At the park, Maria found Bonnie and Caroline already there. "Hey, guys."
"Maria, how are you?" Caroline asked.
"Fine. A little shaken up though." Maria told them.
"The others must be running a little late." Bonnie said. "Jeremy hasn't called back yet and Elena's not picking up."
"Elena's fine, guys." Maria said.
"Still, it's not like her to be late for anything important." Bonnie said.
"They'll probably be here any minute."
"Hey. Is this the right place?" The girls turned.
"What are you doing here, Tyler?" Caroline asked.
"I got Maria's message."
"He's kinda part of the group, Care." Maria said. "We don't know if this has effected anyone else."
"Okay…"
"It's happening again, isn't it?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah."
"Hey. Sorry I'm late, guys." Elena said, joining the group.
"Where were you?" Caroline asked, hugging her.
"Oh, you know." Maria looked at her and noticed she had her necklace on-the one that prevented compulsion and other vampire stuff.
"Were you with him again?"
"Well, yeah." Elena said.
"So, how are things going with Damon?" Caroline asked Maria. She turned bright red.
"They're fine, why do you ask?"
"Uh, you guys didn't…you know…"
"Of course not!" Maria said. "Just cause we're dating, that doesn't automatically make me some kind of…"
"Okay, so at least he respects you." Bonnie interjected, causing the rest of the group to stare at her.
"Yo, can we save the chick drama for later?"
"Jeremy, how long have you been standing there?" Elena asked her brother.
"As long as the rest of us." The group turned around. While the group had been talking, Damon, Alaric, and Stefan had shown up.
"Okay, now that we're all here, we need to talk." Maria said. A few minutes later, the group was sitting on the benches or near the edge of the fountain.
"We think there's someone threatening us." Stefan said, getting right to the point. "We're not sure if it's just the four of us, or if it's the entire group here."
"And we have strong reason to believe it's another vampire." Maria said. "They got into our dreams, though we never saw who it was."
"Are you sure about that?" Tyler asked. "I know I'm kinda new to this group and all, but are you sure it was someone compelling the dream and not just some nightmare?"
"We're a hundred percent sure, Tyler. The four of us were sharing the same dream." Maria told him.
"But isn't compelling other vampires impossible?" The entire group looked at him.
"Yeah, your girlfriend should probably fill you in on the basics, wolf boy." Damon said.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Caroline said the same time Tyler said, "She's not my girlfriend!"
"People, focus!"
"Why do you think they're threatening you?" Jeremy asked.
"Because we heard them talking to us, saying there was nowhere we could hide from them." Elena said. Stefan put his arm around her shoulder.
"Then they set the Grill on fire. In the dream." Maria clarified.
"Is that why we're meeting here?"
"Well, I wanted to be careful. Setting the place on fire could've been some kinda warning sign." Maria said.
"Did any of you have a dream last night, where something weird happened?" Stefan asked. "I'm sure it wasn't the four of us that were effected by it."
"No way. I never take this off, even when I'm sleeping." Jeremy said, holding up his wrist.
"A bracelet?" Tyler asked. "You're so lame."
"It has vervain, idiot." Jeremy told him. "If someone wears it on them, vampires can't compel them or get in their head."
"It's true." Caroline told him.
"Okay, so Jeremy's out." Maria said. "Anyone else?"
"Not me." Tyler said.
"I haven't had one, either." Alaric added
"Probably cause you were still out on the couch." Jeremy said. "Might want to go easy on the drinking." For the past couple weeks, Alaric had been living with Elena and Jeremy. He'd unofficially become their guardian since Jenna and John had died and there were no other living relatives in town.
"Okay, so that leaves the girls." Damon said. "Either of you two have any weird nightmares or dreams?"
"No." Bonnie said. "Besides, my dreams don't work like that. When I do have a nightmare, it turns out to be a vision or something."
"Not to mention you've got a lot of spells and tools you use to keep anything dark out of your dreams." Maria said. The group looked at each other. Despite the fact they looked nothing alike, they acted as though they were sisters. Then again, one of Bonnie's ancestors helped Maria grow into her magic abilities, even after she turned.
"Okay, so no one except the four of us were…" Elena began.
"Actually," Everyone turned to face Caroline. "I had a dream. Last night. It was really weird, but I'm not sure I remember all the details."
"Then what good does that do?" Damon asked. Maria shot him a look before turning to Caroline.
"It's okay. Let's start with what you do remember."
"Well, I was at the school fair. I'm sure you guys remember the one." Caroline said. Maria nodded, remembering that was when she'd become a vampire.
"Wait, was that when you…" Tyler began. Caroline looked embarrassed, but nodded.
"Okay, so what happened?" Elena asked her.
"I can't remember most of the details." Caroline said. "I'm coming up with nothing."
"Maybe I can help." Maria said. "Elena, I might need a hand." Elena nodded, understanding.
Only the six of them knew about Maria's empathy ability. It was a power she'd had since before she turned. She could use it to calm people down, heal them emotionally. For reasons no one else knew, if another empathic person helped, it would make that ability stronger.
Elena took Maria's hand, while Maria held Caroline's. "Okay, Caroline. What stood out in the dream most to you?"
"I just remember being there and hanging out with some people from school." Caroline said. "Then, and here's where it gets weird, I see the place completely empty, like a ghost town. As though everyone had left."
"Okay, so everyone disappeared?" Stefan asked.
"It sure seemed like it." Caroline said.
"Then what?"
"I don't know. It's like I keep drawing a blank from there." Caroline said. She let go of Maria's hand. "I'm really sorry, you guys."
"It's okay, Caroline. At least now we've got something to work with." Maria told her. "For some reason, they've only tried to mess with the five of us, so they probably know who we are."
"Yeah, except they still went after us when Elena left. Either they're new at it…" Stefan began.
"Or they know at least four of us are vampires." Caroline finished.
"Here, wear this." Maria said. She handed out a few bracelets that she'd put vervain in. "It should be able to keep whoever's doing this out of your heads."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Caroline asked. "No offense, but wouldn't it fall apart if he..."
"Oh, right." Maria said. While she was planning everything, she'd forgotten about the fact that Tyler was a werewolf. "I don't think it'll be much of a problem, as long as he's not wearing it the night of a full moon."
"Hopefully it'll be easier to figure this out." Bonnie said. "I'll go through the spell books and see if there's anything else that might keep them out of our dreams."
"Yeah, except Blondie probably shouldn't be wearing that." Damon pointed out.
"Oh, please…"
"No, he's right." Maria said, interrupting before another argument could break out. "Look, Caroline, I know you're scared, but it's just until you can remember the other details of the dream."
"But…wouldn't that leave her vulnerable?" Elena asked.
"Not if we put a barrier around her house to keep the vampires from entering." Bonnie pointed out.
"That's a really good idea, Bonnie." Maria said. "We should probably do it with the others, too. We need to stay safe. If we see anything or get the feeling something's up, call each other. We can't be too careful this time, guys. I've got a really bad feeling about things."
"So do I." Bonnie said. "Whatever's going on, it feels like it's only the beginning."
"I'm still a little lost here, but if there's anything I can do to help you guys, I will." Tyler said.
"Thanks, Tyler." Caroline smiled.
"Just when we thought things were getting back to normal." Jeremy said.
"Well, who's going to do this if not us?" Maria pointed out.
"Okay, so everyone keep your eyes open and be careful." Stefan told them. "Whoever's out there, they know who we are."