just saw it at a weird angle,” he said, while Meredith said, “It may just have been some animal scared out by—”
“By what?”
Meredith looked up at the top of the car. Matt followed her gaze. Very slowly, and with a groan of metal, the roof dented. And again. As if something very heavy was leaning on it.
Matt cursed himself. “While I was in the front seat, why didn’t I just floor it—?” He stared hungrily through branches, trying to make out the accelerator, the ignition.“Are the keys still there?”
“Matt, we ended up half in a ditch. And besides, if it would have done any good, I’d have told you to floor it.”
“That branch would’ve taken your head off!”
“Yes,” Meredith said simply.
“It would have killed you!”
“If it would have gotten you two out, I’d have suggested it. But you were trapped looking sideways; I could see straight ahead. They were already here; the trees. In every direction.”
“That…isn’t…possible!” Matt pounded the seat in front of him to emphasize each word.
“Is this possible?”
The roof creaked again.
“Both of you—stop fighting!” Bonnie said, and her voice broke on a sob.
There was an explosion like a gunshot and the car sank suddenly back and left.
Bonnie started. “What was that?”
Silence.
“…a tire blowing,” Matt said at last. He didn’t trust his own voice. He looked at Meredith.
So did Bonnie. “Meredith—the branches are filling up the front seat. I can hardly see the moonlight. It’s getting dark.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do ?”
Matt could see the tremendous tension and frustration in Meredith’s face, as if everything she said should come out through gritted teeth. But Meredith’s voice was quiet.
“I don’t know.”
With Stefan still shuddering, Elena curled herself like a cat over the bed. She smiled at him, a smile drugged with pleasure and love. He thought of grasping her by the arms, pulling her down, and starting all over again.
That was how insane she’d made him. Because he knew—all too well, from experience—the danger they were flirting with. Much more of this and Elena would be the first spirit-vampire, as she’d been the first vampire-spirit he’d known.
But look at her! He slipped out from beneath her as he sometimes did and just gazed, feeling his heart pound just at the sight of her. Her hair, true gold, fell like silk down to the bed and pooled there. Her body, in the light of the one small lamp in the room, seemed to be outlined in gold. She truly seemed to float and move and sleep in a golden haze. It was terrifying. For a vampire, it was as if he’d brought a living sun into his bed.
He found himself suppressing a yawn. She did that to him, too, like an unwitting Delilah taking Samson’sstrength away. Hyper-charged as he might be by her blood, he was also delightfully sleepy. He would spend a warm night in—or below—her arms.
In Matt’s car it only got darker as the trees continued to cut out the moonlight. For a while they tried yelling for help. That did no good, and besides, as Meredith pointed out, they needed to conserve the oxygen in the car. So they sat still again.
Finally, Meredith reached into her jeans pocket and produced a set of keys with a tiny keychain flashlight. Its light was blue. She pressed it and they all leaned forward. Such a tiny thing to mean so much, Matt thought.
There was pressure against the front seats now.
“Bonnie?” Meredith said. “No one will hear us out here yelling. If anyone could hear us, they would have heard the tire and thought it was a gunshot.”
Bonnie shook her head as if she didn’t want to listen. She was still picking pine needles out of her skin.
She’s right. We’re miles away from anybody, Matt thought.
“There is something very bad here,” Bonnie said. She said it quietly, but as if every word was being forced out one by one, like pebbles thrown into a pond.
Matt suddenly felt
“By what?”
Meredith looked up at the top of the car. Matt followed her gaze. Very slowly, and with a groan of metal, the roof dented. And again. As if something very heavy was leaning on it.
Matt cursed himself. “While I was in the front seat, why didn’t I just floor it—?” He stared hungrily through branches, trying to make out the accelerator, the ignition.“Are the keys still there?”
“Matt, we ended up half in a ditch. And besides, if it would have done any good, I’d have told you to floor it.”
“That branch would’ve taken your head off!”
“Yes,” Meredith said simply.
“It would have killed you!”
“If it would have gotten you two out, I’d have suggested it. But you were trapped looking sideways; I could see straight ahead. They were already here; the trees. In every direction.”
“That…isn’t…possible!” Matt pounded the seat in front of him to emphasize each word.
“Is this possible?”
The roof creaked again.
“Both of you—stop fighting!” Bonnie said, and her voice broke on a sob.
There was an explosion like a gunshot and the car sank suddenly back and left.
Bonnie started. “What was that?”
Silence.
“…a tire blowing,” Matt said at last. He didn’t trust his own voice. He looked at Meredith.
So did Bonnie. “Meredith—the branches are filling up the front seat. I can hardly see the moonlight. It’s getting dark.”
“I know.”
“What are we going to do ?”
Matt could see the tremendous tension and frustration in Meredith’s face, as if everything she said should come out through gritted teeth. But Meredith’s voice was quiet.
“I don’t know.”
With Stefan still shuddering, Elena curled herself like a cat over the bed. She smiled at him, a smile drugged with pleasure and love. He thought of grasping her by the arms, pulling her down, and starting all over again.
That was how insane she’d made him. Because he knew—all too well, from experience—the danger they were flirting with. Much more of this and Elena would be the first spirit-vampire, as she’d been the first vampire-spirit he’d known.
But look at her! He slipped out from beneath her as he sometimes did and just gazed, feeling his heart pound just at the sight of her. Her hair, true gold, fell like silk down to the bed and pooled there. Her body, in the light of the one small lamp in the room, seemed to be outlined in gold. She truly seemed to float and move and sleep in a golden haze. It was terrifying. For a vampire, it was as if he’d brought a living sun into his bed.
He found himself suppressing a yawn. She did that to him, too, like an unwitting Delilah taking Samson’sstrength away. Hyper-charged as he might be by her blood, he was also delightfully sleepy. He would spend a warm night in—or below—her arms.
In Matt’s car it only got darker as the trees continued to cut out the moonlight. For a while they tried yelling for help. That did no good, and besides, as Meredith pointed out, they needed to conserve the oxygen in the car. So they sat still again.
Finally, Meredith reached into her jeans pocket and produced a set of keys with a tiny keychain flashlight. Its light was blue. She pressed it and they all leaned forward. Such a tiny thing to mean so much, Matt thought.
There was pressure against the front seats now.
“Bonnie?” Meredith said. “No one will hear us out here yelling. If anyone could hear us, they would have heard the tire and thought it was a gunshot.”
Bonnie shook her head as if she didn’t want to listen. She was still picking pine needles out of her skin.
She’s right. We’re miles away from anybody, Matt thought.
“There is something very bad here,” Bonnie said. She said it quietly, but as if every word was being forced out one by one, like pebbles thrown into a pond.
Matt suddenly felt
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