Twenty-Four | The Beginning Of A Ghost Story
The town was preparing for Night of Illuminations. Some volunteers were walking about the town, hanging lanterns in the trees. I was standing with Alaric and Jeremy as we watched Carol Lockwood on a stage, giving a speech.
"As a long-time member of the Historical Society, I am especially proud to be kicking off this day of festivities. Thank you, volunteers. Tonight, we turn off our town's lights and flare up our lanterns in honor of the night of illumination started by our founders one-hundred and fifty years ago. Here's founding family member Tobias Fell with a history lesson."
Everyone started clapping.
"Fell? Did she say Fell?" I asked.
"Tobias Fell is the head of the history department." Alaric told me. I shot him a look and he exhaled, "I never got a chance to mention it to you considering all that's happened."
"What are we even doing here?" Jeremy asked him, bored.
"Well, I didn't have a choice." Alaric responded.
Jeremy furrowed his brows in confusion, "All right, that explains what you're doing here..."
"Well, I'm the one who can fail you if you don't help me out." Alaric grinned at him.
Elena made her way towards us. I smiled, "Elena, hey."
"Hey, sorry I'm late. What did I miss?" She asked.
"You didn't miss anything." Jeremy sighed.
Tobias Fell was on stage giving a speech. I watched him cloesly, "The first illumination was held in celebration with the newfound prosperity that Mystic Falls enjoyed after the war. The founders, they placed lanterns over the doors to indicate that it was safe for their neighbors to come outside again. That night was an opportunity for the community of Mystic Falls to come together, a chance to strengthen ties with neighbors, business owners, and the -- "
"I'm gonna go see if I can finally get to know a family member after all these years." I said.
"Good luck." Elena replied.
Tobias had finished his speech and I made my way towards the stage. He walked down the steps at the edge. I smiled, "Hi, Tobias. I'm Cassie. That was a great speech."
"Oh, thank you, dear." He replied, returning the smile.
"So, you're head of the history department at the school?" I asked.
"I am. I love history, always have. It's fascinating." He stared at me for a moment, "And you look quite familiar."
I raised an eyebrow, "I do?"
What if he had seen me in a photo from 1864? Or did I have a doppelgänger?
"Maybe its just the old age kicking in."
I softly chuckled, "How long have you live in Mystic Falls?"
"All my life. This is my home." He replied.
▂▂▂▂
After talking for a while with Tobias, we stopped by the stage once again, "Well, I must prepare for tonight. It was lovely meeting you, Cassie."
"Thank you for talking with me, Tobias. Maybe we can talk some more another time?" I questioned.
He nodded in response. I scanned my surroundings until I saw two familiar face. I headed towards a tree where Caroline and Bonnie were hanging laterns.
"I'm a thousand times not okay with it. I just don't know what to do about it." Bonnie said to Caroline.
They looked over to me as I walked up to them, "Hey, need any help?"
Before they could respond, a car pulled up near us. It was Damon, "Greetings, blondie. Angel. Witchy, I think you got your voodoo wires all crossed when you got rid of Vicki Donovan."
Bonnie looked at him, "What do you mean, why?"
"Because I'm pretty sure I just got spit-roasted by Mason Lockwood's ghost." Damon frowned.
My eyes widened in shock, "What?"
"And why would you think that?" Caroline asked.
"Maybe because he chained me to a chair and shoved a hot poker in my chest." Damon replied, unamused, "Let's just say I'm having déjà vu."
I walked up to the car, "Wha -- when?"
"This morning." He replied.
"Are you sure it wasn't Stefan?" I asked, concerned. Considering the track record of Stefan with no humanity, it wasn't exactly impossible.
"I'm sure." Damon confirmed. I glanced back to Bonnie in confusion.
"I thought you said that ghosts couldn't physically interact with people." Caroline said to Bonnie.
"They can't." Bonnie replied.
"Yeah, well, I don't have time for a vengeful Lockwood. When I kill someone, they're supposed to stay dead." Damon frowned, "Whatever you screwed up, fix it."
I quickly surveyed the area around us, looking for any signs of Elena, Alaric or Jeremy but couldn't see them. I pulled out my phone and called Elena, she immediately picked up, "Hey. Where are you?"
"At The Grill." Elena replied.
"Okay. Stay there. On my way." I ended the call and turned to Damon, "Can I have a ride?"
The Grill was close enough to walk but I wanted to talk to Damon about last night. He grinned, "Of course."
I walked towards the other side of his car and got in. I waved to Bonnie and Caroline as he drove off, "Where to?"
"The Grill, which is only up there -- " I pointed, "But I wanted to talk."
He pulled up into the side of the road, "Sure."
I turned to him, "I know we've been over this so many times. I'm still unsure on my feelings, Damon..."
Damon interupted, "But?"
"You and I, it's not gonna work out again." I sighed, meeting his gaze, "I know that you feel something for Elena, Damon. As for me, I need to talk this out with Elijah, whenever we find him, or when Klaus decides to undagger him. However long that takes. Days, weeks, months, years. So please, Damon, don't wait for me. You deserve better. You deserve someone who can give you everything you want."
"All I ever want is for you to be happy." He said, his voice low.
I took in a deep breath and changed the subject, "Are you all right after being pokered by a ghost?"
"Hm." He bit his lip, "Let's hope Bonnie can fix this problem."
"Hopefully. I'll, uh, see you later." I replied awkwardly and climbed out of the car. I flashed him a small smile, "Try not to get barbecued."
He nodded with a similar smile, "I'll try not to."
I began walking towards The Grill. I instantly spotted Elena, Jeremy and Alaric sitting around a table outside. Elena was talking to the two, "I've been going through Stefan's old journals. Every single time that he's gone off the rails in the past, his best friend, Lexi, has been the one to bring him back."
"So where is she now that we need her?" Alaric asked.
I leant on the back of Elena's chair, "She's dead." They all glanced up at me, "Elena's right. Lexi is a master at bringing The Ripper back to his normal self."
I sat down in an empty seat at the table. Jeremy looked at Elena, "And you want me to try to reach her, don't you?"
Elena put Stefan's journal on the table, "I thought if I knew how she did it, maybe I could help him."
"I don't even know if she's on the other side." Jeremy told her.
"Is that what it's called?" I asked, furrowing my brows, "Sounds like a weird strip club."
"That's what Anna calls it." Jeremy replied, "There's not like an official brochure or anything."
"So what is it, like some sort of supernatural purgatory?" Alaric asked.
"Well, Anna said it's like being here with all of us, only we can't see her or hear her. And she can't interact with anyone." Jeremy sighed, "She's all alone."
"Vicki could interact." Alaric frowned, "She blew up my car."
"Vicki had help from a witch on the other side." Jeremy told us, "Anna... she's doing this all by herself."
"Um..." I furrowed my brows as I looked from Alaric to Jeremy.
"I'm just saying, maybe we learned our lesson about summoning dead people." Alaric said.
I anxiously bit my bottom lip, "Vicki isn't the only one that's interacted."
"What do you mean?" Elena asked as all of their eyes fixed on me.
"Well. Damon had a little visit this morning. He said it was Mason Lockwood." I told them, "He never actually saw him, but someone tortured Damon the exact way he did to Mason before he killed him."
"What?" Alaric frowned, "How?"
"I don't know, maybe he was thinking about Mason?" I shrugged, "I have no idea, but if you want Stefan back, we need to contact Lexi fast, she's the only one whose ever been able to help him."
"Jer, can you contact Lexi?" Elena asked.
Jeremy shook his head, "I don't know. I didn't have an emotional connection with her. I never even met her."
"I knew her." I replied, "Would that help?"
Alaric interupted before Jeremy could respond, "Can we just drop it, please?"
"No, I can't drop it, Ric." Elena frowned, "I don't know what else to do."
Jeremy looked up at the empty space beside him, like he was listening to someone speak. I furrowed my brows, "Is Anna here right now?"
"No, no." He shook his head, "I'm gonna go, uh, check my work schedule."
Jeremy got up and left, heading inside the building. After literally a second, someone suddenly sat down in Jeremy's seat. It was Stefan, "Hey guys. Who forgot my invite?"
"Must have got lost in the mail with all your humanity." I replied sarcastically.
"Hm." Stefan picked up his journal and opened it, "Wow. All these words. I forgot how much I used to care."
"I didn't." Elena responded.
Stefan put the journal down, "You know, Elena, it's probably best you not torture yourself with memories from the past. It's best we both just move on and accept things as they are."
"You don't have to be here, Stefan." Alaric frowned.
"You know what, Alaric, you're right. I don't. But Elena's here, and I look out for Elena. Besides, there's going to be people everywhere tonight. So there's going to be lots to eat." Stefan replied. Elena looked at him in shock, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Loosen up."
Stefan grinned before he got up and left us alone. Elena quickly glanced at Alaric, "I can't drop it, Ric."
"Let's go get Jeremy." I said. We all stood up from our seats and made our way inside The Grill.
Elena scanned around the room before she glanced towards Alaric and I, "I'll be right back."
I nodded and watched her walk away to go find Jeremy. My head turned to the side as I felt Damon's presence beside us, "Hey."
Alaric turned to face him, frowning, "You know, I've had enough of vampires, other than Cassie, for today, thanks."
"Oh, come on. Have a drink with me. We've got trouble." Damon said.
Alaric shook his head, "No, you've got trouble. See, we're not a team. You tried to kill me. All right? We're not friends. I don't like you anymore."
Damon sighed, "Ah. But remember back when you liked me and we conspired to kill Uncle werewolf Mason Lockwood?"
"Yeah, I already told him about that." I said.
"Right." Damon said, pointing a finger at me. He looked back to Alaric, "How about that drink anyway?"
▂▂▂▂
Damon, Alaric and I were standing at the bar. I was waiting for Elena to come back with Jeremy so we could leave. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone stand beside Damon. I turned my head and my eyes widened at the familiar face, "Mason?"
"God, I miss whiskey." Mason said, picking up Damon's drink. He took a sip before smashing the glass against Damon's forehead.
Damon groaned in pain before he turned to us, "Told ya."
"How are you here?" Alaric asked the dead not-so dead Lockwood.
"No idea but I'm not here to hurt you." Mason stated, "I just want an apology from Damon."
"Hm. Good luck with that." I said to him, "I'm gonna go find Elena."
I rushed off towards the restrooms. I turned the corner to go into the ladies room but accidentally bumped into someones back. The person turned around and as I was about to apologise, I recognised her face. I gasped, "Lexi?"
"Cassie. Hey." She grinned. Her focused turned back towards Elena who was behind her, "You two better come with me."
"Where?" Elena asked.
"Ripper detox 101." Lexi replied.
Elena glanced behind her, "I -- "
"I'm sorry, did you not just say how desperate you were for my help in saving Stefan's life?" Lexi questioned her.
Elena nodded, "Let's go."
▂▂▂▂
Stefan was tied to a chair in the basement cell of the Forbes jail, where I was told Caroline's dad had recently tortured her. Lexi had brought him here. Stefan was knocked out and he didn't look incredible well either. His skin had become paler.
"Klaus really did a number on him, huh?" Lexi asked, staring at him.
"Hm." I sighed, "He compelled him to turn off his humanity."
"Well, we're just going to have to convince him to turn it back on." She turned to Elena, "I have to warn you, it's not going to be pretty."
Elena crossed her arms, "I can handle it."
Lexi moved over to Stefan and kicked his leg, "Wake up, sleepyhead." A groan escaped his lips as he woke up, "How you feelin'?"
Stefan glanced at the chair and the chains and tried to break free but couldn't, "What is this? Let me out of here!"
"Shh. Inside voices, please. I'm trying to get inside your head." Lexi replied, "First step, drying him out. Starve away the blood lust. Strip away the temptation."
"This isn't going to work, Lexi. You can't do this." Stefan replied, gritting his teeth.
"You heard the not pretty part?" Lexi asked at Elena.
Elena nodded, "I heard you."
Lexi leant down infront of Stefan, staring directly in his eyes. Stefan started grunting in pain, his hand began to desicate, "What are doing? What are you doing, Lexi?"
"Doing what I do best, sweetness. I'm saving your life." Lexi replied.
After a few minutes Stefan was getting really agitated, "I'm starving! I'm starving! I'm starving! Let me out! Let me out. Please let me out."
"What's happening?" Elena asked, concerned.
"He's hallucinating. That's three months without any blood." Lexi replied.
"Let me out." Stefan groaned.
"Now he's at nine months." Lexi carried on, "Two years... Five."
"Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you're dead?" Stefan growled.
I couldn't bare watching him anymore. He was getting worse inside and out. My phone buzzed. I took it from my pocket to see a text from Alaric.
To: You
From: Alaric
Can you come keep an eye on Jeremy while I do this speech?
Can't trust these ghosts.
I looked up from my phone, "Elena, are you gonna be okay here?"
"I think so." Elena replied. Her brows furrowed, "Where are you going?"
"To keep Jeremy safe in ghost town." I replied. I held up my phone, "If you need me, call me."
Elena nodded, "I will."
I glanced over to Lexi, "Was nice seeing you again, Lexi."
"You too, Cassie. Good luck with Elijah." Lexi replied. My eyebrows raised in shock at her reply and I quickly left the room.
"Elijah?" Elena asked from behind me. She had clearly followed me. I carried on walking, "Cassie, what is she talking about? Cassie?"
I sighed and spun around, "Elijah and I were in love, okay? Look, I need to get to your brother before some ghost does." I quickly turned and headed out of the jail.
▂▂▂▂
As I made my way through the town of Mystic Falls, I spotted Alaric near a crowd of people and headed towards him, "Hey, where's little Gilbert?"
Alaric sighed, "He walked off into the crowd. Would you find him please?"
"Of course." I replied.
Carol walked up to us, "Have you seen Tobias Fell? He's supposed to do the lighting ceremony."
"Um, no." Alaric replied.
I furrowed my brows in concern. I hope nothing had happened to him. I began to walk through the crowd of people trying to find the youngest Gilbert but I couldn't see him anywhere.
I could hear Carol on stage, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Fell seems to have been detained, so the history department's very own Mr. Saltzman has agreed to fill in."
I heard someone shouting the name Anna. My eyes followed the voice and I spotted Jeremy heading towards a very visible, not so dead, Anna. My eyes widened and I began pushing my way through the full crowd of people.
Alaric was speaking on stage, "On behalf of Mystic Falls High School Historical Society, let's light 'em up!"
The lanterns lit up. Everyone was clapping and then suddenly there was a loud scream. I turned around to see Tobias Fell hanging from a tree, dead. I gasped in shock and devastation. I didn't know him but he was part of my family. I shoved my way angrily through the crowd and grabbed Jeremy's arm.
"What are you doing?" He frowned.
"Keeping you safe." I told him, holding his arm tightly.
"Well you're kinda hurting me." Jeremy replied.
I loosened my grip, "Well, I'm sorry but the first family member I've seen for over one-hundred and fifty years, was just seen hanging from a tree. Who did this?"
"It was the tomb vampires." Jeremy told me.
I let go of his arm, "We have to get rid of these ghosts. Call Caroline, see if they got the necklace."
Jeremy took out his phone and dialled, after a few seconds he spoke, "Caroline? Did you find that necklace? Ghosts of the tomb vampires killed Tobias Fell. You might want to find that necklace before they start going alphabetically through the founding families."
"Well, it's not where it's supposed to be. Unless someone took it." Caroline said on the other end.
"Who?" Jeremy asked.
"Well, who do you think?" Caroline replied. Jeremy and I looked at Anna who was listening in on the conversations.
"I didn't." Anna said, shaking her head.
"She said she didn't take it." Jeremy replied. I rolled my eyes and turned around looking for Alaric who had now gone off the stage. I heard Jeremy end the phone call.
I turned back around to see Anna was gone. I frowned, annoyed, "For God sake."
"Where did she go?" Jeremy asked.
"She obviously took the necklace, Jeremy." I walked past him, going to look for Anna.
Elena ran across the road, "Cassie? Jeremy? What happened?"
"Ghosts happened. The tomb vampires killed Tobias Fell and now Anna took the necklace." I told her.
"Where is Anna now?" Elena asked.
"I don't know." I said, growing angry.
"I don't even know for sure if she took the necklace." Jeremy replied.
"She was the only person who heard us talking about it. Of course she took it." I frowned at him, "We have to get it back. We have to destroy it."
Jeremy bowed his head, "I know, but -- "
Elena interupted, "But what? What, Jer?"
"I can touch her, Elena. I can kiss her again." He told her, "And I know it's wrong, and I know that I shouldn't feel this way, but I do. I love her. I've always loved her."
"But it's not real. She's dead. Gone. Everything that you're holding on to is in the past, Jer. Are you going to love a ghost for the rest of your life?" Elena's eyes wandered to behind Jeremy, where Anna was now standing, "He's at the beginning of his life, Anna. You're just holding him back. You know that."
Anna held up the necklace. I looked to Elena and Jeremy, "Call Bonnie. Tell her that you have the necklace. Get her to send the ghosts away."
My phone began to ring in my pocket. I sighed and dug it out. Damon's name flashed on the screen. I pressed the phone against my ear, "Damon, where are you?"
"In The Lockwood cellar, in the tunnels. Could you bring Alaric?" He asked.
"Why couldn't you ring him yourself?" I frowned, looking around for Alaric.
"He'll only come if you do." Damon replied.
"What's it for?" I asked, walking around the town square.
"A mystical cave that vampires can't enter." Damon told me.
"So you're using him?" I frowned.
"No. He's my friend." Damon replied.
"Well, he made it clear you're not his." I spotted Alaric, "I see him."
"Please bring him, Cassie." Damon begged.
I sighed, "Fine."
I ended the call, and pushed my way through the crowd, "Excuse me. Sorry. Alaric. You're coming with me."
I grasped onto his arm and pulled him in the direction of the woods.
"Do I have a choice?" Alaric asked.
"Nope. It's important."
▂▂▂▂
Damon was sitting on the floor of the underground tunnels that I had been ordered to drag Alaric through. His head whipped around and he instantly stood up when he saw us, "You're here. It's about time."
"Really, Cassie?" Alaric frowned at me.
I shrugged, "It's important."
"I need a non-vampire to get in the cave, and other than Elena, you're pretty much the only other human I trust." Damon said to him.
"Well, you have a crappy way of showing that." Alaric replied.
"Look, if Mason Lockwood can get over the fact that I killed him, can't you cut me a little slack, Ric?" Damon asked.
"I shouldn't have to get over it. I was your friend, Damon. You shouldn't have done it in the first place." Alaric replied.
"Well. Sometimes... I do things I don't have to do -- "
Alaric raised an eyebrow, "You're going to recycle that same crap-ass apology you gave Mason Lockwood?"
"Yeah, well... I didn't mean it with him." Damon smiled at him.
"Right, now you two have made up, can we get on with this?" I asked, impatient.
"What do you want me to do?" Alaric asked.
Damon gestured beside him, "Go inside the cave."
"Why?" Alaric questioned.
"Just look inside the cave, Ric." I snapped.
"Woah, Cassie. Whats wrong?" Damon asked, concerned.
"Whats wrong is another one of my family members was killed by another vampire." I spat.
"I'm so sorr -- "
"I'm going home. Let me know if you find anything." I turned around and began leaving the tunnels.