Author notes This is a reccurring dream that I've been having for the past few weeks that has been really freaking me out. I started to write it out then thought that I may aswell let the people of the world look. Let me warn you now the whole thing is quite gruesome hence why the dreams have been bothering me. If you have an issue with blood and gore and such I would suggest that you don't read on. Otherwise knock yourselves out and let me know what you think Dont ask why Stefan and Damon Salvatore are in it because I have literally no idea. It was a dream it doesnt have to make sense. Some of the plot line doesnt neccesarily make sense because I've tried to keep it as close to my dream as possible and that was very disjointed. Anyway enjoy xxx Disclaimer : I do not own either Stefan or Damon Salvatore which is a shame
The music was too loud, everyone was drinking underage and I just wanted to go home. What had started out as a small get together of a few people had escalated into an all out riot. I could tell all this just wasn't going to end well and I wanted to go home. "Hey" Damon called from across the room, waving a bottle of Stella as he staggered over to where I was sitting. "What's with the long face?" he asked except he was drunk so it came out "was wiv vu long fashe?" I sighed and rolled my eyes. He was a mess. He stunk of alcohol and judging by the three different shades of lipstick smeared on his face he had been getting friendly with a few of the girls. After I had looked him over and deemed him too drunk for a worthwhile conversation I patted the seat next to me. He sat and leaned his head on my shoulder muttering something about me being a great friend. I took his bottle of Stella and put it next to my feet on the floor. I hated parties. My idea of fun wasn't getting pissed off my face, doing something I shouldn't with someone I probably shouldn't be doing it with and then throwing up my guts in someone else's bathroom. Damon however thought of this as the pinnacle of entertainment. I started running a hand absently through his hair and tried to calm him. Stefan and I had tried to keep the whole thing a secret from him to stop this from happening. But seemingly we hadn't done a very good job. I looked up and saw Stefan wandering round looking for some thing. I waved at him and pointed at Damon who was now draped across my lap sleeping. He nodded and walked over. "Sorry about him" Stefan said. I shrugged. We both knew what he was like at parties and it was probably my fault for letting it slip in the first place. I frowned to myself and Stefan sat and put his arm around my shoulder. I leaned against him and sighed. "Time to head off?" He asked sympathetically. I nodded weakly. He liked these parties about as much as I did, which was none at all. There were only supposed to be a few of us coming so Stefan had agreed to come but then someone told someone who told someone else and now it seemed the whole lower sixth was partying in the room and a fair few of the upper sixth too. Honesty I'd be surprised if the police didn't get a call at some point in the night.
He stood, pulled me up and kissed me quickly before grabbing his comatose brother and slinging him over his shoulder. He took my hand and we walked right through the middle of the dance floor. I minutely registered the fact that a door slammed open across the room and the scream grabbed my attention but I didn't put much thought to it since it was a party and everyone was screaming. So when I turned I didn't expect to see a guy with a switch blade heading my way. I pulled on Stefan's hand and he turned to see the same guy that I saw shoving through the crowd wielding a knife. The music had stopped and everyone was watching this guy coming towards us. At some point while I was frozen to the spot Stefan had put Damon's inanimate body on an empty chair and stepped in front of me. I was 70% sure he knew who this guy was and why he was here. I however didn't have a clue and was scared shitless. The guy stopped in front of us looking mad as hell. He was taller than Stefan but stick thin. If it came to a straight out fist fight I think Stefan would win. I cringed internally at the thought of a fight. He was grubby and his clothes looked, and smelt, as though they hadn't been changed in a month. He stunk of alcohol worse than Damon. There was a manic gleam in his eye that was primal and deadly. Then without warning he lunged for Stefan. He was expecting it though and ducked to the right. The both straightened and stared it out for what felt like an eternity. In that time about ten other biker type guys had sauntered in and were having an all out killing spree. Bodies were falling to the floor with blood pouring various knife wounds in their stomach. People were shouting and screaming and crying and running. Basically fearing for their lives. But I couldn't help them. I had to protect Damon and Stefan. I pulled Damon into a corner out of the way of the lights so we were both hidden in the shadows and stood in front of him. I regretted the stupid dress and heels I'd put on. I regretted agreeing to come and worst of all I regretted begging Stefan to come with me so I wouldn't be alone. Everything seemed fuzzy as the adrenaline started to fade. My head ached, the music was still too loud and I was disorientated. I didn't know why these people were here and I didn't know what they wanted. All I knew was that they had gone for Stefan, Damon and I first. That and I couldn't run in these shoes.
I was intently watching Stefan and the guy with the blade. They were circling around each other, every now and then the man lunging with his knife and Stefan ducking out of the way quickly. I cringed every single time. Maybe I was watching too intently because I felt a big hot hand close around my throat and drag me upwards until I was standing on my tip toes. I struggled hopelessly against his grip trying to kick out until I felt a sharp blade against my neck. "Now be a good girl and stay very still" He breathed into my ear. The smell of alcohol and tobacco made me choke. Even if I wanted to shout out to Stefan I doubted he would hear me. I was more scared than I had ever been and a small part of my mind wondered what Damon could have done to warrant this. Because it had to be Damon with his lackadaisical manner to everything and the general way he seemed to create trouble. I felt his hand wrap around my waist and start to pull my dress up. It was only then that I realised I was crying as I let out a sob and bit my lip to stop any more. "Oh do you not like that, sweetie?" He asked in a rough voice. He caught a stray tear on my check with the blade of his knife cutting a line into my skin. I heard more than saw Damon as he broke the man neck with one quick jerk and let him fall to the floor at my feet. I squealed and leapt into Damon's arms. It seemed he had sobered up very quickly. He cradled my head against his chest for a second before pulling away and wiping the blood from my face. "Stefan?" I asked him. Damon shook his head and I looked around urgently. But no one was to be seen. Not the partiers, not Stefan, not even the gang that had ruined the party. All that was left was and empty room littered with plastic cups and bodies that was lit gruesomely by the flashing strobes. Stefan couldn't be gone, he just couldn't. I turned back to Damon to ask him what we should do, but his face was contorted in agony and there was blood seeping out onto the front of his shirt. It took me a second to see the only remaining party crasher with a knife firmly planted into Damon's back. I think I screamed but I couldn't even hear myself think. A different set of lights was flashing on the walls now out of time with the strobes. Blue, Red, Strobe, Blue, Red, Blue, Strobe, Red. The police were here.
The music was too loud, everyone was drinking underage and I just wanted to go home. What had started out as a small get together of a few people had escalated into an all out riot. I could tell all this just wasn't going to end well and I wanted to go home. "Hey" Damon called from across the room, waving a bottle of Stella as he staggered over to where I was sitting. "What's with the long face?" he asked except he was drunk so it came out "was wiv vu long fashe?" I sighed and rolled my eyes. He was a mess. He stunk of alcohol and judging by the three different shades of lipstick smeared on his face he had been getting friendly with a few of the girls. After I had looked him over and deemed him too drunk for a worthwhile conversation I patted the seat next to me. He sat and leaned his head on my shoulder muttering something about me being a great friend. I took his bottle of Stella and put it next to my feet on the floor. I hated parties. My idea of fun wasn't getting pissed off my face, doing something I shouldn't with someone I probably shouldn't be doing it with and then throwing up my guts in someone else's bathroom. Damon however thought of this as the pinnacle of entertainment. I started running a hand absently through his hair and tried to calm him. Stefan and I had tried to keep the whole thing a secret from him to stop this from happening. But seemingly we hadn't done a very good job. I looked up and saw Stefan wandering round looking for some thing. I waved at him and pointed at Damon who was now draped across my lap sleeping. He nodded and walked over. "Sorry about him" Stefan said. I shrugged. We both knew what he was like at parties and it was probably my fault for letting it slip in the first place. I frowned to myself and Stefan sat and put his arm around my shoulder. I leaned against him and sighed. "Time to head off?" He asked sympathetically. I nodded weakly. He liked these parties about as much as I did, which was none at all. There were only supposed to be a few of us coming so Stefan had agreed to come but then someone told someone who told someone else and now it seemed the whole lower sixth was partying in the room and a fair few of the upper sixth too. Honesty I'd be surprised if the police didn't get a call at some point in the night. He stood, pulled me up and kissed me quickly before grabbing his comatose brother and slinging him over his shoulder. He took my hand and we walked right through the middle of the dance floor. I minutely registered the fact that a door slammed open across the room and the scream grabbed my attention but I didn't put much thought to it since it was a party and everyone was screaming. So when I turned I didn't expect to see a guy with a switch blade heading my way. I pulled on Stefan's hand and he turned to see the same guy that I saw shoving through the crowd wielding a knife. The music had stopped and everyone was watching this guy coming towards us. At some point while I was frozen to the spot Stefan had put Damon's inanimate body on an empty chair and stepped in front of me. I was 70% sure he knew who this guy was and why he was here. I however didn't have a clue and was scared shitless. The guy stopped in front of us looking mad as hell. He was taller than Stefan but stick thin. If it came to a straight out fist fight I think Stefan would win. I cringed internally at the thought of a fight. He was grubby and his clothes looked, and smelt, as though they hadn't been changed in a month. He stunk of alcohol worse than Damon. There was a manic gleam in his eye that was primal and deadly. Then without warning he lunged for Stefan. He was expecting it though and ducked to the right. The both straightened and stared it out for what felt like an eternity. In that time about ten other biker type guys had sauntered in and were having an all out killing spree. Bodies were falling to the floor with blood pouring various knife wounds in their stomach. People were shouting and screaming and crying and running. Basically fearing for their lives. But I couldn't help them. I had to protect Damon and Stefan. I pulled Damon into a corner out of the way of the lights so we were both hidden in the shadows and stood in front of him. I regretted the stupid dress and heels I'd put on. I regretted agreeing to come and worst of all I regretted begging Stefan to come with me so I wouldn't be alone. Everything seemed fuzzy as the adrenaline started to fade. My head ached, the music was still too loud and I was disorientated. I didn't know why these people were here and I didn't know what they wanted. All I knew was that they had gone for Stefan, Damon and I first. That and I couldn't run in these shoes. I was intently watching Stefan and the guy with the blade. They were circling around each other, every now and then the man lunging with his knife and Stefan ducking out of the way quickly. I cringed every single time. Maybe I was watching too intently because I felt a big hot hand close around my throat and drag me upwards until I was standing on my tip toes. I struggled hopelessly against his grip trying to kick out until I felt a sharp blade against my neck. "Now be a good girl and stay very still" He breathed into my ear. The smell of alcohol and tobacco made me choke. Even if I wanted to shout out to Stefan I doubted he would hear me. I was more scared than I had ever been and a small part of my mind wondered what Damon could have done to warrant this. Because it had to be Damon with his lackadaisical manner to everything and the general way he seemed to create trouble. I felt his hand wrap around my waist and start to pull my dress up. It was only then that I realised I was crying as I let out a sob and bit my lip to stop any more. "Oh do you not like that, sweetie?" He asked in a rough voice. He caught a stray tear on my check with the blade of his knife cutting a line into my skin. I heard more than saw Damon as he broke the man neck with one quick jerk and let him fall to the floor at my feet. I squealed and leapt into Damon's arms. It seemed he had sobered up very quickly. He cradled my head against his chest for a second before pulling away and wiping the blood from my face. "Stefan?" I asked him. Damon shook his head and I looked around urgently. But no one was to be seen. Not the partiers, not Stefan, not even the gang that had ruined the party. All that was left was and empty room littered with plastic cups and bodies that was lit gruesomely by the flashing strobes. Stefan couldn't be gone, he just couldn't. I turned back to Damon to ask him what we should do, but his face was contorted in agony and there was blood seeping out onto the front of his shirt. It took me a second to see the only remaining party crasher with a knife firmly planted into Damon's back. I think I screamed but I couldn't even hear myself think. A different set of lights was flashing on the walls now out of time with the strobes. Blue, Red, Strobe, Blue, Red, Blue, Strobe, Red. The police were here. The guy split and I fell to my knees as Damon crumpled to the floor. I stared with horror at the blood pouring onto the floor and mixing with the booze and the vomit and the blood already there. Nothing in my life could have prepared me for this. I froze. I had no plan, no idea of what I could do to make this any better. My brain was so shocked at what it had just seen that it shut down and so I sat in a pool of god only knows what with a blood stained dress and hands and had a mini break down. Damon broke me out of it by reaching over and shaking my knee. "We need to get out of here" he shouted over the music. He was knelt on all fours one hand clutching at his chest and his face desperate. My brain started back up and I thought of a way out of this mess. I moved closer to him and said into his ear "Can you move?" He gave me a look that said Under-any-normal-circumstances-I-would-say-no but leant on my shoulder to push him self up. I did my best to help him and put his arm around my shoulder to support him as much as I could. We were doubled over and he was cursing and clutching at his chest still but we hobbled outside as best we could. He pointed towards his car and we struggled over careful to keep out of the sight of the police since I'm pretty such we were incriminated in some way and I had just seen Damon kill a man. I suddenly had a practical thought. "Keys?" I asked Damon. He turned to me still silent so I raised my eyebrows in questioning "Pocket" He answered through his teeth winking at me. I rolled my eyes and tried to be as clean as I could about patting down his pockets and reaching into the front one of his jeans to pull out a set of car keys. I rolled him into the passenger seat and he groaned loudly. "Wimp" I joked as I got in to other side. "Do you actually know how to drive this thing?" "Of course" I replied like I'd done it a thousand times "Please be careful with her" He obviously realised he didn't have much of a choice right now but to let me, who had never even driven a car in my life, use his new Mercedes as a getaway vehicle. I rolled my eyes and floored the gas leaving both the horrific memories of the night and a giant spray of gravel behind us. I navigated through the streets far too fast and barely missing a few cars. This was partly because I was in a hurry and partly because the only driving experience I had was in racing games where the whole point was to drive as fast as possible. "You need to go to the hospital" I stated. I knew instantly that he would refuse but I had to be the practical one here. "No, we need to find Stefan" He gasped as his movements caused him more pain. I cringed into my seat but tried not to let it show "And how are we going to do that?" "I don't know!" he shouted sounding for a split second just as worried as me "Lets just get home" he sighed and I put my foot down harder
We raced home faster than I had ever seen anyone drive before, and much, much faster than was deemed safe. Damon was losing blood quickly and though he tried not to show it, I could tell he was in pain. It was kind of distracting to see red all over the seats and dripping over everything he had touched. Like an awful scarlet ghost of where he had been. We got back to the house in record time and I helped him inside. Getting the key in the lock was a nightmare but eventually we were in. Someone screamed in the kitchen and I almost lost my grip on Damon's shirt. Who was in my kitchen? I guided Damon to the sofa and sat him down before I ran to the kitchen. The first thing I saw was the blood. Red handprints were smeared over the door frame and the table and there were drips of scarlet on the floor leading to an altogether larger puddle underneath a girl sat on one of the chairs around the dining table. "I. Have. Been. Waiting" She gasped quickly then screamed again and tumbled onto the floor clutching her stomach. I rushed forward and tried to pick her up. Her pretty white shirt was mostly red and there was a knife shaped hole in her abdomen where blood was pouring out. "Stay there" I ordered "Like I have a choice" she muttered. Jade was the girl who was currently in agony on my kitchen laminate. I knew her from school a little. Nice girl but she wasn't quite as good at math as she perhaps thought she was. She must have been at the party but I didn't understand why she was at my house and not in hospital where she should be. I grabbed a towel and knelt next to her pressing the cloth against her wound. She whimpered a little but put her hand on it to keep it in place. "Perfect" Damon said sarcastically and he staggered to the doorframe and clutched it like a drowning man. I supported him to another chair and managed to sit him down. It only then occurred to me that I had two stab victims around my dining table. What a night I was having. I grabbed the cordless phone out the living room and dialled Stefan's number. I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder while I quickly poured two glasses of water. I didn't know much first aid but I was pretty sure dehydration wasn't going to help either of these two right now.
"Don't call an ambulance" Damon called weakly from across the room. "I'm calling Stefan" I replied "And?" "Voicemail" I said and tried again. I put both of the glasses, now full, next to my patients and pulled up a chair next to Damon. He rolled over and put his head on my lap. I used my free hand to run through his tangled, blood and vomit matter hair. The phone went to voicemail again so I cursed at it and set in on the table. I wanted to breakdown and cry. This was the only time I had had to put everything into perspective and it was downright scary. I didn't know what to do and I was terrified that those people would come back. And I had two severe stab patients that were refusing treatment. It was a few minutes before I realised lights were flashing against the wall. Rhythmic yellow flashes coming through the window from outside. "You said you didn't call them" Damon whispered from my lap "What?" I asked confused "Don't let them take me" Jade whimpered from behind me. I sat up, alert instantly. I couldn't understand what was going on but I knew it was bad. There was an almighty crash from the hall and voices carried into the room. Someone had broken into the house. I stood quickly, careful not to jostle the already weak Damon on my lap and took a defensive stance near the door. About five people dressed in green jumpsuits came in the door carrying two stretchers each with medical bags perched on top. I knew instantly that they weren't medics. "We need to get through here" One of them said roughly trying to push past me "No you don't" I said standing in front of her. She stopped pushing and took a small step back looking me squarely in the face. Then without missing a beat her hand snapped back and she punched me square in the jaw. I staggered a little, enough to let three of them through, but it wasn't a very hard punch and it was mostly the heels that let me down. Without a word two of them dragged Damon onto the stretcher and tried to take him out the door. "What do you think you're doing?" I cried "You can't take him!" I pulled on the shoulder of one of the men carrying him but he shrugged me off. Behind me Jade cried out as she was taken too but she was lower on my list of priorities. "Stop now" I started pulling and scratching at whichever of them was closest but they continued to carry him out through the hall and into the street. "No, Damon!" He was trying to resist but he was already weak. One of them punched him in the chest and I heard two distinct cracks as two ribs snapped under the pressure. Damon flinched on the stretcher then promptly went very limp and his head lolled to one side in unconsciousness. A small line of blood leaked from his mouth and across his cheek. I screamed and I fought but the kept pushing me back and I watched them load Jade and Damon into the back of the ambulance. I couldn't stop it and as the others leapt into the ambulance I collapsed on the doorstep and cried. I had no idea what happened to either of them but that was the last I saw of them for the night. I sat on the doorstep for hours just crying. It was cold and I was still covered in a mix of blood, alcohol and vomit but I just couldn't find it in myself to care. My cheek stung like a bitch as the saltwater flowed into the still open gash there but that just made me cry more. I must have fallen asleep there because the next thing I remember was Stefan carrying me into the bathroom and laying me in the tub. He looked like hell. All scratches and bruises and dirt. What parts of his clothes that weren't ripped, were stained with the unpleasantness of the night. "How long had you been out there?" Stefan asked as he reached up and turned the shower on. I gush of water hit me and the water ran from clear to a rusty brown colour underneath me. "They took him" I whispered still in shock more than anything else. I didn't watch Stefan as he started to unknot my hair with a brush, I just stared at my hands twining themselves together "They just took him" "There was nothing you could have done" Stefan said calmly even though his brother was missing and I could tell it hurt him. His sadness along with my own brought a new round of tears but thankfully they didn't show under the stream of the shower. We both cleaned up in silence then retired to each of out room to deal with out misery on our own. It was a few days later before I go back to normal tasks and I realised what was going on. I just woke up that morning and suddenly my head was clear. No more pain, no more misery; just a feeling of relief. Damon was gone, but I could handle it. I got out of bed, washed, dressed and started to clean the house; all the normal day-to-day things that I did before. I noticed Stefan doing the same as he mumbled a "good morning" from his bowl of cereal. He picked up a letter he had been reading next to him and handed it to me. It was a printed letter with thick paper and fancy writing. Official. It read; Dear Mr S Salvatore We would first like to say how sorry we are for your loss and send our condolences to the family and friends of Mr Damon Salvatore. We realise this is a sad time for all… I'd already known he was dead. Of course I did. I saw him being taken by those people and the reason I fought so hard was because I knew I wouldn't see him again if I let him go. But seeing it in writing came as a shock still. I sat down hard in one of the chairs but kept reading … and would like to invite you to along with all the others affected to a ceremony to celebrate their lives and begin to make arrangements for their funerals…
We raced home faster than I had ever seen anyone drive before, and much, much faster than was deemed safe. Damon was losing blood quickly and though he tried not to show it, I could tell he was in pain. It was kind of distracting to see red all over the seats and dripping over everything he had touched. Like an awful scarlet ghost of where he had been. We got back to the house in record time and I helped him inside. Getting the key in the lock was a nightmare but eventually we were in. Someone screamed in the kitchen and I almost lost my grip on Damon's shirt. Who was in my kitchen? I guided Damon to the sofa and sat him down before I ran to the kitchen. The first thing I saw was the blood. Red handprints were smeared over the door frame and the table and there were drips of scarlet on the floor leading to an altogether larger puddle underneath a girl sat on one of the chairs around the dining table. "I. Have. Been. Waiting" She gasped quickly then screamed again and tumbled onto the floor clutching her stomach. I rushed forward and tried to pick her up. Her pretty white shirt was mostly red and there was a knife shaped hole in her abdomen where blood was pouring out. "Stay there" I ordered "Like I have a choice" she muttered. Jade was the girl who was currently in agony on my kitchen laminate. I knew her from school a little. Nice girl but she wasn't quite as good at math as she perhaps thought she was. She must have been at the party but I didn't understand why she was at my house and not in hospital where she should be. I grabbed a towel and knelt next to her pressing the cloth against her wound. She whimpered a little but put her hand on it to keep it in place. "Perfect" Damon said sarcastically and he staggered to the doorframe and clutched it like a drowning man. I supported him to another chair and managed to sit him down. It only then occurred to me that I had two stab victims around my dining table. What a night I was having. I grabbed the cordless phone out the living room and dialled Stefan's number. I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder while I quickly poured two glasses of water. I didn't know much first aid but I was pretty sure dehydration wasn't going to help either of these two right now. "Don't call an ambulance" Damon called weakly from across the room. "I'm calling Stefan" I replied "And?" "Voicemail" I said and tried again. I put both of the glasses, now full, next to my patients and pulled up a chair next to Damon. He rolled over and put his head on my lap. I used my free hand to run through his tangled, blood and vomit matter hair. The phone went to voicemail again so I cursed at it and set in on the table. I wanted to breakdown and cry. This was the only time I had had to put everything into perspective and it was downright scary. I didn't know what to do and I was terrified that those people would come back. And I had two severe stab patients that were refusing treatment. It was a few minutes before I realised lights were flashing against the wall. Rhythmic yellow flashes coming through the window from outside. "You said you didn't call them" Damon whispered from my lap "What?" I asked confused "Don't let them take me" Jade whimpered from behind me. I sat up, alert instantly. I couldn't understand what was going on but I knew it was bad. There was an almighty crash from the hall and voices carried into the room. Someone had broken into the house. I stood quickly, careful not to jostle the already weak Damon on my lap and took a defensive stance near the door. About five people dressed in green jumpsuits came in the door carrying two stretchers each with medical bags perched on top. I knew instantly that they weren't medics. "We need to get through here" One of them said roughly trying to push past me "No you don't" I said standing in front of her. She stopped pushing and took a small step back looking me squarely in the face. Then without missing a beat her hand snapped back and she punched me square in the jaw. I staggered a little, enough to let three of them through, but it wasn't a very hard punch and it was mostly the heels that let me down. Without a word two of them dragged Damon onto the stretcher and tried to take him out the door. "What do you think you're doing?" I cried "You can't take him!" I pulled on the shoulder of one of the men carrying him but he shrugged me off. Behind me Jade cried out as she was taken too but she was lower on my list of priorities. "Stop now" I started pulling and scratching at whichever of them was closest but they continued to carry him out through the hall and into the street. "No, Damon!" He was trying to resist but he was already weak. One of them punched him in the chest and I heard two distinct cracks as two ribs snapped under the pressure. Damon flinched on the stretcher then promptly went very limp and his head lolled to one side in unconsciousness. A small line of blood leaked from his mouth and across his cheek. I screamed and I fought but the kept pushing me back and I watched them load Jade and Damon into the back of the ambulance. I couldn't stop it and as the others leapt into the ambulance I collapsed on the doorstep and cried. I had no idea what happened to either of them but that was the last I saw of them for the night. I sat on the doorstep for hours just crying. It was cold and I was still covered in a mix of blood, alcohol and vomit but I just couldn't find it in myself to care. My cheek stung like a bitch as the saltwater flowed into the still open gash there but that just made me cry more. I must have fallen asleep there because the next thing I remember was Stefan carrying me into the bathroom and laying me in the tub. He looked like hell. All scratches and bruises and dirt. What parts of his clothes that weren't ripped, were stained with the unpleasantness of the night. "How long had you been out there?" Stefan asked as he reached up and turned the shower on. I gush of water hit me and the water ran from clear to a rusty brown colour underneath me. "They took him" I whispered still in shock more than anything else. I didn't watch Stefan as he started to unknot my hair with a brush, I just stared at my hands twining themselves together "They just took him" "There was nothing you could have done" Stefan said calmly even though his brother was missing and I could tell it hurt him. His sadness along with my own brought a new round of tears but thankfully they didn't show under the stream of the shower. We both cleaned up in silence then retired to each of out room to deal with out misery on our own. It was a few days later before I go back to normal tasks and I realised what was going on. I just woke up that morning and suddenly my head was clear. No more pain, no more misery; just a feeling of relief. Damon was gone, but I could handle it. I got out of bed, washed, dressed and started to clean the house; all the normal day-to-day things that I did before. I noticed Stefan doing the same as he mumbled a "good morning" from his bowl of cereal. He picked up a letter he had been reading next to him and handed it to me. It was a printed letter with thick paper and fancy writing. Official. It read; Dear Mr S Salvatore We would first like to say how sorry we are for your loss and send our condolences to the family and friends of Mr Damon Salvatore. We realise this is a sad time for all… I'd already known he was dead. Of course I did. I saw him being taken by those people and the reason I fought so hard was because I knew I wouldn't see him again if I let him go. But seeing it in writing came as a shock still. I sat down hard in one of the chairs but kept reading … and would like to invite you to along with all the others affected to a ceremony to celebrate their lives and begin to make arrangements for their funerals… I dropped the paper as I realised what the letter was saying. There was to be a ceremony for everyone who died that night at the party and during it some funeral parlours were going to advertise their services like some market stall. "That's sick" I muttered "But practical" Stefan mused "I can't not go. I need to see him. I need to know that he is okay" "He's dead!" I screamed "How can he be okay? How can you turn up and sort out the practicalities when your brother was murdered in cold blood a few days ago? Then pretend that you cared for all the other that died too. We didn't know them Stefan! We didn't know their names or their hopes or dreams and most of all we didn't save them. It's our fault…" I trailed off miserably as I came to my own conclusion. The reason I hadn't been able to think straight, hadn't been able to get off the porch, hadn't been able to get out of bed. "It's my fault" I whispered horrified. But by saying it things started to click into place in my head. Those people were after Damon and I let slip about the party. And I begged Stefan to go too. It was my fault Damon was there, my fault those people were there, my fault anyone got hurt. If Stefan was at home they could have run and called the police. If we were all at home they might not have even tried to hurt him. It would have been just a normal night. I looked quickly again at the letter on the floor. The date was marked at today. As it was, we both went. Both trapped in our own worlds and trying to get through it. Mine was a world of guilt and despair which was amplified when I saw the hall filled with other mourners, some just children. We walked past one women sobbing about how her daughter was dreaming of university. I guessed the oldest people there must have been 18. The whole thing was a tragedy but I couldn't yet feel that in my little bubble. "Mr Salvatore?" Some one called from a few feet away. We both turned to see and employee walking over to us with just the right amount of sadness in his expression to be considered sympathetic. "Mr Salvatore, I have been told there is a special room set up for your brother next door. You and your…" he trailed off and looked my up and down "Friend should come this way" He turned on his heel and made a beeline for the other side of the hall to an unmarked door. He opened it without a word and as soon as we had stepped through it clicked shut behind us. I had a sudden awful feeling in the pit of my stomach and tried the door handle. It didn't move under my hand. I shot a terrified look at Stefan who looked back with the same thought. The bastard had locked us in. I took a cautious step into the room and started to look around. The room was clean and white and empty but for a few chairs and thick white curtains that draped on the walls at intervals. One in particular caught my eye as it had a red spot on it. I stepped away from Stefan for a closer inspection. It looked almost as though someone had spilt red ink on it from the other side. I reached towards it slowly and started to pull it aside. An ungodly smell came from it as soon as I touched it and I gagged hard but refused to let it stop me. And so I ripped the rest of it back quickly to get it over with. "Stefan" I meant to shout but I was so shocked I could hardly even hear myself. I lost all control of my body as I stared at the atrocity before me. I just couldn't seem to look away, my mind had some morbid addiction to the sight before me and my eyes refused to move. It was Jade. Well in truth it was her corpse; still clothed in a blood soaked party dress covered in cuts. This on its own was ghastly enough, but she was hanging from a huge meat hook that was attached to the wall and pushed through her shoulder leaving red and pink trails of muscle and ligament pouring from the hole next to her collar bone. I tried to scream but my throat was dry, I tried to move but I was frozen. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. Stefan came up behind me and I felt him staring over my shoulder. He moved round the room ripping the curtains from the rails revealing another body behind each. Some I knew, some I didn't; but each made me feel worse and worse. "No" Stefan gasped. It was the only thing so far to break me from my reverie. I turned and this time I did scream. Across the room, given the same treatment as the others was Damon.
"No, no, no, no…" Stefan repeated it over and over like this whole thing would disappear. I wasn't so naïve but I was still frozen. I knew this image would haunt me so I used all my willpower to make myself look away. It was only then that I noticed the note. A neatly folded piece of card placed on one of the chairs. I picked it up to distract myself more than anything else. But then my curiosity got the better of me and I opened it. Then it got the better of me again and I read it… Don't worry. He won't get off that easily "He's still alive" I mouthed and my mind shouted. Then louder "He's still alive" I started to get excited and I ran over to him "What? What's going on?" Stefan asked frantic watching my carefully. I ran my fingers over Damon's wrist and checked for a pulse. I couldn't be sure in my excitement but I was sure I felt something. So I pressed my fingers into his neck and this time I was convinced. A steady pulse of liquid flowed under his skin. Weak for definite, but also certainly there. "Get him down" I ordered "Get him off there now. He's still alive" Stefan complied without another word and lifted Damon off the hook. As soon as we tried to move him he awoke and his eyes flickered for a second like he couldn't quite focus. Then he howled in pain like an animal that had been shot. It hurt for me to hear so I can only imagine the pain that he must have been in. I tried to ignore it as I helped him down and I could tell that he was trying to smother it but we all still felt it. Eventually we had him laid on the floor and Stefan called for an ambulance. A real one this time. I sat with him and whispered softly to him. Trying to tell him it was going to be okay. I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince him or me. If it was me it wasn't really working. A few hours later after numerous statements to numerous police officers and ambulance crew and any one else with a macabre curiosity, Stefan and I were sat in the car in total silence. "I'll kill them" Stefan was the first to break it "Don't" I whispered "Not right now" I stared out the window to see the last of the bodies being taken away under white sheets. Everyone in the room was dead except for Damon. It was some gruesome joke by those…animals; set up for Stefan and me to find. It made me sick to my core. I could understand Stefan's anger. God knows I felt most of it but I was too tired for revenge right then. "Let's just go home" I said rolling my head on the headrest and collapsing into the seat. "That's the best idea I've heard all week"