𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐲 | 𝐭𝐯𝐝

-44-

SOME OF YALL ARE ABOUT TO BE REAL MAD AT ME FOR THIS...
-
"Look, Stefan! A tree! Something new." I mumbled sarcastically. "Have we been through here before?" Stefan asked. "It all looks the same." I groaned. One of the two stepped on a rock that triggered another trap. A spear flew out of nowhere and towards Rebekah. Stefan sped Rebekah out of the way and the spear hit a tree. They gasped for air, Rebekah's back to another tree. "Thanks, but that wouldn't have killed me." Rebekah scoffed.

"Sorry. Force of habit." He smirked. "Hey hey hey hey, no sex whenever your ex is here. Don't make it awkward, buddy boy." I laughed. "Elena could be lurking about...Speaking of which, why do you all assume that I hate Elena so much? You all seem to forget that Elena's death was the only way to save my family. I did the same thing that every one of you would've done to protect the people that you love. And before you cast me as the bad guy, maybe you should remember that Elena's helped to kill not one, but two of my brothers. Maybe we're not as different as everyone's making us out to be. Jeremy's not here. I'm going back."

Rebekah walked away and Stefan and I looked at each other. What in the hell just happened? We walked behind her.

Whenever we got back to the campsite, we realized no one was there until Elena walked out. She didn't know where anyone was either. "What do you mean?" I frowned. Surely she has to know where Bonnie is. "Bonnie's not here and Shane's stuff is all gone," Elena told us. "The tombstone," I whispered. Rebekah sped towards their tent and searched for it. "The tombstone's gone."

Rebekah began rifling through bags inside Elena's tent, breathing heavily with a panicked look in her eyes. I stood in the corner, watching. Elena entered behind us. "Where's the tombstone? What have you done with it?" Rebekah yelled, choking Elena with her hand. "What are you talking about?" Elena yelled back. "Like it's not bloody obvious? All you people ever do is betray me and here you go again!"

Stefan ran in. "Let her go. She didn't take it." He told her. Rebekah released Elena. "Was any of this real? Or was it just a ploy to distract me while Shane ran off with the tombstone?" She questioned. "You think I would do that? You think I would let some psychopath run off with the cure? Every single moment of my last 146 years has been ruled by the pain of being a vampire. And this cure ends that. It ends the guilt and it ends the suffering. And you really think I would jeopardize that?" He retorted.

"Fine. You didn't take it. But that doesn't mean I trust her." She stared at Elena. Elena bent down and lifted up some material, and withdrew the white oak stake from under it. "I didn't take it, but here. Consider this a peace offering." She held it out. "Don't you get it, Elena? There is no peace. We're all screwed."

"Exactly, Rebekah. We're screwed. Bonnie's gone. Shane's got the tombstone. Jeremy's missing. Who knows if Damon's coming back. So, us four, right here, this is all we've got. So we're either in this together...or it's over. For all of us." She lectured. Rebekah took the stake from her clutch.
-

"What's taking them so long?" I asked Elena. We waited at the bottom of a cliff for Stefan and Rebekah. We'd been walking all morning. "I don't know." Elena sighed. I watched carefully as Rebekah snapped Stefan's neck. "REBEKAH!" I screamed. I used my vampire skill to jump up and run after her. "Where are you going!?" I yelled. "To see Damon." She snarled. "Why'd you do that back there?"

She sped toward me. "Did you know? Did you know there was only one dose of the cure?!" Her breath was hot and I shook my head. "No. No, not at all." I replied. She looked at me, her eyes full of anger and pure venom. "We're going to see Damon."
-

We entered a cave and saw Damon standing across from a man with golden blonde hair and a matching beard. His eyes were a deep blue and he had plenty of vampire devices around his waist. We walked beside Damon. "Are we gonna dance or are we gonna play?" He asked the man. "You know he can't hurt me, Damon, unless he's got the white oak stake," Rebekah said. "Oh, he doesn't, but he's got other toys." The man said calmly. He began shooting us with wooden bullets, which may not be deadly to Rebekah, but sure was for me.

I didn't think of myself before I flung myself in front of Damon so he wouldn't get hit. I knew I was screwed when the bullets inched closer to my heart. I sped at the man and he stabbed me with something. I looked down. It was a grenade-like device with wooden spikes coming out of it. I looked back at Damon. His eyes were wide. The man held up the fuse that he pulled out, and the grenade detonates, sending the wooden spikes into my body, all the way through my back.

I fell to the ground and Rebekah took over attacking the man. Damon vamp-sped at him, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat. He withdrew another weapon and fired it at Damon; this time it threw a lasso-like device covered in vervain, which secured Damon by the neck to a pole behind him. Vaughn disappeared as Stefan entered the cave.

I was basically coughing out wooden bullets. This wasn't going to end well. I felt my body begin to shut down. Death was something every vampire has thought of at least once. I didn't imagine it to end this way. My arms were turning gray and veins began to become apparent. Stefan quickly began tearing bullets from my body. I must have passed out because everything faded from view.
-

I woke up on a hill beside a river. Stefan laid beside me, his hand intertwined with mine. We stared at the sky together. I didn't feel any pain. I didn't feel my body becoming numb. I didn't feel anything negative. I felt like a beam of light. I sat up and looked at the crystal clear water. I could see fish swim by and an otter or two leave their dens. There was a log going across the bridge. It seemed familiar. This was our place. "Stefan?" I looked over at him. He was already staring at me. "Yeah?"

"We're back in Mystic Falls." I smiled. "Do you like it?" He pulled me closer. My head rested on his shoulder. "I love it. Are you okay?" I asked him. He nodded. "You're such a liar, Stef." I stood up and smiled down at him. I was wearing a blue dress and matching cloth shoes. He looked over my appearance and got up. "Perfect as always." He whispered.

"Thank you, Mr. Salvatore," I smirked. He smiled slightly. "My time is coming, isn't it?" I asked. "Damon's working on saving you, okay? For now...for now, let's stay here." He walked down the hill. I followed him. "Otter," I muttered, remembering everything. Stefan was quiet for a moment. He was sad. "Stefan. Look at me." I told him. His eyes whelmed up with tears. "You're going to continue looking for this cure, okay? You're going to keep living and going without me. I promise. You'll be okay." I wiped his tear with my thumb. "I don't wanna go without you."

"There isn't any other way. Tell Damon I love him. I love him so much." I requested. "You can tell him yourself." He looked over my shoulder. Damon walked up to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Don't cry now, Damon. You have to be strong for Elena. Both of you do." I grabbed their hands. I felt weak once again. "I love you two. Don't stop." I told them. "I love you too," Damon promised.

"I love you, River," Stefan whispered. "So much to say. So little time." I mumbled. "You're gonna watch us, right?" Damon asked. "Every step of the way," I swore. I felt my chest get heavy again. "I need you guys to leave now," I told them. Damon and Stefan looked at each other. "Go."

They disappeared from beside me and I stared at the otter in the river. That was closure. I needed them. I sat in the patch of sun as darkness took over my eyes once more. I didn't wake up this time. Maybe I didn't want to.
-

so I was thinking about epiphany and I realized I wasn't being as creative as I want to be. It doesn't feel right for me not to put my heart and soul into a story. I decided to end it here because I'm thinking of making a prequel to this and having a whole book of memories Stefan and Damon have with River. Let me know what you guys want and how you feel. I'm sorry this death was so abrupt. I love you all.