"And you're certain it wasn't some kind of mountain lion or grizzly that you saw?" Imelda balanced her phone between her shoulder and ear. Her hazel eyes peered over a map of the town she had previously printed off. She tapped the end of her black sharpie against the table top.
A voice that sounded like a woman robot sighed. "Yes. For the last time, my girlfriend was attacked and killed by a mountain lion."
Imelda snorted. "Yeah? Did she invite it inside for coffee?"
She hung up and drew a large X on the latest location of a string of animal attacks. The last two months were nothing short of a whirlwind for the youngest Fell. She had been tracking down her sister's killer all the while avoiding her Aunt's and mom's phone calls. Mostly her Aunts'.
The Fells were a nosy persistent bunch but Imelda had seen it as a good thing. It was what kept her going, what fought back the loneliness of losing her best friend, her twin. Pressing the heel of her hands to her eyes she breathed deeply and evenly to the count of ten.
"Alright. Tennessee is his new state. Where is he going next?" She muttered to herself, picking up the discarded sharpie and resuming her tapping. Her phone lit up, revealing her Aunt's photo and name once more. Rather than answer, she let it go to voicemail.
"What's near his last victim?" Imelda carved a path with her eyes. "Memphis?" She muttered squinting.
It's a long shot but it wasn't like she had much to go on. Best she could tell so far was is he enjoyed hitting small, wooded towns. With her mind quickly and easily made she capped her sharpie and tossed it into her messenger bag; folding up the map she stuffed it in there as well.
Picking up her phone Imelda left the cash for her coffee on the table before grabbing her bag and slipping out of the booth. She scrolled through her messages as she left the diner.
'I'm moving to Mystic Falls and you better be there for your last year of HS.' The text was from her Aunt.
"Thank you, god." Imelda grumbled sarcastically.
Still keeping up the new tradition of not texting back, she backed out of the message. If her Aunt was so worried the woman could track her through her phone and her credit cards. Imelda wasn't exactly hiding so she didn't worry all that much.
"Graduation." Imelda muttered, peering at her reflection through the tinted glass of her car.
Iris Fell had already planned their joint graduation party. From what they would eat for breakfast to the six outfits she'd force Imelda to wear. Being a senior had meant the world to Iris and she was killed two and a half months before she could carry the title.
Imelda blinked back the tears as she harshly jerked her door open, slumping into the driver's seat. She slammed her door shut, tossing her thing in the passenger seat.There was a deep ache inside of her soul, one that could only hope to begin to mend once she had her sister's body laid to rest.
Imelda wasn't asking for much, she knew she couldn't take on a vampire, not one as old as Stefan Salvatore but she had to try. She'd do anything to get her twin's body back, even if it got her killed in the process. Though in hindsight, that seemed pretty strange.
Shoving the key into the ignition she started up her mini cooper and backed out of the parking lot. Getting back onto the highway she blasted Iris's favorite band; We The Kings. Imelda herself thought they were alright but her sister, oh how her sister loved the band.
Every time they were performing in the twins home state of Virginia, Iris would drag Imelda to their concert. Imelda herself enjoyed just spending time outside of the house, not focusing on homework or the slue of unfinished projects se always had going on.
Now, all of that was like a ghost that shadowed Imelda.
The music brought forth all of the things she had lost and left abandoned back in Mystic Falls. It was all up in the air, if she went back to finish high school or not. It all seemed trivial to her now that she knew the truth about the world.
Her fingers tightened against the steering wheel as she cleared her throat. Blindly she cut the radio off. The sounds of her tires rolling against the pavement and the wind passing her by settled her nerves. It was how she drove for the next few hours.
Taking a left onto a dirt road, Imelda had a feeling. She wasn't certain what it was, it just felt as if she was on the right track but she shouldn't celebrate just yet. Ever since her sister died she'd had these sort of feelings. It's what made looking for Stefan Salvatore a bit easier.
"Christ, how long is this driveway?"
Imelda had left the main road behind five minutes ago and she was still driving along the dirt road. White fence and sprawling fields followed her on the left side of her car, forest and looming trees raced by on her right.
After another minute, Imelda finally saw a three-story white house appear in the distance. It looked like an old farm house or maybe a plantation home. Pulling to a stop, Imelda frowned as she saw a white Tahoe parked near the fence and just past the walkway to the front door.
"I guess they're home." She gnawed on her lower lip.
Imelda left her car running as she opened the glove compartment and slipped out the small black handgun she bought. Being sneaky, she slipped it into the waistband of her jeans, letting the cool metal press against the small of her back.
Climbing out of her car, she eased the door shut, her hazel eyes glancing over the seemingly normal looking home. Her stomach twisted in a knot but she urged her feet to carry her forward and around the house.
She would have headed to the front door but she had goosebumps and her knotted stomach told her that would be stupid. The breeze had settled, she should have heard animals or the people inside; anything really. But all she heard was the soft crunch of gravel underneath her boots.
Pursing her lips she arrived at the backdoor that was open just slightly. The wood near the door handle was splintered, the glass from the window littered the small concrete porch. The yellow curtains were stained crimson.
'He's already been here.' Imelda's heart hammered against her chest. Pulling her gun from her jeans, she removed the safety and counted to ten before using her boot to ease the door wide enough for her to slip inside.
Keeping her gun raised and her senses on high alert, Imelda moved through the kitchen. She glanced long enough to see a trail of blood smeared along the once white linoleum. The familiar scent of death filled her nose and her stomach rolled.
"Hey." A man's whisper and hot breath fanned against the back of Imelda's neck.
She spun, firing off two shots as she was thrown against the wall. Her body slammed against the wall and she crashed onto the top of a random table. The breath was knocked from her lungs, she could see dark spots dancing along the corners of her vision.
Imelda tightened her grip on her gun but her wrist was grabbed, the bones easily snapping in half. A painful scream tore from her lips and the gun clattered to the ground.
The pain was so sudden and caught her off guard she didn't hear the vampire speak or see the second man appear, moving quickly to her and easing her from the table and onto the floor. Sucking in gulps of air she lifted her right hand and broke the guys nose.
"Whoa." The voice of the vampire chuckled, speeding over and pressing his foot against her chest after knocking her onto the flat of her back. Imelda used her right hand in an attempt to shove his boot from her chest but she failed.
"You okay, Ric?" The man's blue gaze flickered to the other man.
"Yeah." Ric grunts, leaning forward and letting his nose bleed. "Let her go, Damon. I know her."
Imelda tensed at the voice. She jerked her head to the side. "Mr. Saltzman?" Her heart hammered painfully against her chest as the boot was removed. She ground her teeth closed as her left wrist felt like it had gone numb.
"Hey, Imelda." Ric offered a pained smile. "I thought you went with your sister to Alaska to visit your mom?" He hadn't seen Imelda Fell in nearly two months.
Imelda gnawed on her lip. She debated on replying but settled with staying silent. Rather she pushed herself up and searched for her gun. When she saw the blue eyed vampire smirking and twirling it around in his hand, she scowled.
"Give me my gun." She ordered, keeping her left hand close to her.
"Now why would Ric's student be in Tennessee with a gun filled with wooden bullets?" Damon taunted, rolling his eyes at Ric's shocked expression as he also stood.
Imelda's eyes left him, peering over his shoulder and into the living room. She cringed at the sight. Sat on the couch was two women, even from where she stood, Imelda knew they were dead and had been put back together. The usual M.O she'd seen enough of.
"Stefan Salvatore was here." Imelda spoke, her eyes meeting the startled look of the vampire. "Are you with him?" Her voice was bitter and her eyes hard.
"Damon." Damon introduced, offering her gun to her. "And nope, not with him, we're looking for him actually."
"How do you know Stefan?" Ric interrupted, taking the gun from Damon and keeping it from Imelda. "How do you know about any of this? Why are you not with your mother?" His eyebrows creased.
He knew the Fell twins well enough, while they weren't in Elena's group of friends, he knew they were great kids. Imelda herself was his favorite student in his fourth period, she could easily become a history professor and from what he gathered that was what she wanted.
So how had such a promising student end up in a random house in Tennessee, dressed in all black and appearing as if she hadn't slept in weeks? He watched her hazel eyes darken and he felt his stomach twist. That was the look he had after he thought his wife was killed.
"You broke my wrist." Imelda dodged the questions, she looked back to Damon. "Could you heal it in exchange for answers?" She didn't like the idea but knew vampire blood could heal just about anything.
"How about you give me answers and I don't tear that pretty little head off?" Damon spoke sweetly.
"Heal her, Damon." Ric wasn't certain why his voice sounded desperate. If Imelda picked up on it, she ignored it. However, Damon peered at him for a moment before scoffing.
"I'll heal both of you, let's go." Damon bit into his wrist and extended his arm out to Imelda. He smirked as her heart quickened but she maintained her stony expression.
She shuffled forward and drank the blood quickly; enough to force her bones to snap back into their rightful place and heal but not enough to do anything else. She backed up, moving quickly and catching Ric off guard but Damon had seen the training before.
"A little hunter, how cute." Damon scowled, shooting an annoyed look to Ric who waved him off, he apparently wanted to keep the broken nose. "You teach all your students how to die?" He drawled.
"I didn't learn from my history teacher." Imelda shot the notion down. She had thought no one else outside her and Iris knew vampires were real. It wasn't like they could go to anyone and tell them all about the secret council the founding families had back in the 1800's.
"Then who did you learn it from?" Ric spoke gently. "How's your wrist?" He watched her flex and pop her left wrist, a scowl adorning her chapped lips.
Imelda didn't answer. Rather she moved closer to the living room and stood next to the blonde whose head was laying on the floor. She crouched down, her gaze moving from the head and to the body. The ankles and wrists had all been put back together.
"How do you know this was Stefan?" Damon crossed his arms against his chest. He watched her stand and look at the other body. Whoever the kid was, she knew what she was doing, he'd give her that.
"I've been tracking him for the last two months." Imelda kept it simple. "Is there any others?" She watched as Ric pinched his nose but jerked his hand back, hissing in pain.
Damon smirked. "Nope. Just those two. Now, why are you tracking him?"
"That's my business." Imelda sighed. She was late, again. She was always late and always finding dead bodies or police reports. "Before you threaten me, I drink vervain in my coffee every day."
Ric cleared his throat. "I don't understand how you can know any of this. Does Iris?" He looked to Damon who blinked at him, clearly not knowing who he was talking about. Ric missed the pained expression on Imelda's face.
"Iris is her sister." Ric explained. "They both go to school with Elena, they've talked occasionally but I didn't know they were great friends."
"We're not." Imelda had headed off, exploring the den and talking loud enough for Ric to hear. "Iris is my twin, by the way." She continued through the main floor of the house. As she passed the space by the stairs she frowned.
"Well, look at you." Damon spoke, catching her off guard as he suddenly appeared next to her. "A regular junior detective, aren't you?" He winked before pushing her off of the one floorboard that had squeaked underneath a rug.
Stumbling back Imelda scowled. "Why are you looking for Stefan?" She inquired as Ric joined her. Her gun was no longer in sight and his nose wasn't crooked; he let Damon heal him.
"That's for me to know." Damon winked as he jerked the rug back and out of the way. "Interesting."
His eyebrows creased as he bent forward and pulled the secret door further upward. Imelda and Ric walked around to stand on either side of him. Ric's eyes widened as he peered into the brightly lit room. Damon let out a low whistle as Imelda gulped.
"Werewolves." Imelda breathed.
Damon slammed the door closed. "Whelp, time to cover their tracks." He sang.
"We need to call the police." Imelda shook the fear that filled her. As if hunting a vampire wasn't bad enough, apparently said vampire was hunting werewolves.
Damon and Ric shared a look. "Why don't we head outside and talk." Ric offered. He watched Imelda contemplate his offer before smiling as she nodded. He led them through the front door as Damon got ready to burn the home.
Imelda rested against her car, her arms crossed as she watched the home. "You're not calling the cops." It was a statement.
Ric rubbed the back of his neck. "We can't let Stefan be found by them."
"That's not why I want you to call them." Imelda scoffed. "The women could've had family. They have a right to know they're dead." Her voice was bitter and hollow.
"Imelda. What happened?" Ric kept his tone soft. He stood next to her, peering down at her but she never tore her gaze from the house. Even as flames appeared and a whistling Damon appeared.
"Better question." Damon sounded chipper, coming to stand in front of Imelda. "Why don't you join us? You know what they say, three heads against a vampire is better than one."
"That's not an actual saying." Imelda blinked. If her sister was there, she would've laughed.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Point is, you want Stefan and we want Stefan. The bad point is that he's with someone more powerful than you can take on, so let's take him together."
Imelda gnawed on her lower lip. She contemplated his offer. The last two months she had been alone, traveling around and trying to get her hands on Stefan Salvatore. She knew he was traveling with someone but she didn't know who or how dangerous they would be.
Summer was coming to an end and her Aunt was moving to Mystic Falls. As much as she hated to admit it, her time was running short. She'd go back, not for herself but for the memory of her sister. If she had help she could multitask a lot better.
"Alright." Imelda caught her teacher off guard. "But you don't break any more of my bones." She held out her hand to Damon. His eyes twinkled, clearly amused by her. He took her hand and shook, smirking as he did.
"Give Buffy her gun back." Damon released her hand and climbed into the Tahoe, not sparing Ric another look.
Imelda held her hand out to Ric. "Don't bother protecting me or keeping me from anything." She directed this to Ric who was reluctant in pulling out her gun and placing it in her hand. Her fingers tightened around the handle of the gun and she tucked it into the waistband of her jeans.
"We're going back to Mystic Falls. Meet us at the Salvatore Boarding house." Ric spoke gently.
Imelda felt her blood run cold. "Got it." She kept her expression neutral as she climbed back into her still running car. She didn't waste a second in backing out and speeding off.
Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as realization poured over her like molten lava. She was forced to pull over and turn the car off. She vaguely realized she was now on the side of the highway. She covered her face and began sobbing into her hands.
To find Stefan Salvatore, Imelda had unknowingly agreed to work with his brother. Damon Salvatore.