Subj: The Funhouse mirror Pt.5
Date: 8/22/99 8:17:56 PM Central Daylight Time
From: marcos1

The Funhouse mirror Pt.5

~~~~

Longwood Florida in the present day

---

"John, this book is utter nonsense," LaCroix said, raising his eyebrows. "You and I have discussed this subject many times. We both agree that there is no such thing as the supernatural. This world is ruled by something called nature, a set of rules that can't be broken. There may be a God or not. The world might have grown out of pure chance. Either way, there are rules."

"I agree," I said, sitting in my living room floor playing the video game SplatterHouse on my TV. I was playing the role of a masked man, knocking out zombies with a big stick. "I'm not the one to convince, Vicki insist upon this."

Vicki Winters sat on the sofa next to LaCroix. Her eyes were focused on the TV, but there was a very distant look to them. She was a lady that had seen and been through much in her life. "There is a supernatural. I have to assume the cone of power. I really have no choice." She took a deep breath, her eyes misting with tears. "All of my life, I've been nothing but a marionette being pulled by someone else's string. You have to understand. I need to do this. I have to do this."

LaCroix seemed lost in thought and then suddenly stood- up and grabbed the game controller from my hands. "John, perhaps it is time that you woke-up, stopped playing these childish games and faced the truth."

"Hey, what are you talking about, LaCroix?" I said, annoyed. "I know that you like to play video games, too. Give me back the controller."

LaCroix walked over to my Florida room. "I've been lying to you, my old friend. Vicki is right in what she has been saying. There are ghosts, demons, and a wide assortment of creatures, that dwell in the night, including myself, a creature called by your writers...vampire." He threw open the door and flew, disappearing into the dark Florida night.

I couldn't sleep that night. I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. So, LaCroix was a vampire. What did this mean? Did it mean all of scary stories told for centuries were true? What would this mean for science? Did the men of science operate in a dark room, unable to see any light, any light of the truth? My soul searching didn't seem to bother Vicki, she lay on the bed next to me, snoring peacefully.

The next night, LaCroix came to my door. He was wearing dark glasses and a long coat. "Hurry up and pack," he said, smiling. "We three have a plane to catch."

"A plane?" I asked.

"To a place in Maine, called Collinsport," LaCroix replied. "Tell, Vicki, to hurry." He turned and walked towards his yard. "And John don't worry about your cats. Friends will be feeding them, for you. We predators respect our cousins the cat."

~~~

On board the plane, LaCroix told us a fantastic tale. He was a vampire from a parallel universe. He had travelled to our universe, by using a room in Collinwood. It was in the east-wing, a room not used for a hundred years. It changed back and forth, showing glimpses of different realities. Standing outside of that room, he had once seen a woman. She had dark auburn hair. Her face more lovely than any he had ever seen. She was beautiful. Even her name had a pretty musical sound to it. Sheer poetry. Her name was Josette. So one night, he waited in the room. It changed, and brought him to this universe. But once he arrived, he searched for Josette, but no one seemed to know her. It was as though she had never existed at all

"That was in the spring of 1980," LaCroix said. His eyes began to shine, like a child's nightlight, a small red glow. "What a fool, I was, to believe them. They lied to me, those bastards." He put his hand on Vicki's shoulder. She was looking out the window at the stars, seeming close enough to touch. "Miss Winters, you shall have your revenge...and I shall have mine."

~~~

Collinsport--Somewhere in a locked room

The woman lay on a table. Her body like a pin cushion, covered with tiny holes. Wires were running from her every opening, draining her body of her blood, a precious substance that could answer Mankind's greatest dream, the dream of being forever young and never having to die. She had been on that same table for decades. She was no longer considered a person, but a thing. No one even bothered to say her name, Josette duPres Collins

To be continued--.