The Return: Shadow Souls

But just as Matt opened the door there was — well, Matt didn’t know what it was. Something blasted straight out of the ground and into the sky, where it got smaller and smaller, became a star, and disappeared.

A meteor that had gone through the Earth? But wouldn’t that mean tsunamis and earthquakes and shockwaves and forest fires and maybe even the Earth ripping apart? If one meteor that hit the surface could kill off all the dinosaurs…

The light that had been shining upward had faded slightly.

“Well, bless my soul,” said Mrs. Flowers in a small, shaken voice. “Matt, dear, are you all right?”

“Yes, ma’am. But…” Matt’s vocabulary couldn’t stand the strain. “What the hell was it?”

And to his slight surprise, Mrs. Flowers said, “My sentiments exactly!”

“Wait — there’s something moving. Get back!”

“Dear Matt, be careful with that gun…”

“It’s people! Oh, my God! It’s Elena.” Matt abruptly sat down on the ground. He could only whisper now. “ Elena. She’s alive. She’s alive!”

From what Matt could see, there were a group of people climbing and helping others climb out of a perfectly rectangular hole, perhaps five feet deep, in Mrs. Flowers’s angelica patch.

They could hear voices. “All right,” Elena was saying, as she bent down. “Now grab my hands.”

But the way she was dressed! A scrap of scarlet that showed all sorts of scratches and cuts on her legs. On top — well, the remains of the gown covered about what a bikini would. And she was wearing the largest, most sparkly costume jewelry that Matt had ever seen.

More voices, going on through Matt’s shock.

“Be careful, yes? I will lift him to you—”

“I can climb out my own.”—surely that was Stefan!

“You see?” Elena rejoiced. “He says he can climb out his own!”

“Oui, but perhaps one small lift—”

“This is hardly the time for machismo, little brother.” And that, Matt thought, fingering the revolver, was Damon. Blessed bullets…

“No, I want — to do it myself — okay — got it. There.”

“There! You see! He’s better every second!” Elena caroled.

“Where’s the diamond? Damon?” Stefan sounded anxious.

“I have it safe. Relax.”

“I want to hold it. Please.”

“More than you want to hold me?” Elena asked. There was a blur and then Stefan was lying back in her arms, while she said, “Easy, easy.”

Matt stared. Damon was right behind them, almost as if he belonged there. “I’ll watch the diamond,” he said flatly. “You watch your girl.”

“Excuse me — I’m sorry, but…could somebody please lift me out?” And that was Bonnie! Bonnie, sounding plaintive but not afraid or unhappy. Bonnie giggling! “Have we got all the sacks of star balls?”

“We’ve got all the ones from that house we found.” And that was Meredith. Thank God. They’d all made it out. But despite his thoughts, his eyes were drawn again to one figure — the one who seemed to be supervising things — the one with golden hair.

“We need the star balls because any one of them might be—” she was beginning, when Bonnie cried out “Oh, look! Look! It’s Mrs. Flowers and Matt!”

“Now, Bonnie, they’d hardly be waiting for us,” Meredith put in.

“Where? Bonnie, where?” Elena demanded.

“If it’s Shinichi and Misao in disguise I’m going to — hey, Matt!”

“Will someone please tell me where?”

“Right there, Meredith!”

“Oh! Mrs. Flowers! Um…I hope we didn’t wake you.”

“I have never had a happier awakening,” Mrs. Flowers said solemnly. “I can see what you have been through in the Dark Place.

Your — er — lack of sufficient clothing…”

A sudden silence. Meredith glanced at Bonnie. Bonnie glanced at Meredith.

“I know these clothes and gems may seem a little too much…”

Matt found his voice. “Those jewels? They’re real?”

“Oh, they’re nothing. And we’re all dirty….”

“Forgive me. We stink — which is my fault—” Stefan began, only to have Elena cut in.

“Mrs. Flowers, Matt: Stefan’s been a prisoner! All this time! Starved and tortured — oh, God!”

“Elena. Shhh. You got me back.”

“We got you back. Now, I’ll never let you go. Ever, ever.”

“Easy, love. I really need a bath and—” Stefan stopped suddenly. “There’re no iron bars! Nothing to shut off my Powers! I can…” He stepped away from Elena, who clung with one hand. There was a soft, silvery flash of light, like a full moon appearing and disappearing in their midst.

“Over here!” he said. “Anyone who doesn’t want little beastly parasites, I can take care of you.”

“I’m your girl,” said Meredith. “I have a phobia about fleas, and Damon never even got me any flea powder. What a master!”

There was laughter at this, laughter Matt didn’t understand. Meredith was wearing — well, it had to be costume jewelry — but still it looked like about a few million dollars’ worth of sapphires.

Stefan took Meredith’s hand. There was the same soft flash of light. And then Meredith stepped back saying, “Thanks.”

Stefan’s low response was, “Thank you, Meredith.” Meredith’s blue dress was at least in one piece, Matt observed.

Bonnie — whose dress had been slashed into starlight-colored ribbons — was raising a hand. “Me, too, please!”

Stefan took her hand, and it happened all over again. “Thank you, Stefan! Oooh! I feel so much better! I hated itching!”

“Thank you, Bonnie. I hated to think I was dying alone.”

“Other vampires, take care of yourselves!” Elena said, as if she had a clipboard and were checking items off. “And, Stefan, please—” She held out her hands to him.

He knelt in front of her, kissed both her hands, then enshrouded them in the soft white light.

“But I’d still like a bath…” said Bonnie pleadingly, as the new vampire — the tall fit one — and Damon had each sparked a moonlight glow around themselves.

Mrs. Flowers spoke up. “There are four working bathtubs in that house: in Stefan’s room, in my room, in the rooms on either side of Stefan’s. Be my guest. I’ll put some bath salts in each right now.” And then she added, holding her arms out to the whole ragged, bleeding, dirty bunch of them: “My house is yours, my dears.”

There was a chorus of passionate “thank yous.”

“I’ll arrange a rota. For feeding Stefan, I mean. If you girls are willing,” Elena added quickly, looking at Bonnie and Meredith. “He doesn’t need much, just a little every hour until morning.”

Elena still seemed very shy of Matt. Matt was very shy of her. But he stepped forward, empty hands held up to show that he was harmless. “Is it a rule that it’s only girls? Because I’ve got blood, too, and I’m healthy as a horse.”

Stefan quickly looked at him. “No rule about only girls. But you don’t have to—”

“I want to help you.”

“Okay, then. Thank you, Matt.”

The proper response seemed to be “Thank you, Stefan,” but Matt couldn’t think of anything until, “Thanks for taking care of Elena.”

Stefan smiled. “Thank Damon for that. He and the others all helped me — and each other.”