Chapter 87: The Hunter's Campaign - Part 1
POV: Sam Barton
Three days into Connor's hunting campaign, and the body count is rising—five vampires staked, all of them non-Accord compliant drifters who'd been feeding on humans outside town limits.
Part of me can't fault Connor's target selection. The other part knows this ends badly regardless.
I track him to an abandoned warehouse using my Sensory clone's enhanced detection, approaching alone with hands visible and no weapons.
"Connor Jordan," I call out. "I know Shane sent you. I know about The Five and the hunter's mark. Can we talk?"
Connor emerges from shadows with crossbow aimed at my chest. "The anomaly. Shane said you'd try convincing me to stop. Said your words are dangerous—make monsters seem human."
"Because some of them are," I reply calmly. My Phasing clone materializes between us, ready to evacuate me if Connor shoots. "Not all supernatural beings chose their nature. Some were turned, cursed, or born into it. Judge individuals, not species."
"Vampires kill," Connor states flatly. "It's what they are."
"Tyler Lockwood is a hybrid—part vampire, part werewolf. He didn't choose either transformation. But he adapted, found humanity despite the curse, protects this town instead of destroying it. Does he deserve death?"
Connor's aim wavers slightly. "Hybrids are abominations."
"Tyler's my friend," I counter. "He's saved innocent lives, including mine. That make him monster or hero?"
For the first time, doubt flickers across Connor's expression. He lowers the crossbow fractionally.
"My family was slaughtered by vampires when I was twelve," Connor says quietly. "Mother, father, little sister. Only I survived, hiding in a closet while monsters tore them apart. Another of The Five found me, trained me, gave me purpose—eliminate the creatures who destroy human lives."
The pain in his voice is raw, genuine, and I can't fault his hatred when it's built on that foundation.
"I'm sorry," I say, and mean it. "That's a trauma no child should endure. But Connor—punishing all vampires for what a few monsters did doesn't bring your family back. It just perpetuates the cycle of violence."
"Then what's the alternative?" Connor challenges. "Let them exist? Hope they don't kill again?"
"Structure," I reply. "The Mystic Falls Accord establishes rules—vampires feed on blood bags or willing donors, disputes get mediated peacefully, violations face collective justice from all factions. Three months without vampire murders. Peace works."
Connor's quiet for long moment, clearly processing arguments that challenge his core beliefs.
Then his eyes track to movement at the warehouse entrance—Jeremy Gilbert helping evacuate civilians from a vampire confrontation my Sensory clone detected earlier.
"That boy," Connor observes. "Hunter's instincts, protective nature, physical capability. If I die, the mark might pass to him. Someone who could use The Five's power properly instead of being corrupted by the anomaly's lies."
My stomach drops. Jeremy becoming a hunter would curse him with visions of all Connor's vampire kills, drive him toward the madness and suicide my parents' research documented.
"Jeremy stays out of this," I declare firmly. "Whatever happens with you, he's not part of it."
Connor studies me with calculating intensity. "You protect everyone. The vampires, the humans, even people you barely know. Shane was right about one thing—you don't fit natural order. Question is whether that makes you savior or threat."
Before I can respond, Connor vanishes into the warehouse's deeper shadows, leaving me with more questions than answers.
[CONNOR RELATIONSHIP: HOSTILE BUT LISTENING]
[JEREMY GILBERT: IDENTIFIED AS POTENTIAL MARK INHERITOR]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +400]
[LEVEL 36: 900/5,200 TO LEVEL 37]
I find Jeremy at the Gilbert house that evening, Elena present for the conversation I've been dreading.
"Stay away from Connor Jordan," I tell Jeremy bluntly. "If he dies by supernatural hand, you might inherit his hunter abilities and a curse that drives people insane."
Jeremy's face flashes frustration. "I can help! I'm not useless—I've been training with Alaric, learning to fight. Why do you keep sidelining me?"
"Because keeping you safe means keeping you ignorant," I reply. "The hunter's curse shows you every vampire the hunter killed. Hundreds of deaths playing on repeat in your mind until you can't distinguish memory from reality. It's psychological torture, Jeremy. I won't let that happen to you."
Elena intervenes, gripping Jeremy's shoulder. "Listen to Sam. He's kept us alive through Klaus, Esther, Katherine—he knows what he's doing."
Jeremy storms off to his room, slamming the door with teenage fury that's somehow reassuring in its normalcy.
"He hates being protected," Elena says quietly.
"Better he hates me than inherits a curse that kills him," I reply.
But as I leave the Gilbert house, I can't shake the feeling that protecting Jeremy might be harder than protecting anyone else—because he actively wants to be part of the danger.
To supporting Me in Pateron .
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