╔═══════════════╗
Sempiternal
Chapter Nine
╚═══════════════╝

*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ
┊         ┊       ┊   ┊    ┊        ┊
┊         ┊       ┊   ┊   ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩
┊         ┊       ┊   ✫
┊         ┊       ✩    
┊ ⊹       ✯
✯

              Klaus ripped Stefan from a very shocked Carter, his eyes flaring ember in warning. Her deep green eyes were wide, swirling with surprise and fear. She rubbed at her very sore neck and grimaced at the sticky substance staining her fair skin. "Don't touch her," he spat angrily at the new Ripper. "She's valuable." What he had meant by that, Carter had no idea. Despite her attempt to save Dana, Stefan got to her anyway. His teeth mauled the side of her neck, his arms constricting her against him. She fought against him until her body fell limp, her last breath coming out like a mere sigh. The sight was hard to watch. Carter had seen plenty of death in her lifetime– Hell, the past two years of her life!– and it never got easier.

"It's always nice to see a vampire in his true element. The species has become such a broody lot," Klaus stated with a smug grin. Elena, who sat a few feet away from Carter looked to him in disgust. "No," she argued, "You did this to him." Klaus raised a menacing brow, his full lips still pressed in that smug smirk. Carter could practically feel herself slapping him across the face in her mind. "I invited him to the party, love. He's the one dancing on the table." She bit her tongue, looking to Elena. Her gaze was still cold, her eyes quickly escaping hers. She pulled her hand from her wound, her lips falling into a frown at the crimson liquid staining her fingers and clothes. If only Damon were there...

"Where is it?! Where's my necklace?" Rebekah screamed, slamming the double doors open with such power, Carter thought they would crack the wall. She rushed to Elena, the whites of her eyes painting that deadly red. "What are you talking about?" Klaus asked his sister, who flashed her fangs intimidatingly. Carter pushed to her feet, watching Elena stand also. "She has my necklace. Look." Rebekah tossed Klaus the phone, which he caught with ease. He looked at the photo of Stefan and Elena from recently, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Well, well. More lies," he tutted, slapping his hands together in a sharp clap. "Where...is it?" Rebekah asked once more, her tone sharp and deadly. "I don't have it anymore–"

"You're lying!" The blonde Original fully vamped, attacking Elena's neck only to be pulled back by her older brother. "Knock it off!" he demanded. Elena stood there in shock, palm pressed against her injury. "Make her tell me where it is, Nik!" She is a brat, Carter thought to herself. Klaus turned to face Elena, forcing a very fake smile. "Where's the necklace, sweetheart? Be honest." Elena glared at the two, soon crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm telling the truth. Katherine stole it." The mention of Katherine's name sent chills running down the strawberry blonde's spine.

Wait. Maybe she could find her. She had done it with Stefan. "Katerina. Of course. Well, that's unfortunate. If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?" Carter jumped at the sound of the buzzer echoing in the practically empty gym. Klaus left the scoring table and rushed toward, Stefan. "Twenty minutes. If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again. Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena. You know you want to," he compelled him. Carter's heart speed up in fear as Elena begged Klaus not to do what he was doing. Carter's body was falling numb. She couldn't stand there and do nothing.

"Wait! M-Maybe I can find Katherine. I did it with Stefan..." Her voice came out much sharper than she had meant it to. Klaus looked at her, his face completely neutral. "Let me try, Klaus. It's worth a shot, right?" He looked at his sister, who merely shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. No one leaves. If either of them tries to run, fracture their spine." Carter released a breath at Klaus' words. The adrenaline was running through her body, shock waves sending tingling sensations from her toes to the tips of her fingerprints. She felt like she was full of static electricity. Once Klaus and Rebekah left, she sat down onto the gym floor with a huff. Elena stared at her, hesitantly sitting beside her.

"Can you really find Katherine?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Carter looked back at the olive skinned girl that once was her best friend. "I can try," she responded, holding her very worried gaze. She let her eyes fall closed as a deep breath exhaled past her pursed lips. She was begging her powers or whatever to locate the bitch that killed her. She could feel that sensation slowly begin to bubble in her stomach, causing her body to rock. Instead of Katherine, she saw Matt standing by the pool. A weight was strapped around his waist, his face illuminated light blue from the lights beneath the clear water. "You don't need magic, Bonnie. You just have to be better than I was at CPR," he spoke into the phone.

He chained the weight to the belt around him, leaping into the cool water. The air within Carter's lung spewed past her lips, her whole body running cold. Her back hit the gym floor hard, Elena's eyes widening in shock. Carter could see Matt as clear as day, his cheeks puffed outward, holding in his air. She couldn't breathe. She tried to suck in a breath, but it was useless. His eyes began drooping, bubbles pushing past his parted lips. She grabbed at her own throat, fearful that he would kill her. More so that he wouldn't survive his stupid tactic. Her head started getting lighter and lighter until she felt a pair of arms grab at her waist. Her eyes snapped open, taking in a sharp intake of air.

"What the hell, Carter!?" Elena yelled fearfully, ignoring the sputtering coughs. "You.. You can't do that, okay? You can't just... You can't do that," she told the girl, her eyebrows pulled downward. "Matt's dead," Carter whispered, feeling the warm tears trickle down her cheeks. She had done that a lot lately. Cried over the life she had lost way too soon. Her emotions were everywhere, and she couldn't control them. "He killed himself. But I– But I think Bonnie's going to save him." Elena covered her mouth, her hickory eyes falling to the floor. "This is all too crazy," she mumbled, turning to face an emotionless Stefan. "We've got to snap him out of this."

"How the hell are we going to do that?" Carter asked her, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. There isn't much you could do against compulsion. Elena's eyes lit up in realization, swiftly turning to look at Stefan. She jumped to her feet, slowly taking a step toward him. "Caroline's dad! Stefan, he was able to resist compulsion. I don't know how, but he did it. Maybe it's possible." Stefan looked back at Elena, bored. "Yeah, yeah. Maybe it's just mind control, right? Maybe it just takes some focus, a couple decades of training. No big deal." He began pacing the room. His demeanor irked the girls. "Stefan, you can control this. When that buzzer goes off, just...just drink from me," Elena told him.

Carter shook her head, looking toward Elena. "Are you crazy?" she asked her angrily, causing Elena to glare ferociously at her. Carter rubbed her throat, ignoring the dampness of her shirt. Her eyes flickered from the bright red numbers until she focused back on Elena. "It's worth a shot," Elena argued. Carter squeezed her eyes closed before she shouted, "Get it through your head, Elena! Not everyone can be saved!" Elena's dark eyes widened in shock at Carter's outburst, a sigh of disbelief falling past her lips. "Carter!"

"She's right! You don't get it! I can't stop, Elena! I'm a ripper! A ripper doesn't stop! I listen to the words that come out of your mouth, and all I hear is the sound of your heart pumping blood through your body. And when that clock ticks down...I'm going to have to feed on you. And you want to know what's worse? I'm not going to be able to stop."

"I don't believe that. You can fight it. You just have to want it bad enough."

"Why, because I love you?" Stefan asked her. Carter could spot the breakage behind his cold façade. "Yeah! That's right, Stefan. Because you love me. You'll fight because after everything that we've been through, you owe me that!"

Elena's eyes were glassy with tears; her gaze  singeing his skin like fire. He stared back at her, not even fazed. He did love her, everyone knew that. But was love truly strong enough to break this curse? "You know what, you're right. You're right. I owe you everything. Because through all of this, you are the one thing that has kept me from giving up; from turning it all off. But I can't help what I am, Elena. The more blood that I get, the more I want, and if I get so much as near yours...You are dead," he told her. Carter bit down on the inside of her cheek, turning away from the two. The clock showed five minutes... Five minutes remaining.

"Guys, we don't have much more time, okay? We need to make a game plan," she stated, looking back to the two. Suddenly that deadly feeling went away, causing her lips to curl in a slight smile. Matt was alive. "You get out of here, okay? I may still be mad at you, but I couldn't live with myself if you died again," Elena said, looking at Carter with sad eyes. She felt her throat tighten. She did still care.. "I'm not leaving without you, okay?" Elena felt her heart stutter in her chest at Carter's words. The two shared a look, one that they had shared many times before. "No. Elena, you have to go. You both do," Stefan interjected, glancing between the two girls. "You both need to go and get Damon. Tell him I'm sorry," his last request was aimed toward the banshee, making her nod quickly in response. "He'll understand, Stef," she told him.

He scoffed. "Yeah, I hope so." Time felt like it was flying by. Sixteen seconds counted down on the clock; Stefan getting restless. "You're going to have to run," he grumbled. Elena's eyes flashed with worry, fear striking her. "But Klaus said that if we run..." Stefan looked at her, his eyes pleading. "I know what he said, but if you stay, it won't matter. Elena, please, please, please. Elena, there's no other way." Carter moved quickly toward the brunette, wrapping her hand around her elbow. "There is another way, Stefan. It's for you to fight." Carter shushed the brunette. "Listen to him, 'Lena," she told the girl. Elena's eyes resembled stars, tears spilling over her cheeks. "There's got to be another way—"

The buzzer went off, its shriek bouncing off the gym walls and causing the girls to scream in surprise. Fear encased the strawberry blonde as she began pulling Elena toward the door. "Elena, we have to go," Carter told her, her voice steady. Elena jerked her arm away from her grasp, pleading with Stefan, "Stefan...I love you. Fight, Stefan. Don't give up." He trained his eyes on Carter's face. She could practically feel his body tensing. "I can't hold it," he warned. He looked up once more, his eyes bloodshot and veins sprouted across his cheeks like the roots of a tree. Carter's breath hitched in her throat as he rushed toward Elena.

It felt like slow motion. She so badly wanted to save her best friend, but she didn't necessarily have too. Stefan was fighting back. He threw his body to the side, slamming into the wall opposite of the girls. "Elena, run! Go!" Carter grabbed Elena's arm, forcing her to run behind her. "Shit!" Carter shouted. Her legs felt like noodles beneath her, her whole body trembling with fright. The two slipped through the double doors and trucked down the halls. Thier shallow and fearful breathing was the only thing either girl could hear besides the drumming of their own heartbeats. "In here!" Carter gasped, clearly out of breath, and forced the door open.

Elena backed in first, glancing down the hallways before the sound of lockers slamming echoed. "Fuck," Carter spat out, shoving against her chest to get her inside. She shut the door behind her only to hear Elena's breath catch in her throat. "We've got to stop meeting like this," Klaus taunted, causing Carter to whirl around to face him. Her green eyes widened upon spotting the hybrid. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." The smirk on his lips sent chills down her spine. "You know, Carter, I was just starting to like you." She glanced toward Elena, who was too fear stricken to move. "I hate that I have to do this." He stepped forward, his arms raised. "Wait–"

His hand slammed against the strawberry blonde's face, stars blurring her vision. "Klaus, don't," she begged, ignoring the metallic taste filling her mouth. He shoved her into the door, hand closed around her throat. "It's just a little nap, love. You'll survive." She felt the air leave her lungs, his fingers tight around her neck. She scratched at his wrists, her lips opening and closing as she tried to cry out for help. He squeezed and squeezed until her vision turned fully black and her body fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.