitals are monitored for thefts of blood. I can’t risk sparking another vampire hunt by going there.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“There’s a processing plant just over the state line,” explained Stefan. “All the donated blood is sent there for screening. I should be able to get enough blood from there to last Damon a month and it’s far enough away from Mystic Falls that the trail won’t lead back here. If I do this I won’t have to leave him again until he’s better, or it’s clear that he won’t get better.”
“How long will you be gone?” asked Alaric.
“I’ll leave right now and I should be back before sunset.” Stefan replied. “But if anything goes wrong it could be later, maybe much later. Even if I take his ring away I still can’t risk leaving Damon alone. If he got out of the house after dark he’d kill anyone he saw, no matter who was watching.”
Alaric came to a chilling realization. “You don’t want a babysitter,” he said, his voice tight. “You want a victim. You want me to be Damon’s first meal when he wakes.”
“I’m so sorry Alaric,” Stefan apologized, looking down at his feet. “I know it’s a terrible thing to ask of you and I have no right to ask it.” He took a deep breath. “But I am asking it anyway - for my brother’s sake.”
“Can’t you just lock him up somewhere?” asked Alaric.
Stefan shook his head. “He can break out of anywhere I put him unless I give him vervain. And if I have to give him more vervain I may as well give up and kill him right now.”
Alaric’s guts clenched at the thought of killing Damon. It seemed he had little choice. “I’ll do it,” he agreed.
Stefan breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you Alaric,” he said. “If there’s ever anything, anything, that you need. Ask me and it’s yours.”
Alaric nodded. “A shower would be good,” he said dryly.
Stefan laughed. “Help yourself. Anything in the house is yours,” he dropped his grin and his expression became serious. “Damon is in the basement. It’s dark there and quiet. If he wakes up he’ll come looking for food, but I wouldn’t disturb him unless you have to.”
Alaric nodded, not in any hurry to wake the sleeping vampire.
Once Stefan had left, Alaric stood at the front door and stared after him. He didn’t want to go back inside. He certainly didn’t want to let Damon bite him again. Once had been more than enough for a lifetime and last time he hadn’t had to wait around for it to happen. He shivered, heart thumping at the memory of fear and pain.
He thought about leaving, he could run, no one would stop him. But he knew he couldn’t. If he ran some innocent passerby would die, and then so would Damon - either at the hands of the Founder’s Council or those of his brother. He swallowed, and took a last look at the gardens in the morning sun. Then he turned away and went back inside, closing the door behind him.
Tip-toeing upstairs Alaric had the most nerve wracking shower of his life. Every time the pipes gurgled or the boiler fired he jumped half out of his skin. His ears strained to hear any noise as he scrubbed himself viciously, trying to get clean as quickly as possible.
Rationally he knew there was no point in listening. Damon walked like a cat, taking pleasure in popping up behind him and scaring him half to death. There was no way he would hear the vampire’s approach. Knowing that didn’t stop him trying though.
He finished his shower, skin shiny and pink from the overly fierce washing. Taking clothes from his bag he dressed quickly, once he had his shoes on again Alaric relaxed slightly. Clothes provided a very real security blanket in this situation, even though he knew it was an illusion Alaric felt much less vulnerable now he was dressed.
Tip-toeing back down the astonishingly creaky staircase Alaric headed for the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, finding it reassuringly empty of blood. Of course, he thought to himself, if it had been full of blood he wouldn’t be in this situation. He stared at the contents. It was clear that Stefan hadn’t had a chance to restock after their trip. The salad was limp, the milk had curdled and a tub of something unnamable was in the process of evolving into a new life form. Sighing he closed the door and checked the freezer.
This was better, frozen bread, frozen milk, frozen meals. It was clear that the brothers planned for times when no one had shopped. He wondered if they both did it. He could clearly see Stefan preparing for any eventuality but Damon always gave the impression of living for the moment. Of course, he corrected himself, Damon also hatched plans that took 145 years to bring to fruition so perhaps the impression of the free-wheeling hedonist was just that - an impression.
Alaric shuffled through the contents of the freezer before he finally admitted to himself that he didn’t really want to eat anything. His stomach was roiling with nerves rather than with hunger. He did have to eat something - though fainting from low blood sugar would mean that Alaric didn’t have to sit around worrying about Damon coming to bite him, it also meant that no one was watching for him waking. Sighing he made himself tea and decided that the packet of biscuits that he found in the cupboard would be a perfect snack (he was about to donate blood after all). Food sorted he went to sit in the lounge.
For the next few hours Alaric fidgeted. He turned on the TV. He decided it was too loud. He turned off the TV. He browsed the bookshelves. He chose a book. He tried to read. He jumped at every noise. He put the book down. He wondered to the basement stairs. He hesitated. He walked away. He went to the kitchen. He heated up soup. He tried the soup. He poured the soup away. He started to make coffee. He decided the machine was too loud. He stopped making coffee. He browsed the rooms. He fiddled with a display of swords. He took one down and gave it an experimental swing. He forced himself to put the sword back on the wall. He went back to the lounge. He browsed the DVDs. He picked one. He turned around to find himself nose to nose with Damon. He yelled in shock and jumped back. Damon followed.
Once again Alaric found himself pinned to the floor by the vampire, teeth at his neck. Damon hadn’t hesitated before biting down hard. Alaric squirmed and tried not to fight back. He knew Damon was stronger and that struggling would only cause him more pain. It was impossible to stay still though, so instead he moved his arms to hold Damon, to try and calm the vampire. He wrapped one arm across Damon’s back and threaded the other hand through the vampire’s hair in a parody of an embrace. Alaric stroked his hand gently down the skin of Damon’s back. “Damon,” he murmured. “Come on, it’s me, Rick. You know me. Let go.”
If Damon understood him he gave no sign of it and continued to feed. Alaric felt himself becoming dizzy, a newly familiar symptom of blood loss. “Damon,” he gasped out. “You have to stop. You’re killing me.” Once again there was no response from the vampire. Darkness bloomed in his vision as once again, he felt himself dragged down into death.
Continued here
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Violence, sex. Slight dub-con moment
Pairing: Damon/Alaric Stefan/Elena (Canon, non-explicit)
Beta: jussy_baby Thank you!
Length: This Part ~11500 words, all 3 parts total ~23000
Summary: Bonnie disappears, the gang go on a road trip to find her, hi-jinks ensue. Final part
Disclaimer: Not mine, I do not own. Just for fun; No copyright infringement intended.
Elena watched her boyfriend as he crossed the square outside the lecture hall again and again. She fanned herself with a map, trying to find some respite from the summer’s heat.
“Anything?” she asked.
Stefan shook his head. “Lets try the car park,” he suggested squinting in the bright sunlight.
Elena walked slowly over and took his hand as they wandered through the campus. The grounds were quiet with the students away on summer break and Stefan had been encouraged that the scene would be relatively undisturbed. They had started with the area around the exhibition hall, but found no trace of Bonnie there. Undeterred they had traced her route trying to find some clue to her disappearance.
Once they had reached the car park Elena retreated to sit under a tree that offered some shade. Stefan began to circle around the baking tarmac trying to find some hint of his friend. Suddenly he stiffened, then crouched to touch the ground.
“Elena,” he called.
Elena hurried over. “Did you find something?” she asked hopefully.
Stefan nodded. “Blood,” he declared, pointing to a tiny smudge on the ground. “I’m pretty sure it’s Bonnie’s” he added.
Elena froze for a second, unsure of whether she was pleased to find a lead or horrified at the thought of her friend injured and alone. With a deep breath she pulled herself together.
“It’s right by bay number 137,” she noted. “This area is all for reserved parking. I bet if we go to the administration building we can find out who this space belongs to.”
Stefan nodded. “Good idea,” he said. “But will they just tell us? I can try to compel them but it doesn’t always...” he trailed off.
“Don’t worry,” Elena reassured him. “Just follow my lead.”
Marching over to the other side of the campus, Elena hurried into the administration building dragging Stefan behind her. Ducking past reception she checked the notice board by the elevators before entering and selecting a floor. In the elevator Stefan watched bemused as Elena rubbed her eyes to redden them and hyperventilated several quick breaths before pulling a wad of loose paper from her bag. She winked at him, then stepped out onto the floor heading for the first occupied desk she saw.
“Oh God, Oh God, I’m so sorry,” she babbled at the woman behind the desk. “It was a total accident, I only lost control for a second, but it was too late.”
The woman looked up, alarmed at the near hysterical teenager in front of her. “I’m sorry, what...” she began.
“It’s only a little dent,” swore Elena tearfully, “You’d hardly notice it. My dad is going to kill me, I’ve only had the car a month and I’ve crashed it already.”
“You crashed your car?” asked the woman.
Elena nodded. “Just a little bit, with a car in your car park, and the guy at security said you would be able to tell me whose car I crashed into so I can get their details for the insurance,” she said without pausing for breath. “I have the number here,” she slid over a note with 137 written on it.
“Well I suppose I can tell you in the circumstances,” agreed the woman tapping at her computer.
“Oh, thank you so much,” gushed Elena, pulling a pen out of her bag and beginning to write. “This is my name,” she said as she wrote, “and my cell number, this is the name of my insurers.”
It was obvious the woman wasn’t listening to her, instead she was staring at her screen. “That’s odd.” she said.
“Huh? What’s odd?” asked Elena breaking off her monologue.
“That’s Professor Elgin’s parking bay,” the woman told her, “But he shouldn’t be here. He’s just gone on sick leave,” she shook her head. “It’s not important.” She wrote down a number on a piece of paper. “This is his office telephone,” she said scribbling away, “and this is his office location. I imagine he would be in if his car is here.”
“Thank you,” repeated Elena with a brilliant smile. “You are a life saver.” Taking Stefan’s hand again she returned to the elevator, job done.
“Wow,” said Stefan, once they were safely downstairs. “You were incredible.”
Elena grinned at him. “Well I was the lead in the school play in Junior High,” she preened before her expression turned serious. “So, Professor Elgin,” she frowned.
Stefan nodded worried, “We have to warn Damon and Alaric.”
Once out of the building they ran down the steps and towards their hire car. Stefan jumped in and took the wheel, starting the engine while Elena fastened her seat belt. As he pulled off the campus Elena was already scowling at her phone.
“I’ve tried both their phones,” she said. “No one is answering.”
Stefan grimaced. “Send them a text anyway,” he advised. “It could just be that they don’t have coverage where they are.”
“Do you really think so?” asked Elena hopefully.
“No,” replied Stefan. “But it won’t do any harm if I’m wrong.”
Stefan drove quickly as Elena tapped a message into her phone.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked, once she had finished.
Taking one hand off the wheel Stefan fished a folded square of paper from his pocket, he passed it to Elena.
“I copied Rick’s directions.”
“Wow, you’re a regular boy scout.” said Elena, relieved. “Did you think Professor Elgin was behind Bonnie’s kidnapping all the time?”
Stefan shook his head. “As much as I’d like to claim that I did, I only took the directions because Alaric was going off alone with Damon. I wanted to be able to track my brother down if I had to.”
“Damon wouldn’t hurt Alaric, would he?” asked Elena. “I thought they were friends?”
“Damon doesn’t have friends,” said Stefan, glancing over at his girlfriend to see if she was paying attention. “He has people who are useful and people who are interesting. And as soon as they stop being so they become food again.”
“I don’t believe that,” disagreed Elena. “I think he wants friends. He was really touched when I called him my friend.”
“Elena, he wants into your pants,” Stefan dismissed her. “Don’t confuse that with friendship.”
“But he doesn’t,” Elena denied. “Not anymore. He hasn’t done anything on this trip. No trying to get me alone, no sly innuendos. He hasn’t even flirted with me, and Damon flirts as often as he breathes.”
Stefan frowned. “That doesn’t mean he’s give up,” he protested. “He could just be being subtle.”
“Yeah, so subtle I don’t even notice,” scoffed Elena. “Since when has that been Damon’s style.”
Stefan scowled and managed to bite back a comment about Elena being too young and innocent to understand what Damon would or wouldn’t do, knowing that actually saying it would start a fight. He settled into an uneasy silence, wishing that there was some way he could convince Elena that Damon was never, ever to be trusted. Eyeing the speedometer he drove as fast as he dared praying that they wouldn’t be too late.
=======================================================
Wiping his forehead with a trembling hand George Elgin watched as his offering grudgingly returned to consciousness. It had been more difficult than he had anticipated to hang the vampire above the altar. Even with the pulley system he had rigged up beforehand it had taken all of his dwindling strength to hoist him aloft. It did not matter though, everything had gone to plan so far and soon he would not have to worry about his own frailty.
He reached out and slapped the sacrifice across the face. “Wake up,” he instructed. “You must be awake for the ritual.”
He peered into the vampire’s face and determined that he was aware, if still drugged. That would be sufficient, Elgin assured himself, he did not want him able to fight back after all. Even with his wrists manacled behind him and suspended upside-down by his ankles it would not do to underestimate the left-handed twin’s strength.
Elgin moved over to a table at the side of the room. He picked up some metal tongs and a pair of secateurs. He frowned at them, wondering again if such inelegant tools had a place in his ritual. He quashed his doubts quickly. A lifetime of research into the occult and several months of frantic study had brought him to this point. The driving force of his brain tumor spurring him on to find a solution.
It would be so simple. The left-handed twin created all the evil in the world and his sacrifice would rid the world of evil. Not on such a scale of course, Elgin reminded himself firmly, trying to keep his mind clear. The vampire was only an effigy after all, a stand in for the real thing. He was not planning to destroy all bad things, only the cancer. It would work, he was certain. He had done the research, checked and rechecked the legends, agonized over the details but in the end he had done it. He had found the way.
Steeling himself, Elgin reached into the vampire’s slack mouth with the tongs, taking a firm grip on his tongue. Pulling the tongue out as far as he could he brought the secateurs up and snipped. Elgin almost lost his hold as the creature thrashed violently as the first cut was made. A burst of fear shot through the professor, the adrenaline rush fortunately tightening his hold with the tongs. He didn’t waste any time and quickly sheared through the tongue with three more cuts.
Elgin looked down at the severed tongue in distaste, flicking it from the tongs into the large bowl sitting on the altar. The offering was still writhing, and the blood spilling from it’s mouth was not running neatly into the bowl as expected but instead was splattering around the altar as the vampire moved. Elgin shuffled back so as to avoid being splashed.
He was also disturbed by the amount of noise the creature was making, not quite screams - more similar to grunts. Whatever he called them they were not part of the dignified ritual the professor had envisioned. He winced as the subject vomited.
Shaking his head in disgust Elgin moved further away from the altar. He tried to block out the noise and smell of the sacrifice. It was vital that he remained focused, it would not do to make an error at this late stage. He walked over to the lectern where his notes were waiting. Elgin took a deep breath and began the chant.
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Elena ran back to the car. They had somehow managed to get lost, Alaric’s directions not as clear as they had seemed to be. Luckily they had driven past a farmhouse where a woman had been hanging out her washing. She had been kind enough to give them directions.
“We’ve driven about twenty minutes too far,” she told Stefan. “We need to turn around and go back.”
Stefan changed gears and swung the car around. He stamped down on the gas pedal, not bothered about the speed limit on such rural roads, trusting to his reflexes to avoid any accidents.
=========================================================
Alaric tried to spit, but found that his mouth was too dry to rid itself of the foul taste he had awoken to. Somewhere nearby he heard the ‘thh-dub, hiss, thh-dub’ of the stylus on a record that had finished playing. He shook his head, trying to remember what he was doing here. He pulled himself to his feet and looked around the empty room. Didn’t he remember coming here with Damon? Alaric decided he should go and look for him.
He staggered out into the corridor and found himself at a loss. He had no idea where to look in this unfamiliar house. There were several doors off the main hallway, one of which he thought he remembered as being the front door. He went to check. He was right, it was the front door. Alaric squinted out into the bright sunlight, relieved at seeing his car was still there. Damon couldn’t be far away then, he reassured himself.
The fresh air felt good and he took in several deep breaths that cleared his head a little. We were here to talk to the professor, remembered Alaric. We were going to ask him about Bonnie. He thought for a while but couldn’t recall the professor’s answer. He rubbed his eyes. He must have fallen asleep, Alaric decided, he had been tired from the long journey and must have dozed off. Damon and the professor must have moved elsewhere so as not to disturb him as they talked.
Alaric re-entered the house, this time finding the kitchen where he splashed cold water from the sink onto his face before gulping down several handfuls to clear the vile taste from his mouth. Refreshed, Alaric wiped his mouth on his sleeve before resuming his search.
Picking another door at random, Alaric frowned to see stairs leading down to another hallway. Damon and the professor would hardly be chatting in a cellar he thought and he moved to close the door. It was only at the last second he thought he heard a voice from the room below. Alaric paused to listen. There was definitely someone down there.
Still feeling a little light headed, Alaric made sure he had a firm grip on the banister before he walked downstairs. The voice became louder as he neared the foot of the stairs and Alaric realized that whoever it was wasn’t speaking English. He paused to listen before shaking his head, whatever language it was Alaric couldn’t place it. At the foot of the stairs Alaric realized he could smell something, a thick cloying odor that he had once only associated with butcher’s shops - the smell of blood.
Alarmed, Alaric looked about himself. Spying a pile of firewood stacked neatly in a corner Alaric picked up a branch, now armed he turned to face a second door. Both the voice and the smell were coming from behind it. Alaric took a deep breath and shoved it open.
For the space of several heartbeats all Alaric saw was red. Red splattered the walls, it painted the floor. It ran in a never ending stream from the mouth of the man hanging from the ceiling. It ran down into a bowl, from which it overflowed to drench a stone slab. It seemed far too much to come from one body, yet clearly it had.
Alaric wasn’t sure how long he stood motionless before he stepped into the room. He was sure he had taken several sharp breaths before he recognized the hanged man as Damon. He didn’t remember noticing Professor Elgin until he was right behind him, raising his makeshift club to bring it down on the back of the old man’s head. Elgin crumpled without a sound.
He didn’t recall exactly how he lowered Damon to the floor, laying him carefully atop of his bound arms, not even sure if his friend was alive. Blood, thought Alaric, he will need blood to heal. He cupped his hands and drew a double-handful of blood from the filled bowl. He poured it into Damon’s open mouth. Much of it spilled and added to the mask of red the vampire already wore.
Worried when Damon failed to respond, Alaric tried again and again without Damon stirring. Alaric pressed his fingers into Damon’s neck, trying to find a pulse. He couldn’t find one. Unsure of whether Damon was truly dead or still dying Alaric looked around the room in desperation. His gaze caught on a table against the wall where bloodstained secateurs lay. Alaric reached over and grabbed them.
He checked that Isobel’s ring was securely in place, then braced himself. Taking the sharp edge of one of the blades, Alaric made a deep slice across the skin of his wrist. Gasping in pain, he pressed his wrist to Damon’s mouth as the blood flowed from the wound. Nothing happened and Alaric worried that the wound would soon heal. Just as he began to withdraw his wrist Rick felt Damon’s teeth bite down, hard.
Alaric was so relieved to see his friend wasn’t dead he began to laugh, even through the pain of the bite. His joy stopped when it became clear that Damon wouldn’t let go. He tried saying Damon’s name, but the vampire didn’t respond. He tried to push Damon off his wrist but he couldn't dislodge him. Starting to feel faint again Alaric picked up his branch and hit Damon with it, across the top of his head. The vampire growled and released his wrist. The reprieve was short lived though because as soon as Alaric scrambled away Damon pounced on top of him and knelt astride his chest, pinning him to the ground with his superior strength.
Alaric struggled in panic as he got his first glimpse of Damon’s eyes. He had known they would be filled with red, what he hadn’t expected was the look of mindless hunger. He couldn’t see any trace of his friend in that black stare, only the predator remained. Damon curled back his lips in a snarl, revealing rows of sharp bloodstained teeth. Alaric flinched back against the floor and Damon struck, biting deep into his neck.
Alaric was surprised at how painful it was. Even as his vision began to dim his thoughts turned to legends of the vampire’s bite and how it was meant to cause the victim untold pleasure. This was not pleasure, only pain, the tearing of his flesh, the ripping of life from his body. He pushed at Damon, trying to escape, but his strength had deserted him. Alaric could hear his own heartbeat slowing with each swallow Damon took. Soon the beat faltered and stopped and all he could hear was a roaring sound. Then nothing.
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Stefan barreled the car along the driveway at least twenty miles an hour faster than was safe to do so. Elena could hear the ping-ping of dislodged stones swept up by the tires hitting the car. She gripped onto the door handle to steady herself on the bumpy road, unwilling to ask Stefan to slow down.
They had managed to overshoot Elgin’s driveway once more, and had had to backtrack slowly until they had spotted the entrance concealed amongst overgrown bushes. Elena had grown more panicked with each wasted minute and she knew Stefan wasn’t much better, for all he managed to conceal it.
When they reached the house, Elena released her seat belt and was opening her door before the car had stopped moving. Pulling in beside Alaric’s car, Stefan wasted no time in joining her at the open doorway. Elena moved into the hallway cautiously, listening for any sign of life.
Stefan paused at the threshold, testing its integrity before he slowly stepped inside.
“Elena,” he warned.
Elena stopped to look back, noticing that he had been able to enter the house.
“What does that mean?” she asked him wide-eyed.
“It means that no one who lives here is alive,” Stefan replied, walking up to take her hand. “I don’t know how or why.”
“Where should we look?” asked Elena.
Stefan let his senses roam before pointing to the cellar door. “Down,” he replied, stepping past her down the stairs. “Stay behind me.”
The scent of blood became stronger as they reached the bottom, it was clear which direction it came from but Stefan instead moved to a door from behind which he heard a faint sound. The door was bolted from the outside, the metal scraped noisily as he freed it. Cautiously he pulled the door open to reveal a small, dark room.
A figure was huddled in a corner of the bare room. “Bonnie?” asked Stefan.
The girl slowly lifted her head to look at them and gasped. “Elena,” she whispered, her speech heavy and slurred, “is that really you?”
Elena launched herself at Bonnie, wrapping her arms around her. It wasn’t long before they were both sobbing in relief. Stefan let them have a minute before interrupting.
“Elena, I think you should take Bonnie out to the car,” he suggested.
“Why?” Elena asked, helping her friend to her feet. “We still need to find Alaric and Damon. Wouldn’t it be better to stick together?”
Stefan shook his head, drawing her aside. “I can smell blood,” he said quietly. “A lot of it. Bonnie is already in shock and she smells like she’s been drugged. I don’t want her to see anything that would cause her to panic, her powers might react badly.”
Elena nodded her understanding.
“Stay with her up there,” said Stefan. “I’ll shout if I need you.”
Once Elena and Bonnie had retreated to safety, Stefan took a deep breath and opened the door. The room inside resembled a slaughterhouse, blood everywhere and three unmoving bodies on the floor. Stefan was thankful he had sent the girls away as he felt himself react to the blood. He clenched his fists to steady himself, forcing himself to ignore his instincts to feed.
Alaric lay alone, furthest into the room. His brother lay slumped on top of a man Stefan didn’t recognize, he assumed it must be Professor Elgin. He walked over to his brother wondering why Damon’s wrists were manacled. He gave Damon a small nudge, worried when he didn’t respond. Stefan could smell that most of the blood in the room belonged to Damon but he couldn’t see any obvious sign of injury.
Unsure of why Damon was unconscious Stefan quickly checked Elgin, as he had expected, the professor was dead, the savage bite ripping through his throat was a clear sign that Damon had killed him. Lastly Stefan knelt next to Alaric. Checking his neck Stefan could not find a pulse, the teacher was dead - another bite mark showing the reason why. Stefan sighed with relief when he saw that Alaric was still wearing his ring. With luck that meant that Alaric would revive soon and be able to explain what had happened here.
Stefan stood and moved back towards the door, when he heard a soft tread on the stair. Elena peered around the corner. “Stefan?” she called, as she stepped forward. “Bonnie’s fallen asleep in the car, I came to see if you needed..”
Stefan moved in front of Elena, drawing her into his arms to try and shield her from the scene of carnage. It was not possible to block the sight of blood completely though and Elena gasped.
“What happened?” she asked, not flinching at Stefan’s red-rimmed eyes.
“I don’t know,” Stefan replied. “Damon’s been hurt, most of the blood is his, but I can’t see how he was injured. Alaric and Elgin have both been bitten and drained.”
“Alaric’s dead?” Elena asked faintly.
Stefan nodded. “He’s still wearing his ring though, he should revive.”
Elena wriggled out of Stefan’s embrace. “Let me see him,” she demanded.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” replied Stefan.
“He’s my friend,” said Elena. “I want to see him. I was the one who asked him to come after all.” She pushed past her boyfriend and walked to crouch by Alaric. Gingerly she stroked his hair.
“He looks like he’s in pain,” she said softly.
Stefan placed a hand on her shoulder. “He can’t feel anything, he’s dead,” he told her gently.
Elena stood, hugging Stefan once more, the contact calming them both. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t see Damon begin to twitch. Or notice when he opened his eyes. The first thing they were aware of was a low growl rumbling through the silence of the room. Stefan tensed immediately, his head snapped around to look at his brother who had silently raised himself up onto his knees.
Damon was growling continuously, his bloody gaze focused on Elena. Stefan could see from his expression that his brother wasn’t in control of himself. Slowly Stefan drew Elena aside and stepped between her and Damon.
“Go towards the door,” he instructed her. “Slowly. Don’t make any sudden moves.”
Once Damon saw that his prey was retreating he levered himself up onto his feet, vainly trying to pull his arms free from their bonds. As Elena reached the doorway he darted forward, only for Stefan to bring him to an abrupt halt by flinging an arm out and around his neck. Stefan quickly capitalized on his hold to force Damon to his knees as he thrashed wildly. Damon’s lack of strength was worrying, but right now Stefan was glad of it, if it meant he could protect Elena.
Damon struggled violently, trying to break free or to get enough space to bite. Stefan clung on grimly, unable to calm Damon but unwilling to let go. Only the chains holding Damon’s wrists made it possible to keep his hold, otherwise Damon would have escaped. Even with his reduced strength, the frenzy Damon was experiencing would drive him to free himself at any cost.
Stefan considered what he should do next - whether it was possible to keep hold of Damon until he calmed down. He didn’t think that was likely as his brother showed no sign that his rage was cooling. To his horror, Stefan saw Elena returning to the room. “No,” he cried.
Stefan wasn’t the only one who noticed Elena, Damon renewed his struggles, desperately trying to get to his prey. Elena didn’t run though. Instead she walked right up to the struggling brothers and calmly stabbed Damon with a tranquilizer dart.
“Vervain,” she explained to Stefan as he felt his brother go limp. “Rick keeps them in the boot of his car. I thought you might need some help.”
Stefan sat for a minute to catch his breath before gently rolling Damon onto the floor.
“Thank you,” he told Elena. “You should go, get Bonnie to a hospital, I’ll take care of Damon and Alaric.”
“But...” began Elena.
“Elena you have to go,” Stefan insisted. “Bonnie needs your help and I need to get Damon somewhere safe.”
“What if he wakes up?” Elena wanted to know.
“Right now I’m more worried about him not waking up at all,” replied Stefan sternly. “I need to get him home and see if I can find out what happened. You get Bonnie out of here. I’ll stick around long enough to dispose of Elgin’s body, you can make up a story to tell the police, but then I need to go.”
==========================================================
Alaric woke to a feeling that had become disturbingly familiar. His stiffened limbs and aching chest told him he had died, again. It wasn’t a sentence he would have even considered using before he had moved to Mystic Falls, now it was becoming routine. He blinked several times until the world came into focus.
He was in the passenger seat of a car and it was moving along a highway. A blanket had been laid over him. It was night, the streetlights overhead giving everything an amber glow. Alaric turned his head to see Stefan driving, wincing as the bones in his neck cracked. Stefan took his eyes off the road for a second to glance over to him. He visibly relaxed at seeing Alaric awake.
“Rick,” exclaimed Stefan, “Good to see you awake. You’ve been gone for over half a day. I was worried that you had got a dose of Damon’s blood. Are you feeling OK?”
Alaric tried to answer but all that he managed was a hoarse grunt. He coughed several times then tried again.
“I’m fine,” he managed. “Still human. What happened?”
“I was hoping you could tell me,” replied Stefan. “When Elena and I reached the house you were dead, so was the professor, and Damon was hurt, badly hurt.” he glanced over to the back seat where Damon’s unconscious form lay under two heavy blankets. “Don’t you remember anything?”
Alaric rubbed his eyes and tried to concentrate. “I remember we drove over to Elgin’s house,” he began. “But from then on it’s all jumbled. I remember waking up alone in the study, but I don’t remember going to sleep. I went to look for Damon...” he trailed off.
“What?” prompted Stefan.
“Elgin tried to kill Damon,” said Alaric. “I don’t know why but he had him strung up above an altar and Damon was bleeding everywhere, I mean the whole room was red.” Alaric shuddered.
“I know,” nodded Stefan. “I saw it. But I couldn’t find any wounds on Damon.”
“I gave him my blood,” Alaric remembered. “But then he wouldn’t stop, it was like he didn’t recognize me. I think he killed me. Again.”
Stefan nodded. “He woke up when we were there. I don’t think he knew who we were. He tried to attack Elena, but I stopped him and Elena gave him a dose of vervain to put him under.”
Alaric blinked. “Vervain,” he exclaimed, “there was vervain in the incense. I remember Elgin telling us that.”
“That’s....really bad,” said Stefan, his voice tight.
“What is?”
“Vampires are very good at enduring slow starvation,” began Stefan. “But we’re not as resilient if the blood loss is very rapid. If Damon had vervain in his system as well, it could have interfered with the healing process, and when Elena gave him another dose...” he trailed off.
“Go on,” said Alaric.
“Lexi told me a story once of a vampire who had been drained and ended up permanently damaged,” said Stefan quietly. “He reverted to a feral state, totally mindless, living on instinct. She took care of him for two weeks but then had to kill him, he wasn’t getting better and he was too dangerous to be allowed to live.”
“Do you think that has happened to Damon?” asked Alaric alarmed.
“I hope not,” Stefan replied. “But the way he acted when we found him, it was like he wasn’t Damon anymore.” He worried at his lip, bright spots of blood appearing then vanishing back inside. “We’ll get him back home,” he decided. “Once he’s awake we can see how he is.”
“And if he’s not OK?”
Stefan’s hands clenched on the steering wheel. “I don’t know,” he said, his expression grim. “I’ve never been very good at killing my brother.”
They continued in silence. Stefan drove until past dawn, when Alaric insisted that he let him take over. Stefan quickly dropped off to an exhausted sleep in the passenger seat, leaving Alaric alone to worry. He cursed to himself when he realized he hadn’t asked about Bonnie. Too much had happened for his brain to keep track of it all.
The drive was uneventful, although Alaric did spend a few tense minutes watching a highway patrol car catch up and pass them by. He felt fortunate that he had chosen to wear a dark shirt yesterday - it meant that the bloodstains were hardly visible. Not that Stefan hadn’t done a good job of cleaning him up while he was dead, the vampire had managed to remove most of the blood from his skin and hair so he hadn’t awoken to a dried and flaking mess. He wondered how much practice Stefan had had over the years at tidying up crime scenes. He wondered if he really wanted to know the answer to that question. He spent a few minutes considering if he could think of any explanation the Highway patrol would accept should they be pulled over. He didn’t think they would go for ‘bitten by a vampire’ as an excuse for his bloody clothing, and he was at a loss as to how he could explain Damon.
Once he had crossed the border back into Virginia Alaric felt some of the tension ease. He felt even better when the road signs began to point to Mystic Falls, where the cops would happily accept the bitten by a vampire story. Pulling up outside the boarding house he nudged Stefan awake. To his relief, Stefan told him that they found Bonnie and she was alive if not unharmed. After he helped to carry Damon inside Alaric drove home.
Alaric had never been happier to live in an apartment block full of working singles. It meant nobody was home to see him as he staggered in, tired and bloody. Of course in this town would anyone have batted an eyelid at his bedraggled state? Slamming his apartment door shut behind him, Alaric made a bee-line for his bed. He collapsed onto it, not even waiting to remove his shoes. Exhaustion dragged him down into sleep before his head touched the pillow.
=========================================================
Alaric dreamed that he was stuck at the bottom of a deep well, waist deep in freezing water. Rain was pouring down from the grey sky, far above him, making the walls glisten. He had tried several times to get a grip on the stones to climb out, but each time he had slipped and fallen back. He was running out of time, his hands becoming numb with cold. Shivering he tried once again.
He ran his hands along the old brickwork, feeling for a handhold. Finding one he carefully began his ascent. Looking up, he found himself blinded by the rain. Taking one hand from the wall, he rubbed it over his eyes to clear them, it came away red. It wasn’t rain falling on him anymore, it was blood. Blood everywhere. The walls ran with red. Alaric lost his grip in shock and fell, this time into a pool of blood.
He tried to stand but found that he couldn’t, the pool had grown too deep. The well was too narrow for him to tread water properly and he struggled to keep afloat. Tiring, Alaric had taken several swallows of the bloody water before something fell down on top of him. Grabbing for it wildly, he found it was a rope. Alaric wasted no time in taking hold of it and with the help of whoever was on the other end, began to climb.
Half way to the top Alaric caught his first glimpse of his rescuer, just a black silhouette in the shape of a man. He continued to climb, then a flood of doubt paralyzed him. Who was this man who was rescuing him? What did he plan to do with him once he reached the top? Alaric shivered, suddenly certain that a worse fate than drowning waited for him above,
Alaric’s feelings of alarm grew when the rope drew tight and began to pull him up. Panicked he let go, willing to let himself drown rather than face the demon above. His fear sparked into terror when he didn’t fall, the rope had somehow tied itself around him and he was now hanging limply in it’s grasp, unable to stop his ascent.
It got lighter as he neared the surface. The black silhouette began to show shadows that then began to resolve themselves into features. Alaric could almost recognize a face as he drew closer, he squinted into the light, trying to focus.
Then jerked awake as his phone rang, still stuffed into the pocket of his jeans.
Alaric fumbled with the phone, still half asleep. He finally managed to hit the right button and pressed it to his ear. “Hello?” he mumbled.
“Rick? It’s Stefan. I didn’t wake you did I?”
“Yeah, you did, but don’t worry about it,” replied Alaric, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “I was in the middle of a weird dream and I wasn’t keen on seeing how it ended.”
“I wouldn’t have called, but...can you come over,” Stefan sounded tense.
“Is something wrong? How’s Damon?” Alaric asked.
“He’s asleep,” replied Stefan. “Can you get over here?”
“Right now?”
“As soon as you can. Now would be good.”
“I could do with a shower,” Rick hesitated, slowly realizing that the smell that had been hovering around the edge of his senses was himself.
“Take one here,” Stefan offered. “Please, I just need you to come now. Can you do that?”
“Sure, I’m on my way,” agreed Alaric.
“Thank you,” said Stefan sounding relieved. “The door’s open, let yourself in.”
Once Alaric had rolled himself out of bed and winced at the way his joints creaked he began to regret agreeing to leave straight away. He was a mess. Dirty, bloody clothes and skin. Dark rings underneath his eyes. His stomach was growled at him, annoyed at the way it had been neglected.
Alaric pulled new clothes out of his wardrobe but found he couldn’t bear the thought of wearing anything clean until he had cleaned himself. Sighing, Rick added them to the bag that was still packed from the road trip. Stefan had better not have been lying about taking a shower he thought to himself. He quickly gulped down a glass of water and scoffed a cereal bar, tucking another two into his pocket. Grabbing his car keys he was on his way.
He drove in darkness and pulled up at the boarding house just as the eastern sky was beginning to lighten. Staring for a moment Alaric realized he had seen dawn from the wrong side far too many times recently and that at some point he had lost track of what day it was. Shrugging off his melancholy feelings he entered the house and went towards the lone room where a light was on. It turned out to be the kitchen, the fluorescent tube making everything a bit too bright and slightly off color.
Stefan sat slumped over the kitchen table, his head pillowed in his arms. He started when Alaric entered the room, the movement overly quick before he settled back into human slowness. It seemed that Alaric hadn’t been the only one to be woken up too soon.
“You look like crap,” blurted Alaric.
Stefan smiled tiredly, eyeing him over. “Considering who that’s coming from I must really look bad.”
“I’d say you look like death warmed up, but seeing as that’s how you always look...” Alaric grinned. “Seriously though, how are you?”
Stefan sighed. “Tired and hungry,” he admitted. “I’ve been too afraid to leave Damon alone.”
“How is he?”
“Sleeping again,” replied Stefan. “He woke up a couple of hours ago. I fed him what was left of the stash of blood I stole from the blood bank when..” he trailed off.
Alaric remembered. Stefan on human blood - lying and stealing. Not his finest hour.
“Is he any better?” asked Alaric.
“No,” Stefan replied shortly. “Just the same,” he paused, choking in a breath. “He wouldn’t take the blood from the bags at first. I had to force his mouth open to get him to take the first one. He...Alaric, Elgin cut out his tongue.”
Alaric froze, horrified. Even though he had seen Damon in Elgin’s basement, he hadn’t realized why blood had been pouring from his mouth. He suddenly remembered the bloodstained secateurs and shuddered at the thought of what they had been used for.
“Is he... will he..” Alaric stopped to take a breath. “Will he be all right?”
“I don’t know,” replied Stefan sadly. “Damon’s strong but between the massive blood loss and the vervain....” he trailed off.
“Is there anything I can do to help,” Alaric offered immediately.
Stefan smiled wanly. “Actually there is something you can do,” he replied. “We’re all out of blood. I need to go steal some more and I don’t want to leave Damon alone while I’m gone.”
“Sure,” agreed Alaric nervously. “I guess I can babysit for a couple of hours, he’s sleeping right?”
“He is,” confirmed Stefan. “But, I’m going to be gone more than a couple of hours.”
Alaric looked puzzled so Stefan began to explain. “All the local hospitals are monitored for thefts of blood. I can’t risk sparking another vampire hunt by going there.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“There’s a processing plant just over the state line,” explained Stefan. “All the donated blood is sent there for screening. I should be able to get enough blood from there to last Damon a month and it’s far enough away from Mystic Falls that the trail won’t lead back here. If I do this I won’t have to leave him again until he’s better, or it’s clear that he won’t get better.”
“How long will you be gone?” asked Alaric.
“I’ll leave right now and I should be back before sunset.” Stefan replied. “But if anything goes wrong it could be later, maybe much later. Even if I take his ring away I still can’t risk leaving Damon alone. If he got out of the house after dark he’d kill anyone he saw, no matter who was watching.”
Alaric came to a chilling realization. “You don’t want a babysitter,” he said, his voice tight. “You want a victim. You want me to be Damon’s first meal when he wakes.”
“I’m so sorry Alaric,” Stefan apologized, looking down at his feet. “I know it’s a terrible thing to ask of you and I have no right to ask it.” He took a deep breath. “But I am asking it anyway - for my brother’s sake.”
“Can’t you just lock him up somewhere?” asked Alaric.
Stefan shook his head. “He can break out of anywhere I put him unless I give him vervain. And if I have to give him more vervain I may as well give up and kill him right now.”
Alaric’s guts clenched at the thought of killing Damon. It seemed he had little choice. “I’ll do it,” he agreed.
Stefan breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you Alaric,” he said. “If there’s ever anything, anything, that you need. Ask me and it’s yours.”
Alaric nodded. “A shower would be good,” he said dryly.
Stefan laughed. “Help yourself. Anything in the house is yours,” he dropped his grin and his expression became serious. “Damon is in the basement. It’s dark there and quiet. If he wakes up he’ll come looking for food, but I wouldn’t disturb him unless you have to.”
Alaric nodded, not in any hurry to wake the sleeping vampire.
Once Stefan had left, Alaric stood at the front door and stared after him. He didn’t want to go back inside. He certainly didn’t want to let Damon bite him again. Once had been more than enough for a lifetime and last time he hadn’t had to wait around for it to happen. He shivered, heart thumping at the memory of fear and pain.
He thought about leaving, he could run, no one would stop him. But he knew he couldn’t. If he ran some innocent passerby would die, and then so would Damon - either at the hands of the Founder’s Council or those of his brother. He swallowed, and took a last look at the gardens in the morning sun. Then he turned away and went back inside, closing the door behind him.
Tip-toeing upstairs Alaric had the most nerve wracking shower of his life. Every time the pipes gurgled or the boiler fired he jumped half out of his skin. His ears strained to hear any noise as he scrubbed himself viciously, trying to get clean as quickly as possible.
Rationally he knew there was no point in listening. Damon walked like a cat, taking pleasure in popping up behind him and scaring him half to death. There was no way he would hear the vampire’s approach. Knowing that didn’t stop him trying though.
He finished his shower, skin shiny and pink from the overly fierce washing. Taking clothes from his bag he dressed quickly, once he had his shoes on again Alaric relaxed slightly. Clothes provided a very real security blanket in this situation, even though he knew it was an illusion Alaric felt much less vulnerable now he was dressed.
Tip-toeing back down the astonishingly creaky staircase Alaric headed for the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, finding it reassuringly empty of blood. Of course, he thought to himself, if it had been full of blood he wouldn’t be in this situation. He stared at the contents. It was clear that Stefan hadn’t had a chance to restock after their trip. The salad was limp, the milk had curdled and a tub of something unnamable was in the process of evolving into a new life form. Sighing he closed the door and checked the freezer.
This was better, frozen bread, frozen milk, frozen meals. It was clear that the brothers planned for times when no one had shopped. He wondered if they both did it. He could clearly see Stefan preparing for any eventuality but Damon always gave the impression of living for the moment. Of course, he corrected himself, Damon also hatched plans that took 145 years to bring to fruition so perhaps the impression of the free-wheeling hedonist was just that - an impression.
Alaric shuffled through the contents of the freezer before he finally admitted to himself that he didn’t really want to eat anything. His stomach was roiling with nerves rather than with hunger. He did have to eat something - though fainting from low blood sugar would mean that Alaric didn’t have to sit around worrying about Damon coming to bite him, it also meant that no one was watching for him waking. Sighing he made himself tea and decided that the packet of biscuits that he found in the cupboard would be a perfect snack (he was about to donate blood after all). Food sorted he went to sit in the lounge.
For the next few hours Alaric fidgeted. He turned on the TV. He decided it was too loud. He turned off the TV. He browsed the bookshelves. He chose a book. He tried to read. He jumped at every noise. He put the book down. He wondered to the basement stairs. He hesitated. He walked away. He went to the kitchen. He heated up soup. He tried the soup. He poured the soup away. He started to make coffee. He decided the machine was too loud. He stopped making coffee. He browsed the rooms. He fiddled with a display of swords. He took one down and gave it an experimental swing. He forced himself to put the sword back on the wall. He went back to the lounge. He browsed the DVDs. He picked one. He turned around to find himself nose to nose with Damon. He yelled in shock and jumped back. Damon followed.
Once again Alaric found himself pinned to the floor by the vampire, teeth at his neck. Damon hadn’t hesitated before biting down hard. Alaric squirmed and tried not to fight back. He knew Damon was stronger and that struggling would only cause him more pain. It was impossible to stay still though, so instead he moved his arms to hold Damon, to try and calm the vampire. He wrapped one arm across Damon’s back and threaded the other hand through the vampire’s hair in a parody of an embrace. Alaric stroked his hand gently down the skin of Damon’s back. “Damon,” he murmured. “Come on, it’s me, Rick. You know me. Let go.”
If Damon understood him he gave no sign of it and continued to feed. Alaric felt himself becoming dizzy, a newly familiar symptom of blood loss. “Damon,” he gasped out. “You have to stop. You’re killing me.” Once again there was no response from the vampire. Darkness bloomed in his vision as once again, he felt himself dragged down into death.
Continued here