Jet
She sat bolt upright in the coffin, the night light flickering, and stared at the blind stifling a scream. What she saw was a shadow, a huge flying creature; she thought and remembered, the wings, the cape…the bat wings.
36 Hours earlier
"What you think McGee?" Abby asked as she held up a brooch, "Was thinking of turning it into a nice choker."
"Very pretty," as Tim stood, and made his way to Abby. "May I see?" as Abby handed the black brooch to him, "Victorian, and if I may say….Jet."
"Yeap, cool… found it in one of the Bohemian Antique shops."
"Abby Jet is never cool, it has a warmth about it. You realise there are two distinct types of Jet. True Whitby Jet, resulting from carbon compression and salt water and the softer which is fresh. The softer leaves a brown trace if rubbed. If this is true Whitby Jet, then it is from the early Jurassic age about 182 million years ago."
"Cool." was all Abby could say, "But I knew that, and it would be from the Araucariaceae or monkey puzzle tree. But hey McGee, Whitby is that notplace not mentioned in Bram Stoker's Dracula?"
"Was indeedie, the Russian ship, the Demeter, wrecked on the jagged coast line of North Yorkshire." Tim answered, handing the brooch back, and returning to his seat.
-oOo-
Abby decided she wanted to find out more about Whitby, and who was the best person to ask…Yes Ducky, as she went down to Autopsy.
"Abigail and what do I owe the pleasure of your company this afternoon?"
"Duks, Whitby?" she asked.
"Whitby…nice seaside town on the East coast of Yorkshire, famed for its Dracula connection…..also Captain Cook learned seamanship there. Captain Cook was half Scots you know?" as he watched Abby shake her head, "Oh yes, his father came from Kelso, but Whitby….it has a lovely old Benedictine Abbey, which I may add was where Caedmon, the earliest English poet, lived. The Abbey now has a central point for Goths. Did you know that there are two, Whitby Goth Weekends, locally known as WGW."
"Cool."
"Yes Abigail it can get quite cool, when the wind blows in from the North Sea. But what can I do to help you?"
"I was wondering I don't suppose you have a copy of Dracula I could borrow?" she now asked.
"But of course my dear, I will bring it in tomorrow for you." Ducky finished as he watched Abby turn and skip out the door.
-oOo-
Abby had re-read the book, she had read as a child but with her now new found knowledge of Whitby, and the thought of a Goth weekend, she had been more interested, and even more scared. In the flickering half-light, she imagined Dracula flying through the room, but as the creature came closer she began to smile. How was it, such a tiny moth, could have made her heart race to fast?