Over at the Blue Whale Pub Christopher and Claudia were having a quick drink, a night cap of sorts to ease the nerves they had over the blood samples Chris so desperately needed to rid himself of the wolf curse. Blood samples that needed to come from Claudia's father Barnabas Collins.
They sat at a round table, a window seat. Christopher looked out onto the cobble stone street that was wet from the misty ocean air that carried itself from sea to land as it did every night, moistening everything it touched along it's way.
"You're so quiet." Claudia said as she sipped from her glass of wine.
"I'm just thinking. There's so much we need to do and I can't seem to figure out where to start." Chris answered also sipping from his cold beer.
"Kimberly will do everything she can to get you the samples from Barnabas, Christopher, we just have to be patient." Claudia responded.
"How can I be? This is my life we're talking about Claude. Every single day all I can think about is the next full moon and what will happen then. I can't be controlled when that happens. You know that! You've seen me. Besides, what if the samples my mother gets from Barnabas aren't enough? What if I need more?" Christopher said in a frustrated tone.
"What are you asking me?" Claudia asked cautiously, trying to avoid the inevitable answer that she feared.
"Don't you think it's odd that Leopold had to be killed for me to supposedly get enough of his blood to be cured, but I only need some samples from Barnabas? Why is there a difference?" Christopher asked rhetorically.
"Chris, you cannot seriously be thinking about killing my father. After everything that you and I have gone through to be together, I would never expect you to do that. The samples will work. You wont have to go any further." Claudia said sternly.
"Then you're a fool and you're selfish." Christopher snapped back to a surprised Claudia. "We've all been through so much, and we've all lost someone in our lives. Do you think I wanted to kill my father? I didn't! But it happened. What I'm saying is, if it comes down to it, if I have to ki---" Christopher continued before being interrupted by Claudia.
"Stop! I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear whatever you're thinking. Listen, I love you, and I want to help you but we can't kill Barnabas. The samples will work." Claudia said grabbing Chris' hand. "I have to go. It's getting late. Promise me, you'll try the samples strategy." She added.
"I can't promise you." Chris said with a sad look in his eyes.
Claudia released his hand then quickly grabbed her coat that was hanging on the back of her chair, without ever taking her eyes off of Chris. She began to see that he was going to stop at nothing to make sure he was cured, even kill her father. She could feel her heart breaking, another human emotion she was unaccustomed to.
Just before leaving him at the Blue Whale, she looked at him again and said "You're breaking my heart." But Christopher just looked the other way unable to register at the time the pain he was causing.
From just across the street, watching everything unfold through the window was Christopher's ex, Alexandra, the woman Claudia had terrorized and possessed when she had all her powers; through that possession Alexandra inherited Claudia's mystical powers and later she'd be deserted by Christopher. Since then, Alexandra had been set on revenge, even going as far as using an evil book of spells. With Chris and Claudia seeming to not see eye to eye on something, Alexandra saw her way back into his life.
Alexandra waited for Claudia to leave the pub and as soon as she did, dashed inside to catch Christopher before he finished his beer. She walked in and carefully removed her coat and hung it by the door, all the while pretending she had never seen Chris, but he saw her.
"Hey! Alex!" He said with a shy grin.
Alexandra again pretended not to know where to look but eventually found him still seated at the window that she watched the argument from.
"Oh! Christopher! Hi!" She said as she was handed her own beer.
"Come have a seat!" Christ motioned to her.
Alexandra was surprised that he was so warm to her so quickly. She had initially thought that it would have been more of an awkward encounter in the beginning considering their last meeting when she destroyed every last vial of the serum he needed to cure himself. But for whatever reason, Christopher was over-looking that moment, and had openly asked her to sit with him.
Alexandra ceased it!
"What are you doing here at this hour all alone?" She coyly asked, knowing he hadn't actually been alone.
"Had a lot on my mind. As usual. How's your mother holding up?" He questioned, making small talk over Carolyn's breakdown after Leopold was killed.
"You know, you don't have to avoid her. By now she's sort of used to even the most bizarre of situations. She's learned to live with them." Alexandra joked. "So, where's Claudia?" She added.
"Uh, she just left actually, we had a bit of a .....a bit of thing." Chris responded trying not to give away too much of his personal business to his ex girlfriend about his current girlfriend.
"Things happen. You know you can always come to me when you need a friend. I know that I haven't been exactly the most available or friendly in the past few weeks but, well, we've all had a lot to deal with." Alexandra said moving her hand to Christopher's.
As her hand touched his, she suddenly felt a jolt of energy serge through her hand and travel into her arm and up into her chest and through her neck and into her eyes, it was like a light bulb had burst in her brain and suddenly she could see into Christopher's mind. She was seeing his thoughts play out like a movie just for her to see.
It was all there; his pain, his anxiety, his anger towards his parents Victor and Kimberly for what they did to him. She saw images of Chris as baby, then a small boy, constantly going through various gene tests as Kim tried to create the perfect monster. The hope was that the werewolf boy who would grow up to one day destroy the Collins family, only to have it all fail and blow up in Kim and Victor's faces years later when Chris would kill Victor in one of his transformation to Kim's devastation.
Alex also so those images, the night Chris killed Victor in a bloody fight in the dark and in the fog on Collinwood's main law. She remembered well, she was there she saw it all in real life, but this time, from Chris' point of view there was an anger and then guilt she had not known.
Even Chris' thoughts about Barnabas and possibly having to kill him in an effort to save his own life and break the curse were there. Alexandra saw it all, and sensed Chris' frustration with Claudia, who did not see eye to eye with him on the possibility of using more than just a few vials of Barnabas' blood to cure Chris as a last resort. She saw scenes from his childhood and the genetic testing his mother and father did on him as an infant to change his body into the werewolf he was now. All the pain and anguish over killing his father during one of his transformations and the terrible feeling he got when Alex broke all the vials he needed to live. She let go and everything suddenly stopped.
The overload of Chris' emotions were too much and Alexandra took a deep breath and let go of Chris hand. She seemed frazzled, it felt like hours had past her by but it was only seconds.
"Are you OK?" Chris asked noticing that she sensing this.
"Fine! Fine....!" She said as she took a sip of beer to calm herself.
"I really appreciate you sitting with me, It's been a really bad day." Chris said easing himself back into her good graces.
"I should be the one to say I'm sorry. People make mistakes, you know, and for what it's worth I definitely know what I've done that's been wrong. Do you think you can say the same about everyone else?" Alex answered.
"What do you mean?"
"Well Claudia for example. She's the reason most of this has happened. You do know she's the one that changed my father into Leopold, and she's the one that brought Barnabas back, don't you? If it wasn't for her, I don't know if anything would have ever happened." Alex responded.
Christopher had never thought of it that way before. He had always known that Claudia had at one time possessed powers beyond whatever he could imagine but that she had given those up somehow. That life, the one of sorcery and deceit was over according to her.
He began to see that Alex might be right, she hadn't atoned for much of anything, and now was somewhat choosing her father--a man who has been known to terrorize and destroy everything around him including Claudia's own mother--over him; the man she wanted to spend her life with.
"I think Claudia has a lot to work out...but..." Chris said stammering.
"Chris, listen to me. You deserve your freedom from this too. Do you think Claudia really, truly believes that?" Alex said, grabbing his hand again.
For her part, Claudia had turned back towards the Blue Whale. She felt terrible about how she had left things with Christopher. She needed to tell him that she would help him in all the ways she knew possible to make sure he was cured, and as she made her way there, she turned the corner and saw something she feared might happen. There, in the window of the Blue Whale pub was Chris and Alex, hand-in-hand, romantically linked as if Claudia didn't even exist.
Claudia felt a furious anger wash all over her. In the past when she had powers, Alexandra wouldn't have survived the night, she would have put a spell on her to end all spells, but now that she was mortal all she could do was feel every emotion run through her body like a rush of blood to the head.
Claudia gathered herself up and ran off into the dark Collinsport night.
Christopher suddenly noticed what Alexandra was doing, attempting to manipulate his feelings in a moment of sadness, and pulled away from her hands.
"I know what you're trying to do Alex, and even though I've forgiven you for destroying the vials of antidote that would finally cure me, I can't betray Claudia." He said standing up to leave.
"But you betrayed me." Alex quipped back.
Christopher regretted how he ended things with Alex, it was a mistake to have taken it as far as he did with Claudia before properly breaking up with Alex, and all he could say he was sorry. He got up and left a tip on the table and walked out, leaving Alexandra defeated once again, alone in at the Blue Whale Pub. Fuming with anger.
Claudia kept running off into the distance filled with frustration and anger over what she saw and ended up by the Collinsport docs. The dinging bells off the buoys rang in her ear loud and crisp as the cold ocean water splashed up against the wooden dock. The mist from the water wet her face, a sticky refreshing feeling that felt like a wet kiss from the sea. But the chill in the air still reminded her that the world was a cold place to love.
Claudia had only seen part of the conversation, and had not seen Chris pull away but all she could do was think "How could I allow myself to fall in love with someone that would just turn on me like this?"
Her anger was taking over her, she began to feel real rage. As long as Alexandra was around, she was a threat and without her magic, Claudia knew she was powerless.
But there was one thing she could do. She had to visit an old friend, that friend would know exactly what to do to remove Alexandra from Claudia and Chris' life forever.
****
The old house felt as if it had life back inside of it. Especially when it came to Barnabas and his feelings that Maggie was returning to him. Somehow. Barnabas got up from his chair and tossed the remains of the ashy piece of paper that had his name written on it in Maggie's writing back into the fire place, basking in the fire's orange glow.
"Barnabas." A woman's voice said from behind.
Barnabas turned quickly, and for a second thought it was actually Maggie, but to his surprise, it was Kimberly.
"Kimberly, hello! I wasn't expecting company. How are you?" He asked as he motioned for her to sit with him in the room.
"Fine, I hope I'm not disturbing you. I had a few things I needed to talk to you about. Mainly about the tests we've been doing." Kimberly said pulling papers out of a briefcase for Barnabas to read.
"Its no disruption at all. I'm actually very happy to see you." He said reaching for a glass to drink from.
"Barnabas, I still haven't isolated the gene or the mutation inside of you that drives your body and cravings to do and want the things that they want. But if I continue on the path that I was with Chris' genes, I think I can finally crack the code. There is one more thing that I need your help on and it concerns Chris." Kimberly said handing Barnabas his test results.
"What is it?" He asked reading over his own papers.
"Christopher didn't ingest enough of Leopold's blood to cure him. He needs yours." Kimberly said bluntly.
Barnabas looked up from his paper work slightly surprised at the notion. The blood of a vampire would cure any werewolf of their curse, but it would take a lot of blood, and Barnabas knew it was almost impossible for him to give that much and survive himself.
"What are you asking me?" He asked cautiously.
"Well that's the thing, I don't know what I'm asking you. I know that the amount of blood Christopher needs is .....well, its a lot. But, I'm hoping we can figure something out as long as you are willing to help." Kimberly said.
Barnabas' affections for Kimberly had been growing in the last few months. Everything that she had been doing for him was something that he appreciated and found her to be kind and caring. But he was skeptical of what she was asking him, he could sense her nerves, she was being very carefully with her words. He stared at her intently, glaring at her trying to find any sort of sign of deception, but there was none. She was genuinely asking for his help, nothing more. Nothing less.
"Kimberly what ever you need to save your son. Of course. I will help." Barnabas said carefully noting in his mind that there was still a chance this could be a trap and to stay on guard.
Kimberly thanked him and began to gather up her papers, mentioning a date for them to continue their testing at the main house in her lab. As she gathered her papers, she looked over to the side of the sofa and saw leaned up against the wall the portrait of Josette, but recognized her as Maggie Evans.
"Why do you have a painting of Maggie Evans?" Kimberly asked as she walked over to the painting and picked it up for a closer look.
"Maggie Evans? How do you know that name?" Barnabas said quickly taking his beloved portrait from her hands. "And this isn't a painting of her. This is my former fiancee, Josette." He added.
"That's amazing, she looks so much like Maggie." Kimberly said.
"You didn't answer my question Kimberly. How do you know Maggie Evans?" Barnabas asked as he carefully placed the painting back inside the closet.
Kimberly had to remember to tread lightly on what she knew and what she didn't know because she knew Maggie from her involvement with Joanna and Windcliff Sanitarium.
"Well, just from town's people and David. David mentioned her to me a few times." Kimberly said lying, which Barnabas instantly detected.
"Really?" Barnabas said in an unconvinced tone of voice. "You know Kimberly, I can tell when things around me are being ....shall we say... concealed."
"What? No. I ---" Kimberly started before Barnabas interrupter.
"How do you know Maggie, Kimberly?"
Kimberly began to feel heat, the fire from the fireplace started to get larger and it almost looked like was breathing. It started to feel like it was all around her heating her body from top to bottom. She was terrified of revealing her connection to Windcliff, especially to Barnabas.
Barnabas started getting closer and closer to Kimberly, his suspicions growing more and more as Kim's nerves began to show, and Barnabas saw this, he could smell it, the deception from her was palpable.
The heat within the room was intensifying, Kimberly started to panic as Barnabas as drew near. As she backed up, she could feel the fire in the fireplace directly behind her, hotter and hotter it got as Barnabas got closer and closer, almost as if they were working together to trap her. Little did she know, they were.
As his rage began to rise, so did the fire: a living breathing manifestation of his anger towards Kim who he felt was keeping something from him. Something about Maggie, he betrothed.
Barnabas was directly in front of her, now only half a foot away.
"Tell me!" Barnabas said now in an angry voice, sensing Kimberly was hiding something.
"I don't know what you're talking about Barnabas, Maggie, is very much apart of the folklore of this house and this town!" Lied Kimberly in a panicked voice.
"Liar!" Barnabas said, his rage started to bubble up, his eyes turning to black, his teeth elongating and darting from his mouth.
"Barnabas! Calm down!" Kimberly said terrified.
Barnabas reached over and grabbed Kimberly by the neck and pulled her away from the fire, pulling her close, his cold breath on her neck chilled her to the bone.
"Where ....is......Maggie." Barnabas asked in an evil tone, knowing that Maggie was somewhere near, she was close to him again he could feel her. And Kimberly must know where.
"She's dead! She died Barnabas! She died in 1998!"
Barnabas' eyes became darker, he released Kimberly from his grip and threw her to the ground. She reached over and grabbed a fire poker and jumped to her feet, keeping the fire poker between her and Barnabas and slowly waked backwards around the sofa.
"That's impossible! I can feel her now. I can feel that she is around again." Barnabas said following Kimberly around the sofa his mouth watering for human blood.
"No Barnabas, I can assure you. She died at Windcliff Sanitarium in 1998. I can prove it to you, just please calm down....calm down." Kimberly said still walking backwards with the fire poker in both hands.
Then suddenly Barnabas felt Kimberly's vibes change, and knew that she must be telling the truth, in her last statement he detected no deception. His eyes began to change back and his teeth retracted. His rage under control. But he was still angry and he was still following Kimberly who was now pointing the poker at Barnabas but stuck up against the wall.
"How can you prove it?" he questioned.
"I used to work there many years ago, and I still have connections there. I was there when she came in and years after I left, I was notified of her death. Barnabas, I can take you to her grave. It's real." Kimberly said lowering the poker.
Barnabas furiously stared deep into Kim's eyes and growled:
"....Take me there now!"
****
In the abandoned cabin deep in the woods 2 miles outside of Bangor, a little fire still burned in the small fire place. David had fallen asleep wrapped in a blanket as he lay just near the fire in a sound sleep, something that he hadn't experienced in two decades locked away in the mental hospital.
His breaths were hearty and deep, so deep in sleep that he didn't even dream.
Maggie stood watch over him on an old sofa that had cigarette burns and stains from a life with the family that had once cuddled in it in snow storms of cold winters past. She watched David sleep, and felt content that she was able to help him escape.
But something inside of her knew what was coming. She could feel in her soul where Barnabas was going at that very moment, and felt there was no where she could hide. Instead of hiding, Maggie got up from the sofa while David slept and wrapped herself in a warm blanket of her own then carefully made her way out of the cabin, quietly closing the door behind her.
****
In a steep shadowy lawn of Eaglehill cemetery, covered in large oak trees filled with tombstones of names forgotten stood Barnabas Collins glaring down at the grave of the object of his one time obsessions Maggie Evans. He looked down and wondered if it was true, or if Kimberly had made it all up and this was some sort of hoax, after all he could feel her energy, he could feel her vital signs. But how? How could he sense her so strongly if she were dead.
Barnabas got down on his knees, the light from the bright sky caressing his face and casting his shadow over her grave stone. It felt like a dream, there was no way Maggie could have been dead.
"There's not much you can do anymore, is there Barnabas." A voice said from directly in front of Barnabas who's head was down.
Barnabas slowly lifted his head expecting it to be Kimberly who was waiting for him at the bottom of Eaglehill but it wasn't. There sitting on large cross made of stone was Maggie Evans.
Barnabas jumped up at the sight of her, he was shocked but happy, because it was true, Maggie was alive, and sitting right in front of him.
"Maggie, its you!" He said starting to come closer to her.
"Stay back!" She said holding out her hand. "It's not what you think Barnabas. You're only seeing me because I'm allowing you to. I'm here, but I'm really not. The real me is right below your feet. Alone, gone. And I feel safer then I have ever felt before." She said with a peculiar grin.
"I don't understand." Barnabas responded.
"It happened along time ago, almost 20 years actually. Well you can see that on the grave. I died Barnabas, in 1998. Do you know how I died?" Maggie asked as she carefully jumped off the stone gross.
Barnabas nodded his head "no".
"Well, my doctor told a few of my family members, in a letter of course, that I had taken my own life inside of the mental hospital that I had been checked into about two years after we all thought you were dead." She confessed. "The people at Windcliff didn't even have the decency to call my family... Just a letter." Maggie said.
"I have waited for this moment for so many years Maggie. You deserved better." Barnabas said stepping closer to Maggie.
"NO! Stay back! I said not to come any closer." Maggie yelled. "I deserved to live a normal life. I deserved to be free from so much pain and suffering you caused."
"All I wanted was for us to be together, that's all. I will do anything for that to happen again." Barnabas replied.
"Anything?" Maggie asked as she turned from Barnabas and looked off into the distance, the slow moving mist of low clouds rolling across the stones of hundreds of graves.
"That's right."
Maggie knew that this was her time to get even with Barnabas and avenge everything he had done while she was alive in Collinsport instead of haunting the halls of Windcliff Sanitarium for the last 20 years ago.
A cold air blew a shrill breeze over the cemetery and it swirled around Maggie and Barnabas who was waiting for Maggie's proposition. The sky was pitch black and the moon continued to cast shadows of stone angels and crosses over the dark green grass.
He waited for a second and noticed her shiver, the air so cold it gave her goose bumps on her arms... Something he found odd for a spirit.
"The only way you can ever make peace Barnabas is if you end everything, and the only way a creature like you can do that is by coming out of the dark and into the light. Real light. Sun light. Get out of the shadows Barnabas get out of the shadows and step into the sun.... And leave this world in ashes."
Maggie then wrapped the the blanket she brought from the cabin tightly and disappeared into the shadows herself - gone - leaving Barnabas alone at her grave shocked at her proposition.
Maggie had just asked Barnabas to do the unthinkable to end all the pain and suffering, by killing himself and stepping into daylight for the first time in over 300 years. Thus breaking the curse on his own.
Would he do it?..... For love?
