Twenty-Seven | Psycho Killer
I stared at the Mikaelson standing before me in disbelief, "You're back."
Elijah started taking small strides towards me, "I am."
Without thinking I ran into his arms and embraced him tightly. His arms wrapped around me and he held me with a similar force. One of his hands held onto the back of head. After a few seconds we pulled away. My eyes met his, ones that I hadn't looked into for a long time.
He gently ran his hand down the side of my face, "I told you I'd find my way back to you, Cassandra."
"And you did." I beamed.
He remained silent for a moment, pulling his eyebrows together, "You and Damon -- "
I interupted him, " -- are not together."
"If I may ask, how come?" He asked, seeming confused.
I exhaled, "I've been waiting for you, for months. I want to talk to you about us. Klaus brought all these memories of us back and a whole lot of feelings came with it. And thanks to him, I was unconcious for five whole days which triggered most of the memories."
He became concerned, "What did Klaus do to you?"
"Bonnie said it was something called a Sleeping Beauty curse but she unlinked me from it." I sat down on the bed. Elijah took a seat next to me. "Before that I told Damon to move on, he obviously did. And I've been so confused about my feelings but seeing you standing there just then confirmed my choice."
I turned my head to stare out of the window as I let out a small quiet laugh, "Mystic Falls is so dramatic compared to New Orleans."
"Tell me about it." Elijah exhaled.
I sighed, "I miss our small apartment."
"Maybe we could go back?" Elijah suggested.
I shook my head and turned my head to him, "No. I can't leave everyone here. I need them as much as they need me."
"Okay, then maybe I could stay here. I searched for you, Cassie, every day. I looked everywhere for you, I had to be with you. But I couldn't find you and when I saw first saw you here -- every time I see you, as you said, those feelings came back too."
"Well, you found me." I smiled, standing up.
I moved over to the window, staring out again. I imagined New Orleans lit up underneath the dark sky. Our apartment filled with the smell of the vanilla candle that burned on the table by the sofa. Elijah sitting on the sofa, listening to the soft music bouncing off the record player that he enjoyed. I missed it.
"Elijah..." I turned around to see he was now standing inches away from me, making my breath hitch.
His face moved closer to mine as he placed his hand on my cheek and stroked it with his thumb. My heartbeat quickened at his touch. His lips soon pressed against mine and I didn't hesitate to kiss him back. I couldn't quite catch how it made me feel, but it was definitely different.
▂▂▂▂
My eyes were shut and it I felt as though I couldn't open them. Was I asleep or concious? Was yesterday just another memory?
Maybe it was. Elijah was daggered, so how would it have been possible that he was here? Surely Klaus hadn't undaggered him. No, it had to be an illusion. Or a memory. Or --
"Cassie, hey." A voice cut through my thoughts. I couldn't open my eyes but I could feel was my body slightly shaking.
I felt my head jerk to the side. Maybe someone is inside my head. What if I was unconcious still? What if I was making yesterday up to keep myself sane, or someone was controlling it for me? I felt my body twitching and my mouth let out short gasps.
"Hey, hey, Cassie. It's okay." My eyes shot open. I was embraced in a pair of arms, one resting across my waist, the other holding my forehead. I looked up to see Elijah, "Are you all right? Your whole body was trembling."
"Yeah. I'm fine." I lied, trying to slow down my breathing.
"You're not." He stroked my hair, "Is it to do with Klaus?"
I had to think for a moment as I tried to process my thoughts, "I'm having a hard time figuring out what's real and what isn't, considering I don't actually know what exactly happened from 2005 to 2008. What if Klaus planted some misdirections into my head?"
"This is real. Right now." He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead to try to calm me, "Klaus will not get away with any of this."
I sighed, "Let's hope not."
▂▂▂▂
After taking a shower, I left my room in a blue robe. I strolled down the stairs and into the hallway looking for Elijah. I wasn't expecting him to have left my room.
I spotted him standing near the front door. He was staring at something in the living room. I ruffled my wet hair with towel I was holding, walking towards him, "Hey, there you are."
Elijah didn't respond so I continued walking so I could see where he was staring. I lifted my head as I stopped drying my hair, seeing the eldest Salvatore staring Elijah down, "Damon?"
"You left something in my jacket pocket." Elijah said to the raven-haired vampire, pulling out a note from his blazer.
"Oh, yeah. "Dear Elijah, let's get together, plot the destruction of your brother, x o x o"." Damon replied in an arsey tone.
Elijah cocked an eyebrow, "Damon."
"Was I right to undagger you or are we gonna have a problem?" Damon questioned. He glanced at me then back at Elijah, furrowing his brows. What was his problem? He was the one that kissed Elena.
"So I have you to thank for undaggering him." I gave him a small smile. Damon frowned, pouting his lips slightly.
"I'm here, let's talk." Elijah said to Damon.
"Well, I have to go meet Elena and Caroline so, don't kill each other." I told them, glaring at the pair before walking back upstairs to dress.
▂▂▂▂
Caroline's dad was in hospital and Elena had told me that the doctor that was helping him was called Meredith Fell, meaning she was must be part of my family tree.
According to Elena, she had been taking blood from Damon and was using it to cure her patients. Elena had also told me that she had caught her and Alaric kissing.
And to add even more to the mix, she may or may not have killed her ex-boyfriend by stabbing a stake through his heart even though he was human. Nobody was sure.
Elena and I were standing in the hallway, a few feet away from Caroline, who was anxiously pacing. A young brunette doctor walked up to her, "Are you Caroline?"
"Yes. Dr. Fell, hi." Caroline responded, "Elena told me you helped out my dad."
"I did." She said, "Do you think you can get him to be a little more grateful? He spent half the night threatening to get my medical license revoked for saving his life."
"Yeah, my dad's a little set in his ways. He spent his whole life hating vampires, so -- "
Meredith interupted, " -- so he's not psyched about it being vampire blood that healed him. Yeah, he made that clear. I'm sorry. My bedside manner sucks on no sleep."
"So, can I take him home?" Caroline asked.
"I signed his discharge papers late last night, just to shut him up." Meredith told her.
The blonde frowned, "Oh, I -- he didn't call or anything."
"That's gotta be hard. When your dad hates the one thing you can't change about yourself." Meredith said. Caroline looked at her, confused, "I make it my business, to know who the vampires are in this town. Medical curiosity. I don't blab."
I walked up to her, "So you know who I am then."
"Cassie Fell. My paternal ancestor." She said.
"Over one-hundred and forth years and I finally found a family member." I smiled, "Well one that hasn't been killed, yet. Not that that's reassuring to you -- " They both stared at me, " -- yeah I'll shut up now."
"It's nice to finally meet you, Cassie. I'd love to chat to you sometime but for now I've gotta get back to work." She turned her attention to Caroline, "Tell your dad I said "you're welcome."."
We made our way back over to Elena, "That was fast."
"Yeah, he's not here. He was already discharged. And she seems perfectly nice by the way... a little intense, maybe." Caroline told her, "But I think it's sweet that you wanna make sure Alaric's not dating a total psycho."
"Just one family member that isn't gonna be killed or is a psycho, please." I begged under my breath before letting out a desperate laugh.
"I'm sure she's great." Caroline reassured both Elena and I with a small grin. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started calling someone.
"And Alaric's my family. I have to look out for him." Elena said.
Out of nowhere, there was a loud ringing in my ear. A phone. I turned around, looking down the hallway to sense where the noise was coming from.
"What?" Elena asked.
"I can hear a phone." I told her.
Caroline put her phone down from her ear, "My dad's phone."
The three of us began to make our way down the hall and into a medical supply room. The smell fresh blood instantly clung to my nostrils. We wandered passed several shelves before we reached the back. A man on the floor came into view, his back leaning against a shelf, a knife in his chest.
I gasped, "Oh my God."
Caroline knelt down beside him, "Dad? Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead!"
She pulled the knife out. Elena entered, instantly looking down at the body, "Caroline... he has vampire blood in his system."
Caroline looked up in shock, "What?"
His mouth suddenly opened, gasping for air.
▂▂▂▂
I was standing, somewhat awkwardly, in a corner of a hospital room as Caroline tried to convince her dad to rest. Caroline had compelled the nurse to not come in the room and leave them be.
"Daddy, why don't you just come lay down and just relax?" Caroline suggested.
Bill was agitated, "I can't. I'm too wired and my pulse is racing. It's the effect of my body wanting to transition."
"Well, maybe Doctor Fell can give you something." Caroline told him.
Bill shook his head, "She's done enough."
Elena walked into the room, "I called your mom."
I turned to Bill, "Mr. Forbes, did you see your attacker?"
He shook his head again, "I didn't see anything. Tried to sneak out the back exit and someone came up from behind."
"Look, we'll figure this out, but in the mean time we need to get you some blood." Caroline told him.
"I'm not going to drink any blood." Bill stated.
"You have to. You died with vampire blood in your system." Elena explained, "If you don't feed and finish the transition into a vampire then you'll die."
"I understand how it works. And that's what I'm prepared to do. Now get me out of this hospital. I smell blood everywhere." Bill stormed out the room.
"He isn't one to change his mind is he?" I asked.
"No." Elena replied.
I looked over to Caroline, she was obviously devestated. I sighed, "I'm so sorry, Care."
"I should get him home." Caroline said. We agreed and left the room.
My phone began to ring in my pocket. I stopped, "I'll catch you up."
They nodded and carried on walking as I pulled my phone out and answered it, "Hello?"
"Cassie, stay home tonight." Elijah's voice came through the phone.
"Why? Are you joining me?" I asked him.
"No. I'm uh -- taking care of business." Elijah replied.
"Are you still with Damon? What has he roped you into?" I asked, walking down the hallway. He didn't answer. I frowned, "Elijah, where are you?"
"Don't worry about us, stay safe." He said to me.
"Elij -- " Before I could finish, he hung up. I sighed. He hadn't even been back for twenty-four hours and he was already keeping things from me. It was never like this in New Orleans or maybe I just didn't remember.
▂▂▂▂
Elena, Caroline and I were sitting on the front porch of the Forbes residence. We were keeping Caroline company, making sure she had support as he father was beginning to die inside the house.
"Did you hear back from Tyler yet?" Elena asked the blonde.
"No. And I've left messages for him everywhere." Caroline sighed, "So, does Alaric really think that Dr. Fell did it?"
"He doesn't know what to think." Elena said.
"What about you?" Caroline asked, looking towards me.
"I know she's part of my family but she looks pretty guilty, which is a shame, I like her." I turned to Elena, "Elena?"
"I wish the girl Alaric liked wasn't in the middle of all of this. He deserves to be happy. But yeah, she does look guilty. It's why I told your mom, Caroline."
Caroline sighed, "My mom's in there sitting with my dad. And I don't think they've been in the same room this long since I was ten years old. Is there any chance that Tyler did it?"
"What?" Elena and I looked at her, confused.
"If Klaus was trying to mess with you and he's sired to Klaus. And, I mean, he does everything that he's told." Caroline saod.
Elena shook her head, "No, no, I don't think Tyler did it."
"I can't just let my father die. You know, I'm -- I'm gonna force him to feed." Caroline stressed.
I pressed my hand on her back, "Hey, he doesn't want to, Caroline. The only thing your dad has is his choice and you can't make him change that."
Caroline started crying, "I hated him so much for what he did to me. So much. Now all I want to do is save his life."
I embraced her from the side, "Of course you do, he's your dad."
"What was the hardest part for both of you? When you lost your dad?" Caroline asked us.
"Realising all the things that he wouldn't be there for. The things that -- that you just need your dad for, you know?" Elena said.
"But let's not talk about that, Care. He wouldn't want you to be upset, he loves you and you should know that." I told her.
Elena embraced the other side of Caroline and we had a three way hug. I could sense someone walking up the driveway towards us, we all looked up to see Matt.
"Hey." He spoke.
Caroline stood up and wrapped her arms around him, "Hey."
Elena and I had let Caroline and Matt talk for a while. Everything that was happening was beyond upsetting. But we couldn't make her dad do something that he didn't want to do. I didn't blame him.
After they'd spoken, Matt and I had walked Elena back to her house, "Thanks for walking me home guys."
"Are you doing okay?" I asked her as we stood on her porch, "This has to bring up a lot for you."
"We've all lost a lot." Elena stated.
Matt shook his head, "It's this town, it's messed up. None of us should have to live this way."
Elena walked into the house and we followed. She flicked the light switch but nothing happened, "That's weird."
I looked up to the darkness, "Electricity must be out."
Elena walked into the kitchen and grabbed some flashlights from the cupboard, "Here."
"I think I see some candles over there." I said. I walked to the other side of the kitchen, flashing the torch around before spotting a puddle of blood on the floor, "Oh my God."
Matt walked over to where I was. I glanced back to see him and Elena holding knives, "What the hell?"
I flashed the light against the wall, there were bloody hand prints all over it and footprints on the floor, "Matt. Elena. Stay close behind me."
I followed the bloody footprints out of the kitchen. As I went up the stairs, there were more bloody handprints all up the wall. I reached the top, scanning my surroundings. I spotted a body laying in a doorway with a knife through his stomach. It was Alaric.
I gasped and ran over to him with Matt and Elena still behind me.
Elena ran and knelt beside him, "Ric. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"
Elena went to pull the knife out but Alaric screamed in pain. I held my hand on top of hers, pushing it back in, "No, leave it in. Leave it in. He's lost too much blood."
"I'm gonna call nine-one-one." Matt fret.
Elena grabbed Alaric's barely concious face, "Ric, look at me. Who did this to you?"
Alaric groaned in pain, "I don't know."
Elena glanced down to his stomach where all of the blood had seeped through his shirt, "Oh my God, there's a lot of blood, Cassie!"
"I know, I know, Elena. I know." I said, trying to not vamp out. I could control this.
"You have to kill me." Alaric said to Elena.
Elena gasped, "What?"
"Elena, you -- you have to kill me." Alaric repeated.
I glanced down the see the chunky ring on his finger. Elena must have done the same, "Wait, wait, Matt, hang up, hang up. He's right. If he dies a supernatural death, then he'll come back to life and be healed."
"But, how do you know who did this is supernatural?" Matt asked her.
"That's what he's saying, we don't but... I'm the doppelgänger. That makes me supernatural." She picked up the knife that she had grabbed downstairs earlier.
"Elena, no. I'll do it." I told her.
Alaric was the only parent figure that she had and I knew the guilt and possible trauma she would feel if she was the one who had killed him, especially if the ring didn't work. She nodded, starting to cry as she handed me the knife.
The knife was the only option. If I fed him my blood there was a chance this killer would strike again in twenty-four hours, and turning him into a vampire was not the solution.
"No, Cassie. Elena, this is messed up." Matt yelled, trying to stop us.
Elena wiped her teary eyes, "He's dying, Matt!"
"Look away, neither of you should see this." I told them. I waited for them to look away before I thrust the knife further into Alaric's heart. I instantly turned away too, not wanting to see him die, "It's done."
Time passed, I wasn't sure how much, but I was on the phone to Caroline, who had called us. I exhaled, my voice low in sorrow, "I'm sorry, Caroline. Just know that we are always here for you."
"Thank you. I, uh, I need some time. I'll speak soon." She replied.
I ended the call and walked back up the stairs of the Gilbert house. Elena was sitting next to Alaric's body with Matt knelt close to them.
"He's still out?" I asked. Alaric's body laid still, there was no movement except for the weeping blood on his shirt. Elena gently nodded. I bowed my head, "Caroline called. Her dad died."
I knelt beside Elena, seeing her staring regretfully at Alaric, "He'll be okay."
"I can't lose any more family." She sobbed.
I gently pulled her into a hug, exhaling a devastating breath, "I know."
Elena's phone started ringing. She frowned before slowly pulling it from her pocket and answering it, "Sheriff Forbes?"
"I looked into it, Elena. Meredith Fell was called into surgery six hours ago. She's been in there ever since." Liz said on the other end.
"She has an alibi?" Elena asked, surprised.
"Iron-tight in an operating room full of witnesses." Liz replied. I frowned, confused.
"Then who could it be?" Elena asked.
"I don't know." Liz sighed, "But the attack on Alaric makes this the third member of the Founders' Council and we just cleared our only suspect."
"Okay, thank you for the information." Elena said.
"If I find anything new, I'll let you know." Liz told her.
Elena ended the call. She looked towards me, "Who is trying to kill all these founders?"
"I don't know but we need to find out fast." I said. I checked my phone for any messages, "I don't want to leave you but I need to see where Damon, Stefan and Bonnie have been, they haven't been in contact all day. Matt, will you stay with Elena until he wakes up?"
Matt nodded, "Of course."
"Lock the door. Stay safe." I told them, "I'm a phone call away."
▂▂▂▂
"Stefan? Damon?" I shouted, my voice echoing through the boarding house living room. I couldn't hear any movement in the entire house. Where were they?
I pulled my phone out and dialled Bonnie. After several rings it went to voicemail, "Bonnie. Where are you? Call me when you get this."
I moved towards the sofa and let myself fall onto it, exhausted. Caroline's father had died and I had just thrust a knife through the heart of Elena's only parental figure. I felt such a mix of emotions.
I thought about my father and how close we used to be. He would always play games with me as a child even though he worked a lot, and as we grew to know Stefan and Damon, he treated them like family. I missed him. I missed my parents.
It seemed as though every one of my family members had been killed or were going to be killed. And I wasn't sure about Meredith. We didn't know for sure if she was guilty of these killings or not.
So she was either a psychopath, or she was going to be killed by one.
I let a couple of tears, that I'd been trying to hold in, fall down my face as I dialled Elijah's number. It went to voicemail. I held back a sob, "Hey, Elijah. Please come to me. I don't want to be alone. I need you." I sniffed and closed my eyes, "Please."