Book One: Panacea (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Fifty-Four

Night has fallen over Mystic Falls and the Founders' Day celebrations are still going. Crowds have filled the town square waiting for the evening's firework display to begin. Damon is looking and walking around in the town square, when he runs into Anna.

"You're still around?" He asks her, disdain in his tone.

"There's something you need to know. The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight."

"How do you know this?"

"I went to them. They think I'm with them but I'm not. They want the Founding Families dead."

"When is this supposed to happen?"

"When the firework start." Anna answers, Damon seems to realize something.

"John Gilbert wants to use that invention on them."

"Then we can't be here!"

"It doesn't work, it's been deactivated," Damon tells her.

"Well, then a lot of people are gonna die."

"Where are they right now?"

"They're already here, Damon."

.....................

Damon is walking towards Alaric who stands in the square waiting for Diana to show up, she'd headed off to call Derek, to check on him.

"Ric!" Alaric turns around to face Damon.

"Yeah?"

"You keep those nifty little vampire darts in the car?" Damon asks.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Alaric counters.

"Because this square is crawling with tomb vampires. I think we might need a stake or two."

"Yeah, got it," Alaric assures him.

"And find your watchdog" Damon adds. "She likes killing vampires" Alaric nods again and leaves. Damon sees Stefan and Elena. He goes toward them and takes Elena's hand.

"What are you doing?" Elena snaps at him.

"Saving your life. Fifteen words or less...Tomb vamps are here. Founding families are their target" Damon answers and then looks at Stefan. "Get her out of here, now!" Damon starts to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan asks.

"That's more than fifteen words, Stefan." Damon leaves.

"Wait, Jeremy is out here somewhere." Elena points out.

"Let's go find him, come on!" Stefan and Elena hurry away.

..............

Richard Lockwood is making his speech to those gathered in the town square.

"For one hundred and fifty years, Mystic Falls has been the kind of town that everybody wants to call home: safe, prosperous, welcoming. And we have the Founders to thank for that. That's why I'd like to dedicate this evening's firework display to their legacy." Everyone applause, the tomb vampires on in the crowd, looking at the Mayor. He looks at one of the deputies.

....................

At Grayson Gilbert's Office, John is waiting for the signal. One of the deputies is with him.

"Get in position." John orders, the deputy leaves the building as John moves toward the device and looks down at it.

.............

"Enjoy the show!" Richard Lockwood tells the crowd followed by a firework show beginning. Richard and Carol start to leave. "Stay close." The Tomb vampires are following them when Bonnie runs into one of them.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry." The vampire leader tells her.

"I'm sorry." She whispers back, he walks away, going back to following Richard and Carol. Bonnie watches him go, then gets a vision of what he is and follows him.

..............

At Grayson Gilbert's Office, John is preparing the Gilbert device when Damon arrives.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Damon snaps at him.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do," John admits, Damon goes toward him, John activates the device. Damon falls, he grabs the sides of his head and screams.

......................

In the town square, Stefan falls to the ground clutching his head. Elena appears panicked at his side.

"Stefan, what's going on? What's happening?"

"My head!"

"What?" Elena asks him.

"My head!!" Stefan shouts.

................

Diana clutches to her head and stumbles into the wall at her side, she lets out a cry of pain and surprise.

...............

Damon is on the floor, holding his head and screaming. John prepares a syringe with vervain.

................

Anna and Jeremy are in the restrooms of the Grill. Anna grabs her head and begins to scream.

"Anna, what's wrong? Anna!"

"Please, make it stop!" Anna begs of him.

..................

Tyler is driving his father's car when he suddenly hears the device.

"What the hell is that?

"What's the matter?"

"That noise!" Tyler complains.

"Wait, what noise?" Matt asks, Tyler lets go of the wheel, grabs his head and begins to scream.

"Tyler! Tyler!" Caroline shouts. Tyler loses control of the car.

"Dude, hey! Caroline, the wheel!" Matt counters, Caroline tries to grab the wheel as Tyler screams. The car crashes into a wall.

..............

Stefan is on the floor, holding his head. Elena's with him. A deputy runs toward him but Alaric runs interference and hurriedly talks to him.

"Hey, I got this one. There's one over there. Take this, go!" Alaric hands him a vervain dart. "Go! Go!" The deputy leaves. Alaric goes towards Elena and Stefan and helps Stefan to get up and they walk towards the stairs together to get Stefan out of sight and out of the way.

"I don't know what happened, he just dropped," Elena admits.

"Yeah, he's not the only one. The cops have gotten everyone who's gone down, injecting them with vervain." Alaric explains.

"What?" Elena asks. She and Alaric then look at Stefan. "They're rounding up the vampires." Elena realizes.

............

Carol is with her husband, he's on the floor in pain.

"Please help him, he just went down." The deputies inject him with vervain. Richard is unconscious and there is blood leaking out his ears.

.............

Anna and Jeremy are still in the restrooms.

"Ahhhhhhhh my head!" Anna screams. One of the deputies enters.

"I got one," he states and calls another deputy into the bathroom with him. They inject her with vervain, the other holds Jeremy back from her.

"Hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? Hey, leave her alone!" The deputy takes her, the other stays with Jeremy. "Leave her alone! Anna!!!" Jeremy shouts after her as he tries to wriggle free of the deputy holding him.