Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take

Damon, Bonnie and Alaric have been spending the summer in Europe to get over their grief, while Stefan, Caroline and Matt make a deal with Lily and her Heretics after failing to defeat them. Caroline and Bonnie miss Elena deeply and each day are writing in a diary everything that occurs so that when Elena wakes up it’ll be like she never missed anything. Stefan and Caroline evacuate the whole town to protect them from the Heretics, but agree that anyone who passes the border will be at the mercy of the Heretics. Alaric consults psychics about his dead wife, with no luck. Damon rescues Bonnie from a car accident at the last moment. When the trio get back in town, they learn about the deal with the Heretics. Damon and Bonnie make their own plan and kill a Heretic. When Lily learns about the death, she attains revenge by kidnapping Caroline with the help of Enzo.

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Flashforward:Three years into the future, Stefan is seen rushing into a storage unit, opening a casket containing a desiccated Damon. After reviving Damon against his wishes, Stefan proceeds to tell him that his scar opened up which means that "she's back," right as they are attacked by an old (yet unknown) foe.

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