CHAPTER ONE   /   ACT ONE

Awoken

                             Blood ran down her chin, dim lantern lights blinded her eyesight, dirt covered her dress, and the smell of smoke and dirt roamed the air. She could barely hear the voices around her. She couldn't tell if they were real or simply in her head. She didn't even realize that her body was moving, a man guided her from the darkness to the light where four others stood.

Three woman, and another man.

Over and over, she heard the same name repeated from all of their mouths.

Katherine.. Katherine.. Katherine.

She couldn't understand who or what they were talking about, or who "Katherine" was. She didn't know where she was, who she was with, and how long had she exactly been in there. She felt her feet lift off the ground, her body in the arms of the same man who led her out. His hair was dark, and his eyes were blue, and he looked in her eyes as if he knew her, as if he had a long history with her. Yet she had no idea who he was.

Her eyes wandered from the man to the rest of the group, who seemed to be hurriedly making their way from the darkness and up into the surface where they eventually stopped in the woods. There was an older woman, seemingly tired, and a younger woman helping her walk out. A younger man, who looked to be the same age as the lady, and one last girl.

After just a few moments, their eyes locked. It was like staring in a mirror. They were the exact same person. A mirror image of herself. A copy. A doppelgänger.

As she stared her in the eyes, terror grew inside of her and an overwhelming sense of fear took over her head until she fell faint in the mans arms.

Gwen awoke, a warm fire in front of her and multiple blood bags splayed out on the coffee table with the same men from before sitting on two separate couches in silence. She groaned, her dress uncomfortably shifting as she moved. "Where.." Her voice was soft, and her throat felt dry. Both of the men shot their heads in her direction, alert.

"Katherine.." The dark haired man, who was carrying her once before, spoke.

"Who..?" She raised her fingertips to her temples, rubbing them slowly. "Who is Katherine?" The brothers gave each other a concerned expression before sitting on the couch next to her.

"You.. are Katherine." The other man spoke, his voice gentler. "Katherine Pierce."

"No, no," She stood frantically. Gwen shook her head violently, her eyes shut tight. "My name isn't.. isn't Katherine."

"Yes.. it is." One spoke. "My name is Damon Salvatore.. and this is my brother, Stefan. You remember us, right?"

"Where am I?" She ignored him, examining her surroundings and they both stood up, their concern growing. "I'm not.. supposed to be here."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan inquired.

"I- I died." She swallowed hard. "I was shot.. and then I died.. and then I-"

Gwen suddenly came to a stop. Her body stiffened, her thoughts felt empty, and the atmosphere in the room changed. The sound of the fire crackling across the room was all that could be heard.

She smelled blood.

"Katherine.." Stefan began.

"Stop calling me that!" She snapped. In the blink of an eye, she was on the other side of the room, her back hit the wall while the other two remained where they stood before. She couldn't control herself; she smelled blood and her senses felt intense.

"My.. my name isn't Katherine.."

"If your name isn't Katherine.. what is it?" Damon stepped closer, cautiously.

"It's- It's Gwen. Gwendolyn Hale."

The brothers glanced at each other, then back at her. It was as if she was just like Elena.

A doppelgänger.

"I apologize, I-" She began. "I don't know what happening to me."

"She was just turned." Damon slowly put the pieces together. "She's starving."

'Turned?' She thought to herself. 'As in..'

Her thoughts were interrupted when Stefan nodded and slowly backed away towards the table, grabbing one of the blood bags. He walked past her, offering it to her.

Gwen stared him in the eye, then glanced at the blood bag. Quickly, she snatched the bag from his palms and punctured the bag with her fangs, drinking greedily. She drank till the bag emptied completely.

The taste was extraordinary, nothing like she ever had before. It made her feel stronger, better, and her body filled with pure ecstasy. When the last drop was drained, she let it fall to the floor. Blood ran down her chin, dripping onto her white dress.

Though she couldn't shake the disgusted feeling of drinking the blood of someone else, and how much she actually enjoyed it.

Gwen became silent, staring down at the emptied bag in shock, yet her hunger hadn't yet died down.

Her growing appetite was soon interrupted by Stefan, who held out a hand to her with a gentle, yet worried smile on his face. She cautiosly took it and allowed him to lead her back to the couch, where they all took a seat together.

Damon frowned, his palms entertwining together as he rested his arms on his knees. "Where's Katherine?" He demanded answers.

"Damon." His brother shot him a warning glare.

"What?"

"Don't."

The brunette eyed them before quickly shifting her eyes back towards the floorboards when Damon noticed her. "..I'm sorry," Gwen muttered lowly, catching their attention. "But I do not know who Katherine is, much less where."

The raven haired vampire bit his lower lip, nearly drawing blood.

"Where am I?" The doppelgänger's lips pressed together, her lips pressed together. "I want to go home. I need to speak to my family. I need to let them know I'm okay. My sister will worry if I-"

"Gwen.." Stefan's voice interrupted hers, catching her off guard, though it was a soft and gentle tone. "There's something you need to know."

Drawing her eyebrows closer together, she hesitantly nodded.

"Look, this isn't easy to explain but.. You're a vampire now, you're immortal.." He went on. "And you've been in a dead—unconscious for 145 years."

Gwen froze, her body going numb for several seconds. "What?" She whispered weakly.

"It's 2010.. and I'm sorry, but your family may not even be around anymore."  He continued gently.

Gwen couldn't think straight, couldn't process any of the information being thrown at her.  She felt dizzy, she felt sick, she couldn't get her mind wrapped around the fact she was alive.

This can't be happening.

This can't be real.

She didn't say anything else as her eyes welled with tears, which fell without mercy.

She couldn't believe that the people she loved and cared most about would never see her again. That everything she worked so hard for would turn out to be in vain.

She sobbed quietly against the sleeve of her dress as Stefan leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder. Damon stood from the couch quietly in his own thoughts, grabbed a bottle of bourbon, and left the room though she didn't seem to notice and Stefan tried his best to ignore him.

Gwen sat in silence as the tears streamed from her face. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, but she couldn't let that happen. She wiped her tears furiously, trying to keep it under control.

"Thank you, for having me here, but I- I should leave." She mumbled, rising from the couch. "I can't be here."

"Wait-" Stefan grabbed her by the palm. "I'm sorry.. you can't leave."

"Why is that?" She asked, her voice shaky.

"You're 145 years in the future, Gwen." He said. "Things aren't the same as they were in 1864. Not to mention vampires can't walk out in the daylight."

"But it's dark.."

"And it'll be morning soon. It's just not safe for you yet."

"And here is?" The brunette's tone became harsh. "I have no idea where I am, who you are, or if you're even telling the truth about me!" She exclaimed.

"Gwen, please... calm down." Stefan said softly, placing his palms on her shoulders, offering comfort to the panicked girl.

She looked in his eyes before taking a long deep breath, tears reforming in her eyes. "Sorry." She finally muttered after a moment of contemplation. She looked Stefan in the eye, nodding, and he let go.

He smiled at her once more, which brought her some bit of comfort.

Gwen ran her hands through her long brown hair, letting it slide through her fingers. She was silent, lost in thought. Lost in general.

After a few moments, Stefan spoke up.

"I can help you." He offered, taking her by the hand to offer reassurance. "I don't know when we'll be able to let you leave, but I promise you, we will figure this out."

Gwen stared him for a moment, studying his features, then his hand. Even if it was a small ounce, she felt like she could trust him. Not so much his brother, but she believed he would help her.

After a few more seconds, she sighed heavily.

"Thank you." She knew she didn't have any choice but to trust them. And if they were liars, then there was nothing she could lose. "You're very kind."

Stefan gave her an encouraging smile, then gestured to one of the four bedrooms upstairs.

"Come on, we'll take you to your room. I'm sure we can find you more comfortable clothing soon." He led Gwen upstairs to a vacant bedroom, certainly different to the rooms she was used too.

The bed was huge, made up with silky sheets. A large window looked over the backyard, and there were paintings hanging on the walls.

Stefan helped her find some clothes which he found lying inside Damon's closet, then closed the door behind them.

"Pants..?" She held up the jeans in front of her, a perplexed expression on her face.

Stefan chuckled lowly. "Woman's clothing has most definitely evolved more since the 1800's."

Lowering the jeans in front of her, she turned towards him with a thankful smile on her face. "Thank you, I'm very grateful." The doppelgänger turned towards him, a puzzled look on her face as she eyed him up an down. "Are you.. a vampire?"

Stefan nodded. "My brother too."

"Ah," She whispered lowly.

"Speaking of my brother," He continued, his expression shifting to soft to serious. "It'd be better if you kept your distance from him.."

"You see, the woman that we were talking about earlier, Katherine, he loved her; and you two look exactly alike. Identical."

"What do you mean?" Gwen titled her head to the side. "As in a twin?"

"Not really. We're still trying to figure out why you look alike ourselves." He shrugged. "But he's in a fragile state right now. I don't know how he's going to react to this, but I'm sure it won't be good."

"I see." She murmured under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear. "When you do think he'll be better?"

"With Damon, you never know." He shrugged once more, chuckling lowly yet it wasn't necessarily a joke. Gwen nodded, pondering his words deeply.

He smiled once more before slowly backing away towards the bedroom door. "I'll let you change."

Gwen gave him a nod as he exited the room and set the jeans on the bed, sighing heavily. She brushed her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath.

For everyone else, it had been over 100 years since the 1800s, but for her it had only been a few hours. Now she's like this, a bloodsucking vampire, an orphan, and alone. Sure, she had the Salvatore's but she just met them, and there was always that slim chance that they weren't who they said they are, which scared her.

But the one thing she was most definitely sure of out of everything she had learned in the past 20 minutes..

was that she craved more blood.

AUTHORS NOTE
dw ill force spidergwnn to make me a gif banner soon just as i did with the cover