— — — — — —
"How long have I been down here?" Damon asked after draining the last drop from a blood bag, lying back against the cold floor of the basement cell.
"Not long. Barely half an hour," Jack replied casually, thinking of how messy things got. He already looked for Sarah, and yeah, she didn't go home.
"What the hell are you doing? Aren't you worried about Sarah's safety? And Stefan—you actually gave him vervain to use against me?" Damon shifted, propping himself against the wall as he threw sharp words at both of them.
"Why do you think you woke up so early in the first place? You'd better tell us where Sarah is if you want to avoid unnecessary pain," Jack warned.
"Forget it. If I spill it now, you think I'll still have a chance to get out of here?" Damon shot back, stubborn as ever.
"You talk, you might still have a shot. You stay silent, and what—do you think Stefan can really stop me if I decide to kill you?" Jack's tone turned threatening.
"In the Middle Ages, when vampires drew too much attention, it endangered the whole species. They weren't executed—they were restrained, given time to change." Stefan finally spoke, his voice calm but firm.
"So you're planning to keep me locked up down here forever?" Damon sneered at him.
"I'll inject you with enough vervain to keep you weak. No blood, no strength. Within a week, you'll be too drained to move, too weak to even speak. Your skin will dry out, turn leathery—you'll be like a mummy, no longer a danger to anyone. Once your body shuts down, I'll move you to the family crypt. Fifty years from now, we'll decide if you deserve to be let out." Stefan laid out his plan, partly as explanation to Jack.
"Nice plan. By then Elena will be old and gray, and you'll decide whether to release me or not. Real considerate," Damon mocked.
"Just tell us where Sarah is. Otherwise, you might not last those fifty years. You know I don't want you dead, but I won't be able to hold Jack back. Especially after you provoked him—messing with his housekeeper and taunting him right to his face," Stefan pressed.
"Sarah's fine. I sent her out on an errand. She'll be back in about a week." Damon finally gave in a little, realizing pushing Jack further wasn't smart. His punches had been meant to kill, and now with vervain in the mix, it was too risky to play games.
"You'd better not be lying. If she isn't back in seven days, Stefan can start planning your funeral," Jack said coldly. He knew pushing further wouldn't get answers, so he turned to leave.
"Oh, Stefan—don't even think about letting Damon out. If Sarah doesn't come back in seven days, I won't kill you, but don't expect Elena to stay in the dark about anything." Jack shot a sharp look at Stefan before walking out.
"My ring and necklace—where are they?" Damon called after him.
"Forget the ring—you won't be needing it. As for this necklace, isn't it Katherine's? Why do you have it?" Stefan pulled the piece out, eyeing it suspiciously.
"What if I told you it was a token of love between me and Katherine—would you believe me?" Damon smirked, relieved to see the necklace was still intact.
"Doesn't matter. You've only had one bag of animal blood—you're not going anywhere. As long as Sarah comes back safe in seven days, everything will settle down." Stefan pocketed the necklace, already planning to bury it with the ring at the old family estate.
"Stefan, I'm stronger than you think. Just remember that," Damon said, his voice weak but laced with defiance.
"You've always been stronger than I expected. But not stronger than vervain—we both know that. I'm sorry. It didn't have to come to this." Stefan turned and walked out.
"Then I'll give you a surprise, Stefan," Damon muttered, forcing his voice out as Stefan's back disappeared.
---
Four Days Later
"Where's Caroline?" Bonnie asked, looking around.
"There. Over there," Jack jerked his head toward the right.
Caroline was in full-on organizer mode, barking orders. "Tomorrow's Sexy Car Wash! The football team and some of the band are in—only the hottest, of course. I want sex appeal, people. It's for charity, so don't hold back!"
Caroline was busy rallying everyone for the event, acting like she hadn't even noticed Jack.
"You two fighting?" Elena asked quietly.
"Not really… just—there are things I don't know how to tell her," Jack admitted, exasperated.
He wasn't sure if he was just bad at lying or if Caroline's instincts were freakishly sharp, but every excuse he'd come up with over the past few days, she'd seen right through. Now she was so pissed she was pretending he didn't exist.
He had thought about telling her the truth, but he was scared it would shatter her world completely. So he was stuck in limbo.
"Hey there," Stefan said as he walked up.
Elena pretended not to see him, not even hearing his voice.
Women. Always women.
"What are you doing here at school?" Jack cut in. The weird tension between Elena and Stefan wasn't his concern—Sarah's life was.
"It's under control. Nothing to worry about," Stefan answered.
"Fine, handle it your way," Jack said, not pushing.
"I, uh… have to run. Somewhere else I need to be," Bonnie excused herself and slipped away.
"Alright, I need to go find Caroline again. Catch you later." Jack jogged off.
Of course, with Caroline's attention fully wrapped up in outfits and planning for tomorrow's event, she completely ignored him. Jack stuck around, pestering her for a while, but eventually gave up. With nothing else to do, he drove over to Stefan's place to check on Damon. If Stefan wasn't home, he figured he'd at least see how the "drying out" was going.
"Unlock it, Zach! Open the damn door!" Damon had his hand around Zach's throat, voice filled with venom.
"Tsk, tsk. What a lovely scene to walk into," Jack muttered, then lunged forward, prying Damon's grip off Zach with sheer force.
"Still scheming, huh Damon? Good thing I showed up—another minute and you might've actually made it." Jack said with a mocking grin.
Jack kept throwing insult after insult for a couple of minutes, but Damon stayed silent.
...
"Sorry—I didn't think stepping out for a moment would end up like this." Stefan rushed in after Zach called him.
"Whatever."
"Zach, best if you stay away from the basement for now. Damon's still got about three days before he's fully dried out. No need to tempt fate," Jack said, patting Zach's shoulder.
"How's things with your girlfriend? Managed to smooth things over?" Jack teased Stefan instead of blaming him.
"I was supposed to meet her at Grill Bar at four to explain. Looks like I'm late. I need to go." Stefan glanced at his watch and dashed off.
"Alright then. Stay safe, Zach," Jack said before heading home himself.
---
When he pulled into his driveway, he noticed a light on upstairs. Frowning, he parked and headed inside, climbing toward the lit room.
.
.
.