CHAPTER EIGHT

Back at the basement of the Salvatore boarding house, Stefan watched through the barred window of the dungeon where he had Damon locked up. It had been hours since he had broken Damon's neck, and his brother was now wide awake. Awake, but clearly not himself. He observed, while Damon thrashed the place, flinging anything and everything he could get his hands on against the wall.

He closed his eyes, as he remembered the look on Damon's face earlier, when he tried to drain every bit of blood out of Elena. It was as if the Damon they knew had disappeared, and was replaced by an entirely different person. A shell of his former self. A monster with eyes darker than midnight. Stefan had wondered if his brother had become a ripper. He shuddered at the thought. As angry as he was at Damon at the moment, he wouldn't wish that vile curse of an existence upon anyone, especially not his own brother.

Ever since Damon awoke, Stefan had been looking for signs that his brother had come back as his old self. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead, he had to watch Damon rage against everything, and nothing in particular. He watched, as Damon violently and repeatedly pound on the walls, harming himself in the process. He listened as Damon growled and roared and snarled and howled, and emit other animalistic sounds. He still had yet to hear a human word to come out of Damon's mouth. He had never seen Damon in that state. His brother had pride himself on being in control...of not slipping over the edge. No, that man locked inside that room was not Damon.

"Damon..." Stefan called softly. His brother showed no signs of recognizing his own name. "Brother." he called again.

The sound of his voice had caught Damon's attention. He moved closer towards the door, panting and growling. His brother stared at him, his usual icy blue eyes were replaced by empty onyx orbs. Stefan wondered if this is what he himself had looked like when he was a ripper. He remembered the unexplainable fury, the uncontrollable blood lust, and the insatiable hunger. He pondered on the idea of Damon suffering the same fate, and the thought terrified him.

"What happened to you, Damon?" he whispered.

Damon merely looked at him, puzzled...as if not understanding a single word that he had said. Then, all of a sudden, his brother lunged at him through the small opening, and violently tried to grab his neck. But Stefan was quick to get out of his way. Without warning, he took the vervain dart he had in his pocket, and jammed the contents on Damon's arm, causing him to back off immediately. Stefan watched, as Damon's eyes gradually returned to it's normal blue color.

"Stefan...?" he spoke softly, before he slowly fell on the ground and lost his consciousness.

"I'm sorry, Brother." Stefan whispered. With a heavy heart, he took one last look at Damon, before he turned around and walked away from the basement.

Elena woke up to a start, her eyes slowly tried to adjust to her surroundings. She laid on a comfortable bed, in a room that she knew was not her own. Her clothes had been changed, although she had no idea by who. The place looked familiar to her. It took a while before it registered...she was at Bonnie's house, in Bonnie's room. Her senses was alerted when the door slowly opened.

"Hey there...you're awake." Bonnie greeted in a soft and soothing tone.

"Bonnie...how did I...?" Elena asked, confused.

"Stefan brought you here." Bonnie answered. "He had strict instructions to take care of you while he was gone." She averted her eyes. "He said that it's not safe for you to be living in the boarding house for the time being." she added.

Elena started to remember the events that transpired the previous night. "Damon!" she gasped and jolted upright, only to fall weakly back on the bed.

"Easy! You lost a lot of blood last night." Bonnie warned her.

Elena groaned and brought her hand to touch her jugular. The wound she suffered had since then healed. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the rest of what had happened. She recalled cradling Damon's lifeless body. She shuddered at the memory of Damon, dying in her arms. She remembered willing him back to life, bringing him back from the brink of death by feeding him her own blood. She remembered that horrifying look in his face when he couldn't stop himself from drinking her blood. And most of all, she remembered how Stefan had to stop his own brother, the only way he could.

"Oh my God! He broke his neck!" Elena exclaimed, as she sat up. Bonnie stopped her from getting out of bed. "Bonnie, I have to go to him. He needs me!" she said in a pleading voice.

"No, you need to stay here and recuperate." Bonnie told her.

"Damon needs me right now!" Elena replied.

"I don't give a damn what Damon needs! I care about you, Elena." Bonnie said. Elena was about to argue, but the sound of the doorbell silenced what she was going to say. "Stay here." Bonnie ordered her, before she left the room.

Bonnie went downstairs and walked towards the door. She looked through the peephole before she opened it. Outside was a perturbed-looking Stefan.

"How is she?" Stefan asked.

"Awake, worried, and stubborn." Bonnie answered. "She wants to see him." she informed Stefan. "Come on in." she told him.

"Well...just tell her that it isn't safe to be around Damon right now." Stefan said, as he stepped inside the house.

"Why don't you tell HER yourself?" Elena interjected, as she came down the stairs.

"Elena..." Stefan muttered.

"I told you to stay in the room." Bonnie said to her.

"I can't stay here." Elena shook her head. "I need to go to him. I need to know that he's okay." she told them.

"No, Elena...you need to stay away." Stefan contended.

"How is he?" Elena asked concernedly.

"Awake...and very angry." Stefan replied.

"Of course, he's angry! You snapped his neck!" Elena pointed out. "I mean, seriously Stefan...as if being staked wasn't bad enough!" she added.

"He was draining you of your blood, Elena! What the hell was I supposed to do?" Stefan defended himself. "Besides, I'm not talking just you standard anger here, Elena." he added.

"What do you mean?" It was Bonnie who asked.

"He's...not himself." Stefan answered. "He hasn't been since he awoke today. Hell, he wasn't himself when he recovered last night!" he told them, as he rubbed his hands all over his face in frustration. "I-I...I think he's gone Ripper." he said so softly, almost to himself.

"No...I don't believe you." Elena shook her head. "What reason could he possibly have to turn into a Ripper?" she asked incredulously.

"What reason did I have have to turn into one?" Stefan shot back. "Look, Elena. We don't know what really happened last night. Who was that mysterious guy Matt was talking about? Was he the one who staked Damon? Did Damon even fight back?" his questions just spilled out of him.

"Alright, everyone...calm down." Bonnie told them.

Stefan turned to the Bennett witch. "I need to talk to Matt and Jeremy. I have to ask them what they remember from last night. Do you know where they are?" he asked.

"They're both at work right now. I figured it was alright...keep Jeremy's head distracted from this Hunter business until I can find a spell for him. Matt's keeping a close eye on him." Bonnie informed them.

"There's really no shortage of problems coming our way, is there?" Elena sighed. She turned to face Stefan. "I really need to see Damon." she told him. She grabbed her coat and opened the door. Elena was surprised to see the man in front of Bonnie's porch.

"Ah...hello. I was just about to ring the bell." said Professor Atticus Shane.

"Professor Shane? What are you doing here?" Elena asked him.

"I called him." Bonnie confessed. "I figured we'd need his help regarding Jeremy's Hunter problem." she explained. "Please, come in." she told Shane.

Shane stepped inside the house. He noticed the unmistakable tension. "Nice to see you again, Miss Gilbert." he greeted Elena. "Did I come in at a bad time?" he asked.

"No, I was just leaving." Elena answered.

"Elena, no." Stefan blocked the door.

Shane looked at him. "Stefan Salvatore..." he said, getting a confused look from Stefan. "I met your brother, Damon, just recently. Quite a colorful character, to say the very least." he added.

"Not to be rude or anything, Professor, but I'm currently not in the mood to discuss my brother with you at the moment." Stefan replied icily.

"Stefan!" Bonnie chastised him.

"Is there a problem?" Shane asked.

"Nothing that concerns you." Stefan answered.

"Are you sure about that?" Shane insisted. "Perhaps, I could be of some assistance." he offered, with a mysterious smile.

~END OF CHAPTER EIGHT~

FOOTNOTES :

*I know, I know...weird way to end a short chapter.

*What is wrong with Damon you asked? And can Professor Shane help?

*Writing the next chapter as soon as I can.

*Many thanks for reading this chapter. If you liked it, please feel free to leave a review.