The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith [eBooks]

[Michelle]

The Vampire Diaries - The Struggle

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The second book picks up where The Awakening left off and delves further into Damon's attempts to win Elena's affections and Stefan's struggle to survive. Elena summons Damon and confronts him in the graveyard to discover Stefan's whereabouts. Damon claims he killed Stefan the previous night, but Bonnie, a witch, has a psychic vision. Matt seems to think her vision sounds like the bottom of a well. They find him at the bottom of the empty well. Stefan is close to death but Elena saves him by forcing him to drink her blood. Elena also strikes a secret deal by exchanging blood with Damon, and by doing so ties herself to both brothers as Katherine did centuries ago. While waiting for Stefan one night, Elena feels as if another Power inside a storm is coming for her, and she frantically tries to escape by crossing the bridge over a river. (Because someone told her evil things cannot cross running water.) The car she is in veers off the road and into the river, and she drowns. She fights to get up from the water but the Other Power keeps her in the water long enough to die. While this was all happening Stefen, Meredith and Bonnie are all looking for Elena. They find her minutes after the car veers off the road and Stefan dives in to save her. He drags her body out of the water but it is too late, Elena is dead. He then tells Meredith and Bonnie to go to the police while he, angryand grieving, tries to find and kill his brother. The Struggle ends with the revelation that, because she took enough of the brothers’ blood, Elena becomes a vampire upon her death.