The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 13

Im so sorry. Im so sorry, Meredith say for the tenth time. Her usual y composed stage was flushed, and her eyeball were bright with unshed tears. placid didnt remember ever descrying her so hurly burly about more or lessthing, especial y something that had ended up non being a big deal. Sure, Celia could remove been hurt, unless the car hadnt touched(p) her.Im fine, real y I am, Meredith, Celia assured her again.I sound didnt examine you. I dont cognize how, but I didnt. thank God for Alaric, Meredith utter, th course of actioning a grateful glance at Alaric, who was sitting close beside her and rubbing her tooshie.Its okay, Meredith, he said. Its al okay. Alaric considermed much c formerlyrned for Meredith than for Celia, and two-dimensionality didnt blame him. utter was pretty out of character for Meredith. Alaric wrapped his coat of arms penny-pinchingly around Meredith, and she visibly relaxed.Celia, on the otherwise hand, tensed noticeably as Meredith lea ned into Alarics embrace. savorless traded a rueful glance with comely. indeed Stefan reached out and stroked Elenas regu latterly up absently, and Matt was surprised to feel a all overjealous pang of his own. Wasnt he ever button to seize over Elena Gilbert? It had been more than a stratum since they dated, and about a century in experience. comme il faut was stil reflexion him, now with a speculative flare in her look, and Matt shot her a bland smile. Hed bonnie as soon not greet what decent saw in his face when he looked at Elena and Stefan.Around this bend and up the list is the Plunge, he said to Celia, ushering her forward a eagle-eyed the recrudesce across. Its a mid take down snack of a hike, but its the trounce place around here for a picnic. utterly the best, said decent cheerily. We can jump overthrow the body of wetfal . She fel in on Celias other side, helping him to crowd together her away(predicate) from the two gibes, who were murmuring t o one other softly as they fol owed behind.Is that safe? asked Celia dubiously.Total y, said Bonnie. Everybody jumps the piddlefal here, and nobodys ever gotten hurt.Usual y its safe, said Matt, more cautiously. You and Meredith might lack to think about not swimming, Celia.I loathe this, Bonnie said. I hate having to be extracareful because of some dark thing that we dont know allthing about. Everything should be normal.Normal or not, it was a munificent picnic. They spread their blankets on the rocks near the authorize of the water supplyfal . The smal fal s plummeted down the side of the cliff and ended in a deep pool of effervescent water, reservation a sort of natural fountain that spil ed into a clear bronze-green pool. Mrs. Flowers had packed salads and breads and desserts for them, as wel as meat and corn to gril on a grill Stefan had brought from the boardinghouse. They had more than enough food for a couple days of camping, let alone one lunch. Elena had stowed stale drinks in a cooler, and, after hiking up the trail in the Virginia summer heat, everyone was happy to crack distribute a lemonade or soda.Even Stefan took a water bottle and drank as he started heating the gril , although it was automatical y down the stairsstood by everyone that he would not be eating. Matt had constantly comprise the incident that he never saw Stefan eating a shortsighted creepy, evening forward Matt knew he was a vampire. The girls squirmed out of jeans and tops to display their dishwashing suits, standardised caterpil ars transforming into butterflies. Meredith was tan and lean in a grisly one-piece. Bonnie was wearing a petite mermaid-green bikini. Elena wore a soft gold bandeau that went with her copper. Matt watched Stefan ceremony her appreciatively, and felt that little twist of jealousy again. two Elena and Bonnie pul ed their T-shirts back on over their bathing suits almost immediately. They forever and a day did Their pale hide burn ed instead of tanned. Celia lounged on a towel, aspect spectacular in a casual notwithstanding daringly cut w come acrosse swimsuit. The effect of the smooth sportsmanlike against Celias c finish upee-colored scrape was amazing. Matt noticed Merediths eye passing over her and thus glancing needlelikely at Alaric. But Alaric was too busy shucking down to a pair of red trunks. Stefan stayed out of the direct sunlight, remain in his dark jeans and black T-shirt.Wasnt that a little creepy, too? Matt thought. Stefans ring protected him from the suns rays, didnt it? Did he stil get hold of to stick to the shadows? And what was with the black clothing? Was he pretending to be Damon now? Matt frowned at the thought One Damon had been more than enough.Matt move his head, stretched his arms and legs, turned his face toward the sun, and tried to get rid of his thoughts. He comparabled Stefan. He eternally had. Stefan was a good guy. A vampire, a prohibitionist voice in the back of his mind noted, even a harmless one, can rarely be described as a good guy. Matt ignored the voice.Lets jump he said, and headed toward the waterfal . non Meredith, said Stefan flatly. Not Meredith, and not Celia. You two stay here. in that respect was a little silence, and he glanced up from the gril to see his friends staring at him. He kept his face neutral as he returned their gazes. This was a life-or-death situation. It was Stefans responsibility now to keep them safe, whether they liked it or not. He looked at them each in turn, holding their eye. He was not going to back down.Meredith had rise to her feet to fol ow Matt to the fal s edge, and she hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure how to react. wherefore her face hardened, and Stefan saw that she had chosen to take a stand.She stepped toward him. Im sorry, Stefan, she said, her voice level. I know youre brainsick, but Im going to do what I decide I want to do. I can look after myself.She locomote to join Matt, who was standing at the edge of the cliff, but Stefans hand whipped out to grab her wrist, his fingers as conceptive as steel. No, Meredith, he said firmly. Out of the quoin of his eye, he saw Bonnies mouth drop open. Everyone was expression at him with puzzled, vehement faces, and Stefan tried to soften his tone. Im clean trying to do whats best for you.Meredith sighed, a commodious, turgid sound, and seemed to be making an effort to let go of some of her anger. I know that, Stefan, she said reasonably, and I appreciate it. But I cant go by the world not doing the things I usual y do, just waiting for whatever this is to come get me.She tried to move around him, but he sidestepped to block her way again.Meredith glanced at Celia, who threw up her detainment and shook her head. Dont look at me, Celia said. I have no urge to jump off a cliff. Im just going to lie in the self-restraint and let you al work this out yourselves. She leaned back on her hands and turned her face towa rd the sun. Merediths eyes narrowed and she whirled back to Stefan. As she was opening her mouth, Elena bust in.What if the rest of us go front? she suggested placatingly to Stefan. We can make sure theres nothing clearly hazardous down there. And wel be near her at the bottom. Nobodys ever been hurt jumping here, not that Ive hear of. Right, guys? Matt and Bonnie nodded in agreement. Stefan felt himself softening. Whenever Elena utilize her logical voice and her wide, appealing eyes, he found himself agreeing to plans that, in his heart of hearts, he thought were foolhardy.Elena press her advantage. You could stand right by the water below, too, she said. Then, if theres any problem, you could dive in right away. Youre so fast, youd get there forrader anything bad could happen.Stefan knew this was wrong. He hadnt forgotten that sick swoop of despair, of realizing he was too muffled to save someone. Once again, he saw Damons broad, lithesome leap toward Bonnie that had ended with Damon fal ing to earth, a woody branch driven by dint of his heart. Damon had died because Stefan was too decelerate to save him, too slow to realize the danger and save Bonnie himself.Hed also been too late to save Elena when she had driven off the bridge and drowned. The fact that she now lived again didnt mean he hadnt failed her then. He remembered her pale hair floating like seaweed in the chil y water of Wickery Creek, her hands stil resting on the charge wheel, her eyes closed, and shuddered. He had dived repeatedly before he found her. She had been so cold and white when he carried her to shore. Stil , he found himself nodding. What Elena wanted, Elena got. He would stand by and protect Meredith as best as he could, and he prayed, as far as a vampire could pray, that it would be enough.The rest of the friends stayed at the top succession, down at the bottom of the fal s, Stefan surveyed the pool at his feet. The water sprayed up exuberantly from where the fal s hi t the jump. Warm, pale sand encircled the pools edges, making a tiny beach, and the center of the pool seemed dark and deep.Matt jumped rootage, with a long, wavering whoop as he plummeted. The splash as he hit the water was huge, and he seemed to stay submerged for a long time. Stefan leaned forward to watch the water. He couldnt see by means of with(predicate) the foam thrown up by the fal s, and an anxious quiver shot through his stomach.He was just thinking of diving in after him when Matts slick wet head broke the surface. I touched the bottomhe announced, grinning, and shook his head like a dog, throwing glittering drops of water everywhere. He swam toward Stefan, dependable tan limbs moving powerful y, and Stefan thought how tardily everything seemed for Matt. He was a creature of sunlight and simplicity, while Stefan was stuck in the shadows, living a long half life of secrets and loneliness. Sure, his sapphire ring let him walk in the sun, but being exposed to the sun light for a long time, like today, was uncomfortable, as if there were some kind of itch deep inside him. It was worsened now that he was readjusting to a diet of living organism blood again. His unease was yet another reminder that he didnt real y belong here. Not the way Matt did.He shrugged off his sharp feelings, surprised at their emergence in the first place. Matt was a good friend. He always had been. The daylight must be getting to him. Bonnie jumped next, and surfaced more quickly, coughing and snorting. Oof she said. I got water up my nose Ugh She pul ed herself out of the water and perched on a rock near Stefans feet. You dont swim? she asked him.Stefan was smitten with a flash of memory. Damon, tanned and strong, splashing him and express mirth in one of his rare fits of good humor. It was hundreds of geezerhood ago now. Back when the Salvatore brothers had lived in the sunlight, back before even the great-grandparents of his friends had been born. Not for a long ti me, he answered. Elena jumped with the same casual grace as she did everything else, serial as an arrow toward the bottom of the fal s, her gold bathing suit and her golden hair gleaming in the sunshine. She was underwater for longer than Bonnie had been, and again Stefan tensed, watching the pool. When she broke the surface, she gave them a rueful grin. I couldnt quite an reach the bottom, she said. I was stretching and stretching down. I could see the sand, but the water pushed me back up.I didnt even try, Bonnie said. Ive accepted that Im too short.Elena swam away from the bottom of the fal s and climbed onto the sand, settling next to Bonnie at Stefans feet. Matt climbed out of the water, too, and stood near the fal s, gazing up critical y. Just jump feetfirst, Meredith, he cal ed teasingly. Youre such a show-off.Meredith was poised at the edge of the fal s. She saluted them and then leaped into a perfect swan dive, arch swiftly toward the pool, disappearing smoothly beneath the water with barely a splash.She was on the swim team, Bonnie saidconversational y to Stefan. She has a row of ribbons and trophies on a shelf at home.Stefan nodded absently, his eyes scanning the water. Surely Merediths head would break the surface in a here and now. The others had interpreted about this long to reemerge.Can I jump yet? Alaric cal ed from above.No Elena shouted. She rose to her feet and she and Stefan exchanged a worried glance. Meredith had been down there too long.Meredith surfaced, sputtering and push her wet hair out of her eyes. Stefan relaxed.I did it she cal ed. I Her eyes widened and she began to shriek, but her scream was cut off as she was abruptly yanked under the water by something they couldnt see. In the space of a breath, she was gone.For a moment, Stefan just stared at where Meredith had been, unable to move. Too slow, too slow, an familiar voice taunted him, and he pictured Damons face, laughing inhuman y and saying again, So fragile, Stefan . He couldnt see Meredith anywhere under the clear, effervescent water. It was as if she had been taken suddenly away. Al of this flew through Stefans head in only a heartbeat, and then he dived into the water after her.Underwater, he couldnt see anything. The white water from the fal s bubbled up, throwing foam and golden sand in front of him.Stefan urgently channeled his Power to his eyes, sharpening his vision, but by and large that just meant that now he could see the idiosyncratic bubbles of the white water and the grains of sand in sharp relief. Where was Meredith?The bubbling water was trying to push him up to the surface, too. He had to struggle to move forward through the murky water, reaching out. Something brushed his fingers and he grabbed at it, but it was only a handful of slippy pondweed.Where was she? Time was running out. Humans could go without group O for only a a few(prenominal) minutes before brain damage set in. A few minutes after that, there would be no r ecovery at al .He remembered Elenas drowning once more, the frail white shape that he had pul ed from Matts wrecked car, ice crystals in her hair. The water here was warm, but would kil Meredith just as surely. He swal owed a sob and reached out frantical y again into the wraithlike depths. His fingers found skin, and it moved against his hand. Stefan grasped whatever limb it was, tight enough to bruise, and surged forward. In less than a second more, he could see that it was Merediths arm. She was conscious, her mouth tight with fear, her hair streaming around her in the water.At first he couldnt see why she hadnt come to the surface. Then Meredith gestured emphatical y, reaching to fumble at long tendrils of pondweed that had somehow become entangled with her legs.Stefan swam down, pushing against the white water from the fal s, and tried to work his hand under the pondweed to pul it off her. It was wrapped so tightly around Merediths legs that he couldnt get his fingers beneath it. Her skin was pressed white by the strands.Stefan struggled for a moment, then swam closer and let Power surge into him, sharpening and lengthiness his canines. He bit, careful not to scratch Merediths legs, and pul ed at the pondweed, but it resisted him. A little late, he realized that the resilience of the plants must be preternatural His Power-enhanced strength was enough to break bones, tear through metal, and should have had no problem with a bit of pondweed.And final y so slow, he reprimanded himself, always just so damn slow he realized what he was looking at. Stefan felt his eyes widen in horror.The tight strands of pondweed against Merediths long legs spel ed out a name.