Exit Staged Right
by Thomas Mc
Part 2-A
Vincent looked more closely at the face that was so familiar and yet different in some indefinable way. "Who is Ron? Who are You? Where am I?" He could clearly sense the confusion and fear in this doppelganger, but it was nothing like the bond he had with his Catherine. "Please," he entreated, "tell me what is going on here and how you could look so much like Catherine Chandler."
The doppelganger just shook her head. "This is crazy. You can't be real. It's not possible."
The tableau held for several seconds while Vincent sensed curiosity slowly growing in this woman. Eventually the curiosity over-road her fear and she slowly reached out her trembling hand. "Vincent?" She gently touched his cheek then quickly pulled back, continuing to stare. "How can this be?" She asked in a shaky voice.
"Who are you?" Vincent asked.
"I ... um ... I'm ... Linda ... Linda Hamilton." The woman stammered out.
"Why do you look so much like Catherine?" He asked.
"Catherine is the character I play in the show." Linda responded slowly gaining confidence.
"Show?" Vincent asked confused.
"The Beauty and the Beast television show." She replied.
"Are you saying that there is a television show about me?" Vincent asked, incredulous. "Catherine would surely have mentioned it to me if there was."
"Well, yes, but it's a fantasy. You're not supposed to exist." She thought for a few seconds. A far as I know, there is no Catherine Chandler in New York."
Vincent looked down in thought then back at Linda. "Who is Ron?" He asked.
Linda responded, "The actor that play's ... you."
Again Vincent thought for a short time. "If I'm here then where is he?" He asked under his breath then looked up. "Never mind. Just before I ended up here, I was searching for Catherine. She has been missing for several months and I've lost my bond with her. Does that have anything to do with your show?"
Linda's hand flew up to her mouth. "Oh, No!"
Vincent could sense a strong streak of distress in Linda as well as see it in her eyes. "What is it? What's wrong?" Now he was really getting concerned.
Linda looked around then picked up a binder that was sitting on a nearby counter top. Almost gingerly she held it out to Vincent. "May be you had better see this."
Vincent took the binder, opened it and began to skim it. It was a script for the show. He started to read it very carefully. It detailed everything that had happened since Catherine came into the lower catacombs to bring him back. He looked up at Linda in surprise when he reached the part about Catherine being pregnant. All the while Linda continued to watch him as he read. She could almost tell where he was in the script by his expressions. Then he came to the last few pages that predicted a grim resolution to his search. He looked up at Linda, his eyes full of pain. "But why! Why does it end this way?"
Linda gazed back, full of sorrow for the pain she could see in his eyes. "I'm pregnant." She pressed down on her dress showing her growing belly. "I'm leaving the series to spend more time with my family so the writers decided to kill my character off."
Vincent stood up. Linda jumped back, partially out of surprise and partially to get out of his way. Vincent began pacing, mumbling to himself. He stopped and looked at Linda holding out the script. "Is this ... show ... a reflection of my life ... or is my world just an echo of this script?" He looked down at the script. "Who is the master and who is the puppet."
Linda simply shrugged her shoulders while shaking her head.
Vincent smacked the script into his other hand. "I can't let it end like this. There must be a way to change our destiny." He waved the script at Linda. "Isn't there some way to keep the character alive in the show without you?"
The entreaty in his eyes was hard for Linda to resist. She thought for a while then looked up at Vincent. "There are several ways. You can keep the character off screen, just occasional phone calls and letters. You can never show the character's face." She thought some more. "They might could get a different actress to play Catherine."
Vincent asked, "How would that work?"
Linda thought about what had been done before. "Create some kind of plot device to explain the difference in appearance." She paused. "Or just replace the actress and don't bother to explain the new appearance, It has been done before."
"How would that effect my world?" He asked.
"I have no idea. You don't even know which world is effecting the other," she responded.
He looked down at the script in his hand. "According to this script, I still have about a month and a half till she is killed. I ..."
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Ron, Linda, It's almost time for the press conference," the voice announced from outside. "You need to get moving if you want to make it in time."
Continued
'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.
