Subj: Petofi's Maze chapter 12
Date: 99-02-27 14:52:01 EST
From: miranda
Chapter 12
Tom continued to pull Carolyn further under the water as he sunk
his fangs into her slender neck. Blood poured into his mouth and
if he were above water his moan of ecstasy would have been heard.
Further and further out he swam as he continued to drain Carolyn's
blood. When he felt her weaken he began to surface and reluctantly
withdrew his fangs. With one sharp movement he broke her neck,
lest he incur Nicholas wrath by making yet another vampire. He
surfaced with Carolyn in his arms and let her lifeless body go into
the waves. Tom dove back under the water without even looking at
his victim's face and did not know that he had disobeyed Nicholas'
instructions and killed a Collins.
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The funeral was a somber affair. Grief tormented the entire Collins family. In
order to allay suspicion away from the supernatural, Julia had declared Carolyn's
death due to accidental drowning and convinced the sheriff that Jeb's account
of something jumping out of the water was due to post traumatic stress.
After the burial and everyone went home, Jeb stayed behind at Carolyn's grave
and wept privately. The sorrow he felt was like none he had ever felt before.
It was so unfair to finally meet someone you would want to spend your life with
only to have that person ripped from you in an instant. Jeb began to think on
all the occult knowledge he accumulated over the years and lamented that it was
only superstitious nonsense. If only it was true that he could invoke a spirit
to do his bidding. If only… but who was to say that it was nonsense just because
he didn't witness anything out of the ordinary himself?
Jeb cried out, "Spirits, hear my cry. Please answer my plea. Come to this graveyard
and resurrect Carolyn Stoddard from the dead. Come and…" Jeb stopped himself.
He was obviously acting out of total desperation.
He was about to get up and leave when a voice startled him from
behind. "I have heard your plea."
Jeb quickly rose to his feet and turned around. "Who… who are
you?"
"My name is Nicholas and as I said, I have heard your plea for help," Blair answered
with a smug smile.
"Are you a spirit?" Jeb inquired.
"You may consider me an entity. An entity that has a special interest in the Collins
family." Nicholas motioned towards the grave, "You seem to have loved her a great
deal."
Jeb gazed back at the flower-strewn pile of dirt for a moment. "Yes, yes I loved
her. I was going to ask her to marry me on the night she died."
Nicholas fingered his mustache. "The real question is, what would you give to
have her back?"
"What do mean?" Jeb asked. "I would give my own life. Take my
life in place of hers!"
Nicholas chuckled. "You watch too many movies. I want to know if
you are willing to pay the price that is required for me to perform
such a task."
"What is the price?" Jeb asked warily.
"A simple act. If you want me to bring back your beloved Carolyn from the dead
you must kill Barnabas Collins. Tomorrow night at midnight you must take a knife
and kill him. His blood must spill onto Carolyn's grave. Only then will I reappear
and fulfill my part of the bargain."
Before Jeb could protest Nicholas vanished before his eyes. Jeb stood in shock
for a moment, questioning his very sanity. He turned back to the grave. Could
he actually bring himself to murder Barnabas?
