I Will Always Find You...

I can't go on brother...

Stefan's movements were swift and purposeful, he moved towards Caroline, shielding her with his body and moving with her to cover. Melissa grabbed hold of Blake and spun with her taking her momentarily out of the current time and space of their reality and placing her safely out of harm's way. Tom was trying to ascertain what the threat was whilst moving towards a nearby structure and Damon was actively seeking the potential attackers. Stefan screamed for him to take cover but Damon was thinking he had endured quite enough of this crap and was going to confront and destroy the menace, if indeed there even was one.

No sooner had that thought entered his mind than he was struck with a debilitating pain; he was thrown to the floor with a speed and power that would easily have killed a mortal man outright. He yelled so loudly Stefan's first reaction was to rush back to help him. Caroline circled around and Tom took cover.

Stefan reached Damon who had been hit with a crossbow arrow through his chest. Stefan gripped the arrow to pull it clear and as he did so a second arrow grazed his cheek and embedded itself into a nearby headstone. As he turned his head to look at the arrow he could instantly see that something was leaking out from the shaft. An unusual grainy looking metallic fluid oozed and dripped to the floor, Stefan's face became enraged and the veins of vampirism were prominent and his eyes bloodshot red. As his lip curled upward to reveal his now protruding fangs he sought the enemy at which he could lash out to release his anger but could see none. It appeared that their stealth mode was far better at this point than the group that opposed Silas.

Stefan pulled Damon away from his exposed position and tried to get him to a safer location. As he scouted the terrain and viewable area he could see movement at a distance of about 500 metres. He shouted to the others to make their way to the mausoleum where Tom had taken refuge. As Stefan dragged Damon over there he continually screamed out in pain...this was unusual, Damon had been shot and impaled by various things over the course of his life, not being the most popular person at a party, and he had never before reacted so strongly.

As Tom dared to break cover and make his way in to the mausoleum, as Caroline had since arrived and taken care of the locked doors, a third arrow was heard making its way to him. Caroline was tracking its path and about to move to intercept it when Melissa appeared, as if from thin air and diverted the path of the arrow without even having to touch it.

Caroline took this opportunity to move towards Stefan and help to bring Damon safely in. She seized his free arm that was trailing on the ground and with one final push between them they were able to reach the relative sanctuary of the burial chamber.

Melissa turned to Tom and asked if he was ok, scanning him with her eyes to check as he answered. She then turned and faced the open door, with a deep breath in, a raising and a thrusting forward of her arms, the entire building was surrounded by a glowing gold/yellow hazy field that although could be seen through looked impenetrable and offered an immediate sense of protection. "Wait here" instructed Melissa, and as she moved forward she vanished like a spectre in a mist. A few seconds later multiple screams were heard outside, disturbing squelching and tearing sounds were also intermingled with the screams and then within moments there was silence.

Melissa re-appeared as magnificently as she had disappeared and came directly to where Damon was still writhing in agony. The look on Stefan's face said more than any words could ever convey and as he moved his hand once again towards the arrow shaft with the intention of removing it, Melissa said alarmingly "STOP!"

Stefan's hand froze in place and from her look and tone he determined that something was clearly different about this arrow and so with his vampire eyes he looked more closely, within the ooze he could see the tiniest particles of wood and knew instantly what that meant for Damon.

"What the hell?" he said frantically, looking at the others for just an instant, hoping for an easy solution. "What is this?"

"Do you have any open wounds Stefan? When you touched the arrow before, did any of that goo get on you? Do you feel ok?"

"No...no I didn't get any on me, I'm fine."

Damon continues to scream and Stefan becomes more agitated and frantic. "What are we going to do? That stuff's coursing through him...IT'S KILLING HIM." He moves to take Damon's hand and Damon reaches up with his to receive the comfort that Stefan is offering. "No Stefan, you have to stay away...you and Caroline, we can't risk it getting into you too." Damon becomes more alarmed as he realises it's not something they can just get out and with every passing second he becomes weaker. He soon begins to pass into unconsciousness.

"Damon!" screams Stefan... "Stay with me brother, don't you go to sleep".

Damon attempts a smile but even that is too much as he desperately tries to hold on.

Tom rushes over and places a hand on to Damon's chest, his thumb and forefinger at either side of the arrow shaft. He pushes down hard and with the other hand pulls the arrow out of Damon's chest. He throws it to the corner of the room and applies some pressure to the open wound. Damon barely lets out a grunt...he is slipping away.

His eyes flicker open for a moment and he sees Stefan's face, Tom looks at Melissa and shakes his head signalling that Damon is running out of time. "Stefan" Damon mutters in an almost whisper. "No, it's Tom Damon, Stefan's here". He moves away making room for Stefan to crouch beside his brother and share whatever time he has left. Stefan shakes Damon violently, not accepting that this is how he will meet his end. "Damon...you listen to me, wake up! You gonna let this beat you? You giving up? Huh?" Damon musters a few words in his brief moments of lucidity "I can't go on brother"...

Stefan's look changes from one of sadness and despair to one of anger as he looks around at Melissa and shouts "Do something...please."

Melissa can see that if Damon dies the fight is lost; Stefan won't be able to go on with the strength needed to face Silas. It is in this moment that she can clearly see how one gives the other a strength that couldn't be gained any other way and she is in awe of it.

She approaches the two of them and takes Damon's hand. She advises Stefan to move away slightly and warns them both that there is no pain free way to remove the wooden particles. They are spread throughout Damon's body and all have to come out. Stefan nods, giving permission for her to continue...Damon is suddenly and shockingly revived from his deathly slumber, his piercing screams forcing the others to wince and agonise along with him. Caroline grips Stefan's hand and they all intently watch Damon as he becomes rigid and blood-soaked as his blood is drawn through his body along with the wooden particles as they leave him.

Once it's over Stefan and Caroline rush to Damon's side to see if he's ok. His eyes open and he attempts to speak, in a croaky gruff voice he says "Tom?" Stefan looks down at him and with a half-smile replies sarcastically "funny..." as he removes his shirt and starts wiping away some of the blood from Damon's face.

With everyone now recovering from this surprise attack and having regained a level of composure, Damon looks around; from the shadows Blake appears and startles him... "Is there a door back there? Because if there's no door... something really freaky is going on." He tries to get to his feet, slightly embarrassed at what the others just witnessed but in his much weakened state he simply slides back down the wall he was propped against. "I'm actually just gonna wait here" he says motioning to the others to go about their business, "until one of you...um....helps me". As they all look at him, looking at them, his expression becomes one that expresses confusion at what they are staring at. "What?!" he demands..."Is there something on my face?"

"Damon..." Stefan says, "Your eyes. They're kinda glowing"