Thunder crackled in the dark cloudy sky as rain poured down, hammering against the roof of my house. I sat on my bed staring out the window, finding a certain calmness in the chaos of the storm. It had been going on all night and seems to be continuing on into the early morning.
My attention was dragged away from the thunder outside by Elena. She walked into my room and stood in front of me with a worried look on her face.
"Did you know?" She asked vaguely
"Know what?" I asked, feeling confused
"That all of the vampires from the tomb got out?" She asked me
"Oh, that. Yeah." I nodded, remembering that I had forgotten to tell her.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Elena asked, I could tell that she was annoyed
"I only saw you once yesterday, and that was when you were on a double date with two of our very human friends who are unaware of everything." I said
"Right. Well, I'm going to see Stefan. Do you want to come with?" She asked as she headed for my door.
"Yeah, sure." I shrugged and stood up, following her down the stairs and out the front door.
The two of us very quickly made our way to her car, trying to avoid getting soaked by the pouring rain. Elena wasted no time in driving us to the Salvatore residence. Once we got there, she ran up to the front door, trying to stay out of the torrential rain. I followed after her with a slower pace, enjoying the feeling of it falling into my face.
By the time I made it to the front door, Elena was already in the living room, hugging Stefan. Damon was hammering a nail into a large wooden board that covered one of the windows of the living room.
"What happened?" I asked in confusion
"We were attacked by two of the tomb vampires last night." Stefan replied as he let go of Elena.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked
"Yeah, all good. Thank you for asking." Damon said as he looked at me over his shoulder with a smile.
"I say we go to Pearls and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night." Damon said as he finished attaching the wooden panel to the window
"Yeah? And then what, turn to the rest of their house of vampires and say, oops, sorry?" Stefan said sarcastically. Damon shrugged his shoulders in response.
"I can't believe you made a deal with her." Elena said
"It's more like a helpful exchange of information. It's not like I got a choice. She's scary." Damon said
"Yeah, you weren't there, El. She stuck her thumbs in his eyes and threatened to kill him, and me." I said
"Exactly, couldn't let that happen. Besides, she's gonna help me get Katherine back." Damon said
I glanced at him with raised brows, remembering exactly what had happened yesterday and how he had turned that offer down.
"Of course she is. Damon gets what he wants, as usual, no matter who he hurts." Elena said bitterly
"You don't have to be snarky about it." Damon said
"Hey, I thought that was my nickname." I feigned offense
"Of course it is, no one can take that title from you." Damon said, playing along in a joking manner.
"I woke up to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned Snarky." Elena said
"Ugh. How long are you gonna blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?" He said dramatically
"I'm not blaming you. I've accepted the fact that you're a psychopath with no redeeming qualities." Elena stated
"Ouch." Damon said
"This isn't being productive. We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires, yeah?" Stefan said
Damon walked out of the living room without saying a word, I could hear him walking up the stairs towards his bedroom.
"I'll deal with it." I said as I turned on my heels and followed after him. I walked up the stairs and stuck my head into his bedroom to see him sitting on his bed.
"So, what was that about?" I asked as I stepped into his room
"What was what about?" He returned the question, not understanding what I was talking about. I walked into his room and sat down next to him.
"If I remember correctly, you told Pearl you never want to see Katherine again." I said
"I didn't...I don't. But what I do want is to confront her, maybe kill her. Stab her through the heart, something poetic like that." He said with a shrug
"For once, I actually agree with you." I nodded
"Really? You actually want me to kill someone?" He asked rhetorically
"Yes. Katherine's a bitch." I said, causing Damon to laugh slightly.
"That she is." He agreed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What happens when you leave your phone on silent and go for a long shower? You end up with Damon Salvatore banging on your door, that's what. I had hardly been away from my phone for that long and I had eight missed calls from him.
I opened the door as he barged in, looking frustrated. "You're ignoring me. Both you, and Elena."
Elena walked in from the kitchen, having heard Damon come in. "The six missed calls, Sorry, my phone's dead." She lied
"Is Stefan here?" Damon asked
"No. Why? Is something wrong?" Elena asked
"He went out into the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone, I figured he was here with you." Damon said
Elena immediately dialed Stefan's number, hoping he would pick up. "It's going straight to voicemail. Where could he be?"
"You're not gonna like what I'm thinking." Damon said
"What?" I asked
"I think the tomb vamps have taken him." Damon said
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rain was still pouring down outside as Damon banged harshly on the front door of the old farmhouse that Pearl had described.
"Pearl, open the door. I swear to god, I'll burst through it and rip your head off." Damon called out.
The door opened just a crack to reveal a man who I didn't recognise. "Pearl's not home."
"Mm. Beautiful weather." The man said as he fully opened the door to look outside. His eyes then landed on me, and I could see them darken with hunger and danger.
"Not a ray of sun in the sky." The man added
"Where's my brother?" Damon asked
The man smirked and opened the door wider. "Billy."
Two men then came walking out of a door, holding Stefan by his arms tightly. His wrists were bound in rope and he looked weak. He was in a lot of pain. I glanced up at Damon to see his eyes darkening in rage.
"You are dead." He spat as he attempted to step inside, only to be stopped.
"Whoa. I'm sorry, but you haven't been invited In." The man taunted.
"Miss Gibbons?" An older woman appeared at the door behind him, she was evidently human, and the resident of this house. She had a bite mark in her neck.
"Yes, Fredrick, honey?" She asked softly
"Never let this bad man in." Fred said
"I'll never let him in." She echoed, evidently under compulsion. She then smiled and walked away with a far away look in her eyes.
"Unfortunately for you, I don't need an invitation." I spat as I lit a flame in the palm of my hand. The familiar feeling of magic thrumming through my veins.
I always made sure to absorb some power before going anywhere supernatural related. I took a step forward, fully intended on getting Stefan back. But Fredrick snarled and bared his fangs.
Damon very quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me back, stopping me from stepping over the threshold.
"If you come in, Witch. I'll kill you slow. Let everyone have a turn at tasting your blood." Fredrick snarled
Damon's face was dark with rage. He wanted to step over that door and rip them all apart. "You touch her and it will be the last thing you do."
"One-hundred and forty five years left starving in a tomb thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you and your brother. The first few weeks...every single nerve in your house screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person mad. Well, I thought your brother might wanna get a taste of that before I killed him. Billy?" Fredrick called out.
Billy shoved a stake through Stefan's abdomen, making him cry out in pain. My heart thudded painfully in my chest at the sound.
"Stop!" I cried out. On instinct, I reached out with my powers to Billy, getting a hold of his mind. He suddenly dropped the stake and held his head in his hands. He was screaming in pain, but I wouldn't stop. I kept my eyes on him as I caused him as much pain as I could.
A hand wrapped tightly around my throat and I found myself pinned up against the doorframe. My concentration was broken and Billy stopped screaming. Fredrick had grabbed onto me, but he hadn't stepped out of the house.
Damon's eyes were pitch black as he bared his fangs at the other vamp. He grabbed onto Fredrick's arm and pulled it away from my neck, throwing the man to the floor with a loud thud.
Fredrick groaned and pulled himself up off of the ground. "Once I'm through with Stefan, I'm coming for you, you little bitch."
He then collected himself and grabbed onto the door. "You have a nice day." He slammed the door shut on our faces.
Damon's hands were immediately on the sides of my face, turning my head upwards to get a good look at my neck. "Flo, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'm starting to get tired of vampires trying to strangle me though." I admitted
He then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and began to walk out into the rain. Stepping away from the porch of the farmhouse.
"Even though that was kinda stupid, it was pretty badass." Damon admitted as we walked through the pouring rain. The cold droplets were soaking through our clothes.
"Thanks." I said with a small smile.
We quickly made our way through the woods and back towards the car where Elena was waiting for us. She got out of the car when she saw us approaching and put up an umbrella to keep herself dry. Damon and I quickly ducked underneath the umbrella when she was close enough, trying to keep ourselves dry.
"What happened? Where is he?" Elena asked worriedly
"They have him, I can't get in." Damon said
"Why not?" Elena asked
"The woman who owns the house was compelled to not let me in." Damon explained
"I can get in." Elena said, ready to go up to the house and enter herself.
"You can't. I already tried and they tried to kill me, there's too many of them." I said as Damon grabbed onto her shoulders to stop her from walking past him.
"Why are they doing this? What do they want with him?" Elena asked worriedly after she had stopped pushing against Damon.
"Revenge. They want revenge." Damon said
"We've got to do something." Elena said
"I know." Damon said
"We've got to get him out." Elena added, beginning to spiral slightly
"I know. Elena, I know. But I don't know how to get him out." Damon said softly
"I could try again?" I offered
"No, no way. It's too dangerous." Damon shook his head.
"Well, what else do you have in mind?" I asked him
"I have an idea." He said mostly to himself
"Am I going to like it?" I asked as he made his way towards the car.
"Probably not? It depends." Damon said. He opened the car door and slid into the driver's side. I quickly got into the passenger seat and Elena got into the back seat, putting her umbrella back down again before she closed the door.
"Depends on what?" I asked him
"On how much you like your history teacher." Damon replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, you look alive." Damon said to Mr Saltzman. The man had paused the moment he saw Damon and I down the end of the hall. It was always a weird experience to be at school when it was over, it was like a different place entirely.
"You can't hurt me." Mr Saltzman said
"Oh, I can hurt you all right." Damon said
Elena then caught up with us, coming around the corner to stand behind Damon.
"Mr Saltzman. We need your help." Elena said
Mr Saltzman huffed and looked around, thinking over what she had said for a moment, before he nodded. "Let's talk." He turned and started walking back towards his class room. The three of us followed after him and entered the history classroom. It was strange to be in here when I wasn't in class.
Mr Slaltzman took a seat at his desk and gestured for us to explain ourselves. Damon wandered over to the condensation covered window.
"Stefan has been kidnapped by a group of vampires." Elena said worriedly
"These vamps were locked away in a tomb for 145 years, so they're pretty mad." I added, giving him a little bit of detail. "They've been staying at a farm house."
"Stefan's in the house. Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. Florence and I would go in, but-" Elena started to explain, but Damon cut her off.
"But your lives are valuable. Yours, on the other hand, is..." Damon trailed off
"Stefan told me about your ring." Elena said
"What about it?" Mr Saltzman asked
"Let me recap. You tried to kill me, I defended myself, you died. Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I, uh, leaving anything out?" Damon said
"Yeah, the part where I try and kill you again. Only this time I don't miss." Mr Saltzman said as he stood up from his desk.
"Well, the flaw in your plan is that my little witch will kill you if you try." Damon said, gesturing towards me.
"I'm not killing my history teacher." I stated with furrowed brows, putting his use of 'my' away in a box for another time.
"A witch?" Mr Saltzman asked at the same time, staring at me with wide eyes. "That's not possible."
"You believe in vampires, but witches are too far?" I asked him rhetorically. Mr Saltzman shrugged slightly, knowing that I'm right.
Elena interrupted our conversation."Mr Saltzman, please. It's Stefan."
"I'm sorry, Elena. It's not my problem." Mr Saltzman said
"That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife." Damon said. I glanced at him in confusion, How could Pearl know Isobel?
"You're lying." Mr Saltzman stated
"Am I? Why don't you ask her for yourself?
Coward." Damon stated
"Come on, Elena, Florence." Damon gestured to the two of us. We followed him and began to walk out of the history classroom.
"All right. Wait." Mr Saltzman said, causing us to turn back around. "I'll go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Mr Saltzman had agreed to help us, he left his classroom for a moment, saying he had something to get. The three of us stood in the history classroom waiting for him to come back.
I stood beside Damon, leaning against the window sill. The cold chill of the window brushed against my hands briefly when I shifted.
"So, why did you say that?" I asked him
"Say what?" Damon asked, acting like he didn't know what I was talking about.
"You told my history teacher that I'd kill him. I've never killed anyone." I stated
"You were going to kill Pearl, and Anna." Damon shrugged
"That's different." I stated
"How?" Damon asked
"It just is." I said
"Look, you're telling me that if Mr Saltzman had come at me and tried to kill me, you wouldn't have stopped him?" Damon asked
"I would. But I wouldn't kill him." I said
"Because he's human?" Damon asked
"Because he's not as big of a threat as the tomb vampires." I replied
Before anyone could say anything else, Mr Saltzman came back in with a leather bag. He placed it on his desk and we all walked closer, wanting to see what it was. He unrolled the bag to reveal a multitude of weapons.
"Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night." Damon mused
"Like Giles." I said with a nod
"Giles?" Mr Saltzman questioned
"Buffy character." I explained. He nodded in understanding and turned back to Damon.
"I have you to thank for that." Mr Saltzman said
"What are these?" Elena asked, gesturing to needle like weapons.
"Tranquilizer darts filled with vervain." Mr Saltzman said
"Just get me in and I'll get Stefan out." Damon said
"That's your plan? Just take them all on yourself?" Elena asked
"I'll be a little stealthier than that, hopefully." Damon said
"I'll come with you." I said
"No, absolutely not." Damon shook his head
"Look, I can handle myself. You need help. I won't be going in alone."
Elena glanced between the two of us before she reached into the bag and pulled out one of the darts.
"Whoa. What are you doing?" Damon asked
"I'm going too." Elena said
"No, no, no, no way." Damon shook his head
"Elena, absolutely not." I stated
"Why? Why can you go and I can't?" Elena asked defiantly.
"Because I'm a witch. It's too dangerous for you, El. You can't go." I explained
"I have to." She said
"Why?" I asked
"Because it's Stefan!" She stated loudly
I sighed softly to myself and ran my hand through my hair. "Look, I understand, okay? You want to save him. But it's too dangerous."
"So when you get me in, get out as quickly as you can. Because I know how to sneak around. You'll basically be in the way." Damon interrupted us
"Not the time to be the Lone Ranger."
"Fine, Elena, you can drive the getaway car. Flo, you're not coming either."
"What? Why?" I protested
"Because it's too dangerous. Now, I know you can handle yourself, okay? I know that. But this is too dangerous." Damon stated
"You can't stop me from going in the house. It's Stefan we're talking about here. You don't understand." Elena said
"Oh, I understand, I understand. He's the reason you live. His love lifts you up to where you belong. I get it."
"Can you just not joke around?" Elena asked irritatedly
"I can't protect you, Elena. I don't know how many vampires are in there." Damon snapped his fingers loudly. "That's how long it takes to get your head ripped off. I have to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety, or yours, Witchy. Or this will end up a bloodbath that none of us walk away from...including Stefan." Damon stated
He then spoke in a softer tone. "I know. I get it. I understand."
"If we're gonna go, let's go." Mr Saltzman said as he picked up his bag of vampire weapons. I sighed softly and followed after the two men.