Chapter 34

It hurt.


It hurts so much. Elizabeth tried to stand on her toes, tried to put her head above the water to get some air. Even a little would be fine because being underwater for such a long time definitely did not suit her. She yanked at the cords that bound her wrists and immediately, searing pain shot up her arms, throughout her body. 


Wooden cords. Of course. She could feel the splinters digging into her skin. 


So cold, too. 


She was shivering, trembling so violently that the water around her rippled with her every movement.


Wait.


Isn't she a vampire? Vampires can feel cold? Aren't vampires supposed to be invincible and all that? God, it's better if she died right now because between the wooden splinters pricking her skin and the ice cold water, dying seems like a pretty good thing now.


But vampires are immortal. That means she can't die. Which means this won't stop. 


Wow. Great.


Stupid-ass vampire thing.




It hurt.


It hurts so much.


It was as if William was the one suffocating, as if he was the one tied down with wooden cords, as if he was the one with wooden splinters scraping his skin. Hissing slightly, he clutched his head. He hadn't fed for days now and while this has never bothered him before, it did now. His throat felt tight and his jaw hurt. He groaned and lifted his head from his hands, to find Elena staring at him, her eyes wide.


A long silence followed.


' You creep me out sometimes,' she finally said.


' Thanks.'


' You're welcome.'


He bent down again and pressed the heel of his hands onto his forehead. His head felt like exploding.


' So, like, if you're thinking about drinking my blood, warn me first. Give me a few minutes to run,' Elena continued. She turned to him. ' You look like crap.'




' I feel like crap.'


Another long silence.


' So...know where Elizabeth is?'


William made an impatient gesture, as if to tell her to stop talking. ' I can't think right now. My head...feels like...ugh.'


' Yeah...I always feel like that every Sunday morning. Monday, too. Sometimes Thursdays.' Elena tapped her fingers on the dashboard of William's car. She tsked. ' I should probably stop doing that.'


' Where's your phone?' he suddenly asked her. 


' It's in my pocket. Why?' Slowly, she took it out.


' Give me that. I need to call your brother.' He grabbed it from her hands before he even finished talking, his fingers already flying across the keypads. Quickly, he raised it to his ear. ' Damn it! No signal.' He snapped it shut and opened the driver's door. At the very last minute, he turned around and fixed her with a long stare. ' Stay here.'


' Yeah. Sure. Whatever.' She leaned back and stared at the roof of the car. Then, she sat up and looked out the deserted road, expecting to see William deep in heated conversation with Stefan. 


But the road was empty. The deserted road was really deserted. 


She sat up straight now, her heart thumping steadily. Slowly, she stepped out of the car. ' Will?' Her boots made a loud crunching sound on the gravel. ' Will? Will, where are you?' Her voice quavered slightly at the end.
Something was wrong here. She could still hear the sound of her boots against the gravel, but there was another sound. A second sound. The sound of shoes against gravel. 


She whirled around. Something hard hit her temple.


Then everything went black.




' Where the hell are you, Salvatore?'


' I don't even know myself.'


' What? Do I have to save your ass again?'


There was a weak chuckle from the other end of the line. ' Someone got up on the wrong side of the coffin today.'


' Yes. And someone's gonna end up in a coffin if that someone doesn't tell me where he is.'


' Told you, man. I don't know.'


' Man? Man? You've resorted to using 'man'? Are you lost in Woodstock? Are you wearing tie-dyed shirts and flashing peace signs now?'


' Cranky.'


' Blood.'


' Ah, of course. You haven't fed yet.' There was a long pause. ' Let me talk to Elena.'


William turned around and stopped. The car was dark. And empty.


' Where is she?'


William was already striding towards the car and practically ripped the passenger's door open. ' Elena,' he yelled. ' Turning around, he started walking down the road. 'Elena!' 


From the phone, Stefan was also shouting. ' Where is she, William?!'


' I don't know okay? I don't know! She was in there while I was calling you and now, she's not! I told-' William stopped because he felt something under his feet. Something circular. Ignoring Stefan, he stepped back slightly and looked down. A coin. Confused, he picked it up and peered at it. It was an odd coin. Instead of having the usual 'Liberty. In God We Trust,' at the front, there was a bunch of jumbled up words. At the back, instead of having the usual,' USA. One dime,' there were more jumbled up words. 


' What the-'


' What? Did you find her? Can I talk to her?' Stefan's voice was just a buzz in his ear. 


' Hey. Did the president issue new coins?' he asked, staring at the coin.


' What the hell? No! Where is Elena? I need to talk to her!'


' Stefan.'


' What?'


' I think she's in trouble.'