Eternity in Fear

Stefan’s mind had been voided utterly blank as he sprinted through the forest, angrily shoving tree limbs out of his way. He couldn’t stop seeing red. It was everywhere he looked, and deep down inside he knew that this was bad. Very bad.

He slowed his pace as the boarding house finally came into view. He didn’t need to rush in there, well, because the blood would be waiting for him. He didn’t need to prowl or stalk. It was sitting comfortably in the freezer. And the best part of it all was that Damon didn’t have a clue. Or at least, that’s what Stefan thought as he quietly slipped through the bulky front door.

Damon was practically an evil master mind by trade. Everywhere he went, trouble and death almost always followed hand in hand. Of course he knew that his baby brother was struggling with this newly resurrected hunger for human blood. And that is the very reason why he was offering Tracey such a bone chilling smile.

Tracey knew that something wasn’t right…something was different with this homicidal vampire that wasn’t quite present before. It seemed as if her heartbeat would never be allowed to return back to its normal pacing, at least not while Damon was in the vicinity.

“Since we’re…friends now, I figured I’d ask you for a little favor,” Damon said slowly, struggling to emit the word ‘friends’ to a human he just recently met.

Tracey scoffed as she backed away from the approaching vampire, extending her arms to hold onto to things for a rather necessary balance. “We are not friends,” she spat, converting her very apparent fear into anger.

Damon laughed and shook his head as if he’d heard the funniest thing, even though Tracey’s voice held no intended humor. “I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to this, Tracey, but you seem to be giving me no other choice,” he sighed, as if it would be a burden to compel a human.

Tracey quickly ran out of space to back up into, which took her by surprise given the large size of the room they were in. Damon would’ve been a few feet away from her in that moment, but all sanity and logic disappeared the minute he used his supernatural speed to close in on her and pin her roughly up against the wall.

A gasp of shock mixed with a bit of pain escaped Tracey’s lips as she stared up at him with widened eyes. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” she cried, trembling in his grasp.

“Because that,” he replied, using his thumbs to wipe away her tear drops, “would take away all of my fun.”

Tracey knew she was overpowered in this case. She was scared and wanted nothing more than to run all the way back to Matt’s place and wake up thinking this was all a dream. But Damon wouldn’t allow that. He enjoyed her suffering far too much. It helped him cope with all his losses and recently inflicted wounds, even if he wasn’t willing to directly admit that.

Damon cupped her face between both of his hands as he stared deeply into her eyes, forcing her to stare at nothing but his insanely bright sapphire eyes. “You’re going to go into the basement and bring up as much Vervain as you possibly can and fill Stefan’s room with it. Hide it in every possible place so that he doesn’t know it’s there. Then, once he returns you’re going to lure him into the room,” he commanded.

Suddenly, it felt as if an on/off switch had been clicked into the off position in Tracey’s mind as she felt some foreign existence take care of her movements. Stefan was Elena’s boyfriend, and he seemed like a really great guy. Clearly, if Stefan lived here as well and if Damon wanted Vervain in his room, it was safe to say that Stefan was a vampire as well. Regardless, Tracey didn’t want to do anything that could hurt him.

As she journeyed what should’ve been a rather unfamiliar path into the Salvatore basement, she wondered whether or not Elena knew about Stefan’s secret. So many things had happened in Mystic Falls since she’d left that she wasn’t really sure what was going on. She made a brief mental note to visit the high school tomorrow and ask Elena for the missing pieces. Well…if she was ever allowed to leave this place…

Elena crawled hesitantly under the covers and rested her head on the pillow. I’m safe in my room, she thought, but I can’t quite say the same for Stefan or Tracey. She began to reach for her diary, but decided against it. After all, what could writing about the people you were worried about do to help them?

Instead, she closed her eyes grudgingly and let sleep overtake every single worry that was keeping her heartbeat as rapid as it was. Unfortunately, Elena would be having anything but a decent dream tonight.

Tracey knew the stronghold powers that Vervain seemed to have over all vampires, and she wasn’t about ready to just deplete the entire supply. It was evident that Damon had her under some kind of mind control, but thankfully he never specified an exact amount of Vervain, which meant in the morning, there would still be some for the taking.

“Finished so soon?” Damon asked, suddenly materializing out of nowhere. Tracey jumped a little at the rather unexpected appearance.

“Yeah, it wasn’t that hard,” she replied with a subtle eye roll.

“I almost wish you would’ve made your grand return to Mystic Falls sooner. I could’ve used your help,” he whispered into her ear, once again removing all space between them.

Oh, how he savored the sound of her rapidly beating heart echoing in his head and the shudder that crept across her skin. If only he could have just one bite…

The earlier events of the evening seemed like an ancient blur in Stefan’s mind as he began ascending the stairs to his room. His look of guilt-filled anger quickly changed into a look of surprised confusion as he stared at his brother and the new girl he’d met earlier. What was her name…Tracey? Yeah, that was it.

“Uh, am I missing something?” Stefan inquired as he continued to stare at the odd scene.

“Oh, Stefan no need to be jealous! You’re not the only vampire who can have a little fun with a human,” Damon laughed casually, feigning ignorance at the sight of blood lightly staining Stefan’s teeth.

“H-hi there, Stefan,” Tracey greeted quietly, feeling her body move toward him unwillingly. “I guess since it’s so late I’m…uh…staying here. Could I borrow a t-shirt or something? These jeans are a little uncomfortable.”

Stefan blinked a few times, bewildered. He felt the need to be concerned for Tracey, especially since she didn’t know what Damon was capable of. But, for now, he had his own problems to worry about. “Sure,” he nodded, completing his trek up the stairs and beginning to lead Tracey into his room.

Damon hadn’t been lying when he’d told Stefan that their powers were drastically enhanced when they fed on a proper diet. It had been so long since Stefan could recall the feeling of true strength and power coursing through his veins. And it arrived just in time.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice was darker than usual as he planted his feet into the ground, mere inches from entering his room. Everything made sense now. Damon got to Tracey before she could figure anything out. He had her under his compulsion. And, there was an insane amount of Vervain in his room.

Tracey found herself backing away from the enraged vampire. “I…I didn’t want to. I’m sorry, Stefan,” she pleaded.

Stefan spun around with a demonic look on his face. Tracey cried out as the memories of the night Damon attacked her replayed in her mind. Stefan was wearing the same face – those horrible black veins below his eyes…those darkened eyes…hungry fangs.

Losing control, Stefan lunged forward, shoving Tracey hard in a backwards direction. Her eyes squeezed shut as she slammed into Damon’s chest. For some strange reason, Damon hadn’t let go of her…even after he broke her fall. Then Stefan began approaching in predatory fashion.

Damon couldn’t really say that he was happy to see his plan fail miserably; then again, he couldn’t really say he was upset either. Tracey was trapped between both Salvatore brothers, and Damon liked where this was going.

“Well, well, well, Stefan finally turned to the dark side,” Damon smirked as he watched his brother over Tracey’s shoulder.

A growl erupted from Stefan’s throat. He was angry…at himself…and at
Damon for finding out his secret. Without thinking, he gripped Tracey’s throat entirely erasing her existence as he bit down into her throat, causing her constant squirming to stop. She had fallen numb with shock. She’d only just met Stefan, and even she could tell that he was supposed to be the good guy.

Her blood tasted absolutely delicious as it flowed freely down his throat, quenching his ever present thirst. Damon, on the other hand, never really was one to just sit around and watch. He grinned to himself as he pulled back on Tracey’s hair to allow more flesh to show. Her scream escalated in pitch as he followed his brother’s example and sunk his teeth in as deep as he could in one single bite.

Tracey’s body dropped to the floor as both brothers continued licking away the dripping blood from her neck until consciousness finally left her. “Good thing she’s spending the night here,” Damon grinned, flashing his blood-soaked teeth, “because that will give us some time to make a good excuse. Wouldn’t want your precious Elena hearing about you feeding off of her best friend, would you?”

Stefan’s heart sank as he carefully leaned down and carried Tracey’s body down to one of the spare bedrooms. Things were officially out of control, and he felt completely helpless, especially knowing that Damon knew everything.
All while Stefan as tending to their midnight snack, a brilliant idea formulated in Damon’s mind. Sure, he could erase Tracey’s memory of him ever attacking her…but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t replace his role as attacker with someone else. Someone like…Stefan.