Midnight Rising

On the Walls

A thick layer of dust covers the decaying furniture still left at the Chicago apartment. The single light, hanging from a raveled cord above the bed, refuses to switch on, no matter how many times I try. There are indents in the wall where the bedposts hit over and over. A few rust stains litter the yellowing sheets, only the beginning of the evidence to what happened here. Good to see the place is still a dump.

"Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago and he chose this?" Elena spins around in small circles, her arms clutched tightly to her as she tries to avoid touching anything.

Shrugging, I plop down on the couch, a cloud of dust floating around me, "There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but it shut down for attendance issues. Weird."

"If you're trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work," Elena shoots back, setting her jaw. I drove all the way here. Even if she did want to turn back, correctly deciding that this is a terrible idea, I'd at least want to get a drink or two. Gotta make the trip worth it.

"From what I gathered, Stefan staid at Diana's most of the time. It was a much nicer place uptown. He came here when he was living out his second personality."

Elena begins to relax a little, wandering into what acts as the kitchen; a counter, sink, and stove. Stefan managed to keep up the appearance of being human; a table with two mismatch chairs sits against the kitchen wall. "Pretty obvious he hasn't been here."

"Tour isn't over yet. Besides, if he's with Klaus and Diana he's probably staying with them. Neither one would be caught dead in a place like this." Pushing off the sofa, I move towards the back wall of the dingy apartment. Sliding my hand over the peeling wallpaper, I feel for the little latch, grinning as my fingers make contact. Pushing the hidden door open, I tug on the light cord, pleased when the light flickers a few times but ultimately stays on.

Elena wanders over to me, eyes scanning the shelves lined with bottles of alcohol. She nods, hands slapping against her thighs as she gives me an unconvinced look, "Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster."

"Look harder," stepping out of the small room, I allow Elena entrance.

Her eyes scan over the shelves, eventually settling on the far wall. Across the wooden boards are hundreds of names. Each is written out in Stefan's neat, slanting script. With a shaky hand, Elena reaches forward, running her fingers over the marked-up wall. "It's a list of names."

"Mm-hmm."

"These are all of his victims?"

"Still handling it?"

Elena spins toward me, one finger pushing into my chest, "What were you doing in the 1920s? Paving the way for women's liberation?"

She's deflecting, trying to prove that Stefan wasn't the only bad guy wandering around. If she can show that one other person wasn't a model citizen she can justify what Stefan was doing. It'll seem less horrific. I have to play along. We're here. I can't have her freaking out now. "I was around. Stefan was a cocky ripper douche. But, I could still avoid him and indulge in a few Daisy Buchanan's of my own."

"Diana and you?"

"Diana only likes Stefan when she has his complete attention. She only had that for about six months, until he met her best friend," I give Elena a smirk, "Like I said, Stefan spent most of his time at Diana's, but not all of it."

Elena wrinkles up her nose, sticking out her tongue in disgust as I head for the door. "Where are you going?"

"His old stomping ground."

"I'm coming with you."

"No. You stay here and whip up an actual plan. I'll come back when I find him," I shut the door behind me, giving it an extra tug for good measure.