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Bonnie was on the dance floor, eyes shut, letting the h her When she opened her eyes for an instant, Meredith was beckoning from the sidelines Bonnie thrust her chin out estures became more insistent she rolled her eyes up at Raymond and obeyed Raymond followed

Matt and Ed were behind Meredith Matt was scowling Ed was looking uncomfortable

"Elena just left," said Meredith

"It’s a free country," said Bonnie

"She ith Tyler Smallwood," said Meredith "Matt, are you sure you didn’t hear where they were going?"

Matt shook his head "I’d say she deserves whatever happens-but it’s ht to go after her"

"Leave thedance ?" Bonnie said She looked at Meredith, who mouthed the wordsyou proely

"I don’t knoe’ll find her," said Meredith, "but we’ve got to try" Then she added, in a strangely hesitant voice, "Bonnie,you don’t happen to knohere she is, do you?"

"What? No, of course not; I’ve been dancing You’ve heard of that, haven’t you: what you go to a dance for?"

"You and Ray stay here," Matt said to Ed "If she co"

"And if we’re going, we’d better go now," Bonnie put in ungraciously She turned and promptly ran into a dark blazer

"Well, excuseStefan Salvatore He said nothing as she and Meredith and Matt headed for the door, leaving an unhappy-looking Rayht in the cloudless sky Elena felt just like the with Dick and Vickie and Tyler over the roar of the wind, but part of her atching from far away

Tyler parked halfway up the hill to the ruined church, leaving his headlights on as they all got out Although there had been several cars behind them when they left the school, they appeared to be the only ones who’d made it all the way to the cemetery

Tyler opened the trunk and pulled out a six-pack "All the more for us" He offered a beer to Elena, who shook her head, trying to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of her sto here-but there was no way she was going to adirls staggering in their high heels and leaning on the boys When they reached the top, Elena gasped and Vickie gave a little screa just above the horizon It took Elena a e and unrealistic as a prop in a science-fiction lowed dully with an unwholeso rotten pumpkin," said Tyler, and lobbed a stone at it Elena made herself so inside?" Vickie said, pointing a white hand at the empty hole of the church doorway

Most of the roof had fallen in, although the belfry was still intact, a tower stretching up high above the; the fourth was only knee-high There were piles of rubble everywhere

A light flared by Elena’s cheek, and she turned, startled, to see Tyler holding a lighter He grinned, showing strong white teeth, and said, "Want to flick hter was the loudest, to cover her uneasiness She took the lighter, using it to illuminate the tomb in the side of the church It was like no other toh her father said he’d seen si enough for two people, with twoFell and Honoria Fell," said Tyler with a grand gesture, as if introducing theh actually the Srandfather’s great-great-grandfather lived in the valley by Drowning Creek-"

"-until he got eaten by wolves," said Dick, and he threw back his head in a wolf iled Annoyance crossed Tyler’s handsome features, but he forced a s kind of pale," said Vickie, still giggling "I think what they need is a little color" She produced a lipstick froan to coat the white marble mouth of the woman’s statue axy scarlet Elena felt another sick twinge As a child, she’d always been awed by the pale lady and the grave man who lay with their eyes closed, hands folded on their breasts And, after her parents died, she’d thought of the side by side like this down in the ceirl put a lipstick mustache and clown’s nose on Tho theo" He put his hands on the edge of the stone lid and leaned on it, trying to shift it sideways "What do you say, Dick-want to give theht in the center of town?"

No, thought Elena, appalled, as Dick guffawed and Vickie shrieked with laughter But Dick was already beside Tyler, getting braced and ready, the heels of his hands on the stone lid

"On three," said Tyler, and counted, "One, two,three "

Elena’s eyes were fixed on the horrible clown-like face of Thorunted, e the lid an inch

"Darily, turning away

Elena felt ith relief Trying to seeainst the stone lid of the tomb for support-and that hen it happened

She heard the grinding of stone and felt the lid shift under her left hand all at once It was hter went flying, and she screa to keep her feet She was falling into the open to in her ears

And then she was outside and the h that she could see the others Tyler had hold of her She stared around her wildly

"Are you crazy? What happened?" Tyler was shaking her

"It moved! The lid moved! It slid open and-I don’t know-I al "Poor baby’s got the jitters," Tyler said "C’mon, Dicky-boy, we’ll check it out" "Tyler, no-"

But they went inside anyway Vickie hung in the dooratching, while Elena shivered Presently, Tyler beckoned her from the door

"Look," he said when she reluctantly stepped back inside He’d retrieved the lighter, and he held it above Tho in a rug See?"

Elena stared down at the perfect alignment of lid and tomb "It did move I nearly fell into it"

"Sure, whatever you say, baby" Tyler wound his ar her to him backwards She looked over to see Dick and Vickie in much the sa as if she enjoyed it Tyler rubbed a strong chin over her hair

"I’d like to go back to the dance now," she said flatly

There was a pause in the rubbing Then Tyler sighed and said, "Sure, baby" He looked at Dick and Vickie "What about you two?"

Dick grinned "We’ll just stay here a while" Vickie giggled, her eyes still shut

"Okay" Elena wondered how they were going to get back, but she allowed Tyler to lead her out Once outside, however, he paused

"I can’t let you go without one look at randfather’s headstone," he said "Aw, c’mon, Elena," he said as she started to protest, "don’t hurt ot to see it; it’s the family pride and joy"

Elena h her stoet her out of here "All right," she said, and started toward the cemetery

"Not that way This way" And the next raveyard "It’s okay, honest, it’s not far off the path Look, there, you see?" He pointed to soasped,around her heart It looked like a person standing there, a giant with a round hairless head And she didn’t like being here at all, aranite stones of centuries past The bright e shadows, and there were pools of impenetrable darkness everywhere

"It’s just the ball on top Nothing to be scared of," said Tyler, pulling her with hi headstone It was e ball that surmounted it reminded her of the bloated moon on the horizon Now that same moon shone down on them, as white as Thomas Fell’s white hands Elena couldn’t contain her shivering

"Poor baby, she’s cold Got to get her warned up," said Tyler Elena tried to push hi her in his aro; I want to go rightnow"

"Sure, baby, we’ll go," he said "But we’ve got to get you warm first Gosh, you’re cold"

" Tyler, stop," she said His ar, but noith a sense of shock she felt his hands on her body, groping for bare skin