CHAPTER SIXTEEN | AS I LAY DYING
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EVERYTHING FELT DIFFERENT INSIDE OF HER, BUT SHE KNEW THAT IT WOULD. Klara couldn't describe the feeling of vampirism. She felt disconnected from the world, and no longer bound by time but she also felt stronger— a lot stronger. She knew that she now had the ability to protect herself in ways that she never thought possible. She didn't feel afraid anymore.
"You fed." Damon's voice boomed from the bedroom door. He noticed an empty blood bag at her bedside table and her eyes flickered from the bag, up to him. Then he noticed the daylight ring on her finger, presumably made by Bonnie. "And you've already got a ring. Wow."
"I won't be much use to anyone dead, will I?" Klara shrugged as she heard a small chuckle from Damon's lips. "Stefan told me that you got bit by Tyler. Damon, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you should hate me, Klara. Like you said, I'm the reason that you're like this. If I wasn't being so stupid, then you'd be alive right now. A human." Damon stepped into her bedroom and noticed the look on her face. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I did this to you. You're my friend, and I'm sorry. I just need to know that you forgive me because I don't think I could handle anyone else hating me."
Klara did forgive him. As screwed up as the logic was, it wasn't Damon that killed her— it was Klaus. "You're forgiven, Damon." Klara nodded slowly as a small smile of relief moved across his face.
"Great," Damon mumbled quietly. "That's— That's what I needed to hear right now. I just needed to know that someone forgave me." The Salvatore kept talking under his breath which alarmed Klara. She knew that the effects of the werewolf bite might have been taking a toll on him. But, before she knew it, Damon tossed his daylight ring to the ground and sped in front of her window. "Ahh!" He screamed as the sunlight began to scorch his skin.
Klara sped forwards and pinned him against the wall, out of the sunlight. "Are you stupid?! You'll kill yourself, you idiot!"
"That's the whole point, Klara." Damon bitterly yelled back as he broke free from her hold and jumped back into the sunlight. "I'd rather burn alive than end up like Rose."
"Damon!" Stefan sped in the bedroom and threw Damon across the room. The Salvatore looked back at Klara who sighed in relief once she knew Damon was away from the light. "You're not doing this." The younger of the two Salvatore's grabbed the collar of Damon's shirt.
"Just did." Damon breathlessly smirked back. "You know what happened to Rose, Stefan." Irritation got the better of Stefan, and he was determined to save Damon not only from the bite but from himself, too. He sped Damon downstairs and into the basement cell, where Klara arrived and slammed the door shut.
"I don't care." Stefan spat as Damon stared back at him and the blonde. "You're not dying today."
"We're gonna find a way out of this, Damon." Klara agreed. She had her hands against the bars of the door, while Stefan stared toward his brother.
"Oh, right. A miracle cure. Good luck with that one."
Stefan took a breath. "I've got Bonnie looking for something. Anything."
"Always the hero, Stefan. Can both of you just tell me goodbye, get it over with." Damon laid propped up by his elbows as sweat began to bead on his forehead. Once he finished speaking, he began to cough violently into his hand. Then he saw blood.
"Lie still. Conserve your strength." Stefan spoke as he and Klara walked back up the staircase of the house. "Call Ric, he's not returning any of my calls, but he might answer you."
Klara raised an eyebrow and pressed her phone to her ear once she found Alaric's contact. "Yeah because I'm sure that he's gonna wanna—"
"Sorry, you've reached somebody who's currently not operating." Alaric's slurred voice indicated to the two vampires that he had been drinking. Which was to be expected.
"Ric, we need your help." Klara sighed out, but she heard a scoff escape Alaric's lips.
"Well, you must have me confused with somebody else. You see, I'm not allowed to help. Just idly sit by while my girlfriend gets sacrificed on an altar of blood."
"Damon's dying," Stefan revealed and they could quite literally hear Alaric's heart drop. "Tyler Lockwood bit him. We don't have much time."
Alaric took a quick breath. "What do you need?"
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"Klaus?" Klara yelled toward Stefan as he saw him walk toward Alaric's former apartment complex where Klaus was still taking up residence. Stefan had told her over the phone that the witches had said Klaus had a cure for the werewolf bite. "That's your big plan. You wanna ask Klaus for help?"
Stefan sighed the moment he saw Klara. "Klara, what're you doing here? I told you not to come." He groaned but it was obvious Klara wasn't going to take orders from anyone, least of all him. "Look, the witches said that Klaus had a cure. The least I can do is try."
"Least we can do." She corrected and noticed his eyes flicker back toward her. Before he could protest, she cut him off. "You need to stop trying to protect me, okay? I can protect myself now. We're doing this together. For Damon."
"Fine," Stefan admitted defeat and heard a small chuckle from Klara's lips. The two headed inside the apartment complex and headed up the staircase, right toward Alaric's door. The Salvatore was the first to open the door and stick his head in. He looked around to see nobody but Katherine.
Once Stefan moved inside the apartment, Klara followed. She noticed the Pierce woman sitting on the edge of the large double bed. "Oh. You're still alive."
"Two days, I've been waiting. I'm supposed to be free of Klaus' compulsion by now." Katherine pushed herself off of the bed and glared toward Stefan and Klara. "He's supposed to be dead."
"We ran into complications." Stefan vaguely responded, though his answer clearly wasn't enough for Katherine.
"Complications?" Katherine's eyes fell on Klara. She stopped for a moment and eyed the blonde up and down, then she realized. "Oh. Sweet little Klara Adams is a bloodsucking monster. How sad. Don't tell me you're the reason Klaus isn't dead?"
"Does it matter?" Klara spoke through gritted teeth. "Look, Stefan and I just need to find him now. Where is he?"
As the apartment door swung open to reveal Klaus and Elijah, Katherine's eyes widened. She instantly tensed up and Klara could tell that she was afraid of him. "Klaus. You're back. Look who decided to come for a visit."
Klaus' eyes flickered between Stefan and Klara, while Elijah closed the apartment door behind him. "You two just keep popping up, don't you?" Klara furrowed his brows at Klara. "I killed you. I remember the familiar sound of your neck snappin— Oh. You had vampire blood in your system." He concluded with a nod. "What a pity."
"We need your help." Stefan began. "For my brother."
"Well, whatever it is, it's going to have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention." Klaus gestured back toward Elijah before he sauntered past Katherine, who's breath hitched as he passed her.
Elijah began to walk forward, toward Stefan and Klara. "You understand how important family is or you wouldn't be here. My brother gave me his word that he would reunite with my own."
"And so I shall." Klaus appeared behind Elijah, just as his brother turned to face him. Klaus shoved the silver dagger straight through his heart, causing Elijah to desiccate and immediately drop to the floor. He then lunged toward Stefan and pushed him against the wall. "Now. What am I going to do with you?"
He shoved a knife through Stefan's heart while Katherine and Klara listened to the agonizing screams that left his lips. "Klaus stop. We just needed your help. The witches said you had a cure for a wolf bite. We'll do whatever you ask just—"
Klaus removed the knife from Stefan's chest and looked between the two vampires. "Trouble is, I don't know if either of you would be any good to me the way you are now. You're just shy of useless." He walked over to the table and began to fill up a glass with blood. "I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917. he went into Monterey and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true ripper. Sound familiar?"
Klara's eyes widened in fear. It was no secret that Stefan struggled with impulse control, but she didn't know he was called The Ripper. "I haven't been that way in a very long time."
"Well, that's the vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town." Klaus turned to Klara. "And you. You'll be of use once you stop battling your desires. You're a vampire now, embrace it. Katerina, come here." Klaus gestured for Katherine to walk toward him, which she did. He bit her wrist but soon thereafter, he bit his own and forced his blood into Katherine's mouth. Her bite had disappeared. "You want your cure? There it is."
"You." Klara breathed out. "Your blood is the cure for a werewolf bite."
"Gotta love mother nature. The two of you want to save Damon's life?" Klaus asked as he held a vial of his blood— the cure— in his grasp. "How 'about a decade-long bender?" Klaus looked toward Stefan, who didn't bother to reply. "I have big plans for you when we leave this town."
Stefan didn't bother to look at Klaus, he just shook his head. "I'm not like that anymore."
"Well, that's too bad. You would have made a hell of a wingman. And sweet Klara here would've had a fantastic mentor." Klaus started to pour the contents of the vial into the sink. He heard Stefan and Klara both gasp as he did so.
Klara gasped out and suddenly Klaus stopped pouring away the blood. "What if I came with you?"
"No deal," Klaus stated coldly.
"Wait," Stefan called out again. Klaus' eyes had fallen on the Salvatore who knew he had no options left. He had to do what Klaus wanted to save Damon's life.
"Now that's more like it. I want the two of you to join me for a drink." Klaus grabbed two blood bags and slid down the end of the table. One for Stefan. One for Klara. Klara ripped the top off the bag and eased the crimson liquid down her throat as if it were child's play. Stefan did the same, but only a sip. "Finish it. All of it. You two do everything I say, and I save Damon. That's the deal. "
Klara had placed her empty bag onto the counter and gained an encouraging smirk from Klaus. Her eyes fell to Stefan, who began squeezing at the bag once there was hardly any blood left. He slammed the plastic down onto the counter as he gasped violently.
Klaus grabbed two bags and slid it toward them. "Again." He watched Stefan drink from the back with his eyes fixed viciously on Klaus. Klara wasted no time draining every single drop from the bag, causing Klaus to chuckle. "Klara drinks willingly. I need to make you willing, too."
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Klara couldn't stop herself from enjoying the taste of the crimson liquid. At first, blood had made her feel disgusting— sick. But now, she couldn't get enough of the stuff. She had drank various bags, unable truly feel satisfied until Klaus walked over to her and lifted her head to look at him. "That's enough, sweetheart. We wouldn't want Stefan to run out now, would we?"
Almost like that, the need to drink from the bags had disappeared. Klaus had compelled her. She never really experienced compulsion before, not really.
As she wiped her mouth, her eyes fell on Stefan who seemed to be hating every single moment of his experience. Klaus tossed another blood bag toward him. "He's had enough. Just give us the cure, please."
"Not until we make a deal. It's your choice, you both can either remain here living your lives in Mystic Falls or you can embrace what you truly are." Klaus moved down in front of Stefan and held out yet another blood bag. "Leave town with me, and save your brother's life." Stefan exhaled, he glanced toward Klara.
"We need to do this. For Damon." Klara breathed out and Stefan knew she was right. It was the only way that they could save Damon.
Stefan then ripped the bag from Klaus' grasp. "That's the spirit."
Klara got up to her feet as Stefan was situated on the floor, devouring the bag as if his life depended on it. "The cure, Klaus. I won't ask you again."
"Vampirism suits you, Klara. You enjoy it don't you. You like how strong you are. Don't worry, I will soon teach you how to control your urges. You'll be a true vampire." Klaus chuckled softly toward the blonde, then grabbed the vial of his blood from the kitchen counter. He stopped in front of Katherine and began to compel her. "Sweetheart, take this over to Damon and come right back."
"You want me to leave?" Katherine asked as he took hold of the bottle.
"Wait. No!" Klara yelled out.
"Yes. And if I were you—" Before Klaus could even finish his sentence, Katherine had already sped straight out of the apartment. "I'd hurry."
Stefan gasped in defeat. He knew that Damon had given Katherine vervain so that she could be free of any further compulsion to Klaus. "She'll never take it to him." He whispered while Klaus shrugged simply. "She'll never take it to him."
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"I suppose, brother, you've been reunited with our family," Klaus spoke softly to a freshly-daggered Elijah who he had placed back within his coffin. He slammed the lid shut. "Put him with the others. We're leaving town tonight." He then turned around to see Klara, who had slid her phone back into her pocket. "So, did Katerina make it in time?"
"You won't be seeing her again, you know," Stefan revealed with a blank expression on his face.
"Because she's on vervain?" Klaus questioned the pair. "I've been around for a long time. I rarely get played for a fool. Besides, she won't get far. The two of you will help me see to that."
Klara straightened herself up as she let her eyes fall on Klaus. See wanted this bender over as quickly as possible. "Look, if you wanna leave, then let's leave."
"Oh, hold on a minute, love." Klaus grabbed her by the shoulders and began to walk forward with her. Stefan's eyes remained on the blonde at all times. "You see, you've just turned, haven't you? And, my guess is that you haven't yet experienced blood straight from the vein."
"No, Klaus..." Stefan warned from behind them, but one viciously glare from Klaus, and Stefan was soon silenced.
"Come here, sweetheart." He gestured toward a blonde woman who staggered out in front of them. The veins began to grow underneath Klara's eyes as she saw the blood that poured from the bite mark that was already on her neck. "Can you hear that, Klara? Can you hear the beating of her heart pumping the blood around her body?" Klara's mouth began to salivate as her fangs grew. "Go on, have at it."
"No!" Stefan yelled out again, but Klaus grabbed him so he was unable to intervene.
Klara listened to the girl's heart beating steadily. She sped straight toward her and the girl shrieked louder than anything, but the sound only spurred Klara on. The blonde sank her teeth straight into the girls' carotid artery and she began draining every single last drop of her blood until she fell limp within Klara's hold.
The girls' dead body fell to the ground, as Klara turned around to face Stefan and Klaus with blood all around her mouth. Her eyes were blood red, the veins underneath her eyes were still there until she saw the look on Stefan's face. That was when her eyes fell to the girl at her feet.
Klara Adams had just taken her first human life.
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