Dracula Ascending (Gothic Horror Mash-up)

by Cindy Winget

  “Yes, but how do we know that Dracula’s powers haven’t grown to include shape-shifting into other people, not just animals? What if he only appears to be a beautiful lady so as to more readily entice children to follow him?”

  “It’s not completely out of the question, I suppose,” mused Van Helsing. “I did take it upon myself to talk to one of the doctors who examined the children, and he was of the opinion that it wasn’t a dog or rat as most people believe, but rather a vampire bat that has escaped from the Zoological Gardens or was brought here by some sailor—either mistakenly or purposefully—from another region.”

  “See! It is him!” Mina insisted.

  Van Helsing glanced at Victor questioningly. They both knew that it was not Dracula who prayed upon the children, but Lucy. However, they had not yet gained the courage to broach the subject of Lucy’s possible transformation into a vampyr with Jack and Mina.

  “But he is here in England to seek his revenge upon me,” cut in Victor. “Why not satiate his blood-lust with one of us? Why waste his time luring children? And why not kill them outright if they are merely a food source to him? It makes no sense!”

  “We can’t possibly understand the way his mind works. Who knows why he has made no further move against us,” Van Helsing said.

  “After all, according to Jonathan’s letter, he has been known to feast upon children before,” Mina pointed out.

  “Did I hear someone say my name?”

  “Jonathan!” cried Mina, running into the open arms of her love.

  Jonathan’s hair was disheveled, and his clothes worn. Days old stubble marred his usually clean-shaven face. He appeared travel weary, as though liable to fall over at any minute. He smelled rank, which Victor tried to politely ignore as he waited his turn to greet his friend, sticking out his hand in anticipation of a gentlemanly handshake. To his surprise, Jonathan threw his arms around Victor, patting him on the back.

  “Victor, old boy! So glad to see you! I didn’t expect you to still be here when I returned from Romania. In fact, I didn’t know for sure if you were even coming at all. Did you bring anyone with you here to England?”

  Victor shook his head. “I am here alone.”

  “Well, no matter. It is great to see you, and it is great to be home.”

  “You are in dire need of a bath, mate,” Jack said, plugging his nose.

  Jonathan, far from being offended, only laughed. “Yes well, travel has been hard and there have been precious few occasions to stay hygienic except for the occasional spit bath. I suppose I could have stayed one more night in an inn somewhere and gotten cleaned up, but I was anxious to be home. By the time I was freed by the gypsies, all passenger ships had already set sail and it was another three weeks before I would be able to procure passage to England. I hopped a stagecoach to France but was unable to ferry my way across the English Channel for a few more days owing to a nasty swell that crept up during the night.”

  “I am just glad that you are here with us now, safe and well,” Mina said, placing her small hand in his. He squeezed it affectionately, gazing upon her with as much love as Victor had ever seen a man bestow upon his wife.

  “Yes, dear Mina has been quite beside herself with worry for you,” said Van Helsing.

  Mina flushed a becoming pink at this. “Surely I wasn’t all that bad.”

  “Van Helsing, my old friend. Whatever are you doing here?” Jonathan asked.

  “I traveled here to help Jack with a problem.”

  “Oh?” Jonathan turned toward Jack. “What’s this? I hope it was nothing too serious.”

  The group fell silent for a moment as the weight of the untold news settled upon them. The smile upon Jonathan’s face fell as he sensed the gravity of the situation. He patiently waited as they all composed themselves.

  It was Van Helsing who braved to broach the subject. “I am afraid we have some unfortunate news. Both Mrs. Westenra and her daughter, Lucy, have left this earthly realm and returned to their maker.”

  Jonathan gasped with surprise. “What!? Both of them?” He turned stricken eyes upon his closest friend. “Oh Jack! I am so sorry to hear that! How did it happen? A carriage accident? Did they fall ill?”

  Jack looked away, unable to speak.

  Victor came to his rescue. “I would be inclined to say the latter, but I am afraid the real reason is more complicated than that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a long story, and you have only just arrived home. Go and clean yourself up, and when you return, we shall tell you all about it,” said Van Helsing.

  Victor saw the wisdom in these words. It would not only allow Jonathan a chance to process this strange and sorrowful turn of events, but would also allow them time to think about how best to tell Jonathan the news about Dracula.

  Jonathan nodded his understanding. He turned to Mina. “I am truly sorry that you have lost your friend, and with me being away from you, unable to comfort you in your time of need!” He reached out and wrapped his arms around her sympathetically.

  “You are going to rub your stink off upon the poor girl!” groused Jack good-naturedly. “Now, off with you!”

  Despite the mild manner with which Jack teased his best friend, Victor heard the quaver in his voice and saw the sadness in his eyes.

  An hour later, Jonathan returned to the drawing room; washed, dressed in fresh clothing, and clean-shaven once more.

  “Mina was gracious enough to share your letter with all of us, so we are up to speed on the trials and tribulations you suffered during your time in Romania,” Van Helsing began, having had permission from Jack to be the one to tell Jonathan, fearing that it would be too much for Jack to talk about the recent death of Lucy. “We regret to inform you that the Count, whom we call Dracula, came here to England when he left Transylvania. It was he who was responsible for the deaths of sweet Lucy and her mother.”

  Startled at the news, Jonathan took a step back, his mouth open in surprise. “What!? How can this be?”

  “It’s my fault!” Victor blurted. “Van Helsing, I am grateful that you want to spare Jack the pain of telling this story, but I would consider myself a coward if I didn’t tell it. After all, this is all my doing. My ambitions are to blame for this whole mess, and I fervently hope that you all can forgive me.”

  Jonathan broke his silence. “How is any of this your fault, Victor? By all accounts, it sounds like it is this Count Dracula who is to blame.”

  “Technically, that is true, but he is my very own creation and so I am, therefore, responsible for his actions.”

  Jonathan’s face paled, and his eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

  “Remember years ago, when you found me working on that secret project?”

  Jonathan shivered as he recalled the gruesome lab back at King`s College. Sometimes he still had nightmares of the dissected bodies of Victor`s work. But the mob destroyed that lab. What could it have to do with anything?

  Victor bowed his head. “I’m ashamed to say that I continued my work in Transylvania, where I would be undisturbed. I was unwilling to give up when I had been so close to success.”

  Jonathan’s eyes filled with sudden understanding. “You finished your experiment.”

  “I did,” said Victor solemnly.

  “You brought a man back to life.”

  “No. I wish that I had, for perhaps the soul I brought back would have had a conscience. But I fear the demon I created has no soul. He is not from heaven, but an undead creature of the night.” Victor explained how he had used the remains of Vlad the Impaler for his project and the significance of doing so.

  He told Jonathan about the death of sweet William and the trial of Justine. He nearly faltered when admitting that he had been ready to build a wife for this fiend, but that he had refused at the last minute and destroyed her, and, as a result, his friend, Henry, had paid the ultimate price. He described how Dracula had threatened him and the life of Elizabeth, and that if
Victor wouldn’t build for him a wife, then he would procure his own. At this point, Victor broke down and wept bitterly, unable to go on.

  It fell back upon Van Helsing to explain to Jonathan about the subsequent illness and later death of Lucy and Mrs. Westenra at the hands of Count Dracula.

  “The thought never would have occurred to me that the Count would come here,” Jonathan said.

  “Yes. I have been having a hard time sleeping since Lucy died,” admitted Mina.

  “I shall mix up a sleeping draught for you,” promised Van Helsing.

  She thanked him and went and sat upon the divan.

  When she was out of earshot, Jonathan whispered to Victor, “I can’t believe you went through with that nonsense after me and Jack told you not too! You have brought grief and pain to my dear Mina, and I will not stand for it!”

  Victor hung his head. “I am truly sorry, my friend. If I am allowed to still call you that?”

  Jonathan gave a heavy sigh. “Yes. You are still my friend, but only because I can tell how repentant you are. But I am still angry with you!”

  “I don’t blame you. I am still mad at myself. But mostly, I am just tired.”

  “We will sort out this whole messy affair and put it behind us.”

  Jack broke into their whispered conversation. “Just before you got here, we were deliberating on why Dracula has suddenly gone back to feasting upon the blood of children instead of continuing his harassment of us.”

  A sad look came upon Van Helsing’s face, and he looked pointedly at Victor, who nodded that it was time. “I have a thought I would like to discuss,” Van Helsing told the group.

  They all looked at him expectantly. He began by first informing Jonathan about the news articles about the Bloofer Lady. “Because of the wounds upon the necks of these children, it would stand to reason that they have been set upon by that very Count Dracula who had imprisoned you in his castle; however, I would like to suggest another possible perpetrator. I believe that Lucy has become an undead creature like unto Dracula, and it is she who has been drinking the blood of these innocent children.”

  “She would never!” Jack cried in protest.

  “You are right,” Van Helsing said. “Our Lucy would never be so callous; however, the Lucy that we knew is gone. Replaced by a demon of hell who has no conscience and cares only for her own survival. Her immortality can only be maintained by drinking human blood.”

  “But that means that Dracula has the bride that he sought. So why not take her away from here and let us be?” Victor had been meaning to ask.

  “I can only conjecture my opinion on that matter, but I believe either one of two things. One, Lucy was not inclined to go with him and rather than have a companion out of force, knowing it would never last, Dracula has given up on her. Or, two, even though he gained what he wanted, he is still angry with you and seeks revenge.”

  Victor nodded. Both seemed reasonable to him.

  “So, what do we do now?” asked Jonathan.

  Van Helsing turned stricken eyes upon Jack, dreading the next part that needed to be voiced. “We steal into the mausoleum and cut off Lucy’s head.”

  “What!?” cried Jack.

  “We shall also stake her in the heart and place garlic about her coffin, just to be sure.”

  “Like hell you will!” Jack shouted. “This is Lucy we are talking about! We have absolutely no proof that she is the one who has committed these crimes.”

  “Then let me prove it,” said Van Helsing.

  “How?”

  “We shall visit the mausoleum tonight and open Lucy’s coffin.”

  There was silence for a time. Finally, Jack nodded his assent. “Fine. But you shall be proven wrong.”

  “I hope you are right,” sighed Van Helsing.

  *****

  “I think you should stay here,” Jonathan said softly to Mina.

  Her first inclination was to be angry and spout off about how she was not afflicted with ‘female sensibilities’ but thought better of it. She had known Jonathan long enough to trust that he thought she was strong and capable.

  “She was your best friend. I would hate for you to have to witness such a macabre thing in regards to her,” he continued.

  Mina softened further at this. In truth she had secretly dreaded traveling to the graveyard but would not have it said of her that she was weak. In light of Jonathan’s kindness, she nodded. “Perhaps you are right. It is for the best. It would be far too crowded in there, and, besides, I am tired. The long nights have gotten to me, I am afraid. I feel weak as a newborn kitten!”

  Jonathan breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was saying this mostly for his benefit. “It’s settled then. Thank you.”

  “Are we ready?” asked Van Helsing.

  Jonathan, Jack, and Victor all nodded, and the men headed out to the graveyard.

  Mina waved them off at the door, shutting it firmly behind them and leaning against it with her eyes closed, trying not to picture what her beloved husband was about to witness.

  *****

  The four men reluctantly opened the mausoleum door and entered the crypt. Crowbars in hand, they forced their way into Lucy’s sealed coffin. Jack and Jonathan immediately jumped back as the lid came free, expecting a gruesome sight followed by the smell of rotting flesh. But instead what they found was somehow worse. The coffin was empty.

  “Do you believe me now?” Van Helsing asked.

  “Where is she?” cried a distraught Jack.

  “You know my opinion on that,” Van Helsing said quietly.

  “How do you know that a grave robber hasn’t stolen away her body?” Jack challenged.

  Van Helsing sighed. “I know this is difficult for you to accept, my friend, but it is Lucy who has been harming these children. I am sure of it.”

  Jack shook his head. “I can’t believe it. Not unless I witness it with my own eyes.”

  “That can be arranged,” Victor spoke up.

  “What? Not you too, Victor! Don’t tell me you believe this nonsense!”

  “There is a way to be certain.”

  “How?” asked Jonathan.

  “We lie in wait for Lucy to return. If what Van Helsing says is true, then Lucy will return to her coffin come morning. Isn’t that what the legend says?” Victor looked to Van Helsing, with whom he had had many conversations on the subject of vampyrs during his sojourn at Whitby.

  “But Dracula can move about during the day. Why not then Lucy?” asked Jonathan.

  “I have a theory on that,” said Van Helsing. “We all know that Dracula was not turned into a vampyr by traditional means, so perhaps he is not beholden to the same limitations as others that he may create.”

  “Only one way to find out,” said Victor softly.

  “I can’t believe we are doing this,” growled Jack, but he made no move to return to the house.

  They had many hours to kill before Lucy would return, but none of them was willing to miss her by trying again later. Therefore, they made themselves as comfortable as possible and waited.

  “Mina may worry when we don’t return shortly,” Jonathan pointed out.

  “It can’t be helped,” Victor said.

  “Should I return to Whitby and let Mina know that we shall be a while yet and that we are all safe?” Jonathan asked.

  “As her husband, I leave that up to you.”

  Several more minutes passed silently before Jonathan stood up and excused himself, stating that he would be back soon. The others passed the time by reminiscing about past experiences together and wondering where Dracula was right now and what he was up to.

  In time, Jonathan returned, a harried look upon his face.

  “What is it?” Victor asked.

  “There is a small child outside.”

  “What!?” Jack yelped.

  They all scrambled from the stone floor where they kept their vigil and hurried outside. “Where?” whispered Victor.

  J
onathan pointed among the headstones. Victor couldn’t see what he was talking about at first, but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could faintly make out the outline of a small child moving slowly through the dewy grass of the cemetery. They all remained frozen in amazement as they watched the child make her way toward the mausoleum.

  “You wanted proof, and here you have it. I shall show you the puncture marks upon this child’s neck and you will see that they are much closer together than the puncture marks left by Dracula upon Lucy’s neck. Lucy’s mouth is much smaller than that of Dracula,” Van Helsing said, walking with purpose toward the child. The youngster made no sound or any movement that would indicate she saw Van Helsing.

  As though in a trance, she continued her trek toward the tomb that housed Lucy’s coffin. Her eyes never blinked or looked in their direction. Van Helsing snatched her up in his arms as she was about to pass him by. She made no protest. He brought her over to the group, moving one of the girl’s braided pigtails as he did so, seeking the livid red marks of the vampyr. But none were to be found.

  “Where are they?” Van Helsing cried in dismay. “I know I am right!”

  “Perhaps we got here in time to save her from that fate,” Jonathan said.

  Van Helsing frowned in thought. “Perhaps you are right.”

  “What shall we do with her? We don’t know to which family she belongs or where she lives,” Jack pointed out.

  “We shall take her to the constable,” Van Helsing said.

  They all nodded their agreement and followed Van Helsing as he left the cemetery, heading toward the carriage house. The young girl—perhaps only three or four years of age—had gone limp in his arms, her eyelids fluttering shut.

  “Does she sleep?” Victor asked with concern.

  “All is well. Don’t worry, I can feel her breathing,” assured Van Helsing.

  When they reached the carriage house, Jack hopped up upon the carriage stair and leaned down toward the sleeping child. “Hand her up to me, and I shall lay her upon the seat.”

  Van Helsing did as he was told, shifting his weight enough to ensure that he did not drop the precious cargo as he did so. Jack made his way to the driver’s box as Jonathan and Victor hooked up the two horses that would take them to town. It was determined that Van Helsing would keep watch over the girl, while Victor and Jonathan would return to Whitby and inform Mina of the night’s events.