The Tragedy of Being a Whitmore
Chapter 9: Haunted
October 31, 2009
Amelia Whitmore and Bonnie Bennett sat in Amelia's bedroom as she tried to teach Bonnie how to do a simple locator spell.
"Does Grams know you're showing me this?" Bonnie asked nervously as Amelia laid out an ancient-looking dagger next to a map of Mystic Falls and it's surrounding towns.
Amelia rolled her eyes. "I love Sheila to death, but she can be a little extreme when it comes to learning the history before practicing magic."
Amelia passed Bonnie her mother's Deveraux grimoire. "This is super simple. All you need to do is spill a few drops of your blood onto the map and say the incantation."
Bonnie wrinkled her nose, "Why does it have to be my blood?" She asked.
Amelia replied patiently, "Because you're Sheila's relative, and we're practicing the spell on her. Don't worry, you'll heal quickly."
"Fine," Bonnie sighed before taking the dagger and tentatively cutting into her hand. "Ow," She winced.
Amelia looked at her expectedly and Bonnie began to read, "Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Veras, Sequita Sanguines, Ementas Asten Mihan Ega Petous."
They waited a moment, but nothing happened, just as Amelia had expected. "You need to really concentrate. Imagine Sheila's face, and her personality. Look for her with your mind. Go on, try again." She encouraged.
Bonnie took a deep breath and concentrated on her grandmother. "Phasmatos Tribum Nas Ex Veras, Sequita Sanguines, Ementas Asten Mihan Ega Petous!"
Amelia smiled as the blood moved across the map and landed on the local grocery store.
Bonnie looked up at her and smiled, "Wow." She said breathlessly just before a glass resting on the night stand shattered into a million pieces.
Amelia laughed as Bonnie looked at her apologetically, "Oops."
Amelia was staring at her bunsen burner, the image of her father's destroyed body dancing in the flames.
"Amelia?" Her lab partner, Brandon, was looking at her worriedly, his hand on her shoulder.
Amelia flinched and the flame shot up several inches before burning out. She frowned and turned off the gas, hoping he hadn't noticed. "Sorry, I'm just kinda tired today, I guess." She lied, looking back down at her handout. They were suppose to be heating their water for the upcoming experiment.
Brandon was a cute soccer player that she had known since she had gone to Mystic Falls. She use to hang out with him sometimes when she was dating Tyler. They had been randomly paired up in class, but she was glad that they were partners. As much as she loved science, even she grew bored after long lectures. Flicking wads of paper at each other made it a little easier to sit through.
"Well, you'd better wake up for the Halloween party tonight!" He laughed, getting started on their experiment.
Amelia grimaced, "I'm not sure if I'm going this year."
Brandon looked extremely disappointed. "Lia, you have to go." He said giving her his big, brown, puppy eyes. "C'mon, how can you turn down this face?"
Amelia sighed, "Okay, fine."
"Great." He winked at her. "It's a date." He said before leaning down to write notes.
Amelia felt herself blush as she realized he had just asked her out.
Amelia, Caroline, and Bonnie were all getting ready for the Halloween party at the Forbes' home. Amelia admired her tight, black leggings and her "Pink Ladies" jacket in the mirror. Her hair was curled in tight ringlets around her face, and she had on much more makeup than she was comfortable with, but the other girls had insisted she looked straight out of the fifties. Amelia sat on her bed, reading for her english assignment, as she waited for the other girls to finish. Somewhat ironically, they were both going as witches.
"What if no one knows who I am?" Amelia asked, somewhat worried.
Bonnie gasped, "Then they obviously have no taste! 'Grease' is, like, one of my favorite movies."
The doorbell rang and Bonnie and Caroline squealed. Caroline hugged Amelia, "I'm so excited for you! Brandon is like, totally, hot! I can't believe I thought you were hooking up with Damon." She rolled her eyes.
Amelia took a deep breath and walked down the stairs to see Liz talking to Brandon and she became instantly embarrassed.
"Absolutely no drugs, or alcohol, young man, do you understand me?" She asked looking intimidating in her Sheriff's uniform.
"Yes, ma'am." He said politely.
"That's yes, Sheriff, to you." She emphasized glaring at him
"Liz!" Amelia said, embarrassed, tugging Brandon outside. Liz called after them. "And have her home by midnight!"
Brandon turned back to Liz, "Yes, ma - Sheriff!" He stuttered, allowing Amelia to drag him away from the porch.
Amelia groaned. "I'm so sorry. That was super embarrassing." She said getting a chance to admire his costume. He was wearing tattered clothing with fake blood splashed on his clothes. There was a strategically placed gash that showed off his toned abs. "Let me guess: zombie?" She asked.
Brandon smirked, "Of course. But, what's a 'Pink Lady?'" He asked, confused.
Amelia gave him a fake smile and hopped in his car.
When they got to the party, there were already a lot of people there. As always, the school was decorated extremely well. There were spider webs and scary decorations everywhere. Amelia noticed a guy laying on a table with spaghetti covering his abdomen as 'zombies' ate his 'guts.'
Tyler Lockwood approached them with drinks in his hands. He didn't seem to like that they were there together. Tyler smiled falsely at them, "Cider anyone? It's the Lockwood special."
Brandon took one of the drinks and high fived Tyler. "Thanks, bro!" He said as they clinked cups and began to chug. Amelia looked at his gladiator costume, but to her it just looked like an excuse to not wear a shirt.
"Woah! Do you want to be hungover until Thanksgiving?" She asked, chuckling awkwardly.
"Why'd you bring the buzzkill?" Tyler jeered.
Brandon didn't say anything. "Fine. " Amelia retorted. "Have a lovely evening." She seethed, snatching the other cider from Tyler's hand and walking away.
When Amelia bumped into Stefan, she was still fuming, but she calmed down when she saw the expression on his face. "What is it? What's wrong?" She questioned worriedly.
Stefan grimaced. "Vicki is here somewhere. I'm worried about her - she's not in control of herself. If you see her or Jeremy, come find me okay? And be careful. She's not herself." He said, striding off to look some more.
Amelia was riddled with anxiety. She threw her drink away, no longer interested in being impaired. She wasn't sure how they would ever find her. It was so loud with the music, and the scary sound effects, and the craziness of the party. There were people everywhere and it was dark and the lights were flashing. She wished she could perform a spell to find her, but she didn't have the supplies that she needed. She made a mental note to ask Sheila about a short notice locator spell.
Amelia wandered the party for another ten minutes or so when she saw Elena in a nurse's costume run past her. Amelia jogged after her, trying not to lose her in the crowd. Had she found Vicki? Amelia followed Elena outside and her heart began to pound when she heard her yell, "Vicki! No!"
"Elena!" Amelia shouted as she rounded the corner. Amelia watched as Elena tried to hit Vicki with a piece of wood. The wood shattered on her harmlessly and Vicki sent Elena flying into a pile of wood and rubbish. "Elena!" Amelia screamed again, running over to her and helping her up. In her adrenaline-fueled rush, she had just noticed Jeremy freaking out several yards away from them next to the buses. Vicki came at Elena again in a blur. Amelia raised her hands towards her and concentrated on making all of the blood vessels in her brain explode. Vicki began to scream and she clutched at her head.
"Vicki!" Jeremy shouted, unsure of what was a going on.
And then she was gone. The four of them looked around at each other in silence for a moment, heart rates and fear elevated. Stefan suddenly appeared. "Go, get inside. Go!" He told them. Elena took off running for the entrance, grabbing Jeremy with her. Amelia hesitated, but went in their direction as well. Just as Elena reached the door, Vicki appeared, shoving Jeremy away and grabbing onto Elena. Elena screamed in fear and pain as Vicki ripped into her neck angrily.
Amelia didn't even think. All she felt was fear for her friend. She screamed, "No!" as she raised her hand towards Vicki and watched in horror as she was engulfed in flames. Elena stumbled away, afraid and in shock. Vicki flailed and screamed and screamed until she could scream no longer, and she lay dead on the pavement. The flames disappeared, and she lay there smoldering.
"Vicki! Vicki, Vicki! Vicki!" Jeremy yelled as he ran towards her. Stefan grabbed onto him and held him back.
Elena looked at Stefan. "Get him out of here." She commanded. Stefan began pulling Jeremy away and he dialed a number on his phone before saying. "I need your help."
Elena and Amelia sat in near silence over Vicki's body. Amelia held Elena's hand while she cried and she stared at Vicki, unseeing.
A few moments later, a voice called from behind them. "You should go, I got this." Damon Salvatore said, confidently - almost as if he were amused by the situation.
Elena stood up and looked at him accusingly. "You did this. This is your fault."
Amelia stared at her hands and whispered. "I killed her."
"You confuse me for someone with remorse." Damon said, bored.
Elena tried to shove him, but he stood tall. She tried to slap him, but he caught her hand.
"None of this matters to me. None of it." He emphasized to her.
"People die around you. How can it not matter? It matters and you know it." Elena slapped him.
"I killed her." Amelia said at a normal volume, trying to keep her hands from shaking.
Damon glared at Elena for a few moments. Elena looked frightened, but she didn't run. "Mm." Damon murmured, looking extremely pissed. "You need to leave. Your wounds are bleeding, and you need to leave." He threatened. Elena glanced at Amelia but stood up and walked off.
Amelia was finding it difficult to take in a normal breath. "I killed her!" She said more loudly this time, tears blurring her vision.
Amelia buried her head in her hands and began to cry. She felt so out of control.
Damon looked at her awkwardly before ducking when all of the bus windows exploded. "Woah! Take it easy, there." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"I don't even know what happened!" Amelia burst, feeling like she might explode if she didn't tell someone. "I was just so worried about Elena, and when she bit into her neck… I just panicked! I should have had more control. I should have done something else - anything else! I could have just incapacitated her and she wouldn't be… wouldn't be dead."
"You should go catch up with Elena. I'll take care of this." He told her.
Amelia looked up at him. "I'm the one who did this… I should be the one to bury her."
Damon reached down and helped her off the ground. He put her hands on his shoulders and commanded, "Go home, Amelia."
Amelia thought it over for a moment, looking into his icy blue eyes. Eyes that looked concerned, but that probably weren't. Amelia took a shaky breath and tried to pull herself together. "Okay."