“It burns,” she wheezed out. “It burns so much.”
“I know,” Van Helsing said gently, “but you must try to finish it.”
“I can’t,” she implored.
“I know,” he said, and he held the cup out for her to take. He would not force this on her if he did not have to, and so he waited for her to regain her composure. Exhibiting strength that would elude some men, Lucy took the cup from Van Helsing’s hand and looked at it, not wanting to do what she must. Her face twisted into a grimace as she stared at the garlic mush in her hand. Finally, she upended the drink and swallowed the remainder of it.
She dropped the cup immediately as the solution made its way down her throat and burned her insides. She whimpered and pounded the bed in pain. There was nothing he could do for her as it worked its way through her body. After a long moment, she sighed.
“I am fine,” she breathed and lay down. “I am fine.”
Van Helsing watched her as she rested without closing her eyes. He could see the improvement in her face as the properties of the herb made its way through her system, and he had a measure of hope, though he knew it would be short-lived. This would provide a temporary staving of the inevitable, but as time went on, the Mutation serum flowing through her would become more aggressive and eventually win. He needed to continue researching this, but until then, he had another idea that might help to ward the condition off for a little while longer.
* * * * * * * * * *
The next morning, Van Helsing met Seward at the train station in Whitby, and they traveled together to the Westenra residence. Van Helsing was in good spirits despite what he had taken the time to explain to Seward about his concern over Lucy’s deteriorating condition. He carried a box which he only described as a hope for more time.
Once at the Westenra house, they found Lucy awake and in good spirits once more. The garlic drink had worked wonders for her health, and she hoped and prayed for brighter days ahead. Finally, she asked about the box he carried.
“This, my dear girl, is yet more hope for a bright future,” he said opening the box to reveal a large number of garlic flowers. The smell wafted through the room as soon as he opened it causing even Seward to hold his nose in surprise.
“You can’t be serious,” Seward said. “What are we to do with these?”
“We hang them in her room, of course,” Van Helsing said, pulling a string of flowers out of the box and stringing them around her bed frame. He noted Seward looking mournfully at his hands, perhaps wishing that, like Van Helsing tended to always wear, he had gloves to wear while handling the odiferous flowers.
“And this is supposed to help me?” Lucy asked.
“In as much as the garlic drink I made you last night was,” Van Helsing said. “I hope to give us time at the very least, and if we’re lucky, it might even help to make you better.”
He returned to the box and pulled another string of flowers, and he had hardly walked away before Seward had done the same. Together, they covered the majority of Lucy’s room with the smell of garlic. Finally, Van Helsing pulled a wreath of them from the box and turned to Lucy who had only been watching them as they worked.
“What do you want me to do with that?” she asked.
“I would like for you to wear it around your neck,” Van Helsing replied. “We cannot be too careful.”
“I can barely stand the smell in this room, and you want me to wear them as well?” she asked.
“I assure you that the smell is overpowering, even to me,” Van Helsing explained, “but if we are to have any hope of helping you, you will need to trust me.”
“You’re not looking too good yourself, doctor,” Lucy noted as she observed that Van Helsing’s eyes were bloodshot and teary.
“Well, I will say that garlic is not the best on my system,” he said. “In fact, you might say I have a pretty fair reaction to it, but we are not here to concern ourselves over me. If this helps you, I will submit myself to it in order to help you.”
Seeing his condition, Lucy nodded and placed the wreath around her neck. “Why does it burn when I touch it?” she asked.
“I wish I could explain,” Van Helsing lamented. “For now, try to get some rest, and tomorrow, we will visit you again to see how things are going.”
* * * * * * * * * *
The following day, Van Helsing and Seward traveled to the Westenra house again to check on Lucy. Despite trying various ideas with Lucy’s blood, he had so far been unable to prevent the Mutation serum from doing its work, though he was hopeful that their tactics were serving to at least slow it down. If this continued to fail, they would be out of options, and he would be forced to reveal what would have to happen if she were to turn.
Mrs. Westenra met them at the door, as usual, but she seemed a bit cross that morning.
“It is good to see you, gentlemen,” she said, leading them through the house. “I went into Lucy’s room last night to say good night, and I found it in a most deplorable state. The stench of the flowers in the room was downright suffocating. I cleaned the room right out after she was asleep and opened the doors to let the air in. I dare say she likely slept much better for it.”
“I’m sorry, madame,” Van Helsing said, “but you mean to tell me you removed all of the flowers from the room after we left last night?”
“Of course,” she said. “Lord only knows how you all were able to stand it in there, and what they were doing there to begin with?”
They entered Lucy’s room, and as Mrs. Westenra had said, the room smelled clean, and there was no sign of any of the garlic flowers anywhere. Their eyes fell on Lucy whose appearance had declined so dramatically that they feared she might already be dead.
“Madame, I thank you for your presence of mind,” Van Helsing said. “For now, we must attend to our patient.”
He ushered her out as she thanked him, and once the door was closed, he closed his eyes and shook his head in despair. “Poor, stupid woman. She tried to do right by her daughter, but in doing so, only served to speed her demise.”
Seward was already had Lucy’s side checking her over. “Doctor, she is barely breathing.”
“She is dying of blood loss, even still, John.”
“How is this even possible? There is no blood on the bed or anywhere in the room. She has no open wounds that we have ever been able to find. There is no way she could be losing blood, and she has even taken transfusions from two of us.”
“And she will need a third,” Van Helsing said.
“I will give what I can,” Seward offered, but Van Helsing stopped him.
“No, this time, the donor must be me,” Van Helsing said. “It has not been long enough for you to fully recover what you gave before, and this is my last hope for this poor girl.”
“What do you mean?” Seward asked.
“I have a blood condition of my own, John,” Van Helsing said. “It is why I refused to give before, but if I gave it to her now, she would be far better off than she would be if this continues to its fruition.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Nor would I expect you to,” Van Helsing said, but as he looked at Seward, he noticed a combination of hurt and confusion on his friend’s face. He could not explain everything to Seward at this time for a variety of reasons. “I do not mean to say that to hurt you or insult your intelligence. In fact, you would be one of few who could handle and assimilate all that I know, but for now, it is best if there are things I keep to myself.”
They prepared the transfusion apparatus, and Van Helsing watched as his blood flowed through the tubing into Lucy.
“John, please locate where Mrs. Westenra disposed of the flowers and restore them to the room as I give to poor Lucy.”
Seward agreed, and Van Helsing watched Lucy for any kind of change, but none came. Her color improved as it had with the blood of Arthur and Seward, but beyond this, she did not change as he hoped she might. The Mutation serum was strong, to be sure
, and he knew for certain that there would be no overcoming it. He wondered how everything they had done would affect the next phase of the Mutation transformation which generally lasted a couple of days and simulated death. He was certain the family would insist on a burial and all the funeral rites they would typically administer. He knew he would need to wait until that process was complete before he could approach them with what would need to happen next with her.
He considered euthanizing her right now since the change looked inevitable. Yet, for her to pass so suddenly with only him present, it would raise questions, and Lucy’s change meant that there was a Mutation in Whitby. He would need help to find and defeat it, and the only way to get that help would be showing Seward and others where this change was going. Their trust was absolutely vital.
Once the transfusion was complete, he spoke to Mrs. Westenra and encouraged her to leave the room as they have it now. While she did not fully understand their purpose, she agreed to leave the flowers.
Van Helsing and Seward remained in the house to look after Lucy over the following day, and while she did improve, it was never significant enough for him to believe there was any hope on the horizon. Still, he was not ready to just give up on her. The garlic and transfusions had served to slow the next phase of the Mutation condition, so he would continue this as long as it took before she finally changed over as he hoped for a cure.
Late that evening, Van Helsing received a telegram and let them know that he would need to go to Amsterdam the next day, but he would return, he hoped, the day after. Seward also decided to return to Purfleet to make sure all was well at his asylum, and so Lucy would be left alone that evening. Based on her appearance, Van Helsing estimated that she would be all right as long as the garlic remained in the room for the time they were gone.
However, as Van Helsing was taking the train across the channel, he thought better of leaving Lucy alone for the night, and decided to send a telegram to Seward as soon as he could to ask him to return to Whitby for that evening just in case.
* * * * * * * * * *
Back in Purfleet, Seward found everything well in order including Renfield, who had been calm during his time away. However, when Seward stood at the man’s door, Renfield stared at him curiously and seemed to cock his head like an animal. Seward thought little of it, and decided that with this rare night to himself, he would have dinner in his study.
He had barely set himself down when an orderly brought in a telegram that was delivered moments before. He decided he would eat first, and then see what news the telegram brought.
During his dinner, he heard a commotion, and before he could do anything, Renfield burst through the study doors, shattering one of them from its hinges. He jumped at Seward, knocking him to the floor and proceeded to smell of his clothing.
“Where were you?” Renfield asked, but before any answer could be given, the stronger orderlies took hold of Renfield and attempted to restrain him. Renfield fought them off and grabbed the knife from Seward’s table.
“Now, Richard,” Seward said, holding out his hands in a peaceful gesture. “Let’s put the knife down and return to our room. You don’t want to hurt anyone, do you?”
“No, of course not,” Renfield said, but as he relaxed, one of the orderlies made a move for him. Renfield reacted and jumped toward Seward. He spun, and the knife sliced across Seward’s wrist causing blood to drip to the wooden floor. Renfield’s focus turned to the spilt blood, and he dropped to his knees and licked it up.
No sooner had he done this than the orderlies descended again, and this time, six of them were able to contain him by carrying him out of the room. Seward treated his wrist and left dinner mostly uneaten along with the unread telegram on the table to sleep in his own bed.
* * * * * * * * * *
In Whitby, Lucy tried to sleep, but so many days in bed had left her restless, and the smell of the garlic was almost unbearable. She was feeling stronger and felt certain that she would improve as the days went on. Somewhere between waking and sleeping, she heard noises outside her room, but she was not sure whether it was outside the house or in the hall. She thought it sounded a bit like something flapping against a wall or her window, but glancing outside, she saw nothing.
She got out of bed and opened the door to her room, but the hall was dark. She thought she might be imagining it, but other noises continued. She took a step toward her exterior door, but the weakness set in again, and she stumbled. She thought she heard another noise, like the howl of a wolf, but she was not certain.
She turned and saw her mother standing in her doorway. “Are you all right?” she asked. “I heard you open the door, and I was worried.”
“I’m fine,” Lucy said quickly, and she walked back to her bed and lay down.
“Do you want me to stay with you for a time?” her mother asked.
“I think I would like that,” Lucy replied. She heard her mother walk around her bed and lie down beside her. She was grateful for her mother’s presence, and she hoped that her presence would help to stave off the nightmares she thought might be invading her slumber.
It was quiet for a long while, and she was certain after a while that the noises were all in her head. Then, shadows danced across her walls, and she glanced to her exterior door where she saw someone or something outside. The noise also disturbed her mother who sat up with a gasp upon seeing the shapes outside.
Suddenly, one of them crashed through the door shattering the glass across the room. Outside on the patio was what she thought was a large wolf staring at them. Her mother dropped back in the bed just before Lucy saw what appeared to be a man rise from the foot of her bed, and then she fainted as well.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
David had traveled periodically between Purfleet and Whitby hoping to determine whether the Mutation that had taken the Demeter to England had remained in the area or had traveled somewhere between the coastal city and London. To date, he had seen little of his prey, but on this most recent visit, he had finally spotted the shadow of a hunched form near a house close to the location where the ship had crashed.
He drew his sword and approached the person, who noticed him and stood up. David recognized him immediately.
“Karian,” David said. “You should not be here. Why didn’t you stay in Transylvania?”
“Because you took away my only purpose for remaining there,” Karian replied. “You destroyed my family.”
“Your family broke the treaty we held and invaded the castle while you were apparently away.”
“And that justified killing them?”
“Their existence justifies their deaths,” David replied, and Karian drew a breath in offense. “We both know they only exist to kill. We both know they only live a half-life anyway.”
“They were more than just animals,” Karian insisted. “I knew them.”
“Your crimes are much deeper than theirs. At least they could not be held accountable for what they’d done. Guilt requires knowledge and conscience. Theirs had been cruelly stripped from them by the Mutation serum.”
“So little you know of them.”
“You made no attempt to teach me more.”
“Would you have listened?”
“It is too late to find out now.”
“So it is my turn for your murder?” Karian asked.
“It is time to rid this country of the menace you would cause,” David replied. “How many have you created so far?”
“And have you kill them mercilessly before they can live?” Karian countered. “I don’t think so.”
“I will find them,” David warned.
“I do not doubt it,” Karian said, and he immediately ran from David. David was not going to allow him to escape, so he chased Karian across the lawn behind a large house. He could see the cemetery and the coast looming ahead of them, so he knew Karian could not continue that direction.
Karian made a sharp turn, but David was ready and attempted to cu
t Karian down mid-stride. Karian anticipated and David missed him by inches. Karian ran toward the rear of the house, but David closed in on him quickly.
David reached him just as he reached the rear patio of the house, and though David tried to cut him down, Karian avoided David’s every blow. Finally, Karian delivered a swift kick to David’s chest which knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying through the glass door behind him, shattering it. He crashed to the floor, gasping for air.
He glanced back to the door and saw Karian standing on all fours for only a moment before he sprinted away. David struggled to his feet and looked over the room when his eyes centered on the young woman in the bed right behind where he had landed. She stared at him, wide-eyed for only a moment before she fainted. He felt it was just as well that she think of him only as a dream. Next to her was an older woman who also appeared to be asleep, but something was not right about her.
He felt the need to check on her, but he became aware of the scent of garlic overwhelming him. He had to leave as quickly as possible. He walked to the shattered doorway regretting the damage and that the women were now exposed to the elements. He considered that the garlic in the room would certainly serve to keep Karian away as odd as its presence was.
He looked over the yard, but as he expected, Karian was long gone. He glanced back to the house and regretted returning to civilization again. Already, people were getting hurt by his presence, and since Karian had to be sustaining himself somehow, that would mean people were also dying. He was grateful that Karian was alone, which could mean he had not made any new Mutations yet, but David knew that it would only be a matter of time before he would change others to be part of his family.
He looked along the ground and eventually found the direction that Karian had to have traveled. He was not sure how long he would be able to follow it, but he felt obligated to try. He traced the trail to a paved road along which he guessed his target had run for the sole purpose of making it hard to follow him. With the trail gone cold, David was back where he started in having to search the country alone in the hopes that he might happen across the old man somewhere.
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