Try {One | Alaric Saltzman}

Ordinary People

Abigail and Alaric led Elena through the dark tunnels that were once an important part of their town, relying more on their memory than the flashlights in their hands. They'd practically spent the night there, half the morning, and now, just after noon, they were back.

Damon was supposed to meet them, but none of them were surprised, or concerned, by the fact that he was late. He knew most of what they had to say anyway, practically refusing to leave them once Alaric offered up his own form of forgiveness. And, for the first time, Abigail was thankful for his unwelcome presence.

Elena's flashlight beam was the most out of control, reaching into even the deepest of corners as she asked, "So, the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?"

"Careful where you shine that thing," Alaric warned. "Bats hate the light."

She stopped in her tracks. "Wait, what?"

Abigail heard someone run up from behind them, recognizing the cadence of Damon's footsteps immediately.

"Boo!"

Elena jumped. "God, Damon!"

"Scaredy-cat!"

"Just ignore him." Alaric smiled cynically as he continued his path. "That's what I do."

Elena paused at the barrier with Abigail and Damon. "So, you guys really can't get in?"

"No." Abigail leaned against the stone wall, crossing her arms over her chest. "But the ancient anti-vampire settlers of this land didn't know about camera phones."

"What do you mean, ancient?"

Damon gestured her forward. "See for yourself."

Elena entered the chamber, once again losing control of her flashlight as it met the wall. "What is all this?"

"Well, as far as we can tell, it's a story. In simple, archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story." The steady beam of Alaric's flashlight moved from drawing to drawing. "That right there, is the moon cycle. A man, a wolf."

"A werewolf."

"Yeah..." Damon got as close the barrier as he could, testing its limits although he already knew them. "It's the 'Lockwood Diaries: Pictionary-Style.'"

"Except, the Lockwoods came here with the rest of the Founders in the 1860s." Abigail projected her voice so that they could hear her clearly, something Damon didn't think he needed to do. "And, according to the wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that."

"How long?" Elena asked.

"Long," she replied. "Show her, Ric."

"Names." He said it quietly, but it sounded like he was standing next to her. "They're not native. They're written in Runic, a Viking script."

"Vikings?"

"This name here, I translated it... It reads Niklaus."

"Klaus."

"And theses... Elijah and Rebekah."

"The names of the Original Family?"

"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls. Or even the entire New World, for that matter."

"Okay," Elena chuckled. "This has gotta be one of Klaus's fakes."

"That's what I said," Damon sang, raising his eyebrows at Abigail.

"That could be true. Except the last name up here made Abigail and I think otherwise."

"What's the name?"