The Return: Nightfall Chapter 18

unconditional woke, fuzzily, to name himself still behind the steering wheel of Elenas simple machine. He stumbled into his provide, almost for askting to lock the car, and thus fumbling with keys to unlock the back door. The house was dark his parents were asleep. He made it up to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed without even taking off his shoes.When he woke again, he was startled to find it was nineA.M . and his alert ph star was ringing in his jeans pocket.Merdith?We thought you were coming over early this morning.I am, entirely Ive got to figure outhow first, Matt verbalize or rather, croaked. His head mat twice its usual size and his arm at least four clock times too big. Even so, something in the back of his mind was calculating how to get to the boardinghouse without taking the Old Wood Road at only. Finall(a)y a few neurons lit up and showed him.Matt? Are you still thither?Im not sure. Last nightGod, I dont evenremember most of last night. only if on the wa y home look, Ill tell you when I get there. First I have to call the police.Thepolice ?Yeahlook still give me an hour, okay? Ill be there in an hour.When he finally arrived at the boardinghouse, it was closer to xi than to ten. But a shower had cleared his head, even if it hadnt d ane much for his throbbing arm. When he did appear, he was engulfed in worried femininity.Matt,what happened ?He told them e reallything he could remember. When Elena, with mass lips, undid the Ace bandage he had wrapped around his arm, they all winced. The long scratches were clearly badly infected.Theyre poisonous, then, these malach.Yes, Elena said tersely. Poisonous to body and mind.And you think one of these whoremaster get at heart people? Meredith asked. She was doodling on a notebook page, nerve-racking to draw something that looked like what Matt had describe.Yes.For just a moment Elenas and Merediths eyes met then both looked refine. At last Meredith said, And how do we know whether one i s indoorssomeoneor not? seemly should be able to tell, in trance, Elena said evenly. Even I tycoon be able to tell, only Im not going to use White Power for that. Were going land to see Mrs. Flowers.She said it in that additional way that Matt had learned to recognize long ago, and it meant that no argument would do any good. She was putting her foot down, and that was that.And the truth was that Matt didnt feel very much like arguing. He hated to complain hed played through and through football games with a broken collarbone, a sprained knee, a turned ankle but this was different. His arm felt in danger of exploding.Mrs. Flowers was downstairs in the kitchen, but on the family room table were four glasses of iced tea.Ill be effective with you, she called through the swinging half-door that divided the kitchen from where they were standing. Drink the tea, especially the young man whos injured. Itll help him relax.Herbal tea, sightly whispered to the others, as if this were some trade secret.The tea wasnt all that bad, although Matt wouldve preferred a Coke. But when he thought of it as medicine, and with the girls all watching him like hawks, he managed to get over half of it down before the landlady came out.She was wearing her gardening hat or at least a hat with artificial flowers on it that looked as if it had been used for gardening. But on a cookie tray, she had a number of instruments, all gleaming as if theyd just been boiled.Yes, dear, I am, she said to Bonnie, who had stood up in front of Matt protectively. I used to be a nurse, just like your sister. Women werent encouraged to be doctors then. But all my life Ive been a witch. Gets lovely of lonely, doesnt it?It wouldnt be so lonely, Meredith said, facial musing puzzled, if you lived closer to town.Ah, but then Id have people staring at my house all the time, and children daring each other to diddle and touch it, or to throw a stone through my window, or adults peering at me every time I went shopping.And how could I ever nourishment my garden in peacefulness?It was the longest speech any of them had ever comprehend her make. It took them so by surprise that it was a moment before Elena said, I dont see how you can bear your garden in peace outhere . What with all the deer and rabbits and other animals.Well, most of it isfor the animals, you see. Mrs.Flowers smiled beatifically and her face seemed to light up from within. They surely enjoy it. But they dont enjoy the herbs I grow for putting on scrapes and cuts and sprains and such. And perhaps they know Im a witch, too, since they always leave me a bit of the garden for myself and maybe a guest or two.Why are you telling me all of this now? Elena demanded. Why, thereve been times when I was looking for you, or for Stefan, when I thought well, never mind what I thought. But I wasnt always sure you were our friend.The truth is that Ive gotten solitary and unsociable in my old age. But now youve lost your young man, havent you? I wish I had gotten up a minuscular earlier this morning. Then I might have been able to speak to him. He left the money for a years term of a contract of the room on the kitchen table. Ive always had a soft spot for him, and thats the truth.Elenas lips were trembling. Matt hastily and heroically lifted his wounded arm. Can you help at all with this? he asked, peeling the Ace bandage away again.Oh, my, my. And what smorgasbord of critter gave you these? Mrs. Flowers said, examining the scratches time the three girls winced.We think it was a malach, Elena said quietly. Do you know anything about those?Ive heard the word, yes, but I dont know anything specific. How long ago did you get them? she asked Matt. They look more like tooth marks than claw marks.They are, Matt said grimly, and he described the malach to her as best he could. It was partly to keep himself distracted, because Mrs. Flowers had picked up one of the gleaming instruments from the cookie tray an d was starting to do things to his red and swollen arm.Hold as still as you can on this towel, she said. These have already scabbed over, but they motif to be opened and drained and cleaned out properly. Its going to hurt. Why dont one of you young women hold his hand to help keep his arm steady?Elena started to stand but Bonnie beat her to it, almost leaping over Meredith to come Matts hand in both of her own.The draining and cleaning were painful, but Matt managed to bear it without making a sound, even giving Bonnie a sort of sickly grin as blood and pus trickled out of his arm. The lancing hurt at first, but the release of pressure felt good, and when the wounds were drained and clean and then packed with a cold herbal compress, they felt blessedly cool and ready to heal properly.It was while he was trying to thank the old woman that he noticed Bonnie staring at him. In particular, at his neck. Suddenly she giggled.What? Whats funny?The bug, she said. It gave you a hickey. Un less you did something else last night that you didnt tell us about.Matt could feel himself flush as he pulled his collar up higher. I did tell you about it, and it was the malach. It had a sort of tentacle with suckers around my neck. It was trying to strangle meI remember now, Bonnie said meekly. Im sorry.Mrs. Flowers even had an herbal ointment for the mark the sucker tentacle had left and one for Matts scraped knuckles. After shed applied them, Matt felt so good that he was able to look sheepishly at Bonnie, who was watching him with big brown eyes.I know, it does look like a hickey, he said. I saw it this morning in the mirror. And Ive got another one lower down, but at least my collar covers that one. He snorted and reached into his shirt to apply more ointment. The girls laughed a release of the tension that theyd all been feeling.Meredith had started back up the narrow stairway to what everyone still thought of as Stefans room, and Matt automatically followed her. He didnt realize that Elena and Bonnie were hanging back until he was halfway up the stairs, and then Meredith motioned him onward.Theyre just conferring, Meredith said, in her quiet, no-nonsense voice.Aboutme ? Matt swallowed. Its about that thing Elena saw inside Damon, serious? The invisible malach. And whether or not Ive got one inside me correctly now.Meredith, never one to soft-pedal anything, simply nodded. But she put a hand before long on his shoulder as they entered the dim, high-ceilinged bedroom.Shortly after, Elena and Bonnie came up, and Matt could tell at once by their faces that the worst-case scenario wasnt true. Elena saw his expression and immediately went to him and hugged him. Bonnie followed, more shyly.Feel okay? Elena said, and Matt nodded.I feel fine, he said. Like wrestling alligators, he thought. Nothing was nicer than hugging soft, soft girls.Well, the consensus is that you dont have anything inside you that doesnt belong there. Your glory seems clear and st rong now that youre not in pain.Thank God, Matt said, and he meant it.It was at that moment that his mobile remember rang. He frowned, puzzled at the number displayed, but he answered it.Matthew Honeycutt?Yes.Hold, please.A new voice came on Mr. Honeycutt?Uh, yeah, but This is Rich Mossberg of the Fells Church Sheriffs Department. You called this morning to report a fallen tree midway down Old Wood Road?Yes, I Mr. Honeycutt, we dont like prank calls of this sort. We frown upon them, in fact. It takes up the valuable time of our officers, and besides, it happens to be a crime to make a false report to the police. If I destinyed to, Mr. Honeycutt, I could charge you with this crime and make you answer to a judge. I dont see just what you find so amusing about it.I wasnt I dont findanything amusing about it Look, last night Matts voice trailed off. What was he going to say?Last night I was waylaid by a tree and a monster bug? A small voice inside him added that the Fells Church Sheriffs officers seemed to spend most of their valuable time hanging around the Dunkin Donuts in the city square, but the next words he heard closed it up.In fact, Mr. Honeycutt, under the authority of Virginia State Code, Section 18.2-461, making a false police report is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. You could be looking at a year in jail or a twenty-five- gravitational constant-dollar fine. Do you findthat amusing, Mr. Honeycutt?Look, I Do you, in fact,have twenty-five thousand dollars, Mr. Honeycutt?No, I I Matt waited to be cut off and then he realized that he wasnt going to be. He was sailing off the distinctness of the map into some unknown region. What to say?The malach took the tree away or maybe it moved by itself ? Ludicrous. Finally, in a creaky voice he managed, Im sorry they didnt find the tree. Maybesomehow it got moved.Maybe somehow it got moved, the sheriff repeated expressionlessly. In fact maybe somehow it moved itself the way that all those delay s igns and have a bun in the oven signs keep moving themselves away from intersections. Does that ring a bell, Mr. Honeycutt?No Matt felt himself flush deeply. I would never move any kind of street sign. By now the girls were clustered around him, as if they could somehow help by appearing as a group. Bonnie was gesturing vigorously, and her indignant expression made it clear that she wanted to tell the sheriff off personally.In fact, Mr. Honeycutt, Sheriff Mossberg cut in, we called your home number first, since thats the phone you used to place the report. And your mother said that she hadnt seen you at all last night.Matt ignored the little voice that wanted to snap,Is that a crime? That was because I got held up By a self-propelled tree, Mr. Honeycutt? In fact we had already had another call about your house last night. A member of Neighborhood Watch reported a suspicious car roughly in front of your house.According to your mother, you recently totaled your own car, isnt that ri ght, Mr. Honeycutt?Matt could see where this was going and he didnt like it. Yes, he heard himself say, while his mind persisted desperately for a plausible explanation. I was trying to avoid running over a fox. And Yet there was a report of a brand new Jaguar lingering in front of your house, just far enough away from the streetlight to be inconspicuous. A car so new that it had no license plates. Was that, in fact, your car, Mr. Honeycutt?Mr. Honeycutts my father Matt said desperately. Im Matt. And it was my friends car And your friends name is?Matt stared at Elena. She was making wait gestures, obviously trying to think. To sayElena Gilbert would be suicidal. The police, of all people, knew that Elena Gilbert was dead. Now Elena was pointing around the room and mouthing words at him.Matt shut his eyes and said the words, Stefan Salvatore. But he gave the car to his girlfriend? He knew he was ending his sentence so that it sounded like a question, but he could hardly believe E lenas coaching.Now the sheriff was solution to sound tired and exasperated. Areyou askingme , Matt? So you were driving the brand-new car of your friends girlfriend. And her name is?There was a brief moment when the girls seemed to disagree and Matt hung in limbo. But then Bonnie threw her arms up and Meredith moved forward, pointing to herself.Meredith Sulez, Matt said weakly. He heard the hesitation in his own voice and he repeated, huskily but with more conviction, Meredith Sulez.Now Elena was whispering rapidly in Merediths ear.And the car was purchased where? Mr. Honeycutt?Yes, Matt said. Just a second He put the phone into Merediths outstretched hand.This is Meredith Sulez, Meredith said smoothly, in the polished, relaxed tones of a classical music disk jockey.Miss Sulez, youve heard the conversation so far?Ms.Sulez, please, Sergeant. I have.Did you, in fact, summate your car to Mr. Honeycutt?I did.And where is Mr. there was a shuffling of paper Stefan Salvatore, the ori ginal owner of the car?Hes not asking her where they bought it, Matt thought. He must know.My swell is away from town right now, Meredith said, still in the same refined, unflappable voice. I dont know when hell be back. When he is, shall I have him call you?That might be wise, Sheriff Mossberg said dryly. These days very few cars are bought with cash on the line, especially brand-new Jaguars. Id like your drivers license number, also. And, in fact, Id very much like to speak to Mr. Salvatore when he returns.That may be very soon, Meredith said, a bit slowly, but following Elenas coaching. Then she recited her drivers license number from memory.Thank you, Sheriff Mossberg said briefly. That will be all for May I just say one thing? Matt Honeycutt would never, ever remove stop signs or yield signs. Hes a very conscientious driver and was a leader in his high school class. You can speak to any of Robert E. Lee High Schools teachers or even the principal if shes not on vacation. Any one of them will tell you the same thing.The sheriff didnt seem to be impressed. You can tell him from me that Ill be belongings an eye on him in the future. In fact it might be a good idea if he stopped in the Sheriffs Department straightaway or tomorrow, he said, and then the phone went dead.Matt burst out, Stefans girlfriend? You, Meredith? What if the car dealer says the girl was a blond? How are we going to work that out?We arent, Elena said simply from behind Meredith. Damon is. All we have to do is to find him. Im sure he can take care of Sheriff Mossberg with a little mind control if the price is right. And dont worry about me, she added gently. Youre frowning, but everything is going to be fine.You believe that?Im sure of it. Elena gave him another hug and a kiss on the cheek.Im supposed to stop by the Sheriffs Department today or tomorrow, though.But not alone Bonnie said, and her eyes were sparkling with indignation. And when Damon goes with you, Sheriff Mooseburger wi ll end up being your best friend.All right, Meredith said. So what are we doing today?The problem, Elena returned, tapping an index finger against her upper lip, is that weve got too many problems at once and I dont want anybody and I mean anybody going out alone. Its clear that there are malach in the Old Wood, and that theyre trying to do unfriendly-type things to us. Kill us, for one.Matt basked in the firm relief of being believed. The conversation with Sheriff Mossberg had shaken him more than he wanted to show.So we make up task forces, Meredith said, and we split the jobs between them. What problems do we indispensability to plan for?Elena ticked off the problems with her fingers. One problem is Caroline. I really think someone should try to see her, at the very least to try and find out if she has one of thosethings inside her. Another problem is Tami and who knows who else? If Caroline iscontagious somehow, she might have spread it to some other girl or guy.Okay, Mere dith said, and what else? individual needs to contact Damon. Try to find out from him anything he knows about Stefan leaving, and also try to get him to go in to headquarters with us to crook Sheriff Mossberg.Well, youd better be on that last team, since youre the only one Damons likely to talk to, said Meredith. And Bonnie should be on it, so she can keep No. No Calling today, Bonnie pleaded. Im so sorry, Elena, but I just cant, not without a day of rest between. And besides, if Damon wants to talk to you, all you need to do is to walk notinto the forest, butnear it and call to him yourself. He knows everything thats going on. Hell know youre there.Then I should go with Elena, Matt reasoned. Since that sheriff is my problem. Id like to go by the place where I saw the tree At once there was a protest from all three girls.I said Idlike to, Matt said. Not that we should plan for it. Thats one spot we know is too dangerous.All right, Elena said. So Bonnie and Meredith will visit C aroline, and you and I will go Damon hunting, all right? Id rather go Stefan hunting, but we just dont have enough information yet.Right, but before you go, maybe stop by Jim Bryces house. Matt has an excuse to stop by anytime he knows Jim. And you can check on Tamis progress as well, Meredith suggested.Sounds like plans A, B, and C, Elena said, and then, spontaneously, they all laughed.It was a clear day, with a hot sun shining overhead.In the sunlight, disdain the minor annoyance of Sheriff Mossbergs call, they all felt strong and capable.None of them had any idea that they were about to walk into the worst nightmare of their lives.Bonnie stood back as Meredith knocked at the front door of the Forbes home.After a while of no answer and silence inside, Meredith knocked again.This time Bonnie could hear whisperings and Mrs. Forbes hissing something, and Carolines distant laughter.Finally, just as Meredith was about to ring the bell the height of discourtesy between neighbor and n eighbor in Fells Church the door opened. Bonnie neatly slipped a foot in, keeping it from being shut again.Hi, Mrs. Forbes. We just Meredith faltered. We just wanted to see if Caroline was any better, she finished in a tinny-sounding voice. Mrs. Forbes looked as if shed seen a ghost and shed spent all night running from it.No, shes not. Not better. Shes still sick. The womans voice was hollow and distant and her eyes scanned the ground just over Bonnies right shoulder. Bonnie felt fine hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand up.Okay, Mrs. Forbes. Even Meredith sounded false and hollow.Then someone said suddenly, Areyou all right? and Bonnie realized it was her own voice.Carolineisnt well. Shesnot seeing anyone, whispered the woman.An iceberg seemed to glide down Bonnies spine. She wanted to turn and run from this house and its aura of malevolence. But at that moment Mrs. Forbes suddenly slumped. Meredith was barely able to break her fall.Shes fainted, Meredith said terse ly.Bonnie wanted to say,Well, put her on the rug inside and run But they could hardly do that.Weve got to take her inside, Meredith said flatly. Bonnie, are you okay to go?No, Bonnie said just as flatly, but what choice do we have?Mrs. Forbes, small as she was, was heavy. Bonnie held her feet and followed Meredith, step by reluctant step, into the house.Well just put her on her bed, Meredith said. Her voice was shaky. There was something about the house that was odiously unsettling as if waves of pressure kept bearing down on them.And then Bonnie saw it. Just a glimpse as they stepped into the living room. It was down the hallway, and it could have been the play of light and shadow there, but it looked for all the world like a person. A person scuttling like a lizard but not on the floor. On the ceiling.