The Hybrid's Wife

Chapter 18: Catch Me If You Can

ZANADEW LOUNGE

[Jeremy and Damon have driven near the bar but are parked in the woods nearby.]

Jeremy: Do you really think they went back to the bar?

Damon: [opens the trunk] Where else are they gonna go? It's all cabins and vacation homes; they can't get in anywhere.

[Damon hands Jeremy a gun. Jeremy puts it behind his back as Damon hands him the compound bow.]

Damon: All right. There you go.

Jeremy: Fine. Let's get this over with.

[Jeremy pulls back the compound bow.]

Damon: Listen, just go one at a time, only shoot for the heart, don't hesitate, and don't miss. [hands Jeremy an arrow.]

Jeremy: Save the teaching moment. Elena's not here. You don't have to pretend like you give a damn about me.

Damon: [closes the trunk] I'm trying to keep you alive, dumbass. [hands Jeremy more arrows] Come on.

[Jeremy and Damon head into the bar, and music can be heard in the background. They walk in cautiously, and Jeremy holds up the bow. A giant blood smear can be seen on the ground, and Damon walks around it.]

Damon: Something's not right.

[They follow the trail of blood into the back cold storage room. A giant pile of the vampire corpses are in the corner.]

Damon: Looks like we're gonna have to find some new vampires. What a waste.

Jeremy: What the hell happened?

Kol: I confess. [Jeremy turns around and holds the bow up to see Ash and Kol entering the room.] I did it.

Jeremy: Kol? Ash?

Kol: Jeremy, good to see you, mate. Sorry about the mess. Ugh, it was a little crowded when I arrived, and I prefer more intimate gatherings. We four need to have a little chat. [Takes a sip of bourbon from the bottle while Ash has another bottle and is sipping it.]

Ash: Care for a drink?

Damon: He's underage, and I don't like you two, so let's just cut to it.

Kol: You know, my brother bragged about his plan to complete Jeremy's hunter's mark. It was easy enough to track this lot down. They were all hiding in the shadows. Now, killing young vampires is easy or old ones, for that matter.

Damon: Why? What's it to you either way?

Ash: Because, you fools, in your zeal to find the cure, you risk waking someone very dangerous.

Damon: Oh...You must be talking about Silas.

Ash: What do you know of him?

Damon: Nothing. Don't want to. Not our problem.

Kol: Isn't it?

Damon: Uh-uh.

Ash: [Sarcastically smiles] Well, we're going to make it your problem.

Kol: A few hundred years back, I came across a group that worshipped Silas. His followers told me that he would rise again, and when he did, he would trigger the end of all time. You know, being an immortal, you can see why I'm opposed to time's ending. So I murdered all of them. And now, here you are willing to risk raising him in your search for the cure. I can't exactly sit back and let that happen, can I?

Damon: We're not going to back off the cure 'cause you were told one too many scary bedtime stories, you idiot.

Kol: [pushes Damon] Jeremy, we were mates in Colorado. You're a smart lad. Why don't you call off this imbecilic treasure hunt?