Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:35:58 -0500
From: J
Subject: DOCTOR WHO, JESSE AND JEREMY 77

Collinwood, dark night...a hallway light is on and the door to Jesse and
Jeremy's bedroom is open...shining light inward but not in a pleasant
way...

"It's the late night, early morning of July 3rd, only one day away from
whatever evil is planning at the Fourth of July fireworks show. Young David
Collins has had a dream that pinpointed that day, that time when full
force, full blooded evil will strike. He's shared it with his
friends. Still, to pinpoint that evil is difficult---- for evil can take
many forms..."

At the foot of Jesse's bed, Angelique (who seems to be 34 years of age)
rose up, head first. Laughing.  The light from the foot of the bed
silhouetted her and each hair seemed like the tentacle of some supernatural
beast...but knowing that this was once a female human made it even scarier
to Jesse. The intent seemed clear...she seemed to have murder on her evil
black heart...and the laughing continued and as she laughed some of her
features came into the light. A perfect set of white teeth, large eyes
filled with more white than any eye Jesse had ever seen before...and the
deadest of pupils...her hands gripped the bed posts and she pulled herself
up, almost magically, inhumanly. Made a move that would make gymnasts and
the double jointed sit up (in strange positions) and take notice. And she
was coming for him...

"Angelique, you're Angelique!"  Jesse gasped.

"That's right," she crawled over the foot of the bed and started up his
body, his legs first. He was nude and while his smooth skin could feel
Angelique's silk dress and the robe trailing behind it hung loosely around
her, it did nothing for him. She, however, was getting a reaction from him.

As she crawled over his chest, Jesse gasped some more. "The witch..."  Then
he realized she had done something to his legs and whatever it was, crept
up to his tight, and toned upper body. "I can't move..."



Outside, the waves were at their most violent, for this was the witching
hour....the time the dark shadows were at their utmost...yet ignorant of
the spiritual waves inside the great house atop the hill, waves far more
violent in intent than the mere soapy waters of white and blue and black
that hit the stones beneath that house...



Jesse snapped, "Let me go. What do you want with me?"

"I cannot allow..."  she put her mouth close to his and he had to admit,
her breath smelled good. Sweet. But sweet things could sometimes make you
sick. "Mmmmmm, but you're a nice one..."

"Not interested..."

"Is it because I was once of the devil?"

"Once?"

"I'm in between gigs right now."  She put her hands up his sides and rubbed
his ribs on his sides and moved them up to his broad shoulders. "Mmmmm,
very nice...."

"I said I'm not into..."

"Oh, you're one of those, are you?"  She smiled. "I've had those before..."

"I'm sure but against their will?"

"Is there any other kind?"  Her voice, so full of malice before, lost its
edge and she sat up, rolled slightly. She was off him. She turned her back
to him.  "Is there any who will love me for me?"

Jesse found himself able to move again and he grabbed his denim cut offs,
actually David's and put them on quickly. He fought the urge to bolt out of
the room. Instead, he put his hands on her shoulders, "What do you mean?"

"Barnabus..."

"I know you loved him."

"Still do. I know he's happy," she mused, turning her face into the night
air that she knew lingered outside the stained glass window. "I will not,
cannot, insist not that he be harmed by what is going on now...I know he's
happy with...with that one...Julia Hoffman..."  she snickered, "Who knew
that could work?"

"It has...without your interference..."

"He is happy and I want him to remain that way. Whatever is happening here
tomorrow...I will not allow it to harm him."

"WHAT is happening? Do you have any idea. We just have one or two vague
notions from David's dream..."

Angelique turned to face him, her knees rising to the bedside
again. "David? David Collins?"

"No, David Copperfield!"  Jesse snapped sarcastically.

"You will find, I don't like sarcasm and to use it around me is
most....dangerous," she put a hand on his shoulder, "So don't!"

"I'm sorry," he added, feeling her power, rather than seeing it. She felt
that he knew her power, thus she didn't have to demonstrate it.

"I'll help and do what I can. I'm not of the devil any longer but I am not
without some of my former powers. The cult..."

"The cult of Angelique?"

"Yes but although they carry my name," she moved closer to the foot of the
bed again and gripped the pole there, using her hand to wrap it
erotically. Jesse ignored it, not even sure it was a sign that she wanted
him. "...they are not really in worship of me. They will be on hand...as
it's said, to aid the evil that will triumph...or try to..."

"But why? Who's doing this and what's it all about?"

"The cult is really about the Phoenix. One in particular. A fire creature
known as Laura Collins..."

"David's mother!"

"Exactly."  Angelique hopped off the bed, turned her body to face Jesse as
he knelt on the bed and without taking her hand off the bed post. "She's
this most infernally annoying creature, pops up from time to time, at the
end of her current life cycle, trying to use her children to aid in her new
death and her rebirth from the ashes...she once tried to kill Jamison
Collins, David Collins, and a few others. I was able, at least three of
these times, to stop her but with each new life, she drew stronger."

"As strong as you?"

Angelique laughed that eerie laugh again. "Don't be ridiculous."  She soon
dropped her smile, "However," she leaned in close to his face, "...she may
have allies I am unaware of ...allies that are strong enough to enhance her
powers. To rival my own."

"Who or what?"

"I'm not quite sure yet but I'm convinced she has that painting..."

"Quentin's?"

"Yes and Quentin also and that wretched family of the caretaker's and the
caretaker and the cult...."

"Seems right now she holds all the cards..."

"Perhaps. It seems to me to have this much power....a phoenix is still a
phoenix. Perhaps she means to be reborn a final time. Make it so huge a
fire that she will never need another rebirthing. Perhaps this time she
means to have David and perhaps this time she means to destroy the entire
town..."



Below the floor they were on, Jeremy stared at the grandfather clock. He
felt it. It hummed. He shook his head. "I know you're in there. I know this
is a TARDIS...if you are the Doctor, if you are a Time Lord...come out. I
need to talk to you. Maybe you've forgotten about me. Maybe you're memory
is a bit lame right now or something..."  He let go of the grandfather
clock.

Mrs. Johnson had tried and couldn't sleep. She had some warmed milk. She
tried counting sheep. Or in this case, she mused, bats might work
better. In the end, she fought it and decided to catch up on a little
cleaning. She was feather dusting the hallways around and springing off
from the kitchen area and the piano room with its huge floor to ceiling
windows when she heard noises. She shrugged. Old House. It never seemed to
stop scaring her or making noises or both. She continued her dusting and
came to the hallway leading to the foyer...she started dusting the wooden
table, using both duster and a rag. Then she saw Jeremy...

"Look, I know you're in there. I saw you. I saw your new face, new body. I
know you're the Doctor. Or one of the them anyway. I know you can see me on
your screen..."

Mrs. Johnson stared. She heard this. She looked at him. The table and the
centerpiece of dark flowers, ruby red roses, was between him and her. He
couldn't see her from where she was, not that he was paying any
attention. She was curious at first but then as he continued his talking to
the clock, she continued dusting. She looked his way every once in awhile.

"Come on out. Jesse and I will find a way in there and when we get in, we
are so going to fuck you up."  Jeremy laughed, "No, I'm just
kidding. You're too warm for that. Too kind. Won't you please just come on
out and hug me and kiss me, like you used to?"  It was then that his
peripheral vision picked up Mrs. Johnson's movements. And then he felt her
stare at him a few seconds. He turned to look at her. She smiled.

"Good morning..."  she smiled. "How do you do?"

"Hi," Jeremy waved a hand up. "Mrs....Mrs. Johnson?"

She had continued her dusting and turned to the paintings with the feather
duster now. "Hmmmm?"

"Don't you want to know why I'm talking and chatting with the grandfather
clock in the middle of the night?"

She kept on dusting. "No, not really. It doesn't surprise me. Not in this
house..."

Jeremy smiled. He turned to the grandfather clock. Inside it, someone was
watching from a TARDIS console room. Watching him stare with a semi angry,
semi disappointed and sad face on. Watching from a side scanner screen
laced with roundels.  "Okay, have it your way..."  Jeremy said and
shrugged.

"It helps me keep my sanity..."  Mrs. Johnson said, thinking he was talking
to her.  "For all I know some gremlin or other entity lives inside that
grandfather clock," she chuckled.

The figure inside chuckled also, then set about to hitting some switches on
the console. "Darn, darn thing, doesn't work properly."

Jeremy stared at the clock.  "Does it keep...good time?"

"Oh yes. Only once did I remember it faltering," Mrs. Johnson stated.

Jeremy nodded.  "Interesting."  Without taking his eyes off the grandfather
clock, he twisted his body toward the steps, "Well, goodnight,
Mrs. Johnson."

"Goodnight," she nodded to him, "And good sleep to you."

"Thanks," he said, inclined to think he wouldn't sleep a wink, thinking
about this...this TARDIS. That hum and that vibration he felt were
unmistakable as a TARDIS...and yet...was it?  He ascended the stairs, still
focused on the TARDIS. Was it the Doctor's TARDIS? And if so, the Doctor
inside it? It had to be that Daryl.

He walked into the room he shared with Jesse, the one that adjoined David's
room. The door to David's room was closed but their door was open. He trod
through it and stopped short. "Jesse, get away from her!"

"Come on and join the, uh, festivities..."  Angelique purred.

Jeremy came in, fists clenched, "You---get away from him!"

Jesse stood up from the bed, "It's alright, Jeremy, it's alright!"  He put
his hands on Jeremy's chest and gently moved him back from the bed as he
tried to round on the witch.

"But she....she's..."

"Yeah, she's Angelique, the witch alright but she's on our side."

"Really? Barnabus is back to being a vampire. Guess who's trademark that
is? Who's on the top of that suspect list?"  Jeremy looked at both of them
accusingly.

Jesse nodded, "I know it looks like it could be her but why would she come
here if not to harm me? Which she hasn't..."

"No spells?"  Jeremy asked.

"I don't think so," Jesse said, "She is on our side."

"It's true," Angelique stood up and seemed to float behind them. Her gown
made it so. It flowed so naturally, even without a draft, if this house
were ever without such a thing. She walked with ease behind them and put
her hands on each of their shoulders. They parted and she drifted in
between. "I was telling your..."  she searched for a word, "...friend..."

Jeremy turned to stare her in the eyes, "Lover..."  They were such big,
alluring eyes. But not for him.

Angelique smiled and corrected herself, "Lover...in my time..."

"Oh, which time is that? 1692, Miranda..."  Jeremy snapped.

This name had the effect of making Angelique go wide eyed but she said
nothing. Her face, however, dropped all pretense of fun and games. She
seemed to lock her jaws and was much more serious as Jeremy continued...

"1795...or was that ninetySIX...1840...or 1897...or maybe 1968, Cassandra,
uooo, I'm picturin' you in a black wig or with black hair dye all over that
blond hair...or was that as Mrs Rumson in 1970?"

Angelique snapped back, "You know an awful lot, big man..."  she moved her
hand down to his crotch and over it and touched.

Jeremy stiffened, "Owwwhhh..."

Jesse took her hand and took it off, gently. "Play nice with the little
b...witch, Jeremy."  He turned to her, "You too, play nice. He's mine, mine
and...well, mine."  Jesse didn't want to tell her about the Doctor if he
didn't have to.

"I did my research," Jeremy said.

"You are very intelligent, aren't you?"  Angelique wisped her hands to his
chest and then put them on Jesse's as he moved toward them both. "We're on
the same side, after all. After all is said and done, we want the same
things."

"I'm sorry," Jeremy nodded, "It's just that...you know what you've done to
this family. To David's family..."

Angelique circled to Jesse and rubbed his waist, which was bare. Then she
barely touched his hip around to his back, "How sweet. It's David you care
about, isn't it? Did we both know this?"

Jesse blinked, "You can't make us jealous. We have an open relationship."

Angelique put her hand to her mouth to fake a cover to her laugh. "Open?
How unusual. How nice for both of you. And for David."

"What is it you want to say?"  Jeremy asked. "David's both our friends."

"I care for him, too. I was once his step mother."

"I bet," Jeremy nodded, "I bet he loved you so much, he was bewitched by
you."

"Okay, this stops now. Angelique add something constructive or please
leave..."

"I..."  She never heard this before. "I...I've never been spoken to before
like that in this house..."

"I sincerely doubt that," Jesse took her hands off his bare stomach,
"Listen...you want Barnabus to be safe. He's hardly that. He's a vampire
now. And there's the wolf man to consider..."

"Quentin..."


"Yes," Jeremy said.

"At that fireworks show, the cult, a cult of Laura Collins, David's real
mother, will set off all the fireworks but make it so that the fireworks
will destroy every ship there on the bay, the lake, the harbor. A fire will
spread into the woods, burn down this house, the Old House and kill
everyone in both homes, and spread from there to the town. To that silly
little bar to the hotel and that awful Maggie Evan's cottage. Nothing will
be left. And from it, the ashes will arise again, Laura Collins, working
with as an yet unknown partner, will be forever. And I'm very sure she
wants to take David with her, this time as full Phoenix or perhaps a
sacrifice. I haven't worked that out yet."

Jeremy smiled and sat down. "You sure are powerful to know all that."

"Yes but not powerful enough against the forces she's gathered. She also
has the portrait that keeps Quentin young and keeps him changing into the
werewolf.  She gave David that dream to keep him away from....from..."

Softened, Jeremy nodded, "I get the idea...people like my friend and I."

"He's likable enough. Joshua...that's my cat...just adored him."  She
glanced at Jesse, who gave him his best puppy dog face.

"Joshua. He's not..."

"Oh, no," she laughed. "I did once turn Joshua, Barnabus's meddlesome and
tiresome father into a cat but I turned him back. This is just another
familiar I have. He's his own free agent though. I don't need him but he,
like I, have uses. And he just adored Jesse here..."

"OH," Jeremy smiled, "Everyone and everything likes
Jesse. Dogs. Cats. Ghosts."

"Witches."

"I'm just Mr. Loveable..."

"I said likes."  Jeremy corrected.

"What can you do though if not even you are powerful enough I mean...?"

Angelique nodded, "I have my ways and my uses."

"I'm sorry about the animosity."

"Not another word about it," she said and touched his chin and put her lips
close to his own, "You are so cute...and so forgiven..."

"Thanks," Jeremy smiled, "They say, if you do that, you will be forgiven."

Her eyes averted his for the first time. "I have my ...my changes to
invoke. To keep to. I am no longer a creature of pure evil. No longer of
the devil."

"That's good to... to hear and to know," Jeremy smiled and took both her
hands, "I'm glad we're on the same side."

"So am I," she withdrew her hands and moved to the door. "I will be in
touch. I will try to find out how to free Quentin and the family."

"We think they're all being held at the caretaker cottage..."

Jeremy shook his head no. "We've been there..."

"Laura's got some kind of spell over it so that we can't see it. A smoke
screen of some kind."

"Literally. She's more powerful this time," Angelique floats backward and
out the door. "I will be in touch..."

"You sure we can trust her?"  Jeremy hugged Jesse close to him. "mmmmm, you
smell good..."

Jesse's bottom half touched Jeremy's. Jeremy held him closer as Jesse
removed Jeremy's shirt and their bare upper torsos rubbed on each other.
"NO, but she's the strongest ally we've got and even the worst of enemies
have to concede after so many years. Look at the Doctor and that fool, the
Master. They could have destroyed each other how many times now ?  and yet
they always seem to let the other go one way or another. In truth, I think
she's given it up for Barnabus. If not, she would have done something to
Julia and he by now."

"That's hardly a comfort to me, comparing her to the Master...."

Jesse laughed, "Well, this might be our last night..."

"In this time zone..."

"You've found the Doctor!!!"  Jesse squeezed him tighter and put his head
on his shoulder.

"I think so," Jeremy said, "That grandfather clock down there..."

"Uoooo, didn't the Master use a grandfather clock?"

"Uooo, I didn't think of that..."  he said, "I don't think it's him,
though..."

"Well, what're we waiting for?"  Jesse asked, "Let's get down there and..."

As Jesse tried to part from him, Jeremy took his lover's arm and pulled him
back to him. "It's not that simple, kiddo."

Jesse looked at him. Jeremy smiled. Jesse, for being a few years older than
him, could be so innocent looking, naïve at times and even...somewhat
child-like. He sighed. "I'm not sure he wants us to be known to him..."

"Whaa?"

"I mean he could still be on that kick of letting us be...live our own
lives..."

"I'm gonna break down that fucking TARDIS door..."  He started to run
toward the door again, again having pulled away from Jeremy's grasp.

"Jesse!"  Jeremy pulled him back again as the boy tried to run off
again. "Jesse, Jesse, Jesse...."

Jesse looked at Jeremy, they were inches from each other's lips.  "But
he's..."

"He's..."  Jeremy searched for words, "Damaged. I'm not sure. It could be
he's forgotten us. It could be he's regenerated and become a new Doctor. It
could be his memory is gone. It could be anything. Maybe he's already lived
1000 more years and moved on to other lovers?"

"I..."  Jesse swallowed. "I refuse to believe that..."

"I know. But it's just something we both have to be ready for. Listen, we
both know the Doc's an alien. Yeah, he sometimes is partly human but mostly
he's an alien, Jesse. An alien."

"No."

Jeremy guided Jesse to sit down on the large red lined chair. Jeremy sat
next to him, huddled. He put his arm around him. "He is."

"We both know him. The definition of....oh, you smell so good, too," Jesse
nuzzled his lover's neck. "Definition of alien is something strange,
something unknown to. And you just said, we both know the Doctor. We both
know he's from another planet, another culture. He's long lived. But he
loves us..."

"He may have loved his wife, too."

"Wife. I try not to think about her..."

"Listen. He has told us that..."  Jeremy had tears in his eyes.  "That was
over a long time ago. But how do we know that you and I weren't the ones
who opened the floodgates. Maybe he's got more lovers now. Maybe he's moved
on in time as well as in his life. We just don't know."

"Fuck him, then. Fuck him and fuck the TARDIS he rode in on."  Jesse
spurted and stood up in front of Jeremy.  "IF that's the case, fuck him. I
have you and you have me. BUT I'll be damned if that fuck is going to dump
us, ignore us AND leave us stuck in this time zone for good. He IS going to
bring us home..."  He started to march out again but Jeremy caught his arm.

"C'm ere..."  Jeremy pulled him to him, "I need you."  He pulled Jesse to
his lap and their lips met in a passionate kiss. "We've have a
better...mffpffgthh...."  He talked as he kissed. And was kissed. Jesse
open mouthed his entire mouth length and kissed over Jeremy's thick
lips. "Mmmmmm, if we...."  Jeremy tried to talk. "We...try to....fuk....try
to catch him leaving the TARDIS during the morning or the day..."

Jesse turned his lips the other way around Jeremy's mouth. Their slurping
sounds were the only audibles haunting Collinwood's hallway that
night. They enjoyed their kissing.

Quentin is nursed back to health by Laura Collins, David's mother. He's
laying on a couch in the main room of the cottage. Laura is stroking his
chest and from behind the couch, also rubbing up and down his arms and
shoulders. "Oh, Quentin, it will be glorious. You and I and my son..."

Quentin was groggy and in ripped clothing. "David. You leave him alone..."

"I'll have him. It was always meant to be..."  Laura removed her hands and
stared into the fireplace.  "And with my allies...I shall have him, longer
life than anyone dared imagine, I'll have them..."  she waved her hand to
the family, all three sitting on the floor like imbeciles,
drooling. "...and of course, you, my dear Quentin. To think a long time
ago, you were my enemy..."

"I still am. Laura, you can't...."  Quentin was groggy, his eyes half
shut. He couldn't get up off the couch. "You can't have David..."

"I will. Oh, not yet but the seeds have been sown and I will have what is
mine. He will come to me...willingly..."

At the hotel, David knocked on a door.  "Come..."

"I'd love to," David opened it as Owen finished...

"...in... David. What if someone had been in here with me?"

David came over to him and kissed him, straddling the wooden chair he was
in. Owen touched David's sides and put him off the chair. He moved to the
door and closed it.  "David. David, we have to talk..."

"That's not what I have in mind..."  David nuzzled his nose into Owen's
neck from the front, standing up from the chair he had plopped in after
Owen moved him up and out.  "mmmmmm."

"David, I don't know what those friends of yours have gotten into your head
but..."

"Head. I want head....from you..."  David licked Owen's neck.

"David!"  Owen pushed him away. "You're not listening to me! I'm at work,
for God's sake!"

David blinked. "Owh...Owen. It's time that you and I..."

"What David? You and I what?"  Owen asked. "I can't handle it. I can't do
it. I won't do it. I'm just not ready for that. I never will be. I hate
it. I hate myself and David..."

"Don't..."

"David, I..."  Owen swallowed. "David, I just don't want that life..."

David moved to the door, swung it open, and said, "You think I do. Without
you? I'll find another life then!"

Owen started out after him but then grabbed the open door, rested his head
on it as he held it with both hands and put his face to it. He began to
cry. "David..."

David fled the hotel, ran to his car, and didn't even notice the sun was
beginning to set.

As soon as it set, in the basement of the Old House, Barnabus's coffin was
opening again. Two cult members were held Julia and Willie at bay. Both had
knives poised over the necks of Barnabus's two friends.  "If you harm
them..."

"Our mistress won't allow it. At least, not yet. But you must stop those
that come from another time. They can interfere with our plans...and with
time itself. It is not allowed."

Julia gasped, "Barnnnnnabbbbus! Don't do it!"

"Yeah, Barnabus, I'd rather you let em kill us than let em use you this
way..."

"I'll do as you ask."  Barnabus stated, "But you must know this: if
anything happens to either of them, I shall come to you both with a
vengeance."

"Just do your mistresses' bidding and they will be allright," the young man
said. He must have just been out of his twenties, long black hair, hippy
shirt of peace signs, which Barnabus could see beneath the red cloak. The
other was blond but looked pretty much the same, except he wore no
shirt. And he looked dirtier.



Jeremy had ridden Jesse as long as he could, cam inside him and then pulled
out. The two collapsed after doing this. They had fallen asleep. Something
touched their minds. "Jeremy, Jesse, we need you. Cult members have taken
Julia and Willie hostage. They're holding them ...Julia in the woods and
Willie at the Old House. We were wrong, it's happening now, tonight...Laura
is making her move right now..."

"Did you hear that?"  Jesse asked, groggy, and rolling over, one arm draped
over Jeremy's hard yet smooth and soft skinned side.

Jeremy turned over to touch his lover's arms, moving them to one side and
then over his chest and belly, "It must be Barnabus. His mind...I think it
touched mine."

"Mine, too."  Jesse asked, "What do we do?"

"We split up," Jeremy said, "I'll take the Old House..."

"Oh no, not after last time. It might be some kind of vampire trap or a
trap from Laura..."

Jeremy stood up, totally naked, his erect penis growing and dripping with
more excitement. He put on his best Doctor voice, "My dear Jesse, of course
it's a trap. Is there any other way to go to meet your nemesis?"

Jesse laughed.

Jesse walked in the woods. The light of the full moon gleamed down on
him. He held out a cross.

Jeremy was doing the same as he walked toward the Old House...but from the
beach. The ocean roared as he moved steadily toward the back of the
house. He stared at it. The imposing structure held memories of a not too
long ago encounter with Barnabus. The house almost stopped him. Almost. He
moved on. He knew, from architecture drawings that Julia showed him, about
a secret entrance way from the beach side.

Someone was breathing heavy in the woods. A some thing that was tracking
Jesse. Jesse turned. He wore red shorts, red sneakers, and a slightly short
cut red tank top that clung to his body. He was sorry he didn't bring the
red hooded sweat jacket. He also wondered where David had gone off
to. Before he and Jeremy left the main house, they had looked in his
room. He hadn't been back there. He wasn't asleep in the house and it
seemed wasn't about to. Both boys had wondered if David had gotten lucky
with Owen. They knew he was going over to the Collinsport Inn to talk
seriously about their relationship.  David wanted to take it to the next
level. Jesse turned, hearing a snap of branches to one side of him. Someone
or some thing was walking around in the woods. "Okay, Barnabus, is that
you?"  Then he whirled around, as directly behind him, another series of
sounds echoed through the woods.  There were two some things after him.

The two cult members held knives on Julia and Willie. Willie looked over to
the room where Maggie Evans had once been held, oh, so long ago. 1967. How
could he have allowed that to happen. Barnabus. Then there was the time in
1968 or was it 1969, when Barnabus planned to kill Maggie, when she had
started to remember her being kidnapped, kept inside a coffin and nearly
turned into Barnabus's bride Josette, mock two. Willie shut his
eyes. "Don't worry, old man, it'll all be over soon," the blond snickered
as he held the knife closer against Willie's neck.

"You can stop taunting him."  Julia moved her eyes sideways to the other
two. She dare not moved her head at all, for the dark haired one held the
knife at her neck.  "Besides, you can relax the blades against our
flesh...we're not going anywhere."

"And we're perfectly harmless..."  Willie said, "Unfortunately."

"I suppose you're right," the blond said and lowered the blade. He laughed,
"We can do it later..."

"I thought...you were going to let us live?"

Suddenly, the door flung open from where Maggie was once held. A brilliant
light shone from the room. Willie saw his chance. From the steps, another
sound echoed. Maggie Evans came down the steps, "I bid you to stop your
evil ways."

"Who...who...are you?"

"I am Josette Collins, long dead!"

The light shone greater from the cellar door. Willie punched the stomach of
the dark haired man. He buckled over and dropped the knife. Willie double
punched the man's belly with fists interlocked. The dark one fell down. The
blond one had moved at Julia. Maggie Evans came jumping off the steps,
raised a foot and kicked the man full in the face.  He fell back, the knife
fallen. Jeremy came in with a huge sun lamp shaped like a gun. "You two
allright?"

"Yes," Julia gasped, "But...Maggie?"

"It's me this time, really, Julia. Not Josette. No ghost."

Joe Haskell came down the steps.  "She insisted on doing this dangerous
bit...wouldn't hear of me coming down."

Maggie shrugged, "Well, there was always the chance if Joe came rushing in
or Jeremy here...they'd have stabbed you or Willie or both. This way...I
mean the cult know well the legend of Josette Collins...still, it was an
awful risk with your lives...both of you, I'm sorry."

Willie came over to her and touched her arms, "You kiddin? You probably
saved our lives..."

"It was worth the risk," Julia added.

Joe was looking for some rope. When he found it, he began to tie up the two
men. "Do you have that phone in here that works still?"

"Yeah," Willie said, "I'll call the Sheriff..."  He ran up the steps.

"I don't understand. How'd you know we were in trouble?"  Julia wondered,
looking at the fallen knives.

Maggie shrugged again, "Jeremy and Jesse here, came to us, needed our
help. They knew about you being held hostage."

"Yeah," Jeremy said, "I thought...well, I thought just one of you was
here. Barnabus..."

"Barnabus!"  Julia gasped, "Barnabus!"

"Yes, he sent us a telepathic message. But he told us that...Jesse and
I...that is...that you were being held in the woods. And Willie here at the
house....he was supposed to meet us in the woods... oh no! I sent Jesse
there alone to meet him and rescue you!"  Jeremy fled up the steps, soon to
run out of the house...

"But I'm here," Julia called after, uselessly.

Two eyes watched from the bushes. The pupils darted back and forth. A hairy
face. Quentin. The werewolf. It lunged out of the bushes and jumped
straight at Jesse. Jesse saw it, had turned toward it and jumped back. He
saw the werewolf regain its footing.

Jesse moved back somewhat, "Oh no, not again."  He held out the cross but
knew it was useless against the wolf man. "Quentin, no! No, Quentin, stop!"
The monster was slowly rising and moving, one foot in front of the other,
wolf steps, at him, hands ready to strike, the body ready to spring. It was
cornering Jesse. Jesse looked around. There was no where to run. A boulder
on one side, a string of bushes behind him on the other, a huge tree
directly behind his back. He moved his back to the tree. Perhaps he could
try to dodge it. It lunged but as it did, something, bat like swooped out
of the sky and formed into a man. It was a bat! It was a man! Wings became
arms and in one of the hands was the cane of Barnabus.

"Back! Back you foul thing!"  Barnabus hit the beast with the silver of his
cane and the monster renewed its snarls. Its eyes registered fear and it
shrank away. Barnabus hit it again and again and finally, it fled off into
the woods, yelping.

Jesse leaned on the tree and held his neck. "Thank...thank you..."

Barnabus came over to Jesse, looking at his bare neck. "Are you allright?
Did it scratch or bite you?"

"No, no," Jesse gasped, "But if you hadn't arrived when you did...no, no
bites..."

Barnabus rounded to look at the boy's supple neck. The blood. He could feel
it...taste it...pulsating within the vein...that main vein in the neck. He
was so dry. He was so thirsty. "No..."

"I know, there's no bite, don't worry. Now where..."

Barnabus was checking the neck out closer. Closer. To his eyes, the neck
was at his mouth. Barnabus bared his fangs and Jesse, caught completely off
guard, was unaware that the man who had just saved him, the vampire who was
his hero, was mere inches from sinking both fangs into his neck!



TBC!!!

Next: the conclusion of the DARK SHADOWS storyline



Next time...

"Where are we?"

"Another planet!"

"And without the Doctor..."