Episode 6: “Ghosts Of The Past”

“Look who’s back? The hero of the story...”, Damon welcomed Stefan. Sheriff Forbes accompanied him to the Salvatore residence.

“Thank you, Sheriff Forbes. I owe you one. Come, sit. What would you like to have- coffee or soda?” Damon spoke to Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes.

“No, nothing. Thank you, Damon. I’ll let you two brothers have the moment and celebrate to the occasion. But... now that we know Silas is in town. And that he could look like anyone I do hope that you will find a way to deal with him?”

“We will, Sheriff. Well, there was one last thing that I’d like if you could help us with-”, requested Damon.

“I understand what you’re getting at. I have already got some of my men looking for Elena. But all this is off the town county records. I hope you understand why-”, she replied.

“Of course. As I always tell you, Liz. You’re my favourite Sheriff in town-”, Damon smiled at her. She smiled back and left.

“So... it seems I have a lot to catch up on? Well, why don’t you start telling me what did I miss while I was gone all summer?” Stefan spoke for the first time.

The door bell rang at the Sheriff Forbes residence. Caroline answered it.

“Jeremy, is everything okay? Come on in-” Jeremy came inside.

“Caroline, I am sorry. I should have called before dropping by-”, he said.

“What... no? No... It’s perfectly fine. Tell me-” she spoke humbly.

“There’s something you should know. It’s about Bonnie-”

“Wait... is she back?” there was excitement in her tone.

“No, no. She... ughhh... she isn’t back. I didn’t mean to keep this from you or anyone on purpose. It was something she asked me to do-”, Jeremy was speaking solemnly.

“Jeremy, what is it? You’re scaring me??”

“While Bonnie was doing the spell to bring me back she disrupted the nature’s balance. But nature found a way of finding a balance. I came back alive but... uhh...but  she... she died-”

“What? Jeremy, if this is some kind of joke then it’s definitely not funny. How could you... how could you even say that?” she was filled with disgust.

“I too wish it were a joke, Caroline. But-” he couldn’t finish as Caroline slapped him with all her might.

“Just because you are Elena’s brother, don’t you dare think I would forgive you for everything... This is Bonnie we are talking about.... ughh... God... how could you even say that?” Caroline was disgusted at the thought.

“Because it’s only true-”, replied he with tears in his eyes.

“She’s desiccating. I think she has to feed just so that she lives till the new moon. We need her for the sacrifice and as such what good a doppelganger would be without blood when her blood is exactly what we need-” Lucy was speaking to Xoro. The voices brought back Elena from her long wrteched slumber. She had been hallucinating for days now.

“Aah... Damon, is.... is that you?” Elena tried hard opening her eyes to have a look at them. But her vision was hazy and her throat had dried up to the extent that she was finding it hard to speak.

“As ironic as it might sound... but yes... we need her to live before she dies”, Xoro smiled.

“Ekraame ikhwaneesh qurbaa-”, he spoke to one of his follower in Aramaic. The tribesman extracted his dagger from around his primitive waist band and moved toward Elena. He fell to his knees and made a deep cut in his palm.

“Aghhhh”, he cried of pain. The smell of fresh blood spill made Elena crave for blood; her eyes turned red like a monster. The tribal witch volunatrily offered his palm to Elena. She grabbed his wrist at once with her chained hands and started feeding while he groaned in pain.

“Silas? So how did he... I mean... what was the cure?” Bonnie asked.

“Aren’t you a curious girl? We will get to the cure but before that you need to know a lot of things about us... about Silas-”, explained Qetsiyah.

“I know that Silas was a witch just like us. Was he not?”

“Yes, he was. He was a true blood-”

“True blood? Does that even mean something really? All my life I believed it’s just the name of a poor novel I read-”, Bonnie chuckled.

“True blood means that both his mother and father were Witches... very powerful witches and that was something that made Silas a very powerful witch. He could do such spells alone which we couldn’t perform without channelling powers from other sources like nature or another witch-”

“Are you telling me that this is why he was the only one who could save Moira? Because he was an all powerful witch?”

“True bloodline definitely made him powerful. Very powerful indeed. But nature’s laws do not bend for anyone. There are certain spells which cannot be performed by a single witch no matter how powerful he or she may be. The Lord hasn’t bestowed so much power on any creature let alone the witches. For if we had all the power in the world then keeping the witches in check would be a very difficult chore, don’t you agree, Bonnie?”

“Right. So you mean Silas could make the cure but the manifestation of the cure required channelling powers? He couldn’t do it alone?” asked Bonnie.

“Yes. There was no way he could have done it alone. Certainly not without dying in the process-”, replied Qetsiyah. Just then Sheila, Bonnie’s grandmother arrived.

“Qetsiyah, the elders require your intervention in a matter of urgency. They’d like to speak to you right away-”, announced Shiela.

“Oh, the elders! When will they learn to make a decision on their own? I just wonder what would happen when I’m gone. Bonnie, I will continue with the story when I return-”, saying so she started to leave.

“At least tell me what was the cure? Don’t keep me hanging like this to make my own assumptions?” asked Bonnie.

“The cure is the one thing that makes this story interesting. Now why would I want to ruin your growing zeal? Wait for me-”, Qetsiyah left with a smile on her face.

“Grams, do you trust her?” Bonnie asked Shiela.

“Trust is a very strong word. Well, I’d say I do believe her though. I know child all this must be very difficult for you-”, Sheila placed a comforting hand on Bonnie’s shoulder.

“I’m fine, grams. I will be fine. There’s just one thing that’s troubling me since I’ve met her-”

“What is it, Bonnie?”

“Back there when Aja was advocating about punishing me, Qetsiyah said something like she has certain plans for me-”

Well what I have thought for Bonnie has ‘everything’ to do with the fact that she is my descendant...

“Grams, do you know what was she talking about?”

“No, I don’t my child. Qetsiyah mostly stays with the elders... the ancestors like Emily, Esther, Linda-”, she couldn’t finish as Bonnie interrupted her.

“Did you just say Esther? Esther as in the mother of the Original Vampires? She is one of the witches Qetsiyah consults?” Bonnie was shocked at the realisation.

“Qetsiyah doesn’t consult anybody, honey. She has free will. On the contrary, they consult her. However, the elders do have some say in certain matters. I don’t particularly like all the elders in here especially Esther. She is certainly more than what meets the eye-”, replied Shiela solemnly.

“I just ... I just can’t believe that my best friend’s gone... I spent the entire summer contemplating about a zillion different things that Bonnie, Elena and I would be doing at the college. What kind of idiot does that?” Caroline was sobbing, crying her eyes out.

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself. You had no idea about it. I shouldn't have listened to her. I should have told you guys all about it-”

 “I was... I was waiting for her to return from her mother’s. And this entire time, she was just... she was just gone... Oh my God, oh... my... God”, Caroline stopped suddenly as a thought crossed her mind.

“What is it?” asked Jeremy puzzled.

“Elena’s been missing all summer. Oh my God. What if??” Caroline just couldn't say it. The mere thought of losing Elena shook her from top to bottom.

“No, Caroline... Don’t even think of it... Elena must be fine. We will find her. You just have to be strong. We’d be needing your help in this-”

“Yes... I have to be strong. Yes, we... we will find Elena-”

“There’s one more thing that I haven’t told anyone. I thought I could share it with you”, said Jeremy.

“Yeah. Tell me-”

“Bonnie had told me that I could see her like I see other ghosts... like I saw Vickie and Anna even after they were dead. But, she hasn’t shown up since the day. And that’s not just it. Right after she brought me back to life and bid me farewell I went to find her body so that I could at least give her a proper funeral. But, it wasn’t there... her body was missing-”

“What do you mean it wasn’t there?” Caroline was perplexed.

“It was like someone took her body after she died-”, proposed Jeremy.

“How is that even possible? Who else knew about her death? Did you tell anyone else?”

Things were getting more complicated with each passing moment.

“No one. I hadn’t said a word until now. As of now Damon, you and I are the only ones who know about it”, confessed Jeremy.

“Then where might her body be?”

Lucy was eating strawberries as she walked toward the kitchen. She was carrying a bowl full of fresh strawberries. She opened the fridge door and placed the bowl inside. Next, she took out a large ice crate with frozen ice cubes from the refrigerator and started heading toward the basement. She stopped right in front of a massive deep freezer. She opened it and poured all the ice cubes from the crate into it.

“Hi, cousin! Hang in there for just a few more days. The new moon is two days from now. We’ll meet again as I promised when we first met-” Lucy smiled looking at the frozen livid body of Bonnie Bennett. 


Read Episode 7: "Dwal With The Devil"