In the wake of her grandmother's death, Ava returns to Mystic Falls, a town her family had fled when she was young to escape demons hiding in the dark.
With her return, more strange disappearances and deaths spring up. Slowly her nightmares turn to...
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Mystic Falls, January 2001
Ava shivered as she held onto her blanket tightly and kept her head down. She glanced at the seat next to her where her older brother was sitting and eyed the sharp wooden object in his hand with concern.
Without warning, she reached for it and tried to make a grab for it. But her brother was faster and pulled away from her grip. "Dan, you're not supposed to have those yet." She reminded him, glaring at the object in his hands.
Her older brother laughed and stuck out his tongue at her. She glared at him. "You're just jealous, you don't have one."
"I didn't want one in the first place." Ava looked away and puffed up her cheeks. "Dad's not gonna be happy when finds out." Her brother didn't care as he played around with the object. "Come on, put it back."
He stared at Ava and shook his head. "No. I'm not putting back the stake besides I've been learning how to use it for a year now—bet you're jealous about that."
But Ava wasn't jealous at all. Another year, another birthday and she'd start learning how to use a stake too. She didn't want to. She'd seen first hand how terrifying those vampires could be.
Her dad had taken her on one of his hunts along with her aunt Evie and uncle Nate a few months after her eighth birthday to show her what it could be like.
It was the worst day she ever had.
Those vampires were terrifying and the moment she saw their bloody faces and darkened eyes, shecried. Her aunt Evie chastised and told her off for attracting too much attention but her dad was more understanding. She hated it and after that day, she stopped looking forward to her birthdays and months that would follow after.
"I'm not jealous..." Ava mumbled under her breath.
Daniel, noticing his little sister trembling, put the stake to the side. He frowned before he reached over to grab her hand into his, giving it a little squeeze to remind him he was still there. He felt bad for teasing his sister earlier.
"It's okay." He said, looking at her who was still unconvinced. "Hey, if those vampires come around, I'll protect you."
Ava looked at her brother and smiled. "I wanna go home, Dan."
"Soon, Rosy. Just wait a little."
She puffed up her cheeks and blew out some air before taking her hand away. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked out at the darkened road which was flanked by thick layers of trees on each side.
