--------------Damon POV--------------

 "It's starting to hurt," Zeke mumbles, his voice low and wavering with a fear that he is trying so hard to hide.

  My fingers tighten on the steering wheel, trying to remain vigilant, but unable to ignore the strain in his voice. I glance in my rear-view mirror, watching him as his body trembles in the seat behind mine. He has paled immensely since we first climbed into the car, his essence seemingly ebbing away from him. His eyes are dull, hardly focusing as he gazes down at the bloody script in his lap.

  I assumed his curiosity would have had him flipping through the pages, but the idea never even seemed to occur to him. Instead, he sits transfixed with his task, his focus never wavering from our purpose. In the beginning, he was adamant with his directions. Telling us instantly when we must have made a wrong move, twisting frantically in his seat to find the vibrating pulse that calls to the loathsome journal.

  Many times he would shriek for us to stop when the connection dropped. My eagerness to find Nereza making me quick to respond, slamming on the brakes and jostling everyone in their seats. There were a few shouts of surprise, but no one dared complain. Everyone felt the dwindling of time, the unease clawing at our hearts with each wrong turn.

  It was more difficult to follow the sensation than I had anticipated. The gruesome diary knew nothing of roads, only pulling us straight towards its destination. When we would hit a bend, our entire group would tense as we desperately searched for a route that brought us to where we needed to go.

  Many times I silently cursed the wretched thing, my irritation only growing with each wasted moment. If only I could gather it in my arms, feel its allure for myself. I am certain if I were able to just run to where it wanted to go, I would have been there by now. With Zeke however, walking is out of the question. At his best, it would still take him hours to walk out of the forest we were in, who knows how long to find the source of the beckoning. As he is now, I fear his weak and tired legs wouldn't even be able to hold him.

  "What do you mean?" Elena asks, twisting her body in the backseat so that she is completely facing him.

  "The pulling," he answers, his words almost lost as a violent chill courses through his body.

  "He isn't looking too good," Stefan mumbles under his breath, just loud enough for Elena and I to hear.

  I spare a glance beside me, but my brother does not meet my eye. He is turned in his seat, his hard gaze following every twitch of Zeke's body, analyzing his every labored breath. Worry shadows Stefan's face, his lips set in a tight line as he tries to catch Zeke's eye.

  "Why don't you take a break," Stefan finally suggests, his voice on the verge of commanding, "just set the thing down for a moment."

  "No," Zeke breathes out, not even looking up to us as he turns slightly in his seat to retain the connection.

  "Come on, you need to regain your strength," Elena encourages, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm.

  "No," Zeke grunts, jerking his arm out of her touch with as much ferocity as he is able to manage.

  "Zeke," Elena tries again, but her words falter as he starts violently shaking his head from side to side.

  "No," Zeke announces, narrowing his eyes at her with determination, "I can't stop, not until we find her."

  "How much longer can you go on like this?" Stefan pushes, not taking his eyes off of him.

  "As long as I need to," Zeke answers softly, turning to look out the window.

  I purse my lips, keeping an eye on him as I continue to push the car onwards. A battle erupts within me, my mind buzzing with too many thoughts to decipher. I hate to admit the way my chest tightens at the sight of him, concern creeping into my heart. He is pushing himself too hard, anyone can see that. Whatever that book is doing, it's taking a vicious toll on Zeke's body.

  Yet, no matter how much I can see his color draining, or hear the slowing of his heart, I can't bear to tell him to stop. I need to keep going, and to do that I need him to point the way. If Nereza was here, she would never permit Zeke to continue as our guide. Hell, she might even hate me when this is all over for allowing it. That's a chance I have to take, I will risk everything to get to her.

  "Guys," Zeke calls, his voice raising with urgency.

  I tense, my eyes darting to the back seat, unsure of what to expect. Has it finally gotten the best of him? Is he asking for a break? What will I say if he does?

  Taking in the sight of him, my stomach clenches in dread. Something is very different. Whatever he is feeling, he isn't giving up. No longer consumed by the eerie diary, he is now fully alert of everything around him. For the first time in quite a while he sits straight up, even as his body is still overtaken with tremors. His eyes are wide with fear, and maybe a little excitement as he stares intently out of his window.

  "Look," He breathes, forcing us all to follow his gaze.

  A gasp escapes me as my foot reflexively falls to the brake, everyone lurches forward as the car struggles to slow down without warning. We jerk as I turn the wheel, my hands holding tight as the tires slide against the gravel on the side of the road. I keep control of the car, managing to bring us to a stop even as my attention is fully on the sight in the distance.

  Since we began our search I have been on the look out, my eyes constantly scanning for any sign of the decaying corpses that have been assaulting us all night. In the uneasy silence of the morning, I had been apprehensive about bringing them up, wanting all focus to remain on Nereza. Now, however, we have no choice but to discuss them.

  Through the thinning branches of the forest we are able to make out glimpses of the rotten flesh and bones of the undead. The car is still and silent, the air heavy with tension as we all watch them expectantly. They seem to have not noticed us, somehow not grabbing their attention with all the chaos of us skidding to a halt.

  "Are they going back to the cemetery?" Stefan asks in a hushed whisper, his eyes never wavering from the bodies.

  "Where are we?" Elena asks back, not having been included in either of the trips out this way.

  "Almost to where this all started," I answer, my mind reeling at the sight of them all.

  A cold sweat breaks out over my skin, panic slowly clouding my mind. Has this book been leading us to them this whole time? What about Nereza? If it hasn't been leading to her, then this was just a waste of time!

  "The cemetery is about another mile down the road," Zeke explains under his breath, not risking a glance back at her.

  "They aren't going anywhere," Elena comments, leaning in closer to Zeke as she tries to get a better look out the window.

  "Yea," Stefan agrees, "they aren't moving at all."

  "Then what are they doing?" Zeke wonders aloud.

  "Does it matter?" I snap, not wanting to spend another moment on this when we still have to figure out how to find Nereza.

  "Is there anything here?" Elena asks, turning in her seat as she glances around the car.

  "Not really." Zeke shrugs, glancing back at her for just a moment before returning his stare out the window, "a few people live out here I guess."

  "Well, it doesn't look like they are attacking anyone," Stefan adds, his eyes scanning the line of trees that surround us.

  "The church is down the road a bit too," Zeke offers, jerking his chin forward to point the way.

  "We have other things to focus on," I growl, my fingers tightening on the steering wheel as I try to control my impatience.

  "We have to at least take a look," Zeke argues, pushing his door open and stepping out. "It can't be a coincidence that the book-"

  His words are cut off by a soft cry escaping his dry lips as his legs give out beneath him. His body crumples to the floor, a grunt echoing in the silence as the air is knocked out of his lungs.

  "Zeke!" Elena cries, surging forward in her seat to check on him through his open door.

  "Shit," I grumble, opening my door to get out as well.

  "Are you okay?" Elena asks softly, half hanging out of the car as she gently touches his arm.

  I tower over the trembling boy, relaxing slightly at finding no sign of actual damage. He is ghostly white, his feeble limbs tangled together in a mess of exhaustion. He is visibly shaken, but nothing that he won't be able to recover from. Even now, as he works to straighten himself, his fingers twitch to hold the dropped journal once more.

  "Yea," Zeke breathes, his voice wavering as he struggles to catch his bearings, "I don't know what happened."

  "Your weak," I answer bluntly, crossing my arms over my chest and looking back to the forest.

  They are everywhere, their dead bodies mingling among the dying trees. I keep an eye on a particularly gruesome corpse that stands no more than ten feet from me. He is almost facing us, his eyes vacant and unseeing even as his mouth opens and closes hungrily. We haven't been quiet, not even managing to keep our voices down for the most part. So, why is he taking no notice of us?

  "Shut up," Zeke grumbles, pulling my attention back to him as he slowly pulls himself up to a kneeling position.

  "Not an insult," I comment, "just pointing out a fact."

  "He has a point," Stefan adds, glancing at me wearily as he steps around the car, "that book is taking any strength you have."

  "I can't just-" Zeke starts to argue as he pushes himself to stand, wavering on his feet as he struggles to remain upright once more.

  "Take it slow," Stefan instructs, stepping forward to steady him.

  I sigh, the thought of taking anything slow right now makes my stomach roll and my pulse quicken. A cool breeze whips its way through the forest, caressing my burning skin and soothing my anger. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to relax. Rushing them will only result in another fight. Another fight, that we truly do not have time for.

  My nose crinkles with distaste as the putrid stench of rotting flesh is wrapped around me once more. Even with the hint of sweetness from flowers fighting against the coming chill or the earthy tones from the forest, the scent of death is overwhelming. I am about to turn my back on it, to try to block it out, when a hint of something familiar teases my senses.

  "Look," Zeke tries to sound strong, but the effect is diminished when he is forced to lean against Stefan in order not to fall, "the book-"

  "Quiet!" I growl, whirling to face them with blazing eyes.

  "What is it?" Zeke asks, taking a step back towards the car in fear.

  "Do you smell it?" I demand, my intense stare locking Stefan in place as I take an urgent step towards him.

  "Smell what?" Stefan's brow furrows as he lifts his head slightly towards the wind, trying to find what has caught my attention.

  "I only smell them," Elena offers, tilting her head to the corpses as she finally crawls out of the car herself.

  "The zombies?" Zeke asks, his eyes widening as he glances between us.

  "It's faint, but beyond them..." I hesitate, concentrating on the scent once more to be sure I am right, "it's her."

  "Reza?" Zeke perks up, his fear now forgotten.

  "Are you sure?" Elena looks to Stefan, silently asking if he agrees.

  "I know her," I insist, pleading with them to sense her to.

  My heart pounds within my chest, adrenaline surging through me at knowing I am close. My muscles twitch with the need to go, to run to her. My skin aching to hold her close to me.

  "Then let's go!" Zeke cheers, a new sense of hope filling his eyes.

  "No," the word jumping from my mouth before my mind is even able to process the conversation, "we need to move fast."

  "Well yea, so let's get moving." Zeke answers, not understanding my point.

  He swoops down, taking the fallen journal back into his arms. His determined eyes instantly clouding over as he takes a sharp intake of breath. He straightens, not meeting any of our gaze as he sways unsteadily on his feet.

  "Look at you," I point out, my voice hard but not unkind, "you can't keep up like this."

  "I have to," He insists, his soft words carried away on the wind.

  "Let's put that thing away," Elena suggests, grabbing the purse from the back seat of the car.

  "Yea, we have an idea of where we are going," Stefan adds, "we don't need to have you pointing our way."

  "Are you sure?" Zeke asks in a whisper, his fingers struggling to hold the heavy book up any longer.

  "Yes," Elena insists, holding the bag open for him.

  Zeke sighs in defeat, yet still hesitates to let the thing out of his grasp. Elena nods encouragingly, lifting the bag so that it slowly engulfs the leather bound journal. With a final look of unease, Zeke lets the book fall from his hands. The bag bounces, swaying with the sudden additional weight. Elena watches the purse suspiciously as her swift fingers carefully close the zipper, never allowing her skin to brush against the leather. With that done, she smiles triumphantly and swings the strap over her shoulder.

  As soon as the purse is closed, locking away the evil thing, everyone is able to breathe just a little easier. Zeke stands up a bit straighter, as if a burden has been removed from his shoulders. Color even starts to slowly creep back into his cheeks, life returning to him.

  "There, now let's go," Zeke announces, rubbing his hands back and forth as if to rid himself of any remaining residue.

  "This doesn't change anything," I sigh, my thin patience about to snap. "let us just go. We will be faster without you."

  "You can't just expect me to sit here!" Zeke argues, his body tensing as he finally understands what I have been saying.

  "Don't you understand, we don't have time," I growl, turning my back on him, intent on leaving.

  "Don't you understand," He yells at me, running to be at my side, "I am coming!"

  "You need stay out here," I command, turning to Zeke with hard, unwavering eyes.

  "No!" He shouts, crossing his arms in defiance.

  "It is too dangerous!" I growl, not wanting to waste anymore time on this argument.

  "I need to help," Zeke insists, setting his chin in determination.

  "You won't be helping," I snap, taking a threatening step towards him, "you will just be in the way!"

  "I-" Zeke starts, but is quickly cut off.

  "I hate to admit it," Elena interrupts, taking a step between the two of us, "but he is kind of right."

  "How can you say that?" Zeke whines, taking a step back as if her words slapped him.

  "We would need to keep an eye on you, as well as look for Reza," Stefan adds, keeping his tone soft and soothing.

  "I am not a child in need of babysitting," Zeke quips, his eyes narrowing as anger fuels his resolve.

  "Then don't act like a child in need of scolding," I retort, my lips twisting back in a snarl.

  "You can't make me stay!" Zeke states lowly, his voice calm and even as he reaches up and grasps onto something through the color of his shirt.

  "Who's bright idea was it again to get him a vervain necklace?" I roar, shifting my glare to Stefan and Elena.

  "We wouldn't compel him even if we could." Elena answers coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.

  "Damon," Zeke calls softly, moving so that he is facing me once again, "even if you were the human here, is there anything that could make you stay back?"

  My heart twists in my chest, nothing could keep me from getting to her. A sigh rips from my lips as I feel myself relenting. Refusing to meet his eye, I push past him and walking into the forest. I watch the zombies as I near them, not even registering our presence. Deep down I know this can't be good, but I keep pushing forward, following the scent that I know to be Nereza

  "Fine," I bark over my shoulder, "Stay close."