by Kittyinaz | Oct 29, 2016
Author’s Notes: For the purposes of this story Bella’s 18th birthday was Monday, December 13, 2010.
Playlist: I listened to Stay (feat. Merethe Soltvedt) by Two Steps from Hell off their album Miracles while writing this… I pretty much listened to it on repeat the whole time.
Pairing: Kol Mikaelson/Bella Swan; will have further pairings in the future when I continue the story down the line.
Rating: Rated M for Mature because of some naughty words.
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Say You’ll Stay
A Vampire Diaries (TV)/Twilight/The Originals Crossover
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Chapter 001
If Only They Could See Me Now
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Kol’s PoV
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Friday, December 17, 2010
The Otherside/The Gilbert’s Kitchen Right After Jeremy Staked Kol
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After the pain of burning up with the White Oak Stake rammed in my chest subsides but before I open my eyes, images from my past flash across my mind. Mary-Alice standing in front of me in her red blouse and long black skirt, smiling at me and saying, “Kol, there will come a time when three Mikaelson sons will be dead and on the Otherside. When that happens you need to go to Forks, Washington. 102 Brentway Avenue. You’ll find a young woman there named Isabella who should be able to eventually help you bring the brothers back.” I looked into it back then. Washington State existed but there was no town or city named Forks back in 1908 when Mary-Alice told me of her premonition. I’m the third Mikaelson son to die, though, so I hope Forks exists at this point, and I can figure out a way to speak to this Isabella despite being dead now.
I open my eyes and see that I’m still laying on the floor in the Gilbert’s Kitchen, but I also find Finn standing in front of me. My anger begins to boil inside me and my hands ball up into fists before Finn tells me, “Take my hand, Brother, and you’ll finally understand why I helped Esther.”
That’s odd. None of us started calling her Esther until she tried to kill us, so why is Finn, who was on her side, calling her Esther instead of Mother like he always has. I frown and narrow my eyes, so Finn frowns back and says, “Please Brother, let me show you what she’s done to me.” Finn’s sad eyes and soft frown nearly break my own heart, so in an effort to remove the heartbroken look off of my brother’s face I take his hand and images flash before my eyes. When the images stop I open my eyes and look at my brother with tears in my eyes, “Oh Brother, we had no idea.”
Finn nods, “I know, she began doing it just before Elijah was born, so there was no way any of you could have known because part of it was for me to never say a word about it. Obviously, now that we’re both dead I found a way around that, but… well, I want to try to find a way to break it and then help you find a way to bring us back, so we can protect our loved ones. Silas is about to become a very real problem for our surviving siblings.”
I nod but narrow my eyes again while staring off into the space just above Finn’s left shoulder. A thought occurs to me so I smile a moment later, “Have you seen Esther here?”
Finn nods, “Yes and I’ve given her a wide berth lest I do something I’ll regret later.”
My smile widens, “Tell me what Esther did to you without using the word ‘it’ to describe her actions?”
Finn frowns and begins to say, “Brother I can’t I—wait why do I not feel compelled to keep the secret?”
I pull myself up to a standing position using Finn’s hand for leverage then let go of my brother’s hand and hug him before whispering, “Because she’s dead Finn. Just as our compulsions die with us so did hers. Provided we keep her from following us back into the land of the living and then compelling you again you should remain free of her shackles.”
My oldest brother hugs me back and asks, “Are you sure?”
I pull back and say, “Tell me what she did to you.”
Finn narrows his eyes but then says, “Mother compelled me to betray my siblings when you all chose to do things that went against her wishes. She compelled me to help her kill us all.”
His eyes are wide when I smile and tell him, “Yes, Brother, I’m sure the compulsion has broken.”
Finn smiles cautiously and then pulls me tighter to him and says, “Thank you.”
I laugh before I pull back, “Don’t thank me, Finn, I haven’t actually done anything yet.”
My brother being the smart person he is, and after having known me my whole human life, narrows his eyes at me and asks, “Yet?”
Laughing I nod and tell him, “I know where to go and who to seek out to help us back into the land of the living.”
His eyes widen at that news but then I smile wider and then shout, “Henrik, if you’re here, come to us… please.”
Finn’s eyes are impossibly wide before he asks, “Henrik? You don’t actually think he’s here do you?”
I nod and tell him, “The witch who told me where to go told me that there would come a time when three Mikaelson sons would be dead and on the Otherside. Henrik died first, then you, and now me. That’s three Mikaelson sons dead so unless Elijah is going to die and if it didn’t include Henrik she would have said three originals or something similar.”
Finn nods just before a blur runs into me and hugs me tight. I look down and see the mop of brown hair that belongs to our youngest brother. I hug him back and tell him, “Henrik, I’ve missed you.”
He pulls away and then tosses himself into Finn’s arms before pulling away again a moment later and smiling tells us, “I’ve missed you both so much!”
I reach out and ruffle his hair like I used to and he squirms away just like he always did, but he’s smiling. He frowns a moment later though when he looks past me and sees Nik still in the live world staring at my burnt body with tears in his eyes. Henrik looks at me and Finn with tears about to fall from his own eyes and then says, “He blames himself for all three of our deaths when none of our deaths were actually his fault. I’ve been watching, Kol, he never wanted you dead. He was going to Dagger you so that your compulsion on that Salvatore ass would be broken but he never intended for you to be gone for more than a few minutes. He wasn’t even planning to put you in your box. He was just going to Dagger you, wait a few minutes to be sure your compulsion had been removed, then remove the Dagger, and try to reason with you.”
I nod. I figured as much. The pain and anguish on Nik’s face alone would have told me that he never intended for me to actually die a permanent death. I walk to Nik and lean into his ear hoping this will work, “It wasn’t your fault and I forgive you.”
Nik’s eyes widen and he asks breathlessly, “Kol?”
Smiling I tell him, “It is me. Worry not, I have a plan. Finn never betrayed us. Mother used a witch’s version of compulsion on him since he was a baby. He never wanted to harm any of us. We will return to you, Brother. When Isabella contacts you, know that I sent her, and she should be able to help bring us back.”
He nods with wide eyes, so I whisper one last thing in his ear, “Always and Forever, Brother.”
He smiles and whispers back, “Always and forever. I’ll be waiting on you both.”
I pat him on his shoulder which causes him to place his hand over my invisible hand on his shoulder and then I let go and turn back to my other brothers. Finn’s eyes are wide before he says, “Why didn’t I ever think to try that?”
I laugh and tell him, “Because you’re not as smart as me.”
He smiles while Henrik giggles before Finn tells me, “Of course, how silly of me. That must be it.”
Smiling I nod as Henrik frowns and asks, “Why didn’t you tell him about me? You’re not going to leave me here are you? Please don’t. I hate being alone, please.”
As tears spill over his cheeks, I pull him into my arms and tell him, “Mary-Alice said all three of us would return to the land of the living. I didn’t tell him about you because he already feels so much guilt about your death. If this doesn’t work and Isabella can’t help us, I didn’t want to get his hopes up too high. I won’t leave you here if I can help it.”
He calms some and then pulls away and asks, “You, you promise Kol?”
I smile and ruffle his hair again, “I promise Rik. If there is a way to bring you back with us, then we will do everything in our power to make that happen, and since all three of us are dead what works on Finn and me should work on you just the same.”
Finn frowns and says, “We might need his body, though, which could prove problematic after over a thousand years.”
I smile and tell him, “Don’t worry about that. His and your bodies are both safe and both have been healed of their wounds and then spelled similarly to the spell used to preserve Esther after Nik killed her. As for my body, Nik knows enough to know he needs to safeguard my body, so I’m sure he’ll take care of that.”
Their eyes widen at that news so I smile and tell them, “Mary-Alice told me of our deaths on New Year’s Day of 1908. I wasn’t Daggered until Christmas Eve of 1914. I went and visited Mystic Falls in the Autumn of 1908 and spent a few weeks searching for Henrik’s grave. When I found it Mary-Alice did a spell to confirm it was Henrik’s body in the grave and then I dug it up and she healed it and then protected it. We then hid your body—”
Henrik interrupts me, “In my favorite cave where only a Mikaelson, Nik, or this Isabella girl can access it.”
I just nod and tell him, “Yes and now Finn’s body is there as well.”
Finn smiles at us both and says, “Well for once Kol it seems your plans and schemes may actually be of use to us.”
I laugh and tell him, “Hey now, I’ve saved our asses multiple times in the past.”
Before any of them can say another word a female voice says, “Henrik, where did you—Finn?”
Finn’s eyes widen and then he has Sage in his arms and they’re trying to devour each other’s lips. I frown and offer up a soft prayer, “Please let us be able to bring her back too.”
Henrik smiles and says, “Oh don’t worry, I’m pretty sure she’ll be coming back.”
I look down at him and he smiles wider and says, “I heard Mary-Alice talk about her premonition with some witch friends. She said mates would be reunited and bonds stronger than steel will be formed and last for all of eternity. That’s got to mean that all four of us will be going back and then stopping that Silas asshole from destroying the Otherside, and then we’ll be going back to New Orleans and taking the city back from the false king.”
I frown at that, “False king?”
He smiles one of our family’s not nice smiles and says, “Marcellus thinks himself king.”
Before I can say anything Finn pulls away from Sage and says, “First we must find Isabella.”
I nod and tell him, “I know where she should be and I know we’ll have to help her protect her loved ones before she’ll be able to help us. Something will happen while we help that will make it possible for her to help us back, though Mary-Alice led me to believe that she’d be willing to help from the start just unable to do the spell until something changes.”
I hold out my hands and tell them, “Grab each other’s hands and I’ll see if I can take us to her.”
They all nod and clasp hands and then I close my eyes and think of Isabella. When I open my eyes we are in a dense forest with a young girl curled up on the floor of the woods shivering. I let go of Henrik and Finn and flash over to her before kneeling and putting my hand on her shoulder. She turns her face towards me and her eyes widen before she struggles to sit up. I help her and then frown when Finn points out, “Are you actually touching her?”
My eyes widen and so do hers but for apparently different reasons because she then narrows her eyes and asks, “Is it so horrible to touch me?”
Finn smiles and tells her, “Not at all Miss, however, we’re currently dead and on the Otherside, so you shouldn’t be able to feel us or touch us, or see us for that matter.”
Her eyes widen again before she asks, “Am I dead too?”
I smile and turn her head towards me, “No, Darling, you’re not dead.” I wipe her tears from her cheeks and ask, “Why are you out here all alone?”
Her face closes off, so I caress her cheek and tell her, “Hey, don’t do that. Whatever has happened, we’ll help you through it.”
Another tear escapes her eye as she shudders and then tells us, “My boyfriend, he brought me out here to break up with me. I tried to follow him, but he’s a cold one so I couldn’t keep up.”
Her eyes widen the same time mine do before she says, “Crap, I can’t believe I said that. I’ve never told their secret before.”
She begins to cry in earnest, so I sit on the ground and pull her into my arms. Finn’s eyebrows shoot up into his hairline at my unusual behavior, but I shake my head slightly at him and myself and tell her, “I’ll tell you our secret. Finn, Sage, and I were vampires before we died. Finn and I were actually part of the first family of vampires. We are called The Originals.”
Her eyes are wide again, so I smile and tell her, “We’re different than cold ones. They transition because of venom. Our kind transitions because the person died with vampire blood in their system.”
She smiles and asks a very smart question, “If it requires vampire blood then how did the first of you happen?”
I shift her slightly and then stand with her in my arms before telling her, “Our mother was a powerful witch. She did a spell and after our father killed us we woke as vampires.”
She smiles and asks, “Wow, how long ago was that?”
Henrik speaks up then and tells her, “I died about 1,010 years ago and they were turned the next day so…”
As she snuggles into my chest she says, “Oh.”
I smile and lead us all out of the woods towards the houses I can smell in the distance.
She opens her eyes when we exit the forest and says, “That’s my house.” And she points to the closest one.
I walk towards the front and then up the steps before dropping her legs. I swallow thickly as her body rubs along mine when I set her down. I can’t say I’m terribly disappointed when she can’t stand on her own, so I keep my arm around her while she unlocks the door. When the door opens, I stick my foot out and smile because it crosses the threshold, so I tell them all, “Apparently we don’t need invitations while on the Otherside.”
She frowns while I walk her into the house and over to the couch where I sit down and pull her back into my arms before she asks, “You usually need invitations?”
Smiling I tell her, “Yes, but only the first time.”
She nods then her eyes widen and she says, “Oh my Gosh, I’m Bella.”
Finn sits down and Henrik moves to the mantelpiece and starts lifting things off of it and inspecting them. Finn laughs and tells her from his seat in the armchair beside the couch, “I am Finn, this is Sage, my mate, Henrik is the one who can’t keep still, and Kol is the one holding you, though you should know usually we can’t keep him still either.”
She giggles before lapsing into silence for a moment then she softly says, “He said he doesn’t love me. He grew tired of pretending.”
I hold her tighter and tell her, “He obviously doesn’t deserve you, Darling, especially if he’s not gentlemanly enough to ensure you made it back out of the woods. If I ask you to drink some of my blood to help heal you will you?”
Her eyes widen and so do Finn’s and Sage’s. Finn leans forward and asks, “Kol, do you think it’ll work even though we’re technically dead?”
I nod and tell them, “Yes, my gut says not only will it work but there will be some unforeseen benefit that will arise due to it.” I look at her and tell her, “Honestly, I think it’ll help get rid of the haze your ex’s scent would have put you in.”
She frowns, “Haze?”
I nod, “Yes, their scent is addictive to humans. If you don’t drink blood from one of us, the chances are pretty high that you’ll end up going through withdrawals.”
She screws her eyes shut tight but whispers, “I can’t stand the sight of blood or the smell, but if you think it’ll help I’ll try.”
I chuckle because the girl who’s going to save a bunch of vampires can’t stand the sight or smell of blood. Someone sure has a pretty interesting sense of humor. She needs to drink my blood though despite her aversion, so I lean in and whisper in her ear, “Keep your eyes closed, Darling.” She nods. Then I bite my wrist and hold it to her mouth before telling her, “Drink, Bella.”
She drinks and when her hands come up to hold my wrist in place I shudder because honestly it’s been a long fucking time since I last shared my blood with anyone I wasn’t planning to kill immediately afterward. You can’t get much more intimate than blood sharing. In fact, the only way this situation could be more intimate is if I was drinking her blood too, which she smells amazing, so I wouldn’t be opposed to that idea down the line if she’s ever willing.”
She continues to drink until the wound closes. When she finishes I pull my arm away after she licks up the stray drops then I wipe the corner of her mouth with my thumb. Her eyes open just in time for her to see me pop the tip of my thumb into my mouth to suck the blood off of it.
Bella’s eyes widen a moment later before she says, “That son of a bitch. I feel a million times better already. He had to know what his scent was doing, right?”
Frowning Finn and I ask at the same time, “How old was he?”
Frowning back, she says, “He was born in 1901 and turned in 1918.”
My brother and I look at each other for a minute. When he nods I tell her, “Darling, unless he’s incredibly daft then he definitely knew.”
She doesn’t get a chance to respond as Henrik says, “Do you think he did it on purpose? Like he plans to come back and wants her broken and malleable for some reason?”
I nod even though I don’t actually know this cold one. He nods back and says, “Don’t worry, Bella, we’ll protect you from him. Right, Brothers?”
Finn, Sage and I all nod and I brush my lips along the crown of her head before telling her, “Whatever purpose he had for leaving you in the woods and not warning you of the repercussions of spending quantity time with him we will keep you safe from harm, from him and any others who might seek to harm you.”
Her eyes widen and she stiffens in my arms, so I brush my hand along her cheek and ask, “What is it, Darling?”
She frowns but she leans into my caress before she says, “Edward, my ex, and his family killed this cold one named James in my defense. I mentioned to Edward and his sister, Alice, that James’ mate might try to come after me for revenge, but they brushed the idea away and told me not to worry. Now they’re gone and you guys are already dead. Since you didn’t expect to be able to touch me there’s nothing to say you’ll be able to touch Victoria if she comes after me.”
She begins hyperventilating, so I cup her cheeks in my hands and look right into her eyes while I tell her, “Breathe through your nose Bella. We may not be able to touch her but we can help you in other ways. Do you know of any witches around here?”
Once she gets her breathing back under control she nods and says, “My best friend, Angela, is a witch.”
I nod back and tell her, “Then we should probably talk to her about us training you up and perhaps making it so no one who means you or yours harm can enter the house. While it won’t prevent her from burning down the house and killing you and yours as you flee from the flames, it will slow her down enough that any other plans we put in place may have a better chance of working. The only problem I see is that we’ll need someone with supernatural strength to tear her limb from limb before we set her on fire in order to kill her.”
Finn and Sage nod so I tell her, “Maybe we can have Nik come for a visit? I already warned him about you, so he’d know you aren’t lying.”
Everyone nods but Bella asks, “Who is Nik?”
Laughing I tell her, “He’s our brother, well one of them. Elijah is still alive too and so is our sister Rebekah.”
Bella takes out her phone and asks, “If you give me their numbers, I won’t call until you tell me to, but it might be handy to have them in case we’re short on time when the time comes for me to use them.”
Looking at Finn I frown but he nods and says, “It’s a good idea.”
I nod back and then tell Bella all three of our surviving siblings’ phone numbers and email addresses, just in case. When she’s done adding them to her contacts list she snuggles into my arms and lets out a jaw snapping yawn. I look at her and tell her, “You need to sleep, Darling.”
She sighs but asks in a hesitant voice, “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
I nod so she gets up and says, “I’ll holler when you can come up.”
I wiggle my eyebrows and ask, “What? You don’t fancy me seeing you in your knickers?”
She laughs and says, “Not when I only just met you.”
Nodding I tell her, “Another time then.”
She giggles and then hurries up the stairs. A few minutes later she says, “Okay the coast is clear.”
Chuckling I look at my brothers and Sage and they smile before Finn tells me, “Go, we’ll wait down here. We might even try to find this ex-boyfriend and see if Henrik’s hunch is accurate.”
I nod and then hurry up the stairs to watch Bella fall asleep. If only my enemies, and hell even my other siblings, could see me now.
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by Kittyinaz | Oct 29, 2016
Cold. That’s the first thing that came to mind when Bella woke up on the soggy, wet ground.
The next thing Bella registered was the faded buildings. All looked like something out of a western movie. All looked abandoned.
Well, clearly I’m not in Forks anymore.
Bella tried to remember how she got there, but all she could remember was sitting in her room, feeling nothing but emptiness and depression, when she smelt this smell, kinda like sulfur, and blacked out, waking up in Creepsville.
In fact, Bella was sure this was the first time in a long time she’d actually paid attention to where she was and what she was doing.
She groaned as she realized she didn’t have her phone, meaning she couldn’t call anyone for help. She couldn’t see anyone about and she was getting a bad vibe, like this place was evil or something, but that couldn’t be right. Then again, with all she had witnessed in her short life, Bella was open to the possibilities that something strange, and possibly supernatural, was amiss.
“Hello?” Bella called, knowing that was probably a stupid thing to do but, then again, Bella had always been stupid when it came to danger. In fact, some said she was addicted to it because she always found herself doing something or being somewhere dangerous, but could never seem to stop herself from seeking danger out because, for her, it was the only way she really felt.
Bella heard a noise behind her and turned around, startled to see a man in army uniform and a woman with long, straight blond hair who was wearing a long, thigh-length, black leather jacket, grey jeans and black boots.
“Erm, hey, er- who are you?” Bella asked, wincing when she thought of how her dad would totally reprimand her for being so stupid. Then again, he wasn’t there at the moment and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” The dark-skinned man said, his tone suspicious.
“Erm, Bella.” Bella said, her eyes flickering between the man and woman in question.
“Jake.” The man said, stiffly.
“Lily.” The woman added, moving her arms to hug around herself. “Look, do you know what’s going on?”
“No, do you?” Bella answered.
“No.” Jake said, looking around. “Come on, let’s check out one of these buildings, see if we can find out where we are.”
They went the nearest building, looking around, finding nothing but debris and, if it wasn’t already obvious before, it was definitely clear now that this town was abandoned and, by the looks of things, a long time ago.
“Do you think we’re the only ones here, or, are there others?” Lily asked as they walked back out.
“One way to find out.” Jake answered before loudly calling. “Hello, anybody there?”
“Hello?” They heard someone call and looked to each other before going around the side of the building.
“Hey!” called, seeing two men and a woman coming up to them.
“Hey, you guys alright?” A brown haired, brown eyed, man with a questionable hairstyle asked. He was wearing a tan jacket, white shirt, a light blue undershirt, dark denim jeans and boots.
He looked to be the leader of the trio.
The other guy was wearing a black jacket, a light gray hoodie, a blue top, jeans and worn out, trainers as well as two guy necklaces and silver ear cuffs. He had short cut, brown hair and brown eyes.
The girl also had brown hair and brown eyes, only hers was shoulder-length with bangs. She was wearing a light khaki green jacket, a purple top, dark jeans and fading dark-washed jeans.
“Think so.” Jake answered.
“I’m Sam.” The man said, his eyes asking them what their names were.
“I’m Jake.”
“Lily”
“Bella”
Sam looked past them and asked, “Are there any more of you?”
“No.” Jake said, shaking his head slightly.
“How did we even get here?” Lily asked, “A minute ago I was in San Diego.”
“Well if it makes you feel any better, I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan.” Jake answered, turning to face her.
Guess that explains the army get-up.
Bella thought as Sam said, “Let me take a wild guess, you three are all twenty-three.” Jack and Lily looked at him in question while Bella’s eyebrows furrowed, she was only nineteen, then again, Renee always said she was born twenty-three and grows more middle aged each year. “We all are, and we all have abilities.”
“What?” Jack asked while Bella looked at him in shock, not even the pack knew about her abilities, no one did, so how did he?
“Started a little over a year ago you found you could do things, things you didn’t think were possible.”
Jake and Lily looked at him in wonder and question while Bella was just confused.
What did he mean by, ‘we all have abilities’, I thought my abilities steamed from James’ venom? Have these people been bitten by Cold Ones too?
“I have visions, I see things before they happen.”
“Yeah, me too.” The woman said quietly, looking down.
“Yeah and I can put thoughts into people’s heads, like make ‘em do stuff.” He must have seen guarded looks on our faces because he quickly rushed on, “Oh, but don’t worry, I like, I don’t think it works on you guys.”
He started walking up the steps, turning his head back to say, “Oh, but get this, erm, I’ve been practicing. Training my brain, like meditation. Right, so that now, it’s not just thoughts I can beem out, but images too. Like anything I want, just like BAMN, they see it.”
“Great, another mind raper.” Bella muttered under her breath, earning an odd look from Lily as the guy went on to talk about some guy who he made see gay porn.
There was an awkward silence before Lily said, “So you go Simon says give me your wallet and they do. You have visions, I’d kill for something like that-“
“Lily listen, look, it’s ok-” Sam interrupted.
“No, it’s not. I touch people, their hearts stop. I can barely leave my house, my lives not exactly improved. So screw you. I just wanna go home.” Lily said, turning around to leave.
“And what, we don’t-“ Jake asked her, rhetorically.
“You know what don’t talk to me like that, I-“
“Wo, guys, you know what please, whether we like it or not. We’re all here and we all have to deal with this.” Sam said, interrupting the argument.
“Who brought us here?” The other guy asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I’d like to know.” Bella asked, reminding them of her presence.
“It’s less of who, more of a what.” Sam said.
“What does that mean?” The other girl asked.
“It’s er,” Sam paused the said, “It’s a demon.”
“A demon?” Bella asked, looking at everyone’s disbelieving faces before looking back at Sam, “What like a Cold One?”
“You know about Cold One’s?” Sam asked, surprised.
“Er, yeah, I er, dated one. Ripped my heart out, said I was too fragile, too weak, and then, few days later I can do all of this crazy stuff. I thought it was because of some leftover venom in my system, but it’s not, is it.”
Sam looked at her and was about to answer, but Jake butted in before he could.
“Hold on wait, I’m still stuck on the demon part.”
“What’s going on?” Bella asked, looking directly at Sam who sighed before explaining all he knew.
—(‹•›)—
“So we’re soldiers in a demon war to bring on the Apocolypse?!” Jake asked, angrily while he paced back and forth.
Sam had just told them all about how he and his brother hunts demons and how this yellow-eyed-demon fed them his blood when they were each 6 months old, giving them powers now, and how they were to be used in some kinda, as Jake put it, ‘Demon War’.
“When you put it like that-“ Sam started.
“An-and we’ve been picked?”
“Yes.”
“Why us?”
“I’m not so sure, ok, but look, I just know-“
“Sam. I’m sorry, psychics and spoon bending is one thing, but demons?” The girl, who’s name Bella had learned was Ava, said.
She had also learned that the other guy was called Andy and that he had met Sam before, Sam had had a vision of someone mind controlling people to kill and thought it was Andy when it was actually Andy’s twin brother, who he never knew about, and then the brother tried to kill Andy’s crush and then Sam and his brother, Dean, had to stop him and, well- you get the picture.
Ava had met Sam before too, only this time it was Ava who had had a vision of Sam dying and wanted to stop it so she went to find him and warned him and, well he lived but then Ava disappeared and, apparently, she thought this was only a few days ago but was actually five months ago and-
Er! I sound like Jessica, or worse, Lauren.
Bella shivered slightly and looked up as she caught the tail end of what Sam was saying.
“-all gathered here together, that means it’s starting and that we go-“
“The only thing I gotta do is stay away from wackjobs, ok? I’ve heard enough, I’d be better on my own and, FYI, so would you!” Jake’s voice got louder and angrier as he spoke then stormed off, ignoring Sam calling to him.
They just stood there in silence, each wondering the same thing- What were they going to do now, and how are they going to get out?
“Well, I don’t think you’re crazy.” Bella put out there.
“You don’t?” Sam asked, looking at her with hope in his eyes.
“Nope. Well, I do,” Sam looked away, the hope leaving his eyes, “But then again, I think we’re all crazy and, well, let’s just say I’m used to crazy.”
“What do you-“
“Tell you later.” Bella said, hurriedly getting up and running in the direction Jake went in, “Jake needs us.”
Leaving no time for questions onto how she knew this, she ran off, Sam not far behind. They saw Jake in what looked to be the old school building, a little girl who was definitely not human in front of him, a blackboard with the words ‘I will not kill you’ written over and over again behind him.
Sam acted quick, grabbing a long, black iron poker and, as the iron went through the girl’s waist, she turned into this black, smoke-like, substance and went out through the door- Lily, Ava and Andy, who had just got there, ducking to miss it as it went flying past.
“And just so you know.” Sam said, panting slightly, “That was a demon.”
—(‹•›)—
“Well, that thing. I’m not sure, but I think it was Acheri, a demon who disguises itself as a little girl.” Sam stated, matter-of-factly.
“Cool!” Bella said, earning odd looks from the others, “What?! It is! Well, aside from the whole trying to kill you part but, I, er, I mean, I-“
Bella faltered as the others were looking at her like she was crazy, which she supposed she kinda was.
Sam sighed, “Still doesn’t tell us where we are. Andy, you with me or what?”
“Give me a minute, still working through ‘demons are real’.” Andy said, looking, and sounding, freaked out.
“Hey, it’s ok, I was a little freaked out when I found out about Cold Ones.” Bella said, reassuredly.
“You were?” Andy asked in that I’m-totally-not-the-only-one-freaking-out voice.
“Well no, but I-“ Bella cut off, seeing the looks on Lily and Ava’s face, “Er, I’m gonna go over there.” She said, pointing towards Sam and Jake and hurrying off.
“I’ve seen that bell before.” Bella heard Sam say as she drew nearer. “I think I know where we are now. Cold Oak, South Dakota, a town so haunted, every single resident fled.”
“Swell. Get to know somewhere so historical.” Ava said, looking like she was trying to find something positive in this whole ordeal.
“Why in the world would that, demon, or whatever, put us here?” Lily asked.
“I’m wondering the same thing.” Sam answered.
“You know what? Doesn’t matter, clearly the only sane thing to do here is get the hell outta dodge.” Lily turned and started walking away.
“Wait, hold on, Lily the only way out’s through miles of woods.”
She stopped but said, “Beats hanging out with demons.”
“Lily, look we don’t know what’s going on yet. I mean, we don’t know how many are out there right now.”
“Yeah, he’s right, you should ju-“ Jake tried to say but was cut off by Lily whirling around and shouting,
“Don’t say we, I’m not part of we, I have nothing in common with any of you.”
“Look, look, I know-“ Sam started.
“You don’t know anything.” Lily said and Bella could tell she was five seconds away from exploding, “I jus- I accidently touched my girlfriend.”
Everyone looked at her in shock and pity, all knowing what that meant.
Poor girl, she’s a danger to everyone. Ha, guess we have more in common than she thinks.
Bella thought as Sam said, “I’m sorry.”
Idiot, don’t you know that’s the last thing she wants to hear?
“Whatever, I feel like I’m in a nightmare and it just keeps getting worse and worse.” Lily said through gritted teeth.
“I’ve lost people too. I have a brother out there right now, I, he could be dead for all I know.” Sam said, empathetically. “We’re all in bad shape. But I’m telling you, the best way out of this is to stick together.”
“Fine.” Lily said, almost silently.
“I’ve got a crazy, psycho bitch after me.” Bella put out there. ”Been going on for about one and a half years now. Around the time I got my abilities. Around the time that my boyfriend and his family skipped town, leaving me behind. For, every day that I live, someone else dies.”
“Wow, ok, that’s er-“ Andy stuttered as they started walking back into town, Sam leading them, holding his iron poker firmly.
“A real Debby Downer? Yeah, kinda why I just want to hand myself over to the bitch and finish this but some friends of mine won’t let me, real annoying if you ask me.” Bella said, nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t talking about her own death.
They all stopped to look at her, each wondering if she was entirely sane or not.
“What?!” Bella asked, obliviously.
Sam just shook his head and went back to walking, the others falling back into step behind him.
“We’re looking for iron, silver, salt, any kind of weapon.” Sam told them as they got closer to the buildings.
“Salt is a weapon?” Jake asked, disbelievingly.
“It’s a brave new world.”
“Well, hopefully there’s food in your world cause I’m freakin’ starving.” Andy said as they went into one of the houses.
“That makes two of us!” Bella added.
No one noticed Lily hesitate at the door. And no one noticed as she walked away.
—(‹•›)—
“Hey, guys! I’ve found something!” Bella heard Andy call from the kitchen and went to investigate.
When she got in there she saw Andy holding up to sacks of something, a big grin on his face.
“It’s salt!” He said, his smile going impossibly wider with happiness and pride.
“That’s great Andy, now we’ve all got s-“ Sam cut himself off suddenly and looked around, “Where’s Lily?”
They all looked around but Lily was, indeed, now where to be seen.
“Lily?” Bella asked.
“Lily?” Ava called.
“Lily?!” Sam shouted, almost giving Bella a heart attack at the sharpness in his voice.
They suddenly heard the sounds of a child’s laughter, one that sent chills down Bella’s spine, and they rushed out of the house only to see Lily hanging up on a noose, high up in the sky, on the turning, wheel thing (Bella didn’t know what exactly it was).
“Lily.” Bella whispered in shock.
“Oh my god!” Ava cried, clamping a hand over her mouth then going on to cry, “Ok that’s, that’s officially, de, Sam, she’s dead, she’s dead, you said we were chosen for a reason, that’s not chosen that’s killed! Ok, you know, we have to get out of here.” Ava said but was blocked by Sam.
“Yeah, I second that motion.” Andy added, still staring at Ava’s hanging body.
“Not sure that’s an option.” Jake stated.
“What?” Ava asked.
“Lily was trying to leave, the demon’s not going to let us get away that easy. We might want to gear up for the next attack.” Sam said, looking back at Lily.
“Oh, yeah, gear up? Ok, well I’m not a soldier, I can’t do that.” Ava told them, desperately.
“Well if you want to stay alive your gonna have too.” Sam told her. He looked back up at Lily, mournfully, then said, “Let’s go.”
Ava walked past them and went back into the building, probably to calm down.
“I’ll get her down.” Jake told them.
“I’ll help.” Bella added, finally tearing her eyes away from Lily and going to help get her down.
—(‹•›)—
As night fell, the group found themselves in a room in one of the houses, all of the entrances salted up.
Andy was asleep at the table, Ava was sitting at the end of the table looking off into space with a blank expression, Jake was standing guard at the door, Sam was asleep by the window and Bella was sitting in the corner of the room, looking on at the scene with watchful eyes.
At some point, though, she must have fallen asleep as the next thing Bella knew she was waking up to Jake telling her Ava was missing.
As soon as they woke Sam up, Jake and Sam left to search for her, telling Bella and Andy to stay there.
“I’m gonna go check throughout the house.” Bella said once she heard Sam and Jake leave the building, “Stay here.”
“But, what, no, Sam said to stay here.”
“Er, hel-lo.” Bella said in a sing-song voice, “No self-preservation and danger seeker here, after what I’ve faced? Puff, a haunted town full of demons who want to kill us or worse? Yeah, I’m totally fine. See you in five!”
Bella walked out, keeping her shield up around her as she went through the house. It was as she entered the living room that she felt a dark presence in the house and rushed upstairs, just in time to hear Ava screaming and see Andy’s dead body on the floor.
Bella was about to go up to her and ask what happened, but something held her back, like a warning. Bella had had these feelings before, always when something evil was nearby but, that didn’t make sense, Ava was a sweet, if slightly scared, girl- she wasn’t evil. Then again, Bella remembered what happened last time she ignored these feelings.
Ava still hadn’t seen Bella, so she stuck into the shadows and kept her shield up, which helped her stay invisible to the naked eye as well as protected, just as Sam came stumbling in, looking towards Andy in shock.
“Sam! I just found him like this.”
“What happened, where’s Bella?”
“I don’t know.” Ava said and Bella had to give it to her, the girl was a good actress, she genuinely seemed sad, but the darkness Bella felt from her said otherwise.
“How’d they get in here?” Sam started looking around, doing his best to ignore Andy’s bloodied body on the floor, when a thought occurred to him. “Where were you?”
“I just went to get some water from the well. I was only gone maybe like two minutes!”
“You shouldn’t have gone outside. Ava, we have to stay in here.” Sam stopped as he saw the brake in the salt. He pointed towards it, “Who did that.”
“I don’t know, maybe Bella or Andy-“
“Andy wouldn’t do that and Bella doesn’t really strike me as that stupid.”
Aw, really? Thanks!
Bella thought, sarcastically as she watched Ava and Sam like a deadly game of tennis.
“Ava, that line wasn’t broken when I left. Ava.”
“What you don’t think that I-“
“I’ll tell you what I think. Five months, you’re the only one with all that time you’re gonna kill for. And that headache you got, right when the demon got Lily.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“What happened to you?”
“Nothing!” But then, suddenly, her whole demure changed and she stood up straighter, her tears stopping, “I did go on though didn’t I? Yeah, I’ve been here a long time, and not alone either, people just keep showing up, children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time. You know I was actually surprised that there was five of you, this time, one of you must be a latie from the last load.”
“And you killed them? All of them?”
“I’m the undefeated heavy weight champ.”
“Oh my god.”
“Oh, I don’t think God has much to do with this Sam.”
“How could you?”
“I had no choice. It was me or them, after a while it was easy, it was getting kinda fun. I just stopped fighting it.”
“Fighting what?”
“Who we are Sam, if you just quit your hand ringing and open yourself up you have no idea what you can do. The learning curve is just so fast it’s crazy, this switch that just flips in your brain.” Ava laughed. “I can’t believe I just started out just having dreams. Do you know what I can do know?”
“Control demons.”
“Ahuh, you are quick on the draw.” Ava put her hand to her temple and this black, fog-like substance started coming in under the window and through the gap in the salt. “I’m sorry Sam but, er, it’s over.”
Just as Bella was about to a move to stop her, she saw Jake enter the room and snap Ava’s pretty, little neck with one, swift, SNAP.
The demon left instantly and both Bella and Sam looked to Jake in shock.
“So, I guess she’s dead then?” Bella asked, stepping out from the shadows, making the boys jump and look at her in shock.
“How long were you there for?” Sam asked.
“Long enough.”
—(‹•›)—
“I think we can make it out of here now.” Sam said as the trio made their way out of the house.
“But the Acheri demon-“
“No, no, Ava was summoning it, controlling it, it shouldn’t come back now that she’s dead, we gotta go.”
“Not we Sam. Only one of us is getting out of here, I, I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I, I had a vision, a yellow eyed demon or whatever it was it, he talked to me, told me how it was.”
Bella knew who he was talking about, she had a vision of a yellow-eyed-demon too, the only difference was that Bella had decided not to act on the demons words, trusting her instincts, which were telling her she could trust Sam, instead.
“No, no, Jake you, you can’t listen to him-“
“Sa, Sam, he’s not letting us go, only one, now we don’t play along, he’ll kill us all. Now, I, I like you man, both of you, I but do, but do the math here, what good it do all of us die. Now I can get out of here, get close to the demon, I kill the bastard.”
“You come with us, we can kill him together.”
“How do I know you won’t turn on me.”
“I won’t.”
“I don’t know that.”
“Well, I definitely won’t.” Bella put in, “I’m loyal to a fault, hell, I waited two years for my boyfriend and his family to come back, even when it was clear they wouldn’t. Always defended them, no matter how much danger they put me in, still loved ‘em. Hum, what does that say about me?”
“That you’re loyal, trustworthy, we both are, come on Jake, you really don’t want to do this.” When Jake just stared at him, Sam said, “Ok, look.”
Sam moved his jacket and carefully took his knife out and lowered it to the ground.
“Just come with me Jake, don’t do this, don’t play into what he wants.”
Jake lowered his weapon to the ground too, and, just as it looked like he was going to agree with Sam, he punched him, sending him through a fence.
Bella screamed and started towards Sam but Jake stopped her, pushing her back against the house.
From where Bella was, she could vaguely see Sam and Jake fighting but couldn’t see properly thanks to the black spots in her vision.
Bella shook her head and managed to see just as Sam was about to hit Jake with an iron bar.
“Don’t.” Bella called, getting up and ignoring the pain along her back as she walked over to him, “It’s not worth it.”
Sam looked at her and nodded, dropping the bar. Just as he went to say something, they heard a noise and they looked over, only to see two men coming down the path, both holding a gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other.
“Sam!” The younger one called out, relief evident in his voice.
“Dean!”
“Friends of yours?” Bella muttered, weakly.
But before Sam could answer, Dean shouted, “Sam look out!” and Bella scream, once again, as Jake drove a knife through Sam’s back.
The very knife that Sam had put on the ground to show Jake that he could trust him.
“NOOOOOOOO!” Dean screamed as him and the other man rushed over while Bella used her abilities to push Jake back, away from Sam.
The older man ran after Jake while Dean clung onto Sam, calling his name, and Bella just stood there, trying to understand what had just happened.
“Look at me, it’s not even that bad, it’s not even that bad, alright?” Dean told Sam, desperately, even though both him and Bella could see the blood and knew Sam would be dead in a matter of seconds.
“Sam! Hey, listen to me, we’re gonna patch you up, ok? You’ll be as good as new. I’m gonna take care of you, I’m gonna take care of you, I’ve got you. That’s my job right, watch after my pain in the ass little brother. Sam? Sam? Sam? Sammy?!”
Bella had tears streaming down her face as she watched Dean cling to Sam. She flinched as Dean screamed, a single tear falling from his eyes.
—(‹•›)—
“Erm, er, thanks, er, thanks for the ride.” Bella said as they stopped in front of the police station in the nearest town.
Dean and Bobby, as Bella found out his name was, reminded silent as she sighed and opened the door.
“Look, I know this is the last thing you want hear right now but, I’m sorry. Sorry I didn’t see, sorry I didn’t try harder I mean I should have-“
“Stop, just stop kid.”
Bella looked at Dean in surprise.
“Yeah, I know your just a kid, your what, 17, 18?”
“Try 19.”
“Ok, 19, you got your whole life ahead of you. Just, I dunno, go do whatever it is teenagers do, get drunk, hang out at parties, go to collage, be normal- just don’t get dragged back into all of this.”
“I make no promises.” Bella said, slightly teasing but on seeing the serious, deadpan expression on Dean’s face she quickly added, “No, I, just, I, I mean, wherever I go, death and danger seems to follow, it’s like I’m addicted to it, I just… I can’t keep doing this, putting people in danger, not being any help. I.”
Bella looked out of the car, tearing up a bit.
“You’ll be ok, kid.” Bobby said, “We all will.”
“No, I won’t.” Bella stated.
She looked back at Sam, the tears falling from her eyes, then looked directly into Dean’s eyes, “But we can sure as hell try.”
Dean smirked a bit but Bella could see he just wanted her gone so he could get out of there and mourn in peace.
So with that, Bella left, not really sure what else to say or do. She watched the black Impala drive away until it turned a corner and was out of view. She sighed and turned, walking into the police station and up to the desk sergeant.
“Hello Miss, can I help you with anything.”
“Yeah, erm, yeah- I need to get back home, I should be on the missing person’s list?”
“Ok then love, what’s the name.”
“Swan. Bella Swan.”
—(‹•›)—
“Daddy.” Bella cried as she hugged her father close, her tears wetting his jacket.
“Hey kiddo.” Charlie Swan said, holding his daughter tight and not letting her go.
It was in this moment that Bella decided that she would no longer wait for Edward Cullen. That she would no longer hide away and watch the world pass her by. She would spend the rest of her life protecting and caring for her loved ones, she would tell them she loves them every day for as long as she lived.
And even if this experience would change her life in ways she did not know back then, even if fate would make her break her vow- she would never forget the events of Cold Oak. And Bella certainly would never forget the man named Sam Winchester.
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