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Three months ago…
Stefan Salvatore packed his bags from theSalvatore mansion, currently owned by Jeremy Gilbert. His brother hatedhim…again. It's been a good run…Damon not hating him. For almost five goodyears, Damon didn't hate him. It felt good to have his big brother back but nowthat he's killed Damon's friend, Enso, the hatred returned. Stefan could stillfeel the stake in his chest, only a millimetre from his heart. If it wasn't forElena calling out to Damon, Stefan would not exist. "By the time I getback, you better be out of Mystic Falls." Damon growled at him beforeyanking out the stake. Elena had knelt down next to him with sympathy in hereyes, but that was all she could offer before taking off after her boyfriend.Stefan took one last look at his home, for over a century, before leaving. Thatday was the last day anyone had seen or heard from Stefan for three months.
Present day…
Caroline Forbes left message number 342 onStefan's cell phone. She didn't understand why Stefan wouldn't return hiscalls. Ignoring Jeremy, Matt, Tyler and anyone else, she understood, butCaroline is his best friend. She's been his confidante since he returned fromhis watery grave. Even if everyone in Mystic Falls turned their backs onStefan, Caroline would not. In fact, she had made that very clear to Elena andher boyfriend the day Stefan left by ignoring them. "Stefan, when I findyou, you better have the world's best excuse for why you haven't returned anyof my messages!" She threw her phone on the passenger seat of the car andstarted to head home for the day.
Caroline inserted the key to her house justas her mother, the sheriff, opened it, letting her in. "I take it youdidn't find him."
Caroline shook her head, worried, "Ihave bad feeling, mom. It's not like Stefan to make me worry like this. I mean,the last time he disappeared he was drowning over and over and over…"
"Hey, hey, hey…" Sheriff Forbessoothed her daughter, rubbing her back as she led her to the lounge room."I'm sure he's fine and you have a visitor."
Caroline stopped when she saw who it was."Elena." She said, not impressed at being ambushed.
Elena stood, hesitantly, from the couch."Hi Caroline." She gave Caroline an awkward smile.
The sheriff looked between the two of them,"I'll leave you two to talk." She rubbed her daughter's arm andwhispered, "Give her a chance."
Caroline rolled her eyes, "Fine."She mumbled and plopped herself down, opposite Elena. "Talk."
Elena sat back down, "Um…sooo…how haveyou been?" She knew it was a lame start but it was all she could come upwith. "I've missed you, Caroline." Caroline picked up a magazine andstarted flicking through it. Elena sighed, "Come on, Caroline, you can'tkeep ignoring me and Damon. Mystic Falls isn't very big."
Caroline didn't look up, "I've done apretty good job so far."
"Caroline, Enso was Damon's bestfriend…"
"And Stefan is his brother!"Caroline slammed the magazine down on the table, "And if you've just comehere to make excuses for your boyfriend, then you can just leave!"
"Caroline…"
"No! Don't even try, Elena."Caroline stood and shook her head at her in disgust, "You know, if it wasyou or Damon that had gone missing for three months, Stefan would've turned thewhole country upside down, trying to find you. Instead you're having sex withhis so-called brother, just like you did when he went missing last time!"
"That's not fair…I…"
"No, what's not fair is Stefan spentthe last five years loving and protecting you and what has it got him?"Caroline glared at her former best friend, "NOTHING!" She stormed outof the room with that, leaving Elena alone and feeling very guilty. WasCaroline right? Was she being selfish?
Deep in the woods of Mystic Falls…
Stefan laid chained to a stone slab deepunder the forest ground. Not long after leaving his home three months ago, hewas ambushed on the road on the way out of Mystic Falls. He remembered feelingas if his head was about to explode and then nothing. He woke up here in thecave, in this exact same spot and he remained here since, never seeing light.They were travellers and they wanted the location of his doppelganger. Theyneeded him dead. They tortured him daily, almost frying his brain each time,searching for the location, but Stefan wouldn't give in. He held on. He didn'tknow what the travellers had planned but he knew he couldn't allow them tosucceed, so he fought them, every time. He fought as hard as he could, but it'sbeen three months and between the torture, the vervain and the draining of hisblood, he was finding it harder and harder to not give in. The door to his cellopened. It was time again.
"We're going to try somethingdifferent today." Stefan couldn't help the stab of fear he felt at thetone of the voice.
Above ground, a chilling scream could beheard, if anyone was around, "NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"
Forbes's residence…
Caroline bolted up in her bed. Sweat randown her neck. She was shaking. Something woke her up. A feeling. A deep coldreaching down into her very soul. If she had any doubt that Stefan was introuble, those doubts had just been erased. Stefan was in trouble. Carolinereached for her phone and dialled a number. The person on the other end pickedup. "I need your help."