CHAPTER SEVEN / ACT ONE

The Blood of My Enemies

The voices surrounding Gwen were muffled to her as blood dripped from her ears. Sweat ran from her forehead down to her nose before dropping to the cold and dusty floors of the basement she found herself trapped in.

Her wrists and ankles tied by vervain—laced rope that made her skin feel as if it was on fire. Her vision was blurred from tears, though it wasn't hard to make out the figures of the men standing before her.

She took a good look at the one in front of her, eventually recognizing him as the man from the grill who mistook her for Katherine. "Who are you?"

The man chuckled darkly, taking her by the chin and lifting it up. "Don't pretend you don't remember us, Katherine. It's cruel." He muttered, dropping her chin and taking a dropper filled with liquid vervain from a nearby table. "145 years in that tomb waiting for revenge and here we are."

"Please, I told you. I'm not Katherine!" She pleaded. "My name is Gwen Hale. I don't know her."

"Stop with the games, Kat. We all know you're not above rebranding your identity. No use in pretending anymore. Either way, you're going to die tonight."

Gwen continued to cry, her sniffles filling the room as she tried her best to stay still so as not to irritate her skin. "Please.. just let me go."

He rolled his eyes, stepped closer again and grasped her face, until she looked him in the eyes. The sinister look in his eyes and the pure enjoyment he felt from her suffering sent a chill down her spine. He held the dropper to her head, slowly squeezing as a drop of vervain dripped into her eye. Her screams filled the room, a chilling sound to anyone who could hear.

One vampire stepped forward, sharing empathy for her. "This isn't right! For all we know, she could be telling the truth!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not she's telling the truth. She killed Bethanne. One of us, Harper. And don't think for a second she wouldn't kill you if she had the chance."

At his words, Gwen's mind shot back to the night before, remembering her fight with the vampire who had attacked her and the unfortunate measures she had to go to. Guilt clouded her head as she recalled Bethanne's lifeless body desiccating before dropping to the floor at her own hands.

"Pearl said we're not here for revenge, right?" He continued on, circling the room. "I say that he's exactly what we're here for. Starting with this."

As the name 'Pearl' fell from his lips, Gwen turned to him. She recognized the name, someone who she'd known hundreds of years ago. She was a friend of her mother along with her daughter, Anna, who befriended her sister. She never thought that her of all people could be connected to anything to do with this.

She snapped out of her memories, distracted as the man stepped forward and took a singular scalpel nearby, slicing it across her cheek as if she was nothing. Gwen screamed in pain, her painful wounds refusing to heal from the lack of human blood. He wrapped his hands around her neck, forcing her to look at him. "And then Salvatore brothers and anyone else that gets in our way."

Harper quickly grasped his arm, pulling him away from her. "This isn't right!" He yelled. The man took him by the throat, his anger bubbling.

"You're gonna wanna let go of me!" He yelled back, his men quickly coming to his defense.

"Ms. Pearl will be home soon." Harper breathed out as he released his grasp.

"Ms. Pearl is no longer in charge." He whispered before turning back to the rest of the vampires. "Tie him up and stake him down."

The vampires took Harper, tying him to a chair as he tried his best to fight them.

"I'm sorry for your friend, Bethanne!" Gwen spoke up. "I didn't mean to kill her, I was just scared. You have to understand, I'd never kill someone on purpose, okay? Please.."

He scoffed, chuckling. "Scared? Yeah, as if I'd believe a word you said." His eyes rolled before taking a stake and driving into her thigh, emitting a piercing shriek. She kept crying and begging though her pleas were ignored. For the next few minutes, though, for Harper and Gwen it felt like hours, the vampires tortured the two of them until they physically couldn't scream anymore. After a while, the vampires grew bored and left the basement.

The two were left alone, still grunting from the aftermath. Gwen turned to him, mustering up all her strength to speak. "Why did you do that?" She asked, her voice hoarse.

The vampire glanced at her for a moment, his face covered in bruises. "Innocent people don't deserve to suffer."

"You believe me?"

"I do."

"Well thank you." Gwen coughed, her throat stingy. "We will get out of this, I promise, okay?"

"Yeah? How do you figure that?"

Her eyes shifted away from him. "I don't know." She answered truthfully, biting her lip. The situation was dire, with no real evidence they would escape from here. Except she refused to give up faith. She refused to give up the faith that Stefan would find them. If he had any idea where she could be. "But there's hope someone will come to our rescue."

Harper nodded, chuckling slightly. "So optimistic."

The Hale girl smiled in response, feeling the blood drip from her forehead and onto her clothes. The idea that Stefan would find her was a long shot; she knew that. But if she had learned anything from staying with him for the last few days is that he was sworn to protect her. Then now, his loyalty was put to the test.

"Who is that man?" She inquired, referring to the man who posed himself as their leader.

"His name is Fredrick. He's an arrogant guy as you can see." He replied, clearing his throat. "Him and his men are just angry and need somebody to blame. Someone to punish."

"Are you all.. from the tomb?"

"Yes, yes we are."

"So am I. However, I was rescued by the Salvatore brothers. They believed I was Katherine as well. Funny, I've heard more about her in the past few weeks than I did when we were living in the same town." She chuckled dryly.

"I know little about her. Just that she is the reason we were all trapped down there."

Gwen nodded, taking a deep breath. The air felt musty, most likely due to the fact that the room was covered in large amounts of dust. It looked as if it hadn't been touched in years until now. Despite her circumstances, she kept her resolve, willing to take whatever they had to give in the meantime until she was saved.

A few hours had gone by and by now she could tell it was morning. The noise upstairs had become louder, most of the vampires awakening from her slumber. She fell in and out of sleep except for Harper who seemed to be up all night. Her wounds were far from healed and she felt just as awful as she'd felt earlier, if not more.

Though to her surprise, she could hear knocking at the door. Mustering up all her energy, she focused her hearing on the upstairs. Her head was a mess, all the sounds mixing together in her mind before she finally focused on one.

Stefan's.

"Where is she?" She could hear him say.

"She's fine." Another voice said, presumably Fredrick's. "Somewhat. I can see she's much weaker now. Very different from 1864."

"Listen, the woman you have in there now is not Katherine Pierce."

"Yeah, trust me, I'd know." The sarcastic tone of Damon's chimed in.

"Her name is Gwendolyn Hale, she's innocent!" Stefan continued.

The tomb vampire groaned. "I don't really care who she is. Regardless of whether or not she's Katherine, she killed one of our own. As far as I'm concerned, that makes her an enemy. Now, you two have yet to be invited in by the sweet old lady who owns this house, therefore she's mine. Miss Gibbons?" He beckoned over an older woman.

"Yes, Frederick, honey?" Her voice was sweet and charming, though it was obvious she had been compelled.

"Never let these bad men in." He ordered.

"I'll never let them in."

The woman walked away as Fredrick gestured to one of his men. The man nodded and headed down to the basement. Gwen watched as a figure entered, untying her and shoving her up the stairs with her hands bound together. He pushed her into the hallway, locking eyes with the Salvatore's. Stefan's eyes widened at the sight of her, impulsively trying to get in but remained blocked by the barrier keeping them out. The sweat running down her skin, bruises on her arms and bloodied wounds on her chest and head was enough to send him into panic.

"Gwen–"

"Stefan.." She whispered his name, hope glinting in her eyes as she saw his face.

"One hundred and forty five years left starving in a tomb thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you two." Frederick continued." First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kinda pain that can drive a person mad. You don't think I want some type of revenge?"

"You're taking it out on the wrong person." Stefan said.

"I don't really care." He chuckled. "Because after I kill her, then it will be you, then your brother, and everyone else who's wronged us."

"Billy!" He called one of his men. The man took out a stake before plunging it in her stomach, Gwen's screams echoing through the house as she fell to the floor. Frederick turned to the brothers, a smirk written all over his face.

"You two have a nice day." He grinned before closing the door.

It had been hours since she had seen any light of day. A dim, dusty light was the only thing keeping the basement alive, though she didn't feel any sort of comfort. Every bone in her body ached, her skin felt as if it was on fire, and it didn't help not knowing anything about what was going on in the outside world. Every few hours, the vampires would return and continue their torture before leaving after they grew bored. She only wondered how long it would be until they killed them. The physical and mental torture of being trapped in here was beginning to eat away at her. She turned to Harper, taking note of him fading in and out of sleep.

She felt partially responsible for his state of being, her heart ached seeing him so battered and bruised. She heard the faint sounds of footsteps above them, which she deemed to be the many tomb vampires roaming about.

Eventually, the footsteps grew louder, quicker as if the vampires were running. Harper awoke from the noise, a puzzled look on his face. Gwen looked to him, then the door to the basement. Hope

Her eyebrows drew together and her mouth fell slightly open. To her left, the door to the basement opened wide and in stormed Stefan, Damon, and shockingly, Elena. Her eyes lit up at the sight of them, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Stefan?" She whispered, barely able to speak.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get you out of here." He promised, reaching for the ropes.

"Don't!" She stopped him. "They're laced with vervain."

He nodded before turning to Elena. "You untie them, alright?" The doppelganger nodded before bending down to her level and freeing her. She looked her in the eyes, brushing the hair out of her face before lifting her up. "You're gonna be okay."

Gwen watched as Damon turned to Harper, reaching for a stake and preparing to strike him.

"Wait!" She called. "Don't hurt him! He helped me. Free him."

"Whatever." He muttered as he removed the ropes off him, a grateful look on Harper's face.

More commotion could be heard from upstairs, altering the vampires.

"Alright, Elena, you get her to the car, okay? We'll deal with the rest of them." Damon instructed before both brothers sped away.

The Gilbert wrapped Gwen's arm around her shoulder before leading her out the back. They found themselves in the woods, not too far from the driveway. As fast as she could, Elena raced down the hill with determination in her eyes. Once they finally reached the car, she helped her into the car before hurrying into the driver's seat. Just as she went to place the key in the ignition, the window to the passenger seat shattered as Gwen's body fell from the car, into the grass.

Frederick appeared from the dark, revving up to attack when he was met with a punch from Stefan, sending him to the ground. As they fought, Gwen felt her conscience slipping away, her vision blurring as her strength ebbed. Elena rushed to her side, panic etched across her face. She shook Gwen erratically, desperate to wake her up. In her frantic movements, Elena noticed a small cut on her hand, blood beginning to trickle down her arm.

Seizing the opportunity, Elena maneuvered the blood between Gwen's lips, forcing her to drink. The warm, metallic taste spread through Gwen's mouth, and as the blood traveled from Elena's body to hers, a spark ignited within her. Her eyes fluttered open, and her hands clutched onto her doppelganger's arm with a vise-like grip. Elena groaned in pain, her breaths labored as Gwen drank from her, the sensation both horrifying and strangely fascinating.

Gwen's strength surged back with each drop of blood she consumed. Her grip tightened, her nails digging into Elena's flesh. Elena's face contorted in pain, her attempts to pull away growing weaker as Gwen's strength returned.

With a final, desperate effort, Elena yanked her arm free and scooted away, clutching her bleeding wrist. She stared at Gwen, who sat on the ground, panting heavily. Gwen licked her lips, still tasting the coppery sweetness of Elena's blood. Her body trembled, caught between the newfound strength and the overwhelming craving for more.

Gwen's hands shook as she reached out, then pulled back, struggling against the addiction that threatened to consume her. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to focus, to regain control. The taste of Elena's blood lingered on her tongue, a haunting reminder of her weakness.

In the background, the sounds of Stefan and Frederick's fight continued, a brutal reminder of the danger they all faced. Gwen took a deep breath, her body still buzzing with the borrowed strength. She quickly sped to her feet, watching as the Salvatore was knocked to the ground by the tomb vampire.

"Stefan!" Elena yelled.

As the man turned to Gwen, she quickly flashed her fangs. She launched herself at him, her fist connecting with his jaw. She listened to the sound of his bones cracking, stepping closer. The force sent him staggering back, but she didn't relent. Grabbing a nearby wooden branch, she swung it with deadly precision, knocking him to the ground.

Frederick tried to rise, but Gwen was on him in an instant. She pinned him against a tree, her strength overwhelming his attempts to fight back. Her fangs gleamed in the dim light as she hissed, her bloodlust driving her actions. With a savage snarl, she plunged the branch through his heart. He screamed, a horrifying sound that echoed through the forest.

But Gwen didn't stop. Her movements were a blur as she drove the stake into him repeatedly, each thrust more frenzied than the last. Blood sprayed across her face and clothes, but she didn't notice. She was lost in her own head.

Stefan and Elena watched the gory scene unfold, their mouths wide open in shock. They had seen violence before, but this was different. Stefan took a cautious step forward, his face a mask of concern and determination.

"Gwen!" he called out, his voice cutting through the haze of her bloodlust.

Gwen paused, dropping the branch. She blinked, the red haze slowly lifting from her vision. Her breathing was ragged, and her hands trembled as she looked down at the lifeless body beneath her. The realization of what she had done, and how far she had lost herself, hit her like a physical blow.

Stefan moved closer, his eyes softening with understanding. "Gwen, it's over," he said gently, reaching out a hand to her. "He's dead."

Gwen dropped the branch, her palms covered in blood. She backed away from the corpse, her eyes wide with a mixture of horror and guilt. She stumbled, nearly falling, but Stefan caught her, steadying her with his strong grip.

Elena approached cautiously, her face pale but determined. "Gwen, are you okay?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Gwen nodded weakly, unable to find the words. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, the adrenaline slowly wearing off and leaving her feeling drained and sick. She looked at the blood on her hands, a reminder of what she had done. "I'm sorry, I.. I don't know what got into me."

"It's okay, let's just get home." He whispered, ushering her into the vehicle.

"What about Damon?" She asked.

"He'll be fine. Let's just worry about getting you out of here."

The tension in the house was clear, despite Stefan paying extra attention to her since the moment they returned home. Gwen tried her best to reassure him that she was fine, but she was far from it. She stood in the bathroom after her bath, pulling a freshly cleaned shirt over her head and brushing her hair. Standing before the mirror, she stared at her reflection with disgust as she recalled her murderous rage.

She looked down at her hands, noticing blood in between her nails. Swallowing hard, she quickly rinsed off her nails and exited the bathroom to where she found Stefan in her bedroom.

"You're still in here." She laughed awkwardly, running her fingers through her damp hair.

"Yeah.. just wanted to make sure you're alright one last time." He replied, stepping closer.

"I'm getting better. The wounds are starting to heal so I'll be alright." Gwen whispered, rubbing her shoulders. "I'm just really tired after tonight, y'know?"

"I understand," He said. "I just wanted to let you know that I will never let you go through that again."

"It's not your fault, Stefan." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Those men simply needed someone to blame. All that matters is that I came out alive and well."

The Salvatore nodded as she pulled him in for a hug. "But thank you for saving me." She whispered, tightening the embrace. "And thank Elena and Damon for me too." He nodded, a sweet smile on his lips as they pulled apart.

"I'll let you get some rest." He spoke in a gentle tone as he walked away. "Goodnight, Gwen."

"Goodnight."

AUTHORS NOTE
sigh i can't wait to write the next few chapters