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Chapter Thirteen<br />
Elena stood within the circle of adults and police, waiting for a chance to escape. She knew that<br />
Matt had warned Stefan in time – his face told her that – but he hadn't been able to get close enough to<br />
speak with her.<br />
At last, with all attention turned toward the body, she detached herself from the group and edged<br />
toward Matt.<br />
"Stefan got out all right," he said, his eyes on the group of adults. "But he told me to take care of<br />
you, and I want you to stay here."<br />
"To take care of me?" Alarm and suspicion flashed through Elena. Then, almost in a whisper, she<br />
said, "I see." She thought a moment and then spoke carefully. "Matt, I need to go wash my hands.<br />
Bonnie got blood on me. Wait here; I'll be back."<br />
He started to say something in protest, but she was already moving away. She held up her stained<br />
hands in explanation as she reached the door of the girls' locker room, and the teacher who was now<br />
standing there let her through. Once in the locker room, however, she kept on going, right out the far<br />
door and into the darkened school. And from there, into the night.<br />
Zuccone! Stefan thought, grabbing a bookcase and flinging it over, sending its contents flying. Fool!<br />
Blind, hateful fool. How could he have been so stupid?<br />
Find a place with them here? Be accepted as one of them? He must have been mad to have thought it<br />
was possible.<br />
He picked up one of the great heavy trunks and threw it across the room, where it crashed against<br />
the far wall, splintering a window. Stupid, stupid.<br />
Who was after him? Everybody. Matt had said it. "There's been another attack… They think you did<br />
it."<br />
Well, for once it looked as if the barbari, the petty living humans with their fear of anything<br />
unknown, were right. How else did you explain what had happened? He had felt the weakness, the<br />
spinning, swirling confusion; and then darkness had taken him. When he'd awakened it was to hear<br />
Matt saying that another human had been pillaged, assaulted. Robbed this time not only of his blood,<br />
but of his life. How did you explain that unless he, Stefan, were the killer?<br />
A killer was what he was. Evil. A creature born in the dark, destined to live and hunt and hide there<br />
forever. Well, why not kill, then? Why not fulfill his nature? Since he could not change it, he might as<br />
well revel in it. He would unleash his darkness upon this town that hated him, that hunted him even<br />
now.<br />
But first… he was thirsty. His veins burned like a network of dry, hot wires. He needed to feed…
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