Subj: Dark Sanctuary Ch 5
Date: 12/28/98 2:31:22 AM Central Standard Time
From: Melody

"She is very pretty."

Meg opened her eyes and quickly sat up in bed, hitting her head hard against the headboard and looked on in fearful disbelief at the two kids standing in her room.

"Um. Excuse me but are you lost or something? This room is occupied!" Meg said, feeling annoyed at her privacy being violated. She rubbed her eyes to get a better look at them.

The girl looked about ten or eleven and was dressed as if she was part of some play that was set around the post-Revolutionary war era. History was one of her favorite subjects, so it was easy for her to recognize period costumes, give or take a decade.

The boy appeared a few years older and was dressed in flared jeans and a black turtleneck sweater.

"This used to be my room." He said, breaking the silence. "I had a Wings Poster on that wall and a Led Zeppelin on the other wall. And on the wall directly over my desk was a Boston Red Sox Pennant."

"What are your names?" Meg asked them.

"David." He said solemnly. "And this is Sarah."

Meg watched as the little girl smiled and curtsied. "Well David, if this used to be your room, where do you live now?"

"Around." He pointed to the window.

Suddenly feeling compelled, Meg peered out the window. The sky was a potpourri of purple, blue, and streaks of silver, as remnants of light from the waning moon converged with the glow from the coming sunset.

She looked at the view of the grounds and saw there was so much to she had yet to see.

In the distance she saw the old house but there was something different about it. It was intact! Suddenly hearing laughter, she looked down and saw three figures walking towards it.

"This party is going to mark the beginning of a new era for the Collins family." A male voice echoed. "No more despair, no more upheaval!"

"And it will be filled with more children." A female voice added. "And there will be a wedding. Finally! After all of these years of endless waiting, I am FINALLY FREE!"

Meg saw somebody coming from the old house and running toward them. "Oh my goodness!" A female voice exclaimed happily. "You're back! He's going to be so happy!"

Suddenly one side of the old house exploded in a huge fireball, the force knocked them to the ground. Meg suddenly heard screaming as one figure stood up and ran towards the burning building while the others hurriedly followed him.

Meg glanced back at David and Sarah. Meg gasped but watched with horrified fascination as David faded away before her eyes while Sarah giggled and disappeared through the wall.

"NO! NO! NO!" Meg shrieked. "THIS WAS NOT REAL!"

Meg sat up in bed and looked around. "It seemed so real."

She got up and went over to the dresser mirror and found that she was covered in sweat.

"It's just an old house. It's the vibes." She reasoned.

"What vibes?"

Meg turned to see Gabi standing in the doorway.

"Nothing." She lied. "You're up early."

"Actually we have enough time to shower, dress, and go downstairs to eat."

"Really?" Meg glanced at the clock. "I feel like I went to bed an hour ago."

"Tell me about it!" Gabi sighed. "I think it must have been all of that sherry we drank. By the way, did you have any bizarre dreams?"

"No. Why?" Meg tried to hide her concern.

"This is so bizarre. I dreamt that that I woke up and saw this guy sitting on the foot of the bed. He was dressed in a suit and he had that snooty rich guy attitude that kind of reminded me of Gregory. The weird part was that he going on and on about the difference between brandy and cognac and how they make a BETTER after dinner drink than sherry. He was really getting on my nerves. And the strangest thing being, when I told him to shut up, he REALLY looked offended. "

Meg felt relieved. It was the drinking that caused that dream.

"Wow Gabi!" She smirked. "I wonder what Freud or Jung would say about that dream!"

They both laughed.

"I think after five or six cups of coffee, I'll be able to function." Gabi said.

"Me too." Meg agreed. "We better shower and get dressed."

"Yeah, I'll see you in a few."

Meg watched Gabi as she left the room and proceeded to the bathroom and turned on the shower, which drowned out the sound of the laughing that echoed throughout her room.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.