chapter fourteen, the truth of a murderer

tw: gore

THERE IS THIS MOMENT in life when you feel stuck. Stuck between life and death. Stuck between choices that were going to declare you as a saint or a murderer. It irritated her. The uncertainty. Not being able to make her own choices as she wanted to live desperately. But she was moving away from her life, and she couldn't do anything about it because everyone knew better than her. But no one asked what she wanted to do.

Something was utterly wrong. And it wasn't just the fact that Klaus was after them. Elijah disappeared. Elena and her family were instructed to stay inside, but she said Klaus wasn't even in Mystic Falls. He was already after them. And worst of all, she could sense him getting closer. It was as if all her hair were standing up, constantly. As if she was being watched from the lurking shadows. She felt his power closer and closer to her and she desperately wanted to reach out to it. It called out to her.

The Salvatores were getting further from Mystic Falls. But she didn't feel safer. As they reached Baton Rouge, she felt herself frantically looking at every corner of the passing buildings and dark forests. And with that growing paranoia, she knew what she had to do – she had to run away from her brothers with the intention, that Klaus will spare their life. She had to give herself to him.

But it wasn't easy. She was stuck in the car for most of the days. If they were renting a room in a motel, her brothers took turns, keeping a guard. She knew she couldn't just open the door and run because they were faster than her. And her silence scared them because they knew she was planning something with her anger. They were ready for her outburst.

Just a few miles after passing Baton Rouge, they stopped at a diner during lunchtime. It was buzzing with people; the scent of oil surrounded the diner in a heavy cloud. They had to stop there since the clear grumbling of Ophelia's stomach indicated that she needed to eat. But she was still silent around them. She didn't say a word if it wasn't necessary for them to hear.

The siblings barely found a seat at the other end of the diner. They soon ordered their food, leaving her brothers to pick out what she was going to eat because she wasn't properly acquainted with modern food and anything artificially sweet or oily made her sick. Even during their times, she didn't enjoy eating little dough balls fried in oil.

Ophelia sat in the middle, both of her brothers at her sides. She was observing the way people were talking, the way they were moving. She noticed that the etiquette she was taught was discarded. People talked with their mouths full of food, they pressed their elbows to the tables. Even as they were driving, she noticed the way people changed, the way their demeanour changed as that forced etiquette was thrown away. She didn't know if that astonished her, or it made her feel weird.

This diner could be her way out. That buzzing, bell ringing, and sounds of the frying food came into a blur. This could be used to her advantage to run away. This diner was surrounded by a forest and a busy road. She didn't know where she would go, but she was certain that Klaus would find her. If she can actually sense his power, he could as well. She had to do this to save her brothers. To ask for mercy.

As soon as they got their food, she looked down at her plate of a cheeseburger and a salad instead of fries with a vanilla milkshake and a glass of water. Even if she was hungry, she didn't want to eat. Something was wrong. It felt like her heartbeat was stuck in her throat, a void opening in her chest. It was painful. It made her heartbeat spike as if someone had stabbed her.

Looking around at people, she observed how distant they appeared. They were all busy with their conversations, others were reading, and some were on their phone. Everything seemed normal, but there was a storm raging inside of her.

"Ophelia?" Stefan noticed how she was looking around, not touching her food.

"I am well," she immediately answered, pushing her eyes back on food, digging her fingers into her thighs. She understood the feeling of anxiety well – the way her stomach twisted, the way she felt completely sick, the void in her chest... She felt it every time she heard that their father came back home. She felt it every time when her father walked to her door.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to convince herself that everything was fine, but her body was not letting her. It felt like it was too hot and too cold, it was too loud and too silent. Ophelia pushed her head down and slightly shook her head as the buzzing became quiet, a voice appearing at the back of her head, behind her.

Ophelia. It was a whisper; it was a warning. It was his warning.

As she opened her eyes in fear, her body quickly moved towards the table as the huge windows of the diner shattered, causing havoc to be unleashed. Her brothers immediately yanked her underneath the table as the screams of people surrounded them all. The little glass shards splattered around the diner, painting the floor in crimson from the people who didn't manage to hide quickly.

"We're surrounded," Damon informed, his eyes frantic as he was listening to what was going on outside. "Twenty people."

"Klaus?" Stefan asked.

"I don't... I don't hear him," Damon shook his head, pushing Ophelia closer to the middle of the table.

Ophelia inched forward, noticing a figure on the other side of the window, seeing a man who was looking inside of the diner with an emotionless face. She looked away to see a woman and a man underneath their table right in front of them, the woman holding the man's hand as they were praying with their eyes closed.

Peaking to her right, she looked at the waitress of the diner, who was frozen in her spot beside the coffee pot, shaking with her head put down. It seemed like she couldn't move, frozen in the fear of death that was looming behind her.

It was her chance. Ophelia leapt from underneath the table and ran to the other side of the diner, shards breaking underneath her feet, her movement making others shake in fear. Her brothers didn't even realize what had happened, they pushed the table away, getting after her until two men stood right in front of them, pushing them back in their seats.

Vampires.

As Ophelia reached the bathroom, she looked back to see where her brothers were, realizing that this was Klaus' doing. Fear got stuck in her lungs as she realized it was too late. It was too late to repent and ask for another chance. It was too late for all of them, and she could sense death beside her. But she knew it wasn't here for her. It was for all of them.

As she turned to run to the kitchen, to get out of the back, a figure appeared in front of her, making her flinch and push her body back, preparing to run in the other direction. As the man stepped out of the shadows, with that familiar smirk he always carried, her heart dropped to her stomach, realizing that she was feeling his power all along. That she didn't make it in time.

"Ophelia." This time, it wasn't a warning, it was a death sentence. She learned to read his eyes, to read the desperate need for murder and fear in his stance. He fed off it and he enjoyed it the most. She felt his power, her power inside of him, and it felt as if she could just reach out her hand and take it. It felt like it was warm, surrounded by a dull light, inviting her with the voices of sirens. She desperately wanted it.

Klaus' demeanour changed; his eyes filled with worry that made her feel as if she was getting strangled. She knew the worry was just a facade. She knew it was just a game for him. She knew she was the prey in this little game he was playing. "Ophelia," he repeated, taking a step closer to her, pushing his hands on the sides of her neck, fingertips brushing against her jaw. His voice was such a sweet melody – it made her want to believe that everything would be fine, that all of them would be unharmed. That he will show remorse. But that looming shadow of death was right behind him, he carried it with him.

His touch felt like poison, but she had never had the taste of antidote in her life, so she leaned into it. Leaned into the danger, into the fearsome death. "It worked," she whispered, feeling the way he blossomed with the new-found power, he so desperately searched for.

Looking into her eyes, he was more than relieved to see her alive and breathing. But he wished it would've been under other circumstances. She seemed fragile, but that power stored inside of her was just at the tip of his fingers and he could get drunk on it every given moment. He didn't manage to take the power to himself, letting Nature win this game, but here she was.

"I know you didn't want to leave Mystic Falls," he whispered, his hands soothingly warm at the sides of her neck. "But your brothers knew about the conditions of our deal, and they chose to ignore it. Ophelia," he gently pushed the hair strands off her face, "it's not in my nature to forgive and give second chances."

The desperate wish for her brothers to survive overtook her, fear spiking in her veins as her statue-like expression got twisted with pain. "Please," she whispered, pushing away her dignity to beg. "I can't live without them. They are all I have!" she trembled.

Her begging seemed to ignite something in him, a smile appearing on his face which she couldn't understand. Was he mocking her? Was he feeling pity for her? Did he only want to ignite more fear in her heart? "Oh, Ophelia..." His voice trailed off as he was looking at her, taking her by the elbow and getting to the diner, where both of her brothers were sitting in their place, four vampires surrounding them. "You see... Death is a quick punishment. It is a way to show mercy – quick and easy. But... I can't take your brothers away from you, because I need you to comply." He pushed out a free bar stool, pushing Ophelia to sit on it.

Klaus motioned to one of the vampires and he quickly got to Damon, snapping his neck, making Damon's lifeless body drop to the shards. Ophelia gasped in fear, gripping the end of the counters. She knew that death could be fast, but she had never seen it with her own eyes. The way with one movement, her brother was gone.

"He'll wake up," Klaus reassured her. "I'm more interested to find out what you truly know about your twin."

Stefan sat there as if he was bound, knowing that one wrong move could mean that he would never see his sister again. It was excruciatingly difficult to oblige, to not do anything, but they were surrounded.

           "Klaus, don't," Stefan begged, knowing where this conversation was going.

           The hybrid defensively raised his hands. "All I want is to have a small chat with the Salvatore twins. I'd say I feel sorry for Damon right here," he gently moved Damon's shoulder with his foot. "But he would've gotten defensive."

           All the people were stuck in the diner with them. There were a few men standing behind the door, others positioned at the corners. All that was left for them was just to hide and stay silent, hoping that they would survive.

           "You see," Klaus started, "I thought that I needed something worse than death and Stefan here... I'm pretty sure he didn't tell you about his nature, to protect you. To make you feel as if he's not dangerous. But he's quite famous throughout his history, quite feared."

           Ophelia didn't understand where this was going as she focused on sitting on that bar stool, forcing herself not to faint, to stay present. "What are you talking about?"

           "So, I was right!" Klaus snapped his fingers, taking Damon's seat beside the table. He turned to Stefan, watching the way he was frozen in his seat, not believing this was happening. "Do you want to do the honours or should I?"

           "She doesn't have to see it!" Stefan tried to reason with it. "I'm not the person I was before!"

          Klaus wasn't convinced by his words. "I did hear about your animal diet, Stefan. It's quite pathetic to try and put down the fire that can't be put out. Come on, tell her." He nudged his head to Ophelia.

           Stefan looked at Ophelia, meeting her terrified gaze, her white knuckles from the way she was gripping the edge of the counters. "I—uh..." How do you tell your sister that you are a cold-blooded murderer? How do you tell her that you are everything you swore not to be? "There is a reason why I drink animal blood and not human... I can't stop."

           Ophelia felt as if this was a dream. Her eyes couldn't stop darting from unmoving Damon's body to the avoiding Stefan's eyes. She could feel the panic in the people's hearts that surrounded her, she could hear the wheezing of the woman who was just on the other side of the counter, holding onto her dear life.

           "Once I taste blood, I can't stop until I kill that person," Stefan finally admitted, meeting his sister's eyes. "I can't stop. I can't think straight. I live solely on my instincts and I just—I killed so many people."

           Ophelia couldn't believe this. Stefan couldn't hurt a fly. He was always energetic, full of life and wonders, dumbfounded when it came to pretty women. But he hasn't experienced what war was, what it meant to be a soldier. Stefan helped others with an open heart. But at the same time, she didn't know what it was like to be a vampire, what it was like to have raging urges to have blood.

          "Is every vampire like this?" Her voice trembled, trying to understand it all.

           Stefan shook his head. "No... I am what they call a ripper. I can't stop even if I want to... That's why I drink animal blood, so I wouldn't hurt anyone again."

           "Isn't that nice?" cheered Klaus. "Such a dedication to make up for your mistakes... But I don't think Ophelia fully understands the extent of your capabilities." He stood up, walking to the nearest table, grabbing a man by his collar who was leaning against the booth, shielding his head. "Why don't we do a little demonstration?"

           "Please, Klaus," Stefan's body jerked up. "Don't do this! Not in front of her!" The vampire beside him pushed him back to his seat.

           The begging wasn't going to ease the situation as Klaus grabbed a bigger shard of glass from the table, jabbing it right into the poor man's throat. The man's eyes popped out of the skull, mouth opening as he tried to gasp for air. Klaus pushed the shard deeper, twisting it down and pushing it out, a current of blood following. Pushing the man towards Stefan, the dying man ended up on the table in front of the vampire, the stream of blood getting all over his face.

           Something changed in Stefan. Gripping the table, he looked at the oozing blood, at the last breaths of the man as the sweet sweet blood ran down from his cheeks down to his lips. The scent was everywhere, and it was surrounding him, pushing his body towards the dying man as if he couldn't think of anything else.

           "Stefan?" A small voice woke him up for a second, making him look away from the body to his sister. She was traumatized. Her body was uncontrollably shaking, blinking fast as if trying to awaken herself from a nightmare, not being able to move. Looking at her, there was this tiny moment where his consciousness kicked in, and some sort of push appeared, telling him to push that dead man away, that he could do this. But then, a small drop of blood stained his lips, dripping from his shoulder and a dark curtain surrounded his mind.

Blood.

Ophelia wished it was just a nightmare. But what she witnessed, made her feel as if she was going insane. Stefan devoured that man with such animalistic strength, grunting as he drank blood, that she understood it wasn't her brother anymore. He was gripping that body with desperation, clearly wanting more and more and once he pulled away, the man's head cracked to the left, leaving a gap between head and body.

Her body moved forward in a manner that she will throw up. As she pushed herself off the chair, she heard how Stefan attacked another man underneath a table, his screams engraved in her head as she managed to stand up on her wobbly legs, turning her back to him and slowly moving towards the back of the diner.

Everything was shattering around her, plates and glasses. The sounds of people dropping on the wooden tables, falling bar stool chairs and that horrible screaming, made Ophelia move faster into the shadows, afraid that he might kill her. She found a corner, pushing herself on the ground as she hugged her knees to her chest, covering her ears with the palms of her hands, and pushing her nose on her knees.

It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream.

Twitching from loud sounds, she didn't know how long she was sitting there. It felt like it was never going to end. But soon, it was silent. Pushing her hands away, she stood up, pushing her back against the wall. She peaked her head from around the corner, looking at the pool of blood ahead.

All the glass shards were drowned underneath dark blood, handfuls of hair stuck in between. Bodies were splattered all around the diner, a leg on the table as the owner was without his head underneath the table. The little particles of organs were squashed, gushing with blood and liquid, the little grains of brain were shown from the injury in the heads. The smell of iron and guts was overflowing the diner as it seemed like the air from outside couldn't get it. And in the middle of it all, stood Stefan.

His shoulders were rising with each inhale, his eyes squinted as if he was searching for more. The dark veins underneath his eyes were prominent, telling them all that he wasn't done. His mouth was glistering with people's blood. All the people that were in the diner were dead. Except for her.

His animalistic stare met her terrified eyes, the dark veins disappearing, the reality waking him up. Guilt was horribly strong after his outrages. But he hasn't experienced this kind of guilt in front of her. He could sense how terrified she was, standing unmoving as if a single twitch would cost her life. An apology brewed in his mind, but there weren't words to say to fix this. She finally saw who he truly was. A monster.

Klaus stepped over the dead bodies, walking closer to Stefan, placing his hand on Stefan's shoulder. Looking at the poor woman, he assured her: "I won't let him hurt you, Ophelia. But now you know that he's more than capable of hurting anyone. Even the people he loves."

Ophelia couldn't speak, it felt as if her throat was frozen with imminent fear that was never going to leave. Her eyes darted from one dead body to another, all of them engraved in her head for the rest of her life.

"I didn't need to take your brothers away from you. I just needed to show you that they are not the ones you know," Klaus answered as if he could hear her questioning why he did this. When he met her terrified stare, he took a step closer to her, watching her twitch from his movement. "When I'll get what I want, you'll be free to get back to your family... If you won't be too afraid."

Walking to her, he pushed her away from Stefan, making her turn to the other side. "Death is mercy. You told me you can't live without them... But can you live with the truth?"

Ophelia was slowly blinking, not being able to understand what was going on anymore. Her mind was wandering from the thought that this wasn't real to how could she help him. Perhaps there was a cure. But Ophelia understood what Klaus meant – death was mercy. Not being able to take this anymore, she finally allowed herself to let loose, her head pushing backwards, her eyes rolling up in her head, seeing pitch black until she felt nothing anymore.

Grasping her fainted body, Klaus offered Stefan a last look. "She'll blame me for this, but she won't ever be able to look at you the same again. Maybe, this time you'll learn not to mess with my plans."

shit went DOWN. Since I am drastically changing the plot, I still wanted to keep ripper Stefan around this time, so, why not make it even more traumatizing?

Also, I hope you're getting the visual of Ophelia's and Klaus' relationship - he is trying to keep her alive, but push away from her family that she would cooperate. He is interested in her power and as we know Klaus deals with power differently. That's why he is fairly gentle with her (ignoring the traumatizing part). And Ophelia is also interested in power, but also she wants to understand his ways, since she likes reading people, especially people who have abusive-murderous tendencies. It's a circle of trauma, you guys.

But he is whipped for her, he just doesn't know it yet.

Please vote and leave a comment or two! This means a lot to me!