Arrival

Smoke billowed out of the front of the van that was now lying on its side. Wheels spinning in mid air. Willie hung in the back seat and slowly tried to get his bearings. He was still neatly wrapped up and for once was thankful for being bound so tight into that seat. He knew that it saved his life but he was fully aware that his situation was dire. He could see the smoke bellow from the hood and he wondered where David might be.

Willie didn't waste any time and after quickly scanning the van he began to pull and twist to get himself released. He wasn't sure how he was tied into the seat in the first place. He knew that something was tied to the back of the plastic cable tie that was around his waist and it was keeping him tight to the seat. He also had the seat belt tightly fitted around his chest.

The inside of the van was getting warm, or maybe Willie just felt warm because of his struggling, but it was getting harder and harder to breathe the more he struggled. The seat belt held him upright and made it impossible for him to reach his mouth and tear the tape away. He desperately needed a giant breath but he was limited to shortened puffs that made him feel like he was suffocating. Relax Willie. Calm down or you're gonna die right here. Willie sat still, took slow deep breaths, and regained control of his breathing. After he calmed down he pulled hard against the seat and let out a muffled scream when the bolt that was tethering him into the van gave way and he fell into the seat belt harness.

He leaned over as far as he could ignoring the shooting pain in his shoulder. He pulled his hands over as best he could to release the seatbelt. With the press of the little red button he came crashing down to the opposite side of the van.

Keys. Where are the keys. Willie searched through the van looking for the keys to the padlocks that connected his hands and feet. It was an exhausting task trying to maneuver through the van. The keys were nowhere to be found. Willie managed to crawl his way to the front seat with much difficulty. His arm was screaming at him and his hands were still bound to the plastic tie around his waist. Willie knew that he wouldn't get far like this. He managed to grab one of the empty bottles and then slid out the front window and on the muddy ground.

After dragging himself away from the van Willie pulled himself up and sat against a large tree. He brought his head down to his hands and pulled the tape away from his face and took a much needed breath of the fresh night air. The cold sent him into a coughing fit as soon as it hit his lungs.

It was cool outside but not freezing. The moon was shining through the trees and not a sound could be heard. Willie sat quietly listening to the forest and David's words swirled around his head. It's your fault she's dead. I bet she thought you loved her. It's your fault...your fault. Willie was lost in the possibility of it. He was numb and in shock over the what had happened in the last 12 hours. It was the sound of moaning that shook him out of his trance.

David. Shit. He might have the keys. Willie tried to stand and found that he had some give in the ties between his legs. He could walk if he took very small steps, but the glass was still in his feet and after a single step the pain was fresh. Willie dropped back down to the ground and began extracting the broken pieces where he could reach. The moaning continued to get louder.

Willie pulled himself back up and hobbled towards the noises. The image before him was one that he wouldn't forget any time soon. David was lying on the ground and so bloodied that Willie couldn't tell where it was coming from. The keys. Just find the keys. Willie knelt down on the ground clumsily and rolled David over on his back so that he could get to his pockets. He found the source of the blood. A sharp tree branch was lodged into David's belly and his head was bleeding badly. Willie tried not to look and stuck his hands in David's pockets hoping that the keys would be found.

Left jacket pocket, right pocket, inside pocket.

Nothing.

Front left pant pocket, right, back pockets.

Nothing.

"SHIT SHIT! Where are the keys David. WHERE!?" Willie sat on the ground beside his dying kidnapper and twisted and pulled at his bonds. "Where are we David? Where were we going? Who paid you to do this?"

Willie tried to stand up and flinched when David grabbed Willie's arm and pulled him down to the ground. He tried to tell him something but it came out a garbled mess. Willie couldn't make out the word. David tried to say it over and over. Willie dropped closer to him so that he could hear and David took a final breath and exhaled out the word.

"Collinwood"

In that moment David left this world and Willie's world was sent spinning.

"No...oh God no!"

The two men sat at opposite desks. The skinny one chewed on a toothpick and glared at the slightly disheveled James Bond looking man across from him. A cloud of cigarette smoke hung over his head.

"Look it's not my fault you're here. It's yours. Maybe if you would have had a little more self-restraint you wouldn't have been transferred up here. "

"Fuck you...and throw that toothpick out you look like an idiot. I don't plan on being here long. Just bec- hold on. I'm sure it's some horrible catastrophe. Maybe a cow has gone missing. OH! or maybe some kid stole a comic book. How exciting." The detective's voice dripped with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes and picked up the phone.

"Collinsport police..."

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"Look slow down lady...I have no idea what you are saying."

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"When did he go missing?"

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"Chicago?...Wait...you musta called the wrong number. This is Maine sweetheart."

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"I'm sorry what's your name?"

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"Abby Loomis. Look Mrs. Loomis why do ya think he is being brought here?"

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"Ok...yeah I know him. Collins. Do you have any proof at all?" The detective paused and repeated her name several times in his head. Couldn't be. Could it?

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"When?"

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"Wait at the train station. I'll meet you there tomorrow."

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"Look stop cryin' " Joe looked up from the desk and wondered if this was in fact the Abby that he was looking for just before he was transferred out to this shitty little town.

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"Joe...name is Joe. I'll pick you up and bring you to Collinsport. You can fill me in then."

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"Ok good night."

Joe hung up the phone and sat back curiously. He lit another cigarette and pondered the idea that he may have found the mysterious Abby. He remembered that night well, the name sprawled on the ceiling of the small shop. They hadn't had a single lead. Not one. He tried to pursue the case further but found himself rather exposed with one of his paid girlfriends on the captains desk. It was an ugly scene and ultimately got him transferred from Bangor to Collinsport.

"Who was it?"

"Who was who?" Joe asked between drags of a cigarette. He was lost in his own thoughts.

"On the phone? Emergency?"

"Oh...no it was nothin'. Some woman calling about her cheatin' husband." Joe wasn't going to turn this back over to the Bangor police. He was going to take the lead on this and hope this was the Abby he was looking for. He figured if he could crack that case he would get transferred back and out of this shit hole of a town. The waiting would feel like an eternity.

"Why would his ex-employer want to kidnap him? I just don't understand." Erin shook her head and knew there was something that Abigail wasn't telling her.

"Shhhh...It's ringing." Abigail thought she had control of herself but as soon as she heard the voice on the other side of the phone she began to cry again. She tried to explain the situation the best she could without sounding like a crazy lunatic.

After she hung up she saw that Erin was making some tea. Eli was staring at her and pulled her aside to the living room.

"No way. You're not going. I heard you tell them you would meet them. I can't let you go. It's too dangerous Abby. Leave this to the police."

"Eli, Willie is in trouble." Again she began to sob. "I love him Eli. I love him so much. I'm going to go to him, you can't stop me."

"How do you know he'll even be there? Is it the letters? What do they mean?"

"I can't explain that now. I have to go to him. I have to find him."

"I'm going with you then. Okay? We can leave tomorrow afternoon. I have to be in court in the morning but will clear the rest of my calendar for the week."

Abigail gave in. She knew she wouldn't win and she was spent. Now all she wanted was to crawl into bed.

Abigail lay in bed for several hours, weeping and filled with dread. That's it. I can't just sit here anymore. She glanced at the clock and the glowing red showed it was 2:30am. She quietly grabbed a duffel bag and filled it with clothes. She reached into the flower pot on the dresser and pulled out the money that they had been saving for a rainy day vacation and stuffed it into her purse. She then reached under the bed and pulled out a small metal box and pulled out a gun. She stuck it in the duffel bag along with the extra ammo she had and snuck into the living room. Willie had no idea she had it, but the day they returned to Chicago she bought it. She had momentary feelings of regret not telling him about it. Maybe he could of used it against his attacker.

Abigail snuck out of the apartment and headed to the airport. If all went well she would be in Bangor tomorrow. Her first stop would be the bizarre little shop in the Alley. She would go to see Moira.

Angelique held up the mirror and watched Abigail pack up her things and leave her apartment. A face splitting grin crossed her face.

"Looks like we will have two visitors. Just as planned." Angelique turned to join Barnabas in one of the chairs in the great room.

"I wonder where they are. That beast of a man should have been her by now."

Smugly Barnabas looked over at her. "Why don't you look into that magic mirror of yours and see."

Angelique snapped at him. "That is NOT how it works. You may only look in on those whose whereabouts are known."

"Hmmff. Not much good to you then is it."

"Right now YOU'RE not much good to me!" Angelique was angered. "Stand up darling. We are going to head over to the big house. You can introduce me properly to the rest of your family and I have a phone call I need to make."

Willie hobbled back to the tree that he was sitting against and picked up the bottle. He smashed it against the tree and began to use the sharp bottle neck to cut away the ties around his feet. The plastic ties were tight around each ankle and he cut himself several times in his attempt but made no progress in removing the plastic ties. He switched gears and tried to cut away the ones at his wrists and the one around his waist but the angles were all wrong and he wound up with more wounds instead of freedom. Willie let out a scream and threw the bottle neck into the middle of the forest.

Willie resolved to get out to the main road. He began walking into the night, one tiny step at a time. He must have fallen down a hundred times trying to navigate through the forest floor. It was beginning to rain and the moon provided very little in the way of light. With each fall he could feel the exhaustion build. At one point he could no longer find the strength to stand and began to crawl on his belly. He could see a small structure in front of him and that was his new goal.

Hours went by as he dragged himself through the mud. When he finally reached the small structure he pulled himself to his feet and stood in the middle of the small building and stared at a large wooden cross crookedly hanging on the wall.

Willie had found an old church. The back wall had been burned out and the pews were strewn about. Some of the stained glass remained in its original windows but most of it was broken and in pieces on the floor. Willie dropped to his knees and a dark despair hooded him. David's words were back. She's dead. I bet she thought you loved her.

"W-Why? Why her? Why is this happening?" He didn't want to believe that he had lost her. "I can…I can still feel her. She can't be gone. She just can't be."

Willie could no longer hold himself up and lay on his back staring into what was left of the steeple. His body was exhausted and mentally he was a mess. The moon was casting light through the remaining stained glass windows and tears started to roll down his face. He decided that this would probably be where he would die. If she wasn't alive he didn't want to be either. He couldn't take anymore. If David was right he was going to be dragged back to Collinwood. That horror was a fate far worse than death. He lay there and when the blonde angel with the beautiful eyes looked down on him he smiled up at her and whispered.

"I'm ready..." Willie felt a sharp pain in his leg and then passed out.

Angelique looked closely at Willie as hey lay unconscious on the floor of the cell in the basement. Barnabas stood in the doorway wondering what she was going to do next. He didn't realize until now how connected he felt to Willie. It was the kind of connection that he thought a father might have with his son. Given the relationship he had with him he couldn't explain it. He knew that Willie hated him but thought perhaps there was a blood bond that still existed somehow, or maybe it was guilt that drew him close. He was worried about him and scared for him. Barnabas wondered if he would turn on him again if Angelique was successful with her plans. The thought was sickening and at that point he began to wonder if perhaps there was some way to stop her.

"We are lucky that David killed that man." Angelique commented.

"Yes I suppose. Not very luck for the gentleman that was killed however." Barnabas' voice was dark.

"It was pure luck that he was Buzz's brother. Had Carolyn not come into the house shrieking with the news of the murder and the killer being found next to his van we would not have found dear Willie."

"Yes quite a lucky string of events." Barnabas paced in front of the door of the cell. As soon as Carolyn had shared the tragic news Angelique shot a look at Barnabas and they both knew what had happened. They instantly left and headed towards the site of the crash. It was a three hour drive through the night and by the time they reached the site it had mostly been cleaned up. There was never any mention of another man found. Angelique and Barnabas had searched the woods for Willie and when they found the chapel Barnabas was surprised to find the young man there on the ground alive.

Thanks to whatever was contained in the syringe that Angelique administered into Willies thigh he remained unconscious for the entire ride back and even now had not found consciousness.

"Bring that over Barnabas. There in the corner. Barnabas! Are you daydreaming? Pay attention!"

Barnabas walked into the cell and was surprised to find a single heavy chain cemented into the floor on one end and a heavy iron cuff on the other. He didn't remember it being there before.

"Think of it as adding a woman's touch to this room. A redecorating contribution if you will." She let out a small chuckle.

"It hardly seems necessary for the boy." Barnabas held the cuff in his hand and stretched it from the wall. It would reach far enough to allow someone to lie on the small cot but not to move past it and the wearer of this ornament would get nowhere near the door.

"Here..." She tossed a pair of scissors at him and he awkwardly caught them with the sharp end pointing up. "Undo his feet."

Holding the scissors Barnabas briefly pictured himself plunging the scissors deep into her chest. Would it kill her? He thought about this and decided he didn't want to take the chance. Barnabas did as he was instructed and then went to do the same to Willie's hands but Angelique interfered and snatched the scissors back cutting herself in the process.

"No...leave those. For now anyway." Angelique looked at the cut on her hand and watched the blood slowly drip from it. "Did you want a taste?" Angelique held out her hand. Barnabas cringed and turned to look down at Willie. "You will soon." She whispered.

Angelique knelt down noticing that Willie's sweatshirt had been pulled up exposing part of his back. She grabbed the hem of the sweatshirt and pulled the rest of it up and revealed the scars that crossed his back. Barnabas closed his eyes trying not to see it.

"Hmmmm...your handy work I assume? Barnabas you really spared no mercy for this boy." She reached down and caressed Willie's face. "He is handsome isn't he." She ran her fingers through his hair and then pulled a piece of it tight and snipped it off with the scissors. "This should do. Look at him Barnabas. He looks so peaceful. Put the cuff on him and pick him up and put him on the cot. He will wake soon and I imagine he will no longer be at peace. As a matter of fact I imagine he will be quite upset."