Death stalks in the shadows at Collinwood, for he has ally within its walls. He plots the deaths of those he considers to be his enemies. Their only crime is that they are descendents of the man he hates most of all; a man who has been dead for almost 300 years. On this night, he calculates his most brutal of schemes, and no one in the great house is aware of the terror that awaits them...
Eerie music plays in the background as Trevor leans over the table in the abandoned West wing room. He pours the contents of two bottles into a third one. He caps the bottle and lightly shakes it. Then he removes the cap and removes a medicine dropper from the shopping bag. He slowly and carefully draws some of the liquid into the dropper. He then takes the dropper over to the rat cage and squeezes it into the cage. He then brings the bird cage over and sets it beside the rat cage and grins. "Now we let nature take its course." He sneers. He blows out candle and leaves the room. The camera focuses on the cages. (Three sets of three rapid dramatic notes sound followed by one sustained note that reaches a climactic end.)
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Barnabas and Desmond stand looking at the blank wall where the door was previously. "I don't understand, Barnabas. What could have happened to the door? How will I ever get back to Leticia?" Desmond asked with a look of worry on his face. Barnabas stood with a calculating look on his face and replied. "Desmond, before you made the journey up those stairs there was no door there. It appeared just before you opened it!" Desmond looked at him and said, "So if I walk up those stairs, the door is going to appear?" Barnabas replied, "I didn't say that. Julia and I have seen this phenomenon before. Prior to our trip to 1840, the staircase would appear and disappear in the playroom. Even the playroom itself would periodically disappear. There were times we would open the playroom door and find only a closet. Other times, the playroom was there. The conditions had to be just right." Desmond looked at him and asked, "The playroom? You mean Tad and Carrie's playroom?" Barnabas gave a slight nod and replied, "Yes. In your time the staircase was located in the basement. But here it opened in the playroom! Wait, Julia said when she went down the stairs they brought her out at the playroom too." Desmond said, "Maybe the stairway is there again! I built the staircase in the same place it was before. If it came out at the playroom then, maybe it does there now too!" Barnabas said, "If that were true, you should have arrived through the playroom, instead, you emerged here." Desmond replied, "Would it hurt for us to check out the playroom and be sure?" Barnabas paused and then said, I suppose not. Come, we'll go look now." The two men leave the room. The camera focuses on the empty wall where the door was, and fades out.
The camera fades in on Elizabeth in her bed asleep. Her head tosses and her face is troubled. Colored lights swirl and dream music sequence begins. Lights overtake her image and fade into a vision of Carolyn walking down a dark, lonely street. She appears uneasy as she ventures along the quiet, deserted avenue. Step after painful step she walks, jumping at every stray cat and every noise. Fear is etched into her face. A sound comes from an alley much like a metal garbage can lid falling on concrete. She jumps at the sound of it and stands stock still. She breathes hard and her eyes are wide with fear. She looks down and takes a single step looking as if she worried if it were going to fall through. She walks a few more steps looking terrified at the prospect of taking the next step. A shadowy figure suddenly lunges from an alley and seizes her, covering her mouth so her screams will not be heard. The figure drags her into the alley out of sight. All is dark. Solid black. Suddenly the camera focuses on Carolyn, lying in the alley, eyes wide open, a look of terror on her face. She is lifeless! Lights fade in swirling all about. A piercing scream is heard. Elizabeth wakes suddenly and springs up in the bed, screaming still. (Three sets of three rapid dramatic notes sound followed by one sustained note that reaches a climactic end.)
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Carolyn bursts into her mother's room, frightened by her screams. Trevor enters after her. "What's wrong, Mother?" Carolyn cries out rushing to the bedside. Liz, seeing her daughter alive reached up with arms extended and embraces her tightly and cries, "Thank the Lord you're alright, Carolyn!" Carolyn cocks her head and replies, "Well of course I'm alright! Why wouldn't I be?" Liz sighs and says, "Oh Carolyn! I had the most terrible dream! You were... you were... dead!" It was horrible! I'm so glad you're safe and sound!" Carolyn comforts her and says, "It's alright mother. Just as you said, it was only a bad dream. I'll be fine, Mother. I have Trevor to watch out for me. Go ahead and get your rest. There's nothing to worry about." Liz looked at her and said, "You're right, Carolyn. I feel absolutely silly now. I hope you'll both forgive me if I woke you." Trevor then spoke, "No Mrs. Stoddard. You didn't wake us. We're just delighted that you're alright. We'll leave you to your rest. Good night Mrs. Stoddard." Good night, Trevor. She embraced Carolyn once more and said, "Good night, Carolyn." "Good night, Mother." Came her reply. She turned off the light and closed Liz's door. She enters her own room and says to Trevor, "What are we going to do, Trevor? Everyone is having these awful nightmares! Mrs. Johnson woke up this morning screaming. She dreamed she woke up and had no hands or feet. She loves working with her hands. It terrified her to no end! She's told me she never has dreams. Something is terribly wrong, Trevor. Some sinister force is has to be responsible!" Trevor approached her and embraced her saying, "We'll get to the bottom of it, my dear." Carolyn was unable to see the utter delight on his face as he grins hideously.
Camera focuses on the hallway outside the door where the playroom used to appear. Barnabas and Desmond come around the corner and pause at the door. "Well, this is it." Desmond says as they hesitate outside the door. "Barnabas looks pensively and says, "What will we find when we open that door? Will we find the playroom? Or will we find nothing more than a storage closet?" Desmond looks at the doorknob and sighs, "There's only one way to find out." He turns the knob. Camera switches to the inside of the room as the door opens. Two dramatic drum beats sound as the light from the hall reveals that indeed only a closet was housed behind the door. Desmond looked frustrated and asked, "When did they close up Tad and Carrie's playroom and make it just an old closet?" Barnabas sighed and replied, "I don't know, Desmond. It had to happen sometime between 1841 and 1897." Desmond looked at him and asks, "How do you know that?" Barnabas turns suddenly so Desmond cannot see his face as he gropes for a reply. "I am quite familiar with the family histories written from 1897 to the present, and in them, no playroom is ever mentioned." Desmond simply replies, "I see." A look of relief crosses Barnabas' face as he is grateful he caught himself before he said too much. Then with a resigned look he sighs, "Well there's no reason for us to remain here. Let's go back to the others. Desmond closes the closet door and pauses a moment with a look of resignation, then turns and follows Barnabas out of sight.
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Trevor Halliburton enters the abandoned room and lights a candle. He looks upon the rat and the bird and says, "Well now, let's see how we're doing." He reaches into his pocket and withdraws a magnifying glass and holds it up next to first the rat's cage. He peers closely at the creature and looks up with a smile, "Ah yes! Very good." He then turns to the bird cage and repeats the procedure. A moment later he looks up with a look of pure glee. With an evil snarl, he declares, "Tomorrow marks the beginning... of the end!" (Five ascending dramatic notes sound.)