The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Eleven

Elena watched Mr. Sm all(prenominal)woods rifle bounce across the grass. She enjoyed the expression on his face as he spun around, looking for for what had grabbed it. And she felt the fl atomic number 18 of Damons approval from across the pool of light, fierce and hot like the pride of a wolf for its cubs knocked out(p) preparation kill. But when she glimpsed Stefan lying on the ground, she forgot everything else. White fury took her trace away, and she started toward him.Everybody stop on the nose stop everything, the right way where you areThe shout was borne toward them a huge with the sound of tires squealing. Alaric Saltzmans car nearly spun out as it glowering into the staff parking stool and screeched to a halt, and Alaric leaped from the car around onwards it stopped moving.Whats departure on here? he demanded, striding toward the workforce.At the shout, Elena had pulled back automatically into the shadows. Now, she looked at the mens faces as they glum toward him. Besides Mr. Smallwood, she recognized Mr. Forbes and Mr. Bennett, Vickie Bennetts father. The others must be the fathers of the other goofs whod been with Tyler in the Quonset hut, she thought.It was one of the strangers who answered the question, in a sound out that couldnt quite hide the nervousness underneath. Well now, we exactly got a little tired of waiting either longer. We decided to speed things up a bit.The wolf growled, a low rumbling that rose to a chainsaw snarl. All the men flinched back, and Alarics heart and souls showed white as he noniced the animal for the start- slay time.There was another sound, softer and continuous, coming from a figure huddled next to one of the cars. Carolean Forbes was whimpering everyplace and over, They state they middling asked to talk to him. They didnt tell me what they were passing to do.Alaric, with one eye on the wolf, gestured toward her. And you were departure to let her pull in this? A young girl? Do you realiz e the psychological damage that could do?What about(predicate) the psychological damage when her throat wanks ripped out? Mr. Forbes returned, and on that point were shouts of agreement. Thats what were worried about.Then youd repair disquiet about jack offting the right man, Alaric state. Caroline, he added, turning toward the girl, I want you to think, Caroline. We didnt get to finish your sittings. I screw when we left off you thought you recognized Stefan. But, are you absolutely positive it was him? Could it brace been per countersign else, roughbody who resembled him?Caroline straightened, bracing herself against the car and raising a tear-stained face. She looked at Stefan, who was just sitting up, and thusly at Alaric. IThink, Caroline. You have to be absolutely certain. Is there someone else it could have been, like-Like that guy who calls himself Damon metalworker, came Merediths voice. She was standing beside Alarics car, a slim shadow. You remember him, Caroli ne? He came to Alarics first-year party. He looks like Stefan in some ways.Like that guy who calls himself Damon Smith, came Merediths voice. She was standing beside Alarics car, a slim shadow. You remember him, Caroline? He came to Alarics first party. He looks like Stefan in some ways.Yes it could have been, I suppose. Everything happened so fast but it could have been.And you really cant be sure which it was? Alaric utter.No not absolutely sure.There, tell Alaric. I told you she needed more sessions, that we couldnt be certain of anything yet. Shes lifelessness very confused. He was walking, carefully, toward Stefan. Elena realized that the wolf had withdrawn back into the shadows. She could travel to it, but the men probably couldnt.Its disappearance made them more aggressive. What are you public lecture about? Who is this Smith? Ive never seen him.But your daughter Vickie probably has, Mr. Bennett, Alaric said. That may come out in my next session with her. Well talk abo ut it tomorrow it can wait that long. Right now I think Id better pay off Stefan to a hospital. There was discomforted shifting among some of the men.Oh, certainly, and while were waiting anything could happen, began Mr. Smallwood. Any time, anywhere-So youre just sledding to take the law into your own hands, whence? Alaric said. His voice sharpened. Whether youve got the right suspect or not. Wheres your read this boy has supernatural powers? Whats your proof? How much of a weightlift did he even up put up?Theres a wolf around somewhere who put up plenty of fight, Mr. Smallwood said, red-faced. Maybe theyre in it together.I dont see any wolf. I saw a dog. Maybe one of the dogs that got out of quarantine. But whats that got to do with it? Im telling you that in my professional opinion youve got the wrong man.The men were wavering, but there was still some doubt in their faces. Meredith spoke up.I think you should know that thereve been vampire attacks in this county before, sh e said. A long time before Stefan came here. My grandfather was a victim. Maybe some of you have heard about that. She looked across at Caroline.That was the end of it. Elena could see the men exchanging uneasy glances and backing toward their cars. Suddenly they all seemed eager to be somewhere else.Mr. Smallwood was one who stayed behind to say, You said wed talk about this tomorrow, Saltzman. I want to hear what my son says the next time hes spellbindd.Carolines father collected her and got in his car fast, muttering something about this all universe a mistake and nobody taking it too seriously.Are you all right? Did they hurt you?He moved away from Alarics supporting arm. Somebody hit me from behind while I was talking to Caroline. Ill be all right-now. He shot a glance at Alaric. Thanks. Why?Hes on our side, said Bonnie, connectedness them. I told you. Oh, Stefan, are you really okay? I thought I was going to faint there for a minute. They werent serious. I mean, they couldnt really have been serious. Serious or not, I dont think we should stay here, said Meredith. Does Stefan really need a hospital?No, Stefan said, as Elena anxiously examined the cut on his head. I just need tarry. Somewhere to sit down.Ive got my keys. Lets go to the history room, Alaric said.Bonnie was looking around the shadows apprehensively. The wolf, too? she said, and wherefore jumped as a shadow coalesced and became Damon.What wolf? he said. Stefan turned slightly, wincing.Thank you, too, he said unemotionally. But Stefans eyes lingered on his brother with something like puzzlement as they walked to the school building.In the hallway, Elena pulled him aside. Stefan, wherefore didnt you notice them coming up behind you? Why were you so weak?Stefan shook his head evasively, and she added, When did you commissariat last? Stefan, when? You always make some excuse when Im around. What are you essay to do to yourself?Im all right, he said. Really, Elena. Ill hunt later(prenomin al).Do you promise?I promise.It didnt occur to Elena at the moment that they hadnt agreed on what later meant. She allowed him to lead her on down the hall.The history room looked different at night to Elenas eyes. There was a strange atmosphere about it, as if the lights were too bright. Just now all the students desks were shoved out of the way, and quint chairs were pulled up to Alarics desk. Alaric, whod just finished arranging the furniture, urged Stefan into his own padded chair.Okay, why dont the rest of you take a seat.They just looked at him. After a moment Bonnie sank down into a chair, but Elena stood by Stefan, Damon continued to lounge halfway between the group and the door, and Meredith pushed some papers to the center of Alarics desk and perched on the corner.Well, said Elena.Everyone looked at everyone else. Elena picked up a piece of cotton from the first-aid kit shed grabbed at the door and began dabbing Stefans head with it.I think its time for that history, she said.Right. Yes. Well, you all seemed to have guessed Im not a history teacherIn the first five minutes, Stefan said. His voice was quiet and dangerous, and with a jolt Elena realized it reminded her of Damons. So what are you?Alaric made an justificatory gesture and said al about diffidently, A psychologist. not the couch kind, he added hastily as the rest of them exchanged looks. Im a researcher, an experimental psychologist. From Duke University. You know, where the ESP experiments were started. The ones where they make you guess whats on the card without looking at it? Bonnie asked.Yes, well, its gone a bit beyond that now, of course. Not that I wouldnt love to test you with Rhine cards, curiously when youre in one of those trances. Alarics face lit with scientific inquiry. Then he cleared his throat and went on. But-ah-as I was saying. It started a couple of years ago when I did a paper on parapsychology. I wasnt trying to sanction supernatural powers existed, I just wanted to study what their psychological effect is on the good accord who have them. Bonnie, here, is a case in point. Alarics voice took on a lecturers tone. What does it do to her, mentally, emotionally, to have to deal with these powers?Its awful, Bonnie interrupted vehemently. I dont want them anymore. I hate them.Well, there you see, Alaric said. Youd have made a great case study. My problem was that I couldnt find anybody with real psychic powers to examine. There were plenty of fakers, all right-crystal healers, dowsers, channelers, you name it. But I couldnt find anything genuine until I got a tip from a friend in the police department.There was this woman down in South Carolina who claimed shed been bitten by a vampire, and since then she was having psychic nightmares. By that time I was so used to fakes I expected her to turn out to be one, too. But she wasnt, at least not about being bitten. I never could prove she was really psychic.How could you be sure shed been bitten? E lena asked.There was medical evidence. Traces of saliva in her wounds that were similar to human saliva-but not quite the same. It contained an anticoagulatory agent similar to that found in the saliva of leeches Alaric caught himself and hurried on.Anyway, I was sure. And that was how it started. Once I was convinced something had really happened to the woman, I started to look up other cases like hers. There werent a lot of them, but they were out there. People whod encountered vampires.But youve never actually seen a vampire, Elena interrupted. Until now, I mean. Is that right?Well-no. Not in the flesh, as it were. But Ive written monographs and things. His voice trailed off.Elena bit her lip. What were you doing with the dogs? she asked. At the church, when you were waving your hands at them.Oh Alaric looked embarrassed. Ive picked up a few things here and there, you know. That was a spell an old mountain man showed me for fending off evil. I thought it top executive work.Youve got a lot to learn, said Damon.Obviously, Alaric said stiffly. Then he grimaced. Actually, I figured that out right after I got here. Your principal, Brian Newcastle, had heard of me. He knew about the studies I do. When sixpence was killed and Dr. Feinberg found no blood in the body and lacerations made by teeth in the bonk well, they gave me a call. I thought it could be a big break for me-a case with the vampire still in the area. The only problem was that once I got here I realized they expected me to take care of the vampire. They didnt know Id dealt only with the victims before. And well, maybe I was in over my head. But I did my beaver to justify their confidence-You faked it, Elena accused. That was what you were doing when I heard you talking to them at your house about finding our supposed hideaway and all that. You were just winging it.Well, not completely, Alaric said. Theoretically, I am an expert. Then he did a double take. What do you mean, when you heard me talki ng to them?While you were out searching for a lair, she was sleeping in your attic, Damon informed him dryly. Alaric open his mouth and then shut it again.What Id like to know is how Meredith comes into all this, Stefan said. He wasnt smiling.Meredith, who had been gazing thoughtfully at the mix of papers on Alarics desk during all this, looked up. She spoke evenly, without emotion.I recognized him, you see. I couldnt remember where Id seen him at first, because it was almost three years ago. Then I realized it was at Granddads hospital. What I told those men was the truth, Stefan. My grandfather was attacked by a vampire.There was a little silence and then Meredith went on. It happened a long time ago, before I was born. He wasnt badly hurt by it, but he never really got well. He became well, sort of like Vickie, only more violent. It got so that they were afraid hed harm himself, or somebody else. So they took him to a hospital, a place hed be safe.ago, before I was born. He was nt badly hurt by it, but he never really got well. He became well, sort of like Vickie, only more violent. It got so that they were afraid hed harm himself, or somebody else. So they took him to a hospital, a place hed be safe.I know. I could have but I couldnt. The familys kept it a secret so long-or tried anyway. From what Caroline wrote in her diary, shed obviously heard. The thing is, nobody ever believed Granddads stories about the vampire. They just thought it was another of his delusions, and he had a lot of them. Even I didnt believe them until Stefan came. And then-I dont know, my mind started to put little things together. But I didnt really believe what I was thinking until you came back, Elena.Im surprised you didnt hate me, Elena said softly.How could I? I know you, and I know Stefan. I know youre not evil. Meredith didnt glance at Damon he might as well not have been present for all the acknowledgment she gave him. But when I remembered seeing Alaric talking to Grandda d at the hospital I knew he wasnt, either. I just didnt know exactly how to get all of you together to prove it.I didnt recognize you, either, Alaric said. The old man had a different name- hes your mothers father, right? And I may have seen you hanging around the waiting room sometime, but you were just a kid with skinny legs then. Youve changed, he added appreciatively.Bonnie coughed, a pointed sound.Elena was trying to arrange things in her mind. So what were those men doing out there with a stake if you didnt tell them to be?I had to ask Carolines parents for permission to bewitch her, of course. And I reported what I found to them. But if youre thinking I had anything to do with what happened tonight, youre wrong. I didnt even know about it.Ive told him about what weve been doing, how weve been looking for the Other Power, Meredith said. And he wants to help.I said I might help, Alaric said cautiously.Wrong, said Stefan. Youre either with us or against us. Im grateful for what you did out there, talking to those men, but the accompaniment remains that you started a lot of this trouble in the first place. Now you have to decide are you on our side-or theirs?Alaric looked around at each of them, at Merediths steady gaze and Bonnies raised eyebrows, at Elena kneeling on the floor and at Stefans already-healing scalp. Then he turned to glance at Damon, who was leaning against the wall, darkling and saturnine. Ill help, he said at last. Hell, its the ultimate case study.All right, then, Elena said. Youre in. Now, what about Mr. Smallwood tomorrow? What if he wants you to hypnotize Tyler again?Wait, said Stefan. There shouldnt be a dance, not if theres any way to prevent it. Youre on good terms with the principal you can talk to the school board. Make them cancel it.Alaric looked startled. You think somethings going to happen?Yes, Stefan said. Not just because of whats happened at the other public functions, but because somethings building up. Its been build ing up all week I can feel it.So can I, Elena said. She hadnt realized it until that moment, but the strain she felt, the sense of urgency, was not just from inside her. It was outside, all around. It thickened the air. Somethings going to happen, Alaric.Alaric let out his breather in a soft whistle. Well, I can try to convince them, but-I dont know. Your principal is dead set on keeping everything looking normal. And it isnt as if I can give any rational explanation for wanting to shut it down.Try hard, Elena said.I will. And meanwhile, maybe you should think about protecting yourself. If what Meredith says is right, then most of the attacks have been on you and people close to you. Your boyfriend got dropped in a well your car got chase into the river your memorial service was broken up. Meredith says even your little sister was threatened. If somethings going to happen tomorrow, you might want to leave town.It was Elenas turn to be startled. She had never thought of the attack s in that way, but it was true. She heard Stefans indrawn breath and felt his fingers tighten on hers.Hes right, Stefan said. You should leave, Elena. I can stay here until-No. Im not going without you. And, Elena continued, slowly, thinking it out, Im not going anywhere until we find the Other Power and stop it. She looked up at him earnestly, speaking quickly now. Oh, Stefan, dont you see, nobody else even has a chance against it. Mr. Smallwood and his friends dont have a clue. Alaric thinks you can fight it by waving your hands at it. None of them know what theyre up against. Were the only ones who can help.She could see the resistance in Stefans eyes and feel it in the tenor of his muscles. But as she kept on looking straight at him, she saw his objections fall one by one. For the simple reason that it was the truth, and Stefan scorned lying.All right, he said at last, painfully. But as soon as this is all over, were leaving. Im not having you stay in a town where vigilantes run around with stakes.Yes. Elena returned the pressure of his fingers with hers. Once this is all over, well go.Stefan turned to Alaric. And if theres no way to talk them out of having the dance tomorrow, I think we should keep an eye on it. If something does happen, we may be able to stop it before it gets out of hand.Elena tilted a doubtful eye toward Bonnie. Well it would mean missing the dance itself-for those of us who could have gone, I mean.Bonnie drew herself up. Oh, who cares about missing a dance? she said indignantly. What on earth does a dance matter to anyone?Right, said Stefan gravely. Then its settled. A spasm of pain seemed to overtake him and he winced, looking down. Elena was immediately concerned.You need to get home and rest, she said. Alaric, can you drive us? Its not that far.Stefan protested that he was perfectly able to walk, but in the end he gave in. At the boardinghouse, after Stefan and Damon had gotten out of the car, Elena leaned in Alarics window for one last question. It had been gnawing at her mind ever since Alaric had told them his story.About those people whod encountered vampires, she said. Just what were the psychological effects? I mean, did they all go crazy or have nightmares? Were any of them okay?It depends on the individual, Alaric said. And with how many contacts theyd had, and what kind of contacts they were. But for the most part just with the personality of the victim, with how well the individual mind can cope.Elena nodded, and said nothing until the lights of Alarics car had been swallowed by the snowy air. Then she turned to Stefan.Matt.