Prologue:

The nightmares begin when they shut the coffin. The light is gone, the air is smothered out, and Elena is left alone.

At first her sleep had been hazy and blank, but now all she sees is bloody, curled fingers outstretched, ready to choke the life out of her. She sees Kai's eyes boring into her vacantly and unapologetically.

"You can't leave, Elena," he says now - whenever that is - in a mockingly sad tone. Dead eyes lock onto her like guns ready to fire, "You're stuck with me."

"Not forever," her slurred voice replies, fighting through the heaviness of sleep. They sit opposite each other at a high school lunch table. The Mystic Falls Timberwolves snarl threateningly down at the two of them from a poster on the wall as the florescent lights buzz around them.

He laughs, the sound reverberating between her eardrums. "It may not be forever, but it will feel like it."

"I think I finally figured out why you're here in my head," Elena says decidedly. "You're here to torture me."

He grins, "I'm here to keep you company."

"Same thing."

He places a palm over his heart as if offended, "That hurts my feelings, Elena." Then he stops and snorts, "Oh wait, I don't have those."

"Your plan failed, Kai, so you can stop acting like you still have some dignity left," Elena mutters, moving to get out of the small chair.

"Oh, I know," he smiles, then stretches two fingers towards her, causing her to freeze and slam back into the seat. "You're just cranky because all of your friends are out there living their lives while you rot away in here. Hey, do you think you'll age while you sleep? I think humans age slower when they sleep, but what the hell do I know, I'm not a scientist-"

Elena grits her teeth and scowls at him. Endless time spent with Kai is a punishment that she wouldn't wish on even her worst enemies. She doesn't even know why she's plagued with his presence. As far as she knows, Damon had killed him. Yet here he is, never allowing her a moment's peace. At this point her patience is thinner than thin and the probability of her snapping at him is high. Not that it matters anyway. He probably isn't even real.

"Hey!" His voice slices through her thoughts. "Pay attention when I'm talking."

She sighs, recognizing this shift in the dream. This is the part where the dream becomes a nightmare.

"You know how much power I have in here?" He asks with a tilt of the head. "A lot more than you do, Elena Gilbert. This is my curse you're under."

Elena thinks through her options. This is usually the part where she either fights back or submits. In the past, neither option ever ends well, but one is always less trouble. Unfortunately, she hates that option.

Making up her mind, she leaps out of her chair and snaps a chunk of wood off of its leg. She holds it firmly before bolting out of the cafeteria into the school hallway.

As each step slaps against the tile floor, she hears his laughter echoing around her.

"Look at you go," he sings.

Her ragged breaths start to become painful as she prays that this will be the time that she gets away. Just this once.

"You can't leave, Elena." Kai appears to her right, cold smile in place below a striking pair of eyes.

She shouts and stabs him, the wooden stake sinking into his chest. He screams, the sound sending chills crawling up her back.

"YES, I CAN AND I WILL!" Elena cries, enraged tears sliding down her cheeks. "I will leave, you son of a bitch!"

He laughs at her tears, "Not before I kill you, darling."

"You can't kill me, you're dead."

He wraps his fingers around the stake and slides it out of his chest with a sickening squish, and Elena feels dread sink into her stomach. His smile grows bigger, "That doesn't mean I can't try."

And as always, he takes the stake and slashes her throat.

Pain erupts everywhere and her vision slides out of focus.

And as always, everything goes black, and when her eyes open the nightmare starts all over again.

She's running from Kai again.

She'd stabbed in the face this time and laughed hysterically. Hey, she had to take it where she could get it.

Panting, she speeds down the hallway. In the back of her mind she wonders if she'll ever stop fighting these endless dreams.

Nope, she thinks. Let's not go there yet. Not when I still have fight left in me-

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Elena squeaks, eyes darting this way and that for the source of the new voice. It certainly wasn't Kai. Then a tingling sensation brushes her chest, causing her heart to patter.

Her ears strain as her legs come to a stop. Kai is nowhere to be seen and the unfamiliar voice still echoes. It sounded extremely. . . irritated. Although, she can't imagine how he'd be any more agitated than her.

Speaking of agitation:

"Did you think you could run from me? In here?" Kai says from behind her. His smooth, young face is stained with crimson.

She groans, "Could you just stop appearing out of nowhere like that?! It's getting old."

Kai grins, the white of his teeth shocking against the red, and quips, "So are your friends." His blue eyes twinkle.

Elena rolls her eyes, "I guess I walked right into that one."

"So what do you want to do, Elena?" He steps closer to her. She steps back. "Really think this time. Entertain me."

"I don't think I will. I think I'll just bore you to death. Maybe then you'll leave me alone."

"No," he says, not smiling anymore. "Oh, sweetie," He shakes his head at her as if she were a small child. "I'll never leave you alone."

A chill runs across her skin. She opens her mouth to reply, "You can go to hell-"

"Why can't you just be a normal dead person?!"

Elena jumps. There's that voice again. She looks at Kai, "Did you hear that?"

His dark eyebrows lower, eyes blank, "Hear what?"

"That voice. A man yelling about-"

His hand snaps up to close around her throat. She sees the shift in his jaw as he works his mouth into a smirk. "I think you're going a little nutty, Elena." She gags, shoving at his arm as he squeezes tighter. "Fine by me. You'll be so much more fun."

She stares into his cold, cold eyes as his fingers smother the air out of her. Her eyes roll back, the world turning black.

And the dream starts again.