The Chosen One

Nine: The Truth

Jessica

              My nerves were strained. Urgency to get Amelia and get out of here was overwhelming me. None of this was going the way we had hoped. This was going to be a close call and I was hoping that Amelia and I would make it in time to get out of here and far away from Mystic Falls as soon as possible. I had told Damon that Amelia and I would go back to the boarding house, which we would but only to grab our stuff and get the hell out of here. I felt awful that I was going to have to abandon them, especially Damon. We were just starting to really get along and I just now was getting to see the other sides of him but I didn't have a choice. We had to leave town.

              There was a whoosh and Damon was outside the driver door. He opened it and got in but watched as two men exited the funeral home, went around to the side of the building and got in a hearse. Damon threw my Dodge into drive and with the hearse following behind us, we continued our rapid drive to the old plantation house. The whole time the hearse kept up which meant that Damon had compelled them to be in just as much of an urgent rush as he was in.

               By the time we turned off onto the road, the sun was sinking beyond the horizon and it was steadily getting dark. A short moment later when we parked in front of the old house, the first thing I did was scan for any vehicle or sign that Klaus was already here. However there were no other cars, which gave me a bit of relief but not much. Who was to say that Klaus didn't come in a car?

              Damon and I both hopped out of the car. He ordered the two men to follow us to the house. Since I didn't know my way through it, nor in which room the coffins were kept, I followed Damon through the dark rooms while the other two men followed behind me.

             Finally we came to the room where they were keeping the coffins, which happened to be the basement. It was dark, aside from the flickering light made by a bunch of white candles dispersed about the room. Seeing the coffins, three lined up side by side while one was off in front of them by itself, made me shiver. The coffins were a natural wood color that were polished and reflected the flickering light of the candles.

              "Jess!"

               I turned and saw Amelia kneeling on the floor off on the other side of the basement. A grimore was open before her and tons of candles arranged in a circle around her. She stood and watched as Damon instructed the two men to pick up the fourth coffin at the head of all of the others and take it out to the hearse. The three of them disappeared up the stairs, taking the coffin out to the hearse.

               "What's going on?" Amelia asked, panic starting to arise within her. "Is he...?" She trailed off, obviously fearing the answer but needing to know all the same.

                I nodded, trying to slow my own breathing and keep calm. "He's in town and knows that the coffins are here. He's coming for them. Damon is going to try to get them moved before he gets here. Us though," I motioned at her and me. "we need to leave now."

               Amelia nodded in complete agreement. "Let's go."

               She headed for the stairs leading back up to the main floor and I hurried along with her. We raced through the house and out the front door. As we made our way to my Dodge, I saw Damon standing over near the hearse supervising the two men as they put the fourth coffin inside. Turning he spotted us and called out to us.