Terror
Josette sat on the balcony, sipping a cup of tea. Her hand shook uncontrollably as she set the teacup back onto it's saucer. She nearly dropped the delicate cup. Soon the sun would be sinking in the horizon, and all day long, she had been been trying to think of a means of escape.
As much as she loved Barnabas, with all of her heart and all of her soul, she couldn't stay here with him in his current state. She had to go get help immediately, because surely there was someone who could cure him of his affliction. She missed the gentle man she had married. She hardly even recognized him now that he had become a vampire.
Again she shuddered when thinking of what Barnabas had become. Surely Joshua and Naomi, Barnabas's parents could help her. How could she stay here and become a victim? She was certain that it was only a matter of time before Barnabas would want to turn her, then she, too, would become a creature of the night.
Josette left the balcony and entered her room. Quietly she walked over to the locked door. It was so sad that now Barnabas had resorted to locking her in, just like she was a prisoner. Josette reached up to ring the bell which would alert Ben.
It wasn't long at all before Ben was standing right outside her door. "What do you need, Miss Josette?" the servant inquired.
"I would like to take a nice hot bath before my beloved awakens from his slumber. Would you bring me a bucket of hot water please?" Josette asked as she spoke to Ben through the door.
"Yes, Miss. I shall bring it up right away," Ben promised.
After Ben's footsteps echoed down the hallway, Josette's heart began thumping wildly in her chest. She knew what she must do, but it wouldn't be easy. Ben was a kind, loyal servant, and the last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him.
"I must do this," Josette said as she picked up a heavy vase.
Several minutes later, when Ben walked into the room carrying the pail of water, Josette hit him over the head with the vase. Glass shattered as he crumpled on the floor at her feet. Hot water splashed all over Josette's dress.
"Forgive me, Ben," Josette said as she stepped over his fallen body. She rushed down the staircase, determined to end her imprisonment and get some help for her beloved Barnabas.
After descending the staircase, Josette stepped outside into the dying sunshine. In her haste to leave, she had forgotten to don on her cloak. With brisk steps, she began her walk down the path toward the New House.
Sadly, she didn't get far. The forest was cheerless, the trees looming as dark shadows over Josette's slight form as she walked down the pathway briskly toward the New House. *Naomi can help,* Josette was thinking. *She will find a doctor who can cure Barnabas. Everything can go back the way it used to be, before - before...*
Suddenly her thoughts ended abruptly when a noise came to her attention. She stopped immediately in her tracks. In the near-distance, there was the mournful sound of an animal crying out for it's mate. Were there wolves near Collinwood? In the dying light, Josette wondered if it was safe to continue traveling down the path. What if a wolf attacked her?
Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as the evening sun became no more. She had almost made it to the New House. Almost.
Suddenly, as if from out of no where, Barnabas was standing before her on the path. "So, you thought that you could escape me?" he spoke with an angry scowl. "I think not. You'll never escape me, Josette."
"I wasn't trying to escape you, Barnabas. I was only-."
He cut off her words as he grabbed her in his arms, forcing the breath from her lungs as he crushed her tightly against his chest. "You are not leaving me. You are mine forever."
She couldn't speak as he took her back to their home, holding her in his embrace as he traveled at super-human speed. She felt sick as he set her upon her feet in her bedroom. "You hurt Ben," he said as he looked at her accusingly.
"I didn't mean to hurt Ben. I just -."
"You'll have to be punished," he said sternly. "I warned you, Josette, what would happen if you-."
"What are you going to do to punish me?" she asked fearfully. "You would never hurt me, Barnabas. I know you wouldn't."
"I am a monster now, remember? I am NOT the man you married," he bit out. "Now go lie down upon the bed."
Staring at him in shock and fear, Josette accepted her fate and did as he commanded. She had never been more terrified of her husband than she was at that very moment.
