Eska ~ The Forgotten Gilbert

17. Let the Right One in

Stefan's POV

"Do you mind if I..." I didn't know how to say the words out loud. With Lexi it would have been easy; 'hunt', 'feed' hell, I wouldn't even have to ask. But Lexi was gone. And I was walking through the woods with Eska. She smiled sweetly at me, knowing what I was getting at. 

"No of course not," she said, understandingly. 

"I won't be a second, okay? Then we can carry on?" She nodded. I watched as Eska found a spot on a tree stump and took a book out of her rucksack. I'd been heading out to hunt when I heard Elena announce that she was off to spend the day with Caroline and Bonnie. "What are you up to today?" I'd asked Eska, who was staring at Elena's car leaving our driveway. 

"Well Elena's taken the car, so I guess I'll be walking home." 

I frowned. "I'll take you home, Eska" I offered, "I just need to... go into the woods first."

She raised her eyebrows at me. 

"I need to hunt," I said, my eyes downcast.

To my surprise, Eska walked up to me and put a small hand on my arm. "Shall I come with you? We could have a nice walk? I'll just... wait... until you're done?"

I felt a happy warmth flood over me at my friend's acceptance. "Yeah, that'd be great." 

When I was sure that Eska was far enough behind me so that she couldn't possibly hear or see me,  I let my hunting instincts take over. I was weakened from the fight I'd had with Frederick and Bethanne, and badly needed blood. All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain through my stomach, and looking down, to my horror, I saw a stake going straight through me and felt my vision start to fade. My last thought that went through my mind as everything went black; was Eska okay?

As I woke, I felt the unbearable sting of vervain around my wrists, and I felt my arms being pulled firmly over my head. My stomach throbbed where I'd been staked, and I groaned as I forced my eyes open. I saw Frederick soaking ropes in more vervain, his hands protected by gloves, he smirked at me as he saw I'd woken. 

"Ah good, just in time!" I wondered what he was talking about just as I heard the unmistakeable voice of my brother. Before I could question my brother's sudden appearance any longer, I was pulled down from my restraints and dragged roughly up some stairs to the front door, where I ended up face to face with Damon.

"You're dead." Damon snarled.

"Whoa. I'm sorry. You haven't been invited in. Miss Gibbons?" Frederick sneered as an older woman shuffled up next to me in the doorway.

"Yes, Frederick, honey?" I felt sorry for her.

"Never let this bad man in." Frederick's voice was cold.

"I'll never let him in." She sounded monotonous, the compulsion taking over her own free will.
Frederick turned my brother, his face full of loathing. "145 years left starving in a tomb, thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you and your brother. First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person mad. Well...I thought your brother might want to get a taste of that before I killed him." He turned to the vampire next to him, gesturing towards me. "Billy?" 

The vampire plunged a stake back into my aching body and I cried out in pain.

Frederick smiled at my lost-for-words brother. "You have a nice day," he smirked, before shoving me back inside and slamming the door.