𝟐• 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 | 𝐓𝐕𝐃

TWENTY-SIX

Three and a Half Years from The Present

Aurelia huffed, pulling over at a gas station in the middle of the night as she looked around the empty roads. She then looked over to Stefan, who was examining his wound.

"Okay, that's not stopped bleeding." She pointed out.

"You think?" He sarcastically asked, making her roll her eyes as she pulled the dial out. She looked at the tear shaped locator, which had a dull green glow.

"I have time to rest for about two nights before we need to run, so I can take time now." She said, before stepping out of the car. "Food?" He looked at her, making her scoff. "Do you want food?"

"Uh, yeah." He said.

"There are blood bags in the trunk." She said, taking the keys of the car out and tossing them to him. "Drink some while you fill up the tank." He nodded, before she shut the door and went into the shop.

Several minutes later, as she was checking out the items, he walked into the shop, with a jacket on that covered the bloodstain on his shirt. Aurelia looked at Stefan, who walked towards her, before tossing the keys to her.

She took the bag full of first-aid supplies and food, before grabbing his arm and pulling him into the washroom, before shutting the door quickly. "Stand still." She said, before placing the bag on a counter.

"What are you trying to do?" He asked. She pulled out some cotton and disinfectant. "I'm not human."

"And I need something to clean all that blood up." She said, gesturing to the wound. "Take your jacket off."

"It's not mine." He said. "I found it in the truck." She ignored it, before cleaning the scar up, as he pulled his shirt down. He simply looked at her, before she huffed and threw the cotton into a trash can.

With gauze, she covered the wound up, before looking up at him, and realizing how close they were. "What?" She asked. "You're way too close for comfort." She said.

"You're the one who decided to aid to me." He retorted, before she hummed.

"Fair point." She said, when her head shot up at the sound of a familiar voice. "I know that voice." She said.

Without another word, she walked out the doors, before she saw a familiar face on the television.

"We apologize for the interruption to your current program." The woman said, with blood trailing down from the healed cut on her forehead. "My name is Caroline Forbes; I am a segment producer for KQBC News." She said, as Stefan looked at the television.

"Caroline." He said. Aurelia remained silent.

"Please listen carefully." Caroline said on-screen, her demeanor calm but her tone full of fright. "I have an urgent message for Stefan Salvatore."

!

Present Day

"Hold the gun." Stefan said to a young boy, handing the gun to him. "There you go. Now, the first thing you want to do: bite the paper of the cartridge off like this." He bit the cartridge, before loading it into the gun. "Hand me that ramrod." He said. The boy handed it to him, before he placed it on the barrel. "Push it all the way down." He said, as the boy obliged. "Perfect."

"How far away can it shoot?" He asked. Stefan looked past him, before pointing at a tree.

"Can you see that tree over there, with the bark falling off?" He asked, as the boy squinted his eyes, before shaking his head. "Pretty far, then, huh?" The child smiled.