Also, I'd like to note that I do not own ABC's "General Hospital" or the characters and I will NOT be receiving any payment whatsoever for writing this story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
~*Ethan*~
He was on his way back to Spoon Island despite his promise to Luke that he wouldn't return to Wyndemere again. Something was drawing him to the abandoned halls. Maybe his father was right; maybe he was under some sort of Cassadine spell- but no matter what the circumstance, Ethan could not keep away from the spooky castle upon the island. As he neared the shore, he thought about what Luke had said about love; how it made a person selfish.
*I shouldn't listen to Luke's stupid philosophies on love,* Ethan said to himself as he stepped off the boat and onto the soft, dark earth. His eyes were on Wyndemere in the dying sunshine. There was another place he was supposed to be, but he wouldn't make it there. Instead, Wyndemere had some eerie hold on him, drawing him in.
*This time I will find what it is I seek,* Ethan thought to himself as he entered the dark castle. He knew he was approaching his own destiny.
~*Kristina*~
It was the night of her going-away party, and she could not wait to see Ethan, but where was he? All the guests had been arriving, one by one, but she did not see him anywhere. Krissy looked agitated as she looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. He wouldn't just let her leave without saying good bye, would he? Could fate really be all that cruel?
Tears stung at her eyes, but she wouldn't shed them. She was leaving everyone behind, her beloved family, her friends, and... Ethan. It hurt so much, but she kept telling herself she had to do this. Ethan had rejected her for the last time. And she had told herself that if she got accepted into Yale, it would be a sure sign that fate was calling her away from Port Charles and from Ethan. Maybe he had been right all along. Maybe they did not belong together. But the entire time her heart was crying out, "No! Don't leave him!"
"Krissy, what's wrong?" Alexis asked, seeing the sad, faraway expression in her daughter's eyes.
"It's nothing, Mom. It's just that I'm gonna miss all of you so much..." Kristina spoke, not wanting to admit the truth her heart was screaming out; that she belonged with Ethan.
"I'm only a phone call away," Alexis promised as she kissed her daughter's cheek.
"I love you, Mom," Krissy spoke as she hugged her mother tightly.
~*Ethan*~
"I know you're in here!" Ethan called out as he stepped into the tunnel at Wyndemere. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" His voice echoed back to him in the tunnel; a strange, eerie sound that sent an icy spark of fear travelling up his spine.
*Now I am just scaring myself,* Ethan thought with a devilish smirk. But the truth stood right beside him. Ethan truly was NOT alone in the tunnel. And very soon the truth was staring him in the face.
Stepping forward, deeper into the tunnel, Ethan could see a strange white light. "Who's there?" he demanded, raising his lantern high in an attempt to see what lay ahead of him.
There was the sinister sound of laughter as Ethan saw a woman standing before him in a long white gown. Her skin was so deathly pale, she could have been a ghost. "What the-?" Ethan gasped.
"Hello, Ethan," she said. "I have been waiting for you."
~*Kristina*~
The last of the guests were now leaving the party, and Kristina was set to leave in the early morning. "Ethan, where are you?" she said quietly where no one else could hear her.
She held her cell phone in her hand, staring at it. *I should call him,* she thought. *Just to see if he got side-tracked and if he's coming to say good bye.*
Her finger was poised to send the call, but for some reason she couldn't. *I guess I never meant that much to him afterall," she sadly thought, a tear rushing hotly down her cheek.
"Come on, Kristina, it's time to go home," Alexis called out to her daughter. "You need a good night's sleep; you're leaving early in the morning."
Staring out the window, Kristina was thinking of Ethan. "Okay, Mom," she finally said, leaving to go back to the lake house with her mother and Molly.
When morning came, Kristina grabbed her bags in which she had packed the day before and said her farewells to Alexis and Molly. "I love you, guys," she said, kissing them both and giving them huge hugs.
"Don't you want me to drive you to the airport?" Alexis asked her daughter.
"I'm a big girl, Mom. I can make it to the airport just fine," Kristina promised as a cab was already waiting for her outside.
"Okay, honey, but text me just as soon as you get on the plane..." Alexis insisted.
"I will, Mom," answered Kristina as she made her way out the door.
"I love you!" Molly called out as she watched her big sister go. Molly and Alexis hugged each other tight after Krissy had left.
"Things sure won't be the same here without her," Alexis said, tears shining in her eyes.
"I miss her already," Molly agreed.
In the cab on the way to the airport, Kristina was glancing down at her cell phone once again, her thoughts on Ethan. He hadn't even bothered to call, and she found that inexcusable. Should she call him? What would she say? She didn't want to sound like the whiny child he had accused her of being during all those times he had claimed she was too young for him. Suddenly the cab she was in picked up speed as the driver appeared to be making some dangerously sharp turns.
"What's going on?" Krissy cried out when she realized they weren't headed toward the airport.
The driver didn't answer, and Kristina became fearful. "Let me out of this car!" she screamed when it was apparant that the driver was taking her toward the outskirts of Port Charles upon a gravel road that was remote and deserted.
Suddenly the car came to a crashing halt along the side of the road somewhere, causing Kristina to lurch forward precariously in her seat. The car door came open abruptly and a strange-looking man stood there staring at her. "Who are you... and what's going on?" Kristina demanded as she frowned at the man.
The man reached out for Kristina, grabbing her in his arms and tugging her out of the car. She kicked and screamed, but he forced her into a dark van and pushed her into the back. She reached around in the darkness for her cell phone but realized she had dropped it during the struggle. Moments later the van drove away with Kristina locked up inside.