Secret

Willie lay on the dirt floor in silence. He could hear the scurry of what he could only assume were rats or mice. He sat up and backed himself against the pillar that he was anchored to. The silence was horrific and the darkness petrified him. He stood up and started to walk slowly away from the pillar, holding his hands out in front of him, he didn't know what direction he was going in. He counted his steps as he walked, one foot in front of the other. He made it 7 feet before his belt tightened and tugged around his waist. He pulled, trying to lunge himself forward but it was no use. He yelled at Barnabas from behind the tape and dropped again down to the floor trying to somehow get his belt off. It wasn't long before the piercing pain shot through his head… No…I won't let you in! I WON'T!

The pounding began and it was relentless. Willie focused this time on anger, yelling at Barnabas even though no words were clear. How can you do this? You BASTARD! You can't do this...ya can't! To leave someone down here is inhuman, but I guess that fits ya doesn't it. I didn't do anythin' wrong! I have done everythin' you have told me to do. EVERYTHING! And the truck… NOT MY FAULT! The stupid piece of shit dressing table? Some kid used it as a coloring board, you should be so lucky to have it look as good as it does. And what exactly is the dead girl in the picture going to do with it anyway? The ranting continued and not a single thought of Abigail emerged. When It pulled Its tendrils out from his mind he couldn't help himself but to start to cry.

After a while he sat up and wiped the tears away with his arms. He realized that there would most likely be serious repercussions from the previous outburst. He didn't care. Willie pushed himself once again backwards until he found the pillar and slumped against it, closing his eyes surrounded in the dead silence. As he sat there he could hear the faintest of noises. A thumping noise… He strained to hear it at first but the noise gradually got louder and louder until it was somewhere in the room with him.

Thump ..Thump…Thump .. Thump….

The sound repeated over and over, it sounded like a ball bouncing against the wall and floor. It was a minute or two before a voice broke in.

"You musta been pretty bad huh." Thump…Thump….

Willie sat frozen, his eyes wide open looking into nothingness.

"Whatever you did he must be pretty mad at you…" It was a little girl's voice.

Thump..Thump…Thump..Thump….

"He's not nice when he's mad." Tears of pure terror began to spill down Willie's cheeks and muffled sobs began as he strained to see anything other than darkness.

"Awe mister don't cry…it's gonna be alright…grownups ain't supposed ta cry…" The bouncing stopped.

Willie stood up against the pillar. He began to frantically rub his hands against the cement in hopes to break though the tape and get them free. Come on… COME ON!

"You won't get free until he wants you to..that's the way it works in this house. You better just do what he says…" Willie turned and looked over his shoulder into the pitch black. The little girl didn't say another word. Willie slid down the pillar bringing his knees up to his chest and his hands up to his face desperately trying to hold on.

Abigail sat at the table going through all the paperwork that she needed to turn in to keep the restoration projects going. She didn't know if she was leaving forever, but she was smart enough to know that she should leave for a while. It broke her heart to leave Willie there but deep down she knew he was right, she was no match for It. She decided to turn things in tomorrow to the historical society and take a leave of absence.

Abigail climbed into bed and she had dreams of her and Willie together in a tiny little apartment somewhere together in a big city, just the two of them. She thought of waking up to him in the mornings and brushing her fingers through his hair watching him finally sleep without nightmares. These dreams carried her through the morning and when she woke the smile on her face faded as the reality came spinning into focus. The memory of the dreams faded. She knew she would leave today and didn't know when she would see him again so she decided to pack up her things and before she would catch the train to the airport she would stop and say goodbye. She had the new knowledge of what Barnabas was and she knew he would not be there during the day. Her assumptions led her to believe that he was in fact in the basement.

There were random sparks of bravery that would rush through her as she packed. Thoughts of breaking into the basement and just kill It would spark but the sparks went out as quick as they came. She was worried about endangering Willie in any way, and she was still afraid of the fact that Willie was in some way under Its control and she didn't know to what extent.

Abigail grabbed her suitcases as she walked out and from the corner of her eye noticed the flashlight on the counter, she grabbed it and stuck it in her pocket.

After running her final errands it was almost noon, a little later than she expected, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave without seeing him one more time so she headed to the old house.

The vampire drove hard into Willies mind again and Willie kept his thoughts of Abigail at bay. He focused this time on the strange visit from the little girl. Who is the little girl? Who is It? She knows you…She knows all about you! Who-who is she? Was she yours? Your daughter maybe? Did you kill her? I bet you killed that poor girl. Is that how she knows? Did she belong to Josette? Who is she? She was here! Willie continued on this topic until it again released him.

Willie lay on the ground and fell asleep, but never for more than thirty minutes or an hour. Into the night and morning it interrupted him burrowing deep into his head. He had somehow managed to keep her from his thoughts with the exception of the very last invasion. The unwanted visitor tunneled in and Willie thought of Abigail. Not of what she knew, but of how he felt about her. Please Barnabas…I love her. I know you know what it is like to love someone. I love her in the way you love Josette. You loved her and she was taken away from you. You never got the chance. All I want is the chance to be with her. You know how it feels… I don't want it taken away again. Please…please. I will continue to work for you. I'll do whatever you ask, you can continue to feed off me…just let me be with her. This was a topic that apparently was not one It wanted to hear and It retreated quickly from his mind.

Willie pulled himself up again and just sat in the middle of the floor, his bound hands hanging in his lap. He had no idea how long he had been there or if it were day or night.

Abigail pulled up to the old house, much of the snow had gone but the sky was dark and cloudy. It was unseasonably warm and it began to rain. She got out of the car and walked to the porch, knocking and getting no response. Willie's truck was parked in the driveway so she knew he was there. She banged harder and harder when she was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Ain't no one gonna answer."

Abigail spun around to find a little girl standing in the rain. She was oddly dressed in old clothes and Abigail swore she had seen the dress before.

"Hi there." Abigail walked down towards her, the rain falling now on both of them. "Honey are you lost? Do you live around here?"

The little girl shook her head as if disappointed in Abigail.

"No one is gonna answer. He got in trouble. My brother must be real mad at him."

Abigail turned her head confused… "Honey who…who got in trouble?"

"The man who fixed my doll house. He has the blonde hair."

Abigail looked hard at her dress and suddenly recognized it from one of the dresses she looked at in the attic. My brother?...the diary… shit…Sara! She thought to herself how absurd it was that she was actually talking to a ghost, but she then realized she was also running from a vampire. Her idea of what is real or possible had drastically changed in the course of the last few weeks.

"Honey… Sara… do you know where the man is? Can you show me where he is?"

"He is soooo sad… he was crying… I tried to tell him he would be ok but I don't think he believed me."

Abigail swallowed back a sob and her heart twinged; she tried not to panic. She didn't want to frighten the child.

"Honey I can make him feel better. Where is he? Where can I find him?" Abigail was now kneeling down in front of the girl, the rain soaking into her clothes.

"He's under the house, but you can't get in that way. It's always locked. You have to go the secret way."

"A secret way? Ohh that sounds like fun. Can you show me that way? I won't tell anyone."

The little girl waved her hand to Abigail and walked towards the path that led down the cliff to the beach. Abigail quickly followed the little girl down the path to the beach and through the rocks until they reached what seemed like a dead end. Sara pulled away the vines and exposed a small opening in the cliff.

"You can get in here. Don't tell my brother I told you…he would be mad. I don't like it when he is mad."

Abigail walked up to the opening and then turned as she spoke. "No honey…I won't tell…our secret I prom…."

When she turned the girl was gone.

Abigail walked into the opening and it was pitch black. She was glad she grabbed the flashlight. Please let him be ok…oh Willie… I'm coming…

She walked through a dark tunnel and shined her flashlight against the walls. A green film covered them and they were wet to the touch. The tunnel was dark and to her dismay the flashlight only brought a small portion of the space into view. She continued to walk shining the light at the ground and it was dirt, reddish in color. As the beam hit the corners she could see rats scurry to get back and disappear into the darkness. She was frightened walking through there and then she was met with a fork in the tunnel. She had no idea what way to go. She shined the light down both openings but they both looked the same; endless and dark.

She wandered the tunnels for a lifetime and she started to panic. She shined the flashlight on her watch and it was a little after one. She had been walking aimlessly around for almost an hour and a half; panic set in.

Abigail rushed down another connecting tunnel and it led to what looked like a cavernous room. She shined the flashlight around the walls, the room was huge and it had multiple cement pillars throughout it. Unfortunately the flashlight lit only where it hit the wall or the floor and the rest of the room disappeared into the pitch dark. She shined the flashlight up to the ceiling and it was high and arched, thick cobwebs covering almost every inch of it. She then shined the light against one of the pillars and saw a rope wrapped around it. What the hell? She slowly followed the rope from the pillar across the floor until the light landed on a dark figure balled up on the ground. She started to shake as she walked closer and in an instant she recognized his jacket.

"Willie? Oh My God Willie!?"

Willie slowly opened his eyes and as her face came into focus his eyes grew wide and he scurried to sit up shaking his head. No NO !

With that the shooting pain came back. NO!

"Willie… what did he do to you? He's a monster…" She dropped down to her knees and pulled the tape from his mouth. She wiped the tears from his face with her hands. "Oh Willie…"

Willie pulled his hands up pleading with her to leave. Her face winced when she saw the bindings.

"Abigail…Oh God you have to leave…run…now! You need to go. He's in my thoughts Abby…right now. He knows you are here. Shit! He knows you know…" Willie couldn't stop himself and the thoughts started to flow.

"I'm so sorry… my God leave me please! I'll be okay… run! NOW! You don't have much time!"

Abigail's heart started to pound. "I-I can't! I can't leave you!" Abigail was grabbing onto his coat and tenderly stroking his face. "I can't leave you like this…how can I possibly leave?" She then pulled at the tape around his hands and frantically ripped it off.

Willie stood up and motioned her to go. "Just…Just Go Abby!"

"No I can't"

"P-PLEASE! Abby I'm begging you!" Willie gently pushed her away from him. "Go! NOW!"

Abigail backed up holding the flashlight on him as she backed down the tunnel. "Willie!" She was crying as she left him.

"Go Abby. It's okay. I'll be okay… Please…go as fast as you can."

"Willie…I love you so much…I'm so sorry…I'll come back. I swear I'll be back!" With that she ran as fast as she could down the tunnel. She found her way out quicker than her way in and when she hit the opening to the beach the rain was whipping around and stung when it hit her face. She didn't have much time…