SCENE 9
The front door of the Old House banged shut, startling Barnabas from the book he was reading in the library. He rarely bothered to lock the front door, but most people he knew were courteous enough to knock before coming in. He rose and went to see who was there.
As he entered the foyer, he saw the form of Willie Loomis practically cowering just inside the door. "Willie!"
The handyman looked up, his face relaxing as he realized who was there. "Barnabas!" Willie scrambled to his feet, almost falling over himself as he crossed the room. He grabbed Barnabas by the arms, trying to speak, but babbling incoherently instead.
Barnabas took Willie by the shoulders, holding him in a firm grip. He no longer had his supernatural strength, but it was enough to stop Willie from thrashing about. "Willie, what's wrong? Why aren't you at Dr. Lang's?"
He looked at his boss with wild eyes, like a caged animal. "I can't go back there, Barnabas. I can't. I can't do what he wanted me to do. I just can't, I can't…" He became incomprehensible again.
Barnabas shook him slightly. "Calm down, Willie. Calm down and explain what you mean."
Willie took a deep breath. "I went over to Dr. Lang's this afternoon, like ya asked me to. At first, everything was fine. He had me moving around equipment and stuff. Nothing I couldn't handle. Then…" he swallowed hard, "Then it got late and dark. Lang asked me to come with him somewhere, so I went figuring he needed help with something." Willie shivered at the thought. "He took me to the cemetery, Barnabas! He wanted me to dig up a body!"
Barnabas dropped his hands from Willie's shoulders and turned away. It wasn't exactly the reaction Willie had been expecting. "Barnabas, did you hear what I said?" The dark man was silent. "Dr. Lang wanted me to…" Something clicked for Willie. His eyes grew wide in surprise. "You knew, didn't you? You knew what Dr. Lang wanted me to do."
"No, I didn't know." Barnabas faced Willie again. "But I figured it was something like that." He took a step forward. "Willie, the work Dr. Lang is doing is very important to me. It may help me to finally live a completely normal life." He took another step. "If this experiment fails, I will become what I was before." Another step. "I need your help, Willie. I need you to do whatever Dr. Lang needs for the experiment to succeed."
Willie shook his head, "But this…" he said, trying to protest.
Barnabas took one more step toward him. Willie's throat went dry as he could feel the heat radiating from Barnabas, he was so close. He locked eyes with him, Barnabas' dark orbs burning into his own. "Please, Willie," he said, his breath hot on Willie's face. "I would be so grateful."
It was a plea Willie couldn't say 'no' to. Barnabas had done so much for him, he had to try to repay him. Before he knew it, he had agreed to go back to Lang's and do what he asked.
When Willie had left, Barnabas smiled to himself, chuckled, and went back to reading his book.
SCENE 10
High above the raging ocean on the Maine coastline towers a cliff surrounded by tragedy. It has claimed many lives over the centuries, and legend says that it waits for more. It may have had a proper name once, but it has been long forgotten to the mysteries of time. The locals simply call it 'Widow's Hill.'
Roger Collins stood atop the cliff, his face grim. The night was chilly and a fierce wind blew, its icy fingers grabbing at him as if to pull him over the precipice. He appeared to be looking out at the sea, but his eyes darted furtively from side to side.
Despite his raised awareness due to the tension, he was unprepared for the hand that landed on his shoulder. He jumped and spun around, only relaxing when he saw who it was. "What are you trying to do, Evans? Kill me?"
Sam glowered at him. "Don't tempt me, Collins. If I thought it would help, I just might." They stared at each other for a moment. Sam backed down first. "But it wouldn't help at all." He turned away.
"Look, Evans," Roger said harshly, "You dragged me out here at this God-forsaken hour. What is it you want?"
Sam faced him again. "Laura came into the Blue Whale tonight." A note of panic crept into his voice.
"So?" Roger scoffed. "I'm sure half of Collinsport was in the Blue Whale tonight. It's not like there are a lot of options in this town."
Courage suddenly came to Sam. "Don't take me for a fool, Collins. You know that Laura coming back to Collinsport could open up a very messy can of worms."
Roger raised an eyebrow. "And what am I supposed to do? Forbid her from setting foot in town again?" He shook his head. "Sorry, Evans. They don't allow exile in this country."
Sam considered. "Damn shame," he muttered to himself. "But keep her away from me, Collins. If George Patterson sees us together, he may begin to get ideas."
Roger almost laughed out loud. "I think you are overestimating George's perceptiveness…and my control over Laura." At the stricken look on Sam's face, he did laugh. "Don't worry, Evans. Laura has no more desire to bring up ancient history anymore than we do."
"Well, I hope you're right, Collins, for your sake."
Puzzled, Roger asked, "For my sake?"
"Yes," said Sam, "Because for some unknown reason, my daughter cares about you, and I'd hate to hurt her. But if I go down, you are going down with me." He turned and walked away.
Roger Collins was left with a stricken look on his face as the waves crashed against the rocks far below him.
END OF CHAPTER 19
CREDITS FOR CHAPTER 19
Elizabeth Gracen as Laura Collins
Julianna McCarthy as Sarah Johnson
Jim Fyfe as Willie Loomis
Ben Cross as Barnabas Collins
Roy Thinnes as Roger Collins
Barbara Blackburn as Carolyn Stoddard
Michael T. Weiss as Jeff Clark
Eddie Jones as Sam Evans
Ely Pouget as Maggie Evans
Joseph Gordon-Leavitt as David Collins
