Chapter I: Fat Chance

She couldn't remember anything, just the cold wind air that rushed through her blonde locks as the woods blurred past her.

It was night-time and darkness should've devoured the light, but the full moon illuminated the sky and howls filled the air. Arms protectively wrapped around her back and legs kept her body off the ground. Her head laid limp over the hands that held her as she weakly clung to her rescuer.

Where was she?

"Come on, Caroline, stay with me now," Stefan said. His voice was calm as always, but his eyes revealed his sense of urgency and panic.

Caroline looked up at him in a daze.

Why was she being carried? Why were they in the woods? What happened?

An array of questions bombarded her heavy mind. There was an unfamiliar scent that clouded these woods, an aroma she wasn't accustomed to; a pungent stench of lake water and pine trees.

They were definitely not in Mystic Falls.

So, where were they then?

Caroline could feel herself fading again, fatigue taking its toll.

"Caroline? Caroline!"

Stefan frantically looked back down at her.

Her eyes slowly shut and she could feel herself blacking out again, but before she could lose consciousness, there were only two things Caroline could remember: Stefan holding her tighter as he sped faster through the winding trees and the agonizing pain of an all too familiar feeling...

A werewolf bite.

Four hours before…

"Where are we?" asked the blonde walking closely behind her friend.

"The Bayou, it's about three hours from where we're heading," the light brown-haired man replied.

"Well, it stinks and it's disgusting," she said, her boots sinking into the moist ground. She sighed, lifting her shoe to inspect the mucky stain on its heel.

Damn it, these boots were new too…she thought.

When she imagined finally leaving Mystic Falls, she thought of traveling the world, going to Rome, or Paris, or Tokyo... But hiking through a swamp was definitely not on her travel bucketlist. The air was thick from the day's heat and the humidity only made it worse. But the sun was finally setting, its rays slowly immersing into the horizon of pinks and purples.

"We need to feed before we head to New Orleans, we only have a few blood bags left and we can't afford to waste them if we're going survive this trip."

"I know," Caroline groaned. "But a couple of rabbits are hardly a meal and more like a mass murder of Bugs Bunnies, Stefan. Way to kill my childhood."

"Very funny," Stefan said sarcastically. "And that's precisely why we're still hunting."

Caroline rolled her eyes.

They had been hunting for an hour now and they had barely caught anything. Soon the sun would go down and there would no longer be any light. Not that that was a problem or anything, just one of the many perks that came with being a vampire: keen vision. But the light certainly made it easier.

Caroline looked up at the sky.

The moon would take its place atop the sky soon enough. It was going to be a full moon tonight; they both knew that. It left them at the mercy of any possible werewolf attacks, and although Tyler had informed them that the bayou was completely scarce of any werewolves, it brought little to no relief to Caroline who knew the unforgiving sting of their venom. What Tyler didn't tell them was that it was scarce of any life in general. Caroline made a note to herself to yell at Tyler later for not giving them the heads up for the lack of food, and maybe guilt him into getting her a new pair of boots as a compromise.

"You know, you did have the option of staying at Whitmore with Elena. Damon could've come with me instead," said Stefan.

"Yeah, and leave you to face Klaus alone," she scoffed. "Fat chance."

She covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Dejavu.

At first, she didn't understand why she was so embarrassed. She cursed under her breath. She definitely did not just reuse something she had said to the Klaus before.

Fortunately, Stefan didn't notice her sudden change of mood, but instead, kept walking ahead. Realizing her hand was still covering her mouth, she jammed her hands in her pockets and continued to follow after him.

Why was she embarrassed?

It's not like she had done anything. She had just said something vaguely similar to a conversation she once had with the damned hybrid, a conversation that had turned into an argument about…

What was it again? Oh yeah.

…the "allure of darkness".

So you've never felt the attraction that comes when someone who is capable of doing terrible things for some reason, cares only about you?

Caroline shook her head annoyed.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

She had only agreed to tag along because she wanted to help Elena regain her memories. In most circumstances, Caroline would never agree to help Damon win Elena back, it's not like he deserved her anyway. Stefan would always be Elena's epic love in her eyes.

But Elena hadn't been the same since she asked Alaric to compel her to forget about her feelings for Damon, and as much as she wanted to barf at the thought of them being together again, she couldn't help but agree that Elena wasn't the same without those memories. It just seemed… wrong.

Damon suggested that Klaus would probably be willing to compel Elena back her memories if there was a certain blonde there to persuade him. Once again she had to play the little blonde distraction for the gang. Typical.

But Caroline wasn't sure she was ready to face him, not after their last encounter in the woo-

"Caroline?"

Stefan turned to look at her.

"Uh, yeah," she replied quickly. She could feel the heat radiating off her cheeks.

"You didn't answer my question."

"About what?"

"Why didn't you just contact Klaus? You have his number don't you?"

Caroline looked away from his gaze.

"Weren't you the one who called him at our graduation?"

She frowned.

Technically, he didn't answer her calls that day. He ignored her calls all day only to show up conveniently at the nick of time to save her and her friends.

Always has to have an entrance.

She could only imagine him laughing to himself after listening to the numerous voicemails she had sent him. Oh how she wished she could delete those messages, but he insisted he kept them for future blackmail.

She could feel her face growing hotter.

"Um, he didn't answer," she replied.

That was a lie.

Stefan looked at her questionably. "Oh."

She didn't even bother calling him for help. She may have thought about it once or twice, but every time she had picked up her phone, she couldn't bring herself to call him.

Although she had succumbed to the handsome hybrid's allure, she still wasn't ready to admit to herself that there was something more to it. It was hard enough to confess that they even had a connection in the first place.

But by now, he was probably off ruling his kingdom in New Orleans doing who knows what, with who knows who, without her. She had no idea what his whereabouts were, but she veered away from such thoughts since it always seemed to give her an unsettling reminder that he was moving on.

Caroline continued to ponder on her thoughts when she suddenly bumped into Stefan. She took a step back and observed the surrounding area confused.

It was dark now and the moon was settled in the sky. She leaned over Stefan's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

"Shh," he said lifting his index finger.

They both listened in silence, but all they could hear were the crickets that chirped by the lake and coos of the owls that sat atop the trees.

Craaack.

The slow crunch of leaves and twigs echoed in the distance. They quickly turned their attention towards the direction the sound came from. The rustling steps became louder and louder, but each coming from different directions. They moved to a clearing, standing back-to-back as they whipped their heads side-to-side waiting for the inevitable. Finally, the shadowed figure of a beast stepped into view, the moon revealing its fiery gold eyes.

The werewolf's chest heaved gusts of air as it let out a low growl.

It was just one werewolf, but Caroline knew the consequences of just one bite. The thought made her shiver.

Three more wolves appeared from behind, then two more, then five, until they were completely surrounded. Ambush.

Stefan and Caroline took a step back.

The wolves circled around them, each one waiting for their chance to pounce.

Stefan grabbed Caroline's arm to make a run for it, but the wolves snarled revealing their sharp fangs. Caroline's heart started to beat faster, her eyes flashing to each wolf, anticipating which one would attack first.

Neither of them turned to look at each other.

"Caroline," Stefan said in a low voice.

"Yes, Stefan," she said in a shaky voice.

"I need you to listen to me carefully, alright?"

"I'm a little busy right now."

"I'll stay behind and fight them off while you make a run for the car."

Caroline's eyes grew wide, but she refused to turn and face him.

"Are you crazy? Now is not the time to play the hero, Stefan! I am not leaving you with a pack of wolves!"

"Caroline, I'll be fine, just run back to the car and head to New Orleans and find Klaus."

"Seriously?" She angrily turned to face him and said, "I refuse to lea–"

Suddenly one of the wolves leaped towards Caroline and tackled her to the ground.

"Caroline!" Stefan spun around.

She shrieked as its claws ripped at her shirt. Instinctively, she grabbed its neck with both hands, keeping its canines from gnawing off her face. Stefan went to pull the beast off her until two wolves went to attack him.

For a second, Caroline was completely consumed with terror as she tried to hold the wolf back. Each time the wolf snapped at her, she tightened her grip. Finally gathering her senses, she managed to twist her hands just enough to snap its neck. Its body drooped in her arms and fell over her. Pushing it aside, she got up to help Stefan.

Stefan ruthlessly kicked a wolf against a tree, its spine cracking. Breaking off a branch he impaled the other in the ribcage, digging it deeper into its abdomen before roughly pulling it out.

Caroline did the same, grabbing a stray branch, she prodded at the wolves that surrounded her, each one trying to snap her legs. One wolf grasped the other end of the branch with its mouth and tried to yank it away, but rather than pulling herself into a battle of tug-of-war, Caroline dragged its body closer. She lifted it off the ground and spun in a circle until it crashed into the others. The wolves were sent flying back, fumbling to get up and whimpering.

Moving next to Stefan, she jabbed at the wolves trying to shove them back. Another wolf charged at her. She positioned her weapon to pierce its heart, but it deflected her movements and shook its head viciously, wrenching the branch away from her grasp. The wolf hungrily grinned at her, saliva dripping from its mouth as it snapped the branch in half.

The beast lunged at her.

Using her arm, she plunged it into the wolf's chest, wrapping her fingers around its pulsing heart, before ripping it out. The wolf yelped. Blood seeped down her arm as she held the heart in her fist. As she threw its body to the side, she saw a wolf moving behind to attack Stefan.

Caroline screamed, "Stefan, watch out!"

She swiftly pushed him away just as the wolf was about to bite. She felt its sharp fangs pierce her flesh and she cried out in pain. She crashed to the ground, her breath knocked out of her chest.

The bite left a deep and gaping wound on her side. Tears began to stream from her eyes as she felt the venom start to burn her skin. The wolf that had attacked, glowered over her with a devilish grin and prepared to attack again. Stefan dashed to her side before it could tear her apart, pushing the beast away. He lifted her up and bolted as soon as she was securely in his arms.

Zooming through the trees, Stefan tried to put as much distance as possible between them and the wolves. He stopped once they were miles away, but he could still hear the werewolves howling.

"Caroline, are you okay?"

He studied her body for any injuries before seeing the bite on her side. He scowled. Her blouse was completely shredded and blood oozed from her wound.

Caroline whimpered.

"It's okay, it's okay. We're going to find Klaus and he'll heal you, okay, Caroline?" he tried to assure her.

Stefan tried to hush her, but the sting of the venom was already ripping through her skin.

He began to run towards the direction of New Orleans when he stumbled upon the wolves again. They stood in a line, growling as they moved in unison. They barked at him, daring him to try and pass.

Desperate to save Caroline, he knew he had to bring her to Klaus. But with the wolves on his trail, he feared he'd be bringing a massacre to town.

He took one last hopeless glance towards New Orleans, before turning away and speeding towards the direction he had left his car. They had to get back to Virginia.

He needed to contact his brother. This was going to be a problem.

Stefan barged into Elena's dorm room with Caroline slung in his arms.

"Caroline!" Elena rushed to his side and studied her friend. "Is she okay?"

"She's resting right now, but I don't know how much longer she'll last after a bite like that," he confessed. Stefan walked over to the bed and set Caroline down.

After he had miraculously escaped the pack of werewolves and managed to get into his car, the first thing he did was call Damon and notified him of the situation. In turn, Damon filled the gang in on what happened.

"How did this even happen?" said Matt angrily.

"We were out hunting in the bayou when we were ambushed by a pack of werewolves."

Matt frowned at Tyler. "I thought you said the bayou was abandoned?"

Tyler raised his hands up in defense. "It was when I went. There were just a bunch of empty trailers and a creepy old cabin."

"Well, obviously not because now Blondie here is dying," Damon added. "What is this, the fifth time she's been bitten?"

"Third time," Caroline corrected finally coming to her senses.

They all turned to look at her in surprise.

"Caroline!" Elena ran to her side.

Struggling to sit up, Elena helped her lean against the bed frame. Caroline nodded to her that she was fine.

"Third time, my bad," Damon continued. "Look at it this way, now we have more of a reason to find Klaus. We need his blood to save Caroline."

"This is serious, Damon," Elena turned to him with a frown. "Why were you guys even looking for him in the first place? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Stefan and Damon exchanged awkward looks at each other. Elena studied them suspiciously until it finally clicked.

"You guys are trying to get Klaus to compel back my memories, aren't you," she declared angrily. Their lack of rejection and guilty expressions only confirmed her suspicions. "I knew it."

Damon stepped forward. "Now Elena, let me explai–"

"What's there to explain, Damon? I know what you guys are trying to do," Elena stood up, furiously facing them. "I told you, I didn't want those memories back. Why can't you guys just respect my decision?"

Damon stood before her uncomfortably. Unable to think of a response.

"Well, what about that night we waited outside the Mystic Falls border?" Caroline croaked. Elena paused and everyone turned to look at her. "You told me you wanted your memories back."

"Well," Elena said. "I…I've changed my mind."

"That was before I told you Alaric was no longer an original vampire."

"What are you trying to say, Care?"

"I'm saying that, as your best friend, I don't think you're being true to yourself by forgetting about what you had with him," Caroline paused and sighed. "And that you're not the same unless you're in love with Damon."

Elena had a hurt look on her face as if she had been betrayed. Damon stood appalled.

"Care, of all people, I thought you would be the one by my side. Weren't you the one who didn't appro–"

Caroline winced in pain when her arm brushed against her wound. She folded over to hide her discomfort, but tears began to well up in her eyes as she whimpered.

"Can we please talk about this another time," Matt insisted. "We need to find Klaus so he can heal her."

"Oh yeah, because that went so well the first time," Tyler muttered.

"Alright, fine. Here's the plan, Stefan and I will drive back to New Orleans and go look for him ourselves," Damon intervened.

"No. Driving's too slow and she's had the venom in her system for 15 hours by now. She probably has until tomorrow night," Stefan explained. "We'll go by plane."

"I'm going with you," Elena declared.

"Whoa there. You, missy, are not going anywhere," Damon stepped in front of her.

"I'm a vampire, Damon, I can take care of myself now," Elena side-stepped him and headed to the door, but Damon grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"And risk Klaus capturing you again and finding some witchy way to turn you back into a human so he can use your blood. I don't think so."

"Well, you don't make decisions for me, Damon," Elena said trying to shake herself free from his grasp.

"Damon's right, Elena. It'd be better if you stayed," Stefan cut in. "We need someone to watch over Caroline and make sure she doesn't leave this room when the hallucinations kick in."

The brunette frowned.

She looked at both Salvatores and then at Caroline before sighing in defeat. "Fine, but you better keep me updated on what's going on."

"If you wanted me to send nudes, all you had to do was ask," Damon winked.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"How do we even know Klaus will even come?" questioned Matt. "It's not like there's anything he could gain from helping us anyways."

"He's obsessed with her, remember," Damon blurted. "He'll take any excuse to see her."

Tyler shifted uncomfortably.

Caroline looked away remembering the last words they had exchanged. What Damon and the rest of the gang didn't know was the little promise Klaus had made to her. The promise that assured her she'd never had to face the complications that would follow her after their moment in the woods.

I will walk away and I will never come back...I promise.

"Well, if that's all, we better get going. We're sitting ducks if we don't leave now," Stefan interjected. "We'll call you when we arrive in New Orleans, okay?"

Elena nodded.

Damon and Stefan exited the room. Once the door had shut and it was just the three of them left, Elena turned to study Caroline.

Caroline was exhausted, sweat beads rolled down her head. Taking the bed covers, Elena wrapped them over Caroline's shoulder and softly rubbed her arm.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline," she whispered.

Caroline's eyes slowly started to shut.

"Everything's going to be okay."

Caroline nodded, but she knew it wouldn't be so. Everything faded to black. It was time.

Let the nightmare begin.