𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞 | (✔︎)

forty-one

Those first few moments were confusing and chaotic. One minute Stefan felt like his entire body was burning and the next he was dump unceremoniously on the ground. He groaned in pain and blinked up in confusion, not knowing what had happened. His ears were ringing but he could hear the unmistakable sound of sirens in the distance. He could also hear the moans of pain and the cries for help coming from the people inside the building.

"What-" Stefan coughed. Everything hurt. The only reason he was still alive was because Klaus had gotten him out before he had been consumed in the flames. He had been very lucky.

A thick dark blanket of smoke surrounded the area. Stefan blinked a couple of times as he lay on the concrete, his body slowly beginning to heal. It was taking longer than expected though. He saw Klaus standing next to him on the sidewalk, the expression on his face was unreadable.

Some of the guest had been lucky enough not to have been hurt that much during the explosion and had managed to get themselves out as quickly as possible. The police and the emergency services arrived on the scene rather quickly, doing their best to tend to all the victims, many which were still inside.

Rebekah slumped down on the sidewalk next to Stefan. Her shaky hands were red. She had been burned and her body was taking its sweet time healing.

"Something is not right," Stefan managed to say as he rolled to his side. It hurt, his insides were melting. "It almost feels like-"

"Vervain," Rebekah hissed. "We were sprayed with vervain."

The fire had activated the alarms and water sprinkler system inside the hotel and casino, vervain water raining down on everyone almost immediately. It was the reason their healing abilities were not kicking in properly, they were being slowed down by the vervain that had fallen over their bodies.

A few feet away from Rebekah and Stefan, Riley coughed and sat on the curb. He rubbed his forehead as he tried to process what had happened and waited for his healing abilities to mend the wounds on his skin.

"What the hell was that?" Thierry gasped. Holy shit! They had been lucky not to have been burned to death by the explosion. He still felt shaky and nervous about the whole thing. It had reminded him of the Mikaelson ball. He had been very lucky that night too.

Felix was already on his feet, his face covered in burns. "The building is still standing." It showed that whatever caused the explosion had not been strong enough to bring the entire building down. He glanced briefly in Thierry's direction wondering if Marcel's loyal followers had been behind this attack. Was this a show of rebellion on their part? He turned from Thierry and searched for his sire, finding him just a few feet away. Klaus looked deep in thought.

Elijah came out of the building next, he was carrying an unconscious Mayor de la Fontaine in his arms, the Mayor's wife following closely behind. She was frantically screaming for the paramedics to come and help. Her dress was torn and she was limping. Elijah deposited the Mayor on the sidewalk, bit into his wrist and fed him his blood. It wouldn't look good on their family to have the Mayor of the city die on their watch.

"He'll be fine," he reassured the Mayor's wife. The usually elegant Original looked terrible just like the other guests that were lucky enough to exit the hotel with their own feet. His hair was a mess, he had a nasty gash on half of his face which was healing rather slowly and his black tux was covered in debris, blood, smoke, and water. His gaze moved over his siblings and the other vampires that had been at the event, ensuring that they were unharmed.

Rebekah was complaining about her ruined dress and the redness of her skin, she was still healing from the burns caused during the explosion. Stefan was on the ground next to her, staring up at the dark sky and groaning in pain from time to time. Unlike them, Stefan's vampire body was not indestructible.