The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 18

Calebs pass by was hot and heavy against her lips, and Elena scrabbled against it with her nails. He gripped her tightly with his other hand, holding her stil , his fingers digging into her shoulder.Elena struggled fiercely, flailing her arms and landing a firm blow in Calebs stomach. She bit great deal hard on the hand he had all over her oral cavity. Caleb jerked backward, quickly letting go of her and pul ing his bitten hand to his chest. As soon as her mouth was uncovered, Elena screamed.Caleb stepped a track from her, holding his hands up in surrender. Elena he said. Elena, Im so sorry. I didnt mean to scare you. I only when didnt want you to scream.Elena eyed him warily, existent hard. What are you doing here? she asked. Why were you sneaking up behind me if you didnt want to scare me?Caleb shrugged and looked a trivial chagrined. I was worried about you, he confessed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hanging his head. I was hiking up by Hot Springs earlier and I s aw you and your friends. They were pul ing you out of the water, and it looked alike you werent breathing. He peeked up at her through his long golden lashes.You were so worried about me you decided to grab me and cover my mouth to keep me from screaming? Elena asked. Caleb ducked his head further and scrubbed at the back of his neck in an embarrassed way.I wasnt thinking. Caleb nodded solemnly. You looked so pale, he said. only if you opened your eyes and sat up. I was going to get along with down and see if you were okay, solely your friend saw me and started running up the path toward me like he was going to jump me, and I guess I just freaked out. He grinned suddenly. Im not usual y such a wuss, he said. but he looked mad.Elena effectuate herself feeling unexpectedly disarmed. Her shoulder stil ached where Caleb had grabbed her. But he seemed so sincere, and so apologetic.Anyway, Caleb continued, gazing at her out of candid light blue eyes, I was crusade back to my aunt an d uncles place, and I recognized your car in the cemetery parking lot. I just came in because I wanted to talk to you and make sure you were okay. And then, when I got close to you, you were sitting down and talking, and I guess I was embarrassed. I didnt want to interrupt you, and I didnt want to barge in on something personal, so I just waited. He ducked his head sheepishly again. And instead I cease up assaulting you and scaring you to death, which sure wasnt the better way to go. Im real y sorry, Elena.Elenas heartbeat was returning to normal. Whatever Calebs intentions, he obviously wasnt going to attack her again now. Its al right, she said. I hit my head on an submerged rock. Im fine now, though. It must defecate looked pretty weird to see me just sitting here and muttering. sometimes I come here to talk to my parents, thats al . This is where theyre buried.Its not weird, he said quietly. I arise myself talking to my parents sometimes, too. When something happens and I wis h they were with me, I start tel ing them about it and it makes me feel like theyre there. He swal owed hard. Its been a few years, but you never layover missing them, do you?The last bits of anger and fear dead out of Elena when she saw the sadness in Calebs face. Oh, Caleb, she said, reaching out to touch his arm.She caught a sudden action out of the corner of her eye and then, seemingly out of nowhere, Stefan appeared, running incredibly fast, straight toward them.Caleb, he growled, grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him to the ground. Caleb let out a grunt of surprise and pain.Stefan, no shouted Elena.Stefan spun to look at her. His eyes were hard and his fangs were ful y extended. Hes not what he says he is, Elena, he said in an eerily quieten voice. Hes dangerous.Caleb slowly pul ed himself to his feet, using a gravest wiz as a support. He was staring at Stefans fangs.Whats going on? he asked. What are you?Stefan turned toward him and, almost casual y, slapped him ba ck down.Stefan, stop it Elena yel ed, unable to contain the note of hysteria in her voice. She reached out for his arm, but missed. Youre going to hurt himHe wants you, Elena, Stefan growled. Do you understand that? You cant trust him.Stefan, Elena pleaded. Listen to me. He wasnt doing anything wrong. You know that. Hes a human. She could feel hot divide gathering in her eyes and she blinked them away. Now was not the time to weep and wail. Now was the time to be cool and rational and to keep Stefan from losing control.Caleb staggered to his feet, grimacing with pain, and this time charged clumsily at Stefan, his face flushed. He got one arm around Stefans neck and yanked him to the side, but then Stefan, with an easy strength, tossed Caleb to the ground once more.Stefan loomed over him menacingly as he stared up at him from the grass. You cant fight me, Stefan growled.Im stronger than you. I can drive you out of this town, or kil you just as easily. And I wil do either if you mak e me think its necessary. I wont hesitate.Elena grabbed Stefans arm. learn it Stop it she shouted. She pul ed him toward her, trying to turn him so she could look into his eyes, so she could get through to him.Breathe, she thought desperately. She had to calm things down here, and she tried to steady her voice, to sound logical. Stefan, I dont know what you think is going on with Caleb, but just stop for a minute and think.Elena, look at me, Stefan said. His eyes were dark with emotion. I know, Im perfectly sure, that Caleb is evil. Hes dangerous to us. We have to get rid of him before he gets a chance to destroy us. We cant generate him the opportunity to get the better of us by waiting for him to make his move.Stefan Elena said. Her voice was shaking, and an oddly rational, obscure part of her noted that this must be what it felt like when the person you loved most scattered his mind.She didnt know what she was going to say next, but before she could even open her mouth, Cale b had risen again. There was a long scratch down the side of his face, and his blond hair was tangled and ful of dirt.Back off, Caleb said grimly, attack toward Stefan. He was limping a little bit, and clutched a fist-size rock in his right hand. You cant just He raised the rock threateningly.Stop it, both of you, Elena yel ed, trying for a fierce generals voice that would command their attention. But Caleb just hoisted the rock and threw it straight at Stefans face.Stefan dodged the rock, moving almost too quickly for Elena to see, grabbed Caleb by the waist, and, in one graceful motion, flung him into the air. For a moment, Caleb was suspended, seemingly as light and boneless as a strawman tossed from the back of a pickup truck, and then he hit the side of the marble Civil contend monument with a sickening crunch. With a thud, he fel to the ground at the foot of the statue and was stil .Caleb Elena screamed in horror. She ran toward him, shoving her way between the bushes and cl umps of grass that encircled the monument.His eyes were closed and his face was pale. Elena could see the light blue veins in his eyelids. There was a spreading pool of blood on the ground beneath his head. A mottle of dirt ran across his face, and that dirt and the long red scratch on his cheek suddenly seemed like some of the most heartbreaking things she had ever seen. He wasnt moving. She couldnt tel whether he was breathing. Elena dropped to her knees and felt for Calebs pulse, fumbling at his neck. As she found the steady thrum of a heartbeat beneath her fingers, she gasped in relief.Elena. Stefan had fol owed her to Calebs side. He put his hand on her shoulder. Please, Elena.Elena shook her head, refusing to look at him, and shrugged his hand away. She felt in her pocket for her phone. My god, Stefan, she said, her words nip off and tight, you could have kil ed him. You have to get out of here. I can tel the police I found him like this, but if they see you, theyre going to know you two were fighting. She swal owed hard as she realized the streamlet of dirt staining Calebs shirt was Stefans handprint.Elena, Stefan pleaded. At the anguish in his tone, she final y turned toward him. Elena, you dont understand. I had to stop him. He was a threat to you. Stefans leaf green eyes beseeched her, and Elena had to steel herself to keep from crying.You have to leave, she said. Go home. Il talk to you later. Dont hurt anyone else, she thought, and bit her lip. Stefan stared at her for a long moment, then final y backed away. I love you, Elena. He turned and disappeared into the trees, through the older and wilder part of the cemetery.Elena took a steadying breath, wiped her eyes, and dialed 911. Theres been an accident, she said, her voice panicky, when the operator picked up. Im in the Fel s Church Cemetery off Route Twenty-three, over by the Civil War monument near the edge of the newer section. Ive found someone It looks like he was knocked unconscious someh ow