The Original Hybrid

Prologue

September 25th, 1864

“Kariana!”

I hear someone scream from outside my window. I lift my head from the tear-stained pillow, and look towards the sound. “Kariana!” They yell again and I immediately recognize the voice. “Stefan.” I whisper as I stand up and rush over to my open window.

There stands my twin brother. His hair is a mess, he only has one shoe on his feet, and his shirt is stained with dirt and blood, but he is alive. How is this possible?

“Sister, invite me inside.” He screams from the field below. I stare at him and don’t speak. “Kariana!”

“Why must I invite you inside?” I ask stubbornly. I momentarily forget about how my brother being alive should not be physically possible. Both of my brothers were shot dead late last night when they tried to kidnap Katherine Pierce. Come to think of it, where is Katherine?

“Please, sister. Just come down and invite me in. Father and I have matters to discuss,” Stefan pleads. I am suspicious of the urgency in his voice, but I shut the window and run downstairs to the door anyways. I open it wide and Stefan stands there. “Just say, ‘you may come in’, Kariana.”

I am about to say the words, but then I remember something. “Stefan…”

“Kariana, just say the words.”

“Stefan, vampires cannot be allowed inside without being invited in…”

“Say the words,” He commands. “Do not test me right now, sister.”

“You may come in,” I say in a rush before stepping behind the door. Stefan holds out his foot inside of the doorway and grins. He comes into the house with a smile.

“I am very sorry for frightening you, sister, but I needed to know if you still trust me. I am not a vampire, yet. I do not plan on completing the transition either. I forced Damon to… I’m very sorry, Kariana. I need to talk to father, but please do not be scared. You must go find our brother. He would never hurt you. Find Damon and make sure he is safe, and do not come back to this house until both of you are safe.”

Stefan pulls me close to him, and I wrap my arms around him without giving it a second thought. He is not a vampire. He will not become a vampire. What is going to happen when he does not complete this transition he spoke of?

He quickly pulls away, and it doesn’t take long for me to figure out why. Stefan was tempted to bite me.

“I love you, sister, but you must go. I am not sure how much longer I can resist these… cravings.”

Stefan kisses my forehead before he runs towards the staircase. I wait until he has disappeared before leaving the house. I can faintly hear my father and Stefan’s voices from outside, but I do not stop. Even when I hear my father’s screams, I do not stop. I must find Damon. Stefan said that he has become a vampire. How did this even happen? The answer comes to me in a sudden rush when I see the familiar face.

Katherine.

I try to walk past her, but she is standing in front of me in seconds. “Hello, Kariana.”

Her mouth is covered in blood, human blood, and she is wearing some sort of restricting jacket. I stare at her frozen as she walks in a circle around me. “I thought you were dead,” I blurt out and immediately reach up to cover my mouth.

“They all did,” Katherine says. “But I’m smarter than Jonathan Gilbert.”

“Katherine, leave her alone.”

I don’t have to turn around to know who is coming up behind me. It is my best friend Annabelle. Katherine looks to her and rolls her eyes. “Stay out of this,” She commands, and a shiver runs down my spine when veins appear on Katherine’s face and the whites of her eyes disappear. “Two Salvatores down. I have one left.” Katherine turns back towards me, and suddenly there is an intense pain in my neck. I gasp as Katherine begins to drain me of my blood. It is only a few seconds before I feel lightheaded.

Annabelle appears out of nowhere and shoves her away. I am surprised by how strong she is. Annabelle bites into her wrist and immediately presses it to my mouth.

“Drink it, Kariana. It will heal you!” She pleads desperately, and I go against my better judgment and begin to drink the blood. It doesn’t taste like the kind of blood I would lick as a child when I got a cut.

 I can feel the wound from Katherine’s bite healing on my neck and I am amazed. Annabelle pulls her wrist away and gives me a small smile. “So… I guess you know what I am, now!” She says with a laugh, and I manage to smile at her. “Thank you for saving my life, Annabelle. I must find Damon now.”

As I am about to walk away, I feel a hand grip my neck and I am lifted into the air.

“You just made my job one thousand times easier, Annabelle.”

I hear Katherine say before she snaps Annabelle’s neck with her free hand. I gasp for air as I scream in horror. Katherine just killed my best friend. And she is about to kill me.

“See you later, Kariana.”

 It’s strange how I can hear my own neck snap in half before my body hits the ground and darkness takes over where Katherine’s face once was.