Play@YSDC

"I suppose we'd better," says Victoria. "I'm sorry we couldn't get your memory back, Maggie, but maybe you're better off not remembering what happened. Do you want to come with us to the lighthouse to look for Carolyn?"

The brave trio head for the old lighthouse. Once it becomes obvious that the long, steep staircase leading up to the lightkeeper's station, high in the tower, winds it helical way up a very dark and narrow path, the inconvenient return of Maggie's claustrophobia causes her to choose to remain at the bottom, acting as a lookout in case of any intruders. The other two make their way up, flashlights casting their beams within the stairwell, Professor Stokes in the lead.
Despite the dampness and poor condition of the old concrete steps, both are able to make their way safely to the top. There, where the giant lamp once warned ships away from the treacherous rocky shores of Collinsport, in a room completely shut away from daylight by heavy wooden beams covering the openings, lies a simple coffin, barely able to fit inside the small room.

"The die is cast," Professor Stokes whispers. "The time for action is here. I am prepared for the worse." He pulls a sharp wooden stake and a mallet from the voluminous pockets of his heavy coat.

"We don't want to kill her," says Victoria. "We need to bring the coffin outside into the daylight and then open it to expose her to it, or better still we can use the crowbar we obtained as part of the collection of tools to pry off the wooden beams. We can secure it first with ropes or chains so that she can't get out too soon."

The dice roller has to be activated for each board by an admin. I guess carnage_lee hasn't done it for this game yet. I'll have to do it when I log into the Administration Control Panel.

"I concur with your merciful intentions, my dear," Stokes replies, "but it is wise to be prepared for unfortunate consequences."

So saying, he assists Victoria in tying the coffin securely shut with stout ropes (these having been much easier to transport than heavy chains.) Next is the prying of the wooden slats from the openings in the tower. While engaged in this burdensome task, Stokes raises a question.

"It occurs to me," he begins, between heavy breaths, "that Miss Stoddard -- Goodness, this is strenuous exercise -- even given the greatly increased strength of the newly created vampire -- Dear, dear, let me rest a moment -- must have had some sort of help in transporting this coffin -- Drat! Stubborn planks! -- to this lofty location. Which raises an interesting question, as to who that might have been. There! Done at last. A wearisome task, which has taken sufficient time to ensure that the sun is too low in the west for its helpful beams to reach the coffin. I suggest that we consider Miss Stoddard secured from mischief, and that we return tomorrow at dawn to aid her in her return to the mortal realm."

Through the curiously magnifying stairway, which seems to act as sort of a whispering gallery, Victoria and Professor Stokes hear a familiar voice from below.

"Pop? What are you doing here? And who's that with you?"

Maggie:

"Must be Maggie's dad, but who's with him?" whispers Maggie. "Maybe it's Dr. Hoffman. Whoever it is, we need to hide. We could bar the door to this room from inside so they can't get into it."

"An excellent idea, my dear. We certainly have sufficient pieces of wood lying about to ensure that entry will be most difficult. Whether it shall prove necessary to remain here throughout the night remains to be determined."

"If we do, I've got my crucifix," whispers Victoria, "just in case she's strong enough to break out."

Time passes. The sun goes down. From below comes the voice of Maggie Evans, not always fully audible, but it is clear that she is pleading with someone, assumed to be her father. Besides her voice, there is also the sound of heavy, slow footsteps upon the stairs leading to the tower.

Maggie:

As your father, who does not respond to your pleas, holds you back, the very tall man in black begins to walk up the stairs.

A loud pounding sound comes from within the coffin, but the ropes hold it secure.

"Help!" The voice of Carolyn Stoddard comes from within. "They kidnapped me and locked me inside this thing! Help!"

"So much for hiding," whispers Victoria. "Let's hope they can't get inside."

From below comes, first of all, a very deep, loud, male voice, which Victoria and Professor Stokes do not recognize. It speaks slowly, one syllable at a time.

"Car. Lyn."

Next comes the voice of Sam Evans, although speaking in a somewhat hollow, unemotional tone unusual for him.

"She's in there, isn't she? Tell me the truth!"

Maggie:

Victoria remains silent, waiting to see how Maggie will react.

From above, Victoria and Stokes hear Maggie plead with her father not to go inside the lighthouse. Something about the familiar voice of his daughter, the most important person in his life, seems to break his curious state of mind.

"Wha . . . What am I doing here. We need to go back."

The same deep voice heard before says "No." Then the sound of someone falling to the ground and a gasp from Maggie.

Victoria continues to listen, not wanting to reveal their presence yet.

What is heard is "Daddy? Talk to me, Daddy!" and the sound of large, heavy, slow footsteps upon the stairs.

Victoria flattens herself against the wall next to the door, hoping that whoever it is won't be able to force it open since they barred it, and motioning for the professor to do the same with the wall on the other side of the door. She grips her crucifix, in case it turns out to be Barnabas or Carolyn somehow manages to break free.

There is a hammering on the other side of the door, but the barrier holds firm. After this goes on for a while, the same slow, heavy footsteps are heard going back downstairs. A little later, there's a gasp from Maggie, and some mumbled, incoherent words from her father.

Victoria remains hidden for now, though she listens to see if the situation downstairs changes.

After a long, uncomfortable night, during which the voices from below grow silent, the long-awaited sun finally rises. At that same moment, the constant pleas from Carolyn cease.

"I believe it is time to perform our experiment," Professor Stokes remarks. He begins untying the ropes holding the coffin secure. Once this is completed, he stands back, stake and mallet ready.

"If you would do the honors, my dear. One only has two hands."

Once she is certain that the windows are unblocked and allowing sunlight to stream into the chamber, Victoria holds her crucifix in one hand while opening the coffin with the other.

As the beams of light strike the body of Carolyn, she shrieks and writhes within the coffin, only to be forced back into it by the power of the cross. Her blood-shot eyes, dead-white skin, and elongated canines reveal her condition. As smoke rises from her flesh, these signs of vampirism slowly fade, and she collapses into a faint, returned to her normal form, but dead to the world.

"We have been most fortunate," Professor Stokes remarks. "Miss Stoddard might have been destroyed, had she been afflicted for more than a short time. As it is, she will need to recover for quite a while. I am afraid she will have unpleasant memories. How to explain her absence to her family presents quite a problem."