BLOODLINE
ii. matter of time

HOW COULD HE? How could Damon kill her little brother? How could he do something so callous and thoughtless? So evil?

Erin believed that Damon had changed, that he moved past the malicious actions he once displayed. The ways that portrayed him as the villian. A man who only wanted his brother and others to suffer.

But, maybe she was wrong. Maybe he never really changed. Perhaps the shift in his violent past only happened to lull them into a sense of false security. To let their guards down and accept the heartless man into their lives.

Stefan disagreed with that mentality. He thought Katherine slipped back into his mind, twisting her way through without a care until Damon snapped. And on some level, Erin knew that was the case. But seeing Jeremy dead on the floor, Elena sobbing over his body, she couldn't even begin to make up excuses for what he did.

The fact of the matter was that Damon killed her brother, not knowing he had John's magical ring that would bring him back to life.

In all honesty, Erin didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about Damon, or how he almost permanently killed Jeremy. She didn't want to think about Katherine and her inevitable reign of terror. She wanted nothing to do with the supernatural world. All she wanted was some meaningless, stupid fun a typical tennager was supposed to have at the ripe age of seventeen.

So when the school's carnival was set to take place, Erin threw herself into it with open arms.

But even then, it seemed she couldn't escape what her life had become over the last few months.

"Katherine looked just like you. It was freakish," Bonnie voiced as they stood at one of the many game booths brought along by the traveling carnival.

Erin sighed, pulling a plastic bag of stuffed bears closer from their place on the delivery truck. "She is our ancestor. Happens," she replied.

Elena nodded, checking off the received prizes on the clipboard in her hands. "What Erin said." She looked up and pointed in the distance. "Hey, I moved the student booth into the cafeteria."

Bonnie didn't appear interested in the shift in conversation and continued, "your vampire ancestor, and she didn't just resemble you like a family member would. She was you, Elena."

Elena huffed, grabbing a bag of stuffed animals to carry to the booth. Erin and Bonnie did the same. "I don't know. I can't explain it. It's creepy, that's all I got."

"How do you know she's not still out there pretending to be you?" Bonnie questioned.

Erin wanted to ignore her, but Bonnie made some valid points. From everything Stefan and Damon said about the vampire, Katherine wouldn't just blow into town and disappear the next day. She wanted something, and she wasn't going to leave without it.

"We don't, but there's not much we can do about it," Erin stated, handing one of the bags off to a girl inside the booth.

"And we could sit here and be tortured by the not-knowing, or I could get these prizes to the ring toss." Elena snatched up a thing of stuffed snakes and moved to the adjoined booth that held balloons tacked to the far wall.

Bonnie followed and proceeded to ask, "have you talked to Damon since he killed Jeremy, or tried to kill Jeremy?" Her eyes flicked from Elena to Erin.

Erin tensed at the reminder. She hadn't seen Damon since that night, and she didn't want to. It would take more than a few days for her to look at the vampire, let alone speak to him. Maybe if he apologized and actually admitted to what he did, but she doubted that would ever happen.

"No, Bonnie, I haven't, and I won't, and I don't want to talk about Damon or anything else that's vampire related, okay?" Elena lifted the bag of fake snakes and handed it off to Bonnie. The girl held it up, smiling as the colorful heads poked out. Elena simply sighed. "I'm human. And I have to do human stuff, otherwise I'm going to go crazy."

Erin couldn't agree more.

Bonnie nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll focus. We have to make Caroline proud, or she will kill us." She scoffed half-heartedly. "I don't know how she does all of this."

Poor Caroline. Despite Damon giving her his blood, she was forced to stay in the hospital until the doctors deemed her fit to leave. Because of that, she would have to miss the carnival. Erin already heard an earful when she visited the girl that day before. Caroline was antsy and ready to get out of there, and she couldn't blame her. Hospitals sucked.

Erin held the stuffed bears to her chest as she stepped up to Bonnie's side. "Uh, it's because she's not human, obviously," she quipped, a grin overtaking her lips.

Bonnie snorted with a smile of her own. "Obviously," she reiterated and the three of them set off for the ring toss.

__________

Come nightfall, the transformed grounds of Mystic Falls High School teemed with life. Bright lights flashed, quickly thrown together rides whirled, and hundreds of people flocked the rigged games for a few hours of wholesome fun. A massive success in the eyes of many.

Erin thought the same as she gazed upon the laughter filled crowds and the colorful prizes locked in the crook of arms. She couldn't say it very often, but she and friends did a good job. Carnivals were a lot easier than the vampire havoc around them.

After a moment to bask in their accomplishment, Erin retreated back into the school to make sure everything continued to run smoothly. She picked up her clipboard, seeing a handwritten note that the ring toss was out of Bart and Homer Simpson plushies and Team Jacob tees. There was also a speaker out in the karaoke booth, but someone checked off that they had it handled.

So far, there wasn't much that needed to be done. Maybe Erin could manage to slip away and talk Jeremy into riding the Tilt-o-Whirl with her.

Erin turned to set the clipboard back onto the booth, only to pause when she came face-to-face with Damon Salvatore. With a roll of her eyes, she turned and started to walk away. "Go away, Damon."

Damon followed and voiced, "I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I need you to come with me."

Erin scoffed, heading for one of the school's many exits. "Not interested. Go find Stefan, or better yet, leave."

Before Erin could reach the door, Damon's hand wrapped around her sleeve-covered arm and brought her to a halt. She made a move to shake him off, but his hard expression caused her to falter.

"Yeah, I need you to come with me right now, Erin," Damon hissed lowly.

Erin's brows creased at his serious demeanor. It must have been important if he sought her out, knowing that she wanted nothing to do with him. So against her better judgement, she sighed and gave him a nod. "Okay."

__________

Erin really wished that she had ignored Damon. Wished with everything she had that she would've left him high and dry. If only she hadn't heard what came next. If only she hadn't heard that Caroline had beeen turned into a vampire.

When Damon first relayed the news, Erin didn't believe him. How could Caroline become a vampire? But then it all started to make sense. She told Damon to feed her blood. She told him, and now Caroline was on the loose as a newly turned vampire with no self-control. She was a ticking time bomb and everyone at the carnival was in danger.

"How did this happen?" Stefan questioned as he paced inside Alaric Saltzman's vacant history classroom.

"Well, I fed her blood, and Katherine killed her, and A plus B equals..." Damon trailed off from where he leaned against the front desk.

"But why?" Elena asked from where she stood near Stefan.

Why? A great question. Why would Katherine turn Caroline into a vampire? She obviously wanted to reinsert herself into Stefan and Damon's lives, but what did a newbie vampire accomplish? Was it all just because Stefan rejected her advances? That she proclaimed to still love him, and he clearly didn't feel the same way?

No, there had to be more to it. But what?

The conversation around Erin proceeded as she tried to rack her brain around it all.

"Because Katherine is a manipulative, nasty little slut," Damon retorted.

"And she said 'game on?'" Stefan paused in his steps to ask his brother. "I mean, what does that even mean?"

"It means she's playing dirty. She wants us to know."

"But why Caroline?" Elena continued to question aloud.

Damon shrugged. "I don't know."

Stefan resumed his pacing. "Caroline must be completely out of her mind. She doesn't even know what's happening to her?"

Damon sighed, arms crossed over his chest. "Oh, I think she does. All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minutes she was in transition."

"We have to find her," Stefan declared.

"Yep, and kill her."

That brought Erin back to the topic at hand. She snapped to Damon and rose from the desk she claimed. "No. You're not killing Caroline, Damon."

Damon looked her way and said, "she knows who were are. She's officially a liability, and we've got to get rid of her."

Stefan stopped in his tracks and dropped onto the counter that ran beneath the wall of windows. "Damon, absolutely not."

Damon turned to him and continued, "need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan."

Erin shifted on her feet, wanting nothing more than to not remember Vicki Donovan. Matt's drug addicted, older sister who found herself caught up in Damon's petty fight with Stefan. Who was turned into a vampire and killed after she attacked Erin and Jeremy.

If she never heard that name again, it would be too soon.

"Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire," Damon went on. "Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys, come on. We all know how this story's gonna end. Just flip to the last chapter and..."

"It's not an option, Damon," Elena exclaimed, her expression hard and pointed.

"No?" Damon's gaze flicked to his brother, who's eyes drifted to the lineolum at their feet. "Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Wait, wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where history repeats itself. You know I'm right."

Erin's jaw clenched. Damon might've been right about history repeating itself, but he wasn't right about Caroline needing to die. That wouldn't going to happen. She wouldn't let it.

Stefan stood and stomped toward his brother. He raised a hand, pointing at him as he stated, "we're not gonna kill her." He then stormed out of the room.

Elena sent Damon a sharp look and hurried after Stefan.

"It's the only way," Damon called out as they left.

Erin huffed and moved toward him, capturing his attention. "No, it's not. Vicki was a drug addict. She was - impulsive and took whatever she wanted without caring about anyone else. That's not Caroline. She cares, and she will do everything in her power not to hurt people."

Damon scoffed, pushing away from Alaric's desk. "She's a vampire now, Erin. It doesn't matter who she was. Now, she wants blood, and she will do anything to get it. The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be."

Erin shook her head. "No. You just want to take the easy way out. Get her out of the way, so you can go back to dealing with Katherine."

"So what?" Damon exclaimed, his face scrunching with his words. "Caroline won't make it as a vampire. I know it, and deep down, so do you." He stepped back and headed for the door.

"You're not killing her, Damon," Erin yelled and started after him.

Damon glanced back over his shoulder. "Watch me."

In a blur, he was gone, causing Erin's eyes to widen. "Damon!" she shouted, running from the room to catch up with the murderous vampire.

__________

Following Damon was a lot harder than Erin thought. Of course she knew that vampires were fast, but she didn't realize just how fast until she had to keep up with one.

Despite the densely packed crowds, Damon managed to evade Erin at every turn. As soon as she spotted him through the masses, he would disappear again. It became a harrowing game of cat and mouse, and Erin never did understand the appeal of cats.

To her luck, Erin caught a glimpse of Damon as he parted from the carnival. He slipped off toward the parking lot, where various cars and trailers were left by the carnival workers. Erin picked up her pace, rounded the back of a flatbed truck to see Damon embrace Caroline. His arm raised behind her with a stake in his grasp.

"Damon, no!" Erin screamed, but she was too late.

Damon's arm arched down for Caroline's back until a figure rushed forward and snatched the weapon from his hand.

Erin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Stefan, shove Damon away and drop the stake to the ground. She hurried around the brothers, approaching Caroline as Elena pulled her back.

Caroline ripped her arms from the older twin's grip, shaking her head as tears mixed with the blood on her face. "Get away from me! You killed me!"

Elena shook her head, holding her hands up as if any movement could scare the girl. "No, no, no, no, Caroline. That was Katherine. You know that. That was Katherine," she rushed out.

"No! Then why did she look like you? And why - why did she do this to me?" Caroline cried, hugging her chest.

Erin stepped up to Elena's side to face her friend. "Care, hey, you're gonna be okay. Alright? Stefan's gonna help you," she said in a calm manner, hoping that the girl would believe her.

Caroline breathed heavily, meeting her gaze to give a slight nod.

Erin nodded and inched closer until she gripped her friend's arm. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Elena looked back to her boyfriend and called, "Stefan, we've got to get her inside."

Stefan didn't hesitate to turn away from his brother and rushed toward Caroline. He grabbed her arm from Erin and said in a soothing tone, "it's alright, Caroline. Come with me."

They started for the school, before Damon spoke, "she will die. It's only a matter of time."

"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight," Stefan replied and started to pull Caroline away.

"Oh, yes it is."

Erin turned in time to see Damon speed forward with the forgotten stake in hand. He held it above his head, aiming for Caroline's heart. Erin gasped and moved to intercept him, but Elena beat her to it.

Elena stood between Damon and Caroline, eyes wide as the stake nearly pierced her chest. She stared up at Damon, breathing hard as she said, "Damon, she's my friend."

Damon stared at her for a long moment, contemplating his next move. Erin held her breath as she watched his internal struggle, before she relaxed when she noticed his arm slack and the stake lower.

"Whatever happens, it's on you," Damon exclaimed, before he dropped his hands and moved back, disappearing around the truck.

With the eldest Salvatore handled, Stefan began to take Caroline in the direction of the school. They made it a few feet and were then stopped by a shocked Bonnie Bennett.

"Caroline?"

Bonnie's gaze drifted over the distraught blonde, taking in the fresh blood still around her mouth and chin. "No, you're not. You can't be." She shook her head, stomping forward to roughly grab Caroline's arm. Her expression morphed from shock to horror when she felt the change within her friend.

Erin sighed, watching Bonnie move to the flatbed truck where a lifeless man laid. Throat torn and ripped apart by Caroline. Her eyes met Elena's, and they came to a silent agreement. Caroline needed to get out of there, while they dealt with Bonnie.

Stefan took hold of Caroline's arms, guiding her into the school and out of sight. He would take care of her. If anyone could, it was Stefan.

Erin turned to Bonnie, who's stare remained on the dead man splayed across the bed of the truck. She seemed as if she knew him, but Erin didn't know from where. He didn't look familiar.

Bonnie raised her head from where it dropped onto her arms. She stepped away from the truck and shook her head. "I can't believe this is happening."

"We'll, don't pout about it," Damon voiced, returning with a shovel resting on his shoulder. "I got a body to bury." He stopped next to Elena, setting the shovel beside her as if to offer it. She just stared. "I thought you were calling the shots. No?" He lift it against the truck bed and shifted his gaze to the body. "It sucks to be you, buddy."

Erin gave him a flat look. He could be so insensitive. "Knock it off, Damon."

Damon scoffed and looked her way. "Why? It's not like..." He trailed off, groaning loudly and reaching up to clutch the sides of his head. He cried out, dropping to his knees and then fully to the ground.

Erin gapped at the sight, searching for what caused such a visceral reaction. Her stomach dropped when she looked to Bonnie, the witch's glare was set firmly on Damon as he writhed on the asphalt. Soon, a water hose spurted and sent a stream in the vampire's direction.

What was she doing?

"I told you what would happen is anyone else got hurt," Bonnie stated, her eyes narrowed and filled with hate.

Damon groaned out, "I didn't do this."

Elena snapped to the witch and agreed. "Bonnie, it wasn't his fault."

Bonnie turned to her and said, "everything that happens is his fault, Elena."

Erin stared at her friend with wide eyes. Damon may have done some bad things, terrible things, but not everything that happened to them was his fault. How could Bonnie honately believe that?

"No, it's not," Erin exclaimed, drawing the girl's attention to her. "Not everything is because of Damon."

"How could you say that? He killed your brother," Bonnie shot back.

Erin nodded. "Yeah, he did, and I'm not excusing that, but he didn't do this, Bonnie. He didn't turn Caroline."

Bonnie ignored her and let her eyes fall to the water that now trickled down to Damon.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Elena questioned, but she never recieved an answer. At least, not verbally.

Orange flames erupted across the water's surface, racing from the end of the hose to where Damon laid. The fire licked at his feet, before it caught his pants alight and began to engulf him. Damon screamed as he burned, swatting at the flames to extinguish them. But raged on as Bonnie's magic took hold.

Erin's eyes went wide and she shouted, "Bonnie! Bonnie, stop this!"

Elena did the same. "Bonnie, stop it! Bonnie!"

Erin'a heart pounded in her chest. She was about to watch her friend burn Damon alive. "Bonnie, stop! You're gonna kill him!"

Right then, Elena took a step back and then sprinted for the line of fire. Erin went to stop her, but Elena leapt across the flames and landed on the other side. She barreled onto Bonnie, causing the girl to lose focus and the spell ceased.

As Elena dealt with Bonnie, Erin hurried to where Damon collapsed. The fire long gone, but it's carnage remained in the form of charred holes across his pant legs.

Erin crouched at his side, checking him over as he continued to groan. "Are you okay?"

Damon coughed, still laying on the asphalt. "Yeah, just peachy."

Erin pressed her lips together and nodded. "Good." She stood, her expression falling into one of contempt. "Take this as a sign to stop trying to kill the people I care about."

Without another word, Erin turned on her heel and headed for the school to check on Caroline. Neither Damon or Bonnie were worth her time and energy. She would rather spend it on someone who actually deserved it, for once.

<March 14, 2022>

Not the most original chapter, but it needed to happen. The next few may be a bit boring until we reach a very specific one. I think we all know which one I'm talking about.

That is where this story really takes off, and I don't think y'all are ready.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

- Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.