It's a beautiful day in the upper chamber in the cave. Stefan and I are the only ones there.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRjmxmG6RG
"How'd this happen?" I ask.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8zD314B0K
"It was Katherine. She must've been following us this whole time," Stefan answers me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZCKFLkyQO
"What about the cure, or Silas?" I ask.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPBAxkMaQO
"If there was anything in there at all, it's all gone."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUmKAkT8ow
"Where the hell is Bonnie?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZM9e5TDvVp
"I have no idea. She went looking for Jeremy last night. She never came back. Damon, Elena is in there waiting for the Gilbert ring to bring Jeremy back to life."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUmzoTOWG5
"Okay, fine. I'll wait with her."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAjlFpkBdE
I start walking towards the well opening, but Stefan puts up a hand to stop me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiFUgmoJnj
"Damon, listen to me. Jeremy was one of The Five, a hunter."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDCNXMGFpb
"He's supernatural. The ring won't work anymore." I pause and then add, "She won't survive this. I'll find Bonnie. You get Elena off this island."
Later on in the day, I'm on the island in search of Bonnie.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74iwRtRttm
I enter the campground and peek into the tent.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6JYpXgzSC
I walk a little further and stop, veins showing under my eyes, as I hear rustling in the trees.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAtu9Ov7IW
"Unless you're a blond, a Bennett witch, or a doppelgänger, I suggest you steer clear," I warn.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpnim23cYG
I approach the shack and creak open the door. And as I open the door wider, Rebekah appears next to me, startling me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00qUhATL21
"Where is it? The cure? I know someone has it," she says.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17Xu8Du6eO
"Yeah, someone – Katherine."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4j4aTWWyrF
"Katherine? The doppelgänger?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡce71Hhkr7c
"Yeah. Sneaky little bitch must've been spying on us for weeks. She killed Jeremy... or somebody did. He killed your brother. Let's not with the fake sad face."
"I didn't say I was going to miss him, but I'm not heartless. He was Elena's only family."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2s14EdlAq
"Good. Well, you can send flowers after you help me find Bonnie."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWLJcYxOY1
We walk away, side by side.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVzlx80Cif
"We need to find Katherine," she says.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0vYGBXg1T
"If there's one thing that's a guarantee in this miserable little world, it's that Katherine Pierce is gone. We need to find Bonnie. Oh, and beware of the immortal Silas. If he was asleep in that cave, he's awake now."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NnDTgLgDo
I turn and start walking away.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxuZcHtzD5
A moment later, she follows me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeCprKEL33
As we walk through the woods, Rebekah asks me, "Do you think Bonnie is dead?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZpSQb6LDd
"Never thought I'd say this, but I hope not," I reply.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uVziAznhA
"I don't like being out in the open like this."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUYWzXJhHX
"What, afraid of the big, bad Silas?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0n135Jidz
"No."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjDVOKHyOH
"Scaredy cat," I say in a sing song voice.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHCXpP4nnf
"I'm not a scaredy cat. My brother Kol drove himself mad worrying about Silas rising. It would benefit us all to be a bit concerned, and you're one to talk about being afraid. You're so scared, you're 1,200 miles away from where you're supposed to be."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3k3jXtjZAC
"Hey, somebody needed to find Bonnie."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6DnpT9dLD
"Stefan could've done that. Aren't you Elena's current love? It's so hard to keep track these days. Shouldn't you be home comforting her, or are you terrified of being there when she realizes her brother is dead?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Y3IECIXr0
Suddenly, I grab Rebekah, hearing something that she doesn't, and an arrow hits her back.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohTf9jtljb
"Ow," she says.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUALDYFA2jr
"Sorry. Better you than me," I apologize.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjs229vdhsJ
I toss Rebekah away and she falls to the ground.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTJBeQRyay
I see Vaughn aiming his crossbow at me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdabRmJSDx
Another arrow flies at me and I catch it and throw it to the ground, before running at vamp speed out of sight.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwH6gf04rd0
He sets his crossbow and bag down and chases after me, but I reappear and throw him to the ground. He has a dagger in his hand, but I twist his wrist and he drops it, but continues to struggle against me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNS3GgVTOM
"Mm, just the guy I wanted to see. Not really," I say to him.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2K8WsGLtP
I slam him to the ground, knocking him out.
When he wakes up, I have him tied up and propped up against a rock face, jabbing the point of a dagger into Vaughn's throat as I talk.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qqeVvF5QT
"Here's the thing. I was completely willing to accept the fact that you were a one man on a lonely mission to kill ol' Silas, and then I got boned by my vixen nemesis Miss Katherine Pierce, and then I start thinking there's no way that this is a coincidence. So what do you know, huh?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGDstoS5ZH
I sense Rebekah, as she walks up behind me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxH1AEni9D
"Took you long enough," I add to Rebekah.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yHSI84rbf
"Sorry. I had to dig the arrow out of my spine. Thank you for that," she replies.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1z4DdVPclm
"Well, if you want a lead on Katherine Pierce, here's your guy."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVC5bFbAMCZ
I twist the point of the dagger in Vaughn's neck.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9YxzJ3m2x
"Torture me all you want," he says, smiling. "You can't kill me. The hunter's curse will torment you forever."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qdgeFpVD2
"It'll be worth it," I say to him.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUaNjU0HQH
"He's right. You can't kill him, but that doesn't mean we can't tear him apart piece by piece, nerve by nerve until the pain is so severe, that your brain shuts it off to give you one tiny moment of blessed relief, and then we'll heal you and do it again and again and again," Rebekah says to me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQS9Klda2wh
"You are creepy," I comment to her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvA5bRcxTu
"Thank you," she says.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFe7umILzz
"I was tracking dens of vampires across Colorado. Katherine found me, said she could help me find Silas. She already knew about the Hunter's mark, the cure," he tells us after a moment of squirming uncomfortably from the dagger at his neck.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxXeQMdwzm
"How?" she asks him.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqduPmQlj9K
"Oh, she had someone on the inside, some werewolf girl, friends with your professor," he answers her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5eCH6KobW
"Hayley, Tyler Lockwood's old friend. Ah, I knew she was shady. Where'd Katherine find her?" I say.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpylz4sGaHe
"New Orleans. That's all I know," he answers me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJydW3pTQP
"Ah. Good. Let's throw him in the well. If he starves to death, it's not our fault. I'm gonna go find Bonnie," I say, as I remove the dagger.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVI3sH7lduB
"We've got a lead on the cure, Damon. I'm gonna find it, but I suppose you don't mind. You never wanted Elena to be human again, anyway."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8oyVAkWDh
"I wanted that cure for her because it's what she wanted. You might think I'm afraid to go back, but I'm not because I know what she needs. She needs me to bring her best friend home."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKf2yh3Ye6
I walk away and then call my brother.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5oAJ0CkEx
"Did you find her?" he asks.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ5ubVbYpB
"I'm still looking. How is she?" I answer.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrAUVokmPj
"She's losing it, Damon. We can do what we can to delay things here, but we've got to get Jeremy to the morgue before it gets ugly."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPGHqocvmK
"Damn it. I can't- I can't just leave her behind. I can't- I can't show up without Bonnie."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuZZnVT43o
"I think you have to. At this point, the sire bond is probably the only thing that's gonna keep Elena together. I can go back to find Bonnie."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaGrQYTDKI
I nod and say, "I'm on my way."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEiEpqRoes
I hang up and Bonnie emerges from the trees a moment later.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8FHAnmsgx
"I could actually hug you right now," I tell her, before we embrace. "Where have you been? How'd you find me? " I add.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5R9Fiv7y4P
Bonnie pulls away.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvBTsmwz1p
"Shane led the way. He told me what to do, Damon. I know how to bring Jeremy back," she answers me.
I soon arrive at the Gilbert house with Bonnie. And as we get out of my car, Caroline is there standing by hers.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiEExCMyDZ
"Thank god," she says, as she sighs. "We were so, so worried," she adds to Bonnie, before they hug.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡai9U0LYDdq
"I'm okay," Bonnie assures her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6p4peCUfs
"Could you get Stefan out here?" I ask Caroline.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vb4WCuMLW
"They said that she knows what to do," Caroline answers.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTyGNwottw
"Caroline, I need to talk to my brother," I tell her with a serious tone of voice.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7GpvppGfW
"What's wrong?" she asks me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3coLjh3Czq
I gesture at Bonnie with my eyes.
It's a dark night. Everyone else is inside, while Stefan and I talk outside.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclMHcHUtWd
"She's out of her mind, Stefan. The nutty professor's got her totally brainwashed. I mean, the whole flight back home, all she could talk about was how she's the one that can drop the veil between this side and the Other Side."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQVxdBegy3
"Drop the veil? What does that even mean?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSn4iFSOYPL
"What it means is, the myth about Silas being able to raise the dead is not just one, or some. It's every supernatural being over there. Three massacres, three hot spots, and the witch spell of the century, and every supernatural being over there is back with a vengeance. "502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1a98e6qIS
A few minutes later, I walk inside and upstairs to where Elena is, and I go into Jeremy's room and stand at the doorway.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlIkJiuB7S
"Elena..." I say, trying to figure out what to say.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAt2gABdjWV
She's standing at her brother's bedside, where he lays with a blanket covering him.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONfYAh7vNE
She spins around and looks at me with tears running down her face.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBBsuvVOqO
"He's dead. He's dead. Damon, he's dead, and he's been dead this entire time, and I--" Her hand flies to her face over her mouth. "Oh, my god." She looks down at her brother. "I can smell him." She looks at me again. "How long has he smelled like that?"
"Hey, talk to me. I can help you," I say, wanting to comfort her. I can't stand to see her like this. She's grieving so much.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlY81X65NXK
"How? How are you gonna help me? How?" She sniffles and wipes her hand over her face. "Okay. Okay. We-- we have to- -we have to take care of his body. Bring him downstairs."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLWss3dDiu
"We shouldn't--," I start, but she cuts me off.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2s79llTLX
"Just carry him down, please."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEQc6TyvI2
She leaves the room, leaving me there.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlW7AcoaCW
I hear her go downstairs and ask, "Where's Bonnie?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKZYTiWRU1
"We told Matt to take her home. We thought it'd be best," I hear Stefan tell her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygHUTTzqg6
"Okay. I guess we're gonna have to do this the old--fashioned way," she replies.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡik8F62kdSl
"Do what?" Caroline asks.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBGkXEXjPn
I arrive downstairs and she tells me, "Put his body on the couch." She then goes into the kitchen and starts opening and closing cabinets, while I lay her brother's body down on the couch.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡac1NUGVkTs
"Elena? Elena, you need help finding something?" Caroline asks her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXTK5K7FyG
Elena takes a bottle of lighter fluid out of a cabinet and squirts it over the counter, as she answers, saying, "Got it."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUPjB3Kb34
Caroline stands there with an astonished face, while Stefan asks Elena, "What are you doing?"502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYOkU66TnE
"We need a cover story, right? You think I didn't hear you guys talking earlier? Well, what are we gonna say- -animal attack, 'tumbled down the stairs'? No. We burn the house down with him inside of it," she answers, continuing to squirt the fluid everywhere. She then makes it to the living room and squirts it on the couch.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVv4rnL5ob
"Elena, stop it," Stefan says, raising his voice.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhgiXLzqOx
"Why? Because you want me to not be in denial? You want me to face the truth? This is the truth, Stefan. I don't want to live here anymore. I don't want these sketches." She sprays them with lighter fluid and kicks something. "I don't want this Xbox." She throws down the empty bottle and reaches into a cabinet. "Not gonna need this bourbon anymore. Alaric's not here to drink it, I mean, unless you guys are willing to bring back every supernatural creature on the Other Side to get him back." She turns to me. "Would you? I know you want your drinking buddy back." She walks toward me. "Would you, Damon? Because I wouldn't." She walks over to Jeremy's body and splashes bourbon over him. "I don't know, I mean, does that make me a bad person? I-- I have no idea." She takes the Gilbert ring off Jeremy's finger and tosses it to me and I catch it. "He's not gonna need that anymore."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqkxWsCxaV
"Elena, stop it. You're scaring me!" Caroline yells at her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs99Ia5pWyQ
Elena takes down a picture frame from the fireplace mantle, before saying, "What else are we supposed to do with the body, Caroline? I mean, there's no-- there's no room in the Gilbert family plot." She throws the frame down on the floor and the glass cracks. "Jenna and-- and John took the last spots." She throws the empty bottle of bourbon against the wall and it shatters, then grabs a match from the mantle and lights it.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZBqJdiLTh
"No, no, Elena. Stop," Stefan says.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUQASDjELL
"There's nothing here for me anymore, Stefan. Every inch of this house is filled with memories of the people that I love that have died-- my mom, my dad, Jeremy, and Jenna and Alaric, even John. I mean, they're all dead. Everyone is dead. So what am I supposed to-- I mean, how am I gonna-- I can't even--There's nothing left for me-- aah!" She shouts, when the fire on the match burns her finger and she drops it.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkaSl18TzV
I catch it before it hits the floor.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOnYhhIxjJ
Elena sobs and starts to fall to the floor.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Tx6txdDYJ
"Elena, I need you to calm down," I tell her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnwRvaqNoY
"No, no, no, I can't. I can't. I can't. I--," she tells me, before falling to her knees, immeasurable pain and grief distorting her face. She grabs at her head and says, "No. It hurts. It hurts. Just make it stop. Please make it stop. It hurts," as she continues to sob.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKt7UBJyTYG
"Damon... Help her," Stefan says.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZrrMyOvAV
I crouch down next to her and pull her to me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmq3gvIEy95
"I-- I--," she says, as she cries.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWF2pafMva
"I can help you. I want you to let me help you," I tell her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSEko77xpB
Elena shudders as I touch her face.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtHCnqROyg
She sits up, pulling away as I gently caress her cheeks and smooth her hair back.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZWKgAEsdm
"I can help you," I tell her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6W7YDYM4X
"How?" she asks me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyobRt4YhP
"Turn it off," I answer.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuQSmivnWL
"What? No, no," Stefan disagrees.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEv6ztIY4LD
I hold up a hand to stop my brother from intervening.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQFOl4eOKs
"Just turn it off, and everything will go away. That's what you have to do. It's what I want you to do. Just turn it off," I tell her.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVS9NWZkG1
Then her humanity turns off at that. She stops crying and goes silent.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7l32q7CYWG
She and I both stand up and she throws a match down and we all soon leave her house, as her family home burns to the ground.
Later that night, Stefan and I talk outside our place.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ293csgKPb7
"It was a mistake," he tells me.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefegnZklDe
"It wasn't, and you know it. This is the only way she's gonna survive. We'll help her, keep an eye on her. When she's ready, I'll use the sire bond to bring her back," I answer.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Zbj7PVAjQ
"Her humanity, Damon, that was all she had left."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEZvP6Ao23
"Humanity means nothing when you don't have anyone to care about, Stefan."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cTjfUAFJG
"She had you," he tells me, as he nods once.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GcOJgLKP8
"She lost her brother. I'm not enough, not this time."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTb791jDz6u
"Listen, Damon. I know that you and I, we've been through some... bad spots lately, especially when it comes to her."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOA0A22k84
"Yeah. Well... guess none of that matters anymore."502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fQdjnfnzO
"Well I just, um... I want you to know that, um-," he says, as he meets my eyes.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7dAZXSabB
"I know, Stefan," I say, putting a hand on his shoulder and nodding once.
ns216.73.216.238da2
