Introductions

The sound of the alarm hit Abigail like a shot gun and made her jolt upright in bed. She rolled her eyes, grabbed the small clock and twisted the alarm off. It was 7:00 and the sun was just starting to shine through her window. She released a small chuckle noticing all of the lights were on, she really let that house get to her last night, but the bright morning sun swept her reservations away.

She pulled a green sweater out of her drawer, grabbed a pair of jeans and headed to the bathroom to get ready. She showered and stared into the mirror looking at her unruly hair, no matter how hard she tried to straighten it like all the fashion magazines it would just snap back into lazy curls that always looked messy around her face. You win again… she smirked at herself giving up on her hair and walked into the kitchen. Her stomach was flopping on itself and she was terribly annoyed at her school girl excitement to spend time with a man she didn't know. Jeeze Abby, he could be a complete nut job, get over yourself. She packed up her camera and notebook and headed out the door.

She decided not to go to the house empty handed. She made a brief stop at the diner and grabbed two black coffees to go. The doughnuts smelled wonderful and she picked up several of them as well and headed back to her car. Within the hour she would be back at the old house, she was relieved that Barnabas wouldn't be there, and she hoped things would go better than before.

Willie awoke as the key entered the door and unlocked it. His arms were covering his head, his throat was raw and he was tangled in the bedding, a sure sign that his sleep was interrupted with horrible dreams. The fire was slowly dying and it was getting cold in the room. He swung his feet around the bed and grabbed some clean clothes out of the drawer. Even what he wore was controlled by It. He remembered arriving at the old house and his dresser and closet had not only his own clothes, but new ones. Everything around him was a constant reminder that he could never escape Its imprisonment.

He grabbed everything, including soap and shampoo, and walked to the back staircase that led to the kitchen. He paused for a moment on the landing looking up at the staircase that led to the attic, he felt uneasy and he still had not explored that part of the house; today would not be an exception.

He placed his things on the table and started a fire in the kitchen fireplace. He turned and grabbed a large pot and placed it beneath the water pump that was in the kitchen. He filled the pot and placed it on top of the fire, he was too cold to use the water straight from the pump, he wanted some warmth to clean off with.

Living this way was a challenge for Willie, no plumbing…no electricity…and no freedom. Even the simplest task of washing up was ten times as hard.

The water was nice and warm, he pulled it off the fire and set it on a slab of wood that was sitting on the table. He stripped off his shirt, grabbed a towel and dipped it in the warm water. The warmth felt good against his skin. Willie cleaned up moving gently over his side where the black and blue marks were, deepening in color. The pain in his side still sharp, he was worried that it wasn't getting better. As he pulled on his sweater he looked down at his wrists, they were red and raw in spots where his skin twisted against the ropes the night before. He finally pulled at the sleeves and pulled them down over his wrists as he grimaced. Suddenly a twinge of panic rushed through him. He remembered that the girl was going to be there soon. Shit… He pulled himself together and looked into the mirror that was hanging in the hallway. Willie rolled his eyes, he looked like a train wreck of a soul. His skin was so pale and he had deep circles under his eyes. It looked like he hadn't slept in months, which wasn't far from the truth.

He entered the great room and pulled the drapes open letting in the bright sunlight, his eyes squinted as the sunlight hit them. He had a brief moment of triumph thinking this was one thing that he could enjoy and Barnabas couldn't. It was a small bit of satisfaction in his devastating life.

Willie went about his morning routine. He pulled the wood in for the day, made sure there were fires burning in both the kitchen and the great room. He replaced any of the candles that had been burned down and made sure to stock his room with firewood and extra matches.

He returned to the great room and started to think about how to get rid of the girl. He thought he would just be mean. Terribly mean. Treat her horribly so that she would wind up hating him and not want to deal with him. He had been that man once, he could do it again.

He climbed back up the ladder and started to patch the mortar when his heart sank into his feet and he heard a knock on the door.

He climbed down and hesitated before he opened the door. He was ready, and he opened the door, and every bit of intent to treat her horribly melted away. He looked into her brownish green eyes, her hair flipped around her face, and he just couldn't do it. He couldn't be mean to her, no matter how much he wanted to be. He just looked at her until his subconscious kicked him and he spoke.

"Ms. Chilton. P-please… come in"

Abigail pulled into the driveway of the old house and started walking up to the door, confused by the nerves she felt. Get a stinkin' grip Abby. Ughh.. She was so irritated with herself. She was always in control of situations, but this man…no this complete stranger… was totally and completely under her skin. Why on earth did she have to peer into the window, or observe him on the street. Why when he looked into her eyes did she shy away from them? She decided she would go up to the door and take charge.

She knocked on the door several times and finally it opened and he was standing there looking nervously at her, running his hand through his hair.

After a long pause he spoke and for the second time he made eye contact with her and her stomach flopped again when she looked at the blue of his eyes.

"Ms. Chilton. P-please…come in."

She was so determined to take control, but as soon as she saw him she backed down and became uncomfortable. She walked into the great room and Willie closed the doors.

"And you must be Mr. Loomis" She turned to look at him again and extended her hand. He looked at her hand and hesitated but finally and very briefly he shook it. Human contact, even the simplest handshake made him uncomfortable. The only contact he had known since he moved into the old house with the Vampire was cruel and sinister. She noticed the hesitation too and wondered why.

"Y-yes… yeah. Please, call me Willie" Willie was nervous. He had no idea what to say next.

"It is nice to meet you Willie. I brought some coffee and doughnuts. I think perhaps we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I'm not sure what kind you like so I picked up several different kinds." She handed the coffee to Willie and placed the doughnuts out on small table. She couldn't help but smile at how nervous he was. She hoped that she wasn't quite as obvious.

"Y-yeah… I am sorry about yesterday. The coffee is very nice…thank you. " Willie gave her a half-hearted smile, but was fighting against the aroma of the doughnuts. They smelled fresh and sweet and it made him sick.

"You can setup anywhere ya like Ms. Chilton. If there is anything that ya need just let me know." Willie took a sip of the coffee and it was hot and delicious. It seemed he could never really warm up in this house, but the coffee helped.

"Willie, would you give me a tour of the house? I was here yesterday but without electricity I am afraid the candlelight did not provide me with a very good view." Abigail was sincere. Last night was a waste of time. But then again she didn't come last night to see the house, she came to see him. Today she would focus on the house and the fact that she had a job to do.

"Uh..yeah… yes of course. " Willie took her through the house, saying very little as they walked through. He seemed rather uninterested in it, which Abigail found odd. Why would he take a job restoring an old house that he has absolutely no interest in at all? As a matter of fact, if someone were to ask her, she would tell them that Willie disliked the house based on the tour that she received.

"And this room? Barnabas indicated that this is you room?" They paused as they stood in front of it.

"Yes, this is my room." Willie responded with a low quiet voice. Almost as if he regretted saying it at all.

"May I look in?" As soon as she asked she wished she didn't. The words tumbled out of her mouth before she had a second to think and she wanted to take them back. She always had a problem with blurting out her thoughts, she shook her head, disappointed in herself.

"What? Um…Ya wanna look in my room?... s-sure." He opened the door and a small burst of warm air exited. Abigail dare not enter all the way, she was already mortified that she even asked to see it. But she did look in and found the room to be actually quite cozy. The fireplace had dying glowing embers in it, a plaid blanket lay over the bed. There was a small chair in front of the fireplace and a quaint chest against the wall with a clear pitcher and bowl on top of it, and several candle holders next to it. There was a small window above the bed and she thought that it must get terribly dark in the room at night.

She didn't linger long, "Did you restore this room first?" she asked as she turned and walked away from the room and back down the long hall.

"Yes, this was the first room to be worked on." Willie shut the door behind him.

Abigail turned back and looked at Willie ... "And Mr. Collins? Where is his room?" It was a simple enough question, with the most complicated answer.

"Barnabas ya mean?" The sour knot suddenly made an appearance and Willie was taken by complete surprise. He scrambled to find an answer and started to rub his hands together tightly. "His room is downstairs, he is a very private person, so his room is off limits. Anythin else you are welcome to photo, document or whatever."

Willie wanted to quickly change the subject, "We can go back downstairs this way Ms. Chilton, this staircase will lead us back into the kitchen." Willie walked quickly hoping to get back to his work and hoping she would take what she needed and just go. He was tense and he could still feel the after effects of the feeding from the night before. Many times the Vampire would feed on him, but leave him conscious, those feedings were just as painful, however the blood loss was not as severe and he found there were little after effects. But other nights, like last night, the blood loss was extreme, taking him to the point of unconsciousness, the after effects of which he would feel for days. Nausea, fainting and pure exhaustion.

"What is up there?" Abigail looked and pointed at the stairs that led up to the attic.

"The attic. It isn't safe to walk up there. That is off limits as well." Willie had no idea what was up there and he had no intention to find out. As far as he was concerned the attic didn't exist. Deep in his belly he was afraid of the attic, although he was afraid of most things since he met IT.

"Oh, well we don't want to put ourselves in danger." She smiled at him and he didn't return the smile. You already have put yourself in danger, Willie thought to himself.

They descended down the stairs and entered the kitchen and then proceeded back into the great room.

"Is there anythin' else I can get ya Ms. Chilton before I return to my work?" Willie was a mess, he knew it too. He was so nervous and consumed with fear that she would ask him something he couldn't answer. He just wanted her to take the pictures and leave before it was too late, for her and for him.

Willie was standing at the top of the ladder when the walls began to swoon in and out. He glanced down at the floor and the carpet was spinning in a circle. No..NO! not now… please not now! Oh God! The room began to move around him, and she was there and he was horrified. He tried to climb down from the ladder and could hear her call out to him as the floor rushed up to meet him, and then darkness.

Abigail stood in the great room taking close up photos of the detail in the wood carvings. She backed up and in her lens she focused on his face, he had no idea she was shooting him and she blushed once again observing him when he wasn't aware. His eyes were so blue and if the sun hit them just right they sparkled, her stomach flopped again. She snapped a few shots and then through the view finder noticed his face go pale and his eyes grew wide and dark and started to roll behind his lids.

"Willie…WILLIE!" She set her camera on the ground and ran over as Willie fell from the ladder and lay out cold on the floor. "Oh my God, Willie are you okay?" She dropped to her knees next to him, unsure of what to do. She gently reached for his arm and pulled his sleeve up to feel his pulse. As she did a stifled cry escaped her when she saw his wrist. Oh my God…It was red and bruised all the way around, she delicately lifted it and saw there were places where it looked like the skin had been nearly rubbed off. She placed her fingers over it and his pulse was racing. She ran to the kitchen to grab some water and for the first time noticed that there was only a pump over the sink, she grabbed a towel from the counter and soaked the towel, the water smelled stale.

She returned and tenderly wiped his forehead and face when he began to shout, still lying unconscious. She jumped back in shock.

"No NO … Please Don't … PLEASE! Not again! —Make it stop! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! Don't… don't let him in… please don't let him in!" Willie was yelling, still lying on the floor and tears were running from his closed eyes. Abigail looked at him, her eyes wide and scared, her heart sunk to the floor as she watched him. She had no idea what to do.

She crouched on the ground near his head. "Willie… Willie … Wake up… You are having a bad dream Willie… Please wake up…" Her voice was gentle and she rubbed his shoulder as she tried to softly wipe the tears from his cheeks with the wet cloth.

Willie was awoken by the sound of his own voice and let out a yell as he felt her touch him. He pushed himself away from her, his eyes were wild as he searched around the room. He grabbed at his chest almost as if he were checking to see if he was still alive. Abigail sat on the floor looking at him and finally his eyes met hers and his surroundings came screeching back to him. Oh no…no. Willie looked at her and could see the fear in her eyes.

"Ms. Chilton…I-I'm sorry … I-I'm ok… I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to scare ya." Oh my God…why now… Willie tried to stand up but was still a bit light headed and the pain in his side would not give him relief. He winced as he tried to rise and grabbed his side and his legs crumbled beneath him and he hit the floor.

"Willie are you okay? You fell from the ladder, you must have fainted…wait…stay there…let me help you" She stood up and walked over to him, she tried to prop herself under his arm but he pulled away at the touch. He dragged himself to the chair and sat down on it.

"Yeah, I guess so, musta fainted. Again I apologize, I- I'm real sorry." Willie was sitting, staring down at his hands completely embarrassed and afraid. His head was pounding harder than before.

"No need to apologize Willie" She sat down in front of the chair on the floor "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah-Yes. I'm okay really." As he was staring down at his hands his heart jumped into his throat when he noticed that his sleeve was pulled up to his elbow, exposing his wrist and its bruises. He quickly pulled the sleeve down to cover it and when he glanced up at her she was looking directly at him with concern in her eyes. He knew she saw it.

Abigail scooted closer to him and put her hand on his wrist. He instantly pulled it away at the touch. She looked up at him with concern or maybe pity he couldn't tell, but the look nearly killed him. They paused for only a second, looking into each others eyes, but it felt like minutes went by.

Abigail continued to sit on the floor in front of him, she placed her hands in her and lap finally broke the silence.

"Mr. Loomis, I may be overstepping my bounds, but you are certainly not okay. Please… may I ask what happened?"

Willie froze. No words came. He was petrified.