THE RECKLESS AND THE BRAVE

In Which Bill Forbes Returns

People were running around her, chanting things in a tongue Foster couldn't understand. They wore skulls masks with horns attached and danced around her.

Foster stood in the middle of a fire but she felt no pain. The flames licked at her feet and she only felt a small sensation of discomfort, as if she were being tickled. Wind whipped around her, carrying the people's voices closer and closer to her.

The chants suddenly stopped, each person standing straight and looking directly at Foster. Rope crawled up her body like a snake, wrapping and tightening itself around her. Her breathing became labored as they began to speak as one.

"And she shall be reborn, and she shall be reborn." They repeated, growing louder each time.

Ice cold water was poured over Foster's head, chilling every part of her body. She gasped and shook her head, trying to get the water out of her hair. Her head was pounding and it felt like an elephant was sitting on top of her.

Foster attempted to brush the water off her face, but her hands were constricted. They were strapped to the arms of an old wooden chair, her legs chained to the bottom of the it. Foster began to panic as the door was pulled open.

"I see you're awake." The man spoke.

"Bill?" Foster asked, horrified as Caroline's father came into the light.

"It's good to see you, Foster." Bill said honestly. "I'm sorry about this, but I can't have another monster running around Mystic Falls."

"What's going on? Why am I here?" Foster asked, her face pale with fear. "Bill, I'm not a monster. I've never done anything wrong, I'm not a monster.

"Foster, some monsters aren't capable of admitting the truth to themselves."

Bill Forbes set down the bag beside him and zipped it open. Foster flinched as a blade was pulled out, winking in the moonlight. Bill took out a jar which had purple flowers floating it and dipped the tip of the blade in it.

"Everything has a weakness, Foster. For vampire it's vervain, werewolves wolfsbane. Why don't we found out what your weakness is?"

A fiery red pain erupted on her arm as William Forbes dragged the blade down it.

￫￫￫

A jar full of hemlock was thrown against the wall of the cell. The contains spilled to the floor, mixing with Foster's blood.

"Damn it! Why don't you just tell me?" Bill gripped the arms of her chair, coming closer to her face. "Save yourself the pain and suffering and tell me."

"We've been over this, I don't know." Foster said tired, feeling lightheaded from the loss of so much blood.

BIll clenched his hand, stepping away from his daughter's best friend. His head pounded from all the possible things that could cause her harm, real harm. Carol asked him to find out what her niece was and what could hurt her.

"I don't remember you being such a jerk." Foster admitted. "Sure, you and Liz fought all the time; but it was never a 'let's cut Caroline's best friend into tiny pieces until she dies from blood loss' jerk. Now, you're honestly just a douchebag."

"Did you know you're parents were on the council? Before they died?" Bill sneered. "If they were still alive, they would have asked for the same treatment. Who wants a monster for a daughter?"

"I am not a monster. The only monster here is you." Foster snapped, lifting her head just enough to glare at the man. "You can call me a monster as much as you want, but don't forget you're the man that tortured his daughter because he couldn't stand what she is."

￫￫￫

The room was almost completely quiet. Bill left minutes ago with the promise to return tomorrow.

Foster was tired, but she was scared to fall asleep. Whatever plagued her dreams was equal to the hell she was currently going through. Her arms were covered in long, jagged cuts. The bump on her head still caused a migraine, but maybe that was from the lack of water.

The drops of blood hit the ground at a constant pace. Foster's stomach growled, begging for food she didn't have. As the event of the past hours unfolded in her head, Foster began to sob.