Book Four: Solitude (A. Saltzman)

Chapter Forty-Five

Diana walks around the monolith box, her hands tucked into her pockets as she looks over it. There is a door. That is easy enough to make out. But she can't find a handle or even a lock. She's been staring at this stupid thing, and raking through Penelope's journal for weeks. Weeks. And it is driving her to madness. Alaric sits on the ground watching her. He's been there every step of the way, watching, offering suggestions, making her eat and sleep.

"You've walked around that thing a million times, if you haven't figured it out by now, I don't know how you will" He offers, she sighs and moves to sit across from him.

"There has to be a way into it...." She mumbles. "They didn't just build the box around it...." She sighs when her cell phone rings, she digs around her pocket for it and sees the caller id. "What, Stefan?" Diana whines slightly as she picks up the phone.

"Elena got out" Stefan answers. "Katherine let her out" He corrects.

"You let Katherine in to talk to her?" Diana scolds. "And that didn't even register to be a bad idea to you?"

"It was all we had..." Stefan defends. "Your whole burning her thing didn't work....we had to come up with something else" Diana takes a breath and nods.

"Fine" She groans. "Luckily I had a plan B...." She admits. "Meet me at the woods entrance off the main road, and bring Matt" She hangs up and lets out a breath, she nods a little and then stands.

"Be careful" Alaric tells her, she looks at him.

"You're not coming?" she asks him, he shakes his head and looks at the monolith.

"I'll...keep watch" He answers, she smiles and nods before heading out of the cave.

............

In the woods, Elena shuffles weakly through the trees until she hears a car approaching behind her. She turns and waves her arms at it, loses her balance and falls to the ground as the headlights of the truck blind her. She shields her eyes as the driver gets out and walks toward her.

"Please, help..." She sees that it's Matt. "Matt. Thank god you found me." Elena's face starts to vamp-out and she growls as she stands and moves toward him.

"Elena, stop. I know you don't wanna do this. I know you don't wanna hurt me."

"I'm a vampire, Matt. The thing about vampires is that we need to feed." She moves aggressively toward him again, but Matt throws out his hands and backs up.

"No, but you're more than that! You're my friend! You're my oldest friend. You're the girl that I've loved longer than I can remember. Whatever wall you wanna put up, I know that still means something to you." The veins disappear from around Elena's eyes. She reaches out a hand to his face.

"Deep down, it probably does mean something. But I'm really hungry." Her face vamps-out once again and she sinks her teeth into his neck.

..........

Later; Elena gives Matt, who is lying on the ground, a light kick with her foot.

"Oh, come on, I barely drained an artery," Elena complains, Matt's eyes open and he looks up at her blearily. "Come on! Get up, I'm hungry. My head's fuzzy, I can't think straight. I need more.

"Elena, stop." Matt pleads with her.

"But you're so good!" She pulls him up off the ground with vampire speed, but Stefan arrives and pulls her off him. Matt sinks to the ground against the truck.

"Hey, hey, you're cut off." Stefan scolds Elena.

"Let go of me!"

"Stop it." Stefan snaps as Diana and Damon join them, Diana pulls Matt up off the ground.

"Enough!" Diana tells Elena. "You are acting like a little spoiled brat, you know that?" She snaps at Elena who glares her. "You think that they can't punish you." Diana nods to Damon and Stefan. "Maybe not. But I can sure punish him" She looks at Matt.

"Elena" Matt begs weakly.

"Seriously? You think this..." Elena starts.

"Shut up!" Diana stops her. "I'm done playing nice with you. Turn your emotions back on right now, Elena, or so help the gods, I will give you something to be sad about. I will kill him right now, right here, in front of you." Diana promises Elena.

"Diana" Stefan warns.

"Don't "Diana" me." Diana scolds him. "She doesn't love anyone? Fine. Prove it. And if I'm wrong, what difference does it make? One less busboy."

"Elena," Matt whispers. Elena and Diana stare each other down.

"You're bluffing." Elena points out, knows her sister better than that, Diana raises an eyebrow and then snaps Matt's neck violently. Elena gasps loudly, her mouth hanging open in shock. She walks closer, her eyes glistening.

"How about now? You feel anything now?" Diana asks Elena. "You angry I just turned your buddy into roadkill? Or are you sad that the guy that everybody loves is just a bag of bones? Remember when he was a little kid, huh? Warm heart, big goofy smile, his whole life ahead of him. I guess it was a good thing that he was wearing this." Diana kneels down and lifts Matt's hand - he's wearing the Gilbert ring. Elena falls to her knees and takes Matt's hand into her own, crying.

"Oh, my god, Matt."

"You feel that weight lifting off your chest? That's joy, because your friend isn't dead. That's emotion, Elena. That's humanity." Diana tells her, Elena is openly sobbing, tears streaming down her face.

"You're gonna be okay." Damon tells Elena.

"No..."

"Look at me."

"No, no, no. It's not okay."

"Elena." Elena gets up and Damon follows her.

"What have I done?"

"Hey, it's okay." Damon coos. Elena is pacing and grabbing at her head.

"No, no. What did I do? I-I almost killed him-Matt, I almost...And Bonnie, and Caroline, I just..." Damon tries to put an arm around her but she pushes him away. "No, no, I mean, that woman, the waitress, I actually killed that waitress..." Stefan moves toward her but she resists. "No, I killed that waitress!" Elena punches through the window of Matt's truck, sending glass everywhere as Stefan and Damon try to restrain her. Stefan holds her arms in front of her. Diana watches them with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, hey, look at me, look at me. I know this stage, okay?" Stefan asks Elena. The emotions are overwhelming you. You just have to focus on one thing, okay?"

"No, I can't, I can't..."

"You just find that one thing inside of you that makes you strong," Stefan tells her. "It's in there, just latch onto it. Channel everything you're feeling into that one emotion. Find the thing inside of you that makes you wanna live. Elena, let it in. Let it in." Elena calms down and stops sobbing. She seems to find a focus. "That's good. That's it. That's it, just breathe it in. Blow everything else out. That's good, that's good." Elena starts to yell in pain, clutching at her head, but only for a few seconds. Damon reaches a hand toward her.

"You okay?" He asks her.

"No. I'm not okay. But I'll get better." She walks away; the brothers watch her go.

"Well..." Diana claps her hands together. "You're welcome" She states. "And I'm done...got things to do...places to be....stupid mysteries to solve" She heads away from them. Damon frowns as he watches her go.