DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING YOU RECOGNIZE FROM THE MOVIE.
Chapter Ten: The True Face of Evil and the Breaking of a Curse
All eyes went to me for some sort of explanation.
"What just happened?" Dottie asked. I sighed. "Molly?"
"You remember those scars I told you about... and you've seen, Rudolph?" I began to explain. They both nodded. "Ninety-percent of them are from her mother."
Dottie's eyes widened in horror.
"Since Chris was 7, her mother's been constantly tormenting her, constantly trying to think of new ways to remove her from the family picture, to kill her," I continued, unable to look at them as I continued. "Her Dad remained oblivious to the whole thing until a month ago. Her mother gave him a choice, her or his daughter... That's when we met you guys, Dottie. It was perfect timing, really. When Chris learned of the decision thrust upon her father, she approached her father with your offer to bring us with you, here. Seeing a way out of his dreadful decision, he agreed. Chris left only with his promise that he would make sure Carla would never suffer the same fate as she had... Obviously, she now feels that he lied. I'm certain I'm not the only one that saw the Mask slide over her face as this meeting progressed, how she supressed her emotions. I'll risk a small guess that she also feels the sting of a father's betrayal, realizing now (in a twisted sort of way) that he'd made his decision a month ago. No matter what happened, he would remain with his faulty wife, no matter who got hurt in the meantime."
I shook my head sadly.
"It's gonna be a while before she feels safe enough to let that mask down again," I warned, looking right at Rudolph. "While it still remains, she won't hesitate to push everyone around her away, just to ensure her own safety... and Carla's too."
I looked at Dottie and Bob.
"You'll find her behavior will change drastically as well," I warned them. "She'll seem to be on autopilot at first, then go into a phase of almost cruel intentions. Only after that has passed and she allows herself to feel her sorrow and face her fears, will that mask finally come back down. She had it once before. It took 9 years for her to put it down."
I shook my head again.
"I hope it doesn't take near as long this time around," I said sadly, then looked up as Chris and Carla came downstairs. Carla was dragging her sister to the table excitedly, Chris watching her with an amused smile.
"Can I play Phase 10, too?" she asked happily. The family seemed to get a sort of whiplash from the moodswings around them. I chuckled.
"We'll deal you in," I told her, beginning to deal. Carla happily plopped down in a chair, pulling Chris down next to her. She then looked around the table, her eyes bright again.
"So... who's who?" she asked. Freda smiled.
"I'm Freda Sack-Ville Bagg and this is my family," she answered in her gentle tone. Carla smiled brightly at her. "This is my husband, Frederick, my sons, Rudolph and Gregory, and my daughter, Anna."
Carla's eyes lit up.
"My aunt's name is Anna!" she said happily. Anna smiled warmly at her.
"I'm Dottie and this is my husband, Bob," the introductions continued. "This is our son, Tony. As long as you remain with us, Bob and I will gladly act as your Mom and Dad, though we'll understand if you can't call us that."
Carla smiled at them and nodded, then looked at her hand.
"Two sets of three, right?" she asked no one in particular.
"Yep," I answered, looking at my own hand. Chris gave a soft smirk as we all took turns. When it got to Carla's turn, she laid down her hand, showing that she'd been dealt six wilds, two tens, and two ones. She then discarded the card she'd drawn.
"Count 'em!" she cheered. The rest of the family looked at her in disbelief. I laughed, along with Chris.
"Did we mention we used to play this game with grams all the time back home?" Chris asked with a grin. "Carla's the Champ. Luck of the draw just seems to favor her..."
They all shook their heads as it was Chris's turn to deal. As the game went on, you watched the mask Chris had put on come down a little more with each hand, though, whenever someone tried to get close to her or asked her what was on her mind, it'd come back up. It was only after the third game that Carla began to yawn.
"I think it's time to turn in for the night," Chris said, her voice gentle and filled with love for her younger sister. Carla nodded up at her, her eyes obviously very tired. Chris picked Carla up in her arms with a smile and carried her upstairs. Everyone called their goodnights and the humans all split up to go to their own beds. In a few moments, Chris, Tony, and I were all back downstairs ready to head to the cliffs. I sighed as I saw that Chris's mask was still up, hiding her face from everyone. Gregory began to make the call once we arrived, much to the pleasure of his father. Once all the vampires had gathered, my siblings and I stood near Rudolph and family. We were, thankfully, left alone.
"Friends and family, for over 300 years we have searched endlessly," Frederick began. "And now..."
He held up his hand with the stone.
"The Stone of Attamon is ours!" he finished. All of them gave sounds of pleasure, relief, and some, joy. After a while, Frederick turned to the moon and held up the stone.
"Abovo... in toto... Mel Desperandum... Sine Die..." he said. Then, just as Tony remembered it, a red beam of light came from the moon, connecting to the stone in Frederick's hand. He seemed to give a sigh of relief... Then...
"VAMPIRES!" came a familliar roar. We all turned to see Rookery approaching with his glowing cross. He ran forward and the vampires scattered.
"CHRIS!" I screamed. "THE CEREMONY!"
Chris was in action in a milisecond. She ran forward and planted a firm right hook into Rookery's cheek, causing him to stumble back. Then she whipped around and landed a powerful kick to the side of his head. As he stumbled more, completely disoriented, she reached forward and gripped his head with her hands.
"This is the day you join your family," she said coldly, then gave a sharp twist. Everyone heard the snap and several people leapt away from her, horror being their primary emotion. Her emotionless mask was fully in place as she then shoved Rookery's lifeless body over the cliff and into the sea. She then looked back at Frederick.
"The ceremony?" she said in a suggesting tone. Frederick recovered and held the stone up again. The light returned to him. All the vampires crowded around again as a red mist rose from the ground. After a moment, Chris ran to Rudolph, into his waiting arms.
"I don't want to say goodbye so soon..." she whispered, her mask coming down for just a moment, letting him see all of her raging emotions. Joy (for him and his family), rage (at being denied what she desired yet again), hurt (at losing what she loved), and love (the love she held only for him). He caressed her face.
"Then don't," he said simply. "I'll find you again, you have my word."
She nodded, tears leaking from her eyes. Rudolph then kissed her softly, holding her to him... and then he was gone. Chris cried for a few more minutes... then her mask came back up again.
"Come," she said, walking back to us. "There's nothing more we can do here."
With one last look at where our friends once stood, we all turned and went home again.