Chapter Four
There's a route 29 sign behind Stefan. He's walking, taking staggered steps towards a bar. He enters to find it empty besides an employee. "Hey, man. Last call was 4 hours ago. If you want some coffee, I could put some on," the girl said as he approached the bar counter. The patch on her top says Jo. Her name.
Stefan suddenly rushes in grabbing her to him and bites in her neck. She cries and groans in pain. He lets her go, blood covering his mouth and chin. He doesn't wipe it off. "Run," he tells her.
She staggers back, holding her bleeding neck. "Run!" He yelled at her. She scurried around the bar and leaves. Stefan grunts and gets this look in his eyes before he flashes to the doors. He opens them and looks around. She's nowhere to be seen.
Then suddenly the sun rises, Stefan gasp. His skin turning red and sizzling slowly. He drops down to his knees, groaning pain. On his right hand, his daylight ring is missing. And now he's burning faster.
"Ahhh!" He screamed.
***
I jumped, woken by that vivid dream. I stumbled out of bed, running to Damon's room. I jumped on his bed, nearly landing on him. "What the--Kenzie?" Damon yawned and I nodded.
He sat up, wiping his eyes. The comforter fell to his waist, revealing his naked chest. I waited patiently for him to wake up so I could tell him about my dream. "Hey. We were up all night. You're exhausted. Go back to sleep," Damon told me.
"I had a dream about Stefan," I said excitedly.
"Oh," he uttered.
"It was real. It was like I was there with him, Damon."
"What does that even mean?"
"I don't know... It was just so vivid. It had a red awning and this broken neon sign, and he was screaming in pain," I said.
"Well, should I go check in the attic, see if there's a crystal ball? Maybe you can conjure up an address."
I rolled my eyes, punching his shoulder playfully. Someone cleared their throat and we both looked over to find someone who looked just like me, leaning in the doorway. Ugh. Why her? And why now? "Route 29. Joe's Bar. I think I had the exact same dream," Katherine said.
"What is she doing here?" I asked.
Katherine smirked, "oh, he didn't tell you? He called me. Said Stefan was missing. And of course I came right over."
"So wait you both had the same dream?" He asked me, raising a brow.
"Apparently so. Route 29, yes. Jo was the name of the girl that works there though. I don't think that's what's it's called. All I saw was the word "bar" in big caps... He's in the middle of nowhere Damon," I said and he groaned.
"You two are both dreaming about my brother?" He grumbled into his pillow.
"Get up. We have to find him," I demanded.
***
"So I've found 9 bars along Route 29," I informed Katherine and Damon who were overlooking the map the latter of the two had retrieved. "Oh, and none of them are called Joe's," I smirked at Katherine.
"That was fast," Damon said.
"I don't have time to waste," I told him. "I know it sounds crazy that I'm following some psychic dream, but it's the only lead that we have."
"It doesn't sound crazy. It is crazy, but I'm open-minded. I know how to get to route 29 now. So let's go," Damon said.
"Shotgun!" Katherine exclaimed, raising her hand and I scoffed.
"You're not going," I told her.
"Do you really think that I want to take a road trip with you, America's most boring, self-righteous vampire?" She questioned.
"Well, good, because again, you're not fucking going," I snapped.
"I want to find Stefan just as much as you do--" she was saying with that stupid smirk. I rushed towards her, hand around her neck and pressed her to the wall.
"Stefan is mine," I growled. "And he doesn't give a damn about you Katherine. And no one gives a damn that you can't get over him after all these years of your pathetic little life. But you are going to stay out of my relationship."
She flipped us around, her arm to my throat. "You listen, I always have cared about him. Way before you were even born. So I'm going. And I'm going to save him. Do you really think you're strong enough to take on a witch? One that got the upper hand on Stefan. You're the child. And Damon and I shouldn't have to babysit," she spat.
My knee came up to her stomach. She grunted and let me go. Then I took a swing at her. She jumped me, pushing us both to the ground. "Hey, hey!" Damon yelled.
I pulled her by her hair, keeping her away from me. I rolled us over and she punched me. I gasped and ignored the pain. Her hand held my throat and my lip curled. She flipped us over and smashed my head the floor. I groaned in pain and managed to kick her off me. I got up and flashed over to her on the floor. She jumped to her feet, her hand grabbing the side of my head and pushing it into the wall.
I was dizzy for a second and she pulled me back out. She pushed my to the floor, standing over me with her foot to my throat. "I'm going--" she said.
I grabbed her ankle and yanked her down to me. I wasn't giving up just because she was hurting me. While she was on the ground we scrambled, throwing hits at one another. "You bitch!" She screamed as I bit her arm roughly. I managed to get on top, straddling her. Her hands wrapped around my throat but mine still reached the sides of her head. And just as she flipped us over I snapped her neck.
I panted and pushed her lip body off of me. I got up, wiping my bleeding mouth off. Damon stared at me in shock with raised brows. "You taught everyone that anger tends to make you stronger. And I sure as hell wasn't going to let her beat me. Especially thinking that her love for Stefan is equal, similar, or dare she thinks more than mine," I told him.
"Don't you think she has a point? She's stronger than both of us, Kenzie."
"Then you put her dead body in the trunk. Now let's go," I said.
***
"You sure you know what you're looking for? Last bar had a red awning and a neon sign," Damon said.
"I'll know when I see it," I told him, sending him a sharp look.
"Me, too," Katherine said.
"Didn't ask you," he replied.
"I'm just trying to make conversation. Anything to drown out the sound of eggshells breaking," Katherine said.
***
It was only two hours later when we got to the bar. The right bar. With a red awning and broken neon sign. And it did say "BAR" at the top of the building, which was in the middle of nowhere.
"Are we really just gonna leave her in the car?" I asked him. Katherine was sleeping right now. But still I didn't feel comfortable leaving her here. Not that I wanted her with us either.
"The only time she shuts up is when she's sleeping. I didn't want to disturb our peace and quiet," Damon said. "I thought you said this was the one."
"It is," I said. I let out a small breath, "It looks exactly like it did in the dream. Isn't that a little freaky?"
"Yeah. It's a lot of freaky," he told me before flashing me a reassuring smile. "Let's go see if Stef's inside."
I gulped and nodded. I lead the way, in a confident stride. Stefan had to be here. Upon entering I found it just like my fiancé did in the dream. Empty. Nothing but the bartender. "Can I get you something?" She asked us and Damon walked right up to the bar.
"Yeah, sure. Why don't you tell me what happened to your neck, Jo?" He asked and my eyes stopped looking around the room. I walked to his side. Jo. That was he name of her in the dream. Now her neck has a bandage. Like she was hit. Like in the dream. OMG!
"Some psycho attacked me, bit me, told me to run, so I did, and when I looked back, he was on fire," she said and my jaw clenched.
"He's not a psycho," I snapped. I reached across the bar, grabbing her by her chin while Damon through his hands up. "And then what happened? Where is he? Where is my man?" I asked, compelling her.
"Some woman shoved him into a truck, drove away," she croaked out.
"Did you know this woman?" Damon asked, moving my arm away to let her go.
"No," she answered. "She was driving Cam Peterson's truck. He lives about 10 miles down that dirt road out back. Here. Look like you two could use one of these."
She poured us both shots. "Hmm. I could. Thank you," he said. But he grabbed both and took one. Then he started coughing, dropping the other one and it spilled.
"Vervain," he coughed. I narrowed my eyes on the bartender. I could compel her so how was she serving us vervain.
My head snapped when I heard heels clicking. I looked over to see a woman walking into the center of the room.
"What did you do?" I accused
"I told her to pour him a drink or I'd kill her," the woman said.
"Nadia? What the hell are you doing here?" He asked her.
"You know her?" I asked. Suddenly Katherine was here. She froze at the door and the woman turned to spot her. I was planning my attack already. Snapping her neck and moving on.
"Which one of you is Katherine Pierce?" She asked, surprising me.
"She is," Katherine was quick to lie.
"Katherine is a compulsive liar, but I need her alive," Nadia mused.
Katherine and I shared a look before I rushed towards the woman. She easily avoided my advances and threw me across the room. But Katherine took the opportunity to pin her down and pressed her arm to her throat. "You two really do look exactly alike," she said.
Nadia then pushed Katherine off and then Katherine disappeared. Nadia followed after her then. "Wonderful. Now we've got a vampire bounty hunter to deal with," I scoffed. I was standing up and quite alright after nearly breaking the wall when I hit it.
"Let me guess. Eurobitch was not part of the dream," Damon sighed.
"I've never seen her before," I said, "but you have. Where? Who is she? Does she have something to do with Stefan?"
"Calm down. I don't know... I met her in Europe... Rebekah and I had a threesome with her--"
"Oh, my god. Ew."
"You should try it--"
"Fuck no," I spat. "Stefan would never want to. He'd never let any guy near me. And I'd kill a bitch if she waved at him. None the less had sex with him."
He rolled his eyes then. He straightened up and walked towards me. "Hey, I'm gonna find them two. I figure I should figure out what she's doing here. And why she wants Katherine. I don't even get why Katherine ran off. I'll figure it out. You find Stefan," he said.
"Wait. What? No," I said. "We don't have time for a detour, Damon. Stefan's hurt."
"That's Katherine," he said, checking his phone and ignoring me. "She said that the girl was strong. Katherine ran to get her away from us. She said she'll handle it. Text her once we find Stefan. She'll figure out what Nadia wants."
"Good. Now let's find Stefan."
"Bartender said 10 miles from here. Cam Peterson. Maybe Liz can get us an exact address--"
I had flashed away, finding the bartender hiding behind the bar, crouched down. I narrowed my eyes and stalked towards her. I yanked her to her feet and tilted my head slightly. "I'm gonna finish you just like Stefan was gonna," I whispered.
And I bit right into her. Not stopping until she was drained of blood. And there wasn't an ounce of vervain in her. She was a delicious snack. And I was definitely hungry. So that helped.
"Are you done?" Damon snapped. "We have to get rid of this body."
"I'll be in the car. I'll call Liz, hurry up."
***
Damon and I walked towards the cabin, him in front of I. You know, just in case this witch woman was waiting for our arrival and had a trap. He was stronger. He was being thrown under the bus. Not that he would have it any other way.
"Stefan. You couldn't call a brother?" Damon chuckled. And he sounded relieved.
"Nice to see you, too, Damon," I heard Stefan say. He sounded weak. But my heart skipped a beat and my arms moved on their own, shoving Damon to the side so I could see my fiancé.
"Stefan," I gasped. I covered my mouth, my eyes filling with tears. He was okay. He didn't burn in the sun. But...
"What the hell is going on here?" Damon asked for us both. Stefan was tied to a chair with vines or wire... Some combination of the two.
"Well, Silas' ex-girlfriend decided to come back from the other side," Stefan said as I walked towards him. I cupped his face in my hands and he smiled at me.
"Qetsi-whatever?" Damon asked.
"Hi, baby," Stefan whispered.
"I was going crazy without. 48 hours... Almost 72--" I was saying before I was cut off by a new voice.
"It's Qetsiyah," some feminine voice said. Stefan adverts his eyes from mine to around me, behind me. "Do you see why I want to change it, Stefan?" She asked.
I scoffed, "don't say his name. Ever again."
"You won't be able to break those vines. The spell won't release him until I get what I want," she said, ignoring my words and focused on my hands trying to pull this cord off of Stefan.
"I guess the rumors are true. You are a ray of sunshine," Damon said, watching her every move. She smirked slightly back at him. "Question: why is my brother wearing your compost pile?"
"I'm going to link Stefan to Silas."
In a flash I had her pinned to a wall. "You're not going to do anything. You're going to let him go," I stated.
"Kenzie!" Stefan shouted.
I was pushed by a force off her. And pressed to a wall. I couldn't move! I glared at her while Damon stood dumbfounded. He walked over to me, trying to peel me off the wall but t was no use.
"Casting a spell on his doppelganger will allow him to see what I have in store for him. Because he didn't find his peace. He's alone without his one true love," she said and I snorted.
"What doppelgänger?" Damon asked, giving up on me.
"Please, let her go," Stefan said weakly. I suddenly dropped to the ground. "Baby, sit down. Please? I'm okay."
"You're not okay, Stefan!" I yelled, but I did indeed sit on the couch to please him and put his mind at ease. "You've been missing! This little wench, stole you from me. And I will wring her little neck until she's blue in the face. And then I will snap her neck and cut her into small little pieces before tossing her in the same quarry Silas was thrown in."
The three of them stared at me in shock. Damon was the first to come back to reality. He's seen me like his the last few days. I think he was over it. "What doppelgänger? What does Stefan have to do with this?" Damon asked. "We only have 1 of the three doppelgängers here."
"Which shows me which doppelgänger is the one dating Stefan. The one who followed my little trail to find him," Quetsiyah smirked.
"Did you plant those dreams? What is it, some kind of, like, witch party trick?" Damon growled.
"Well, I'm just gonna get started," she said.
"Okay. Well, thanks for the hospitality, but we should really get going if we want to beat traffic," Damon said pulling at the vines around Stefan.
"Yup. Yeah. He's right," Stefan agreed.
"Probably don't want to get on my bad side," she warned them.
"You realize you're not the only one with a bad side, right?" Damon quipped.
"Aren't you brave?" She asked sarcastically.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked her, standing up.
"Stefan is Silas' doppelgänger. Silas cheated on me with Amara on our wedding day. So I killed the slut. Now the universe has been trying to tie their doppelgängers together. And it's worked. Stefan is with you... I needed a doppelgänger here to strengthen my connection to Silas. Part of him and a part of Amara. I'll be able to find him even in hell," she smirked.
"I'm not helping you. I don't want my fiancé possessed by your cheating ex," I said and she shrugged.
"You don't have a choice," she said. Suddenly I was pulled forward. Against my will and my control. Then she pulled a strand of hair. I was released from her hold and my fist flew out to punch her in the face. I landed the blow.
She screamed in anger and again I was pressed to an opposite wall. "Stefan has agreed to let me get this torture! So you stay out of this!" She yelled.
I wasn't the only one glued to the wall. Damon was right beside me, sending me daggers. "Stefan, tell me you didn't agree to anything she's planned," I said.
"I didn't mean it," Stefan said. "I don't even know if she can hold up her end of the deal. Can you?"
"Of course, Stefan. As long as you keep your bitch on a leash," she said.
I kicked against the all due to her snarky comment. "Hey! Watch it," Stefan warned her. She just smiled and circled him now. A concoction in a bowl in her hand.
"Sorry, handsome," she purred and my eyes widened with rage.
"Your dead, slut," I spat.
"Just do it, all right? Just get it over with. Do it," Stefan rushed her.
"No!" I screamed. "Don't touch him!"
Her hands pressed to his temples and she began saying the words to her spell. Stefan was groaning in pain immediately and sighing he first minute he was screaming in agony and pain. "What are you doing to my brother?" Damon asked.
"Frying Silas' brain so we could link his here. No one said it would be pretty," she answered and I bit my lip.
Stefan yelled and jerked in the chair. He was in so much pain. I closed my eyes, looking away. I couldn't watch him be hurt and tortured like that. I didn't open my eyes until the cries and screams stopped. I opened my eyes to see Stefan was... I guess unconscious. Asleep.
"All right. We're done here," Damon said and suddenly he was on the floor able to stand on his own.
"You're right. We're done. It worked," she replied.
"Stefan, Stefan! Stef?" Damon called, kneeling in front of his brother. Stefan didn't wake. Not even when Damon slapped his cheeks gently. "Damn it. Whatever you did to him, undo it."
"Relax. I just burned through his conscious mind. He'll wake eventually," she said. "I can keep him here. And keep him safe--"
"Over my dead body," I sneered. I was finally released from her magic.
"Now that he's linked to Silas, Silas can now have a front row seat to all the torture I'm going to bring," she said.
"Why are you even back?" I asked.
"Because all I could see was my hunters had all failed. So I came back to do it myself when your witch friend lowered the veil, I took the opportunity. But then you gave Silas the cure and killed him. I was already here. And I rather add to my revenge. Him being wherever he went, heaven or hell, is where he is alone. Because Amara isn't there. He was going to be stuck with me instead at the very least," she answered.
"What's your plan now? What do you have to show Silas?" Damon questioned.
"What I've done to his true love. And how he'll never have her. The universe has bonded you and Stefan together. And only a marriage will end the destiny. Marriage, ironic to the fact he ran out on the day of our wedding to share our immortality. She got it instead of I."
"When Stefan and I marry? No more doppelgängers?" I gasped.
"If you marry," she snorted and I narrowed my eyes on her. "But no more. You'll have ended the curse then."
"So is... Is that Stefan or is it going to be Silas?" I asked.
"It'll be Stefan. Until we find what I'm looking for," she said.
"We?" Damon scoffed.
"I need the anchor to the other side. The travelers have been hiding it for years. We must find it."
"But what is Silas going to do, being linked to Stefan?" I frowned.
"Nothing. He won't even be conscious of it until he's called forth. There's a few triggers that could bring him to have control of Stefan's body. But I have a necklace. Make sure he keeps it on. When it's green it's Stefan. If it's red, it's not. It's very simple. Saying "Amara" will control Silas. To bring him forth or push him away. Not that we need him around yet as I've mentioned," she said. "He's no use."
She then walked out the little cottage living the three of us alone. I dropped down next to Stefan, worried. "Stefan! Stefan! Hey!" I called out, undoing the vines finally. But he didn't wake. "Oh, no. Stefan, hey. Stefan, can you hear me? Stefan! Wake up. Oh god," I cried.
***
"The necklace is green. When he wakes we'll see what he knows, Kenzie," Damon told me.
We were home. Stefan was still unconscious. And I had him tucked into our bed. I needed him to wake. Needed to speak to him. And know he's okay. I was still more than worried. But I felt way better now that he was home with me.
"You're right," I sighed. As long as the necklace is green, it's Stefan. So when he wakes. I'll be alright. We will be alright.
A soft groan caught our attention. Damon and I both moved to Stefan's side of the bed. His eyes fluttered open and he stared at us. He sat up slowly, furrowing his brows now.
"Welcome back, brother," Damon was the first to speak.
"Stefan... We missed you," I whispered. Tears again in my eyes. "Baby, say something. Please."
He threw his legs over the side of the bed and Damon and I stepped back to give him some room. "Uh, I'm sorry. I... I have no idea who you people are," Stefan said.
My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. I looked down to the necklace. Green. Then I looked to Damon. Worried, shocked, enraged, and wounded. That's how I was feeling. I was a tornado of emotions. But the main one was heartbroken. He didn't remember me? At all?
~Picture: Kenzie and Damon in the bar
So Stefan has been found?! Katherine is back. And now Stefan has lost his memories. What is Kenzie going to do?
PS! I started a new book/short story/social media style -- Damon fanfic. Check it out. Quick updates on that coming to keep you occupied ☺️ It's called "Cousins"