Chapter 20
"Wake up Quentin. Wake up Quentin. Wake up Quentin. That's a good boy," Quentin heard this voice calling to him. He started opening his eyes. His head hurt and his vision was a little blurry, but soon corrected itself. All he could see was darkness, and a few seconds later the same yellow-red eyes that Quentin had seen before going unconscious appeared before him. Quentin felt something brush by him, but couldn't see it in the darkness. Suddenly, torches lit up all around him, illuminating a room that he was in. The light blurred Quentin's vision once again, and when his eyes got used to the light, he looked around. He was in a stone wall room, and the torches hung every few feet around the room, the fire blazing. "Can you see Quentin? Is everything better?"
A figure appeared before Quentin. It was a man, with long silky black hair that hung to his shoulders. The man seemed to be shrouded in black, as he was wearing all black clothes and his eyes were black as well. His skin was very pale, and his long gangly fingers, as was the rest of his body, came up and slapped Quentin lightly on the face. "Shackles tight enough?" the man asked Quentin. Quentin didn't say anything. It seemed as if he had forgotten how to form words. He was trying to talk, but the message was getting lost somewhere between his brain and his mouth. "Good."
The man circled Quentin before stopped once again in front of him. "I trust you recognize my servants?" the man asked Quentin, as demons emerged from thin air. Quentin recognized them as the things following him in Georgia, and when he came back to Collinsport. They are the things that captured him. "Now Quentin, I know what you're thinking, and you are right. I am the devil. The being that idiot Andron warned you about. It's to bad about him you know."
Quentin tried to say something but his mouth wouldn't move. "Would you like to speak? Do you promise not to say anything out of line? Okay," the Devil waved his hand and Quentin could finally speak. "You caused Andron to disappear! You are nothing but a cowardly asshole!" "Now Quentin, you promised," the devil waved his hand and Quentin could no longer speak. "By the way, you can address me as Lucifer, Diabolis, or some people like to call me Joe when they plead with me, though I don't know why," He smirked. "I bet you're wondering why I brought you here, are you not? Don't bother answering. I brought you here because I can use you now! You've made it possible for me to use you to bring myself into being in the earth realm! You don't know how long I have been waiting for that to happen. Over thousands of years, I knew you were coming, and that I had to lead you the right way and now you've done it!" Lucifer circled Quentin again, and while passing behind him he waved his hand so Quentin could speak once again. "I didn't do anything! I stopped before I killed John!" "That is true, but you did nearly kill him, which is a sin. Attempted murder is a sin Quentin, you should know that." "I still say you're an asshole," Quentin scowled at Lucifer. "Well, that's you're opinion. But enough small talk. What I really need from you right now is for you to tell me how far you went before stopping with John." Lucifer paced the floor in front of Quentin and when he stopped and looked at Quentin, Quentin was shocked. "This is but one of many tricks," Lucifer said, looking like the beaten John Crosic.
"So this is how far you went?" He held out a hand in which a mirror appeared. He held it up and looked at the reflection. "Not bad. Not bad at all. The face is messed up, but nothing surgery won't fix. You came this close!" Lucifer held out his thumb and forefinger, leaving a gap about a centimeter in between. "Why did you stop?" "I wanted Maggie to have a happy life, I wanted to escape you," Quentin answered, though he really hadn't said it. "Yes, I wanted to escape you," Lucifer said, now looking like Quentin and Quentin looking like the Devil had when he first appeared. "I wanted to escape you, to live a normal life that I knew wasn't possible; to spend eternity in misery because I am a self-righteous prick!" Lucifer changed into the long black-haired man he first appeared in, and Quentin changed back into himself. "Look at you Quentin. You are a pitiful being. After all these years of killing, of hurting, of sinning! you decide that you want to be the hero and stop yourself, to give someone else happiness so that you can suffer? What about me Quentin, what about me? Should I have to suffer because you want to be a softy? I mean really. SUCK IT UP!" Lucifer screamed and the echo pounded in Quentin's ears. "You rely on people to commit sins so that you can return? How pitiful is that? Why don't you with your almighty power just come back by yourself?" "Must you ask these ignorant questions? You are a smart man, figure it out. Someone way up there," he points to the ceiling, "WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I NEVER GOT OUT AGAIN! ISN'T THAT RIGHT?" the Devil screamed, the echo again ringing in Quentin's ear. "But you see, I found a loop hole. I need but a number of sins to be collected and I am able to return. That is why I sent Linda up there. LINDA!?!"
A few seconds went by with nothing happening. Then, a cloud of dust started to form and from the dust a shape formed. When the dust settled, Quentin could see it was the woman from the portrait! Maggie's mother! "Hello there Quentin. I was quite disappointed to find out that you melted like ice cream on a summer day, halfway through your deed. I thought I did everything I cou-" "Well obviously you didn't do everything, or we wouldn't all be here now, and I would be up there!" Lucifer interrupted her. "Now, there is a pressing issue at hand. How are we going to make John die so that I may collect my sin? Linda, go up there now and stand in the middle of the road leading to the hospital. Maggie and John have just turned onto it in the ambulance. NOW GO!" Lucifer cried. Linda disappeared with a tornado of dust.
Appearing right in the middle of the road, Linda could see the flashing lights far off in the distance. He huffed herself up and a bit of blood appeared on her face. Some running from her mouth, some from her nose. Cuts split open, and her clothes transformed into ripped shreds of a dress. The ambulance approached, and the driver screamed and swerved to the right a bit. 'What am I doing?' Linda thought. She realized what she had to do, and promptly disappeared before the driver completely ran off the road.
Down in Hell, Quentin's shackles broke loose and his arms fell to the ground. "NO! What is happening! NO! Linda has betrayed me! LINDA!!!! LINDA!!!!!! LINDA!!!!" Lucifer screamed as beams of red light started streaming out of him. Quentin did not where to go, there didn't seem to be a door leading out of wherever he was. Linda appeared and looked at Quentin. "Go! Get out of here!" she pointed to the right and a door appeared. Quentin didn't hesitate, he ran over to it and opened it. "NO! I will not loose this battle!" Lucifer looked over at the door Quentin opened and it slammed shut, nearly catching Quentin's hand in it.
Lucifer looked around, and made all the torches fall to the ground, which was now freshly littered with debris, easily burned. One torch fell onto a pile of hay, another on a pile of wood, and another on leaves. "You will not escape! You shall not prevent me from my evident goal!" "Yes, we shall," came a voice from Linda's mouth that was not hers. The persona of Linda disappeared and Andron formed. "You will not escape the bowels of hell to which you are so easily confined! It is not meant to be, I will not let you!" Andron said in a voice not his own. Andron was wearing a red robe that laid limply over his body, and as he took a few steps forward towards Lucifer, is drifted in the air. He raised his right hand, and made the Devil fly through the air and hit a wall. With the snap of his fingers, the fires that were blazing about were put out.
"Who do you think you are? Challenging me?" Lucifer stood up, not fazed by flying into the wall. "You know as well as I do who I am," said Andron, but his voice wasn't his own, it was a woman's. "Quentin, you may leave now." "But I must stay and hel—"Quentin tried to finish but was immediately cut off by Andron, who waved his hand and made Quentin disappear. Quentin reappeared in the drawing room of Collinwood. "Again I ask who you are," Lucifer said walking towards Andron. "Halt your movement," Andron held up a hand and stopped the Devil in his tracks. "You have known me for many years, and I was your humble servant before I pledged to do good to make up for my deeds," Andron took a step towards Lucifer and with the step, changed into Angelique. "I should have known it was you. You were never that loyal to me, love always got in the way somehow or the other." "Yes, you should have known me. Now it is my job to put you in your place. You have tried to return for years, but I will prevent it," said Angelique, standing in her white flowing gown that made her look angelic. "And what powers do you hold that I've not given you? You say you will defeat me, but you shant and we both know it." "I told you, I work for someone else now to make up for my deeds. Use your brain, have you ever hesitated to use it before? I am now employed by your only rival, and it is by his power that I shall defeat you." "So, you've gone to the other side. Not unlike you. But really, you still haven't learned that talking is a waste of time." Lucifer held up his right arm and Angelique slowly began rising from the ground. When she was suspended in mid air, he used his magic to throw her across the room and towards a wall.
As she was flying, she spread both arms out to her full wingspan, and slowed herself. Bringing her palms together and to her chest, Angelique concentrated for a moment, and then flung a huge ball of white at Lucifer. It hit him and flung him back into a wall, and when he fell to the ground, an indentation was left in the wall. Angelique reached her hands towards the sky and then quickly threw them back down again, causing the ceiling to fall on him, heavy rocks and boards crushing his body.
Floating over to the pile of rubble, Angelique looked down. "I told you I would win, for no longer am I one of your minions, I am now a God."
Suddenly, the rubble shot out in all directions, and a bloodied Lucifer rose from the ground and floated inches from the floor. He shot at Angelique, and they flew quickly across the room, and into and through the wall at the opposite end, into another empty space. Angelique fell to the floor from the attack, while Lucifer remained upright. He bent down and grabbed her by the neck, and threw her into another wall. She hit it and hard, and fell limply to the ground. He motioned with one of his hands for her body to float over in front of him, and it did so. When it came to rest, Lucifer moved his right arm up and down, and Angelique's body went from floor to ceiling, back and forth, hitting each level hard before falling or rising to the opposite, and then doing it again. Once this had gone on for about five minutes, he threw her body over into the left wall, and she merely hit it and fell to the floor.
Chapter 21
Quentin paced the drawing room at Collinwood, wondering what was happening in Hell. He would sit down to ponder, then get up and start pacing around the room once again. Quentin went over to the bar and poured himself a drink, just water, hoping that it would act like brandy or one other of his favorites and calm his nerves.
Carolyn entered the drawing room without noticing Quentin, as the bar was behind the right door entering the room. She sat on the couch, and Quentin turned around, glass in hand and walked towards her. "Hello Carolyn," he said, sitting down in a chair across from her. "Oh, Quentin, you startled me. What is that you are drinking?" she asked, thumbing through a file she had brought with her into the room. "Sorry. It is only water. Don't think I've gone back to my usual drinking habits again, because I haven't and never will. What is that you have there?" Quentin asked, sipping his water. "I had a psychic do a paranormal investigation on our property to see why all of the weird happenings with supernatural creatures and time warps, are always happening on the grounds of our estate. This file holds all the information she found, and what her conclusion is." "And what kind of things does she say cause the paranormal activities in our house?" Quentin asked, setting his glass down on a table to the side of his chair.
"Well, I had her come into the house at different points during the year. The first time she came was on Mother's birthday, in March. Then on Uncle Rogers birthday, in May. Then she came on my birthday in August, and then once again on Halloween, of course. She spent the whole day in the house each time, starting at 12 midnight, and ending at 12 midnight, each time she came. While she was here, she documented any arguments that went on in the house, anything that happened out of order, and anything that went wrong in plans that any one of us had." "And did she find anything?" Quentin asked, picking up his drink and sipping it. "Well, yes, she did," Carolyn said flipping through a few pages until she found one she wanted to read from. "On Mother's birthday, the first day she was here, there was an argument between David and Angelique, Angelique and me, and you will remember her argument with you?" "No, actually I don't." "Well, anyway, she noted all of those. Then, on Uncle Rogers birthday, she noted that a picture in the west wing fell from the wall, that there was a heavy thunderstorm, and that there was a fight between you and I," Carolyn paused and looked through a few pages for the next set of highlighted notes. "Then, on my birthday, she noted that it was miserable for me, and that I had to help advise David on a business deal that went awry," Carolyn paused to flip to the page to find out what happened on Halloween. "Then, when she came back on Halloween, she noted nothing but quiet, and peace for once in the house." "So what does that mean?" Quentin asked, putting his water glass down after half emptying it.
"Well, she did some research to try and find out why things would happen that would upset the whole household one everyday but Halloween, and after laboring for long hours, according to the psychic, she found the answer. She said that our house, Collinwood, is situated on top of what is called..." Carolyn trailed off as she once again flipped through a few pages and then found what she was looking for, "...what is called a 'Hellmouth'. Basically, Collinwood sits on one of a few mouths of hell. There is another in California, and Ohio. After taking a few readings with her psychic abilities throughout the house, she found that the mouth of hell is right under this room. That is why everything happens on the estate. The Hellmouth acts as a magnet to draw all things evil here. She said she was surprised that we weren't all dead yet, and that the house was still standing." "When did you have this study done?" Quentin asked, draining his glass to be a little less than a quarter full. "About a year ago. I think it is interesting that this room sits over the mouth of hell. Its kind of scary to." "Yes, scary indeed," Quentin said. He pondered the thought, and took a sip of his drink.
Angelique lay limply on the cold stone floor. Lucifer stood over her, smiling an evil smile. "I told you, you would loose my dear, and so you have. It's a pity you couldn't have put up more of a fight, but, since you didn't, I must go now, I believe Quentin is just about to open up a portal for me to walk back into the world through." Lucifer walked over to the right wall and stood, waiting.
Behind him, Angelique woke up. She tried to get up, but couldn't, she hurt to bad. There was blood running from her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. She wasn't going to live through this, though she was supposed to be an immortal. Could it be possible that she to had to become mortal to fight Lucifer? She slowly floated herself upright, and floated a few inches off the ground, blood dripping all around her. "You....haven't......won......yet......" she said.
"So, you are still alive, begging for more pain?" Lucifer turned around. "Not begging, giving," Angelique uttered as she threw a powerful fire ball at the Devil, which consumed him in its white glory, and nipped at his black clothes. Angelique floated towards him. "You shall loose, as I said before," Angelique said in barely more than a whisper. "Not so....long as......Quentin does what......he needs to," Lucifer said through gritted teeth. This white fire was painful, and draining him of his power. "Go ahead Quentin, drain the glass," Lucifer said.
Back above ground, inside of Collinwood in the drawing room, Quentin downed the rest of the beverage in his glass.
"Good boy," uttered the Devil. Suddenly, the white fire was consumed in red, and brilliant orange red beams shot from the tips of Lucifer's fingers. His eyes turned bright red, and his hair a deep velvet crimson color. "See....(gasp)...I told you I would...(gasp)..win," he said. He couldn't breath, but he wasn't dying. He was ascending to his earthly form.
Angelique rushed towards him through the air and slammed him into the wall. She kissed him, passing her power of goodness into him, attempting to stop him from making it to the earth realm.
He pushed her away after a minute, and his body was engulfed in a bright red color. "Thank you for that (gasp) burst of energy. I rea(gasp) really needed that." His eyes met with hers, and great red beams shot from his eyes and went right through her, taking her white glow and bringing it back to him. Angelique fell from the air to the floor, quickly. As the bright red filled the room, Angelique was blinded, and then fell unconscious.
In the drawing room at Collinwood, Quentin went over to the bar and set his glass on it. The room began to shake violently, and Carolyn dropped the files out of her lap. Pictures fell from the wall, vases from tables, lamps fell to the floor as well. Chairs were over turned by the sheer strength of the shaking, and the bay windows as well as all the windows in the house shook. Some of them broke out and glass littered the ground.
Carolyn ran over to Quentin, who held her protectively in his arms. The floor in the center of the room began to split open, and a great circular hole formed. It began a whirlpool, sucking everything in the room into it, and releasing unimaginable heat. A bright red glow filled the room, and Lucifer slowly rose out of the whirlpool, his body still engulfed in the same red color it had been before.
Lucifer's hands were outstretched to the sky, and the great red beams exiting from his finger tips cut through the upper levels of the great house, and right up into the sky. Red light filled the sky, and the ground around Collinwood, taking over the whole town of Collinsport in a matter of seconds. Great laughter echoed throughout the town, and people in restaurants and stores ran from them into the streets, and hid in dark shadows of the town.
As soon as the great red beams of light hit anything, that thing was immediately vaporized. Buildings fell down around their occupants, killing them in an instant. People flooding into the streets were turned to dust when the light hit them. The grounds of the Collins Estate were bare now, and the Old House had been turned to nothing but a large pile of ashes.
As Lucifer's magic spread throughout the town, vaporizing everything in its way, it approached the edges of the town. The magic hit Collinsports boundaries, and stopped abruptly. There seemed to be some kind of magic wall preventing the magic of the devil from going outside of the town and destroying the whole world. Lucifer hadn't time to deal with this. He stretched out his arms further, and forced more power from his finger tips and palms. This barrier surely would be no match for him. As the magic was pouring out of him, it was just as quickly absorbed into the protective walls. The walls bent outwards as more power was forced against them, and ripped it a few places, but overall held together.
Minutes later, Lucifer had exhausted his power, and the barrier was still standing. It glistened white in the light protruding from the red in the sky. Lucifer tried to force more power out of his body, but it wouldn't come. The Hellmouth began to swirl creating a suction pool that was sucking everything down into it. As Lucifer began to get sucked down into it, he screamed and howled in pain. "NOOO!!!!" he would yell out. He had to do something, something to escape, but what?
Balling up in a cat-like sleeping position, the Devil conserved his energies. After a few seconds, he reached his arms out into the sky once more, his fists tightly balled at the end, in a Superman flying position. He grunted and yelled as he tried to force himself out of the Hellmouth, and with a sudden burst of energy, he broke free and flew off into the sky, breaking through the ceiling of Collinwood.
With Lucifer's great exit, there came an enormous rumbling, much worse than any earthquake that could ever hit any place on earth. The ground began to shake violently, and Collinwood began to tumble. The great beams of the ceiling fell to the floor, all around Quentin and Carolyn, who were now laying unconsciously on the floor, having fainted from fear. The ceiling fell onto the walls, which could barely support its massive weight. The tower room imploded within itself and was laying in pieces on the ground within a matter of seconds.
The walls soon crumbled under the immense weight of the ceiling, and Collinwood fell completely to the ground, the once great mansion now reduced to nothing more than a pile of rubble. The earth began to sink under the weight of the houses rubble, and the rubble with it. As the earth sank, the rubble went with it, and when it was all finished half the pile of rubble lay six feet into the ground, while the other half of the pile remain on two feet above the surface.
Collinsport, once a bustling town, was now nothing more than a great black spot on the surface of the earth, and Collinwood, once a great house a top a cliff so massive that it could scare the light stomached away, was now nothing more than a small pile of rubble protruding from the extremely watered down visage of the rolling bump the great cliff had now become.
Few spots outside the great barriers of Collinsport had been hurt. Spots of the state of New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and of course Maine, had been hit, the most areas-five others- in Maine. The other states only sustained minimal damage, with buildings tumbling to the ground, and great craters forming where the earth broke. Only one other town in Maine had been hit as hard as Collinsport, and that was Rockford, in which the main village had been leveled with one beam of the devil's red magic.
Chapter 22 Conclusion
"Quentin have you seen my coat?" "Yes, it's in here honey," Quentin said, getting up from his chair and picking the coat up from laying over the one opposite him. "Oh, thank god! I've been looking for that coat everywhere in this house!" said a brown-haired woman as she entered. She was strikingly beautiful, with blue eyes, full luscious lips, and he hair made a statement of its own as she walked and the wind blew through it. "I wondered if you would be needing this. It is quite chilly outside." Quentin handed his wife the jacket and kissed her lightly on the cheek, smiling. "Yes, it is chilly outside, and no doubt will be more so on the beach. Why do you want to walk along the beach in December anyway?" She put the coat on and buttoned it up. "It was something I used to do when I was a boy in Maine," he told her, ushering her out of the room and down the hall to the front door. It hurt to think about Collinwood, and he didn't like to dredge up the memories of what had happened. His life hadn't been pleasant there, as it was now. "Are you ready then?" she asked. "Yes, I'm ready, Kathleen Collins," he said, opening the door for her to go out. He grabbed his coat and closed the door behind him.
Kathleen gave him a look that said 'what?'. "I just want to get used to hearing your name that way. After all, you are my wife now, and Kathleen Collins has a certain ring to it that lets it roll right off your tongue." Quentin put his arm around her as they walked down the path. "Yes, I suppose you are right. Kathleen Collins. I rather like the ring to it as well." She put her arm around him, and laid her head on his shoulder as they walked.
Carolyn and Quentin hadn't escaped from the pile of rubble easily. Quentin woke first, and could hardly move. They were enclosed in a very small space, with enough air to last them maybe a half hour. Quentin had no idea where he was at first, and he tried to wake Carolyn up, but she wouldn't wake.
Quentin began to get worried, wondering where they were and what had happened. He remember the Devil coming up through the Hellmouth, but he didn't remember much after that. He looked around and spotted a broken up painting and a smashed lamp that he recognized as being in Collinwood. He also noticed that carvings on the wood laying around them, and after taking a while to put two and two together, he figured out that Collinwood had collapsed over top of them. He didn't know how deep under the rubble he and Carolyn were, but he knew he had to get out and fast.
Quentin was afraid to move anything, for fear that the whole pile may collapse on top of the two of them, killing them. He looked over as Carolyn started to wake up. She screamed loudly, and Quentin reached over and set a hand on her shoulder, to calm her down.
"Where are we?" she asked, still breathing heavily. "I think Collinwood collapsed on top of us," Quentin said. He was remarkably calm, though he didn't know why. "How are we going to get out of here?" she asked, trying to push a board, but immediately stopping upon hearing the whole pile shift and creak. "I don't really know. I too scared to move anything. It might all collapse on top of us."
Carolyn looked around. There wasn't much to see, but she spotted a sliver of light peeking through a hole in the rubble. "Over there. Maybe we could get out there," she said.
Quentin looked over to where she was pointing, and hunched as close to the ground as he could possibly get, and crawled over to the spot. He looked up through the hole. He motioned for Carolyn to come over, and when she was beside him, he looked at her. "I think you will be able to fit through there," he said.
"Are you sure?" "Yes. Be careful though, you don't know what kind of sharp objects could be up there. And be careful in what you touch. It could bring the whole pile down on top of us."
Carolyn nodded and took a deep breath. She eased her way up into the hole, and began to slowly climb. Dust and dirt fell as she touched anything, and Quentin shielded his eyes, still trying to keep an eye on her. Carolyn didn't want to do this, but she wanted to live. She was most afraid of bringing the whole pile down on top of her brother once she was out.
She climbed for what seemed like ages but what was actually only five minutes, and she peeked her head out of the top of the hole. Her clothes were ripped, but that was only to be expected given the conditions. She squinted in what little light there was, and pushed herself up. She got her head and shouldered through, but when she tried to get her waste through the small hole, she got stuck.
Quentin had started climbing up the passage when Carolyn was halfway up, and found many difficulties given his size. He found it hard in some spots to fit his shoulders and hips through some spaces, and where he had to force himself through, his shoulders and arms were bleeding. He reached the top, and stopped when he was right behind Carolyn. Quentin slipped an arm between him and the rubble, which was hard enough as it was so he didn't think about trying to slip the other one through. With his right arm, he gave Carolyn a heave, and after a few pushes Carolyn was out. Quentin climbed to the top, cut open his left shoulder getting them past, and Carolyn had to pull him out after that.
They were both out now, and standing atop the overwhelming pile of rubble. They looked in every direction, and as far as they could see there was nothing. Everything had been leveled. The sky was gray, from the dust rising after all the buildings collapsed, and the gray cloud covering the small town in Maine was so large that it was spreading across the state, and could be seen from space. Carolyn and Quentin were both just glad to be alive, but at the cost of loosing all of their friends in the town; it was a heavy price to pay for two lives.
They had both wondered the town, looking for survivors, but after seeing nothing but debris strewn everywhere, and great heaping piles of ashes, they stopped in the middle of the town, standing on the very spot where the Collinsport Inn had once stood. They both looked down the street, and saw nothing but black, so they walked down there, and found the sign that used to hang outside the Blue Whale. Carolyn picked it up and held it close to her, a kind of memory of what used to be there. The water was now black instead of blue, and all the two of them could do was look out over the vast black field that had once been their home.
Quentin and Carolyn moved down to New York, and bought a 200 acre piece of land on the west side of the state, that boarded a river running along the border of Canada and the United States. They had to make another home for themselves, and they wanted to be far enough away from Collinsport, Maine so that they wouldn't be able to go there without traveling for a period of time, but yet close enough so that it wouldn't take them that long to get there if they wanted to go. David had been out of town that evil day, and had escaped the wrath of Lucifer. Quentin and Carolyn notified him of it, and he made a home for himself in the town of Harbor, Connecticut, not far away from Quentin and Carolyn.
The house was large, larger than Collinwood, if you can believe that. There was the Main House, which was roughly 15,000 square feet. From the west of the house was the West House, which was connected to the main house by an inclosed walkway, and the West House was roughly 10,000 square feet. The East House was the same, connected to the Main House by a inclosed walkway, but off to the east of course, and encompassing the same amount of area. Off from the main house there was a smaller cottage, if cottage be the appropriate word, that was 50,000 square feet. The total cost for this lavish mansion, furnishings and all, was $12 million, which was paid in full cash from funds in a Collins Swiss bank account.
Shortly after building this mansion, Quentin met someone—Kathleen Thenman. The two of them fell madly in love, and quickly. Quentin made Kathleen his bride not a year after, and Carolyn, who had lived in the Main House, now moved into the West House to give Quentin and Kathleen their space to be and love together.
Quentin and Kathleen now walked on the beach, arm in arm, and Kathleen's head leaning on Quentin's shoulder. She bent down and picked up a shell and handed it to him, she wanted to keep it. It was amazing how they could communicate without talking, just by looks an gestures—that was what had brought them together in the first place.
Quentin took the shell, which he thought was quite beautiful himself, and unbuttoned his coat, to put it on an inside pocket, so as to be sure it wouldn't be lost. She was a crafts person, and he knew that it could be useful to her in making some kind of art. Opening the pocket, he tried to put the shell inside, but it was blocked by something already there. Quentin pulled out a small piece of paper, and replaced it with the shell. Unfolding the paper, he found it to be a letter, in beautiful penmanship he knew, but couldn't readily identify. Quentin held the letter up so he could read it, and it said:
Dearest Quentin,
If you are reading this then I am no longer with you, and you and Carolyn survived the terrible ordeal. Do not grieve for me, for I fulfilled my destiny by dying for the two of you.
I pray only that this letter shall reach you, and you may know of the things to come. He got away Quentin, and Lucifer will look for another way to return. You must stop him, it is up to you now. Whatever you face you will always prevail over his evil, no matter how bad it is. I swear to you Quentin dearest, that should you need my assistance I will make every effort to help you, but you cannot rely on me alone. You must seek the help of those from afar, those whom you would not normally wish to talk with.
I wish you luck Quentin, and please be cautious of the dangers that threaten you, and of those evils who watch you.
Forever Yours,
Angelique
Quentin folded the letter up and arched his arm backwards. Moving his arm quickly forwards, he intended to throw the letter away, to rid himself of the reminder of what had happened one year ago. He quickly decided against it, and stuffed it back into his inside pocket, next to the shell.
"What was that darling?" "Nothing, just a business paper I forgot I had."
Quentin and Kathleen Collins walked along the beach, arms around each other. Kathleen reached for Quentin's right arm, and when he had it in her grasp, she placed it on her stomach and smiled up at him. He had a look of surprise on his face which quickly changed into a smile.
They kissed in the light of the sunset, as the sun was falling below the horizon.
"Wake up Quentin. Wake up Quentin. Wake up Quentin. That's a good boy," Quentin heard this voice calling to him. He started opening his eyes. His head hurt and his vision was a little blurry, but soon corrected itself. All he could see was darkness, and a few seconds later the same yellow-red eyes that Quentin had seen before going unconscious appeared before him. Quentin felt something brush by him, but couldn't see it in the darkness. Suddenly, torches lit up all around him, illuminating a room that he was in. The light blurred Quentin's vision once again, and when his eyes got used to the light, he looked around. He was in a stone wall room, and the torches hung every few feet around the room, the fire blazing. "Can you see Quentin? Is everything better?"
A figure appeared before Quentin. It was a man, with long silky black hair that hung to his shoulders. The man seemed to be shrouded in black, as he was wearing all black clothes and his eyes were black as well. His skin was very pale, and his long gangly fingers, as was the rest of his body, came up and slapped Quentin lightly on the face. "Shackles tight enough?" the man asked Quentin. Quentin didn't say anything. It seemed as if he had forgotten how to form words. He was trying to talk, but the message was getting lost somewhere between his brain and his mouth. "Good."
The man circled Quentin before stopped once again in front of him. "I trust you recognize my servants?" the man asked Quentin, as demons emerged from thin air. Quentin recognized them as the things following him in Georgia, and when he came back to Collinsport. They are the things that captured him. "Now Quentin, I know what you're thinking, and you are right. I am the devil. The being that idiot Andron warned you about. It's to bad about him you know."
Quentin tried to say something but his mouth wouldn't move. "Would you like to speak? Do you promise not to say anything out of line? Okay," the Devil waved his hand and Quentin could finally speak. "You caused Andron to disappear! You are nothing but a cowardly asshole!" "Now Quentin, you promised," the devil waved his hand and Quentin could no longer speak. "By the way, you can address me as Lucifer, Diabolis, or some people like to call me Joe when they plead with me, though I don't know why," He smirked. "I bet you're wondering why I brought you here, are you not? Don't bother answering. I brought you here because I can use you now! You've made it possible for me to use you to bring myself into being in the earth realm! You don't know how long I have been waiting for that to happen. Over thousands of years, I knew you were coming, and that I had to lead you the right way and now you've done it!" Lucifer circled Quentin again, and while passing behind him he waved his hand so Quentin could speak once again. "I didn't do anything! I stopped before I killed John!" "That is true, but you did nearly kill him, which is a sin. Attempted murder is a sin Quentin, you should know that." "I still say you're an asshole," Quentin scowled at Lucifer. "Well, that's you're opinion. But enough small talk. What I really need from you right now is for you to tell me how far you went before stopping with John." Lucifer paced the floor in front of Quentin and when he stopped and looked at Quentin, Quentin was shocked. "This is but one of many tricks," Lucifer said, looking like the beaten John Crosic.
"So this is how far you went?" He held out a hand in which a mirror appeared. He held it up and looked at the reflection. "Not bad. Not bad at all. The face is messed up, but nothing surgery won't fix. You came this close!" Lucifer held out his thumb and forefinger, leaving a gap about a centimeter in between. "Why did you stop?" "I wanted Maggie to have a happy life, I wanted to escape you," Quentin answered, though he really hadn't said it. "Yes, I wanted to escape you," Lucifer said, now looking like Quentin and Quentin looking like the Devil had when he first appeared. "I wanted to escape you, to live a normal life that I knew wasn't possible; to spend eternity in misery because I am a self-righteous prick!" Lucifer changed into the long black-haired man he first appeared in, and Quentin changed back into himself. "Look at you Quentin. You are a pitiful being. After all these years of killing, of hurting, of sinning! you decide that you want to be the hero and stop yourself, to give someone else happiness so that you can suffer? What about me Quentin, what about me? Should I have to suffer because you want to be a softy? I mean really. SUCK IT UP!" Lucifer screamed and the echo pounded in Quentin's ears. "You rely on people to commit sins so that you can return? How pitiful is that? Why don't you with your almighty power just come back by yourself?" "Must you ask these ignorant questions? You are a smart man, figure it out. Someone way up there," he points to the ceiling, "WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I NEVER GOT OUT AGAIN! ISN'T THAT RIGHT?" the Devil screamed, the echo again ringing in Quentin's ear. "But you see, I found a loop hole. I need but a number of sins to be collected and I am able to return. That is why I sent Linda up there. LINDA!?!"
A few seconds went by with nothing happening. Then, a cloud of dust started to form and from the dust a shape formed. When the dust settled, Quentin could see it was the woman from the portrait! Maggie's mother! "Hello there Quentin. I was quite disappointed to find out that you melted like ice cream on a summer day, halfway through your deed. I thought I did everything I cou-" "Well obviously you didn't do everything, or we wouldn't all be here now, and I would be up there!" Lucifer interrupted her. "Now, there is a pressing issue at hand. How are we going to make John die so that I may collect my sin? Linda, go up there now and stand in the middle of the road leading to the hospital. Maggie and John have just turned onto it in the ambulance. NOW GO!" Lucifer cried. Linda disappeared with a tornado of dust.
Appearing right in the middle of the road, Linda could see the flashing lights far off in the distance. He huffed herself up and a bit of blood appeared on her face. Some running from her mouth, some from her nose. Cuts split open, and her clothes transformed into ripped shreds of a dress. The ambulance approached, and the driver screamed and swerved to the right a bit. 'What am I doing?' Linda thought. She realized what she had to do, and promptly disappeared before the driver completely ran off the road.
Down in Hell, Quentin's shackles broke loose and his arms fell to the ground. "NO! What is happening! NO! Linda has betrayed me! LINDA!!!! LINDA!!!!!! LINDA!!!!" Lucifer screamed as beams of red light started streaming out of him. Quentin did not where to go, there didn't seem to be a door leading out of wherever he was. Linda appeared and looked at Quentin. "Go! Get out of here!" she pointed to the right and a door appeared. Quentin didn't hesitate, he ran over to it and opened it. "NO! I will not loose this battle!" Lucifer looked over at the door Quentin opened and it slammed shut, nearly catching Quentin's hand in it.
Lucifer looked around, and made all the torches fall to the ground, which was now freshly littered with debris, easily burned. One torch fell onto a pile of hay, another on a pile of wood, and another on leaves. "You will not escape! You shall not prevent me from my evident goal!" "Yes, we shall," came a voice from Linda's mouth that was not hers. The persona of Linda disappeared and Andron formed. "You will not escape the bowels of hell to which you are so easily confined! It is not meant to be, I will not let you!" Andron said in a voice not his own. Andron was wearing a red robe that laid limply over his body, and as he took a few steps forward towards Lucifer, is drifted in the air. He raised his right hand, and made the Devil fly through the air and hit a wall. With the snap of his fingers, the fires that were blazing about were put out.
"Who do you think you are? Challenging me?" Lucifer stood up, not fazed by flying into the wall. "You know as well as I do who I am," said Andron, but his voice wasn't his own, it was a woman's. "Quentin, you may leave now." "But I must stay and hel—"Quentin tried to finish but was immediately cut off by Andron, who waved his hand and made Quentin disappear. Quentin reappeared in the drawing room of Collinwood. "Again I ask who you are," Lucifer said walking towards Andron. "Halt your movement," Andron held up a hand and stopped the Devil in his tracks. "You have known me for many years, and I was your humble servant before I pledged to do good to make up for my deeds," Andron took a step towards Lucifer and with the step, changed into Angelique. "I should have known it was you. You were never that loyal to me, love always got in the way somehow or the other." "Yes, you should have known me. Now it is my job to put you in your place. You have tried to return for years, but I will prevent it," said Angelique, standing in her white flowing gown that made her look angelic. "And what powers do you hold that I've not given you? You say you will defeat me, but you shant and we both know it." "I told you, I work for someone else now to make up for my deeds. Use your brain, have you ever hesitated to use it before? I am now employed by your only rival, and it is by his power that I shall defeat you." "So, you've gone to the other side. Not unlike you. But really, you still haven't learned that talking is a waste of time." Lucifer held up his right arm and Angelique slowly began rising from the ground. When she was suspended in mid air, he used his magic to throw her across the room and towards a wall.
As she was flying, she spread both arms out to her full wingspan, and slowed herself. Bringing her palms together and to her chest, Angelique concentrated for a moment, and then flung a huge ball of white at Lucifer. It hit him and flung him back into a wall, and when he fell to the ground, an indentation was left in the wall. Angelique reached her hands towards the sky and then quickly threw them back down again, causing the ceiling to fall on him, heavy rocks and boards crushing his body.
Floating over to the pile of rubble, Angelique looked down. "I told you I would win, for no longer am I one of your minions, I am now a God."
Suddenly, the rubble shot out in all directions, and a bloodied Lucifer rose from the ground and floated inches from the floor. He shot at Angelique, and they flew quickly across the room, and into and through the wall at the opposite end, into another empty space. Angelique fell to the floor from the attack, while Lucifer remained upright. He bent down and grabbed her by the neck, and threw her into another wall. She hit it and hard, and fell limply to the ground. He motioned with one of his hands for her body to float over in front of him, and it did so. When it came to rest, Lucifer moved his right arm up and down, and Angelique's body went from floor to ceiling, back and forth, hitting each level hard before falling or rising to the opposite, and then doing it again. Once this had gone on for about five minutes, he threw her body over into the left wall, and she merely hit it and fell to the floor.
Chapter 21
Quentin paced the drawing room at Collinwood, wondering what was happening in Hell. He would sit down to ponder, then get up and start pacing around the room once again. Quentin went over to the bar and poured himself a drink, just water, hoping that it would act like brandy or one other of his favorites and calm his nerves.
Carolyn entered the drawing room without noticing Quentin, as the bar was behind the right door entering the room. She sat on the couch, and Quentin turned around, glass in hand and walked towards her. "Hello Carolyn," he said, sitting down in a chair across from her. "Oh, Quentin, you startled me. What is that you are drinking?" she asked, thumbing through a file she had brought with her into the room. "Sorry. It is only water. Don't think I've gone back to my usual drinking habits again, because I haven't and never will. What is that you have there?" Quentin asked, sipping his water. "I had a psychic do a paranormal investigation on our property to see why all of the weird happenings with supernatural creatures and time warps, are always happening on the grounds of our estate. This file holds all the information she found, and what her conclusion is." "And what kind of things does she say cause the paranormal activities in our house?" Quentin asked, setting his glass down on a table to the side of his chair.
"Well, I had her come into the house at different points during the year. The first time she came was on Mother's birthday, in March. Then on Uncle Rogers birthday, in May. Then she came on my birthday in August, and then once again on Halloween, of course. She spent the whole day in the house each time, starting at 12 midnight, and ending at 12 midnight, each time she came. While she was here, she documented any arguments that went on in the house, anything that happened out of order, and anything that went wrong in plans that any one of us had." "And did she find anything?" Quentin asked, picking up his drink and sipping it. "Well, yes, she did," Carolyn said flipping through a few pages until she found one she wanted to read from. "On Mother's birthday, the first day she was here, there was an argument between David and Angelique, Angelique and me, and you will remember her argument with you?" "No, actually I don't." "Well, anyway, she noted all of those. Then, on Uncle Rogers birthday, she noted that a picture in the west wing fell from the wall, that there was a heavy thunderstorm, and that there was a fight between you and I," Carolyn paused and looked through a few pages for the next set of highlighted notes. "Then, on my birthday, she noted that it was miserable for me, and that I had to help advise David on a business deal that went awry," Carolyn paused to flip to the page to find out what happened on Halloween. "Then, when she came back on Halloween, she noted nothing but quiet, and peace for once in the house." "So what does that mean?" Quentin asked, putting his water glass down after half emptying it.
"Well, she did some research to try and find out why things would happen that would upset the whole household one everyday but Halloween, and after laboring for long hours, according to the psychic, she found the answer. She said that our house, Collinwood, is situated on top of what is called..." Carolyn trailed off as she once again flipped through a few pages and then found what she was looking for, "...what is called a 'Hellmouth'. Basically, Collinwood sits on one of a few mouths of hell. There is another in California, and Ohio. After taking a few readings with her psychic abilities throughout the house, she found that the mouth of hell is right under this room. That is why everything happens on the estate. The Hellmouth acts as a magnet to draw all things evil here. She said she was surprised that we weren't all dead yet, and that the house was still standing." "When did you have this study done?" Quentin asked, draining his glass to be a little less than a quarter full. "About a year ago. I think it is interesting that this room sits over the mouth of hell. Its kind of scary to." "Yes, scary indeed," Quentin said. He pondered the thought, and took a sip of his drink.
Angelique lay limply on the cold stone floor. Lucifer stood over her, smiling an evil smile. "I told you, you would loose my dear, and so you have. It's a pity you couldn't have put up more of a fight, but, since you didn't, I must go now, I believe Quentin is just about to open up a portal for me to walk back into the world through." Lucifer walked over to the right wall and stood, waiting.
Behind him, Angelique woke up. She tried to get up, but couldn't, she hurt to bad. There was blood running from her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. She wasn't going to live through this, though she was supposed to be an immortal. Could it be possible that she to had to become mortal to fight Lucifer? She slowly floated herself upright, and floated a few inches off the ground, blood dripping all around her. "You....haven't......won......yet......" she said.
"So, you are still alive, begging for more pain?" Lucifer turned around. "Not begging, giving," Angelique uttered as she threw a powerful fire ball at the Devil, which consumed him in its white glory, and nipped at his black clothes. Angelique floated towards him. "You shall loose, as I said before," Angelique said in barely more than a whisper. "Not so....long as......Quentin does what......he needs to," Lucifer said through gritted teeth. This white fire was painful, and draining him of his power. "Go ahead Quentin, drain the glass," Lucifer said.
Back above ground, inside of Collinwood in the drawing room, Quentin downed the rest of the beverage in his glass.
"Good boy," uttered the Devil. Suddenly, the white fire was consumed in red, and brilliant orange red beams shot from the tips of Lucifer's fingers. His eyes turned bright red, and his hair a deep velvet crimson color. "See....(gasp)...I told you I would...(gasp)..win," he said. He couldn't breath, but he wasn't dying. He was ascending to his earthly form.
Angelique rushed towards him through the air and slammed him into the wall. She kissed him, passing her power of goodness into him, attempting to stop him from making it to the earth realm.
He pushed her away after a minute, and his body was engulfed in a bright red color. "Thank you for that (gasp) burst of energy. I rea(gasp) really needed that." His eyes met with hers, and great red beams shot from his eyes and went right through her, taking her white glow and bringing it back to him. Angelique fell from the air to the floor, quickly. As the bright red filled the room, Angelique was blinded, and then fell unconscious.
In the drawing room at Collinwood, Quentin went over to the bar and set his glass on it. The room began to shake violently, and Carolyn dropped the files out of her lap. Pictures fell from the wall, vases from tables, lamps fell to the floor as well. Chairs were over turned by the sheer strength of the shaking, and the bay windows as well as all the windows in the house shook. Some of them broke out and glass littered the ground.
Carolyn ran over to Quentin, who held her protectively in his arms. The floor in the center of the room began to split open, and a great circular hole formed. It began a whirlpool, sucking everything in the room into it, and releasing unimaginable heat. A bright red glow filled the room, and Lucifer slowly rose out of the whirlpool, his body still engulfed in the same red color it had been before.
Lucifer's hands were outstretched to the sky, and the great red beams exiting from his finger tips cut through the upper levels of the great house, and right up into the sky. Red light filled the sky, and the ground around Collinwood, taking over the whole town of Collinsport in a matter of seconds. Great laughter echoed throughout the town, and people in restaurants and stores ran from them into the streets, and hid in dark shadows of the town.
As soon as the great red beams of light hit anything, that thing was immediately vaporized. Buildings fell down around their occupants, killing them in an instant. People flooding into the streets were turned to dust when the light hit them. The grounds of the Collins Estate were bare now, and the Old House had been turned to nothing but a large pile of ashes.
As Lucifer's magic spread throughout the town, vaporizing everything in its way, it approached the edges of the town. The magic hit Collinsports boundaries, and stopped abruptly. There seemed to be some kind of magic wall preventing the magic of the devil from going outside of the town and destroying the whole world. Lucifer hadn't time to deal with this. He stretched out his arms further, and forced more power from his finger tips and palms. This barrier surely would be no match for him. As the magic was pouring out of him, it was just as quickly absorbed into the protective walls. The walls bent outwards as more power was forced against them, and ripped it a few places, but overall held together.
Minutes later, Lucifer had exhausted his power, and the barrier was still standing. It glistened white in the light protruding from the red in the sky. Lucifer tried to force more power out of his body, but it wouldn't come. The Hellmouth began to swirl creating a suction pool that was sucking everything down into it. As Lucifer began to get sucked down into it, he screamed and howled in pain. "NOOO!!!!" he would yell out. He had to do something, something to escape, but what?
Balling up in a cat-like sleeping position, the Devil conserved his energies. After a few seconds, he reached his arms out into the sky once more, his fists tightly balled at the end, in a Superman flying position. He grunted and yelled as he tried to force himself out of the Hellmouth, and with a sudden burst of energy, he broke free and flew off into the sky, breaking through the ceiling of Collinwood.
With Lucifer's great exit, there came an enormous rumbling, much worse than any earthquake that could ever hit any place on earth. The ground began to shake violently, and Collinwood began to tumble. The great beams of the ceiling fell to the floor, all around Quentin and Carolyn, who were now laying unconsciously on the floor, having fainted from fear. The ceiling fell onto the walls, which could barely support its massive weight. The tower room imploded within itself and was laying in pieces on the ground within a matter of seconds.
The walls soon crumbled under the immense weight of the ceiling, and Collinwood fell completely to the ground, the once great mansion now reduced to nothing more than a pile of rubble. The earth began to sink under the weight of the houses rubble, and the rubble with it. As the earth sank, the rubble went with it, and when it was all finished half the pile of rubble lay six feet into the ground, while the other half of the pile remain on two feet above the surface.
Collinsport, once a bustling town, was now nothing more than a great black spot on the surface of the earth, and Collinwood, once a great house a top a cliff so massive that it could scare the light stomached away, was now nothing more than a small pile of rubble protruding from the extremely watered down visage of the rolling bump the great cliff had now become.
Few spots outside the great barriers of Collinsport had been hurt. Spots of the state of New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and of course Maine, had been hit, the most areas-five others- in Maine. The other states only sustained minimal damage, with buildings tumbling to the ground, and great craters forming where the earth broke. Only one other town in Maine had been hit as hard as Collinsport, and that was Rockford, in which the main village had been leveled with one beam of the devil's red magic.
Chapter 22 Conclusion
"Quentin have you seen my coat?" "Yes, it's in here honey," Quentin said, getting up from his chair and picking the coat up from laying over the one opposite him. "Oh, thank god! I've been looking for that coat everywhere in this house!" said a brown-haired woman as she entered. She was strikingly beautiful, with blue eyes, full luscious lips, and he hair made a statement of its own as she walked and the wind blew through it. "I wondered if you would be needing this. It is quite chilly outside." Quentin handed his wife the jacket and kissed her lightly on the cheek, smiling. "Yes, it is chilly outside, and no doubt will be more so on the beach. Why do you want to walk along the beach in December anyway?" She put the coat on and buttoned it up. "It was something I used to do when I was a boy in Maine," he told her, ushering her out of the room and down the hall to the front door. It hurt to think about Collinwood, and he didn't like to dredge up the memories of what had happened. His life hadn't been pleasant there, as it was now. "Are you ready then?" she asked. "Yes, I'm ready, Kathleen Collins," he said, opening the door for her to go out. He grabbed his coat and closed the door behind him.
Kathleen gave him a look that said 'what?'. "I just want to get used to hearing your name that way. After all, you are my wife now, and Kathleen Collins has a certain ring to it that lets it roll right off your tongue." Quentin put his arm around her as they walked down the path. "Yes, I suppose you are right. Kathleen Collins. I rather like the ring to it as well." She put her arm around him, and laid her head on his shoulder as they walked.
Carolyn and Quentin hadn't escaped from the pile of rubble easily. Quentin woke first, and could hardly move. They were enclosed in a very small space, with enough air to last them maybe a half hour. Quentin had no idea where he was at first, and he tried to wake Carolyn up, but she wouldn't wake.
Quentin began to get worried, wondering where they were and what had happened. He remember the Devil coming up through the Hellmouth, but he didn't remember much after that. He looked around and spotted a broken up painting and a smashed lamp that he recognized as being in Collinwood. He also noticed that carvings on the wood laying around them, and after taking a while to put two and two together, he figured out that Collinwood had collapsed over top of them. He didn't know how deep under the rubble he and Carolyn were, but he knew he had to get out and fast.
Quentin was afraid to move anything, for fear that the whole pile may collapse on top of the two of them, killing them. He looked over as Carolyn started to wake up. She screamed loudly, and Quentin reached over and set a hand on her shoulder, to calm her down.
"Where are we?" she asked, still breathing heavily. "I think Collinwood collapsed on top of us," Quentin said. He was remarkably calm, though he didn't know why. "How are we going to get out of here?" she asked, trying to push a board, but immediately stopping upon hearing the whole pile shift and creak. "I don't really know. I too scared to move anything. It might all collapse on top of us."
Carolyn looked around. There wasn't much to see, but she spotted a sliver of light peeking through a hole in the rubble. "Over there. Maybe we could get out there," she said.
Quentin looked over to where she was pointing, and hunched as close to the ground as he could possibly get, and crawled over to the spot. He looked up through the hole. He motioned for Carolyn to come over, and when she was beside him, he looked at her. "I think you will be able to fit through there," he said.
"Are you sure?" "Yes. Be careful though, you don't know what kind of sharp objects could be up there. And be careful in what you touch. It could bring the whole pile down on top of us."
Carolyn nodded and took a deep breath. She eased her way up into the hole, and began to slowly climb. Dust and dirt fell as she touched anything, and Quentin shielded his eyes, still trying to keep an eye on her. Carolyn didn't want to do this, but she wanted to live. She was most afraid of bringing the whole pile down on top of her brother once she was out.
She climbed for what seemed like ages but what was actually only five minutes, and she peeked her head out of the top of the hole. Her clothes were ripped, but that was only to be expected given the conditions. She squinted in what little light there was, and pushed herself up. She got her head and shouldered through, but when she tried to get her waste through the small hole, she got stuck.
Quentin had started climbing up the passage when Carolyn was halfway up, and found many difficulties given his size. He found it hard in some spots to fit his shoulders and hips through some spaces, and where he had to force himself through, his shoulders and arms were bleeding. He reached the top, and stopped when he was right behind Carolyn. Quentin slipped an arm between him and the rubble, which was hard enough as it was so he didn't think about trying to slip the other one through. With his right arm, he gave Carolyn a heave, and after a few pushes Carolyn was out. Quentin climbed to the top, cut open his left shoulder getting them past, and Carolyn had to pull him out after that.
They were both out now, and standing atop the overwhelming pile of rubble. They looked in every direction, and as far as they could see there was nothing. Everything had been leveled. The sky was gray, from the dust rising after all the buildings collapsed, and the gray cloud covering the small town in Maine was so large that it was spreading across the state, and could be seen from space. Carolyn and Quentin were both just glad to be alive, but at the cost of loosing all of their friends in the town; it was a heavy price to pay for two lives.
They had both wondered the town, looking for survivors, but after seeing nothing but debris strewn everywhere, and great heaping piles of ashes, they stopped in the middle of the town, standing on the very spot where the Collinsport Inn had once stood. They both looked down the street, and saw nothing but black, so they walked down there, and found the sign that used to hang outside the Blue Whale. Carolyn picked it up and held it close to her, a kind of memory of what used to be there. The water was now black instead of blue, and all the two of them could do was look out over the vast black field that had once been their home.
Quentin and Carolyn moved down to New York, and bought a 200 acre piece of land on the west side of the state, that boarded a river running along the border of Canada and the United States. They had to make another home for themselves, and they wanted to be far enough away from Collinsport, Maine so that they wouldn't be able to go there without traveling for a period of time, but yet close enough so that it wouldn't take them that long to get there if they wanted to go. David had been out of town that evil day, and had escaped the wrath of Lucifer. Quentin and Carolyn notified him of it, and he made a home for himself in the town of Harbor, Connecticut, not far away from Quentin and Carolyn.
The house was large, larger than Collinwood, if you can believe that. There was the Main House, which was roughly 15,000 square feet. From the west of the house was the West House, which was connected to the main house by an inclosed walkway, and the West House was roughly 10,000 square feet. The East House was the same, connected to the Main House by a inclosed walkway, but off to the east of course, and encompassing the same amount of area. Off from the main house there was a smaller cottage, if cottage be the appropriate word, that was 50,000 square feet. The total cost for this lavish mansion, furnishings and all, was $12 million, which was paid in full cash from funds in a Collins Swiss bank account.
Shortly after building this mansion, Quentin met someone—Kathleen Thenman. The two of them fell madly in love, and quickly. Quentin made Kathleen his bride not a year after, and Carolyn, who had lived in the Main House, now moved into the West House to give Quentin and Kathleen their space to be and love together.
Quentin and Kathleen now walked on the beach, arm in arm, and Kathleen's head leaning on Quentin's shoulder. She bent down and picked up a shell and handed it to him, she wanted to keep it. It was amazing how they could communicate without talking, just by looks an gestures—that was what had brought them together in the first place.
Quentin took the shell, which he thought was quite beautiful himself, and unbuttoned his coat, to put it on an inside pocket, so as to be sure it wouldn't be lost. She was a crafts person, and he knew that it could be useful to her in making some kind of art. Opening the pocket, he tried to put the shell inside, but it was blocked by something already there. Quentin pulled out a small piece of paper, and replaced it with the shell. Unfolding the paper, he found it to be a letter, in beautiful penmanship he knew, but couldn't readily identify. Quentin held the letter up so he could read it, and it said:
Dearest Quentin,
If you are reading this then I am no longer with you, and you and Carolyn survived the terrible ordeal. Do not grieve for me, for I fulfilled my destiny by dying for the two of you.
I pray only that this letter shall reach you, and you may know of the things to come. He got away Quentin, and Lucifer will look for another way to return. You must stop him, it is up to you now. Whatever you face you will always prevail over his evil, no matter how bad it is. I swear to you Quentin dearest, that should you need my assistance I will make every effort to help you, but you cannot rely on me alone. You must seek the help of those from afar, those whom you would not normally wish to talk with.
I wish you luck Quentin, and please be cautious of the dangers that threaten you, and of those evils who watch you.
Forever Yours,
Angelique
Quentin folded the letter up and arched his arm backwards. Moving his arm quickly forwards, he intended to throw the letter away, to rid himself of the reminder of what had happened one year ago. He quickly decided against it, and stuffed it back into his inside pocket, next to the shell.
"What was that darling?" "Nothing, just a business paper I forgot I had."
Quentin and Kathleen Collins walked along the beach, arms around each other. Kathleen reached for Quentin's right arm, and when he had it in her grasp, she placed it on her stomach and smiled up at him. He had a look of surprise on his face which quickly changed into a smile.
They kissed in the light of the sunset, as the sun was falling below the horizon.