Chapter 1:
December 1
Dear Diary,
I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen today.
I don’t know why I wrote that. It’s outrageous. I have no reason to be upset, but every reason to be happy, but here I am at 8:30 in the evening, scared. But that doesn’t explain why I feel so lost.
The dag before I left Virginia Beach, while I was gather a bag full of clothes. I came across five old journals, leather covers with old coffee stained pages. They were my great Uncle Jonathans’ journals; he was one of the first founder families in Mystic Falls and believed that there were vampires living among them there. My father, John Gilbert, also believed there were vampires in Mystic Falls. He made me and my mother, Sara Gilbert, verplaats to Virginia strand when I was six.
It was about four weeks ago, I came home pagina from school to find my mother lying on the floor, her skin was white, like someone had painted her, though she was ice cold. She had blood, fizzing out of two small holes in her neck. My thoughts went straight to vampires, but that was crazy, vampires aren’t real. I waited for my dad to come home pagina that night, but he didn’t, he didn’t come home pagina that whole week. I left Virginia Beach, hoping to find my dad again.
Walking back into Mystic falls was nerve racking, but yet it pulled me in even more, like rope tied to my waist and someone pulling on the other end, dragging me. Breathing in the fresh forest wood, made me smile, though I didn’t know how today would play out, because right now everything looks strange to me, as if I don't belong here. But it’s me that's out of place. And the worst thing is that I feel there's somewhere I do belong, but I just can't find it.
I don’t know how coming back would solve all my problems, though I think it could.
I stood outside of their house, staring, like it was a part of history I hadn’t discovered yet, beautiful, peaceful but torn up with memories, scared from history. It was my Auntie and Uncles house; they had lived in that house basically since forever, with their two kids Elena and Jeremy. I hadn’t been back since their death, mostly because I thought it would be too hard to face them, since I had soulless parents, they weren’t the same when they found out that they had died. The house though, was still that bright pale white and deep dark blue, like nothing had happened. I didn’t know how I was going to tell them, I know I was putting my feeling behind a wall, trying to protect them, because they had lost so much, Jenna, our Auntie and their vrienden , but I didn’t know how they would react, their parents, now mine, gone. I couldn’t go into the house, not yet anyway.

Madison Gilbert looked at the page she had just scribbled on, her hand trembling with meer words exploding at the tip of her pen, but she placed the pen down on the old oval pine table. The low light from the lamps shade above her, shimmered light around her, there were four other oval shaped tables around her, above each tafel, tabel was a lamp shade with a mini lamp sitting in the middle of each table. A few people sat at the bar, but one person stood out to her. He was wearing a black leather jacket, but he seemed like a shadow of a ghost, like he wasn’t real, but he was. There were a few people playing pool, around two pool tables. She could hear the balls clanking together, as they hit each other, their laughter rang through her ears, as she closed her diary, her fingers creasing the velvet dark red cover, as she gently put the book into her bag. She spotted that the walls were chopped up stones glued together, like bricks.
She glanced over at the zeshoek shaped glass, the rays from the lamps light, made the water sparkle.
Madison noticed her reflection in the spring water, her face was enchanting, as her olijf-, olijf skin glowed in the low light, her hair was a dazzling dark brown with maroon red highlights, she had it pulled up into a lose pony tail, she was short for a 17 jaar old, but she had a slim build, what everybody noticed was her eyes, deep sea blue with gras green speckles, they drew people in. She looked back over to the bar, he was still there, though he turned quickly as if he was looking at her but didn’t want her to know. She giggled quietly to herself, as she looked down to the pine table.
Madison glimpsed up to see a young man looking down upon her, his wavy golden blonde hair swayed around his face, his eyes a glowing brown. He looked at her, like he knew her but they hadn’t seen each other for years, and then his face lit up. “Madison, Madison Gilbert is that you” His voice, honey soft, as he was surprised to see her.
“Um, yeah” Her voice hidden, as she looked up at him puzzled. He leaned meer into his bent knee, as he laughed out a smile, flopping his up to his chest.
“It’s me Matt, Matt Donovan. Elena’s best friend” He zei still smiling, while handing her a menu.
She sat back in her chair, as she started putting the pieces together.
Matt was one of Elena’s best friends, they had been ever since they went to kindergarten together. Over the years they become very close to each other, he looked after Jeremy if he needed it and to Madison, if she wanted help. They went out, thinking that if they went out, they would love each forever just like the movies, but it didn’t happen that way for them.
“Oh hey, how u been” Her voice coming out of its shell.
“I’ve been good, how are you? Are u staying in Mystic Falls?” He pulled the zitplaats, stoel from the other side of the tafel, tabel out and sat down. His broad shoulders sat perfectly across the top, boven of the chair.
“I’m good thanks, I’m going to stay for awhile” She smiled, as she looked back at the dazzling water, the light dancing like a ballerina, twirling on their tippy toes across the silky water. They talked for awhile, catching up on each other’s lives, laughing and giggling like two little kids.
“Well I think Elena and Jeremy would love that, I mean if u stay” He said, fixing up the salt and pepper.
“You really think so” Her voice soft, he nodded yes towards her.
“Yeah, I know Elena has missed you, and Jeremy, I think he needs you, they both do” He leaned back into his chair.
“They need me? That’s weird last time they saw they told they never wanted to see me again” She started biting her finger nail. They were in awkward silence for a minuut of two.
“Can I ask u something?”
“yeah, of course” She sat forward.
“You were gone for three years, what made u come back” He asked strongly.
“I came back because, I belong here, its home” Her eyes sparkled in the low light, Matt got up from the table, pushing his chair in. Madison handed him back the menu, as she grabbed her bag.
“They don’t know your here yet, do they” Matt zei cheekily.
“No, not yet” Madison looked down at the ground, suddenly shame washing over her.
“Maddie, so it’s been awhile since u have been back, but they will be so happy to see you” Madison looked up at him from under her lashes, as he looked at her with his hand on her shoulder.
“Trust me” she smiled, as he smiled with her.
“Thanks Matt, u were always that guy that knew how to cheer a person up” He laughed, looking down at the ground, his hands in his pockets, and looking back at her under his lashes.
“Yip, I was always that guy” He looked around, as his nervous levels raised.
“So, u work here” Madison said, cutting the nervous tension that was, now back her into a corner.
“Yeah, I have been working here since, about a maand after my sister left town, little did I know that she was dead” He zei walking towards the door, Madison following him. Matt was really close to his sister Vicki, mostly because Vicki needed him, but he needed her more, she just didn’t realise that. Madison and Vicki, when they were little were like sisters, but then Vicki turned against Madison, like a demon had taken over her body. Everyone had always wondered what had happened between them, sometimes Madison wished they could still be friends, but it just never happened.
“Vicki is dead” She was now on his heels, surprise that no one had zei anything to her. They stopped door the bar.
“Matt I’m sorry” She looked at him, her eyes full of sorrow.
“Thanks, that means a lot” His eyes calm along with his smile, as they hugged, something he needed meer than her.
“Hey it was nice talking to you”
“See u around, Maddie” She watched, as he walked off to wipe down an empty table.
Madison pressed the palm of her hand against the wooden door of the Mystic Grill, walking into the darken night.
The streets were dimly lit door the towering straat lights with the flickering bulbs. The kind of atmosphere gegeven off door a cheesy horror film, unsurprisingly to the recent degree, but all the same she walked the streets alone, unafraid.
Though there was one aspect challenging the scene. The smell. The air was fresh and clean, u could smell the moist leaves lying motionless, where they had been swept in the breeze of the day. u could smell the low humidity mixed with the smell of faint burning. To her, that smell was the sweetest of all smells. The peacefulness of the night.
Madison walked along the pavement, the full moon, looked like a massive spot light, drawn to her as she moved along the side walk. The winter breeze danced around her, like a playful puppy full of excitement. She noticed the straat lights were coming to a stop, but she carried on into the misty dark streets. The breeze blew past some big old oak trees, making them look like zombies, bushes rattled as she walked past them, expecting a monster to jump out and eat her. She hurried along the side walk, pushing the horror films and creatures out of her wondering mind.
She came to a halt, as she stood frozen in front of a frightening metal gate, the metal arch that was attached to the gate, gloomed over her, fear rattling her bones. As she pushed the gate opened, it squeaked as the rusted hinges rubbed together. She glanced beyond the opened gate, her hart-, hart booming out of her chest, like a loud speaker playing music. The tree’s swayed in the winter breeze, their bodies like skeletons, dead. Leaves twirled in the gentle gust, like little tornadoes ripping at the bottom of the boom stumps.
She hurried through the gate way, entering The Mystic Falls Cemetery.
She staggered into the shadows of the cemetery, low fog lingered around her ankles as she made her way to her Uncle and Aunts grave.
The flowers she had picked on the way were beautiful, bright red roses floating in the middle of the perfectly white lilies. Madison placed the flowers down across the bottom of the head stone, her fingers creasing their names that were stamped into the stone.
Madison’s bag flopped off her shoulder, landing motionless on a bed of dried up leaves. She sat facing her Auntie and Uncles headstone, her back leaning against another headstone.
She noticed brand flies soaring around her, flicking on and off as they drift in the night sky. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. As a brand fly fluttered near her, she placed her hand out to the glowing bug. He landed on her finger, gracefully. His light blazed across her fingers, as he trotted over them. She heard a kraai squawking, searching the space around her, her eyes flickering from each head stone that surrounded her. When she looked back at her hand the brand fly was gone, though all the brand flies lights were gone. The moons light climbed through the trees, throwing a radiant silver across the over grown grave yard. Heavy fog faded into the cemetery, surrounding her with horror, though she never showed it. gans bumps rose on her arms, as she noticed it. It was the biggest kraai Madison had ever seen before, chubby and sleek, with rainbows glistening in its black feathers. She saw every detail of the kraai clearly, the selfish dark claws, the piercing beak, the single glowing black eye, but his eyes were on her, it something she couldn’t escape from. As the fog got thicker, surrounding the night sky, she took a deep breath, fear settling deeper into her lungs.
She heard something, but the voice sent a chill throughout her whole nerve system and sent a blinding white light that covered her eyes. Though this was a good white light, the kind u would combine with angels not the kind that seemed as though u were trapped in a snow storm.
Madison didn’t know the voice, that beautiful voice. It was the most supreme sound in the world, despite the fact he zei one word in that beautiful husky voice.
“Lost?”
The tall young man, walked out from behind a tree, leaves lying on the ground, lifeless. He had baby blue eyes that lit up from the moons glowing light. He had dark brown hair that almost looked black, but it was short, a few strands of hair fell down to his brow. His eye brows were thick and knotted together, as he looked at her.
“No” Madison replied, frowning.
“Then why are u in the cemetery at night” He asked, with a smirk on his face, walking closer. She stood up quickly, knowing there was something strange about him.
“I could ask u the same thing” She replied, nervously. He chuckled to himself, as he sat down near her, his knees bent as his hands rested on them. She flopped to the ground, her legs crossed over one another.