Redamancy | Elena Gilbert

Chapter 53

Rosalind felt nothing.

Dying didn't hurt. The process of driving to The Mystic Grill had been painful, but as soon as they crashed, the pain was gone. She felt like she was floating, and honestly, it was sort of pleasant.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of Bonnie, with Damon at her side.

"Rosalind!" said Bonnie. "Did it work?"

"I am pretty sure it did," said Rosalind, glancing at Damon, who nodded. "Fuck yeah. We deep-fried those bitches."

"Okay," said Bonnie. "When you guys pass through me, you're going to wake up with your bodies on the Other Side. I need you to get back here as fast as you can. Just touch me."

"Got it," said Rosalind. She grabbed her arm, and when she opened her eyes, she was in The Grill, which was on fire. Dead bodies littered the floor everywhere. Damon's car was a total wreck. Rosalind glanced down at her own body, which was charred beyond recognition. Her head had been detached from her body by a beam they hit as they flew in. Otherwise, she imagined she might not have died.

Damon materialized beside her. "Not a pretty sight," he said, seeing his own body was also very badly burned. "Wait..." He seemed to sense something, and walked into the back room. "Liz! No, no, no—"

Rosalind rushed in behind him. "Oh, shit," she said. Liz Forbes was there, with a burnt ceiling beam trapping her on the floor. "She's still alive. If we can just get that beam off..."

Damon reached under, trying to lift it. He strained, and Rosalind jumped in to help. Even with the two of them, it was a bit of a struggle, until a third person joined in, lifting the beam and shoving it to the side.

"Ric," said Damon, a smile growing on his face. "It's good to see you, buddy."

Alaric smiled at them, then looked down at Liz, who was moaning in pain. "I think she's going to be okay. Come on, let's get to the cemetery. Stefan and Lexi are already there."

"Lexi?" asked Rosalind. "That's nice that she's still here."

Damon gave a guilty and awkward laugh. Alaric beckoned them to follow him out of the building. All three of them tried to vamp speed, but were unable to. They resorted to jogging.

They found a small group already huddled there, waiting. Clearly, Luke and Enzo had already returned to the land of the living, because they weren't there. Stefan and Lexi were standing with Bonnie, alongside a familiar figure.

"Tyler!" cried Rosalind. She sprinted forward, catching him in a hug. "Oh my god... you're alive! Well, not alive, you're on the Other Side, which means you're dead. What happened?! Bonnie said you weren't here before!"

"Markos killed Julian," explained Tyler. "It sort of turned out to be a good thing, though. Julian's spirit was attached to mine, and it gave Bonnie the Traveler she needed to teach Liv the spell. Luke and Enzo already went back."

"Now, it's your turn," said Rosalind. "Go on." He touched Bonnie, and vanished. "Stefan, you next."

Bonnie reached for Stefan, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. But, with both back-to-back resurrections, Bonnie let out a loud cry, doubling over in extreme pain.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Alaric. In trying to help her stand up, he touched her, and vanished.

"Note to self, don't touch the anchor," said Damon as Bonnie moaned out, clutching her stomach.

"Bonnie," said Lexi, her eyes wide. "This is killing you, isn't it?"

"I can hold on," squeaked Bonnie, albeit looking very uncomfortable. "I have to. Just come through. We have to finish this."