[VD] 25 ~ 26: Vampire's Tomb

Ch 25: The Same Trick Won't Work Twice

— — — — — —

When Jack got back to the cabin, he sorted through the vervain that had arrived over the last two days. He saved a few stalks for himself and turned the rest into a concentrated vervain extract.

Besides making ten syringe weapons, he also prepared a few wooden stakes and about a dozen sharpened sticks—each about the thickness of a chopstick—and soaked them all in the remaining concentrated vervain. Tossing one of those toxin-soaked sticks into a vampire wouldn't necessarily kill them, but it would cripple them, slow their movements, and take away their ability to fight cleanly.

After finishing, Jack stayed the night in the cabin. Lying on the narrow bed, he felt his irritation growing. The world felt less and less like a place he belonged. The recent events had begun to change him.

When he first arrived, Caroline's influence had helped him fit in. But after the vampire incidents increased and his powers were exposed, Caroline had broken things off. Jack felt more alone than ever, like he had no place to call home.

"It's maddening." Whenever he thought of Caroline his head ached. It wasn't just that she'd moved on with someone else; it was that she had reasons he couldn't change. The one unchangeable fact was that he was immortal.

"Since Caroline's already let go like this, I've decided something," he muttered, turning over. "From now on I'll be a proper jerk. I'll live by three rules."

He finally settled on his plan: don't initiate, don't refuse, don't take responsibility.

"Women are no good..."

..

He'd been up half the night and woke late without the usual morning grump. In short, Jack woke up in the afternoon.

He stashed some of yesterday's weapons on him and left the rest in the cabin. He had intended to eat at a restaurant, but by the time he finished packing it was evening, so he went to a bar instead.

"Give me some fast food and bar snacks," he said, spotting Bonnie and Elena chatting as he walked in. He didn't join them and went straight to the counter to order.

"Annoying as hell," he muttered while eating, when he saw Damon go over to Bonnie. Jack wiped his mouth and stood to join them.

"What do you want?" Bonnie asked Damon, guarded.

"I think we should get to know each other again," Damon said.

"You tried to kill me," Bonnie shot back.

"But I didn't. If I'd really wanted you dead, you'd be dead already. Isn't that proof enough?" Damon parried.

"My kick was fast enough for that," Jack said as he approached, "but Damon, you've got nerve. Time's up. Stop trying to make me change my mind."

Jack stepped in beside Bonnie.

"You will attack me in public?" Damon sounded unconcerned.

"The same trick won't work twice, Damon."

"I said if you didn't leave when the time came, I'd kill you even if you were in public. buuut luckily I have this." Jack pulled a syringe of concentrated vervain from his pocket and, before Damon could react, plunged it into him. Jack was too tired for words anymore.

Damon crumpled but Jack moved so fast he made it look like he was helping. "Let's help our friend," he told Bonnie, assisting Damon in the car and motioning for her to follow.

"What are you planning to do, Jack?" Bonnie asked, unsure of how things were going.

"I want revenge for Sarah," Jack said as they walked, "but people like Damon, death might be the kindest thing. I'm thinking of drying him out and burying him alive. Too cruel?"

Bonnie blinked. "Why are you telling me this?"

Normally you didn't drag people into something like that or ask their opinion.

"Maybe I just wanted someone to talk to," Jack shrugged, tossing Damon into the backseat. He opened the passenger door for Bonnie. "Want to come?"

Bonnie hesitated, then went in.

...

One might wonder why Jack didn't just kill Damon right away. Wasn't that what he'd wanted all along?

Well… yeah. But after giving it some thought—and discovering that his new talismans activated when he killed vampires—he came up with a better idea.

Even though Jack hadn't watched The Vampire Diaries in his past life, but from YT shorts and random reels, he knew Damon was one of the main characters. So instead of killing him for just a single vampire point, why not use Damon as a magnet for other vampires? A guy like him was bound to have allies, secrets, or at least that main character aura that attracts trouble.

That way, Jack could farm points easily. His current goal was simple: unlock all twelve talismans and become an invincible god in this world.

But no plan ever lasts forever — before long, Jack would leave Mystic Falls and start hunting vampires elsewhere instead.

...

Later, at the secret cabin where Jack usually built his weapons…

"Bonnie, you and Damon are welcome," Jack said when they arrived. He wasn't sure if carrying Damon in would let him enter, so he invited them in.

"Take these vervain stalks," he told Bonnie, handing over what he'd saved. "Keep them in case you need them. Around Mystic Falls, only Stefan and I have any right now. I just ordered some."

"Thanks, Jack," Bonnie said, stowing the stalks to save for Caroline and the others.

"You're the first person I met in Mystic Falls, Bonnie," Jack said. "Think of this as a thank-you for the warm welcome on my first day."

He then injected Damon with another vervain syringe.

"So, where should we bury Damon?" Jack asked Bonnie.

"To be honest, I don't know. I've never done something like this," she said with an awkward smile.

"I know doing this isn't exactly noble, but considering what Damon did, it still feels insufficient. Maybe this isn't as bad as it sounds. You probably don't know everything." Jack told Bonnie about Damon's betrayals: how he'd toyed with Vicky, how he'd murdered Zack, how he'd turned Sarah into a vampire and then killed her; how he threatened him, and he even killed Tanner for no reason.

"Do you feel any remorse when I list all his crimes?" Jack crouched and flipped Damon over, staring down at him.

"I know Damon is hardly worth much, but Stefan—" Bonnie started, uneasy. The permanent torture of his brother might not sit well with Stefan.

"Don't bring up that hypocrite," Jack snapped. "If it weren't for him, I would've finished Damon long ago. He's the one who kept putting restrictions on me, letting Damon use Caroline as leverage. People who enable monsters are as hateful as the monsters themselves." Jack's anger at Stefan was no less than his hatred for Damon. He felt betrayed by anyone who helped Damon, no matter their excuses.

"I was thinking, after a few days when Damon is completely dried out, what if we bury him next to the church?" Jack asked.

"Why the church?" Bonnie frowned.

"Damon always wanted to rescue Katherine. Wouldn't burying him there help them reunite?" Jack's grin was wicked.

.

.

.

Ch 26: Vampire's Tomb

— — — — — — 

After Bonnie kept voicing her worries about the plan, Jack stopped pressing the issue—especially after noticing how uncomfortable she looked.

He bound Damon tightly and gave him another dose of vervain, just to make sure he wouldn't try anything.

"All right, I'm done," Jack said, brushing off his hands. "So, have you decided what you're wearing to the ball tonight?"

"It's a vintage-theme dance, so of course I'll wear period clothing," Bonnie replied.

"Okay. Want me to drop you home first, or go straight to the ball?" Jack asked from the driver's seat.

"Drop me home. My dress is there," she said.

"No problem.... Ahem, I don't actually know where you live." Jack floored it, then realized he'd never been to Bonnie's house.

Bonnie: "..."

---

By the time they arrived it was getting late, so Jack waited while Bonnie changed.

"How's it?" Bonnie asked, stepping out in a vintage dress.

"Honestly? I don't think that dress suits you," Jack said, staring at her hair and outfit. Something felt off.

Bonnie laughed and gave him a light smack. "Hey."

"To be frank, it's amazing on you, but I can't get into the whole vintage look. Maybe it's my taste," Jack explained.

"Fine, your excuse is accepted," Bonnie said, and they went in together as Jack drove her to the ball.

---

Some minutes later, they arrived.

"Hi, Caroline," Bonnie called as she spotted Caroline and went to greet her.

"Long time no see, Caroline," Jack thought, and decided it wouldn't be right to hang back. He followed Bonnie over.

"Jack, Bonnie, you two made it?" Caroline asked, a question in her tone.

"I gave Bonnie a lift when I saw her. I'm just going to grab something to eat," Jack went to the bar, ordered more food and a bottle of wine, and started eating.

A voice sounded behind him. "Hi, Jack."

He turned and saw Anna approaching. "I didn't expect you to come find me," he said.

"I had no choice. I need your help," Anna answered.

"Help? What a coincidence—I'm always happy to help vampires," Jack said with a serious tone, though inside he was laughing.

'You should be planning how to run, not asking me for help,' he thought, already figuring out how to capture Anna and learn how many vampires were involved.

"Jack, I know you took Damon away, maybe already killed him but I don't care about his fate. I'm different from him; I have never killed anyone in Mystic Falls. I only want to rescue my mother, who's locked under the Church. You accepted Stefan, so I thought maybe you're a decent person," Anna said.

"Don't bring up Stefan. I might kill him the next time I see him. My patience has run out," Jack said, waving a hand.

"And your vampire friend has probably killed a lot of people. Why should I help you? And there's even Logan—you turned him into a vampire, Anna. You're not innocent, so don't act like it."

"I admit I did that, but I had no other choice. I'm begging you," Anna pleaded.

"Wait, that guy is the vampire friend I just mentioned, right? He was with you last time." Jack glanced toward where Elena had gone after taking a call, heading toward an exit with a vampire following her.

"Damn Noah. He must have thought Elena and Katherine look the same and decided to hunt Elena," Anna said in a panic.

"Oh?" Jack looked amused. The more vampires, the better — he planned to kill as many as he could.

Next, he chased them into a classroom with Anna right behind him. Jack decided to hear her out — after all, this involved twenty-seven weak vampires buried underground. With Anna and the others included, he could unlock more talismans soon after getting all those V points.

"AHHHH—"

Noah was about to bite Elena when Jack used his speed to deliver a powerful kick. Normal strength never quite did it for him; the speed boost let him use his force to the fullest.

"Anna, stop him," Noah called, looking up and spotting Anna, then trying to go after Elena again.

"What are you thinking?" Jack shouted, then lunged and stabbed a wooden rod through Noah's abdomen. The stick had been soaked in vervain overnight and it burned Noah, leaving him immobilized.

"Elena." Stefan finally arrived and scooped Elena into his arms.

"You betrayed me, Anna," Noah yelled in fury even as he lay on the floor.

"You betrayed me, Noah. How many times did I tell you not to stir trouble? You kept doing it, so what could I do?" Anna said with a cold tone.

"He must die," Stefan said after recognizing Anna and piecing the situation together. He released Elena and moved toward Noah, planning to pull out the rod and finish him. The vervain burned Stefan when he touched it and he recoiled.

"I'll do it." Jack wanted to test whether killing a vampire would unlock a new Talisman or if he needed more kills.

So he didn't hesitate and drove the rod in, killing Noah.

Sadly, the fifth Talisman did not light up. Jack felt a sting of disappointment, but then felt something in his mind, a small section of the new Talisman had flickered. It seemed he needed to kill more vampires to unlock it.

"Ahem..."

"Now we need to talk. There are twenty-seven vampires in the Tomb. If those graves are opened it would be catastrophic for Mystic Falls. You have to give me a good reason to help," Jack said. He really needed to hear Anna's plan right now.

"I only want my mother. If we find her, we can leave Mystic Falls and whatever you do with the other vampires is your business," Anna said.

"No. We can't open the tombs and release them," Elena said.

"Jack. Don't trust what she's saying. If those twenty-seven vampires are released at once we won't be able to control them," Stefan warned.

"Oh? I thought you, like Damon, wanted to open the tomb. After all, Katherine is in there," Jack teased.

"I won't let you open the tomb. And the necklace that sealed them is destroyed. There's no way to open the tomb now," Stefan.

"There is another way. If we find the item, the witch can use it to open the tomb," Anna said, vague and evasive.

"Either say what you mean or get out of my face. And if you don't need my help, then why are you here?" Jack said bluntly.

"Emily's Grimoire. If we find Emily's Grimoire, the witch can read the entries and reverse the sealing," Anna blurted out.

"Why ask me for help?" Jack asked.

"Because you are powerful and hate vampires."

"Jack, I can't open the tomb while you're in the way. I have no choice but to ask you. Please, I only want to rescue my mother. She's been trapped in there for over a hundred years," Anna said, her voice breaking into a plea.

.

.

.