Humanity 3 "The Renewal"

Chapter 10

I'm jogging down the street because it was a nice morning and I thought, why not. I look down quickly to check my watch and I see that it's been about twenty minutes. I slow down my pace and use this time to check my phone.

When I pull it out of my pocket, I catch a glimpse of a man running towards me on the other side of the street. I slide my phone back into my pocket and start running again. I glance over my shoulder and now this guy is following me. Seriously? I prefer working out alone.

I turn a corner and pick up my pace, hoping that he'll go a different away or slow down. He continues after me and I take off in a full sprint.

After a few more minutes, I stop and turn around, as I catch my breath. I'm relieved to see that he's gone because it was getting creepy.

I spin back around to keep running, but my body collides with someone. "Excuse me. Should have been watching where I was going." The voice says and I look up to see the same man from before. What the hell is his problem?

"Don't worry about it." I say quickly, wanting to get away from him and back to my jog.

"Have a nice day." He says with a smile as he starts jogging down the street. I watch him for a second before shaking my head and running the opposite way.

***

"I feel like I'm totally paranoid." I complain to Elena and Bonnie as we sit at the Grill.

"You have a right to be. Klaus is still out there and he knows you tried to kill him." Bonnie says and I know that she's trying to help, but that makes me even more nervous.

"Why hasn't he made a move?" I ask them. "There has been no sign of him. Nothing. Just my slow spiral into insanity."

Elena laughs but Bonnie's face stays serious. "Join the club. Every time I close my eyes, I have that nightmare. On repeat."

"The same dream?" Elena asks her and she nods. I realize they must have been talking about this before I showed up because I don't know what they're talking about.

"What dream?" I ask.

"I end up at the abandoned witch house. There are four coffins there. Klaus is in one of them. It's weird." She explains.

"What if it's not just some dream? What if it's like...you know...a witch dream?" I try to figure this out, but Bonnie doesn't seem to be in the mood.

"It's just stress. I'll figure it out. And what about Stefan?" Bonnie asks, turning to Elena. "Has there been any sign of him?"

"He betrayed us, Bonnie. The Stefan that we know is gone." Elena says, trying to stay strong.

Bonnie nods and turns back to me. "How is Damon handling it?"

I take a deep breath and look over at the bar, where Damon is sitting with Ric. He's been distant lately and I know that he's just trying to move on. "Damon is...Damon."

DAMON'S POV

"Oh, I give you a choice, Bloody Mary or Screw Driver. Brunch in a bottle." I ramble as Ric ignores me. "Come on, Ric. I can't drink all this by myself. I mean I can but then somebody's getting naked. Oh, man I can't believe you're making me drink alone."

"I'm busy." He says rudely.

"It's the eve of Klaus-ageddon. You're doing homework?" I ask as I see him looking through papers.

"This may come as a shock, but I am not here to hang out with you. I'm here to see Jeremy." He says, glancing at his watch. "Who is an hour late for his shift."