My Return (Vampire Diaries) (Book Seven)

Hell Is Other People

Bonnie and Nora had pulled Stefan's soul out of the Phoenix Stone because Nora had felt guilty about putting Stefan in there in the first place.

But now, Bonnie was working alone to try and pull Damon out of the hell stone.

Damon was lying on a table.

Bonnie was sitting next to him, casting the spell.

Stefan, Matt, Caroline and I were standing around them.

Caroline was visibly pregnant now.

The Phoenix Stone was resting on Damon's chest.

Bonnie casted the spell to return his soul to his body. "Ababbas dagoineh mateesah elunatan. Damon melunaweh washaset. Ababbas dagoineh mateesah elunatan. Damon melunaweh washaset." We were restless and worried. Bonnie opened her eyes, sighing in frustration. "The spell's not working." I sighed in frustration. "I don't understand. It's like the stone is hiding his spirit."

"Then maybe you should take a break, all right?" Matt asked. "You've been trying all day."

"She can't," Stefan told us. "The longer he stays in there, the more damaged he'll be when he gets out."

Bonnie gave Stefan an annoyed look, scoffing. "And who's fault is that? You, of all people, don't get to lecture me."

"Hey, hey," Caroline told us. "It's okay. We're all just a little bit stressed right now. Let's take a deep breath, and we ca start again when Bonnie's ready."

"I don't get it," I told them. "She pulled Stefan out no problem. What's different now?"

Stefan had a haunted expression, sighing. "Because, eventually, I submitted to the kind of suffering that just breaks you. Knowing Damon, he'll do anything he can to avoid that kind of pain, which means we may never be able to get him out."

Stefan looked at us grimly.

Everyone became even more worried about our chances of rescuing Damon.

~~~~~~~

The Phoenix Stone was still resting on Damon's chest.

Bonnie casted the spell to return his soul to his body. "Ababbas dagoineh mateesah elunatan. Damon melunaweh washaset. Ababbas dagoineh mateesah elunatan. Damon melunaweh washaset."

Damon woke with a gasp.

Stefan, Matt, Caroline and I were shocked to see Damon awake, standing.

Damon was in shock. "No. No. No." Stefan and I walked closer. Damon sat up, panicking about whatever had happened to him. "No, we weren't done. I gotta get her back. I gotta get her back!"

Damon stood.

Stefan worriedly tried to calm him down. "Hey, Damon, it's me. It's me. You're safe. It's okay. It's okay."

Damon looked around frantically. "No. No! One more time. One more time!" Bonnie was seriously weakened as a result of the spell. Caroline held her standing. "Send me back. I know what to do now."

"Damon, it's not real," I told him.

"I know it's not real," Damon told us. "None of this is real!"

Damon thought he was still in the Phoenix Stone. He grabbed Stefan by the arm, breaking it, snapping his neck, letting him fall unconscious.

Matt was seriously concerned.

I rushed over to help Stefan. "Damon, don't." Damon smashed a chair, using the broken chair leg as a stake, using it to hit me in the face, trying to hit me with it again. I caught the stake, trying to stop him, but unwilling to hurt him. "Stop!"

Damon headbutted me to make me let go, staking me in the chest. 

I gasped in surprise ad pain, falling back into Caroline and Bonnie's worried and concerned arms, thanking God that he missed my heart. 

Matt walked closer. "Damon!"

Caroline lowered me to the floor, kneeling next to me, behind my head.

Damon punched Matt repeatedly in the face, making him fall unconscious.

Caroline was horrified. "Oh, no."

Damon grabbed a fireplace poker, rushing toward Bonnie, pinning her to the wall, using the poker to pin her against the wall by pressing it against her throat, choking her.

Bonnie desperately gasped for breath. "Damon."

"I have to get back to her," Damon told us frantically. Bonnie lost consciousness, falling to the floor. Damon let the poker fall to the floor, becoming even more frantic. "Why am I still here? It wasn't real. This isn't real..."

Damon looked around us in horror, beginning to panic.