𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 ༄ 𝗦. 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗩𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗘 ²︎

𝘵𝘸𝘰

²︎

[season four || episode two]
memorial

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cataphobia:
(n.) the fear of dying and leaving
words unsaid

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Believing all her problems had been solved by setting the council on fire, Madeline speculated if she should start packing her bags. She wanted to explore the world and drown herself in the luxuries it had to offer. Mystic Falls had nothing for her anymore. Nothing interesting, at least. Well, she should've known better. As she hunted for a suitcase, Madeline heard a knock on the door.

Assuming it was one of her bothering ex-friends, Madeline groaned and trudged to the door. She opened it, brows puckering as she met face to face with someone she didn't know. "May I help you?"

"Yes, actually. I'm Conner. Conner Jordan." the man said, extending his hand out for her to shake. Unaware that the deaths at the ranch would gain disfavored attention, she faked a smile for the hundredth time. Their deaths were all over the newspaper, but, thanks to Liz, it was covered up. According to the paper, a faulty gas line caused the ominous catastrophe.

Scheming to lead him into her house and feed on him, Madeline grabbed his gloved hand. Grunting, she heard her hand sizzle as the pain dissipated up her limb. Not hesitating to attack at the sight of a vampire, Conner let her go and brought out his gun, shooting her three times in the chest.

Withstanding the desire to pass out, Madeline braced herself and abruptly stood up, speeding behind the man and kicking his back. With each minor movement, her body ached. However, the longing to beat the man triumphed over the immense pain.

She tried to conjure red wisps to pull the bullets out of her body, but the modified pellets were stuck. Witnessing her scarlet ability, Conner felt his eyes broaden. Unprepared for a new species of hybrid, Conner panicked and departed her home, needing to get a particular herb to win against Madeline. He could already tell she had tremendous resilience by how she easily got up after being shot repeatedly.

Vision blurring, Madeline scoffed as she noticed the man had chickened out and left her house. Her chest rose up and down quickly with each agonizing pant. Stumbling into the kitchen, Madeline grabbed the counter for stability and tried to remove the bullets with her powers again. Wincing, she gritted her teeth and gasped as the three pellets clinked onto the ground.

Holding back curses, she examined her bloody shirt. "I can't go one day without getting shot, can I?" She picked up the bullets and quickly dropped them. Simply touching the ammo lent a burning sensation to her palm. To get a closer look, she hovered them in the air, realizing they had a distinctive insignia on them.

Ticked off, she forgot all about packing, refusing to leave the town until Conner Jordan was six feet under.

✧︎

Hearing about the new vampire hunter from Tyler granted Stefan an uneasy feeling. Adamant, the gut feeling prompted him to go to Madeline's house.

The unlocked front door verified his concerns. Stefan's heart dropped as he noticed crimson blood tainting the floor, sincerely hoping it belonged to Madeline's opponent. At the sound of movement in the kitchen, he hurried into the room. Close to attacking, he quickly stopped himself as he recognized it was Madeline.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Madeline said as she clutched some of her father's weapons, putting them in new hiding places.

Stefan let out a sigh of relief, but it ended just as fast as it started when he saw her shirt drenched in blood. "Oh, my god! What the hell happened to you?"