Chapter 14: The Tomb's Shadow
POV: Sam Barton
The school library after hours feels like a sanctuary of accumulated knowledge, dust motes dancing in late afternoon sunlight that streams through tall windows. Sam spreads his "local legends" research across a corner table—really strategic planning for supernatural events he knows are approaching like storm fronts.
Emily Bennett's grimoire, the tomb beneath Fell's Church, twenty-seven vampires trapped for 145 years. In canon, the tomb opens in chaos and violence. In this timeline, Sam plans to change that narrative.
"Interesting reading material."
Sam looks up to find a girl sliding into the seat across from him—petite, dark-haired, with the kind of ageless beauty that immediately triggers his supernatural awareness. Anna. The vampire who spent nearly a century and a half trying to free her mother Pearl.
"She's here. Earlier than canon timeline, but not unexpected. My presence has accelerated everything."
"Anna, right?" Sam keeps his voice casual while closing his notebook. "You're in Jeremy's art class."
"Among other things." Her smile doesn't reach her eyes. "You're the psychic kid everyone's talking about. Jeremy says you're helping Bonnie with her witch development."
"Direct. No pretense. Vampire efficiency."
"And you're interested in Mystic Falls history because...?"
Anna's expression shifts to something more honest, more desperate.
"I'm looking for something. Something buried. And I think you might know about it."
Sam makes a split-second decision that could save lives or get him killed. He slides a piece of paper across the table, writing quickly:
"The tomb. Your mother Pearl. I might be able to help, but we do it my way—no one dies unnecessarily."
Anna's eyes widen as she reads, then narrow with dangerous intensity.
"How do you know about Pearl? About any of this?"
Sam taps his temple with calculated nonchalance.
"Psychic, remember? I see things. Past, present, sometimes future. Your mother's trapped with twenty-six other vampires beneath the old church. Emily Bennett's spell. 145 years of imprisonment."
The facade drops completely. Anna's hands clench into fists, vampire strength barely contained.
"If you're lying—"
"I'm not. Katherine Pierce was supposed to be in there, but she escaped before the fire. Your mother and the others were left behind to burn."
Pain flickers across Anna's features—brief, but genuine.
"You know about Katherine too."
"I know she's the reason you've spent more than a century trying to free Pearl. I know she manipulated the Salvatore brothers. I know she's been hiding from Klaus for five hundred years."
Anna stares at him like he's speaking in tongues.
"What are you? Because psychic doesn't begin to cover this level of knowledge."
"Careful. Too much truth gets me killed. Not enough gets Pearl and the other vampires massacred when the tomb opens."
"I'm someone who sees patterns, connections, things that others miss. And I see a way to free your mother without the bloodbath that usually follows vampire prison breaks."
"Usually follows?"
Sam meets her gaze steadily.
"Every scenario I've seen ends in violence. Founding Families panic, vampires retaliate, innocent people die. But there's another way if you're willing to trust me."
Anna considers this for a long moment, ancient eyes studying his face for deception.
"What do you want in return?"
"No massacres. We free Pearl and any innocents, but the vampires who choose to stay in Mystic Falls do so peacefully. No revenge killings, no feeding sprees, no drawing attention that gets everyone killed."
"And if they won't agree to that?"
"Then they leave town. Permanently."
Anna extends her hand across the table, decision made.
"Deal. But if you betray us—"
"I know. You'll kill me. Everyone keeps saying that. It's getting repetitive."
Despite everything, Anna almost smiles.
"Jeremy mentioned you have a sarcastic streak."
"Speaking of Jeremy—"
Sam finds Jeremy Gilbert in the art room twenty minutes later, working on a sketch that shows remarkable technical skill despite the subject matter—dark, twisted trees that seem to reach toward something just outside the frame.
"That's incredible," Sam says honestly, settling onto a stool beside Jeremy's easel.
"Thanks. It's from a dream I keep having. Same trees, same feeling of something watching from the shadows."
"His psychic sensitivity is developing. Elena's doppelganger blood creates spiritual resonance that attracts supernatural attention."
"Jeremy, can I ask you something? That girl Anna you've been talking to—what do you know about her?"
Jeremy's expression immediately becomes defensive.
"You sound like Elena. I can make my own choices about who I talk to."
"I'm not trying to control your choices. I'm trying to keep you safe."
"Safe from what?"
Sam chooses his words carefully, walking the line between truth and believability.
"Anna's involved in something dangerous. I can't explain how I know that without sounding crazy, but getting involved with her could put you in real danger."
"What kind of danger?"
"The kind where you become vampire food, get compelled into helping with supernatural schemes, and eventually end up wearing a resurrection ring that slowly drives you insane."
"The kind that could hurt you permanently. Jeremy, you're doing better. You're drawing again, thinking about your future. Don't let someone else's agenda derail that progress."
Jeremy sets down his charcoal, really looking at Sam for the first time.
"You're serious."
"Dead serious. I know it sounds paranoid, but some people carry darkness that can drag you down with them. And you're just starting to climb out of the hole your parents' death put you in."
Jeremy nods slowly, something shifting in his expression.
"I'll... be careful. But Sam? If you know something specific, something that could help—"
"When I can tell you more without putting you in worse danger, I will. I promise."
[QUEST UPDATE: PROTECT JEREMY]
[STAGE 1 COMPLETE: WARNING DELIVERED]
[REWARD: +150 EXP]
[JEREMY'S SAFETY: TEMPORARY PROTECTION ESTABLISHED]
That night, Anna appears at the Barton estate without invitation—vampire speed allowing her to bypass normal security measures. Sam's clones tense immediately, Enhanced Speed and Defensive Shield ready for combat, but Sam waves them down.
"If she wanted me dead, I'd already be dead. She's here to talk."
They settle in his father's study, surrounded by supernatural journals and archaeological texts that suddenly seem prophetic. Anna examines the research with growing amazement.
"Your parents knew. About the tomb, about Emily's spell, about the vampire histories."
"They knew enough to get themselves killed for knowing too much."
Anna's expression softens slightly.
"I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose family to supernatural politics."
"Which is why we're going to do this differently. Tell me about the tomb's location, the spell requirements, what happens when the door opens."
For the next two hours, Anna shares information she's gathered over nearly 150 years of planning. The church ruins, the underground chamber, Emily Bennett's protection spell that requires a descendant to break it. The starvation, the madness, the desperation of vampires who've been trapped without blood for more than a century.
"Most of them will be feral," Anna admits. "Driven insane by hunger and confinement."
"Which is why we need blood bags, a safe feeding area, and a clear exit strategy for any who choose to leave town immediately."
"You've thought about this."
"I think about everything. Contingencies, backup plans, ways to minimize casualties while achieving objectives."
Anna studies him with ancient eyes that have seen empires rise and fall.
"You're not like other humans."
"If only you knew how right you are."
"I'm exactly like other humans. I just have better information."
"Information that could get you killed if the Founding Families discover how much you know."
"Then we make sure they don't find out until it's too late to stop us."
Anna stands, decision crystallizing into action.
"When do we do this?"
Sam checks his mental calendar, weighing canonical timing against accelerated events.
"Two weeks. That gives us time to prepare Bonnie for the magical requirements, secure blood supplies, and plan for contingencies."
"And if Katherine appears?"
"Then we deal with that problem when it happens."
Anna nods once, partnership forged in shared desperation and mutual need.
"Two weeks, then. But Sam? If this goes wrong, if my mother dies because of your plan—"
"She won't. Not on my watch."
After Anna leaves via vampire speed, Sam's Enhanced Speed clone materializes beside him.
"Trusting vampires now? That's a bold strategy."
"Anna's not the enemy. Katherine is. And the Founding Families' paranoia when they discover the tomb is open."
"And if Anna decides your usefulness has expired?"
Sam looks out the window at Mystic Falls, lights twinkling like fallen stars across a town that doesn't know it's sitting on a supernatural powder keg.
"Then I better make sure I remain useful until every innocent person is safe."
[QUEST COMPLETE: THE TOMB ALLIANCE]
[ANNA COOPERATION SECURED]
[REWARD: +500 EXP]
[CURRENT EXP: 1,400/4,000 TO LEVEL 7]
[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: THE TOMB OPENING]
[OBJECTIVE: FREE PEARL AND INNOCENTS WITHOUT MASSACRE]
[REWARD: VARIABLE BASED ON CASUALTIES]
[CLONE MASTERY UPDATE: ENHANCED SPEED 40% (ADEPT APPROACHING)]
The clone doesn't look convinced, but neither is Sam. He's gambling everything on the possibility that vampires can be reasoned with, that centuries of hatred can be overcome by strategic thinking and careful planning.
In two weeks, twenty-seven vampires will taste freedom for the first time since 1864. Whether that freedom comes in peace or violence depends entirely on Sam's ability to change a narrative that's been written in blood for more than a century.
"No pressure at all."
But as Sam reviews his growing alliance network—Stefan, Anna, soon-to-be Bonnie, potentially Pearl—he realizes he's building something that never existed in canon: a coalition of supernatural and human allies working toward the same goal.
"Maybe that's enough. Maybe that changes everything."
Through his mental link with Clone One, positioned on night patrol, comes a concerning update: "Damon's hunting again. Found his feeding ground behind the Mystic Grill. Three victims so far, all tourists. He's escalating."
"Stay hidden. Document but don't engage."
"Copy that. But Sam? This vampire alliance plan better work. Because if Damon snaps completely, vervain and clever tactics won't save any of us."
Sam knows. The clock is ticking toward a confrontation that will determine whether Mystic Falls becomes a battlefield or finds a new way forward.
Two weeks. Time enough to save everyone, or just long enough to get them all killed.
+1 CHAPTER AFTER EVERY 3 REVIEWS
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
Love [ The Vampire Diaries: The Clone Sovereign ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
with exclusive access to 27+ chapters on my Patreon, you get more chapters if you ask for more (in few days), plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $6/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers,In The Vikings With Deja Vu System,Stranger Things Demogorgon Tamer ...].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!