Both Laurie and Rick nearly jumped as A.J. shouted. "What?" Rick asked, then the light dawned in his eyes.
"Darlin'….I think he's got it!"
"You mean…" Laurie grasped the meaning of Rick and A.J.'s exclamations. "It was the stone disc? If it was that powerful….:"
"Then Blair's spirit could have been revived when the caves were reopened." Barnabas finished. Quentin shook his head in resignation.
"Okay, we know the whys and wherefores….but who found the stone or its fragments?"
"I'm back!"
A familiar voice alerted them that Rob Gamez had returned. Smiling, he entered the living room, then plopped down in Rick's easy chair.
Laurie looked at her husband, then mouthed, "tell you later!"
"Rob? I thought you had a headache? Did you drive here?" She asked, concerned. Rob shook his head.
"My head stopped hurting, so I had Andy drive me back….after all, I think I can help with unearthing the secrets of that cavern…."
"Rob.." Oscar shook his head, then caught the high sign Rick gave him and was silent.
"Look, I'm fine…I just needed to lay down for a little while. Now what did you find out from Kasey's journal?" The glitter in Rob's eyes made Rick uneasy, then his reaction to Laurie's next words confirmed his suspicions.
"Oh, just that the Elders caves should remain closed, because of the evil that was defeated there. I agree with Grandmother Kasey; Rob. We should never have gone back in there…so I…"
"NO! She was wrong…and so are you!" Rob jumped to his feet, anger in his voice. Laurie found herself drawing back from him…the tone in his voice was so …eerily familiar as he continued.
"There is no evil in that cave, only secrets of power, secrets of the lives of our ancestors. I want to know them…and you can't be so afraid of the unknown as to stop it! Only the old and the weak, Light…would stand in the way of knowledge!"
At that Rick broke his silence. "Don't you dare insult my wife like that….of all the stupid things to say! If you weren't out of your head from that concussion, I'd …"
"Hold it, hold it, guys.." Now it was Rudy who tried to settle things down. He cast a wary look at Rob, as A.J. told him, "Calm down, Rob…Nobody's going to stand in the way of anything."
As the younger Simon's words sunk in, the tribal chief's demeanor changed.
"I'm…I'm sorry..I didn't mean anything by that…heck…I know if the cavern's buried, it would be impossible to open again…" Rob said, almost stuttering in his apology. He wearily rubbed his hand over his forehead as he added, "Rick, my head is just pounding, so please don't take anything I say seriously."
"Of course he doesn't, son….you just are trying to do too much, too fast. Come on, I'll drive you back home." Rudy offered. Rob shook his head.
"I'm too tired to go home, can I sack out here, Rick?"
A little voice inside him screamed "No!", but Rick saw the fear in his friend's eyes, and nodded.
"Course, pal…you can use Robbie's room."
"And I'll get you one of Rick's nightshirts, Rob." Laurie said, giving Rick a meaningful glance.
Within 30 minutes Rob was tucked into bed and Laurie was relieved to see him snoring away before the door was even closed. Limping down the hallway, she noticed Barnabas and Quentin were outside in the patio with Oscar, Rudy and Father Nick.
When she returned to the living room, Rick saw his wife was upset, and he opened his arms. "Come here, sweetheart."
"Oh, Rick…" she whispered, then went into his embrace. Crying, she said, "Something's very wrong with Rob…I'm afraid he's…oh, I don't want to say it; you won't believe it."
"Honey, it's alright, I'll believe it.." A.J. told her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I've known the guy long enough….he's not himself. Come on, let's join the others so we don't disturb Rob."
Going outside, they found the two Collins men in disagreement with Oscar.
"No, Oscar, he's not." Barnabas was grim-faced, but paused in mid-sentence as Rick fished a Kleenex from his pocket and wiped Laurie's eyes.
"I'm okay." She sniffed, leaning against him, then took a deep breath.
"When I heard Rob's voice…" she started, only for Quentin to interrupt her.
"You heard Nicolas Blair, didn't you?" he finished. Laurie nodded.
"It must have happened when he was caught in the cave collapse; Rob didn't know that horrible spirit was in there…and Blair's so strong."
"But his demeanor…it keeps changing..could he be fighting Blair's influence?" Rick asked, and Quentin shook his head.
"No, I'm afraid Blair has possessed him totally, look how he reacted to Laurie's refusal to open the cavern again. We have to stop Blair while he's in a mortal body, it's our only chance. I'm sorry your friend has the one to be sacrificed to save us, Cousin." He turned to a shocked Laurie. "But it's the only way."
"No! He's not going to be sacrificed; he's still there!" She responded, her eyes snapping. "You heard him…he's fighting whatever Blair is forcing him to do…Rob is still there…and we need to help him!"
"I'm sorry, Laurie, but Quentin's right…Sheriff Gamez is only the host for Blair's evil…but it's the only way to destroy him before he can resurrect himself. If Blair finds enough of the I Ching stone to transport back in time and change the past, our families will be destroyed." Barnabas explained quietly.
"But what if we can stop Blair from totally taking over Rob….couldn't we prevent him from that…and drive him out before he kills Rob or is killed?" Rick asked, seeing the look on Laurie's face.
"Yes, we could…but we might have only one shot at it…." Barnabas admitted. Quentin shook his head, frustrated.
"I'd rather we end Blair now…then take our chances, Barnabas. Laurie…we can't afford to be sentimental here..we need to act!"
"NO!" Rick put an arm around Laurie, as they faced the others. "Laurie's right, we can stop that Blair from taking over Rob all together, then drive him back into Hell where he belongs."
Seeing that Quentin was adamant about Rob's fate, Laurie started to speak, only for Father Nick to hold up his hand.
"Honey, listen for a moment." He waited until she had subsided, then spoke.
"You are right, of course. We must give Rob his chance to be free, before he is destroyed. Barnabas, Quentin… "
Suddenly a crashing noise erupted from within the house, and Rick rushed inside to find the guest room door open, and Rob sprawled on the floor, a gun in his hand.
"No! I won't do it…you can't make me!" He was muttering to himself. At once Rick jumped forward and pulled the weapon out of Rob's hand. Startled, the tribal chief let out a yell, "No!", then another voice sounded in the room.
"You cannot win…he's mine…!" Leaning on A.J., Laurie made her way inside the bedroom. Hearing Nicolas Blair's voice, she fumbled in her pocket, then held up an object.
"No …we won't let you hurt him!" she shouted, thrusting the cross from her rosary into Rob's face. "Go, leave in the name of the Lord!"
He let out a cry of pain, then the same evil voice snarled "I'll be back….you can't stop me, and this time, I'll destroy you!" A fierce wind blew through the room, then Rob sat up, confused.
"What happened?"
From behind Rick, Barnabas appeared, a wry smile on his face.
"He may not remember, Rick…but we have to tell him. Help him to the bed."
Gingerly Rick took his friend's arm and guided him to sit on the guest room bed, as Laurie got him some water. Gradually Rob's color returned as Rick explained, "Remember the cave in at the caverns in Lost Valley?"
Rob nodded, then recognition appeared in his eyes. "I remember, I found something, a black stone, just a piece…then I heard a voice. Next thing I know the wall started to come in on me, and you came into the room and pulled me out."
"That's right, then we got you to the hospital." Rick encouraged, then Rob frowned.
"And something kept telling me there were secrets of the people in the cave, and I had to go back. A horrible voice…wouldn't let me alone, wouldn't even let me sleep. I remember coming here, then my head started to hurt and I went home. That's when…"
A pained look came over Rob's face, and he wearily rubbed his eyes. "My head started to hurt, then the voice said I had to come back here…secrets were being discussed and I had to come or else everyone I loved would die! I tried to stop the voice, but when I woke up, my gun was in my hand, and that voice said I had to kill all of you. I wouldn't do it!" Rob's voice started to rise, and Rick put his hand on his shoulder.
"We know you wouldn't, pal. You resisted Nicolas Blair, a very evil host….spirit…whatever. We stopped him, now we'll make sure he never comes after you again!"
Rob shook his head, his expression troubled. "He's so powerful, I couldn't stop him….what if he comes back?"
"Then we'll protect you…" Barnabas told him quietly. "Laurie already struck a blow to him, we should have remembered how a cross can deflect his power. Now that we know his plan, Quentin and I can eliminate his source of energy. We'll have to go back into the Lost Valley caves."
"Barnabas, are you sure? It's so dangerous and unstable." Laurie said, putting her hand on his arm. From the doorway Quentin spoke up.
"We have to, Laurie…it's time I faced Blair and helped destroy him once and for all. I'm sorry, Rob…I should have listened to my cousin here about you trying to resist him…we'll make sure he doesn't take you."
"Thank you, Barnabas, Quentin….Light.." Rob tried to smile as he covered her hand with his. "I owe you an apology most of all. I heard Blair say you had to be silenced, then I saw the jeep heading for you. I should have been faster.."
"Oh, Rob…you saved me…you have nothing to be sorry for." Laurie insisted, giving him a hug. "Now you need to rest, and hang on to this…Blair can't come after you when you wear it." She added, giving him her rosary. Instantly Rob put it over his head, then accepted Rick's help to lay down. Leaving the guest room so Rudy could re-examine their friend, Laurie hung on to Rick's arm as they returned to the living room.
"Darlin'…you need to rest too…you shouldn't be standing on that ankle either…" Rick fussed, scooping his wife up and placing her on the sofa.
"I'm all right, just tired, love." She smiled, then almost jumped as their phone rang.
"Maybe that's Robbie? He did drive Rob home, maybe Andy told him Rob came back?"
"I'll get it.." Rick said, picking up the receiver. "Simon Residence."
"Pop? Is Rob there with you?" Robin was on the other end, her voice shaking.
"Yes, honey, what's wrong?" Rick asked, worried.
"Thank God…because Robbie just called me, saying someone had tried to break into the caverns behind the Cultural Center. He's on his way there now…and I have a bad feeling that he's in danger…and so is Rob!"