W & A Chappie 4:
Old Wounds; New Pain
Tony Peterson: A young man and his sister have unleashed a deadly terror that was meant to be sealed forever. They have gone through many heartaches, but tonight old wounds will be opened and new pains will begin.
Flashback, 1956 . . .
Eighteen year old Tony Peterson, kicked the side of his bedpost angrily, "I've been going out with her for over a year and then she just up and leaves with her brother." he thought to himself, "Doesn't even tell me."
He ran a hand through his unruly, dark hair and sighed heavily. He knew the real reason she and Willie ran off . . . Jason McGuire.
He was the only person she had been talking about for the last few weeks. It was always, "Jason this . . ." and "Jason that . . ."
Tony had only met him a couple of times and didn't know much about him . . . only enough to know he didn't trust him.
He didn't know what it was about the man that irked him so much. Jason always acted jovial and trusting enough when he was around. But maybe that was the problem. He seemed to trusting . . . like a mountebank or an 'Honest John'.
His smile was always looked so false and so unreal.
Tony knew that whatever Annie was getting herself into wouldn't be good. And he also knew he would not be a part of it any more.
He wasn't going to look for her to tell her how miserable he is without her.
He knows he's going to be heartbroken for a while, but he's going to move on with his life.
"It's gonna be better . . ." he thought, "I'm gonna be a lot better off without, Annie Loomis."
Present . . .
"Tony? What're you doin' here?" Annie asked in shock
"I should be asken you two the very same thing." Tony replied, "Well? Aren't you going to let me in?"
Annie objected, "Tony, I don't thi . . ." but the lawyer just walked past her into the house.
"It's been eleven years since I saw you last, how in the world did you end up here, in a town where everyone is in bed by the time the sun goes down? I wouldn't think a place like this would hold any interests for people like you and your brother."
"Jason had some business down here that needed ta be taken care of." Annie replied
Tony nodded slowly, "Jason...I see . . . and what would that business have to with Barnabas Collins?"
"Nothin' . . . we're just workin' here." Willie interjected
"Really? Then why is it you were going out of town one minute, then working here the next?" he asked forcefully
"We had no money and when we met Mr. Collins he said that if we helped him work on his house, he would pay us." Annie told him
"Where and how did you meet him?"
"On the road. He had a flat tire an' we changed it for 'im." Willie said
Annie hid her surprise when she heard her brother tell the lie so flawlessly, without stuttering out a single word.
But she quickly put it to the side and turned back to Tony, "I think you've heard enough about us, now how'd you end up here?"
"Well, after you vanished, I buckled down, graduated High School, and became a lawyer from Harvard."
"But how'd you get here, in Collinsport?" Willie asked frusteratedly
"My mother used to live here, so I thought I'd offer my services as lawyer here." he said.
Then, there was an awkward silence before Tony spoke again, "Willie, could you leave me and Annie alone for a minute?"
"I don't take orders from you." Willie spat back
"It's alright, Willie." Annie said reassuringly
Willie glanced back at his sister, "O-ok." he said reluctantly, "But I'll be in the kitchen if ya need me." And with one final glare at Tony, he left the room.
Tony then turned and face Annie, "Now, I want the truth from you. What happened eleven years ago? Why did you leave?"
Annie sighed heavily and turned away from him, "I-I was young an' everything Jason kept talkin' about sounded good. I . . . I made a choice. And I didn't realize until it was too late that I made the wrong one." her voice became softer and began to crack slightly, "Sometimes I wonder what woulda happened if . . ."
Tony came up behind her, "Wonder if what?"
Annie shook her head and regained her composure, "Nothin', it's no use thinkin' over things that can't be changed."
She felt his hand touch her shoulder gently and she turned around, quickly wiping away a tear from her eye.
"What would you wanna change?" he asked moving a little closer towards her.But before Annie could answer, Willie walked in, "It got kinda quite in here . . . besides, he should probably git goin', Barnabas'll be back from Collinwood pretty soon." he said, not particularly liking the site of the couple standing so close together.
"Alright, but before I go . . . where are they?" Tony asked
Willie looked at him suspiciously, "What're you talkin' about?"
"The pieces of jewelry you stole from Mrs. Stoddard."
Annie shut her eyes for a minute and exhaled. She pulled the ring from out of her pocket and stared at it for just one more minute before quickly dropping it into Tony's open hand.
"And the bracelet?" Tony added
"Go ahead and give it to 'im Willie." Annie said in a weary voice
Willie took the bracelet out of his pocket and looked at them, "But . . ." he began
Annie huffed angrily and snatched the diamonds out of his hands and dropped them into the lawyers, "There."
"That should do it." Tony said, satisfied, "I'll be seeing you around." he then walked out the door and left.
Willie turned to Annie, "Whadja do that for? Now he's gonna tell Mrs. Stoddard that we stole 'em an' then Barnabas' gonna find out!"
"I don't think he'll tell 'er." Annie replied
Willie pointed a finger at her, "You betta be right. I don't wanna think about what would happen if Barnabas found out." he shuddered slightly and changed the subject, "I think I rememba Tony now, you two dated in high school right?"
Annie nodded, "Yea, right up until we ran off with Jason. But that was a long time ago."
"Uh-huh, sure." Willie said sarcastically, "When I came in here just a minute ago it sure looked like you guys were gonna kiss."
She gave a nervous smile, "Oh come on Willie, it's been eleven years since I las' seen the guy! Now why would I wanna kiss 'im? An what makes ya say stuff like that anyway?"
"Aw, stop gettin' all defensive. I'll let it go." he said, "Well, are ya hungry at all? Wanna go out an' get somethin' ta eat?"
"Sure. I-I mean, I-I haven't been too hungry lately but I should probably eat somethin'."
"Yea," Willie agreed, "I know exactly whatcha mean."
"We can take my truck. It has gas." Annie offered
"Oh-ho, no. Not that ol' rattle-bucket o'yers, nuh-uh. We're takin' my impala."
"My truck ain't that bad, the last time you rode in it you weren't feelin' well an' it just made the ride seem worse. B'sides, It's only a couple-a years old . . . I got it in '65.
Willie shrugged uneasily, "I jus' – never thought a truck was that safe I guess." he said, "'Specially with your drivin'." he added under his breath.
Annie glared at him, "I drive fine!" she said defensively, "Besides . . . I like my truck."
"Well it may work fer you but it don't fer me. C'mon, let's just take the impala, huh? Please?
Annie rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright. If it'll make ya feel better." she said. And with that, they left.
Maggie Evans stretched out under her covers and yawned.she was unusually tired this evening and had gone to bed early Not five minutes after her head hit the pillow, she was asleep. Little did she know of the terror that was in store for her.
It was 1:45am, and Barnabas didn't make a sound as he opened her porch doors and walked into Maggie's bedroom. He stood there silently for a moment, and watched her while she slept. He took in the beautiful brown hair fanned out on her pillow, her long eyelashes closed lightly on her pink cheeks.
"She looks so beautiful." he thought, "I cannot live without her. I have gone nearly two-hundred years with nothing but a memory, until now." He went to his bedside and gazed at her. He then bared his fangs and sunk them into her neck.
Annie was walking down the empty street of Collinsport, a stray car passing every once an awhile, and only one other person besides herself in sight. It was a woman, she was walking on the other side of the street and her face could not be seen, as she was walking in the same direction as Annie. It was a woman, but her jacket was pulled tightly around her, framing her face and making it hard to be seen as she was walking the same direction as Annie. Then Annie watched in shock as a pair of hands reached out of the dark and dragged the other girl into an alleyway, silencing her screams by clamping a hand over her mouth. "Hey!" Annie shouted dashing across the street and into the alley.
When she saw them the attackers back was towards her and she could only see the silhouette's of the two. The man was apparently holding the girl in his arms and her face was still hidden from view. Annie did not need to see the man's face to know who he was,the long cloak and wolfs-head walking cane gave it away instantly. "Barnabas! No!" she shouted
Barnabas dropped the girl carelessly and whirled around towards his servant; reaching out and squeezing her throat mercilessly . . .
Annie awoke coughing and wheezing, trying to regain her breath. "A dream." she thought, "That's all it was, a dream."
She grabbed the clock by her bed and glanced at it, 5:50 AM.
Annie sighed, "Alright, time ta git up." she dragged herself out of bed, brushed her hair into a ponytail, and got dressed in jeans, and a forest green, long-sleeved shirt.
She could hear the voices of Barnabas and Willie growing louder as she came down the stairs.
"Well, good morning, Annie." Barnabas said as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Willie turned around, "Hey, Ann." he greeted her.
"Mornin'." She replied
"I gave Willie the instructions for the day. He'll tell you what needs to be done."
Annie nodded and Barnabas walked into the basement.
"You sleep alright?" Willie asked
"Yeah, but I had a weird dream . . ." she the relayed to him the dream she had.
"Huh," Willie remarked when she had finished, "It's funny, I had a weird dream too."
"Really? What was it about?"
"Well, I-It started out, I was walkin' down a road an' it led ta the Evans Cottage. An' when I got to the door, I had this terrible feelin' that Maggie was in danger a-an' I wanted ta help her but I couldn't.." Willie shrugged, "Don't know what it means." He noticed Annie staring at the floor, "Annie, what's wrong?"
"My dream jus' kinda reminded me of that second night in the cemetery after we took Jason ta the hospital."
Willie took a deep breath and tried not to remember . . ."
Flashback . . .
After taking Jason to the hospital, Willie and Annie went back to the cemetery. Not finding Barnabas where he was last, they decided to look inside the secret room in the Collins Mausoleum.
Sure enough, when they got inside, there was Barnabas, standing next to his coffin and looking perturbed. "There you are," he said, "You took long enough."
"W-We couldn't help it, it wasn't our fault." Willie replied, as the he closed the secret door and the siblings walked in.
"No matter. It's getting to late for you to do what I had in mind, so we will have to make . . . other arrangements." Barnabas said, an evil smile playing on his lips.
Annie began to get nervous, "Wha-whaddaya mean? What arrangements?" she asked
Barnabas continued to smile, "Well, since neither of you were able to get me what I needed, you will both have to provide it." he slowly advanced towards them both.
They tried to back away but were stopped by a wall. Willie glanced at the door, and just before Barnabas got to them, he grabbed Annie's hand and made a mad dash for the door. But Barnabas suddenly appeared in front of them. "I'm beginning to think I only need one of you." he said, looking upon them with an evil glee in his eye.
"No!" Annie shouted, but gave a cry of pain as Barnabas slapped her to the floor.
"Silence!" He barked, then quickly snatched Willie by the shirt, grabbed his arm and bit into it. Willie began struggling but was quickly drained of energy.
Annie fought against Barnabas' willpower with all her might, but it was useless. She turned her head away and tears began running down her cheeks.
After a few seconds, Barnabas turned back to the crying girl, "Look at me." he commanded.
When Annie did not turn her head, he grabbed her arms and forced her too look at him, "You are more resistant to my will than your brother. Perhaps one servant will be enough."
"Please! No!" Annie cried
"You have quite a scream my dear, we'll just have to correct that now won't we?" he bared his fangs, then sunk them into her exposed neck. Annie gave a gasp of pain and shock before her body began to go limp.
A few agonizing moments later Barnabas finally stopped and let her body slide out of his arms and onto the floor. She appeared to be unconcious, but Barnabas hit her side sharply with the end of his cane, "Wake up!" he said
Annie gave a start, opened her eyes and sat up with a strained effort, "Wh-why . . . didn't . . . ya kill me?" she asked groggily.
"I have not made up my mind up yet, I need information from you first. Tell me, is Collinwood still standing?"
"Yea, both Collinwood an' the Old House are still up. Though no one's lived in the Old House fer years."
"The Old House? My house . . ."
"You lived there?"
"Yes, nearly two hundred years ago, before my father chained me here."
Annie was shocked at what Barnabas said, "Your father?"
Barnabas nodded, "Yes, my own father. I was the victim of a curse and instead of killing me and ending my agony, he locked me in this coffin." A flicker of sadness reflected in his eyes, but it left as quickly as it had come, "But that was then . . . Now I'm free. Thanks to you." He paused for a moment and his mood changed dramatically, "You!" He reached out and grabbed Annie by the neck. "Why did you release me?!" he asked
Annie choked and gasped for breath, "Don't . . . please."
"No!" Barnabas shouted angrily, squeezing harder, "Tell me why you opened my coffin! Tell me!"
"W-we thought . . . there were . . . jewels."
"So you are grave-robbers?!"
"N-No." Annie whispered, continuing to struggle for air.
Barnabas was enraged, "Pathetic fools! Both of you!"
"Can't . . . breath . . ." Annie said, beginning to fade
"You know I don't care." he growled back
While this was taking place, Willie stirred and slowly sat up. He looked at Annie and then his mind registered what was going on. "Barnabas, no!!" he cried, "Stop!"
"Be quiet, Willie!" Barnabas not letting Annie go
"Please, Barnabas! Not her! Not my sister, please!" Willie begged
When he said this, a small twinge of guilt tweaked Barnabas' mind. He looked from the defenseless girl within his grasp; then to her brother sitting on the floor, unable to do anything but beg for his Annie's life.
So, with a shove, he let Annie go and she collapsed to the ground, wheezing and trying to regain her breath. Willie crawled over to her and supported her head.
"Stay here until I return. Barnabas said, then left the two weak and hurting siblings bound together not only by blood but now by a painful and terrifying secret, alone in the room.
A/N: I would like to thank nightdancer342 for helping me write the flashback at the end of this chapter (providing the dialouge for Willie and Barnabas) and I would like to thank bozybozybozy for beta-ing this!! Please Review!!