sugarandbite | debut | in the forest of the night

debut | in the forest of the night

Everything hurt.

Her skin felt like it was on fire. It was no use to try to wipe her face off on her jacket. The vervain was still on her clothes, making even the smallest attempts to clean herself off absolute agony.

Everything hurt.

It had become a litany, being repeated over and over again in Caroline’s head. She had to get out of here. She had to make it stop. Gripping the bars of the cage, she panted as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her skin burned, she couldn’t get a breath. Sobs shook her body, choking her, making her wonder if she could escape.

He wanted information, wanted to know how many vampires there were. She could hear the question, but it didn’t make sense. Her brain was a fog of pain, of fire, of agony. A scream escaped her throat, the painful sound tearing out of her as she slid down against the bars. Another squirt of vervain to her face and Caroline clawed at her skin. It wouldn’t get off.

“Why are you doing this to me?” It sounded as bad as she felt, but she had to know. Her throat was raw, her voice was gravelly and broken. There was so much blood and all of it belonged to her. For the first time in months the sight of it didn’t make her hungry. Kicking against the bars of the cage, she was begging as she tried to make him stay away. “Why are you doing this? Why?”

The tears were hot on her cheeks. She crawled backward, curling upon herself against the corner of the cage. A squeal of pain.

“You’re a vampire.” The guy sounded almost happy. It was sick. There was something in his hands and he was pointing it at her. “Why not?”

The dart pierced the skin of her neck. It burned. One hand still gripping the bars, she recoiled as she clawed at her neck. The burning, the pain. It was awful and it made her angry as tears blinded her. Pulling it free she kicked the bars again.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” He was mocking her. At that moment she wanted to be free, wanted to rip out his werewolf throat.

“Let me out!” Shaking the bars, she screamed as if she could break them down through sheer force of will. Her voice was cracking and she couldn’t see. All that could be done was to kick, to fight, to hold onto the bars and try to keep him away as she slumped further down on the floor. “Let me out!”

A howl of pain and another kick as she squeezed her eyes shut. There was a small blast of cool air, a shift in the way that the air smelled but she didn’t notice it right away. “Let me out!”

Exhausted and full of fear, anger and pain Caroline crumpled still half-heartedly kicking at the cage. Why were they doing this to her? It wasn’t fair. Sobs still shaking her body, her hands locked around the bars she tried to recover. Tried to prepare herself for more of the pain that was to come.

“Let me out.” The words came out as a harsh whisper. The warm air blew over her, telling her that her captor must have gone outside. She could hear noise, the voices of people, but she didn’t open her eyes. She just wanted out. She didn’t want to die there. Not again. “Let me...”

Words failed her, confusion seeping in through the pain at how it was both cold and warn, the air strangely sweet. But she didn’t open her eyes, couldn’t allow herself to look. Maybe she was dying, permanently this time. Maybe that wasn’t so bad. She just didn’t know. So she didn’t think about it.

Everything hurt, everything ached, but Caroline did nothing. She just held on tight to what was there and cried.

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She's on her way into the clinic when she hears it, the faint but unmistakable sound of someone crying. While Lexie has been here long enough to be used to any number of strange things that happen, this is new, this is unusual, and it's quiet enough around that she can't just ignore it. Someone could be hurt or in trouble, and if nobody else is going to do anything about it, then it's her responsibility to. It's as simple as that.

At first, she doesn't know what the source of the noise is, has to follow it down through the lab and first into the IPD office, then the room for holding cells. She doesn't recall anyone having been put in there, but that, she thinks, might be the very problem. The crying started so suddenly that there's no way she could have missed something like that.

Still, whatever she's prepared for, it isn't what she finds. The sight of the girl is, simply put, horrifying, and immediately, something inside her twists, face falling as she drops to a crouch. "Oh my God," she breathes, mostly to herself, then swallows hard to address the girl. "Hey, hey. Are you alright? I promise, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Another whimper escaped her. It was soft, mixed in with the tears that slid hotly down her cheeks. She had heard a door open and recoiled slightly against the noise. He was coming back. He was going to hurt her, but everything hurt so much already.Couldn't he just leave her alone? She just wanted to be left alone.

Her knuckles tightened momentarily on the bars, her body unable or unwilling to let them go just yet. They were something tangible that she could hold onto through the pain.

The sound of the woman's voice raised hackles of momentary alarm. Opening her eyes, her vision was blurry as she turned to look in the direction of the woman. "Please. Just let me out. I didn't do anything."

"No, I know, I know you didn't," Lexie says as reassuringly as possible, though she can't help the edge of urgency creeping into her tone. Opening the door will be easy enough — thank God she's the clinic's Council rep, really, and doesn't have to run and try to find someone else — but it's clear that there's so much more to this than just the bars the girl is behind, and she has no way of knowing yet how bad it will be. "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out, okay?"

Straightening, she presses her hand to the touchpad so it can read her fingerprints, the lock of the door clicking open a moment later. Not wanting to dislodge the girl's grip on the bars before she's ready, she doesn't pull the door open yet, instead just asking, "Do you need me to help you up?"

"Okay."

Her voice was soft, tears and pain cracking through her voice. Everything felt raw, aching and burning despite the fact that her captor had gone. With more effort than she cared to admit to, Caroline managed to force her fingers to let go of the bars. They screamed in pain at the sudden relaxation, a gasp escaping her as she pushed herself upright.

"I'm..." she trailed off, pulling her knees to her chest. Her movement caused the bullets to roll away from her, leaving little trails of blood in their wake. She wasn't fine at all. Lifting her chin, she stared up at the woman. "Could you?"

Lexie has to force herself to focus on the girl rather than the bullets as they roll away, the sight of them making her wonder just how much work there's going to be to do. She seems — well, not fine, nothing close to it, just more traumatized than injured, but there's never any telling what shock might have numbed, if she'll get to her feet and promptly fall down again, or pass out from blood loss or something like that.

Her first priority, though, is getting her out of there. Bending down just enough to hold her hands out, she steps closer. "Of course," she murmurs, as reassuringly as she can. "Here. I'm Lexie, and you're safe now."

"Lexie?" Her voice cracked again. Caroline stopped and licked her lips, trying to moisten them enough so that she could speak without pain. It didn't work.

Her head was throbbing. Everything felt fuzzy and too bright and far away. "Stefan misses you." She squinted, realising that this couldn't be the girl that Stefan had spoken about. They just had the same name. This woman looked familiar, like she had seen her face before even if she couldn't say where.

Cautiously, she reached out and placed her hands in Lexie's. "Am I? I'm..." Trailing off, she took a deep breath. "Caroline."

"Caroline," Lexie repeats, nodding as she tries carefully to help pull the girl to her feet. "That's my middle name." It's a useless sort of statement, but anything to keep Caroline engaged seems like a good idea, at least until she can get a better look at her and figure out just what she's dealing with. Much of what's being said doesn't make any sense to her, but there'll be time to figure that out, too. "I don't think I know anybody named Stefan. And yeah, yes, you're alright now, or you're going to be."

"Is it?"

Caroline was shaking slightly, everything about her that was usually so solid and put together felt like it was crumbling. Her voice sounded fragile and hollow, so full of the tears that were on her cheeks. Her knees cracked as she got to her feet and she winced at the movement. It had been a long time since she had stood.

"No, you wouldn't. I'm sorry." She had been wrong, confused by the change of place and what had happened to her. "He's my friend." Leaning against the woman, she let out of a soft sob. "Where am I?"

"You're —" Lexie starts, then pauses to draw in a breath, never quite sure how to say this. The circumstances don't make it any easier, the poor girl seeming to be falling apart; she almost doesn't want to know what happened to her, and at the same time, she can't help wondering. Keeping Caroline close, holding her steady, she keeps her voice as even as she can when she continues speaking. "You're on an island," she murmurs. "And whoever hurt you isn't going to get you here."

"What?"

That didn't make sense. Nothing had made sense today. Not the werewolves. Not the questions. Not the fact that they had pumped her full of bullets and vervain, had asked her questions that she couldn't answer. It just wasn't fair.

Through the blur of pain, Caroline searched for some sign on Lexie's face that the other woman was lying. There was nothing. No indication at all. She couldn't even hear the other woman's heart beat faster, giving her away. "How?" Her voice cracked again and she licked her lips. "How do you know? They could be waiting..." Her eyes darted to the doors. There was no way of knowing what was beyond them.

"Even if they are, they couldn't do anything. There are people who'd stop them," Lexie promises, carefully trying to lead Caroline the first few steps to the door. It's times like these — not that she's ever actually had another time like this — that she's grateful the IPD is right here. She'd be trying to reassure Caroline regardless, but these aren't just empty words. Sometimes, the notion of a blank slate can be really useful. "No one really knows how, but wherever you were a minute ago, you're not there now."

Caroline wanted to believe her. There was something about how she was being told this that made her want to believe. But too much had happened, too many bad things had been done to her and those she loved by people she had believed. There was no way of knowing that this wasn't going to be the same.

Licking her cracked lips, she winced with every moment. Her body wanted to stay still, to be allowed to curl up into a ball and pretend this wasn't happening. "There were supposed to be people to stop them before," she said, voice soft. "Where's this island? What is this place?"

"That's... sort of the thing," Lexie says, pulling a face, apologetic. "No one knows. No one knows how we get here, either, just that we do. I've been here a year now. It's weird, but it's a good place, I promise." That more than anything seems important to emphasize. Other details can be dealt with later. For now, she wants Caroline to feel safe above all else. She just hopes she can manage it without making things worse.

"Is it?"

The combination of fear, pain and exhaustion had combined in such a way that while Caroline was wary of what had happened, she wanted it to be true. All she wanted was to get the darts out of her skin, to curl up in her bed (or any bed) and cry. To wash away what had happened.

"Thank you for being here. I don't know how much longer I could have lasted."

"Oh, no, no, hey, you don't have to thank me," Lexie says quickly, shaking her head. She wants to say that she's just doing her job, but this doesn't really fall under her job description, and anyway, it's never really been that simple for her. She likes it too much, being able to help people, knowing that she's making a difference. "It's fine. Caroline, can you tell me if you're hurt at all?"

Caroline was too tired to explain that after the day that she has had, a little kindness goes an incredibly long way. It would have taken too much effort to form those words, to explain all of it.

Her hand slithered up towards her neck, shifting her hair out of the way. "He...there's something in my neck. And I don't know if I'm still bleeding. I can't smell it."

She could smell the blood, but it seemed strangely far away. Her mind no longer instantly went to how she could take a bite out of this woman, how just a little blood would make her feel better. All there was was the pain.

"Here," Lexie says, finally reaching the clinic, still carefully helping to steady Caroline. "Come sit, and I'll clean all this off, take a look and see what we need to do. You don't seem to be losing blood, at least, which is a really good thing." She isn't banking too much on that, though, remembering the way the bullet shells clattered against the floor. There could be some other explanation for it, but she's not in the business of taking chances with such things.

Allowing herself to be led, Caroline felt a shiver run down her spine. This place really was different from where she had been before. It wasn't a trailer in the middle of the woods, but rather had more in common with her high school.

Sitting down where she was told, she chewed nervously on her lower lip. Her fingers went to her neck, causing her to wince when they touched the sensitive skin. "Everything hurts. I...I can't remember how long I was there."

Edited 2011-10-10 19:51 (UTC)

"What did they do to you?" Lexie asks, brows furrowing with concern that isn't purely medically related. She's always been like this, a little too invested, and when this has only seemed all the more worrying with the more she hears, she can't really help it. There's nothing immediately eye-catching that calls for her attention; she ought to find out what Caroline can tell her before she does anything anyway. "And where's there?"

"He kept me in a cage." Caroline's voice came out small, her shoulders rolling forward slightly as she tried to both remain seated and to curl in upon herself. It wasn't exactly a bright moment in her life.

"Outside of Mystic Falls, Virginia. He kept me in a cage and he shot me. Then he would wait for me to heal and shoot me again. He would spray me with vervain and it would burn, then he'd shoot me with darts and..."

Her voice broke, a sob escaping her. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't be sorry," Lexie says quickly, giving one fervent shake of her head, though she can't mask the concern in her voice. A lot of it makes no sense — waiting for her to heal, and vervain, which sounds vaguely familiar but not anything she can place — but that isn't the point. At least it all makes it seem unlikely that there are any serious injuries she's overlooking. "So you were healing? You're not... shot now?"

Reflexively her hand went to her forehead, rubbing the bloodied spot where there had once been a hole. A slow nod as she winced in pain. Just because there was no gaping wound didn't make it any less painful.

"No, I'm not. I heal, but some things hurts. He was torturing me. For reason other than he could."

She had asked him. Begged to know the reason, but he had kept her there. Even though this woman was nice and she was out of the cage, that didn't make what had happened to her make anymore sense.

Inclined though Lexie is to believe in the persisting goodness of mankind or something like that, there are still moments when she has to wonder why that's so. This is one of them. Some people have just got to be exceptions to a rule, but it's no less awful to hear because of it, making her stomach turn. She's dealt with some awful things before, but this is in a class all its own. For a moment, she wants nothing more than to give Caroline a hug. She doesn't, instead just resting a hand gently on the girl's arm, as reassuring as she can be.

"I'm so sorry," she says, face falling a little. "I don't know why anyone would do that, at all. But we're gonna get you cleaned up, okay? And I can give you something for pain if there's anything that hurts."

Her reaction was to say that she was fine. To downplay the entire thing. Caroline might have been the one to explain exactly what had been happening to her, but she didn't want to make this woman feel worse. She had survived, which was the important thing right?

Then how come she wanted to cry? Another sob, her head bowing as she tried to mask the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "Okay. Thank you. I just. I don't know what I would do if you hadn't found me."

Lexie can't help herself then. Leaning forward a little, she wraps her arms lightly around the other girl, the embrace brief but heartfelt, and absolutely necessary, as far as she can tell. Whoever would have attacked her in such a way, it's still incomprehensible to her, but it's always been her job to make up for the part that comes after anyway. Sometimes, it can actually help being overly compassionate in her work.

"It's okay now," she promises, utterly serious, eyes wide. "Now, is there anything I can get for you?"

Caroline didn't know this woman. She only knew that her name was Lexie and that she was some sort of doctor. But she let herself be hugged, feeling a bit better at knowing that someone was there even if she had only just met her. It was nice. It made her feel a little less alone.

"Thank you," she said taking a deep breath to try to quell the sobs. "Um. I think I'll need help getting the darts out. And I should probably shower."

"Of course," Lexie says, nodding. "I need to grab a couple things — just to clean the marks with — but then I'll be right back, okay? And I'll show you to where you can shower." All things considered, it should be simple, which is good. Based on what she's seen and been told, it could be a hell of a lot worse, and no matter how much she enjoys her job, there's no pleasure to be found in treating serious injuries, especially under circumstances like Caroline's.

"Okay." Caroline nodded, chewing on her lower lip. Her fingers were knotted in her lap as she waited. She felt scared and small, uncertain about what was going on. Where was she going to go? What was this place? It was almost more than she could take. "I'll just wait here or something."

It takes Lexie only a moment to gather the things she needs, something to clean any wounds with and something to cover them. From the sound of it, she doesn't think they'll be too bad, but it doesn't hurt to be careful, not when the slightest missed thing could have disastrous results. Returning to Caroline's side, she summons up a thin smile. "Alright," she says. "You ready? This is probably going to sting, but I promise it'll be just fine."

Taking a deep breath, Caroline swallowed hard as she steeled herself for what was coming. Whatever it was, it couldn't compare with the agony of the last few hours. The sooner those things were out of her skin, the happier she would be.

"Yeah. I'm ready as I'll ever be."

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debut | in the forest of the night

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