Stay Strong | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 5: The Hybrid

Ryan's POV

Andie was dead. Jenna was dead. Elena was dead. Rose was dead. Katherine was missing. Damon was probably sad. Stefan was off the rails. That's all that kept repeating in my head as we were in the car. Apparently, Ray's werewolf pack met at a small camp in the Smoky Mountains in Tenesse. I was in the backseat, next to the temporarily dead body of Ray Sutton. Klaus was in the front, driving, whilst Stefan was next to him, brooding.

Andie fell to her death. Jenna was sacrificed. Elena was sacrificed. Rose was staked. Katherine was running. Damon was grieving. Stefan was brooding. All of these events, and yet I couldn't seem to wrap my head around the fact that I didn't blame him. I didn't blame Klaus. Even though, if he never existed, Stefan wouldn't have to keep Damon off our trail, Jenna and Elena would never have been sacrificed, Katherine would never have had to run meaning we (the Salvatore brothers) never would have met her because she wouldn't have turned into a vampire, so we'd be dead.

However, I didn't blame Klaus. Half of his identity had been striped from him. He was only half complete, living a lie. I didn't blame him for wanting that back. If I was him, I would've sacrificed three strangers to become whole again. Therefore, I didn't blame him. I didn't blame him for anything to do. He couldn't not sacrifice Elena in the ritual. Killing Jenna would be getting back at Damon, who had tried to stop the ritual from happening. I would've done the same. Stefan was going to make sure Damon stayed off of our trail. It's not Klaus' fault Stefan decided to kill Andie to do it.

We pulled the car up and started to head up the mountains. Stefan was carrying Ray on his shoulders, whilst Klaus walked beside him. I was hanging back, enjoying the walk in nature I had been blessed with.

"Are you okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" Klaus asked Stefan, whilst we kept walking.

"I'm fine," Stefan claimed. I heard the birds chirping and smiled slightly. Birds had always been my favourite animal. They just seemed so free. They could fly anywhere they wanted, nest in any tree they felt like, and could practically do what they wanted. They also seemed so loving. A mother bird would bring her babies food, and regurgitate it into their mouths, which must've been quite gross. They kept their babies warm in the cold, even if it meant they'd be freezing. Then, when they were ready, the mother would send the hatchling on their way.

"You sure about that? We've been walking for quite some time now. Do you need some water or a little sit-down?" Klaus asked Stefan with a smirk.

"I would deeply appreciate some sort if junk food," I butted in.

"Sorry, love. We'll get some after," Klaus apologised. I frowned a little, bit soon brightened up when I saw a bird land on a tree branch not that far away from me.

"You know, I get that we're stuck together...but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great," Stefan stated.

"So much brooding. Your self-loathing is suffocating you my friend," Klaus commented.

"Yeah, that's just the normal Stefan. So boring. That's why I prefer Damon," I told him, jokingly. Klaus smirked at me and I smiled slightly in triumph.

"Maybe it's because I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves. We've only been at it all summer," Stefan spoke, ignoring my comment.

"Pessimist," I mumbled underneath my breath.

"Thanks to our pal, Ray, we've found ourselves a pack," Klaus reminded him, as we reached our destination. There were a lot of werewolves there. They were all getting ready for the full moon. We walked up to them, and all the chatter stopped as they all turned towards us. Stefan dumped Ray's body on the floor roughly.