As I sat and pondered the events of the last few weeks I sipped on a bit of brandy. I hate to admit it to myself but perhaps since Lucy passed away I have been turning to my old friend liquor a little too often. And this new theory of Van Helsing's, of a Nosferatu, or a Vampire creature makes the truth all the more unbearable, and it seems unthinkable, but God help me, I think I'm beginning to believe him.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling myself begin to surrender to my drink. I wasn't stupid, I knew at a moments notice I might be asked to act sober, and I would need my senses about me. I stood, just a little light headed, and placed the bottle back in it's place then plopped back into my chair.

"Quincy Morris, what have you gotten yourself into?" I mused to myself, for a moment I felt despair creep back on me. Then I stood again and picked the bottle back up.

I think most of the men believe what the professor says about the situation, even Mina, bless her, believes; Seward, however is still trying to rationalize it. There is nothing rational about it! Working around all of these patients of his, he must worry he's gone crazy. He can't have gone crazy, or else we're all crazy, because we have all seen things. Some things that we'll never forget, but always wish we could.

Darling, Mina has seen all of the notes thus far in her efforts to organize ours, and she saw Lucy in her final days, more than any of us.

Harker was closer to the Count than any of us, in his days in the Castle. He has a kind of sorrow about him, I think he saw things there that he doesn't have the heart to tell us about.

Then of course, Art, he'd do anything to stop the thing that did that to Lucy, we all would. This is his only purpose for being here with us. We were none of us really friends with him before this whole ordeal. Why else would the Lord Goddalming leave his duties behind him, especially when his father just died. The thing that connected Dr. John Seward; The Lord Goddalming, Arthur Holmwood; and myself was a love for Lucy, and now a hate for the bastard Dracula!

As for me, I've never been very imaginative or easily confused. I know what I saw. It was repulsive and there's something unnatural about the way it makes a grown man, like myself, uneasy about being alone.

We still haven't figured out what to do yet, but he must be stopped! We're all in this together. We gather to form our military-type strategies, we have come together in a sort of bond to defeat our enemy. We have become like a little army waging war against an invisible enemy. We're all prepared to fight and do our part to be victorious. I don't care what it takes, we're gong to kill that son of a bitch!

It was then that I heard the screaming of Renfield. I knew it was him for he often had fits and we all had begun to take notice of what he did, as it seemed he was somehow in communication with the vile Dracula. We looked to him for possible missing pieces to our puzzle.

I ran quickly across the hall to find Arthur, and began to pound on his door.

"Arthur!" No answer.

"Art!…Get up, Renfield's having a fit!" Still no answer.

"Damn it Art!" Finally he opened his door.

"You weren't asleep were you?" I asked him.

He just looked at me funny and said, "No." but he said this in a way that I knew he meant 'Yes.' We didn't have time for games so I said, "Good."

X X X X X X X X X X

When Quincy and I finally made it to Renfield's cell we saw that something terrible had already taken place. Dr. Seward and Dr. Van Helsing were kneeling on the ground with Renfield whose blood was spilt all over the floor from a massive head wound.

"What happened?" I asked immediately.

"I'm not sure." answered Dr. Seward. I heard his screams and when I came to attend to him. I found him on the ground, he's unconscious."

"This was not self inflicted." Said Dr. Van Helsing gravely. "There was no one here?" He turned to Seward.

"No one. A nurse and I were the first to get here." He answered. Mr. Morris and I both turned to each other, guessing the same.

"He is going to die." said Van Helsing. "He has lost too much blood. There's no time to be lost. If we are to ever understand Dracula we must help him regain consciousness before he passes!" It seemed that this was our only course of action, even though I knew we all felt ill about prolonging his death, but it was risking the lives of so many others if we did not.

The doctors went to work on Renfield, patching, mending and bandaging him in hopes that he would regain consciousness. I did not sit in during the procedure, I did not understand it and I felt that I might be a hindrance. I felt it only right that all of us be present should he wake up. I ran to wake the Harkers, who were on the other side of the asylum and could not possibly have heard the ruckus going on here.

X X X X X X X X X X

It was nearly midnight and I was restless with thought. I rolled over in my bed to see my lovely Mina asleep. Her breath was labored in sleep the last few nights. She was ill from all this, it's a lot for a young woman like Mina to handle. She wants to help and Van Helsing only encourages her. He says she thinks like a man and I suppose he's right. The truth be told she has been a help to us all, but I wish she were not involved in this mess. She does not fully understand the evil of this man. As her husband I should insist that she go home away from all this, but it is too late she is already involved. I can't just send her away.

Her dark hair fell over the sheets like a water fall. She was a strong woman. Perhaps that was what he had fallen in love with. As children they had loved each other and now beside him laid his wife, with the body of woman and the mind of man. She tried so hard to be strong, and during the day she put on her façade of sense and logic to keep up with all of the men who had been her company these last few weeks, but by night she was undeniably woman, with her sensitivities.

I heard a knock on the door and went to it. It was Lord Goddalming who looked disturbed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's Renfield." he said. "He has had an accident. He's going to die."

"What?" I blurted confused.

"We think the Count had something to do with it." He said. "We are hoping he will wake up."

I grabbed my jacket and started out the door.

"What about Mina?" he asked.

I turned back to the bed to se that she had not even stirred.

"She is not well. I think it best if we not distress her right now and tell her all in the morning."

X X X X X X X X X X

Seward and I worked feverishly on Renfield into the early hours in the morning. Then finally he spoke.

"He was here." He said in a whisper.

"Who was here?" I asked not sparing a second.

For a moment he was unable to speak.

"Mr. Morris, brandy please!" I ordered. He brandished a flask from his jacket and poured some into Renfield's mouth but he was unable to swallow it.

"Dracula." He finally answered. "I know my time is short, so I must tell you this quickly." We were now even more attentive then we had been. He came to my window. He usually is not fully materialized when he comes to me, but now I could see him completely. I asked him what he wanted. He told me he wanted to come in. When I asked him why he would not say. So I would not let him in. I did not trust his intentions. He began to promise me things."

"What things?" asked Seward.

"Lives. Cats and dogs and birds and rats. I would not have believed him but he made them appear right before me. Thousands of rats flooded my room… Forgive me." He said tears flooding his eyes.

"For what?" I asked him.

"I was weak. I was sick of dining on the lives of small spiders and flies. I invited him in."

"What does this matter?" asked Arthur.

"He can not enter unless you let him in. Then he may come and go as he pleases."

"Dear God, were all in danger." Interjected our American friend Quincy.

"Mr. Morris," I said politely "Do I need to remind you that we have little time? Please do not interrupt." Then I turned back to Renfield. "Please go on."

"A moment after I had said this he came in through the window as a fog and the animals were gone. Well I was furious and when I asked him why he sent the animals away he said I didn't deserve them. He said that I had betrayed him to you. Told you all too much about him. Now he must return soon. He said I had 'spoiled his fun.' He's going home but first he has to finish the job. When I came to my senses and realized why he was here it was too late. He lifted me off the ground and everything went black. I'm so sorry…. I…I" He was fading fast and Harker asked the one question that we all were thinking.

"What job does he have to finish?"

"His blood… for a bride."

Then right before us all Redfield died. He was a good man, driven mad by the evil workings of Dracula. We all wished we had known Renfield, not the lunatic, but the man, untortured by the evil of the Count. It seemed he had used him for his own purposes and then when Renfield was no longer useful to him, he killed him. First Lucy, then Renfield.

"He will kill again!" I said to my comrades, then I could no longer control my anger. "Damn him! DAMN HIM TO HELL!"