Eternity in Fear

“Stefan, don’t you find all of that just a little strange…since when did Damon have a conscience?” Elena pondered, keeping her eyes locked on the door. She had a bad feeling about Damon in general, but especially so around her friend, who had no idea what had been going on in Mystic Falls since her disappearance.

Stefan fidgeted in his seat as he downed another shot of liquor. He needed to keep this newfound hunger curved around Elena. It was bothering him so much that he found he wasn’t nearly as concerned about Damon as he should be. “Don’t worry about it, Elena. He’s been easing up lately, you know, since the council is back on the hunt,” he replied. Elena nodded, despite the fact that she felt far from secure with his answer.

Most of the activity at the Grill had simmered down. Anyone that was already inside was there to stay until closing, continuously clinking their glasses and stumbling in drunken merriment. So, as you can imagine, traffic near the entrance was little to none.

The rain continued pouring down, drowning Tracey in her misery. She ignored the scraping feeling of the bricks on the wall against her skin as she slid down onto the pavement, her knees pulled tightly against her chest. The rain was cool, dripping past the collar of her shirt and causing her to shiver uncontrollably, but what could she do?

Matt was still working for another hour or so, and that monster was sitting inside there…she couldn’t bear to be in the same room as him, let alone watch him innocently converse with Elena and Stefan.

The bell attached to the door jingled as the hinges creaked and the door slammed shut. Slowly, Tracey’s downcast eyes shifted upward to stare right into those cool, angered icy blue eyes. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling a few times over the wet surface before ducking into the nearby alleyway. She didn’t hear footsteps behind her, which seemed odd.

She paused momentarily, heaved over, hands resting on her knees as she caught her breath. She took one cautious glance over the shoulder before turning back around, only to bump right into him. Her mind began spinning as she wondered how he had gotten in front of her so quickly and unnoticed. She opened her mouth to scream, but he was prepared. In a flash of motion he had her pressed tightly between a wall and his lifeless body, a hand strongly clamped over his mouth.

“We really don’t need an audience,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Tracey struggled in his grip even though she knew that it was pointless. It was simple, really. He came to finish the job…to finish her. Why bother delaying it any further?

“Listen to me. I’m going to remove my hand, but I expect some answers from you, got it?” he demanded.

Tracey nodded, confused as to why he wasn’t just skipping to the “fun” part and ripping her throat out already. If she recalled correctly, he didn’t care too much for words last time they met. Slowly, his hand slid off her face and back down to his side. “Why did you make such a big scene back there at the table?”

Tracey watched him warily, unsure why a monster like him would care about something like that. Then, she realized… He doesn’t even remember me. “You tried to kill me four years ago!” she cried.

Damon’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stared down at the girl trapped below him. He’d fed off so many girls in the past years, he honestly couldn’t be expected to keep track. That’d just be far too much work. “Sorry,” he grinned, “I don’t remember you.”

She found herself glaring at him, almost upset that he didn’t remember. “It was a summer night…I was outside and kinda high…there was no full moon…the sky was pitch black. You came out of nowhere and pinned me up against my cousin’s house, chewing into my neck,” she recalled.

Damon racked his memory. He often found that if he was given a proper description, he could recall the event in question. A smirk cracked across the corner of his lips as the memory was retrieved. “Ah, now I remember. Well, consider me impressed,” he leaned in closer to her, “I took a lot of blood from you.”

Tracey felt the anger well up inside her as she resumed her struggles. “I hate you!” she shouted, “It’s your fault that we had to move away. It’s your fault that my life has been completely disrupted!” Damon wore a sympathetic face, pretending like he actually cared, which only angered her further.

Although, there was something about this girl that truly sparked his interest. Usually, the only way a human would live after his attack would be if he allowed it. He was really hungry and in a rush that night four years ago. He was almost positive he’d taken a majority of her blood. Regardless of how she survived, the fact of the matter was she was here now, which clearly is a sign that he shouldn’t be finished with her just yet. Maybe this little rendezvous is exactly what Damon needed to take his mind off Katherine…and Elena.

Damon reached forward, pushing a few stray strands of hair out of Tracey’s face. He maintained his eye contact with her, ready to compel. “You’re going to drop this little grudge you have against me and instead of hating me, you’re going to fall madly in love with me,” Damon ordered, pupils dilating as he stared into Tracey’s innocent eyes.

Tracey repeated the order in a zombie like trance and stood frozen in place as Damon leaned down for a kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch, Tracey placed her hands on Damon’s chest and shoved him forward, finally allowing some space between them before shoving her foot into his knee, faulting his perfect balance. Damon glared at her, eyes turning black instantly. Why didn’t she do what I told her?

“Look,” Tracey breathed, “I don’t know what your name is, or why you’re hanging around Elena, but I do know what you are. I know how to fight your powers.”

The minute Damon registered her words, he instantly knew that she had Vervain on her somewhere. His eyes rapidly scanned her body, searching for some sort of jewelry, like Elena’s necklace. He couldn’t find any at that time, but it was irrelevant. He was going to have his way with her rather she liked it or not.

“You know,” Damon smirked, “just because I can’t compel you doesn’t mean I can’t use my strength.”

He reached forward and slammed her body onto the cold, rough cement. She knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to get her to fall into submission, to follow the whole vampire is greater than human equation, but she refused…not after last time. She struggled using her wobbling arms as support to get back up off the ground.

Her fear was still present deep inside, but she couldn’t let it get the best of her. Plus, if Damon saw her fear, who knows what he’d do. She forced herself up onto her knees, glaring defiantly at Damon. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not going to work,” she spat. Damon took this as an invitation to try harder.

The rain poured down harder now, making it almost near impossible for Tracey to keep a close enough watch on Damon. “I’m really loving this new attitude of yours,” he whispered suddenly from behind her, “but I think it’s time to go home.”

In a swift move, Damon had rammed her head into the wall knocking her out cold. Luckily, the rain was pouring hard enough to wash away the blood. There’d be plenty of time for that later tonight, especially if his baby brother and girlfriend spend the night elsewhere. Damon hid Tracey’s body between two trashcans before running back inside.

It’s been twenty minutes now, and still Elena and Stefan remained alone in the booth. Bonnie had long since left, and Caroline disappeared somewhere near the bar with Matt. The bell at the door rang out, and almost immediately Elena’s head spun around, only to find a soaking wet Damon standing in the entrance. He approached the table with a contrived look of hardened concern.

“Did you find her?” Elena asked.

He nodded, “She was just outside the whole time. I think she may be catching a cold or something from being out in the cold so long. I’m going to take her back home.”

“But, we took my car remember?” Elena pointed out.

Damon rolled his eyes and pointed to himself, “Vampire, remember?”

“Damon, can I trust you with her? For a minute there, I could’ve sworn that you were the reason she got up and left in the first place,” Elena murmured.

“Of course you can trust me,” he replied quickly, not allowing room for further discussion. “You two kids have a good night,” he added before retreating.

Elena had her suspicions…and if Stefan had been in his normal state of mind, surely he’d realize what was about to take place. But that wasn’t the case…

Damon returned to the alley and noticed that Tracey’s body had slumped over, sprawled across the ground since he last saw her. It was in this new lighting that a small glint caught his eye. Her shirt had crept up slightly, sticking to her skin from being so drenched. There was a bejeweled ghost dangling in front of her belly button…it was a piercing.

Damon grinned in satisfaction as he made the connection. He’d found her Vervain supply. “I don’t think you’ll be needing this,” he laughed, gently removing the jewelry and draping her over his shoulder as he sped off into the night.