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| Widow's Hill **PROLOGUE** |
On the eve of a new season that brought in the cold kiss of autumn, clouds began to gather over the small fishing village of Collinsport, Maine. It had been six months since the evil witch Angelique Bouchard attempted a coup over the most famous family in town by trying to place them all under a spell and take over their lives by magical manipulation and mind control.
She failed. Miserably.
Her plan was foiled when the growing powers within Alexandra Thorne usurped Angelique's and broke the control over the family compound of Collinwood. But there were some casualties of this war. Barnabas Collins, his body encased in stone by Angelique, crumbled into a heap of dust as the spell broke; vanishing from the world he so tried to re-acclimate himself into at a deadly cost.
Barnabas was not the only victim. Angelique's obsession with love and receiving it, cost Victoria Winters her vision, her voice, her son and her freedom. Locked away at Windcliff Sanitarium under false pretenses and under a spell of silence and blindness, Vicky has been desperate for answers: Was her family really all gone as Angelique had lead her to believe? And how was she ever going to escape this treacherous witch's curse?
There was danger in Collinsport, just as much as ever. The Collins family believed Angelique dead all the while she was living with Curtis Winters, shape-shifting into a woman named Cassandra, a nurse at Windcliff. Her face twisting and turning into a completely unrecognizable person that no one would ever suspect. Vicky believed her family was dead and lived locked away in an insane asylum after her bewitched son believed a nervous breakdown had destroyed his mother's mind. All this a ruse, a complex plot, by Angelique to keep Vicky, the soul person who knew her true identity, out of the picture and out of her way forever.
Truth be told, Angelique was grasping at her fantasy life with Curtis with both hands. As long as Curtis remained under her control, as long as Vicky remained locked away at Windliff, and as long as she could continue her shape-shifting into Cassandra, Angelique and Curtis could remain together.
Angelique, however, would always forget that plan's don't always work out the way they are crafted, and she would have to work extra hard to keep Vicky in her place and her secret identity safe because fate, you see, is much like the wild sea that surrounds Collinsport: You don't ever turn your back on it.
"About Julia? No. I wouldn't. David thinks that it'll be fine. She's not the way she was all those years ago. She has a family now, of her own. A purpose. He said that now that Barnabas is truly out of the picture she can live the life she probably was always meant to live."
"David thinks that huh? Well I'm not surprised." Maggie quipped. "There was never any love-loss between David and Barnabas, I'm Julia isn't the only one who can move on now that he's really gone."
Carolyn agreed. "I think now David can really truly heal from everything that happened to him as a boy. Imagine growing up at his age and seeing the horrors that he saw. It was bad enough at our age!"
"And Victoria? How's she been?" Maggie asked of the other former Collinwood employee with a history with the spirits of the house.
Carolyn shook her head again about her half sister who was locked away at Windcliff after a nervous breakdown.
"Curtis won't let us see her. It's been very complicated to get some sort of news. But, I'm not going to give up. We can't just let Vicky rot in that place without her knowing we're there for her." Carolyn complained.
Maggie smiled and grabbed her old friend Carolyn's cold hand and squeezed. She wanted to warn her about pushing herself too far and thinking that she could fix everything with Julia or Vicky.
And just before she could shake that whisper of her name out of her head as nothing, she heard it again, this time she knew exactly who it was. It was Barnabas' voice calling to her through the wind.
Carolyn jumped from the bench and spun around in a circle searching for him, she could now feel his presence. He was there. He was calling her name, but what did he want? What did he want from her this time?
It couldn't be real. She was hearing things, it was the wind, she thought. It was impossible, just a joke her mind was playing on her. Carolyn, shaking with nerves, knew Barnabas was dead. She saw his stone-turned body crumble into a thousand pieces once Angelique's spell was broken.
He was dead! But Barnabas had been dead before, and Carolyn knew that. She stared blankly into the sea below, a worried, sick feeling came over her as she grappled with the thought in her mind of Barnabas' true demise.
Were they really free of him? Was his life really vanquished in a heap of stone and dust?
Carolyn's heart told her yes, but the voice she heard in the wind.....clearly gave her second thoughts.
****
****
She failed. Miserably.
Her plan was foiled when the growing powers within Alexandra Thorne usurped Angelique's and broke the control over the family compound of Collinwood. But there were some casualties of this war. Barnabas Collins, his body encased in stone by Angelique, crumbled into a heap of dust as the spell broke; vanishing from the world he so tried to re-acclimate himself into at a deadly cost.
Barnabas was not the only victim. Angelique's obsession with love and receiving it, cost Victoria Winters her vision, her voice, her son and her freedom. Locked away at Windcliff Sanitarium under false pretenses and under a spell of silence and blindness, Vicky has been desperate for answers: Was her family really all gone as Angelique had lead her to believe? And how was she ever going to escape this treacherous witch's curse?
There was danger in Collinsport, just as much as ever. The Collins family believed Angelique dead all the while she was living with Curtis Winters, shape-shifting into a woman named Cassandra, a nurse at Windcliff. Her face twisting and turning into a completely unrecognizable person that no one would ever suspect. Vicky believed her family was dead and lived locked away in an insane asylum after her bewitched son believed a nervous breakdown had destroyed his mother's mind. All this a ruse, a complex plot, by Angelique to keep Vicky, the soul person who knew her true identity, out of the picture and out of her way forever.
Truth be told, Angelique was grasping at her fantasy life with Curtis with both hands. As long as Curtis remained under her control, as long as Vicky remained locked away at Windliff, and as long as she could continue her shape-shifting into Cassandra, Angelique and Curtis could remain together.
Angelique, however, would always forget that plan's don't always work out the way they are crafted, and she would have to work extra hard to keep Vicky in her place and her secret identity safe because fate, you see, is much like the wild sea that surrounds Collinsport: You don't ever turn your back on it.
********
A cool wind slowly blew through Carolyn's blond hair as she stood atop Widow's Hill gazing out on to the cerulean blue Atlantic sea. She looked out towards the horizon as an 1860's caravel danced in the distant waves like a ghost ship revealing itself to the world once more. She smiled to herself imagining it was the same ship that brought her Collins ancestors to America from England all those centuries ago. They brought with them their dreams of the new world, hopes, passions, and also a linage that would ultimately lead to devastation and peril.
Carolyn, after all, was a product of this linage. She knew first hand the traumas that her entire family had lived through. She thought how her mother had suffered, how her uncle Roger and David had suffered, she thought of every person that had taken their own lives right in the very spot she was standing on atop Widow's Hill. She'd been there too. She'd seen it first hand. She was a victim of it herself.
Carolyn, after all, was a product of this linage. She knew first hand the traumas that her entire family had lived through. She thought how her mother had suffered, how her uncle Roger and David had suffered, she thought of every person that had taken their own lives right in the very spot she was standing on atop Widow's Hill. She'd been there too. She'd seen it first hand. She was a victim of it herself.
As the matriarch of the Collins clan continued to feel the emotions of her past build up inside of her heart like the swelling of the sea, the cold ocean air brushed against her perfect 70 year old skin and a voice broke through the crashing waves below: "There's an exhibition of old ships up in Augusta. That one's an 1860's English naval war ship that was restored. Sebastian and Serena are thinking about going an checking them out before they head off to Boston on the weekend."
It was Maggie Evans, bundled up in a cream colored coat and matching scarf. Her hair equally as tousled by the westward winds.
"I didn't know you were so proficient in ancient navel ships." Carolyn said, as Maggie approached.
They hugged.
They hugged.
"My father. You know how much he loved painting landscapes? Well he loved painting old ships even more. He would have me research them when I was kid. Over and over I'd have to go through books about these old ships and describe them to him while he painted. I think it was a way for him to take his mind off of my mother. Painting really helped him heal in the early days after her death." Maggie reminisced. "What are you still doing up here? It's freezing!" Maggie continued, now hugging herself warm.
"I had this bench put out here." Carolyn said pointing to a wood and iron park-like bench behind them. "I realized that all these years we'd all come up here for one reason or another and didn't have a single thing to sit on and just gaze out on the water. It's therapeutic, really, listening to the sea on those rocks down there. It really clears your mind."
Maggie stepped over to the bench to inspect it. She smiled at it's pretty French style moldings but then quickly frowned when she saw the tiny little dedication plaque in the center, it read "FOR BARNABAS". Maggie shook her head.
"It's been six months, Carolyn. You cannot continue to feel guilty about what happened to him. It was all Angelique's doing, you had no idea things would end up this way." Maggie said.
"I can't help feel responsible. Had Julia and I taken a different avenue in trying to reach out to him, maybe he wouldn't have gone down the path he did and trusted Angelique. He thought we were all out to get him. And he was right. He chose Angelique's words over our own because he felt trapped. And look where it led him." Carolyn remembered.
"Everyone has a choice. That's how life works. Barnabas made his too. He could have come to you, you both could have worked things out much like you had in the past, but he didn't. He chose to believe a woman who had lied to him his entire life. It wasn't your fault he died, Carolyn." Maggie reassured her.
Carolyn shook her head and wanted to hear no more about it. She interlocked her arm with Maggie's and tugged her over to the bench, they sat down together to face the sea.
"So, tell me, has Serena made herself comfortable at Collinwood?" Carolyn asked.
"She has. We just moved the last of her things in." Maggie replied.
"She's going to be a great nanny for Johnny now that Siobhan is back at work. Siobhan told me how wonderful he was with her, like they'd know each other for years. He really is a good baby. Can't believe he's almost a year old." Carolyn said.
"She's nervous." Maggie added of Serena.
"Why?" Carolyn questioned clearly forgetting the history the house had with past governesses.
Maggie looked at Carolyn with an eyebrow lifted.
Maggie looked at Carolyn with an eyebrow lifted.
"Oh. Well..." Carolyn paused unsure of what to say, then the two burst into a fit of laughter. They couldn't contain themselves. It was like a dam had broken after 50 years of holding back laughs of the strangely absurd things that sometimes happened to the people at Collinwood. How could anyone in their right mind ever choose to work there on their own free will?
It never surprised Carolyn, in reality, that someone knowing the house's true history and past still felt a sort of magnetic pull to the Collins family and the great house on Widow's Hill. The draw of mystery and the unknown was like a drug to the outside world who only wanted just a taste of excitement in their ordinary lives. Any job opening for staff at the house was always met with overwhelming interest. But those who came in knew, never stayed long.
The grand luster of the spooky house usually wore off quickly once the creepy sounds turned into to real visions of those that lived there before.
But Serena was different. She knew full well how this house worked, how the family lived and how the two worlds, one living and one dead, somehow coexisted within the walls of Collinwood. Plus the pay was fantastic!
As the two women on Widow's Hill continued to be astounded at anyone brave enough to walk the halls of Collinwood for a paycheck one person in particular came into Maggie's mind to ask about.
"Julia...how is she?"
Carolyn took a deep breath before answering.
"You know she hasn't really talked to us much since it all happened. You'd think Barnabas' death would have taken it's toll on her but she's really been focused on reconnecting with Siobhan and Quinn. Not everyone get's a second chance at living like Julia, so I think she's taking it for what' it's worth." Carolyn explained.
Carolyn took a deep breath before answering.
"You know she hasn't really talked to us much since it all happened. You'd think Barnabas' death would have taken it's toll on her but she's really been focused on reconnecting with Siobhan and Quinn. Not everyone get's a second chance at living like Julia, so I think she's taking it for what' it's worth." Carolyn explained.
"Has she even cried yet? She loved him." Maggie replied as a great gust of wind blew through her thick hair.
"Not once." Carolyn replied.
Maggie sighed, her heart sinking slighting knowing how Julia often worked. When Julia kept things on the back burner for too long they often boiled over and it was almost never a pretty sight once it was time to clean up, especially when it came to Barnabas. Julia, pretending as if everything were fine after the death of the one man she put her own life on the line for over 5 decades, could soon begin to feel the pain she was bottling up. And there was no telling how she'd react once it all settled in.
"Should I be worried?" Maggie asked as she looked out on the sea.
"About Julia? No. I wouldn't. David thinks that it'll be fine. She's not the way she was all those years ago. She has a family now, of her own. A purpose. He said that now that Barnabas is truly out of the picture she can live the life she probably was always meant to live."
"David thinks that huh? Well I'm not surprised." Maggie quipped. "There was never any love-loss between David and Barnabas, I'm Julia isn't the only one who can move on now that he's really gone."
Carolyn agreed. "I think now David can really truly heal from everything that happened to him as a boy. Imagine growing up at his age and seeing the horrors that he saw. It was bad enough at our age!"
"And Victoria? How's she been?" Maggie asked of the other former Collinwood employee with a history with the spirits of the house.
Carolyn shook her head again about her half sister who was locked away at Windcliff after a nervous breakdown.
"Curtis won't let us see her. It's been very complicated to get some sort of news. But, I'm not going to give up. We can't just let Vicky rot in that place without her knowing we're there for her." Carolyn complained.
Maggie smiled and grabbed her old friend Carolyn's cold hand and squeezed. She wanted to warn her about pushing herself too far and thinking that she could fix everything with Julia or Vicky.
But she didn't say those things. She didn't ruin the good moment she had with Carolyn on Barnabas' bench. She didn't want to spoil that wind swept moment of true friendship. She only squeezed Carolyn's hands and smiled then excused herself back to mansion leaving Carolyn in the cold for a bit longer to watch the ship in the sea finally make it over the horizon.
The sun was bright in the sky and the waves crashed in bursts of water that filled the air around Carolyn in a wet mist that sprinkled on her porcelain skin. She closed her eyes and let the wind fill her hair and press against her skin, relaxing her face and her body.
A wave of peace suddenly broke into sudden shock when Carolyn heard someone whisper her name in the wind. A voice, she knew, a voice she had always known. Carolyn snapped open her closed eyes and turned around to locate the disembodied voice, but there was no one on Widow's Hill with her.
No Maggie, no David. No one. Just the wind howling and playing a vicious joke on Carolyn's ears. Or was it?
And just before she could shake that whisper of her name out of her head as nothing, she heard it again, this time she knew exactly who it was. It was Barnabas' voice calling to her through the wind.
Carolyn jumped from the bench and spun around in a circle searching for him, she could now feel his presence. He was there. He was calling her name, but what did he want? What did he want from her this time?
It couldn't be real. She was hearing things, it was the wind, she thought. It was impossible, just a joke her mind was playing on her. Carolyn, shaking with nerves, knew Barnabas was dead. She saw his stone-turned body crumble into a thousand pieces once Angelique's spell was broken.
He was dead! But Barnabas had been dead before, and Carolyn knew that. She stared blankly into the sea below, a worried, sick feeling came over her as she grappled with the thought in her mind of Barnabas' true demise.
Were they really free of him? Was his life really vanquished in a heap of stone and dust?
Carolyn's heart told her yes, but the voice she heard in the wind.....clearly gave her second thoughts.
****
Windcliff Sanitarium had seen it's fair share of chiefs of staff over it's long history of searching for answers to the most destitute of patients with severe mental health problems and traumas, but none as passionate as Dr. Siobhan Morgan-Collins who followed in her adopted mother's footsteps into the world of psychological medicine.
Siobhan had recently returned to the hospital after a 6 month absence due to maternity leave after the birth of her son John-Michael. She sat at her desk in a bit of an anxious heap reading over the many pages and documents of all the patients' progress while she was out. Thankfully, the doctor from Bangor who came to Windcliff in her absence, took careful and precise notes.
"Knock, knock!" a voice from Siobhan's open office door uttered in a clear tone.
"Oh! Doctor Wolf, please come in! Come in!" Siobhan answered as she quickly stood up for Dr. Wolf's entrance.
"I hope you've found everything back in it's place and that I didn't ruin any kind of order you've made." He replied of his time in her stead.
"Of course not! Thank you again for all your work while I was out, I'm sure everyone is going to miss you. It's not easy jumping in like that and then having to leave." Siobhan said.
"Well actually that is what I wanted to talk to you about." Wolf replied.
"Oh?"
"There's a new patient that came in about six months ago that I would like to keep on seeing even though you've come back. She and I have built up a sort of connection and I'd really like to be there to continue the treatments we've already begun. Do you think that is a possibility?" Wolf asked sitting on the overstuffed green leather chair.
Siobhan sat back down at her desk that faced Dr. Wolf. Her fair skin and dark hair glowing in the light of the small lamp on her desk giving her candle like aura around her heart-shaped face.
"New patient?" Siobhan wondered as she sorted though the files unable to remember who Dr. Wolf was talking about.
"Here." He said handing her a file from his own briefcase.
Siobhan flipped open the file and read the name to herself. WINTERS, VICTORIA.
"Oh, Doctor, I don't know about this. I completely understand that you'd want to continue what you've been able to accomplish with Vicky, but she's family. None of us have been able to see her since she's been here and I'd really like to check in on her." Siobhan said of her cousin by marriage.
"Well that's actually just another reason I should remain as Ms. Winters primary psychiatric care provider, I've not only prepared a good program for her recovery but as you said, you're family. There's a conflict of interest there that I don't carry." Wolf pointed out.
Siobhan sighed, Dr. Wolf was absolutely right. There was no way Siobhan could openly care for Vicky without the American Board of Psychiatry on her about this familial conflict.
"I suppose as long as I receive reports on a weekly basis on her prognosis and if any medication becomes changed or increased I am informed. I don't want anything to happen to Ms. Winters without my pre-approval now that I've returned." Siobhan said flexing her authority.
"Understood." Dr. Wolf grinned.
He stood up from the overstuffed green leather chair and adjusted his vest and jacket that had become clumped up around his chubby belly. He smoothed out the flyaway hairs in his grey beard and shook Siobhan's hand with a tight grip.
Siobhan sat back down and took another deep breath as she thought about poor Vicky and how horrible it had been for her to go through the nervous breakdown Curtis described. It was a painful realization that the whole Collins family was dealing with, only what they didn't know was it was all part of a clever and wicked spell put on Vicky by Angelique to silence her knowledge of her continued existence in Collinsport. A spell that even though had partially been broken still kept a tight grip over Vicky and Curtis.
As Doctor Wolf made his way down the shadowy halls of Windcliff he entered his own office which was much smaller than Siobhan's, darker and oddly empty of patient files and records. He stood in front of a large mirror that hung on the wall and smiled, then suddenly like a sneak peeling away the outer layer of it's skin, Dr. Wolf shape-shifted into Angelique Bouchard, the witch who was dead-set on making sure no one in the Collins family could take her away from the new love of her life Curtis. That included Siobhan. Vicky's isolation from her family, that she believed dead, was the key to Angelique's happiness with Curtis.
Vicky was Angelique's only loose wire and now that she had full reign over Vicky's well-being at Windcliff via Siobhan's stamp of approval of "Dr. Wolf". Things for Vicky had just turned from bad to worse, and she didn't even know it yet.
Victoria Winters sat in a rocking chair in a slight daze from the meds she had begin prescribed by Dr. Wolf. She looked up and saw a new face at her hospital room door, the woman's white outfit reflected the light of the room like beams of sunlight straight from the sun. So much so Vicky had to squint to get a good look at the new arrival. A new nurse perhaps?
"Hi." said a soft voice from the woman in white as she cautiously stood at the door and closed it behind her. She stood there, her dark wavy hair perfectly framing her beautiful face.
Vicky had not expected a new roommate. No one had told her about it. No one had brought it up. Not Dr. Wolf, or any of the nurses. But Vicky never the less was excited to have more interaction with someone other than the witch who placed here there under a spell so twisted she was left mute.
"How are you?" the woman said, sitting on a bed across from Vicky.
Vicky had not expected a new roommate. No one had told her about it. No one had brought it up. Not Dr. Wolf, or any of the nurses. But Vicky never the less was excited to have more interaction with someone other than the witch who placed here there under a spell so twisted she was left mute.
"How are you?" the woman said, sitting on a bed across from Vicky.
Vicky, who's eye sight was slowly returning, was still unable to speak. She got up from the chair and grabbed her pad and pen and scribbled out "HI IM OK. I'M VICKY"
"Dominique." replied the woman with her name as she slowly made her way closer to where Vicky was sitting.
"I hate these kinds of places don't you? Nothing ever good happens here. How long have you been here?" Dominique asked.
Vicky put up her hand showing 6 of her fingers and mouthed "6 months."
"Oh...that't not too bad. I've been in and out of these places ....well...for as long as I can remember. It's almost like I can't really escape them. I guess I'm trapped." Dominique replied, her eye glazing off into a day dream. "I'd give anything to feel the air again. The fresh air. The sun. The warm sun."
"I MISS IT TOO" Vicky wrote.
"Why can't you speak?" Dominique asked.
Vicky shook her head and wrote: "LONG STORY"
"Well I think I have forever, so why don't tell me." Dominique giggled. "It's not like we're escaping here any time soon."
Suddenly, Dominique's words hit Vicky's mind like a wild fire, especially the word ESCAPE. That's all Vicky wanted to do, that's all she had been dreaming and praying for, some sort of way out, an escape!
Vicky, seeing an open opportunity and thinking Dominique was the answer to her prayers knew there was only one way out and if Dominique was as anxious to leave as she was leading on, Vicky had to act fast for any type of help of escape. There was no time for her to waste, now that 6 months had gone by. Dominique was the first new person she had seen since her arrival and time was of the essence.
"I hate these kinds of places don't you? Nothing ever good happens here. How long have you been here?" Dominique asked.
Vicky put up her hand showing 6 of her fingers and mouthed "6 months."
"Oh...that't not too bad. I've been in and out of these places ....well...for as long as I can remember. It's almost like I can't really escape them. I guess I'm trapped." Dominique replied, her eye glazing off into a day dream. "I'd give anything to feel the air again. The fresh air. The sun. The warm sun."
"I MISS IT TOO" Vicky wrote.
"Why can't you speak?" Dominique asked.
Vicky shook her head and wrote: "LONG STORY"
"Well I think I have forever, so why don't tell me." Dominique giggled. "It's not like we're escaping here any time soon."
Suddenly, Dominique's words hit Vicky's mind like a wild fire, especially the word ESCAPE. That's all Vicky wanted to do, that's all she had been dreaming and praying for, some sort of way out, an escape!
Vicky, seeing an open opportunity and thinking Dominique was the answer to her prayers knew there was only one way out and if Dominique was as anxious to leave as she was leading on, Vicky had to act fast for any type of help of escape. There was no time for her to waste, now that 6 months had gone by. Dominique was the first new person she had seen since her arrival and time was of the essence.
"I NEED U TO HELP ME. I'M TRAPPED HERE!" She scribbled.
"Tell me about it." The woman said rolling her eye and, sitting down on the floor Indian style.
Vicky shook her head seeing that the woman clearly did not understand. She scribbled another note.
"LISTEN. I NEED U TO HELP ME ESCAPE. I'M NOT SUPPOSE TO B HERE."
"That's funny, you're asking me to listen but you're not even talking. You're writing." Dominique giggled. "I could listen to the pen scratch on the paper. Is that would I should listen to?"
Vicky stared at her new roommate and shook her head. She ripped another page out of her pad and started to write again, this time the frustration was obvious in her hand movements and in her writing. Dominique, the new patient, needed to understand, she needed to get Vicky out. It was the only way. Vicky hadn't seen anyone new person in over 6 months. She would only see Dr. Wolf and Nurse Cassandra, both of whom where shape-shifts of Angelique who had complete control over every aspect of Vicky's life now that she was both doctor and nurse.
"ESCAPE. I NEED TO GO BACK TO MY SON. PLEASE HELP!" Vicky wrote.
"I have a kid too. I'd love to go back to her too. But....it is what it is Virginia." Dominique replied confusing Vicky's name.
Vicky was getting upset, she needed to some how break through to Dominique help her. She needed to escape Angelique's treacherous hands and get back to her son Curtis, the one member of the family Vicky believed was the last to survive Angelique's terror 6 months earlier.
"FAMILY DEAD. NEED TO FIND SON." Vicky wrote again on another clean sheet of paper.
"My family is dead too. Well except for my brother and daughter. They're out there somewhere. Wanna hear a story?" Dominique said getting up from the ground and jumping on her new bed.
Vicky rolled her eyes and saw that she was going to get no where with the complicated Dominique and just nodded her head agreeing, reluctantly, to Dominique's story.
"See, this isn't my first time here. I've been here before. Windcliff I mean. But the first time I was here, about 20-some years ago, I was a bad girl. I was a very very bad girl." The woman said, grinning with devious delight. "There was a man here, a beautiful man. And we fell in love. We made love. A lot. Like almost every night. He was so beautiful and he made me so happy. But then the main doctor here at the time---Dr. Grayson---she found out! Grayson sent me up-state to the Augusta hospital because patients aren't supposed do that... you know....sex thing." Dominique continue to Vicky's annoyance.
Dominique continued to tell her story and describe the handsome, sexy patient she fell in love with all those years ago before she was transferred. It was so long ago, Dominique said, but the man had remained part of her life in her memory for years. So when the chance to come back to Windcliff came up she was ecstatic to return hoping that they could reunite.
"He's beautiful Veronica," Dominique said again using the wrong name. "His name was David. Collins or something, yeah David Collins."
Vicky's bored eyes suddenly sprung open and stared at Dominique in shock. She was in love with David! David,who had been locked away at Windcliff by his ex wife Kimberly also 25 years ago, match the time frame Dominique was talking about. But Dominique had no idea he was now free of the hospital and living happy and healthy with his wife who happened to also be the new Chief of Staff at Windcliff.
The parallels were astounding.
The parallels were astounding.
The only problem was Vicky thought David was dead. But the ideas were already bubbling up in her mind on an escape plan using Dominique, her knowledge of the layout of Windcliff and Dominique's pure love David and hope of reunion.
Vicky grabbed her pen and paper again and scribbled.
"I KNOW DAVID! I KNOW DAVID!"
"What??? You do!?" Dominique replied in elation.
"HELP ME OUT. TAKE U TO DAVID."
"He's not here anymore?" Dominique said in disappointment to Vicky shaking her head "no".
"He's not here anymore?" Dominique said in disappointment to Vicky shaking her head "no".
Dominique paused in thought. Unsure of the truth but knew that if she trusted Vicky enough she would be reunited with her lost love somewhere on the outside. The man she had been thinking of for over 20 years, could very well be in her future.
The new patient got up from the bed and paced packed and forth in the light of the hospital room. Vicky kept tapping the pad of paper with her pen with David's name on it, her heart beating fast because she felt terrible about trapping Dominique this way, leading her to believe that she would reunite with David even though he was dead.... which was all a lie Angelique had fed Vicky for the last 6 months.
Dominique thought about Vicky's proposition. They had just met? Could she trust her? How could she know David and how would she even get them to him if she did? So many thoughts bubbled in Dominique's mind but the fact was, she was in love with him, and she had come back hoping to at least get some closure with the man she loved. Closure. That was the key to her whole existence now, that's all she needed. That's all she wanted. And Vicky was offering her that opportunity.
Dominique thought about Vicky's proposition. They had just met? Could she trust her? How could she know David and how would she even get them to him if she did? So many thoughts bubbled in Dominique's mind but the fact was, she was in love with him, and she had come back hoping to at least get some closure with the man she loved. Closure. That was the key to her whole existence now, that's all she needed. That's all she wanted. And Vicky was offering her that opportunity.
"Ok. FINE! I'll do it. I'll help you out of here. But the moment I see that you're not taking me to him, the moment I feel like you've tricked me and I don't get to David, I swear, Ill slit your throat from ear to ear." Dominique said, her bright face suddenly truing dark and cold.
Vicky took a deep breath and reached out her hand for Dominique to shake on it, binding them together. It was a deadly risk that Vicky was that desperate to take. Nothing was more important than her freedom, even her own life.
Alex looked around, haunted by the sound. But no one was there.
****
As the bright sun of the day began it's slow decent into the horizon, Alexandra Thorne looked off into the distance as she stood dock-side at the piers of the Collinsport Marina. Her eyes fixated on the on the orange hues of the sky now that the sun was beginning to set and all she could do was wonder about her future and her past and how the two could, and would, somehow flow together in harmony.
"Penny for your thoughts."
Alex turned to see Andrew Shaw standing behind her with a two to-go coffees from the small Cafe just across the street from the pier and the Blue Whale. She shyly thanked him for fetching the warm brew for them.
Alex turned to see Andrew Shaw standing behind her with a two to-go coffees from the small Cafe just across the street from the pier and the Blue Whale. She shyly thanked him for fetching the warm brew for them.
"So what were you thinking of? I can always tell when someone has something on their mind. Especially you. You seem to just go off into another world, just ....waiting for something to happen." Andrew pointed out.
"Ugh!" Alex scoffed in frustration with herself. "I guess I just keep going over everything that happened, you know. Every time I have a second to look at a sunset, just like that one, I think of that night when everything went out of control. I think of Angelique and what she did to everyone, I think of you, I think of Chris. I think of how lucky we were to find each other and what a miracle it is that we're all still alive."
"That's about $1.00's worth of pennies." Andrew joked to Alex's giggle.
"Tell me about it."
"But you're right. We've found each other and thankfully, we can lean on each other now that we're together and nothing is going to come between us again. Ever." Andrew reassured Alex who lovingly cuddled herself for warmth from the chilling day.
"How can you be so sure?" Alex asked in a quiet voice.
"Well, I'm not sure. But that doesn't mean we just allow things to take over us. Not anymore. Not ever." He said.
She squeezed his body close to her, her heart feeling full again. There was a lot on her mind, but somehow, Andrew much like Chris, was able to save her from her own darkness. Alex, who's body had absorbed much of Angelique's powers in their battle was an unlit firework. The feelings inside her of worry, of stress, of anxiety were much more than she realized.
"Come on, we should get back home." Andrew said. "I'll get the car, wait here."
Alex unlatched herself from Andrew's body allowing him to rush off down the street where his car was parked. She remained on the docks waiting for him as she listened to the seagulls call back and forth to each other above her head. She looked up and three were circling her. They were circling and circling and then suddenly dived down at her, all at once.
Alex screamed and threw her coffee at them. She backed up and watched as they landed on the wooden barricades on the pier staring at her with 6 red eyes that seemed to burn with the heat of a thousand suns.
She slowly backed away, confused and humiliated at the birds odd attack on her. The three seagulls continued to stare at her intently, and as they did, a voice swirled into Alex's head from an unknown source.
"Into the sea....into the sea...die...into the sea" the voice whispered.
Alex looked around, haunted by the sound. But no one was there.
The waves lapped up against the giant wood poles that held up the pier, splashing and crashing slowly as the tide began to rise.
Again: "into the sea...into the sea you go....die...into the sea"
Alex, feeling a strong power over her looked over the pier and saw the water that had earlier seemed to be cold and unwelcoming but now, with the power of that disembodied voice, seemed refreshing and open to her....even with the autumn night approaching.
She lifted one foot onto the barricade. Then the other. She watched as the water crashed up against the sides of the pier. The water rushing fast up to shore then back out to sea, then back up to shore, then back out to sea. Back and forth back and forth by the powerful force of the pull of the moon.
She lifted the other foot, not standing on the wooden ledge of the barricade just steps from the top.
"into the sea into the...."
The voice coming to Alex was suddenly interrupted by the horn of Andrew's car. He jumped out of the driver seat just a few steps from where Alex was standing over looking what seemed like a jump.
"Alex!!! What are you doing?" He shouted.
Alex shook her head. The voice's energy disbursing with the sound of Andrew's.
"I...." Alex said, unsure of what had just happened. "Sorry, I was just looking down into the water. Thought I saw a starfish." Alex said, lying to protect him from whatever was happening in her mind and the voices in her head.
Alex lowered herself and jumped into the car with Andrew who, for the rest of the evening, kept a close watch on Alex.
****
Across town, in a chic apartment with gray walls and beautiful views of the sea, Angelique disguised in her shape-shifting body as "Cassandra" looked down onto a deck of tarot cards with one card pulled and facing up.
The Crowned Queen.
Blond and beautiful, a symbol of power and fury...this card was Alexandra in real life.
The voice taunting Alex to jump into the sea, was Angelique's.
Angelique was now fully ready to take the life of Alexandra Thorne to retrieve the powers she had lost in their battle. But this time, Alex was saved. Angelique could only stew in her frustrations. She grabbed the tarot card that represented Alex and crumbled it in her hand then shape-shifted back into her real face.
Angelique, now in her Cassandra body bristled at Alex's good fortune. She sat at the table and wondered just how power Alex had gotten after she had absorbed Angelique's powers. She wondered just how much more time it would take for Alex to fully understand just how strong she was. The clock was ticking for Angelique Bouchard.
If she wanted to remain with Curtis, safely without anyone discovering her, she had to regain her powers from Alex....and eliminate her. Once and for all.
Angelique then looked over at a photo of "Cassandra" and Curtis lovingly together on the beach mealier that summer. This was what it was all for. For his love. For his touch. All for Curtis.
If she wanted to remain with Curtis, safely without anyone discovering her, she had to regain her powers from Alex....and eliminate her. Once and for all.
Angelique then looked over at a photo of "Cassandra" and Curtis lovingly together on the beach mealier that summer. This was what it was all for. For his love. For his touch. All for Curtis.
****
The Old House stood in darkness as the night wore one. It was quiet and everything inside had been covered in large white sheets protecting it from the elements of time while their owner, a man of a thousand lives lived on a different plane, between two worlds.
The quietness of the room was only broken with the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks outside, and suddenly, without anyone around, a single candle sitting at a table side near a covered chair lit itself illuminating the musty drawing room of Barnabas' beloved home.
The quietness of the room was only broken with the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks outside, and suddenly, without anyone around, a single candle sitting at a table side near a covered chair lit itself illuminating the musty drawing room of Barnabas' beloved home.
There was energy here. There was life here. The powerful forces that build the very walls of this sacred building were like living breathing organisms that had were about to sprout new life.
As the candle continued to burn all on it's own, a grandfather clock in the front foyer began to tick away the minutes behind its protective white sheet; this ticking, this counting down of the hours was symbolic in more ways than one. Then, marking the hour, a very long chime, a knell that rang through the whole of the empty Old House as if to signal to the world that something...or someone was coming.