Vampire Diaries 1. Chapter I

********Warnings: the following story contains explicit and violent content. Don't read if you can't handle.********

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><p><em>What if you woke up alone and far from home?<br>What if the world was no longer the place you used to know?  
>They thought they were the last humans left alive, when Klaus and Caroline met each other for the first time.<em>

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><p><strong>The last winter<strong>

_I_

The air was thick, so thick it was hard to breath even in his sleep. When he opened his eyes, the first thing Klaus saw was the same, old wall he saw every day, when he woke up in the cold cell of the prison. There was no one with him, which was weird, since he shared the room with another guy who had just arrived in jail. He was a quiet one who didn't speak a lot. His silence made the slow days pass even slower.

Klaus looked around himself. He was definitely awake, but something made him think he was still sleeping, and that this was just another one of his dreams. Maybe it was the utter silence. Maybe it was the strange glow that blurred his view. He stood up, and he noticed nobody was in the cell, but him. When he looked at the door, he didn't immediately notice the slight gap between it and the jamb, but when he did he realized it was open. Somehow, it was open. He was confused, but still suspicious.

He moved forward until his fingers pushed the door, and a creak followed the opening. When Klaus stepped out of the cell, he gave a quick look to the empty corridor. It was morning, and a weak, pale light came from the windows. No guards kept him from walking toward one of those windows, to look outside. He saw nothing but fog. A dense fog that didn't let him see the street below the building.

He proceeded, walking down the corridor that led him to the stairs. He didn't run. Somehow, he knew the place was utterly empty. His heartbeat was the only noise he could hear, along with his slow breathing.

Getting out of the jail wasn't hard. Nobody stopped him when he got in the street. When the cold fog embraced his body, shivers ran across his spine. He could hardly see what was hiding among the white, thick smoke, but he kept walking anyway. Anywhere was better than the jail, even though the creepy scenario wasn't comforting.

Klaus kept wondering if he was alone. Everything around him made him believe so. The sky above him was as white as the unconfined space he saw before his eyes. The dark, grey road under his feet was the only thing that guaranteed him he wasn't lost into an undefined reality.

He saw stains on the ground. They were red, and they looked like stains of blood. Then, as he glanced up, he noticed empty, little hospital beds on the side of the street. Everything was way too weird, to let him even wonder what the hell was happening. The only thing he knew, was that he had fallen asleep in his cell the night before, and he had woken up in a different place. Or maybe just a different dimension. Perhaps, he hadn't woken up at all, and he was dead. What if hell looked like a foggy road that led nowhere?

Suddenly, a noise interrupted the silence. Klaus didn't walking until his eyes glimpsed something. It was a girl. A blonde girl who's breathing was so fast and heavy, that he had noticed she was there before he could even see her. He couldn't see her face, because she was giving her back at him. Even though he couldn't clearly see her, he knew she was scared.

"Hey!" He called for her. The sound of his voice echoed, and it frightened the young, blonde girl. She finally turned to give him her eyes, but she appeared terrified as she met his look. She started running away from him, before Klaus could say or do anything else.

"No, wait!" He said in the vain attempt to stop her. He went after her, running fast to chase her. Maybe it wouldn't calm her down, but at least he would manage to stop her before she vanished through the dense fog, leaving him alone and with no answers to his questions.

The girl ran fast. She didn't know where she was going, and she found herself trapped in a blind alley. The fog hadn't let her notice the high metallic enclosure that stood in the middle of the street, blocking her passage. Her fingers entered the holes of the one she thought was her cage, and she violently kicked the metal in the attempt to open herself a way through.

Klaus reached her before she could try to hide herself. She was so noisy, it wouldn't be hard to find her. The girl turned toward him, and she showed him the knife she was holding, to put a distance between the two of them.

"Take another step and I'll cut your throat!" She threatened him. Klaus didn't dare to test the honesty of her threat. So he stood still, and he raised both his arms to show her his good intentions.

"I'm not here to hurt you, sweetheart, I promise you." He guaranteed her. The girl wasn't willing to believe to his words.

"Shut up and stay back!" She kept pointing her knife at him. Klaus rolled his eyes and pressed his lips, but he kept his arms raised.

"Listen, love, I see we started off on the wrong foot, but I guarantee you I have no interest in harming you. I can help you, if you let me. We can help each other getting out of this uncomfortable situation. But first, I need you to put down the knife." Klaus tried to persuade her. The girl shook her head, and she kept crying. That knife was the only thing that guaranteed her she would stay alive.

Suddenly, someone, or something, crashed against the metallic enclosure that kept her from running away. The girl screamed in terror, and she stepped forward as the thing behind her pushed her toward Klaus. Klaus grabbed her arm and pulled her behind his body, guided by his protective instinct. Other tears streamed down the girl's face as she saw the thing that was trying to break the enclosure to reach them. Klaus' eyes were wide open. He had never seen something like that. Whatever it was, it wasn't human. The thing was fierce, as tall as grown man, with black, rough skin and sharpen, black claws. It was extremely fast, and shrilling sounds and growls left its throat. He had no face, just a black mouth it opened widely every time it screamed.

Its claws had almost broke some pieces of metal, when Klaus grasped the knife the blonde girl was still holding, to stick it into the monster's head more than once, till his hand were covered in a black fluid, thicker than blood, and the monster fell to the ground. Maybe it was dead. Klaus immediately stepped back, and his eyes kept staring at the inhuman corpse. He could hardly believe what he had just seen was real.

The girl behind him was still crying, scared. She crossed her arms at her chest. She told herself that maybe she should trust that man. After all, she had no other choice. Klaus looked at her, to check if she was fine.

"Are you alright?" He asked. The blonde nodded, even though her face said another story. Klaus put his hand on her shoulder, and his eyes looked for any kind of wound or bruise on her skin. She seemed to be fine.

"What's your name?" He asked another question.

"Caroline." She said back in a frightened tone. She was struggling against her fear not to keep crying, but her whole body was still shaking.

"What happened to you, Caroline?" Klaus kept asking. Caroline shook her head, confused.

"I… I woke up in my room and everything was so weird. I went looking for my mom but she wasn't home. I… I thought I was alone but then I saw one of those things at the end of corridor and… I ran away before it killed me. I don't know where I am. I…" Another sob interrupted her speech. Klaus realized everything was more complicated than he had imagined. He cheered Caroline up, or at least he tried to, by putting his arms around her. Caroline found comfort in his hug, and she stayed with her head against his chest for a while.

"Shh, it's alright." He said. "We need to find a safe place before one of those things shows up again." He asserted. Caroline knew he was right, but was there any safe place left, somewhere in that unknown city? Even though she had woken up in her house, she wasn't sure she was still in Mystic Falls.

"Let's move." Klaus kept his arm around the blonde's shoulders, and he invited her to start walking. They proceeded through the fog, while Klaus tried to remember the streets he hadn't seen in a while. Many things had changed since the last time he had been free. Or at least, that was what he thought. He couldn't recognize anything around him. He saw nothing but desolation.

"Any idea of where we are?" Caroline asked, after some minutes of useless walk.

"Not really." Klaus admitted.

"It's so weird… Mystic Falls is just a small town." Klaus frowned as he heard her words.

"Mystic Falls?" He repeated. Caroline nodded.

"Yes. Mystic Falls, Virginia." She sounded pretty sure of what she was saying. Klaus stopped walking in the middle of the empty road. Caroline stopped along with him.

"What's the matter?" The girl asked. Klaus was still looking around himself, trying to remember or recognize some of the buildings that surrounded him. He sighed, before speaking again.

"When I woke up, about an hour ago, I was in New Orleans, Caroline." He finally said. Caroline thought it was simply impossible. New Orleans was far from Mystic Falls, and there was no possibility to go from a city to the other one in just an hour. Her lips were slightly parted, while her mind tried hard to find a logical solution to the problem. Truth was that there was no logic in the whole situation.

"It's impossible." She murmured. Klaus smiled, and Caroline wondered how he could possibly find it funny.

"Well, a fucking thing just tried to kill us and I'm pretty sure that whatever it was, it was far from being a human. I guess we need to redefine possible and impossible, sweetheart." He said. The fear in Caroline's eyes was clear. She was staring at the ground beneath her feet, when she and Klaus heard growls coming from the end of the road, where the fog didn't allow their eyes to see.

"Let's go." Klaus took Caroline's arm, and he made her walk with him. He broke the frontal window of one of those houses at the side of the street, to put his arm in an open the door from the inside. Once it got opened, he blocked Caroline from taking a step forward.

"Stay behind me." He told her. He was still holding her knife, when he stepped before her into the house. Nobody was there, and all the mess made him believe the place had been abandoned months ago, perhaps years. The light that came from the dirty windows offered Klaus and Caroline a clear view of the place around them. Klaus checked the second floor, and once he made sure it was empty, he came back to Caroline, who hadn't followed his order to stay there in the living room, and had already checked the small basement.

"The basement is clean." She informed him.

"I told you to stay here." He rebuked her. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, daddy." She sounded sarcastic. Then, she extended her hand toward Klaus. "May I have my knife back, now?" She demanded. Klaus smirked, and he hid the knife in his belt.

"Actually I like it, and I think I'm going to keep it." He teased her. Caroline crossed her arms at her chest.

"Idiot." She grumbled, and she told herself she would get another knife from the kitchen, so she went looking for one. Klaus followed her.

"My name is Klaus." He informed her. Caroline wasn't in the mood to start a conversation, so she ignored him and she kept rummaging through the objects in the kitchen's drawers. She couldn't understand how he could be so cheerful after what had happened to them.

"Nice." She pressed her lips, saying the word just to make him stop talking.

"I saved your life, love, you should be more grateful." The sly smirk didn't leave his mouth. Caroline glared at him.

"You didn't save my life. And stop calling me that." Love. She hated it.

"Sorry, sweetheart." Klaus kept teasing her, and Caroline rolled her eyes again. She didn't ask him to stop calling her sweetheart, because she understood he would constantly find a new way to bother her.

"I need to use the bathroom, Klaus. You know, ladies' things. Will you be so nice not to follow me there?" She faked a smile. Klaus extended his arm to show her the way to the bathroom.

"I'll be right here, waiting for you." He smiled. Caroline passed by him, and she tried to keep herself from smiling, even when Klaus couldn't see her face anymore. He was deeply annoying, but there was something she liked about his obstinacy. Klaus observed her from a distance, as she walked away from him. She was the first woman he saw in a while, and she was ravishing.

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><p><strong>Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading. This is the first chapter of my new story. It will be dark (as usual, as you can see I enjoy writing dark fics), but I promise you there will be a a bit of fluff and, of course, smut! <strong>

**I wrote a good part of the story already, so I think I will update every week if I get a good feedback (at least 20 reviews per chapter). **

**Shall I continue the story? Yes or no? REVIEW to let me know your thoughts! :)**

**Ilaria.**


	2. Chapter II

********Warnings: the following story contains explicit and violent content. Don't read if you can't handle.********

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><p><strong>The last winter<strong>

_II_

It had started snowing. Snow was rare in New Orleans. Klaus was more convinced of the fact he was no longer in Nola. He was looking at the street outside the window, while Caroline was snooping around the house, trying to find something related to the previous owners of the abandoned place. All the closets were full of personal objects and clothes. Whoever had lived there hadn't taken many things before leaving. It was like the whole world had suddenly stopped, and people had disappeared for no reason. But the world hadn't stopped, and Klaus and Caroline were not alone. Those monsters were still out there, and nobody could know if there were other kind of creatures hiding among the fog.

Caroline tried to use the phone, but any effort was vain. Technology didn't work. Apparently, she was trapped in a place she didn't know, in a city she didn't know, with a man she had never seen before.

She found no pictures or letters of the family who had lived there. At first, she thought that maybe they had taken with them all the most important memories. But that was just a theory, and it was hard to believe something so simple in such a complex reality.

When the girl climbed down the stairs to get to the first floor, she noticed Klaus was still lost in his thoughts. She was sorry she had to interrupt them.

"Phones don't work." She informed him. "And I haven't found anything special. No photos, no diaries." She said. Klaus stood still and nodded, pressing his lips.

"Just as I thought." He murmured. Caroline thought about it, staring at the floor for a brief while.

"Do you think somebody actually lived here?" She suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… houses are full of memories. And all I've seen were just objects and clean clothes." She made him notice.

"Everything looks so… fake." Even that silence, sounded unreal. It was like they had both fallen into the oblivion. Suddenly, something made Caroline open her eyes a little wider.

"Maybe we're dead!" She guessed. Her assumption made Klaus giggle.

"And why did we end up in hell together?" He asked. Caroline focused on the question and tried hard to find an answer. Klaus was amused by her dedication. He believed she was a stubborn one.

"I don't know about you, but I'm a good person. Well, the last time I went to church I was twelve, but I don't think God sends to hell those who don't go to church every Sunday." Caroline began to speak. When she started, she always spoke a lot. Klaus smiled again.

"Maybe we're in purgatory." She came to that conclusion. Yes, it must be purgatory. She told herself.

"It doesn't snow in purgatory." Klaus told her, as he returned looking through the window. Caroline frowned, and she reached his side to give a look to the soft flakes that fell from the white sky and crashed gently to the ground.

"However, Dante's inferno is made of ice at its center." He said. Caroline sighed.

"I'm still a good person, and I don't deserve to be at the center of hell." She crossed her arms at her chest, upset with God's decision.

"It's getting dark. Go upstairs and make sure every window is locked. I'll make a fire." Klaus walked toward the fireplace to strike one of the matches he found in a pack on the chimney piece. Caroline did as he said. She made sure every window of the second floor was locked. Judging by one of the room's design, she assumed a teenager had lived there. She opened the closet and looked for nice dresses. She wouldn't wear the same clothes forever, not even in hell.

"Some people's sense of style is an insult to the fashion world." Caroline complained as she climbed down the stairs.

"At least, I found some decent shirts and jeans." She said out loud, even though she was talking to herself. Klaus sat before the fire, and Caroline did the same to warm her body up. Their eyes stared at the flames and they remained silent for a while, until Klaus turned his face toward her to admire Caroline's profile.

"I can get you a blanket if you're cold, sweetheart." His voice interrupted her thoughts. Caroline turned to give him the eyes, and she smiled in response to his kindness.

"I'm fine, thank you." She said back, keeping her knees close to her chest, and her arms around her knees. Klaus returned watching the flames.

"Do you think they're all dead?" Caroline asked, suddenly. "I mean… our family and friends." She kept saying.

"If they're not dead yet, they'll probably die soon." Klaus affirmed with cold, detached pragmatism in his tone, without taking his eyes off the fire.

"Do you have a family?" Caroline asked. Klaus' expression didn't change. He didn't look sad, nor melancholic. He just appeared lost in his thoughts.

"Everybody has one." He responded. Caroline sighed, curving down her lips while thinking.

"Well, biologically speaking, yes. But do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Three brothers and a sister." Klaus affirmed. Caroline suddenly became sad. It was like Klaus already knew they were all dead. She began to think about the possibility of not seeing her mom anymore, and she felt pain in her chest.

"What about you?" This time, it was Klaus to make the question.

"I'm an only child." Caroline sighed. "I've always wanted a sister, but my parents divorced when I was five and they never found love again. My mother is always busy with her work. She's a sheriff." She explained with a soft smile on her lips. Her mother was a badass, and she was always proud of her.

"And you? What do you do?" Klaus' curiosity was sincere.

"Medicine student. First year of college." Caroline raised her chin, proudly. Klaus smirked.

"Impressive." He said. He thought she had to be nineteen, perhaps twenty. Anyway, she looked pretty younger than him, who was twenty eight.

"Let me guess, you're a soldier!" Caroline exclaimed, and Klaus frowned.

"Oh, love, I'm way too smart to risk my life for the country." He affirmed.

"Well, you look strong. And you killed that thing by sticking a knife in its head. Not many people would be so resolute before death. So, perhaps you're a professional killer." Caroline giggled. Klaus smirked again.

"You'll never know, love." He teased her.

"C'mon! Tell me the truth!" She insisted. Klaus couldn't say no to such a cute face.

"I'm one of those guys you don't find in a campus. One of those guys who cute, innocent medicine students avoid." He looked her in the eyes, with his lips still curved in a sly smile. Caroline bit her lower lip, then she glanced down. She was still smiling, when she returned looking at the fire before her. Klaus kept observing her. She was stunning. He didn't think it just because she was the first woman he saw after two years spent in jail. She really was beautiful.

"We should eat. I'll try to find some food." Caroline told him before walking toward the kitchen. Klaus watched her while she walked away. He couldn't even remember the last time someone had made him dinner, and he enjoyed admiring Caroline while she was so focused on cooking the last eggs she found in the fridge. They didn't have much to eat, to wear, or to use in order to protect themselves. They had to leave that place in order to find something useful to their survival, even if that meant exposing themselves to the possibility of encountering their death.

"Dinner is ready!" Caroline had already set the table. Or at least, she had tried to make it look a little less empty. When Klaus got into the kitchen, he remained still by the door, with a lost expression stuck on his face.

"What?" Caroline asked, starting to eat her food. Klaus shook his head in response, and he sat before her.

"I know it's not much, but it's all we have."

"It's perfect." Klaus responded. Nobody had done anything nice for him in years. He was just not used to it.

"I'll leave early in the morning, tomorrow." Klaus started, and Caroline immediately put her blue eyes on him, concerned.

"Seriously?" She exclaimed.

"I'll get us some food, medicines, weapons. You'll stay here." He said. Caroline didn't seem fine with Klaus' decision.

"That's so not happening. I'll come with you." She affirmed. Klaus sighed.

"It's dangerous out there, sweetheart. I'd rather you stayed where it's safe." He insisted. Caroline rolled her eyes, and she chewed the food in her mouth with an arrogant look on her face.

"And I'd rather you stopped acting like I was the harmless, weak girl who needs a man to survive." Caroline faked a smile, and then she returned eating.

"Like it or not, I'll come with you." She finished her sentence. Klaus kept his eyes on her for a while, and he decided not to insist. Judging by her temper, making her change her mind was quite difficult.

"Alright, you made your point. Looks like I can't do much to make you change your mind." He said.

"Right, there's nothing you can do." Caroline smiled again. "You know, I'm stronger than you think." She insisted. Klaus smirked.

"I'm sure you are strong, love. And you're also impressively smart. I like you, but I like you alive." Caroline wondered why he was being so nice. He didn't even know her, and he seemed to care about her safety. She thought he was nice, kind, extremely good looking. Yet, she wanted to fight for herself, and to stay alive thanks to her skills. They looked into each other's eyes until Caroline glanced down, smiling shyly.

"We'll make a good team, you and I." Caroline returned watching him with her lips curved in a bright smile. Klaus admired her optimism. They were lost in the middle of nowhere, perhaps they were already dead - or maybe they were about to die - but Caroline gave him hope. She had a natural light inside, which made her so easy to like.

When they finished dinner, Caroline yawned. Her tiredness made it hard to keep her eyes open, but fear and anxiety made her mind refuse to rest.

"You should go to bed. I'll sleep on the couch." Klaus lay down on the couch before the fireplace. He put his arms under his head, and Caroline's lips slightly parted in admiration of his biceps. She blushed. Or at least, she thought her cheeks were becoming way too rosy. So, she turned on the other side, to hide her face from Klaus.

"Yes, good idea." Caroline smiled, as she returned looking at him. She crossed her arms at her chest, trying so hard not to look at his arms again. Klaus smirked, seeing the clumsiness in her actions.

"Goodnight, love." He said. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Stop calling me that." She walked away while Klaus' eyes were still stuck on her. He kept watching her until she climbed the stairs to reach the bedroom, where she would spend the night. When Caroline lay under the blankets of the bed, she started thinking about all the things that had happened, and fear began to torment her. She couldn't close her eyes, because if she closed them, it would get dark all around. The horrendous images of the monsters she had seen into her house, and then out in the street, were so vivid in her mind.

She returned to thinking about her mom, and all her friends. She kept asking herself where they were, if they were alive, and if they knew she was stuck into a paranormal dimension in which bloodthirsty monsters were real. When tears started streaming down her cheeks, she cried silently, not to be heard by Klaus. Klaus made her feel safe, but not enough. Caroline was still afraid to die.

Klaus knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. But at least he would try. He needed strength to fight, and remain alive. Even though he didn't know what the hell was going on, even though death wasn't an idyllic perspective, he wasn't sorry all that bloody mess was happening. After all, the court had sentenced him to thirty years of detention. He had nothing to lose. Perhaps he would die soon. But at least, he would die as a free man.

"Klaus?" Suddenly, a voice took his mind of his thoughts. He raised his head a bit, just to see Caroline standing on the last step of the staircase.

"Yes?" He asked. She looked embarrassed, fragile.

"I can't fall asleep." She told him. She refused to reveal him she was afraid to be alone, but Klaus knew it. Caroline glanced down. "I was wondering if there's some space left for me on the couch." She murmured. Klaus remained silent for a brief while, asking himself if Caroline really meant what he had just heard. He would never refuse to sleep with her – who would? – but sleeping so close to a girl after years since the last time, was a big deal.

"Sure." He said back, and he left some space for her, lying on his right side. Caroline moved forward, proceeding slowly toward him. Awkwardly, she sat on the edge of the couch, and then she lay down with her back against Klaus' chest. Klaus lips parted slightly, as he felt her extremely close to him. Caroline gazed at the fire before her. With both her hands under the right side of her face, she curled up against Klaus, finding shelter in his arms. In fact, Klaus had put his left arm around the girl, maybe in the attempt to keep her warm.

Caroline noticed how tense he was. She thought that maybe he was always like that. Klaus was just trying so hard to distract his mind from the dirty thoughts that had come as Caroline had pressed herself against him. Was she testing his self-control?

"Goodnight, Klaus." She whispered before closing her eyes and sleep.

Next morning, when Klaus woke up, he saw the weak flame waving in the fireplace. It was cold, and the pale light came from the locked windows of the first floor. Caroline was still sleeping, all curled up against him. When he moved to stand up, he tried not wake her. He looked outside one of the windows, and he saw nothing but thick fog. He went to the kitchen to make coffee, and when Caroline slowly opened her eyes, she could smell the delicious aroma. She looked around herself, and remembered she was stuck there. Now, she was pretty sure she wasn't living a nightmare. The hell was real.

"Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?" Klaus smiled, and he gave her a cup. Caroline smiled back.

"I've never slept better." She said back, sarcastically. She sat and started drinking her coffee.

"We'll leave in a few minutes." He told her. She knew they had to leave. Somehow, they had to try to survive. She simply nodded, and noticed the knives in Klaus' belt.

"May I have one those?" She demanded, extending her hand toward him, who was sitting beside her. Klaus sighed, then he handed her one of the knives.

"Be careful. Don't cut your fingers." He recommended. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Chill, daddy. I know how to use a knife." She said back, while playing with the sharpen blade. Klaus was sceptical.

"Who's the serial killer, now?" He teased her. Caroline looked at him, strictly. Seriously? She thought. When she returned to watching the knife, she hid a smile. She didn't want to let him win, so she would try to remain serious anytime he fooled her.

"Ready to go out there?" Klaus asked, once they both finished their coffee. Caroline nodded.

"I just need to pee first." She admitted.

"I was expecting a heroic answer." He complained. Caroline bit her lower lip, then she turned toward him, and she got closer to his face.

"I was born ready, Klaus." She smiled. "But first… I really have to pee." Klaus' foolish smile remained on his lips, even when Caroline disappeared behind the door of the bathroom. He liked her, that was why he tried so hard to protect her. When Caroline showed up again, Klaus noticed she had worn the new pair of jeans she had found in the bedroom closet. She had a grey scarf around her neck, and her blonde hair were tied up in a ponytail. Some locks fell at the sides of her beautiful face. She held the knife in her hand, tightly, than she walked toward Klaus. He was waiting with his back against the wall, right by the door.

"We can go." She told him, firmly. Klaus nodded. She reached his side, and she put her hand on his one when he was about to open the door.

"We'll make it through." Her sweet tone gave him hope. They looked into each other's eyes. Klaus nodded one last time, before opening the door, and letting the cold fog hit their skin and swallow their bodies.

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><p><strong>Hello guys! Thank you so much for the response to the first chapter. I hope you liked this one. Some of you might already know it but I fell from horse a few days ago and I was unable to write because of the headache, but now it's gone and I'll return updating all my fics <strong>**regularly****. **

**Klaus and Caroline will end up in troubles in the next chapter. ;) **

**For those who asked: yes, other characters are going to appear soon and they will be part of the story, but I'll focus on Klaus and Caroline at least till chapter 5. Who would you like to see in this fic? **

**Let me know your thoughts by leaving a REVIEW! More reviews = faster update.**

**A big thanks to ellerose77 for beta-reading this story! **

**Ilaria.**


	3. Chapter III

**The last winter **

_III_

It was so cold that Caroline felt her lips burning. Her pale skin was whiter, surrounded by the thick fog that made it hard to see what was waiting for her at the end of the road. Klaus was walking by her side, perhaps a few steps further. They were both holding their knives, as they proceeded slowly toward nowhere. They were looking for a store where they could find weapons and food. Caroline was carrying an empty bag where they would put anything they needed, and Klaus had another backpack for the weapons.

"Where do we go?" Caroline asked, as the fog let her see that they were in the middle of a crossroads.

"Just keep going." Klaus took her arm, to make her take the direction he chose. There were no road signs. It was like all those streets were unnamed, just as the city they were in. It was all so quiet around them, but the apparent peace was unreal. The silence was tense, and louder than a thousand thunders.

Suddenly, when Klaus noticed a store on the side of the road, the two of them proceeded carefully toward it. As with many other stores along the road, it was pretty empty and messed up. As they stepped in, Caroline's shoe hit something on the floor. It's was a gun. They'd just entered a munitions store.

"Looks like somebody has already been here." The girl noticed. Klaus didn't waste time looking around himself, he just opened his backpack and started throwing inside whatever seemed to be useful. Then, he took a rifle and put some bullets inside. He did the same with a gun that he handed to Caroline. The blonde took the weapon, and observed it with a curious, but confused look in her eyes.

"Have you ever shot before?" Klaus asked. Caroline thought about it.

"Well, yes. I mean, at the luna park." She sounded uncertain. Judging by the look in Klaus' eyes, he wasn't taking her seriously.

"What? I did pretty well. I won a giant teddy bear." Caroline defended herself from Klaus' judgment. Klaus raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"Okay then, if you won a teddy bear you must be good." He teased her, faking a serious tone. Caroline gave him a challenging glance, and she crossed her arms at her chest after she curved her head on one side. Klaus smirked. He couldn't stop himself from teasing her. When they left the store, Caroline followed him down the street. She felt a little safer, now that she held a gun in her hand. Every now and then, stains of red blood appeared on the grey ground.

When a neon light shone through the fog before their eyes, Klaus and Caroline walked toward it. The weak, blue light turned on and off, they could hear the noise of its electricity running though the cables. When they both got close enough, they read the sign. It was a supermarket.

"Shall we go inside?" Caroline asked, hesitating. That place looked creepy.

"Do we have another choice?" Klaus asked in response. Caroline sighed. They didn't, they wanted to survive.

"Stay back." Klaus took a step ahead, and he opened the entrance's door. Caroline did as he said, and she walked behind him, holding her gun tightly. Klaus was ready to shoot, in case he saw any suspicious movement inside the store. They proceeded slowly. Caroline's heart beat fast, and her breathing was short. She was trying not to make any noise.

Once they inspected a good part of the store, they both came to the conclusion that it was empty.

"Let's take whatever we need, and get out of here." Klaus told Caroline, who started throwing in her bag canned food, water, medical bandages and other medical tools – or any kind of object that looked like a medical tool - she found in the cosmetic department. Klaus took some batteries, a few flashlights and other essential things.

"Did you take water?" Caroline asked. Klaus checked in the backpack.

"No water, just whiskey." Klaus said. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Seriously?" She complained, and she kept walking among the shelves.

"We need alcohol to warm us up, love." He explained with a smirk on his face. Suddenly, a dirty thought made Caroline blush. She rebuked herself, and she bit her lower lip. Luckily for her, Klaus was right behind her, and couldn't see her face. As she went around the corner, the blood suddenly froze in her veins. Her body became tense as stone, and her blue eyes remained stuck on the horrendous creatures she saw before her. She was unable to speak, or breathe. Fear paralyzed her. Klaus saw them after Caroline, and he immediately pulled her behind his body.

"Holy shit. Run." He told her, as he was still pulling her by her shirt, to make her run away toward the exit. As his voice broke the silence, one of the creatures turned toward them. It saw them moving, and a fierce, wrathful growl echoed in the store. Its noise made those of his kind became aware of the two human's presence.

"Run!" Klaus repeated. Everything happened so fast, that Caroline found herself running toward the exit without even realizing what she was doing, or realizing what kind of emotion guided her actions. Was it fear? Or natural, survival instinct? She ran fast, until she felt Klaus' hand grabbing her arm tightly. He blocked her, before a whole shelf fell, blocking their passage. Klaus and Caroline turned, and saw the creatures proceeding fast toward them. Klaus held his rifle. He had no other choice, but shooting.

Those monsters were different from the one they had seen the day before in the street. Their slimy flesh was of a greyish, dirt pink. They had no eyes, and their faces had only a wide mouth with sharpen teeth inside. Every time they growled, a black, slim and forked tongue came out. Their bodies had human features, except for the legs, that were inclined toward the inside and made them run faster than a simple human being.

Every time the bullets hit them, shrilling screams and growls left their mouths.

"Klaus!" Caroline shouted as she saw one of them running on all fours on the shelf at their right. The creature attacked Klaus before he could shoot, and he fell, losing his rifle and remaining defenceless under the monster that kept him down to the ground. The monster opened its mouth to growl, but the noise stopped in its throat as Caroline shot a bullet in its head.

When the creature fell, Klaus pushed it away from him. Caroline helped him standing back on his feet, and she immediately checked if he was alright, only by giving him a quick look. Typical of her. After all, she was a medicine student. Klaus didn't have the time to thank her for saving his life. He just grabbed her hand, and took her away from the store while the few creatures who were still not utterly dead slithered slowly through the floor, toward them, growling.

They ran away for endless minutes, until Klaus pushed Caroline inside a narrow alley. Her back hit the wall, and Caroline noticed how close Klaus got to her face. He looked worried, and he just wanted to make sure she was fine.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. They were both almost out of breath. She immediately nodded, fast, to guarantee him she was fine. His hands were on her shoulders, and Caroline placed hers on Klaus' chest.

"But that thing… that thing was about to kill you! Are you wounded?" She kept looking at his body to find trace of blood.

"Caroline, I'm fine." Klaus tried to convince her, but she hardly believed he was telling the truth. So she continued looking for any kind of wound or scratch. Suddenly, Klaus took her face in his hands, and forced her to look him in the eyes. "I'm fine, thanks to you." He told her with gratitude in his voice. Caroline didn't feel proud of herself. She had simply done what anybody would do, if a friend was about to die.

"I told you I was good with guns." She reminded him. Klaus smirked.

"Let's get back home, and try to figure out what the hell is happening." He said. Caroline nodded. They both agreed on coming back to the house, where they would be safe. They took the same street they had already taken once, even though it was hard to see anything through the fog. Plus, the roads were pretty slick because of the ice, so they had to walk carefully and slowly.

They found the house before any other of those creatures would find them. Once they got in, Caroline dropped her bag on the couch, and Klaus did the same, but a sudden stab of pain made him complain.

"What?" Caroline immediately asked, and walked toward him to help him. Klaus kept touching his shoulder.

"It's nothing." He said. Caroline ignored him, and tried to pull down the part of the shirt that covered his shoulder.

"Let me see." She insisted. Then, she saw a stain of blood on his shirt. "You're bleeding!" Klaus rolled his eyes. The pain was bearable, and he didn't want to look weak.

"I said I'm fine, sweetheart. I don't see why…" Klaus didn't even finish his sentence, because Caroline caused him other pain. He moaned, and Caroline felt a little guilty, even though she was doing what needed to be done.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She apologized. "Just… would you please take off your shirt? So I can take a look to the wound." She demanded. A stupid smirk made Klaus' lips curve.

"For you, love, I'd take off any of my clothes." He admitted, making Caroline sigh and shake her head.

"Just your shirt, Klaus!" She said, strictly. Even though she often appeared annoyed by his sense of humor, she liked it. Or maybe, she liked him. Klaus smiled again, then he did as Caroline had demanded. He took off his shirt, and Caroline tried not to look impressed by the muscles of his chest and abdomen. She just tried to remain impassive. She failed, since Klaus' eyes were stuck on her blushing face. She decided not to give much importance to her rosy cheeks, and she made Klaus turn, to check the wound behind his right shoulder. It looked pretty deep.

"Is it bad?" Klaus asked.

"Good news: you won't die. Bad news: you need stitches." Caroline informed.

"Worse news: we don't have stitches." Klaus sarcastically responded. Caroline returned before him, and she pushed him until he took some steps back, and sat on a chair behind him.

"Stay there, I'll look for needle and thread." She said. Klaus laughed. He thought she was joking.

"Are you joking?" He asked when he saw her walking away. "Caroline?" He called for her to get an answer, but Caroline smiled and didn't give him one. When she came back, she was holding something Klaus hated from the bottom of his heart. She noticed the worried expression on his face. He was trying not to show his fear, but it was pretty clear he didn't like needles.

"Do we really have to do this, love?" He asked. Caroline smirked, while extracting the bottle of whiskey from one of their bags.

"Yes, we do, unless you want me to cut your whole arm because of an infection. It's your choice." She smiled to him. Klaus faked a smile in response.

"Is this how they teach medicine students to talk to their patients?" He ironically asked. Caroline didn't respond. She just poured some alcohol on his bleeding wound as she stood behind him. Klaus moaned in pain, and he clenched his jaw to handle the suffering.

"Fuck." He groaned, hitting his fist against the table.

"Hush! I'm trying to concentrate." Caroline scolded him, before passing the weak, little flame of a lighter along the needle. "Now you're going to feel a little prick." She warned him, right before the tip of the needle perforated his skin. Klaus growled. He seemed angry. Everybody responds to pain in a different way, and Klaus… Well, pain made him wrathful.

"Stay still." Caroline whispered. Her voice helped him handling the uncomfortable situation. Klaus never moved from the chair. He patiently waited for Caroline to finish her work. After a while, it wasn't that much painful anymore. He just got used to it.

"Okay, we've done!" Caroline exclaimed, and Klaus took a deep breath of relief. The blonde smiled. The wound didn't look nice, but she was proud of her work.

"Did it hurt?" She asked him, smiling.

"Yes." Klaus groaned, perhaps to make her feel guilty. He stood up, and walked toward a mirror to check the state of his wound.

"It's not true! I'm a good doctor!" Caroline crossed her arms at her chest.

"You still hurt me." Klaus kept playing his part. Caroline started feeling guilty.

"Really?" She innocently asked, as she slowly started to believe he was serious. Klaus turned toward her, and he smirked.

"Maybe a kiss would make the pain go away." He dared to manipulate her. Caroline rolled her eyes. She was glad he wasn't seriously mad at her. She walked toward him, and she decided to reward him for staying quiet and still, while she had stitched his skin. So, she stood on the tip of her toes, and left a gentle kiss on his cheek. Klaus kept smiling, and Caroline smiled back as she saw the adorable dimples on each side of his face.

"By the way, you're such a pussy." She teased him. Klaus' face returned serious, and he gave her a challenging look. He appeared vengeful. Caroline giggled at his reaction.

"Mind that little, sharpen tongue of yours, sweetheart." Klaus threatened her, getting so close to her face, that Caroline put her blue eyes on his full lips. They looked soft and kissable. She bit the inner part of her lower lip, while she blushed a little.

"Or what?" She asked. Klaus admired the soft features of her face, in silence. He wanted to kiss her so badly. He wanted to throw her on the damn bed and possess her till his hunger would be satisfied. Till they would both lie with no strength left in their exhausted bodies. But he didn't. And why didn't he? Perhaps he was afraid she didn't desire him as much as he desired her. Caroline realized she had gone too far, and when she realized it, it was too late. Now, the tension between them was thick. When Caroline glanced down, she took a step back.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, without looking Klaus in the eyes. "I'm going upstairs to try and find any significant hint. We should find someone like us in this crazy place." She found a reason to go as far as she could from him. Klaus nodded, and didn't try to stop her from going.

That night, they ate food before the fire. Caroline hadn't found anything interesting, and Klaus had prepared all the weapons they had. He had made sure they worked, and were ready to be used. He was drawing something on a piece of paper, and he looked pretty focused on his drawing. Caroline wondered what he was doing.

"What are you drawing?" She asked. Klaus put the piece of paper on the floor, and passed it to Caroline. The girl saw a realistic representation of the two kinds of creatures they had seen so far. Klaus was a good artist. Good enough to make shivers of fear run across Caroline's spine.

"Wow. They look real." She admitted.

"We should give them a name. Every species has one." Klaus said. Caroline thought about it, while she observed the sketches.

"Mhh… What about asshole number one, and asshole number two?" She proposed, making Klaus snicker. When a noise coming from outside reached them, Caroline's heart skipped a beat, and Klaus immediately held the rifle he kept by his side.

"What was that?" Caroline murmured, frightened. Klaus put a finger on his lips, to tell her to hush. Slowly, he stood up, and walked toward the door.

"Don't go." Caroline whined. Klaus was ready to shoot, and he pointed the rifle at the door as something started to scratch the wood to enter. Carefully, he went closer to the window by the door, and he looked outside. He saw nothing.

"Come back here." Caroline whispered again, trying to convince him. Klaus didn't follow her advice.

"There's nothing out there." He told her. Caroline parted her lips, confused. Suddenly, when they heard a noise that sounded like a dog's bark, they shared a confused glance. Caroline didn't waste a minute before standing on her feet, and walking fast toward the door, to open it.

"Caroline!" Klaus didn't have the time to stop her. When she did it, her eyes became brighter. There was a real dog outside their door!

"Oh my god!" The blonde exclaimed, letting the dog in and shutting the door a moment after. Klaus was still pointing the rifle at the animal, while Caroline was bent on her knees, and let the dog lick her face.

"What the hell are you doing? It's only a dog!" She told him, and she giggled, seeing how friendly the animal was. "What happened to you, hmm?" She talked to it in a sweet tone, checking if it was alright, if it was wounded. The dog looked fine.

"It's not a dog, Caroline, it's a fucking wolf." Klaus never stopped holding the weapon. He was ready to shoot if the creature tried to attack.

"It's a puppy!" Caroline insisted, defending the white, soft ball of fur. "How did you get here?" She kept talking to the little wolf, who looked healthy and friendly. She wondered how it had managed to survive out there. Since a dog was there, she thought that place wasn't that different from the one that she remembered. Perhaps, Klaus and she weren't the last humans left alive.

"Look how beautiful it is!" The girl tried to convince Klaus, who still looked suspicious. When the puppy started playing with Caroline's shirt, biting it as any other puppy would do, he started taking under consideration the possibility of having found an actual dog. Or a wolf. Caroline checked if it was boy or girl.

"She's a girl!" She informed Klaus, who bent down to observe the animal. When she tried to bite his hand, Caroline giggled, and Klaus instantly took his hand away before her sharp, little teeth got into his skin. Then, he smiled softly and caressed her. "See? She feels you don't like her." Caroline teased him.

"I never said I don't like her." He kept playing with the puppy.

"He was about to shoot you." Caroline whispered to the little dog.

"We should give her a name." She suggested.

"I'm not good with dog names." Klaus said back. Caroline started thinking about it.

"What about Lara Croft?" She proposed, and she seemed pretty proud of her choice. Klaus frowned.

"You want to name a dog Lara Croft?" He asked.

"Why not?" Caroline didn't see anything wrong with it. "She's a survivor!" She exclaimed, cuddling Lara. There was no chance that Klaus could change the name Caroline had chosen. He smiled, amused.

"I'll see if I can find something to feed her." Klaus went into the kitchen, and found some canned ham. Caroline observed Lara eating. She bet she was starving. She was nothing but a cub, and apparently she had no mother. She had gotten lost, just as Klaus and her. At night, Caroline lay down on the couch, before the fire. The little dog went lying on her belly, and Caroline's heart melted. Her mother had never allowed her to keep a dog in their house, and she had never completely accepted it. Klaus remained sitting on the floor, with his back against the edge of the couch. Caroline looked at him.

"You know lots of things about me, but I know nothing about you." She observed. Klaus was still drawing on the notebook he had found. He looked focused.

"What do you want to know, love?" He asked. His voice was distant, while the tip of the pen he was holding left signs of its passage on the white paper.

"How old are you?" Caroline began to ask.

"Twenty eight." He revealed to her his age.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I used to find some jobs every now and then." Klaus responded. "I never graduated. My family needed money, so my older brother and I had to quit school to work." He explained. Caroline thought they were different. She liked Klaus, even though he was nothing like her type. He was a bad boy, and Caroline had never hung out with a guy who hadn't been to college, or didn't have plenty of money in his bank account.

"At least, my sister Rebekah got to finish high school."

"What does she look like, your sister?" Caroline asked. Listening to the deep sound of his voice before sleeping made her feel relaxed.

"She's around your age, I suppose. She's beautiful. With long, blonde hair, and blue eyes." Caroline smiled at the description.

"This is why you protect me. Because I remind you of your sister." She assumed. Klaus turned toward her, and he appeared lost in his thoughts for a few moments.

"No, I protect you because I like you. And now you must sleep." He said. Caroline's soft smile remained stuck on her lips. She obeyed, and she closed her eyes. Klaus sighed, and returned drawing things on his notebook. He never lay down on the couch, by her side. He remained sitting on the floor, and just a few hours later, when the tiredness begun tormenting his muscles, some noises got his attention. Lara, who was stilling resting on Caroline's stomach, raised her tiny head to growl at the door. Klaus stood up, and held his rifle.

"Caroline." He called for her, and he shook her body until the girl opened her eyes.

"What?" She murmured once Klaus interrupted her sleep.

"Take your things." He ordered. Something was outside the door, and whatever it was, it wanted to get in.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you liked this one!<strong>

**easytoimagine -**_ Loved it so much suspense, i NEED to know whats going to happen next. Hopefully they'll both be alright and not get hurt. Are the creatures like zombies or more like the monsters in I Am Legend?_  
><em>Please update soon!<em>** Hi! They're definitely not zombies, but they're also different from the monsters from I am legend. I would say they're more Silent Hill's style monsters.**

**Veronicayoung - **_Oh, I found this new fic after refreshing the website. And you deleted your other fics"unbreakable" and" love before you leave"?Continue this one please! :)_** Hi! I deleted them because I lost inspiration, plus the response wasn't that great. I didn't want to leave them there without updating. But I'll continue this one, I promise. Part of the story has already been written.**

**tippy093 - **_I'm glad you are feeling better! I'm so curious as to where Klaus and Caroline are and what happened to other people. Will this be a slow burn story or will Klaus and Caroline get together soon? Looking forward to your next update!_** Hey! At the moment they like each other and they know there's this sexual tension between them, but it will be a slow burn because everything is so confusing for them and they're afraid to make things even more complicated!**

**Hellzz-on-Earth - **_So glad you're doing better after the fall._  
><em>Klaroline ready to take on whatever is out there in the fog to survive. Can't wait for them to bond more or meet up with other characters. Are you going to make them strangers as well to Klaroline? I hope to see Bonnie before Elena please? Matt and Rebekah too.<em>  
><em>Thanks for the update.<em>  
><em>Happy writing.<em>** Thank you! And yes, they're all gonna be strangers. :)**

**Thank you for the feedback. Let me know your thoughts by leaving a review!**

**Ilaria.**


	4. Chapter IV

**The last winter**

_IV_

The noises didn't stop. The steps, the growls, and the nails scratching the wood suggested there were more than just one creature standing behind that door. Caroline jumped to her feet as she realized her life was in danger, again. Klaus had told her to grab her things, to get ready to run. The blonde held Lara in her arms. The cub was still growling. She sensed something was about to come. Klaus stood still, aiming at the creature that hid itself behind the door, wanting to get in. He held his rifle in his hands, ready to press the trigger. The muscles of his arms were tensed. His whole body was rigid as stone. He believed his own heart had stopped beating.

"Klaus…" Caroline pronounced his name in a whisper, waiting for a command. She trusted him enough to believe he knew what to do. Maybe he didn't. Maybe, just like Caroline, Klaus had no idea what he was doing, and all his actions were guided by his survival instinct. But Caroline saw him as a strong ally. She believed he would be able to save her. She was glad he was with her.

"We need to get on the roof." He suddenly said. Caroline's eyes got wide open.

"Seriously?" Klaus heard her fear through her tone, but he didn't give her any other explanation. He grabbed her wrist, and led her upstairs after he took the weapon bag.

"We have to run away before they get in!" Caroline tried to say, while she climbed the stairs after Klaus.

"Run away to go where, exactly?" Klaus asked.

"I don't know, anywhere is better than here!" Caroline exclaimed. Klaus stopped walking as he reached the first floor's corridor, and he pulled Caroline toward him, reducing the distance between their faces and bodies. He was still holding her wrist. Caroline held her breath, and looked Klaus in his grey eyes.

"I need you to remain calm, love." He told her. His tone was firm. Caroline tried to breathe calmly. Then, she nodded.

"Okay." She whispered.

"Now, we'll get on the fucking roof to have a clear view and consider all the options we have. You'll do as I say, when I say it. Understand?" He asked. Caroline nodded again.

"Yes." She affirmed. A louder thud followed. Those creatures were bursting into the house, and there was no time left. Klaus took Caroline by the hand, and they both ran till they reached the bedroom. Klaus locked the door, and used his strength to put a piece of furniture before it, to block those things from getting in. Caroline opened the window that faced out onto the roof. The cold air made shivers run across her whole body. As much as she didn't want to get out, she had to.

"I'll be right behind you, love." Klaus promised. Caroline nodded, and after she looked into his eyes one last time, she found the courage to climb over the window, to stand on the roof and proceeded carefully. She tried hard not to look down, but her curiosity killed her will, and when her eyes looked for the street down below, they saw nothing but thick fog. She walked along the narrow way till the sloping, then she started climbing to get to the other side of the roof. She used her hands to keep her balance, but when her foot stepped on a wet shingle, Caroline slid, and she felt her body falling toward the unknown. A little scream left her mouth. Her nails scratched the roof, while the other arm held the dog close to her chest. She tried hard to seize on something, anything, to stop the fall.

"I got you!" Klaus had grabbed her by the wrist, and now he was holding her not make her slide. Caroline opened her eyes. She saw Klaus, and she tried to control her breathing, while the heart beat fast. He helped her find her balance again, and Caroline found herself closer to his face. Her eyes met his. They were grey, and so deep.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Yes… thank you." She murmured.

"Try to be careful, sweetheart. The roof is wet." He warned her. The blonde nodded again, feeling her own heart beating inside her throat. Klaus waited for her to proceed before him, so that he could grab her if she slid again. When they both reached the other side of the roof, they managed to see through the fog. Some creatures had entered the house, while some others stood still, outside. When Caroline leant forward, to look down, Klaus made her step back by extending his stretched arm before her chest.

"Stay back." He told her.

"What do we do now?" Caroline waited for him to come up with another one of his reckless ideas. She opened her eyes widely, as she saw him pointing his rifle at the monsters, and tensing his arms' muscles, ready to shoot.

"You see the fence over there?" He asked without looking at her. One of his eyes was closed, while the other one looked at those creatures through the sight. Caroline noticed the metallic fence that divided the street from the private backyard of the house. It was small and narrow, with no green grass, but just grey cement covered by the white, cold snow.

"It will keep them from reaching us if we get in the backyard and look for a way out." Klaus explained.

"But what about those who are already in?" Caroline asked.

"Well, I've never said we can allow ourselves to be slow in the process." Klaus asserted, and Caroline widened her eyes even more.

"Seriously? We're getting inside a cage full of monsters?" She said out loud.

"I don't think you have a better option, love." He said. Caroline knew she had no better options. She would follow him, because even though she believed he was completely insane, she trusted him.

"You better not get us killed or I swear… I'll make sure you'll die a second time by my hand." Caroline threatened him, and she made him smirk.

"That would be a pleasing death." He gave her the eyes, and Caroline blushed as she noticed his sly smile. She rebuked herself. That wasn't the right moment for flirting. She took a deep breath, and she pressed her lips after she realized they were slightly parted.

"We're wasting time." She gave him her back to avoid his look, and she carefully proceeded toward the edge of the roof, by the fence they had to climb. Klaus smirked again, after he saw the embarrassment in her expression.

"Stay here, and shoot if you have to." He told her when he reached her side. The girl took her gun, and she let Klaus go before her after she had nodded. Once he climbed down the fence, he looked around, silent and alert. The disconcerting, utter silence suggested the backyard was empty. Caroline was ready to shoot from her position, on the roof, and the trembling muscles of her arms were tense. When Klaus made sure the place was safe, he helped Caroline get her feet back on the ground. Klaus grabbed a knife from his belt.

"Watch my back." He said. Caroline nodded again, and she followed him to the opposite side of the fence. Klaus knelt, and he started severing the hard metal to create a passage.

"What are you doing?" Caroline frowned.

"I'm getting us out of here." He said back.

"Can't we just climb it?"

"It's too high, we don't have enough time." The knife's blade was breaking the fence, while Klaus used all his strength to open a narrow passage through the metallic net. Caroline returned focusing on the locked back door, and she kept pointing the gun at it. She could feel the cold sweat on her forehead.

"Do you mind being a little quicker?" She demanded as the noises coming from the house became louder. She bet those things were destroying the kitchen.

"I'm trying!" Klaus growled in response.

"Try harder!" Caroline nervously shouted in a whisper. When, suddenly, a noise followed the slight breaking of the backdoor, they both realized they had no time left.

"Klaus!" Caroline shouted his name in a warning. They had been found, and those creatures were about to attack them.

"Go!" Klaus pushed Caroline toward the opening of the broken fence, and as the girl passed through it, the monsters managed to break the door and get into the backyard. Klaus promptly fired on the targets, but every time one of them fell to the ground, a group of other two or three appeared. Caroline began to shoot without aiming, and she managed to hit a few bodies. When Klaus moved to the other side of the fence, Caroline felt the relief. They both didn't stop shooting while they walked backwards, and Caroline felt proud as she noticed her improvements.

"Stop, just run!" She felt Klaus grabbing her by her jacket's sleeve. She did as he had commanded. Holding the puppy tightly in her left arm, she ran as fast as she could. The ground beneath their feet was frozen in some parts, which made running even more difficult. The fog didn't allow their eyes to see much, but the darkness of the night was slowly fading, to leave space to the cold and foggy atmosphere of the day. Even though they couldn't see what they left behind their back, they knew those things were still following them. Klaus grabbed Caroline anytime he changed direction, and without even realizing it, they both found themselves running on a softer ground, avoiding holes and jumping tree roots. They had never noticed the presence of a forest nearby the city, but now they were into it. When, confused and lost, they began to look around themselves, their speed decreased until they stopped running. Klaus was still holding Caroline's wrist in his hand. They remained silent, still weary after the run. Hearing a noise coming from their back, Klaus pulled Caroline toward a group of rocks that would keep them hidden. Caroline fell to the ground before she could realize that Klaus was behind her, he put his hand against her mouth. They heard something proceeding slowly toward them, as the noise of steps became clear.

"Quiet." Klaus whispered to Caroline's ear, when a broken sob tried to leave her mouth. She could clearly feel her heart beating against her chest, as it wanted to get out. Whatever was looking for them, it stopped for a while behind the rocks. They heard its fierce growls. Caroline felt some tears running down her cheeks, and crashing onto Klaus' hand. Klaus realized she was crying, and placed the side of his face on hers, almost touching her soft skin with his lips. Caroline closed her eyes, and hoped the monster would go away. And it did. It left, and when Caroline opened her eyes again any noise was gone. Klaus took off his hand from Caroline's mouth, and the girl returned breathing fast.

"It's okay, sweetheart, it's gone." He told her. Caroline turned her face to look at him, and she didn't find the words to thank him, but Klaus got the message.

"Are you hurt?" He asked. Caroline shook her head, still confused, but feeling physically fine.

"Good. Let's find a shelter, shall we?" He stood on his feet and gave her his hand, to help her getting up. Caroline grabbed it, and Klaus pulled her toward him to lift the weight of her body. Caroline made sure Lara was fine. The puppy was quiet in her arms, and she wasn't harmed. When they both began to walk toward the unknown, Caroline decided to share her thoughts.

"I had never noticed there were trees nearby the city." She revealed.

"Well, a forest can't grow in a night. You hadn't looked carefully." Klaus tried to convince her, and also himself. Caroline looked sceptical.

"Anyway, there are no such trees in Mystical Falls." She said. Klaus was pretty sure those kind of trees didn't grow in Louisiana either.

"Can we skip the botany lesson, love? I'm trying to concentrate." He looked so focused on trying to glimpse something, anything, through the fog. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"You're the most annoying person to be with during an apocalypse." She complained. Klaus smirked.

"But I'm good at saving your life." He said back. Caroline slightly opened her lips.

"Saving my life? We got almost killed and now we're lost in the woods!"

"But you're still alive." Klaus gave her a little smile, when he turned his head to look at her annoyed face. She just didn't want to admit he was good at saving her life, because even if she had been knowing him for just a few days, she knew he would start to show off. She crossed her arms not to feel the cold, and she held Lara tightly. The puppy was so warm, Caroline could feel the relief by hiding her hands in her white fur.  
>When Klaus sped up his pace Caroline frowned, wondering what he had seen. She followed him, until the abandoned, grey building before them became clear despite the fog. Klaus held his rifle, and Caroline did the same with her gun.<p>

"What the hell is it?" She asked. That place was in ruins, and it didn't look safe.

"Wait, do you want to go in? Seriously?" Caroline kept asking, as Klaus advanced carefully toward the entrance.

"You can wait outside, if you want." He told her. Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes. Klaus perfectly knew she didn't want to remain alone, and she would follow him even though she was pretty sure that going in was a reckless decision.

"What if it's dangerous? What if it's the monsters' house?" She didn't even realize how funny she sounded, but Klaus did, and he couldn't help himself from laughing.

"The monsters' house." He repeated her words in a sceptical tone.

"It is not funny." Caroline strictly rebuked him.

"I'm sorry, love, I know." Even if Klaus stopped laughing, a dumb smile was still stuck on his face.

"Then stop laughing!" Caroline growled, and she took a step into the building before Klaus. After all, she had no other choice. It was dark inside, despite the presence of the first lights of the dawn that lighted up the white sky. The glasses of a few windows were broken, but the first floor was definitely empty. Caroline paid attention to where she put her feet. Klaus proceeded toward the stairs, and Caroline followed him. He stopped right after he climbed the last step, and Caroline hastened to reach his side.

"It's a control tower." He whispered. Caroline's lips got slightly parted, when she realized he was right. She immediately ran toward a phone, and she tried to compose a number, her number. For a moment, she truly wished her mother would pick up the phone. She wanted to hear the sound of her voice so badly. But her hopes vanished quickly. In rage, she threw the phone against the floor.

"It doesn't work!" She shouted. "Nothing works here!" It was the first time Klaus saw her being truly angry for what was happening to her.

"How long do you think we can survive? We're alone in the middle of nowhere, and there are bloodthirsty monsters out there who would eat us alive! And phones don't work probably because there is no one else in this fucking hell! And…" She shouted again, but she stopped when Klaus moved forward, to put his hands on her shoulders and make her calm down. She didn't even finish her phrase.

"We'll survive. I promise you. And I'll make all the phones work." Klaus always knew what to say and what to do, and Caroline believed him. He managed to keep her calm, just by speaking slowly, and looking her in the eyes.

"How?" She asked.

"Somehow." Caroline accepted the only answer he had for that question. She looked down, and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I lost control. It's just… I'm hungry, I'm tired, and I wish I could take a hot shower because I'm smelly and dirty." She admitted, and she made Klaus smile. Seeing his smile, she didn't smile back, even if she liked how his serious, concerned face changed anytime she said something.

"Actually, love, I think your stink is the most pleasant smell I smelled so far." He complimented her. Caroline finally smiled, then she looked down again.

"Thank you, I guess…" She said back. Klaus took his hands off her shoulders, and he left the bag he was carrying on the floor. Caroline did the same, and she also allowed Lara to run around the room. She remained there, playing with the puppy, while Klaus tried to make the radars and the stereo work. Anything would be useful to establish a contact with any other person still alive.

"Still not working?" Caroline asked him after hours of failed attempts. She was sitting on the floor, eating, with the palm of her left hand against it to sustain the weight of her upper body. Klaus shook his head.

"It's so weird." She complained. "It's like somebody is doing it on purpose. Maybe somebody is watching. Like in The Hunger Games!" She exclaimed, finding her enlightenment absolutely brilliant.

"The what?" Klaus asked. Caroline frowned.

"You didn't read The Hunger Games?" She sounded pretty shocked. Klaus had never heard about it in jail.

"What is it about?" Klaus was still focused on the radio, and he wasn't really interested in The Hunger Games, but he knew how Caroline hate to remain silent for a long time.

"Basically, every year, a bunch of kids are sent to the Hunger Games to fight until only one of them is left alive, and the games are like a reality show that everyone can watch." She explained.

"Cool. Does it mean I have to kill you?" Klaus asked, and Caroline glared at him.

"You would never kill me." She asserted.

"You're right, I wouldn't." He affirmed. "Would you?" He asked then.

"Of course I would. It's The Hunger Games!" Caroline giggled.

"Go fuck yourself." He murmured in response, making her laugh louder.

"I have another theory." Klaus confessed a brief moment after.

"Do tell." Caroline said, and she kept eating her canned food.

"I believe you and I are the last humans left alive, which means… you know, we should repopulate the earth. Like Adam and Eve." He told her. An incredulous expression was stuck on Caroline's face, along with a smile full of embarrassment. Sometimes she wondered how Klaus could be so shameless and insolent.

"Seriously?" She said out loud. "If this is your way of flirting it sucks!" Klaus laughed. Caroline couldn't deny the fact that she felt flattered by the amount of attentions he gave her.

"I'm sorry Klaus, I'm too smart to be seduced by you." She provoked him. Klaus intensely looked at her, and Caroline tried hard not to look down.

"You'll fall for me, Caroline. It's just a matter of time." He sounded pretty self-confident. Caroline removed her eyes from him, and she pressed her lips while she tried not to smile, but her lips inevitably curved.

"We'll see about that." Caroline skeptically challenged him. She wouldn't let him win so easily, no matter what.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked this chapter! Personally, I always have fun writing K and C dialogues in this story. <strong>

**Let me know your thoughts by leaving a REVIEW and I will gladly read it and answer to any question. I'd like to reach at least 20 reviews before the next update. :)**

**Ilaria.**


	5. Chapter V

**The last winter **

_V_

The night was cold. With no fire and no blankets, Klaus and Caroline had nothing to warm themselves up, except for the natural warmth of each other's body. They slept on the floor, but they slept close. Klaus put his arm around Caroline, who didn't complain. She lay down with her back against his chest, and her arms crossed around the tiny puppy she had been holding all along. When she finally fell asleep, she turned over and found a shelter in Klaus' arms. The guy allowed her to rest with her head on his shoulder, and he remained awake, managing to keep his eyes open. Even sleeping was dangerous.

When the pale light of the white sky lit up the wide, empty room, Caroline woke up. She found herself so close to Klaus that her cold cheeks blushed in embarrassment. Then, a little smile showed up on her tired face. She liked the way they were taking care of each other. Maybe they did it because of the egoistical fear of remaining alone in that unknown, crazy world. Or maybe they were slowly becoming real friends. She thought she had always wanted a friend like him. He was kind, strong, and funny. Yes, she thought Klaus was funny in his own way. You just had to understand his sense of humor and stop taking yourself too seriously, because, apparently, he liked fooling people.  
>The blonde looked around herself. The radio they had been trying to fix was still there, on the floor, and it still didn't work. Lara was too tired to open her eyes. Puppies needed sleep like any human baby. Caroline put her eyes on Klaus. She observed his face. He looked relaxed in his sleep. Seeing him with no traces of concern in his expression was rare. She bit the inner part of her lower lip, as she thought he was damned charming. Slowly, she passed the tip of her finger on the side of his face, touching the beard on his cheeks, until she got to his chin. Then, she caressed his full lips. The cold had made them chapped, and Caroline found the dry blood terribly attractive.<br>When she saw those lips curving in a smile, and the dimples at the sides of them showing up, she smiled too.

"I see you, Caroline." He murmured, still not opening his eyes.

"Shh, keep sleeping. I like you better when you keep your mouth shut." She teased him in response. As he opened those grey, deep and magnetic eyes, and saw Caroline sitting by him, he told himself he was glad it was all happening to him. His selfishness had always kept him from being a good person. He'd rather wake up with a beautiful girl by his side every morning, instead of waking up alone in jail. If he had the chance to choose between that life and the previous one, he would never choose to return behind bars.

"Good morning, love." He said. Caroline smiled again. Hearing his voice telling her kind things helped her bear the horrible hell she was living. Klaus made everything easier.

"Hi." She said, and then pressed her lips. He lifted his chest up, and shook a hand among his messy, a little curly, light brown hair. The absence of sun made them darker.

"We need to get out of here, try to find someone… or something." Klaus asserted. Caroline nodded.

"I'm ready." She admitted. She knew they couldn't stay hidden forever. That place was a good shelter for the night, but they had to spend the hours of light outside, to understand more about that crazy world they were living in. Klaus walked to the window. A few snowflakes were still falling from the white sky. It had been snowing all through the night.

"Take a few guns. We'll hide the rest of our things here. We'll come back before it gets dark." Klaus told her. Caroline agreed, and took two guns from the weapons' bag. She made sure her pockets were filled with other bullets. Klaus took his rifle, and put a few knives in his belt. Lara followed them, but Caroline helped her climbing down the stairs. Those steps were way too big for her. When they got outside, Caroline crossed her arms at her chest. The air was colder than she had thought.

"I'm freezing." She complained.

"Get used to it. Judging by the weather, it won't get warmer any time soon." Klaus said, and kept walking on the soft snow that made his boots sink deeper every time he took a step. Caroline followed him, keeping an eye on Lara, who happily played with her own tail and jumped around. When Klaus went near to a tree and started unzipping his pants, Caroline widened her eyes in surprise.

"Seriously?" She asked. "Do you really have to pee in front of a lady?" Klaus didn't hold his laugh.

"The lady has to watch my back, so I don't get killed." He said. Caroline rolled her eyes, turned on the other side, and made sure no creatures were around.

"Are you done yet?" She sighed in complaining.

"You can turn around." Klaus told her once he finished. When Caroline gave him her weapons, he wondered what she had in mind.

"Now, you turn around. Don't you dare look, or I'll kick your ass, Klaus Mikaelson!" She threatened him by pointing her finger at him. A cunning, annoying little smile appeared on his sly face. Caroline rolled her eyes once more, and hid herself behind the tree, so she was sure he wouldn't look. She sighed, while unzipping her pants. Once she pulled her pants and panties down, she bent on her knees and lowered herself backside. She had done it a million times outside clubs, when she was too drunk to look for a proper toilet. But now she had not even a drop of alcohol in her system, and it was so awkward.

"You need help, love?" Klaus' sarcastic tone interrupted her from concentrating. She was pretty sure the idiotic, annoying smile was still stuck on his face.

"Shut up, I need to focus!" She growled. It wasn't that easy to do such private things in the middle of the woods, with a male stranger around!

"Oh, c'mon, I was just trying to be nice." He kept saying. Caroline ignored him. She pulled up her panties and pants once she had finished, and she took her weapons again.

"Let's go." She said. Klaus smirked, and returned walking before her. Caroline held Lara in her arms not to make her lose too much energy.

"Why is it that there are no animals in the woods?" Caroline asked. She always expected Klaus had answers to all her questions.

"Perhaps there are animals. We just can't see them." Klaus assumed.

"Do you think they are like… ordinary animals?" She returned asking.

"Judging by what I've seen so far, nothing here is ordinary." Klaus said back, and sighed. They kept walking for minutes, perhaps a whole hour. They saw nothing but dark trees trunks and white snow around them. The fog was a little less thick than usual. They didn't feel cold anymore. Walking helped them keeping a normal body temperature. When, suddenly, Klaus felt something hitting his back, he turned around. He immediately realized it was nothing to worry about, because Caroline started laughing. She had just thrown him a snowball. Klaus didn't have the time to say anything, because Caroline took more snow and quickly threw it against him. He protected his face, and the snow hit his shoulder. When Caroline laughed and started to run, to hide herself behind a tree, Klaus started playing her own game. He grabbed some snow in his hands, and he threw it against the blonde girl, who kept running away, laughing.

"You started it, sweetheart!" He reminded her. Caroline could hardly run on that soft, wet surface. Every time she took a step, she sank into the high snow. Klaus was faster than her. When he managed to reach her, he grabbed the hood of her sweater and put the snow he was holding right inside her shirt. Caroline widened her eyes and opened her mouth as the frozen flakes touched the bare skin of her back. She wasn't able to shout. She just stood there, with an expression of pain – or shock – stuck on her suffering face. Klaus stepped back, still grinning, ready to run away, and Caroline turned around slowly.

"You. Bloody. Asshole." She was able to speak after a brief while. The snow in her shirt had already become gelid water. She let Lara go, then she promptly took more snow in both her hands and chased Klaus. She assailed him, jumping on his back and letting the snow crush down on the uncovered parts of his neck. She made sure some flakes ended up inside his shirt. He let himself fall on his knees, and Caroline fell along with him. She took control over the situation, taking advantage of Klaus' moment of weakness. Once she prevailed on him, she managed to sit upon him. Literally. The man lay with his back against the freezing snow, and Caroline sat astride him, holding a piece of his jacket in her fingers.

"Say you're sorry!" She commanded him. Klaus looked unable to make a sound. And it wasn't because of the cold. He was speechless, and dangerously gratified by Caroline's position. His slight smirk made Caroline realize he was enjoying his punishment.

"Never." He whispered, teasing her. She blushed, hating herself for the uncomfortable situation she had put herself into. The sexual tension was getting thicker, and they both felt it. Klaus fought hard against the craving of wanting to rip her clothes off, and give in to temptation. Caroline drove him mad. Their breathing was fast. Caroline's chest moved anytime she took a new breath. Clouds of white smoke left their parted lips when they exhaled the air from their lungs. They never interrupted the deep eye contact they had created. When Klaus contracted his abdomen to lift his chest up, he reduced the distance between their faces. Caroline's bright, blue eyes intensely stared at his full lips. Klaus noticed her staring, and he admired her beauty just a little more, before kissing her.  
>His eyes stayed closed, while he tasted her sweetness. She had opened her mouth for him, letting his tongue in, and now they were dangerously playing with each other, feeling each other's taste in their mouths. Caroline allowed Klaus to lead the kiss, to take the control over her. Sometimes, their lips separated, just to return kissing with more lust. Caroline let her hands caress Klaus' face. Her fingers touched his beard. Klaus didn't keep himself from hiding his own hands beneath Caroline's jacket, sweater and shirt. He felt the softness of her delicate skin, and while caressing her bare back he noticed she wasn't wearing a bra. It was the first time he kissed a woman in years, and it had never felt so good.<p>

Suddenly, despite the pleasing touch of Klaus' hands on her body and of his lips on hers, Caroline started feeling terribly guilty. What am I doing? She asked herself. She didn't want to allow herself to feel joy in such a horrible situation. Her friends and family were probably gone forever. They were all probably dead, and she was acting like everything was fine. She was kissing a handsome man on a soft surface of pure snow, and she was enjoying it so much. She felt shallow, almost cruel. So, she sharply interrupted their moment of passion, and she turned her face to deny her lips to Klaus.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this." She apologized while standing back on her feet. She put her hands on the sides of her head, and she started regretting all her actions. Klaus observed her with a confused look on his face. When he stood up, he tried to walk closer to the girl, but as soon as Caroline noticed he was about to take a step toward her, she stepped back to stay away from him. Klaus raised his arms a bit in a questioning way.

"Why not?" He asked, and let his arms return along his hips.

"Because I should feel bad! We both should!" Caroline shouted out loud. "We lost all we had, Klaus! I lost my family! And you lost yours too!" Klaus sighed, and pressed his lips, on which he could still feel her taste.

"It doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves in the meantime." He said. Caroline couldn't believe he had just pronounced those selfish words. She narrowed her eyes, and she gave him a disappointed look. He wanted to enjoy himself. She felt so stupid. For a moment she had thought he cared about her, and now it was pretty clear to her that he didn't.

"I'm coming back." She simply said, in a cold tone. She took Lara in her arms, and she passed by him, to proceed along the way they had already taken. Klaus sighed, and tried to say something to stop her, but words didn't come out.

"Caroline, wait." He was able to murmur. But she didn't wait. She kept going, and Klaus followed her. He wasn't going to leave her alone in such a dangerous place.

Caroline was glad he wasn't leaving her in the woods. Not only she was afraid to remain alone, but she was also scared of getting lost. Around her, everything looked the same. Those trees were all dark, and the white snow on the ground didn't let the grass grow. There were no paths to follow. The fog wasn't as thick as it had been in the last days, but it still didn't help Caroline's eyes to see from a long distance. She hated herself for being so weak. She had given in to temptation so easily, and now, she kept telling herself, things wouldn't be the same between Klaus and her.

While walking, she got lost in her thoughts. When she finally began to see the building they have been using as shelter, she proceeded faster toward it. Just after a brief moment, she felt Klaus' hand grabbing her arm tightly. He pulled her behind one of the dark trunks, almost as he wanted to protect her from something. Caroline was about to complain, when she heard the voices. Someone was talking, and she was pretty sure she could understand that language.

"What the h…" She murmured, but Klaus immediately told her to hush. He was looking at the building, so Caroline did the same. When her eyes glimpsed the shapes of human bodies, she felt the relief. Even though she didn't know who they were, they were still humans. Klaus and she weren't the last of their kind.

"We found the weapons, sir. Somebody has been here." They heard a man saying.

"Those are our weapons!" Caroline complained in a whisper full of anger, as she saw the bag the man was carrying.

"Fucking assholes." Klaus growled.

"There's food, sir!" Another man shouted from inside the building. Caroline felt the blood boiling in her veins. That was her food.

"They're taking our things." She complained again. Klaus observed their faces. Even though they were far, he could see their features. They all wore warm, grayish fur coats, and black boots that covered their calves. Some of them held guns, some others had shoulder straps to keep their rifles close. A guy put his hand inside the food bag he had just found, and chose to drink the whiskey from the bottle.

"Look at that son of a bitch." Klaus muttered. Caroline's lips were parted in disapproval.

"Seriously?" She said. The young, dark haired guy was wasting the only disinfectant they had. By drinking it.

"Whoever has been here, must be still around. Shoot on sight." Another man gave the order. Caroline felt her heart skipping a beat. Klaus grabbed his rifle, and when Caroline understood his intentions, she forced him to put the weapon down.

"Are you out of your mind?" She asked.

"You heard them. They want us dead." Klaus told her.

"You… you can't kill them." She kept saying.

"Not only can I, love. I have to." He got ready to shoot, again, but Caroline insisted.

"Klaus." She suddenly took his face in her hands. She forced him to look her in the eyes. "Please, don't do it." She begged him. She looked scared. She was, in fact, terrified at the idea of being responsible for the death of some human beings. As much as she disliked them, she still couldn't ignore the voice in her head that kept telling her they were somebody's sons, boyfriends, friends.

"Fine." Klaus said, even though the austere expression stuck on his face suggested he didn't agree on leaving them alive. But Caroline had asked him to show mercy, and he wanted to prove her he was able to be good, sometimes.

"We just lost our chance to stay alive." Klaus got closer to Caroline's face as he pronounced those harsh words. He turned his back at her to walk away. He didn't know exactly where he was going, but anywhere was better than there. Caroline would gladly slap him in the face. He was blaming her for something she hadn't done. He was blaming her because she still had a heart. So, she hastened to return walking before him, and she hit her shoulder against him while she passed by him. Feeling the push, Klaus stopped walking, and glared at the girl. Caroline ignored him, and proceeded through the high, dark trunks.

The hunger started to get intense after the first half of the day. Klaus and Caroline tried to ignore it, and kept walking to keep their body temperature up. When, once the sun began to get down, Caroline stopped to sit on a fallen trunk, Klaus saw the tiredness on her face. She looked around herself, and she sighed, holding back the tears. She had been seeing nothing but trees and snow all day long.

"Hey." Klaus said, his tone was softer. Caroline shook her head.

"We will die." She murmured in fear. Klaus bent on his legs, and put his hands on Caroline's knees.

"No, we won't." He said back. Caroline knew he was being kind just because she was on the edge of a panic attack. "Look at me, love." He waited to get her attention. "We can make it. We have no other choice. We'll stay here for the night. We'll light a fire."

"How can we light a fire in the snow?" Caroline cried out. "It's all… wet!"

"There's a magnesium block in my pocket. We'll use that and a knife to start the fire. Now, help me get some wood." Caroline had no idea how to make a fire by using nothing but a knife and some magnesium. She was a city girl who had never joined a scout group. She didn't even enjoy watching cheap survival TV shows. Klaus, on the other hand… he knew a lot of things. That was why Caroline trusted him, no matter what. She did as she was told. She helped Klaus get some wood, and she returned sitting on the fallen tree trunk while she watched him preparing the fire. Her eyes were stuck on him, who looked focused on what he was doing. She admired every detail of his face, and she returned thinking about their kiss. Kissing those full, beautiful lips had been a pleasing mistake.

"C'mon." Klaus growled, while rubbing fast the knife's blade against the magnesium block. When the first red sparkles appeared, Caroline's eyes widened in surprise. The fire slowly burnt the wood, and the little flames gradually grew higher. Klaus looked proud, and Caroline still couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Oh my God." She murmured. "You… you built a fire!" She stood on her feet, and the astonished look on her face made Klaus chuckle.

"Yes, love, and it's not magic. It's called physics." He sat on the fallen trunk. Caroline shook her head and looked up at the dark sky.

"Do you ever stop showing off?" She complained, keeping her arms crossed to hold Lara.

"Do you ever stop being absolutely stunning?" Klaus' question took Caroline unawares. That annoying, cunning smirk curved Klaus' lips, and let the cute dimples at the sides of his cheeks appear. Caroline tried her best to keep herself from smiling, but she failed in the attempt. So, she looked the other side, not to let Klaus see her blushing. Klaus never took his grey eyes off her. Not even when she sat by his side, to enjoy the warmth of the fire.

"Would you please stop staring at me?" She demanded shyly, without even looking at him. She could feel his gaze on her.

"Why?" He asked. Caroline sighed. He perfectly knew why. She finally looked at him.

"Seriously? Because people feel uncomfortable when someone is staring." Klaus chucked again, and his laugh teased Caroline's nerves. What game was he playing?

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." He apologized, even though his tone suggested he wasn't taking her seriously. Caroline shook her head. She was both amused and annoyed by Klaus' behavior. She returned watching the flames. For a while, they both stayed silent.

"Are you cold?" Klaus asked her, when he heard her taking a deeper breath.

"Just a little." Caroline admitted.

"Come here." He allowed her to get a little closer, until there was no distance left between their bodies. Then, he put his arm around her shoulders. Caroline was keeping both her hands in her pockets, and she rested with her head against Klaus' shoulder.

"Klaus?" She called his name, softly.

"Yes, love?"

"Why do you think they want to kill us?" She asked. The innocence in her tone made Klaus hate those men even more. Nobody should lay a hand on such a beautiful, good, and pure creature. Caroline deserved so much better.

"I don't know." He admitted. He didn't have all the answers to her questions. Caroline knew it well, but she still hoped Klaus could give her some explanations.

"At least, we're not the last humans left alive." She said. She always looked at the bright side of any situation.

"If I were you, love, I wouldn't be so happy with that. Mankind is not known for its goodness." Klaus said back. Caroline heard the bitter cynicism of his soul getting loud through his voice. She raised her head from his shoulder, to look at him in the eyes.

"Not every man is evil, Klaus." She made him notice. He smiled, and looked back at her like a grown up man would look at a child who can't see the wickedness hidden inside the world, because of the purity of his eyes.

"No, not every man." He agreed, and caressed her soft, gelid cheek with his fingers. Caroline's heart beat faster at the touch.

"Some people are strong enough not to let their hearts get corrupted. But look at this world. Nature itself is forcing us to fight for survival. We'll get to a point where somebody else's life will come to the expense of our salvation. This is why, sweetheart, they want us dead." Klaus spoke the hard truth. Caroline couldn't agree with him. She couldn't just accept the fact that she was living in a world in which she had to be the cause of someone's suffering. She was too good to accept it. She suddenly grabbed his hand, to take it away from her cheek, and speak.

"We can change our perspective on life, Klaus. People can help each other. Like we did." Caroline suddenly realized she was holding Klaus' hand so tightly. She blushed, and she let it go. Klaus stayed silent for a brief while.

"I lost my faith in humanity a long time ago." He explained. Caroline would ask him why. She would look for other explanations. Then, she told herself not to be intrusive. Klaus returned admiring the flames burning before his eyes, and Caroline returned resting with her head on his shoulder.

"Klaus?" She called his name again, in a whisper.

"What?"

"I'm glad you are here with me." She found the courage to say it out loud. Klaus felt a genuine happiness he hadn't been feeling for a while now. He returned curving his full, dry lips in a satisfied smile.

"And I'm glad to be here with you, love."

* * *

><p><strong>Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading. I'm grateful for the support you've showed for this story so far! <strong>

**What are your thoughts about the kiss? And who do you think those men are?**

**In the next chapter Klaus and Caroline will meet a new character. **

**I'm also making a trailer for this fic. ;)**

**REVIEW for a fast update!**

**Ilaria.**


	6. Chapter VI

**The last winter**

_VI_

While one of them slept, the other one stayed awake to be on guard. Caroline had insisted that Klaus sleep first. She knew that he was too proud to let her watch over him. If she had let him stay awake for the first part of the night, he wouldn't have woken her to be on guard till dawn. So, she began to stroke her favorite knife's blade with a rock, and Klaus fell asleep despite the noise. The fire was the only source of heat they had.

A few hours passed. Caroline observed Klaus sleeping. Keeping her eyes open became difficult with every passing second. Her legs were tired. They had been walking all day long, and they had found nothing. She couldn't feel the pain of her feet, because she couldn't feel them at all. Yet she was pretty sure those shoes had caused her some blisters.

"Klaus?" Her soft whisper preceded the gentle touch of her hand on his shoulder. He immediately opened his eyes. It was like he was ready to fight, or to run.

"Sleep." He ordered her, and he quickly raised his chest to leave his place to Caroline. Even though they had to sleep on the gelid snow, Klaus' body had left a less cold shape on which Caroline lay. She wore her hood, to preserve her hair from getting wet.

"No. Come, love. Sleep on me." Klaus didn't let her close her eyes. He put his back against the fallen tree trunk, and he patted his hand against his abdomen. Caroline was too tired to rebut. She advanced walking on all fours till she reached him, and she let him embrace her. Her head found some comfort by resting into the crook of his neck. She breathed his perfume, and she enjoyed the warmth of his skin, hidden beneath the heavy clothes he wore. He had unzipped his jacket, just to establish a direct contact with her, and use his own jacket to cover her.

"Give me your hands." He told her. She did and his fingers crossed hers. He tried to keep them warm.

"Can you feel my touch?" He asked. Caroline nodded softly.

"Good." He added. Feeling something was a good sign. Caroline fell asleep so quickly, that she didn't even realize it. Klaus remained awake to watch over her. The woods were quiet. The only noise he heard was the firewood's crackling. He tried not to move, in order to let Caroline sleep till dawn. She reminded him of his sister. Sometimes, when Rebekah and he were still kids, she used to sleep in his bed. Storms had always frightened her. Klaus made her feel protected. Without his brother, she was unable to close her eyes when it was raining outside. He thought about her, and he wondered if she was still home. As much as he missed her, he hoped not to see her face anymore. Rebekah had to remain in a safer reality.

The flames got weak as the hours passed. The sun – if that world had one – hadn't come up in the sky yet, but Klaus knew the morning was close. The bluish, foggy light that surrounded him gave a mysterious atmosphere to the woods. He suddenly heard a noise. It was the cracking of a branch. Something had moved through those trees. Perhaps it was just a rustle caused by a stronger blow of the wind. Perhaps it was a warning. Klaus' muscles tensed.

"Caroline." He whispered her name. His voice made her eyes open again, very slowly.

"What?" She murmured. A second noise followed the first. This time, Caroline herself heard it.

"What was that?" She asked in a concerned whisper. Lara was still resting in her arms, or so she thought, before she heard her growling. Now it was clear: they were in danger. Together, Klaus and Caroline stood up. They both held their weapons, and they both looked around each other to glimpse something through the fog.

"I can't see anything." She told him.

"It must be somewhere among the trees." Klaus aimed at the bare, dark branches. No leaves could hide whatever was moving above their heads. Suddenly, he heard Caroline's breathing getting heavier, and faster. He looked at her. Her frightened eyes were full of pure terror.

"Caroline?" He called for her, and he got no answer. Caroline could hardly breathe.

"They're everywhere." He barely heard her saying.

"What? Who?" He asked, again. "Caroline!" He insisted to get an answer. Her eyes were stuck on an imprecise point before her. It was like she didn't dare to look up at the trees again.

"Klaus, those are not branches." She finally spoke. Her trembling tone was filled with fear. Klaus slowly raised his head, and he forced his eyes to see through what they were looking. Then, he saw them. If you kept enough attention, you could glimpse their closed, black wings moving every now and then. The slight movement was the only thing that separated those creatures from any other skinny, black branch. They hid their bodies behind the trunks, but their claws surrounded them, along with their thin wings. They weren't birds. On the contrary, they looked like giant bats. Or just demons coming straight from the bottom of hell.

"Fuck." Caroline heard Klaus muttering. She didn't move a finger. There weren't just one or two of those things. They were literally everywhere. Every time Caroline's eyes moved from one tree to the other, she saw at least four of those demons staring back at her.

"Alright, love, let's keep our voices down. We need to get away from here, now." Klaus began to say.

"How?" Caroline asked, looking at him, without turning her face toward him.

"Is your gun loaded?"

"Yes." She replied.

"Good. You'll need it." Lara growled at one of those creatures, who growled back at her fiercely. The puppy hid herself in Caroline's jacket as the monster exposed its black chest, still remaining clung to the tree. It showed it's sharpened teeth in a challenging way. Caroline jumped a little to the sound of the ferocious snarl.

"Klaus?" She called for him, waiting for instructions.

"Let's try to move slowly." He told her, and he took a tiny step back. Caroline did the same. They proceeded that way for a few moments, holding their weapons tightly, ready to fight. During those endless moments, the tension grew deeper. Gradually, as they moved further, the creatures advanced, moving from a branch to the other, and exposing their horrendous bodies. They didn't stop. Stopping would be as reckless as running. A thud behind their back preceded an intense growling. They knew they were about to be attacked. Together, they turned to face the creature that stood tall before them. It was as big as a human being, if one didn't see the large, black and hairless wings to which a pair of sharpen claws was directly linked. The other two arms were more similar to any human limb. The creature was slightly bent, and the legs looked strong, although they were thin. The face had no track of human features. Slowly, other of them touched the ground. Klaus and Caroline found themselves trapped at the center of a deadly cage. They began to look around themselves. They had no other choice, but fighting.

"I'm not gonna die because of some fucking bats." Klaus growled. Caroline's back touched his. "Caroline, love, shall we begin?" He was ready to open fire. Caroline swallowed, and then pressed her lips.

"I'm ready." She affirmed.

"Come to daddy." Klaus aimed at the creature before him, and he shot as it open its mouth to emit a ferocious sound. The noise of the first bullet started what came next. The tense stillness faded, and the chaos swallowed them. Every monster left its shelter among the trees to fight on the solid ground. The movement of their wings caused a cold wind that crashed on Klaus' and Caroline's faces, making Caroline's blonde locks – those that weren't tied up in her ponytail – savagely cover her sweet traits. They had to remain together. Fighting alone meant to embrace an inevitable death. Klaus grabbed Caroline's arm to make her start running along with him. They ran as fast as they could as soon as they found a way out of the center. Running on such a soft surface as snow wasn't easy. It was harder than running on sand. But giving up wasn't an option.

"No!" Caroline shouted when her gun stopped shooting bullets. It was unloaded. She put her hand inside her pocket filled with munitions, and tried to load her weapon as fast as she could. But she failed in the attempt, when something pushed her and she hit the ground. She lost her gun among the high snow. Klaus protected her by shooting at the monster who had attacked her.

"Get up!" He ordered her, once it was dead. Caroline's right leg hurt, but she did it anyway. She got back on her feet. Klaus helped her running. She couldn't keep herself from limping because of the terrible ache. While Klaus kept shooting at the monsters they left behind themselves, one of them appeared right before them. He was about to bite Klaus, when Caroline extracted a knife from her belt and sank it right into its bloody face. Her lips got parted in shock. She didn't know what ability had led her action. But she had done it, and it was the only thing that mattered. Klaus pulled her away, again, and didn't allow her to stop running, even though her body commanded to. Caroline tried her best to bear the pain. The fear of death was stronger than any other instinct. When other black creatures showed up before their eyes, blocking their passage, they had no other choice but stopping. Klaus put himself between them and the girl. His arm kept her behind him, who had just become her shield.

"Stay back!" He commanded her. When Klaus pulled the trigger, the absence of bullets didn't let him shoot. He didn't have the time to load his weapon again. So he stepped back, and Caroline did the same along with him. The creatures advanced towards them. They thought it was over. They thought their death would come soon, it was just a matter of brief instants. But that certainly didn't last. Something hit the creatures from behind. They saw the first arrow getting stuck into the skull of the nearest monster. The same destiny happened to the other two. When their carcasses sunk into the gelid ground, the silence returned. Everything had started and ended so fast. It was over, and they were still alive. They didn't know how, but they had survived. Klaus was still protecting Caroline, and Caroline's fingers still held Klaus' jacket tightly. They looked around themselves, and they saw a tiny human figure standing on the big branch of a tree.

"Are you guys okay?" A child's voice asked. Although the fog didn't let them see their savior's face, they were pretty sure she was a girl. And she was surely a kid.

"Who are you?" Klaus responded with a question. The girl jumped down the tree. Her graceful moves suggested she had been living there a long time. As she got close enough, Klaus and Caroline saw her innocent face. Her long, auburn hair were tied in a beautiful fishtail braid. Her skin was so pale, it looked like it had never been touched by sunlight. Her cheeks were a little rosy because of the gelid, morning air. Her green, smart eyes observed the two of them quietly. She didn't look dangerous, but judging by her fighting skills, she was.

"I'm Nadia. And who are you?" She didn't hesitate before revealing her name, and she made the same question to Klaus. Confused, Klaus shared a glance with Caroline.

"He's Klaus. And I'm Caroline." The blonde responded before him. She gave a sweet smile to the child. "Thank you for saving us. You're a perfect archer." Proud, Nadia smiled back. Then, her green eyes widened as she saw Lara, hiding inside Caroline's jacket.

"Wow. I had never seen a direwolf before." She admitted. Caroline looked down at the puppy. She frowned.

"You had never seen a what?" She asked. Nadia raised an eyebrow and though that the new, blonde girl was totally weird.

"A direwolf." She repeated again, as it was the most obvious thing to say.

"Wait, are you here alone?" Klaus interrupted their conversation to return making questions.

"Oh, absolutely not. I was just taking a walk." She said back. The simplicity in her tone left Klaus and Caroline speechless. After all, they had just escaped death, and now a ten years old girl – she didn't look older than ten – told them she was just taking a walk through the most dangerous place they had ever been into.

"Of course." Klaus whispered. He sounded upset.

"You two are new, aren't you?" Nadia assumed. She got no answer. "Just as I thought. Come with me." She gave her back at them, to start walking.

"Where?" Klaus asked. Nadia didn't stop.

"Home!" She exclaimed. Klaus and Caroline shared another look. Then, they followed the kid before she disappeared through the thick fog. Klaus let Caroline put her arm around his shoulder, and he placed his own arm around her waist, in order to help her walking. Her ankle hurt, but it wasn't broken. Nadia didn't speak on the way home. She had fun jumping around, and she was way faster than Klaus and Caroline.

"We're almost there!" She informed them, stopping on a higher, little mountain of snow, before returning to walk gracefully. She was full of energy. Once they left the big amount of snow that created a large, but short hill, they were able to see the house hidden among the trees. Caroline's eyes widened. She felt her heart beating faster. Klaus and she stopped walking just for a few moments, almost to tell themselves that what they were seeing was real. No tricks. No traps. Nadia ran toward the house, and when the door got opened, someone got out. A tall brunette. She wore comfortable, winter clothes. Caroline immediately saw the amazing boots at her feet, and she thought she wanted a similar pair. Her shoes had been causing her so much pain, lately.

"Nadia! How many times do I have to tell you to stay where I can see you?" The woman scolded the child as a mother would do with her daughter. Yet, she didn't sound that angry.

"But mom, I found new people!" Nadia said back, and invited the woman to look at Klaus and Caroline.

"Stefan!" The woman pronounced that name, and a man came out of the house just a few seconds later. He looked young, just like the woman. He walked toward them, observing every detail of their clothing and their exhausted faces. In the meantime, the woman kept Nadia close to her, almost to protect her from something.

"Who are you?" Stefan – that must be his name – asked.

"My name is Klaus, and she's Caroline. We're together, and we don't intend to harm you and your family." Klaus spoke solemnly. "We've been out there for days. Our weapons and food have been stolen. We won't survive another night without your help." He admitted. Stefan looked serious, but not impassive before Klaus' request of help.

"Is your girl hurt?" When he made the question, Caroline pressed her lips.

"I am not his girl, and in case you didn't know it, I can speak for myself." She immediately corrected him. She noticed the smirk that appeared on Nadia's mother's lips. "And yes. I hurt my leg while fighting the freaking… giant bats!" She complained, as she usually did. Stefan seemed amused by the giant bats thing.

"Excuse her. She's always annoying." Klaus smirked, and rolled his eyes while looking at Stefan. Caroline glared at him. She would slap him, or push him, if only he wasn't the only thing that helped her staying still on her own feet. Stefan smiled back at Klaus. Suddenly, a girl reached the brunette's woman side. She was a teen. Her waved, dark hair was long, and her face was angelic.

"What's going on?" She asked. A black, young man followed her. He was tall, and muscular.

"Hey D, get back inside." He told her. Then, when his dark eyes met Klaus' and Caroline's, his attention moved from the teenage girl to them. He stopped by Stefan's side.

"New people, mhh?" He murmured. Stefan nodded.

"Enough chit chat. Let them in." The woman walked toward Caroline, and offered her some help. "My name is Katherine. Don't worry, you can trust me." Caroline was about to put her arm around her shoulders, and accept her help, when Klaus pulled her back close to him.

"I'll take care of her." He growled at Katherine, like a lion who claims what belongs to him. His territory. His woman. Katherine shared a friendly glance with the blonde, and she smirked again, right before returning inside the house. Stefan put his arm around Katherine's waist, and followed her inside. The teenager kept her blue eyes on the strangers, and the tall, black man did the same. Nadia was the last one who got back inside. Stefan showed Caroline a seat. The girl sat, and Klaus remained close to her chair. Nadia reached her mother's side. She looked extremely proud of what she had found.

"How long have you been here?" Stefan began to ask.

"In the woods?" Klaus asked.

"In this world." Stefan said back.

"Wait… what do you mean?" Caroline stepped into the conversation. Stefan sighed.

"So, you don't know it." He assumed.

"What we don't know?" Klaus' tone got more aggressive. He didn't like it when people kept secrets from him.

"The world as you once knew it, no longer exists. Or at least, not for us. Every single person in this room has been chosen to live the rest of his life in a different dimension from the one he used to know." He explained.

"Why?" Caroline didn't keep herself from asking.

"Good question." Stefan said. Apparently, not even he had a precise answer to it.

"To start over." Another masculine voice came from a hidden corner of the room. As the man took some steps ahead, he revealed his face. Klaus recognized it, and he felt no relief in seeing a face he had already seen before. The man seemed to recognize him as well. He smirked.

"Klaus Mikaelson." He greeted him.

"Enzo." Klaus pronounced his name after Enzo had pronounced his. He had a slight smile stuck on his face, but he was clearly not happy to see him.

"How long."

"Wait, are you two friends?" Caroline frowned while asking. She looked for answers in Klaus' eyes, but he was avoiding her look.

"Old cellmates, to be precise. We caused a few troubles in prison." Enzo explained. Caroline felt her heart skip a beat.

"Prison?" A confused smile made her sweet lips curving a bit. Then, she looked at Klaus, again. She almost didn't believe that man was talking seriously. Then, seeing Klaus' serious expression, she realized everything was true. Her smile faded. The tension became ticker in the room. Enzo had done it on purpose. He was sure Klaus hadn't revealed his true identity to the pretty blonde lady.

"Hadn't you tell your pretty friend that you're a criminal?" Enzo rubbed salt into the wound. Klaus didn't say anything back. He was trying hard to repress the anger that was consuming him from inside. He told himself that showing a violent behavior would give those people a good reason to deny him their help. And he couldn't allow himself to be separated from Caroline. He had to watch over her, and protect her, no matter what.

"Davina, why don't you look for a bandage for Caroline's leg? Come with me, I'll give you clean clothes to wear." Katherine didn't let Enzo take it too far. She interrupted his fun, and she decided to distract Caroline by taking her to the nearest bathroom, to let her clean herself up. Again, she offered her help to the blonde girl. Klaus was about to help her standing up, when Caroline drew herself away before his hand could touch her.

"I can do it myself." She said. He felt her inner frustration through her cold tone. He let her go, without insisting. She didn't even look him in the eyes, and she made the last efforts to follow Katherine. She was so disappointed by Klaus' lack of trust, but there was no anger in her soul, just sadness. She believed he didn't consider her worthy of his real friendship, and it hurt more than it should. No matter how many times Caroline repeated herself Klaus was nothing but a stranger. She would never truly believe that.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Klaus and Caroline are in good company, now. ;) Another member will be added to the group in the next chapters. At the moment we have Katherine, Stefan, Nadia (she's Kat's and Stefan's child), Davina, Marcel and Enzo. I'll tell you more about them in the next chapter, I promise. <strong>

**Klaus and Caroline will have time to talk about what just happened. **

**Review please! :)**

**Ilaria.**


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Vampire Diaries, Horror, Romance