thirty-two

━━━━━━━━

Bloody Island

━━━━━━━━

THEY WERE OUT of the loop for sure. Damon had left Athena there to wait for Rebekah to awake. Her sister took a lot more time than necessary, which was why when she did wake up, morning had appeared. The sun was in the sky and the birds were chirping away. While they walked, neither said a word but they could feel it. Something had changed. Damon was searching the camp when they arrived. He heard the leaves that rustled underneath the girls' feet. His vampire face appeared. "Unless you're a blonde, a Bennett witch, an Nyx, or a doppelgänger, I suggest you steer clear."

He approached the old shack and opened the door. The two appeared next to him, starling him. Rebekah narrowed her eyes. "Where is it? The cure? We know someone has it."

Damon avoided their eyes for a moment. "Yeah, someone - Katherine."

Athena nearly smiled at the mention of her favorite doppelganger. It had been a long while since she last heard from her. The news didn't surprise her considering that Katherine probably wanted to shove the cure down Klaus's throat. "Katherine?"

"Yeah. Sneaky little bitch must've been spying on us for weeks. She killed Jeremy...or somebody did." Both girls frowned. "He killed your brother. Let's not with the fake sad faces."

Rebekah sighed. "We didn't say we were going to miss him, but we're not heartless. He was Elena's only family."

"Good. Well, you two can send flowers after you help me find Bonnie."

He began to walk away and they stared at him. Athena called, "We need to find Katherine."

Damon continued to walk. "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."

The Salvatore left the two girls standing there and Athena looked over at her sister with hesitation, but then followed. Rebekah then followed her. Eventually, they caught up with Damon and together they walked through the woods.

"Do you think Bonnie is dead?" Rebekah questioned.

"Never thought I'd say this, but I hope not," Damon replied.

Athena looked around them and shivered. The island felt different, that was for sure. Maybe it was because Elena was no longer on the island or maybe it was because Silas had awakened. "Perhaps we shouldn't be out in the open."

Damon teased, "What, afraid of the big, bad Silas?"

She scoffed. "No."

Rebekah smiled at her, knowing that Athena was already getting fed up with Damon. He then said in a sing-song voice, "Scaredy cat!"

Athene flashed in front of him and stood in front of him to keep him from traveling farther. "I'm not a scaredy cat. Kol warned us about Silas rising. It is stupid for us to ignore it. And besides, you're afraid. You're so scared, that you're 1,200 miles away from your precious Elena who is grieving over her brother."

"Hey, somebody needed to find Bonnie."

It didn't matter to her that she was slowly provoking him. Athena wanted him to know, how was it her fault that he didn't want to see it? "Stefan could've. You're her boyfriend after all. Or is she with Stefan again? It's so hard to keep track. But I do believe that you should be helping her through her grieving. Or are you afraid of being there when she realizes her brother is dead?"

Before he could do anything, an arrow went into her back. Athena cursed and Rebekah flashed to her. Damon then threw them both and flashed off into the forest. Her sister hushed her and then pulled out the arrow.

"I'm going to kill him," Athena hissed, standing up.

Rebekah pushed the hair out of her eyes and stood up as well. "Not if I do it first."

They flashed off in the direction he went and then stopped in their tracks. Damon had the man from earlier tied up to a tree with a knife to his neck. He didn't turn to look at them but said, "Took you long enough."

Athena made a face. "Our apologies, my sister had to get the arrow out of my spine."

"Well, if you want a lead on Katherine Pierce, here's your guy."

He twisted the dagger in the guy's neck. The hunter wasn't budging though. Torture me all you want. You can't kill me. The hunter's curse will torment you forever."

Damon only replied, "It'll be worth it."

Rebekah took a step toward him. "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."

Athena look surprised by her sister's torture method but thought it was a good idea. "That is a splendid idea, Rebekah."

Her sister smiled at her. "Thank you."

They turned to Vaughn and waited for him to release any information he had. He squirmed uncomfortably from the dagger at his neck but answered, "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."

"How?" Athena questioned curiously.

Vaughn looked over at her. "Oh, she had someone on the inside, some werewolf girl, friends with your professor."

Athena instantly knew who it was and shook her head in disbelief. Damon looked at them, also knowing who it was. "Hayley, Tyler Lockwood's old friend. Ah, I knew she was shady." He looked back at Vaughn. "Where'd Katherine find her?"

"New Orleans. That's all I know."

Damon removed the dagger. Athena nodded. "Well, I say we throw him in a well to starve. We gotta find Bonnie."

"We've got a lead on the cure, Athena," Rebekah pointed out.

The Salvatore agreed with Athena. "No, she's right, we gotta find Bonnie."

"Well, I'm gonna find the cure, but I suppose you don't mind. You never wanted Elena to be human again, anyway."

Athena withheld a smirk. If one subject was touchy, it was Elena. She and Rebekah both knew it pained him not to be with Elena and helping her. But at the same time, he was afraid. Damon argued, "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."

Damon walked off and the two sisters smiled at one another and then at Vaughn. Rebekah hauled him up and they flashed to the cave. He was thrown down to the ground and the two stood over him with their arms crossed over their chests.

Vaughn looked up at them. "You know, if you're smart, you'll use the cure to kill Silas."

Athena rolled her eyes. "We have no interest in killing Silas at the moment. Goodbye now."

They began to walk away and he called out to them. "All right, okay. Well, you be careful up there, you know, 'cause he's up there, running about."

Rebekah looked at her sister and they both turned back around. The blonde narrowed her eyes at the hunter. "You sure about that?"

"You don't believe me? Check my pack."

Athena sighed and then did what he said. She grabbed his back and then opened it, withdrawing an odd mask. "What the hell?"

"I found it in the chamber where he lay. They say no one has seen him. No one knows his face. How do you hide from the devil when you don't know what he looks like? Who knows? Maybe I'm him." They both tensed. "Mark my words, if you don't use the cure to kill him, doesnae matter if you're human or vampire. You're doomed. We all are."

Rebekah quickly hit the mask out of Athena's hands and they both flashed out of the cave. It was night and they both raced to the beach. The woods was difficult to navigate, but they managed until they found someone's belongings by the shoreline. Athena's flashlight fell upon a body and they both gasped, recoiling.

Her sister cautiously made her way over to the body and then pulled it over to reveal Shane. Athena's eyebrows knitted as she took another step. She shined the light on his clothes and they revealed to be bloody. Rebekah led her around him but then his arm struck out and grabbed Athena's ankle.

"Silas!" he whispered.

Athena was frozen in her spot and Rebekah grabbed her, pulling her to the shore where one of the boats still rested. They quickly got on and were off in a matter of seconds. And the entire time they boated to the mainland, they were both silent. If Silas was really out and roaming free, who knew what he was going to do. And who knew who he was going to kill.

———

I know these chapters are boring, trust me. Only a few chapters left!

Remember To Vote On This Chapter

Comment Your Thoughts

And Follow Me For Updates!