The ground was frozen solid. The ice had formed a hardened layer of crusted over dirt that had been mixed with moisture locking in Siobhan in her shallow grave. Kimberly, the grave digger, stood above ground smiling, pleased with her work.
"Kimberly!!! Kimberly Please! Help me!" Siobhan said from inside the coffin. Her hands pounding on the inside of the lid.
"My family is more important than anything, and I've made too many mistakes in the past to let you sweep in and take my place. Just relax, breath slowly and it will all be over soon." Kimberly said, her deranged mind forgetting that this too was just another one of her many mistakes that her family would turn their backs on her for.
Siobhan continued to scream. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She kept pushing on the coffin's lid but the dirt and mud were too heavy to budge. She was trapped; the smell the wet soil from inside her dark cold coffin filled her air space like water filling bucket,
"Say goodnight now Siobhan. See you on the other side." Kimberly said laughing as she placed her feet directly on top of where she buries Siobhan and began to jump up and down, the pressure of each of Kim's bounces pressing down on the coffin's lid shacking the inside side. Dirt fell in through cracks of the old coffin around the sides of Siobhan's face.
Kim garbed her shovel and rushed off into the frosty forest back to Collinwood, her job was done.
Now alone, buried alive in the forest where no one knew she was, Siobhan began to weep. This was how she was going to die. Alone. Cold. Suffocated. She was beginning to feel like there was no hope, and her panic began to turn into wishes that whatever was going to happen to her now, would happen fast and painless. Her mind began to wonder, her life began to flash before her, her memories of life in Singapore flushed back like warm wave of love.
Siobhan was born to two Americans living in Singapore in 1970. They arrived on a summer morning, the wife 8 months pregnant. The father, a doctor in a local hospital, became friends with another American doctor, Julia Hoffman-Collins who was living with her husband, they called Barney. The four of them, the Morgans and The Collins' were very close until a tragic boating accident took the life of Mr. Morgan.
Miranda Morgan, a new widow, found herself a broken woman without her husband. So much so that she began to lose grip on reality and fell into a deep dark depression. And after several suicide attempts little Siobhan was left in the hands of the Morgan's close friends Barney and Julia while Miranda disappeared into her depression along in a Singaporean mental hospital.
Barney, of course, was really Barnabas Collins who had traveled to Singapore and been cured of his blood thirst by Julia's friend and counterpart in Singapore Dr. Lo.
The Collins made sure that Siobhan's childhood was perfect. She learned Chinese and French. Her adopted mother Julie instilled in her the virtues of loyalty and strength while her adopted father Barnabas helped her appreciate the finer things in life like art, music and the beauty of the world around her. They loved her like she was their very own little girl and together Julia and Barnabas raised this two year old girl to become a beautiful and intelligent woman she was today.
Julia died suddenly in Singapore at the early age of 63 in 1985 leaving Barnabas, still fully cured, and a widower. He never married again, but continued to instill the very best traits in his teenage daughter Siobhan.
Back in her coffin Siobhan closed her eyes remembered her adopted mother Julia's smile and waited to see it one more time and as she was slowly drifting off into an unconscious state, she began to hear the rustling of soil above her.
The dirt began to sift, the pressure in the coffin began to lighten, everything above her was moving at a fast pace. She could even feel the air, fresh and cold, from the outside world starting to creep into her lowly coffin.
"David. David's discovered what Kim did. He's come to save me!" Siobhan thought to herself. "DAVID! DAVID! HURRY!" She screamed out loud.
As the dirt began to move faster and faster from above her, she could sense something, it was a feeling of safety and protection the same feeling she had when she was just a child.
Then, it happened. The person digging Siobhan out of the grave dusted the top off the coffin off. She heard the person's hands swish across the top of the lid two times, removing any excess dirt and snow. The person reached down and lifted the lid to the coffin, the fresh cold air spilled in, and Siobhan coughed as she breathed in it.
She covered her eyes as they slowly adjusted to even the most small amounts of light and when she looked up, she saw a person she had never expected to see ever again.
Her father. Barnabas Collins.
"I've come back, Siobhan. No one will ever hurt you again." Barnabas said as he extended his hand to her and helped her out of the grave.
She looked at him in amazement, and much confusion, but it was him. She could feel the bones in his arms, she could touch his skin and it was real. She allowed all of her questions to subside and dove into a giant tight hug.
"How can this be happening?" Siobhan asked, tears rolling down her face.
"It doesn't matter how I've returned, but I have. On my way to Collinwood I sensed your heart. I sensed your need of me. And I found you. I will never let anything like this happen again."
They continued to hug in the frosty, snow covered forest for a few more seconds. Then headed off to Collinwood, Barnabas' new return has yet another stop, the next one, Jason McGuire's front door.
Earlier that evening Kat had grown suspicious of Kim sneaking into the old house and walked in on her nailing Siobhan into the coffin. In short scuffle, Kim shot a nail gun into Kat's leg slicing through her flesh then tied her own daughter-in-law up to keep her from interfering with Kim's plan to get Siobhan out of the way for good.
But Curtis, the fully grown son of Caleb and Kat instinctively felt his mother's needed help and found her in the basement of the old house. Together they escaped from Kim's binds, Kat and her surprise rescuer Curtis rushed out of the Old House in a frantic race to save Siobhan from certain death by suffocation. The two, putting aside the giant revelation that Curtis was really Kat's son held back in 1920 by Victoria, were met at the front door by yet another surprise.
Curtis, holding the limping Kat up, swung the front door of the old house open, standing on the other side was a shocked Kimberly. Kim's eyes saw the writing on the wall, she was caught. She dropped her belongings and dashed back down the front steps.
"We have to go after her!" Kat said, her leg still bleeding from the flesh wound she received from Kim shooting at nail gun at her.
"Are you sure you can make it?" Curtis asked worried about Kat's well-being.
"I don't have a choice, she's buried Siobhan somewhere and we have to follow her. Come on!" Kat said charging forward.
The two rushed after Kimberly who was going back into the forest to hide. Kimberly felt the noose of exposure slowly tightening around her neck, it was either fight or flight for her now. She quickly dashed across the great lawn of the Collinwood Mansion just as David and Caleb were leaving to look for Kat who had also gone missing.
"What the..." David said to himself of the scene as Kat and Curtis followed.
"It's Kat!" Caleb yelled as he and his father also began running after Kimberly.
Kimberly's quick motions through the cold and damp forest were smart, she could easily hide herself within the thick trees, but something was calling her eastward. She could feel the cool breeze of the ocean push her forward and bring her past the snow covered floors of the forests that surrounded the Collinwood land. It was the ocean. The sea, calling her name with every crash against the black rocks she heard:
KIMBERLY KIMBERLY KIMBERLY
The other's soon caught up to each other. Caleb shocked to see the state of his wife Kat.
"What happened?" Caleb exclaimed putting Kat's other arm around his neck to help.
"Kim--she shot me with a nail gun." Kat said, winching in pain.
"What?! Why?" Caleb questioned.
"I caught her." Kat said again, keeping her words and breath's short as they continued through the snowy forest in pursuit of Kimberly.
"Dad, you and Curtis go on ahead, Kat isn't going to make it and we can't loose mom." Caleb requested.
David looked at his son, the thought of going forward with Curtis, a man he did not trust, made him uncomfortable but he had no choice. Caleb and Kat stopped the cahse and rested and sat on a soggy ice covered log.
"I'm so glad you're safe. We were so worried about you. Loomis called the house and said you hadn't showed up at the station. Why did my mother do this?" Caleb questioned again, kneeling down on the cold ground looking over Kat's leg wound.
"I saw her going into the old house, it was odd to me so I followed. When I got there she was in the basement..... " she paused not knowing how to break the news of Kim's evil deed to Kim's son..."Caleb's she's done something horrible." Kat said not finishing the story.
"What has she done?" Caleb asked but Kat couldn't say it, she didn't believe it herself. "Tell me!" Caleb demanded.
"I don't know why she's done this but...I saw it with my own eyes and when she saw that I caught her she lashed out and attacked me. I wasn't able to stop her. Caleb, she's locked Siobhan in one of Barnabas' old coffins and take her and I think she's buried her out here." Kat explained.
Caleb's face became as frozen as their frost bitten surroundings. It was proof of what his father David had feared all along, that Kim was responsible for Siobhan's disaperabce. But the truth was more hurtful than just the accusation.
"Where is Siobhan?" Caleb asked stoically.
"I don't know. She's buried her somewhere out here. We have to find her." Kat said, looking around the frozen forest.
"I'm glad you're ok. I can't imagine losing you. I was so worried." Caleb said kissing his beautiful wife on the forehead.
"If Curtis hand't of found me, I don't know what would have happened to me, Kim might have done the same to me." Kat said.
"That's right, what was Curtis doing here? How did he know you were at the old house?" Caleb questioned.
The truth was, Kat had no idea either. All she knew was her son had never come home like she thought a year ago, and the 1 year old little boy she had been raising was someone else's child. Her real son, Curtis, had been kept secretly in 1920 and had returned through time travel as an adult man. How could Kat ever explain this to Caleb? When would she explain this to him? Or was it better left unsaid.
"Don't you make another move." A voice said from behind. Kim turned, it was David standing there with Curtis.
"Kim please...." David said softy, allowing the crashing waves to overtake his voice.
"The lycan experiments I did on you and Christopher were wrong, I lost everything I ever loved because of those mistakes--I have paid the price long enough for doing what I did. And yet I still suffer alone....I just wanted to get my family back. I deserve my family!" Kimberly screamed the tears running down her face lifted from her skin and blew away in the wind.
"This was not how you should have gone about it. There were other ways." David explained.
The ocean below still calling her by name, splashing and crashing. Kim turned slightly and listened to waves ...David and Curti's voice became far off white-noise and all she could gear was the watery voice of the sea call her: KIMBERLY.
Curtis fell to the floor and crawled over to the edge and look out on to the water.
Kim was gone.
"You scared her! You scared her and she fell!" David screamed at Curtis.
It was Caleb and Kat who had made their way through the forest at a slower pace, Kat still nestled under Caleb's helpful arm.
Kat gasped and Caleb began to cry. They both slowly waked over to ledge, the wind pulling at Kat's black mane of hair.
"She's gone." Curtis said softy, as he put his hand on Caleb's shoulder. Caleb, still not knowing Curtis was his son rudely shrugged Curtis' hand away.
"Come on, we have to find Siobhan, before it's too late." David said quickly changing the subject.
Before Barnabas was presumed dead in the blast from the powerful energy of The Phoenix Laura Collins, his relationship with Siobhan had soured. When she discovered that he had become a creature of the night once more due to the vicious bite from Jacqueleen Walsh, she began to suspect him of murder, and it would become too late for forgiveness once Barnabas saved the family and used his own life to stop the powerful Phoenix before she absorbed them all in her hell-fire.
Now that he had returned, it was time for forgiveness. Barnabas at Siobhan down on the sofa allowing her to warm by the fire while he got her something to drink.
"I can't believe you're back." She said in a hushed voice.
"Shhh...keep your energy." Barnabas said, removing his coat and placing it around her shoulders.
"How? How did you return?" She said deciding not to heed his advice.
"Your sister, Claudia. She helped me find my way home." Barnabas said, surprising Siobhan who never knew of Claudia.
"Sister? I don't understand?" Siobhan answered, the confusion billowing in her mind.
"In due time, my sweet girl. Rest here, I need to find Carolyn. Something urgent needs to be corrected in regards to her." Barnabas said.
Barnabas helped Siobhan put her legs up on the sofa, he patter her head and told her to stay where she was, his mission was to find Jason McGuire, or the man Jason was posing as, Carolyn's psychiatrist Dr. Jonathon Silva and end his life and his control over the family. It was now or never.
Barnabas swooped up the front staircase and made his way through the familiar darkened halls of Collinwood. He opened ever door he could think of to find Jonathon. The study----empty. The Second floor garden room----empty, the library----empty. Room and room empty.
He opened bedroom doors and saw only empty beds. Where was Jonathon hiding, and where was he hiding Carolyn? For sure she was in his possession and in terrible danger. Jonathon was a creature of the supernatural too and there was no doubt in Barnabas' mind that Jonathon had sensed his arrival. If anything, the ghost Marie Clotilde; the mastermind of the entire operation, could have warned him.
As Barnabas walked through the main hallway there was no where else Jonathon could be but inside Carolyn's bedroom, a place Barnabas thought would have been too obvious to hide in.
Barnabas, his skin pale as the frost on the grass outside, slowly turned the doorknob to Carolyn's bedroom and opened it, and there she was, Carolyn standing still in her white silk pajamas with a terrified look on her face.
"Carolyn." Barnabas said as his beloved cousin slowly turned to face him.
Her eyes were different. The sparkling blue Barnabas once remembered was gone, it was now a dull and cold grey, like a ask. Her face looked tired and withered, her lips dry and cracked. This was not the sunny bright eyed spunky cousin he once knew.
"What has he done to you?" Barnabas said walk up to his cousin.
"Stay back. Stay back!" Carolyn said, her voice not sounding like her own.
"Carolyn? Carolyn is that you?" Barnabas questioned, continuing to notice she wasn't herself.
Carolyn's eyes, still dark and distant fixated on Barnabas, her focus like a laser aiming directly at his neck. She opened her mouth revealing razor sharp fangs---in one sudden attack, Carolyn lunged at Barnabas mouth agape thirty for any kind of blood, even of a fellow vampire's.
Barnabas grabbed the hissing Carolyn by the shoulders and held her off, she reached for him, scratching his face her hissing constant and furious.
"Carolyn! Stop this! STOP!" Barnabas said throwing her to the floor.
"He's made you --- he's made you like me!" Barnabas said, a deep sorrow filling his throat and coming out in his words.
"You." Carolyn said, her voice still not her own.
"You're not Carolyn. Who are you!? What have you done to her!?" Barnabas said falling to his knees and grabbing Carolyn and shaking her.
Carolyn, in her crazed state, only laughed her body hot to the touch. She writhed on the floor laughing hysterically as if possessed by a demon. This wasn't Carolyn. This wasn't the woman who lead this family since her mother Elizabeth's death. This wasn't the woman who was stronger than any man in the whole Collins Family tree, this was a woman on the verge of a mental and supernatural breakdown possessed by all the demons and secrets and horrors her family was cursed with brought on by the insanity of Jason McGuire and his human alter-ego Jonathon Silva.
"This is all your doing, can't you see? You've come back and you've made my wife a living, breathing, monster. Go away Barnabas. Go away forever." A seething voice said from behind.
Barnabas stood up and turned around to see two glowing yellow eyes standing in a blackened corner of Carolyn's bedroom floating 6 feet above the floor.
"Jason. We meet again." Barnabas said.
"But this time, you wont be the one with the tightest grip on the situation." Jason said, revealing himself in his actual form and not behind the fabricated face of Jonathon Silva referencing how Barnabas originally killed Jason in the bowels of the old house by strangulation.
Barnabas stepped closer to Jason, there eyes meeting, Barnabas' fangs pointed, sharp, ready for a battle. The monster zombie Jason at the ready.
This was their final battle. One of them would not survive.
