Patient Zero – Page 2
Willie shoved his hands deep in his coat pocket, tucked his head down, and quickly headed back to the truck. Once inside, he popped open the glove box, dug out his lighter and pulled the note out. He held the flame to the paper and watched it turn to ash. Barnabas couldn’t be allowed to find it; if he did, the girl would be as good as gone.
Is she crazy? Why on earth did she come here? How did she find me? He started up the truck and began heading for home. She’s prettier than I remember. Stop, don’t think like that. Willie sat at the stop light, tapping the steering wheel nervously. What on earth does she want? Were her eyes always that green? Loomis, keep it together!
Before he knew it, Willie was in the driveway, trying to figure out if he would meet her or not. I’ll figure it out tomorrow; better just sleep on it.
The museum in Collinsport wasn’t a normal one – with marble columns and piles of dinosaur bones -- it was actually a lumber museum, which attracted adults and kids from all over Maine. The museum had thousands of objects, ranging from prehistoric stone tools to a variety of twentieth century chain saws. It sat on 100 acres of land and had interactive experiences, allowing visitors to simulate activities such as swinging an ax, sawing a tree, piloting a log raft, and racing locomotives. In the summer, the attraction would be swarming with people, but in the winter, most of the outdoor exhibits were closed. The walking trails, however, remained open and cleared of snow, allowing guests to walk through the old logging camp and peer inside the windows of log cabins. Willie stood in front of one of the cabins wondering if he would even find Emma on the vast property. Luckily, or unluckily for him, he didn’t need to find her; she found him.
“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come.” Emma snuck beside Willie and scared the daylights out of him.
Willie turned to her, her large green eyes staring up at him like saucers, and waited for what she was going to say next.
“I’m not crazy. It really happened, didn’t it?” She leaned towards him, wanting to know she hadn’t lost her mind. “Please, tell me I’m not crazy. No one remembers! They – they all keep telling me that I imagined you. They all think I’m insane. But, when you recognized me at the diner, I knew...I knew I wasn’t crazy.”
This is my out. Pretend I don’t know her and she’ll just go away.
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” Willie said, cringing inside for lying.
“Yes, yes, you do.” She poked his chest, startling him this time with physical contact. “Explain then how it is you know me, and why you nearly pissed yourself when I showed up at the diner.” Emma stood stoically waiting for an answer.
“I thought you were someone else. Now that I see ya up close, I know I was wrong; ya aren’t who I thought ya were. I never seen you before.” Another pang of guilt ran through him, and she looked genuinely hurt by his words.
“You’re lying. Why are you lying? I – I took care of you! I held your hand and sat with you all day and all night when you were sick. I held you when the nightmares came.” As she got more frustrated, tears started to slip down her cheeks. “I’m not crazy! Why would you lie to me? I saw that man strike you, and how afraid you were.” Emma got uncomfortably close to Willie and in a voice slightly louder than a whisper, said, “I saw that thing suck the blood from you, right from your neck. Like a vampire… That thing isn’t human.”
Willie put his hands on her shoulders, and gently backed her away. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Willie put his head down, unable to look her in the eyes.
“Why? Why are you doing this?”
“I gotta get goin’. Sorry ya wasted your time.” Willie started to walk away, a knot in his stomach forming as he left; listening to her plead was painful.
“I’m not crazy! I know what I saw! How can you lie to me?” Emma stood alone and sobbed as Willie walked away. He never looked back.
“Did you pick up everything for the party this evening?” Barnabas smoothed out the tablecloth as he walked past it.
“Yes, Barnabas. I did everything just as you asked.” Willie watched nervously as his master inspected the preparations.
“And the wine from the cellar, you have brought that up as well? Dusted off the bottles and prepared the crystal?”
“Yes.”
“Everything looks to be in order. You have done well this evening; I am pleased.”
Although Barnabas didn’t notice, Willie let out a sigh of relief that he had been holding in the entire day. New Year’s Eve was the only night in which the guests were expected to stay through the night, and Barnabas could enjoy in the full festivities. It was also quite possibly the most stressful day of the year for Willie. In years past, he had made some mistakes, some so grave that he found himself locked in the cellar to think about his blunders. But tonight, he took extra care, waking up before the sun to start preparing. Hoping that all was perfect so that he could enjoy one night to do as he pleased, within the guidelines that Barnabas put forth, and put his encounter with Emma from several days before behind him.
“You may go, Willie. I do not expect to see you until tomorrow evening. Please ensure that the mess is thoroughly picked up prior to my waking.”
“Yes, Barnabas.” Willie didn’t hesitate to grab his coat and keys, and out the door he flew. Today was a good day, he thought to himself. Sure, he was still nursing a wound on his face and a limp in his step that Barnabas had caused, but today he managed to steer clear of another assault. If anyone would have asked him prior to arriving at Collinwood if he would ever get beaten over a set of napkin rings, he would have laughed in their face. But now, he understood the consequences of accidently having one thrown into the trash, and ruining a complete set. And even though he wasn’t the one who threw it out, that it had been Carolyn, he took the blame.
His first stop was the diner. Willie ate a quick meal and then ordered a second one to go, with two slices of pie and extra mashed potatoes. It would be cold by the time he ate it, but he figured once midnight came he would at least have something to eat, even if he was alone.
Next stop was the Blue Whale. Getting drunk was not within the guidelines, but maybe a little buzz would be okay.
“Hey, Willie. What can I get ya?” Bob put his newspaper down and slid off his barstool.
“Beer, and make it a big one, would ya?” Willie put a five-dollar bill on the bar and settled in. If there was one safe place to be on New Year’s -- where he wouldn’t run into anyone -- it was the Blue Whale. Other townsfolk were with family and friends, and he didn’t have either.
“Barnabas havin’ his big party tonight?” Bob asked. He already knew the answer, but attempted to make small talk.
“Yeah.” Willie continued to drink his beer and chat with the bartender, as if he were any normal patron, until their attention was turned bu the sound of a sneeze on the opposite end of the bar. Willie hadn’t even noticed someone there.
“Who’s that?” Willie asked, handing over his glass for a refill while looking at the lump slumped over.
“Don’t know. She came in here ‘bout an hour before you. Pretty thing too. Already had a few in the bag when she walked in, then passed out there. I figured when she woke up I could get her in a cab to wherever she’s goin’. Safer if a girl like that passes out where I can keep an eye on her, versus out in the street somewhere.”
“You ever see her in here before?” Willie couldn’t get a good look at the woman’s face.
“Nope. First time tonight.” Both men turned towards the woman as she began show signs of life. When she raised her head from her folded arms, and the waves of curls unfolded; Willie knew her instantly.
Shit.
It took a minute for her to come around, but when she did, she had laser focus on Willie.
“Y-You…”, she seethed, “you ruined everything!” The previously motionless woman was now standing at attention and holding onto the bar as if it were a railing attached to a boat on rocky seas.
“Seems she knows you.” Bob watched as the girl walked towards Willie, gripping the bar as she moved.
“I walked away from my entire future because of you. Your lyin’, no good … hic … no good ass.” She turned towards Bob as she pointed at Willie. “Did you know he’s a liar? A no good, lyin’ bastdard?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Bob nodded and grinned, finding the situation amusing.
“Bob, you aren’t helpin’ any.” Willie stood up as she approached him.
“E-everyone thinks I’m nuts! But I – I know what I saw.”
“What are you doing in here? You should go home.”
“Don’t you …hic… tell me where I should go.” Emma was boiling mad. “You know what I saw?” She turned her attention back to the bartender. “I saw a vampire suck the blood right out of him. Saw it with my own two eyes.” Emma went to sit on the bar stool next to Willie, but missed, and Willie caught her before she hit the ground.
“Is that so?” Bob asked, jokingly.
“She’s drunk, talking crazy. Can you pour me two coffees to go? And some aspirin? I’m gonna to take her to get somethin’ to eat and help her sober up a bit.”
“I’m not crazy. I saw it.” Emma muttered, and then tumbled into Willie’s arms and grabbed onto him as she stared up into his eyes. “You’re a good-looking liar though. I can’t stop thinking ...hic... thinking about you.”
“Come on, let’s get you outta here.” Willie got her tucked around him, grabbed the coffees and left. He didn’t have a choice and needed her to shut up before Bob got suspicious. “Let me help you up.” Willie helped Emma into the truck and then ran around to the other side. “Here’s a blanket if you’re cold. It takes a bit for the heat to kick in. Drink this and take these.” He handed her the coffee and little white pills, and she took them, mumbling something in between sips.
Willie started to drive, trying to figure out where to take her. Can’t be where people are, too risky, and she’s gonna feel terrible; don’t want her to be embarrassed. There was only one place he could think of -- an abandoned cottage tucked away on the shoreline. Willie went there every so often to be alone; it was his sanctuary, and his master allowed it. In fact, Barnabas had encouraged it, as it gave Willie a place to go when he was feeling melancholy, and Barnabas wouldn’t have to deal with him. However, ever since Willie’s return from Beals, the visits became more and more frequent, and Willie’s mood grew darker and darker with each passing sunset.
With a barely manageable bundle of firewood in his arms, Willie walked into the room and quietly set the logs on the crumbling hearth. He took his time stacking it, knowing that she was awake and probably staring at him. His leg began to twitch nervously as he crouched down, waiting for her to say something. After stalling for as long as he could, he turned around, avoiding eye contact, and sat cross legged on the floor a good distance away from her and the fire.
“I won’t bite.” She said softly. “It’s cold over there, come closer to the fire where you can be warm.” She patted the floor beside her. “Come on.”
“I’m good right here.”
“Fine, I’ll just come to you, and we can both freeze.”
Emma scooted backwards, away from the fire, until she was right beside Willie, and she sat quietly. An uncomfortable tension radiated between them and they both were shivering in the cold, but a standoff had begun. Neither of them wanted to be the one to give in. They sat beside each other like stubborn children, until Willie saw that her teeth were chattering.
“This is ridiculous.” Willie stood up and moved towards the fire and plopped down in front of it, warming his hands close to the flames, knowing she would come closer too, and warm up.
Emma silently chuckled as he got up, happy with her small victory of not giving in first. She joined him next to the fire, wrapped the blanket around them both, and sat a little closer to Willie than he would have liked. The warmth of her beside him, a contact that wasn’t intended to do harm, was a feeling long forgotten, and suddenly he ached for it.
“What time is it?” A simple question. Break the ice, she thought.
“Huh?” The memories of happier times, and the warmth of a beautiful woman, had him dazed.
“The time?”
“Oh..uh..eleven thirty.” Willie looked at her through blond sweeps that had fallen over his eyes. “How are you feelin’? Are you hungry?”
Emma thought about it and, to her surprise, realized that she was starving. “I could eat.”
Willie pulled out a bag and ripped it, flattening it out on the ground. He grabbed a second bag and revealed several pieces of fried chicken, a container of mashed potatoes, and the extra pie from the diner. “I’m sorry, it’s not much, just diner food -- and it’s cold-- probably not very good, but it’s all I got. I didn’t realize that –“
“It’s perfect.” Emma interrupted and smiled sweetly at him, realizing that this probably was all he had, possibly all he had in the world, and he was offering it to her. She studied him as he picked at his makeshift dinner, noticing the fresh bruises on his face and a cut on his cheek. She saw his limp when he came in with the firewood. His jacket was terribly thin for this kind of weather, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. He was a broken man, with hauntingly beautiful eyes, and she was drawn to him like a moth to the moon. She had been since she laid eyes on him at Beals.
“What?” Willie snapped his head up, taking her by surprise. “Why do you keep staring at me like that?” Her attention was making him uncomfortable. He could feel her eyes on him all night, studying him, making him feel like an animal at the zoo or a freak. Everyone in town stared at him, watched him come and go, sneering behind his back. He hated it and hated everyone who did it.
“You need someone to take care of you.”
Willie gave a snort of derision. “I’m just fine.”
“Really? You sure as hell don’t look fine, and you weren’t fine at Beals. You look like you haven’t slept in years. You’re obviously hurt, and you don’t hide the limp very well. You aren’t dressed appropriately for this kind of weather and your hands are cracked from the cold. Not to mention that you’re spending New Year’s Eve in an abandoned, broken-down building on the edge of nowhere. And my guess is that your little blood condition hasn’t changed either.”
“Anything else?” Willie said flatly, anger starting to light up his eyes.
Emma’s voice softened. “I’m worried about you. Please, tell me. Tell me what’s going on. Maybe I can help.” She moved closer to him again, her eyes looking up and pleading, taking his hand in hers. “What was that thing that came into your room? I saw it suck the blood from you, like a vampire. I know I did. It was horrific.”
“Finish up, and then I’ll drive ya to a hotel.” He ignored her questioning, removed his hand from hers, and began to stoke the fire a bit more, turning his back to her.
“Why did you bring me here anyway? Surely it wasn’t to impress me.” Emma looked around at the ruins that surrounded them. Secretly, she thought that it was a bit charming, or at least could be with some hard work.
“You were stone drunk. I didn’t want to just dump you off on some stranger.” Willie shifted uncomfortably, and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.
“I think you were looking out for me. Just like you did when you didn’t tell that thing about me, or my brain would have been zapped just like the others.”
Willie looked back up at her, almost about to say something, but then simply shook his head and kept quiet.
“I’m right. You don’t need to answer. I took care of you, and you took care of me.”
Willie rolled his eyes, a feeble attempt to pretend she wasn’t right. “Are you done?”
“No, I’m NOT done.” Emma was irritated, he’ll know when I’m done!
Willie pointed at the food. “With the food. Are you finished?”
Embarrassed at misunderstanding, she smiled at him. “Oh, um…yes, thank you.”
The pair sat in silence again. Emma watched as Willie gathered up the bones from the chicken and tossed them into the fire. The remaining potatoes and pie got wrapped carefully back into the foil it came in, and placed back into a bag. Emma took notice, thinking that food was something this man did not take for granted. If fact, it was something he may not have gotten much of, and her heart sank further for him. For the next several minutes they both watched the flames dance around in the fireplace, and Emma kept track of the minutes as they ticked on towards midnight.
“Happy New Year.”
Willie looked over at her, and had no time to react to the young woman as she quickly scooted close to Willie and kissed him on the cheek.
“It’s midnight. You need to kiss someone at midnight, or it’s bad luck.” She watched his cheeks turn rosy with embarrassment, and then leaned to kiss him again, and for a brief moment he forgot that his life was not his own. It was a moment he wanted to last a lifetime, but when she pushed slightly on his leg to balance herself, the pain from a fresh punishment yanked him back to his nightmare.
“Don’t. I can’t.” Willie stared at the ground, and she gently ran her hand through his hair.
“I feel it, don’t you? There’s something between us. I felt it the minute you arrived at the hospital. Even when you were screaming at me like a lunatic. Believe me, I wouldn’t have blown my entire future for just anyone.”
Their conversation was shattered when a booming voice came crashing down on them from the outside of the house, yelling Willie’s name. If it had been anyone or anything else, Willie would have welcomed it to get out of the conversation that almost took place.
“Willie?”
Willie scrambled to his feet and ice instantly began to flow through his veins. Panic and fear. Emma jumped to her feet as well, and Willie stood in front of her, his arm stretched back to keep her from coming forward.
“Willie!” Barnabas, dressed in all black with menacing cane in hand, came charging through the front door.
“I’m here, Barnabas.”
“Ah, excellent. I need you to return to the Old Hou –” Barnabas noticed the girl and paused for a moment to inspect her. “And who is this?” he asked with a hint of charm in his voice.
“I – I just met her tonight. She was –”
“Emma. Pleasure to meet you.” Emma walked around Willie, stuck out her hand, and with all the confidence of a prize fighter, strode directly to Barnabas, looked him in the eyes, and introduced herself.
“Is that so?”
“Can you believe my boyfriend, of four years I might add, dumped me on New Year’s Eve?” Emma forced a few tears to make it more believable, “I mean, who does that? So, regrettably, I drank myself silly while feeling sorry for myself, and passed out at the Blue Whale. That’s where I met Willie.”
“And how, might I ask, did you wind up together here?” Barnabas looked directly at his servant, and Willie knew that it was he who was supposed to answer, not the girl.
“I – I didn’t want to just leave her there. Bob wanted to close, so I brought her out here to sober up. I was just plannin’ on takin’ her to the hotel now.”
“I see.” Barnabas wrapped his hand around Willie’s wrist, and his iron grip squeezed tighter and tighter.
Willie looked up at his master, his eyes beginning to water from the pain. “Please, don’t, ” He whispered, one second before the young man heard something crack, which was immediately followed by a sharp pain that radiated through his elbow and into his shoulder. Emma heard Willie’s breath hitch, and a muted gasp escape him as his eyes glossed over and flooded with fear.
“Well, I came to retrieve you as we have a small problem at the house and your assistance is required.”
“Yes, Barnabas. I’ll take her to a hotel and then head straight there.”
Barnabas didn’t buy a single word of their story, and knew that bringing them back to the house would force the truth out of them. “Nonsense. Emma, it would be my pleasure to have you stay with us for the evening. Willie can drive you where you need to go in the morning.”
“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother.”
“I insist. Willie, put the fire out here, and then return post haste.”
“Y-yes Barnabas.”
Willie started the truck and the pair headed down the coast.
“Who is he?”
“My boss.”
“No, I mean who is he. His name, where is he from?” She turned to face him as he drove she studied his face as she listened, watching what she could only describe as terror creep over him like a suffocating vine.
“Barnabas Collins. He and his family own this town and everyone in it.”
“Including you?”
“Yes, includin’ me.”
“Did he give you this?” Emma reached up and gently touched the side of Willie’s face, gesturing to the cut on his cheek. Willie flinched back as if she had struck him herself. “He did, didn’t he. You’re frightened of him. I saw the same look in your eyes when you were at Beals.” She gently placed her hand on his arm. “I know what I saw, and I saw that man…that thing…with you…and what it did to you. Somehow he managed to wipe everyone’s memory of the event.”
Willie tried to ignore the pressure on his arm, the light touch that felt like an anvil crushing his bones. Willie swallowed hard and then yanked the steering wheel with one hand, and pulled the truck over to the side of the road. Once parked, he turned and looked at her. “You are a loose end, and if he finds out, he’ll kill you; you won’t be lucky enough for him to just make ya forget. He won’t even think twice about it. If he finds out I lied, I’ll be lucky if he kills me.” Willie stared out towards the road, his hands starting to tremble.
“Why not just leave?” Emma asked, confused.
“He isn’t human. He – He’s …”
“He’s a monster, that’s what he is.” She brushed the hair that slipped over his eyes away once again and cupped his cheek gently, but a second later the sad eyed man twitched his head sideways to remove it, and swallowed hard.
“He’s cursed…and so am I. That thing made it so I can’t leave him.” His voice tremored with confusion and a touch of anger. “I - I don’t understand how, but if I’m away for too long, my body just shuts down. I’ve tried so many times to get away, but he’s infected me with somethin’; somethin’ only he can cure. He feeds from me to keep me alive and under his control. I can never leave him, never…if I do…” His voice trailed off and tears started to well and escape down Willie’s face; he couldn’t stop them, no matter how humiliated he felt. Talking about this to someone else, saying the words out loud, made it painfully real. As if before, when no one knew, it wasn’t really happening; it was just a bad dream.
“I tried to kill myself in the beginning. One step. One little step off the cliff and this nightmare would’ve been over. But he showed up, he knew somehow, and caught me. The punishment afterwards was so awful I wouldn’t dare try again.” Willie’s breathing started getting jagged as he remembered those first few days, and his heart started to race while his leg bounce furiously.
“What did he do?” Emma was horrified listening to Willie.
“He told me that if I wanted to die, jumpin’ off a cliff was too good for me. A grave robber deserved a far worse death. He tied my hands and feet, gagged me, and locked me in a coffin.” Willie started to feel sick at the memory.
“For how long?”
“Don’t know. Three or four days, that’s how long people say I went missin’” Willie picked at the seat cushion of the truck. “That’s why I can’t stand the dark; why I made ya keep a light on all night at Beals.” His wrist began to throb harder and grow more painful; he reached over with the other hand and held it. “Jesus, I think he broke it…”
“Oh, my God.” Emma reached over and gently pulled Willie into her arms and held him. She could feel him shudder against her. “I’m sorry, Willie. So sorry.” She held him for several minutes, stroking his back, until eventually he calmed and pulled away.
“I don’t know why I told you all that. I shouldn’t’ have.”
Emma held his hand and brushed the hair from his eyes. “And no one else knows?”
“No.” Willie laughed sadly. “Who would believe something like that? People stay away from me, Emma. They think I’m some kind of freak… It’s better that way”
“It must be so lonely.”
Willie didn’t acknowledge the last comment. It was too hard to think about.
“So, you live with him?”
“Yes.”
“Are there others like you?”
“No.” Willie had no intention on bringing up Maggie.
“I assume he was in the grave you were robbing?”
He rolled his eyes at the question. “Obviously.” With the turn of the key the truck started to hum.
“So, where should I take you?”
“Well, back to the house, with you, I assume.”
“No, that’s not safe.”
“If I don’t go, it looks rather suspicious, doesn’t it?
“You’d be risking your life. I can’t protect you there.”
“What happens to you if I don’t show up?”
Nothing Good.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“I’m coming with you, then I’ll leave in the morning.”
The two drove the rest of the way in silence, each thinking of what would happen next. Willie wondered what his punishment would be, and Emma worked on ways to kill the monster.
Once they arrived at the house, Emma was ushered to a room to turn in for the night, and Willie was taken to the kitchen to address a plumbing issue. But she was far too curious for sleep and needed to see what was transpiring downstairs. The young woman waited a few minutes, and then snuck down to the main floor and crouched in a hallway, silently listening to a conversation between Willie and some woman, who had flame red hair and was wearing a flowing chiffon floral orange dress.
“He is quite upset with you. He is considering the punishment for your actions as we speak. I don’t know if I can help you out of it this time, Willie."
“Punishment? He did this ya know. He broke it just 'cause he could." Willie held up his wrist. "I-I didn’t do nothin’ wrong!”
“Here, take these. They will calm your nerves and help ease any pain, and perhaps put you in a better frame of mind for when he returns.” Two little pills shook out of a pill bottle and into the doctor’s hand.
“No matter how hard I try, or what I do, it’s never going to get better than this, is it? And one day he's gonna take a punishment too far, and then maybe it'll finally be over for me. Some days I wish he'd just kill me so I don't havta feel like this anymore.”
Julia and Willie fell silent as Barnabas entered the room, and Emma retreated into the shadows to make sure she wasn’t seen. Willie’s heart was beating against his ribs, waiting to hear his fate. Thoughts of the young woman were pushed to the corner of his mind, and dread took center stage. His anxiety rose to new heights, choking him, and still he stood in silence. Waiting for his sentence.
“I told you, I met her tonight at the bar. Ouch...”
Julia continued to wrap Willie's wrist with a splint and bandages. “Surely you can understand Barnabas’ doubt. You are suddenly found with some woman whom you never met, and you chose to take her to a place you consider your sanctuary. Even I have not been there.” Julia studied Willie’s body language, sure to catch him in a lie.
“I know how it looks, Julia. She was drunk and Bob wanted to close. It didn’t feel right just dumpin’ her off at a hotel. How’d that look for Barnabas? His employee randomly abandoning a drunk woman? Not very good.”
“Clean this mess up, Willie. You have an hour before I return, and I hope that I find these rooms immaculate.”
Willie looked around the room, glasses everywhere, confetti scattered in the carpet, plates of half eaten food smeared on fine china lying on every surface. All the remains of a successful party, whose guests felt no responsibility to help clean up after. But, all he could do was agree.
“Yes, Barnabas.”
“Yes, Barnabas.”
“And there is a stain on the chair where Carolyn spilled her drink. I expect that to be taken care of as well.”
Willie looked wide eyed at his master, wanting to say something, but fear held his tongue.
“Is there a problem?”
“N-No, no, Barnabas.”
“One hour.” Barnabas turned to Julia and held her coat open, waiting for her to slip it on. “I’ll walk you back to Collinwood, Julia.”
Willie stared at the door as they exited, knowing that an hour wasn’t nearly enough time to clean everything. He turned back to face the mess, and was surprised to find Emma standing there in the middle of the room.
“We can do it. If we go fast, we can clean it all.” She brushed a tear from her cheek, and tried to get ahold of herself after realizing fully what Willie’s life truly was like.
“Go back upstairs and stay there.” His voice was stern; this was not a conversation, it was a command.
“But I can help you!”
“NO! Go back to the room and don’t come down until morning. I don’t want your help!”
“You need my help! Why won’t you let me help you?!” Emma was yelling at him. “There is no way you can get this done by yourself before he gets back!”
Willie spun around and yelled at her.
“Exactly! There is no way I’ll finish it alone. Do you think he doesn’t know that?! He’s counting on it! And, if you help, he’ll know! He’ll know you were down here! He’ll know we’re lying!” Willie set the plates down and grabbed Emma’s hands in his and pleaded. “Please, please just go back upstairs and stay there. No matter what you hear, stay there.”
“What’s he going to do to you?”
“It doesn’t matter. In the morning, as soon as the sun rises, leave this house and never come back. Do you understand? Don’t come lookin’ for me. Just leave. I’d have ya leave tonight, but he’d come after ya.” Willie put his arm around her and walked her to the stairs. “Please.”
Emma sat up all night. The silence of the house was maddening, and all she could think about was Willie. She waited for the first glimmer of sun to pop through the small window above the bed, and when it did, she rushed out the door and flew down the stairs. She wasn’t surprised to find the woman from last night sitting in the chair, as if waiting for her.
“Emma, have you ever seen one of these?” Julia held up an ornate golden medallion. “It helps to stabilize your memory. You want things to go back to the way they were, don’t you.”
“Yes.” Emma stared at the medallion held before her.
“Just listen to my voice and you will find everything you’ve been seeking. Everything. See how the colors sparkle and dance? Look at it closely. You will remember nothing of Willie or this house. Do you understand? All interaction you have had with Willie will be forgotten.” Emma nodded and the good doctor took the medallion and put it in her purse.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Julia asked between sips of her tea.
“No, I’m afraid not. Even with the fire, it is dreadfully cold in that room.”
“Yes, Willie has complained of that many times.” Julia set the teacup down on the small table, picked up her purse, and began fishing around inside of it.
“Where is Willie?” Emma casually looked around the room, hoping to see some sign of him.
“Come sit by me dear, and have some tea before you leave. I have called a cab for you.” Julia patted the chair across from her.
Emma sat beside her, and something in her gut told her that this odd -looking woman knew exactly where Willie was. “I’d like to see Willie before I leave, to thank him for last night.”
“That is quite impossible, he has left for the day.”
“I see.” Emma didn’t believe that for a second. He was somewhere in that monster of a house, and she was going to find him.
“So, Emma, did you enjoy your stay in Collinsport?”
Emma picked up her purse and smiled at Julia. “I truly did.” She stuck her hand into her purse as she stood, and then turned to Julia with arms out stretched, a gun in her hands.
“Did you really think that trinket was going to work?”
Julia gasped at the sight of the barrel pointed at her. She sat dumfounded, mouth gaped open with no words coming to the rescue.
“Where. Is. He.” Emma walked closer to the odd looking woman, pointing the gun directly at her chest. “I know he’s here, what did that thing do to him?”
Julia stood up and backed several feet away from Emma. “I – I told you, he isn’t here. Put that thing away before someone gets hurt.”
“Do you think I don’t know how to use it? Honey, I grew up on the streets of south Chicago, I know my way around a gun. So, tell me where he is, NOW!” Emma shot a warning round right past Julia’s head, causing her ears to ring. “Next time it goes right through you, if you’re lucky.”
“I’m not sure where he is. The last time I saw them, Barnabas took him downstairs.”
“Lead the way.” Emma maneuvered behind Julia and pushed the gun into her shoulder. “Come on, get going.”
Julia walked to the basement door and wiggled the knob. “He must have locked it.”
“Bullshit, get the key. You know you have it.”
“I don’t.” Julia tried to look innocent.
Emma looked around the room and saw Julia’s purse sitting on the floor. Holding the gun steady on her target, she reached over, grabbed the purse, and dumped its contents on the table.
“Geeze. You sell these?” dozens of pill bottles fell out, along with syringes and little glass bottles. She looked up at Julia in bewilderment. “What on earth do you do with all this?”
“I work at a psychiatric hospital; they are needed.” She said flatly.
“How often do you drug Willie with this shit?” There was no verbal answer, only a shrug, and Emma became even more livid than before. “You do it all the time, don’t you? Does he even know? Do you slip it into his food to make him do what you want? You’re just as bad as that monster, worse maybe.” Then Emma saw it, a long skeleton key sitting on the table beneath all the junk. She grabbed it, and still holding the gun steady, slipped it into the large door, turned it and heard the loud click. She opened the door, which revealed a staircase down to nothingness.
“Are there lights?”
“What do you think?” Julia said sarcastically.
Emma went back to her purse and pulled out a flashlight, “My father always told me to keep a gun and a flashlight with me. And duct tape. If you behave, hopefully I won’t need it. You first, Dr. Hoffman.”
They descended the stair case, and as reached the bottom, Emma swallowed her fear after seeing the coffin sitting alone in the cavernous room.
“Is that him? Barnabas?”
Julia nodded quietly.
“Where’s Willie?” Emma walked around the large room, taking her eyes off Julia for a moment, and Julia tried to pounce on her. Emma shook her off, and with the butt of her gun knocked the devious doctor out. I should have done that right away, she thought.
She continued to search the room, and heard the faintest of noises. She let the sounds carry her, until she came up on a narrow hallway and large metal door.
“Let me out. Please, let me out…let me out…”
She shone her light through the bars, searching for the source, sickened at the fact that she already knew it was Willie. Her flashlight revealed what she didn’t want to see.
“Willie? No!” She lifted the large metal bar that sealed the door shut, and pushed it open. “Willie!” Dropping to his side, she set the flashlight down on the floor, shining it towards him. He was curled up on the floor, shivering uncontrollably, wearing only a thin white t-shirt and his boxers. No socks, no blanket. His lips were turning blue, and every inch of his body trembled. It couldn’t have been more than 40 degrees in the cold cell, and he had been in there all night.
Abigail grabbed the flashlight, ran out of the cell, nearly tripping over Julia on her way. She ran up to the bedroom she had slept in, grabbed the blankets and then returned to Willie.
“Here, here let me warm you.” Emma wrapped the shaking young man in the blankets, and held him close to her as he shuddered. “Where are your clothes? He could have killed you!” The young man didn’t respond to her at all. He simply pleaded into the darkness to be let go, and her heart sank.
“You’re okay…you’ll be okay. Can you stand? Let’s get you out of here, okay?” She stuck the flashlight in her mouth, and dragged Willie from the cell, using the blankets to move him. Once out of the cell and in the cavernous room, she propped him up against the wall and repositioned the blankets around him. From the corner of her eye she saw Julia begin to rouse, and with no hesitation, she stormed back towards her, dragged her backwards and tossed her in the cell. “Let’s see how you like it, you bitch.” Emma muttered under her breath.
Time to take care of that monster. Emma returned to the room and set her eyes on the coffin. She thought she would be more frightened, but her anger was stronger that her fear, and she flipped the coffin open, revealing the white skinned, dead, evil being, lying motionless there. She wasted no time in hustling up the stairs to find something she could use to impale the beast with. You’re in a house where a vampire lives. A wooden stake isn’t going to be in the junk drawer. Emma stopped scavenging through the drawers in the kitchen. She paused for a moment, saw the knife rack on the counter, and picked the sharpest one. She remembered seeing a broom in the hallway, and rushed for it. Once it was retrieved, it took no time at all to put a sharp point on the end of the wooden handle. She poked the palm of her hand a few times with the makeshift spear, and ran back down the stairs, shocked to see Willie standing beside the coffin, and closing the lid.
“Willie, come back and sit down.” She walked towards him, and he attempted to push her away, with little success. Emma wrapped her arms around him and guided him back to the floor. “Sit here. Just sit and soon this will all be over, okay?” She wrapped the blanket back around him, and he quieted.
Picking the broomstick in her hands, she opened the coffin once again, and hopped on top of it, one leg balancing on each wooden side.
“Your days of tormenting him are over, you bastard.” She reached her arms up and saw Willie coming at her again, but before he could get to her she thrust her hands down, the sharp wooden handle piercing through the vampire’s chest. The vampire let out a mournful screech, eyes opening wide as his hands gripped the sides of the coffin. Emma stumbled back and fell to the ground, realizing that Willie too was lying on the ground, gripping his chest, and his hands covered in blood.
“Willie!? No! NO!” She looked at him, and he was staring back at her.
“Finish it Emma. Set me free. Please, set me free.”
“NO! This isn’t what’s supposed to happen!”
The blood began to pool on Willie’s chest and he continued to plead with her. “Finish it!”
Emma was crying and shouting. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!”
“Finish it, Emma!” Willie cried.
“She jumped back on the coffin and took ahold of the makeshift stake. Rage for the beast swelled within her, and she screamed as she plunged the weapon deeper into the vampire’s chest, tears streaming down her face and anguish filling her heart. She could see Willie’s body jerk with each thrust. With the very last push of the stake, Barnabas’ eyes softened, and his skin filled with a human glow. Emma jumped down from the casket and stood over him, watching his color come back into his face.
“Thank you.” He whispered from the casket. “I am free…I can finally be with my Josette.” Within seconds his body disintegrated to dust before her eyes.
She turned back to Willie, sobbing over him, and holding his lifeless hand. “You’re free.” She held him close to her, wrapping the blanket around him and rocking him in her lap as she wept. She sat like that for what seemed like forever, and then heard Julia screaming from the cell. Gently, she laid Willie down and released Julia.
“What have you done?!” Julia hissed. She went to the coffin to find dust. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” She screamed at Emma, and slapped her across the face. Emma returned the violent action by gripping Julia by her silk ascot and throwing her to the floor.
“What you should have done a long time ago! He is free now; they both are.” Emma picked up her flashlight, and headed up the stairs.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Home.” Emma responded. “There is nothing left for me here.”
The sun was shining high in the sky, and Emma sat on the tiny balcony of her apartment, sipping coffee and listening to the birds sing. It had been nearly 3 months since she left Collinwood, and she made good on her earlier intentions. She left Beals and Collinwood without a trace. Disappeared into the world like her con artist of a father taught her to. She changed her name, got all the fake documentation needed, and started a new life on the small island of Nevis, where she worked as a traveling nurse. Not a single day passed when she didn’t think about Willie. She sat, looking out over the water, and was startled to hear someone yell to her from behind the palm trees.
“Hey!”
She looked around and then saw a figure emerge from the shadows.
“You’re a hard person to find.”
“Willie!?” The ceramic cup dropped from her hands and shattered on the ground three floors below.
“Can I come up?”
“Yes! YES!” Emma ran to the door of her apartment and didn’t wait for him to get to her. She nearly flew down the flights of stairs, and when she saw him, jumped into his arms, shifting his balance, and sending them both into the sand. “How? How are you here?” She asked between kisses and tears. “I thought…”
Willie wrapped his arms around her tight and sat up, positioning her to sit on his lap facing him. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and stared into her eyes. “You saved me.” He said quietly, and she started to cry harder. “You set me free.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“So did I. Turns out only the part of me connected to Barnabas died. I came to a few days later. Julia took care of me until I was well enough to leave.
“Julia?”
“Yeah. Somethin’ about redemption. Anyway, I left lookin’ for you, but you just disappeared. It’s a good thing we both hung out in the wrong circles. I checked with some of my old acquaintances and one of them recognized you.”
“Recognized me?”
“I got your picture from your uncle.” Willie quieted for a moment and just stared at her. “God, it’s good to see you.”
Emma pulled him in against her, and held onto him as tight as she could.
“I’m planning to stay for a while if that’s okay with you.” Willie whispered into her hair.
“Not for a while. Forever.”
