Dead Light.P2 Conclusion
FROM THE BEGINNINNG: https://wjr5oakley.blogspot.com/2022/08/dead-lightp1.html
Essie (Gagnon) Vance [Whitney], Peter Graves [Jordan]
Recap: Peter maintained his claim he’d barely hit
the girl Emilia, “I wasn’t even 10 mph speed. Her bumps and bruises are from something
else.” Essie defended him, “What was she doing standing in the middle of the
road in the first place?” Emilia’s amnesia kept the diners in doubt till her
memory stirred, “I remember… 2 boys attacked us. [Clem and Billy] They
tried to rob us. A shotgun. I ran. I think grampa was hit. Oh my God, he could
be bleeding out! PLEASE, help me check on gramps!” So, it’s Peter and Essie,
accompanied by Emilia and a tied-up Mary, driving to check on gramps.
Peter
already had Mary’s hands trussed up with a rope. “Well Mary, you’re going to
get that chance to see the inside of the Webb’s cottage.” Emilia borrowed Sam’s
coat, “I’m coming alone too!” Peter looked at Essie, “Care to be my sidekick on
an investigation?”
Heading
Out: Essie found Mary’s coat and put it over his shoulders to Mary’s
complaints, “At least untie me so I can put it on proper.” But Essie only
laughed, “I’m not giving you another chance to get away.” Meanwhile, Peter
cautiously (nervously) stood in the doorway looking for any signs of that scary
blue light.
With Emilia in the front passenger seat to give directions,
Essie and her prisoner sat in the back. Emilia and Peter strained to look thru the
front windshield as the wipers failed to keep the pelting rain off the glass, “Now
keep a lookout. With this stormy darkness, I can barely see the turnoff.” Essie
tried to assist but had to deal with a fogging rear door window. [With Essie distracted, and Mary’s
hands hidden by the coat, Mary tried to get out of her bindings. Failed.]
They found the turnoff and started the climb up the shallow
hill. But the rain-soaked dirt (now mud) road proved too much. [Peter’s failed
Drive roll, and failed Push roll] Peter’s attempt to pour on the gas only spun
the tires as the car almost jackknifed sideways on the road. “Essie, come drive
as I put on the tire-chains.” [Another
opportunity for Mary to try to escape the ropes with no-one watching. Failed.]
But even with the chains, the car struggled to find traction. So, Peter instructed,
“Essie, you and Mary get out to push.” [So chivalrous. Fortune Mary had failed to untie herself else have to explain why her hands were free.] Finally, the tires found
traction at the expensive of both girls now wearing a coat of slung mud. Essie
was able to jump in the slow-moving car but Mary struggled till Essie reached
over to help pull her in.
Peter rounded the bend and continued up the shallow incline
till the headlights bathed the cottage ahead. He barely came to a stop when
Mary bolted out the rear door, running for the house. “Damn it!” Essie fumbled for
her bow/arrow but decided to just give chase since they were all going inside
anyway. Emilia too had bolted for the house as her concerned for her grandfather.
Peter parked the car but kept it running with the lights on as he jumped out
with his gun drawn. Him faster, he passed the other girls except for Mary
already inside. Besides, Essie had stopped to pickup a crowbar she found
(kicked it) just short of the front porch.
The cottage lights were on. Peter entered and followed the sound
of crying coming from his right. He stepped into a reception room where he
found Mary crying, kneeling over a body, “Clem! Oh my God, Clem!” Peter was
just soaking in the scene when Emilia also entered the room and gasped in
terror, “GRAMPA!” But where Emilia was focused on her gramps further behind
Mary, Peter was reliving the sight of an ashen body… that cow in the truck-bed.
Except it was the boy Mary cried for: Clem’s legs turned to a white-powdery
ash, his chest caved in, and his face… what was left of it… every orifice
turned to a blacked hole! Peter realized that blue-light MUST have attacked
Clem. He shuddered with fright at the thought; too late to prevent Essie from
witnessing the scene. Essie cried out in horror at the sight. [Failed her Sanity check. 5-point
loss. Passed her Intelligence (not good) which meant she FULLY comprehended
what she was seeing. Which triggered a Bout-Of-Madness (Mania – Ablutomania: compulsion
for washing oneself.]
And that is
when Mary spun around with a sawed-off shotgun in hand, “Just back away. Let me
get the cash the old man has, and I’ll leave you to grieve his loss.” Except,
Peter had his pistol out. He instinctively raised it when threatened with the
shotgun. “CLICK. BLAM!” Mary already had the shotgun leveled when Peter raised
his pistol. She shot first. Except, the single-barreled shotgun still had a
spent-shell inside. Thus the “Click.” Fortune? [Firearms-handgun: failed] Peter’s
shot was wide. “Drop the gun or the next one is in your gut!” At gunpoint,
Peter forced Mary into a corner, “Stand there and don’t move! I’ve had enough
of your antics.”
Peter called
Essie forward, “Essie. Essie! Forget about the kitchen sink and water. Come
check on Dr. Webb and help comfort Emilia.” Essie took the long way around Clem
as she joined Emilia’s side. [First Aid] Where she could tell Dr. Webb was
dead. [Persuade] Essie wanted to get Emilia away from the death scene, “Your
gramps' safe… where is it? Show me.” Confused, tormented, nearly insane, Emilia
slowly rose to lead the way towards a backroom, “It’s behind a family portrait
in his study.” Meanwhile, Peter was more concerned about the other missing boy
as he directed Mary (with her hands re-tied) to lead the way, “Let’s go look
for Billy. He might still be in the house.”
Essie found the
safe behind the framed-picture but it locked. So, she took the distraught girl
to her room to lie down on her bed so Essie too could search. She and Peter
concluded Billy probably ran off. [Spot Hidden] But as Peter entered the study
to see if he could crack the safe, he noticed a notebook taped to the back of
the portrait. Dr. Webb’s journal. Peter opened to the first page which included
an inscription surrounded by the signatures of multiple generations of Dr.
Webbs, “May God have mercy upon the physician.” He pondered quizzically at an interior
page filled with 16 entries that spanned 30 years by the dates included. It
wasn’t till he tried to fan through the other pages that a loose paper fell
out. Ancient and yellowed. Its edges worn thru generational handling. Upon it
written:
|
1811 Dr. Samuel Webb, I know not where the man came who gave me the chest. But he promised me fame as a healer of grief. The spell he did teach for me to bind the creature within. His description did not justice upon my first sight. The Dead Light within an otherworldly, wholly alien and inimical entity. It not alive, sapient or tractable in any sense that can be understood by humanity. It is a devourer, a carrion-feeder on the energy of life. Suggested to be used to relieve the suffering of those inflicted with incurable diseases. Cancers that I learn of. It drawn towards creatures in pain or severe emotional distress, which attract it like a shark drawn to blood. With the spell I can bind it to my will and command. Released to extinguish the suffering soul. Bound to return to its chest. Yet I must operate at night for the thing detests sunlight. Nor does it favor lightning storms and electricity. My sons and sons to come, use it wisely. Let not it escape as happened once. For it can burn its way through anything short of lead given enough time. Materials less dense than an inch of metal, or five inches of wood or earth, are transparent to it. The sins of the physician shall be judged by the Lord alone. Pray that you are worthy. |
The lights suddenly went out. Quiet except for the storm still raging outside. Sanity… Essie squealed in panic and began frantically brushing her hands as if covered in dirt. Her desire for water to wash them primary on my mind. [Listen] Their realization such remote cottage must have its own power supply. The lack of humming… a generator now silent? “Emilia, where is the generator?” Peter locked Mary in the bathroom while they used their flashlights to find the basement. Halfway down the steps… a sound at the front door. Scuffling. Then a wavering, panicked voice, “Mary? Mary, are you inside?” Peter rushed up the steps and saw the silhouette of someone rounding the corner.
Billy entered the cabin hoping Mary had the answers. When he
rounded the corner and saw the light (flashlight), he immediately thought the
Dead Light had been waiting for him! He bolted for the door. Peter yelled, “STOP,
or I’ll shoot!” But Billy was already insane and saw his escape parked in the
driveway with its motor still running. Peter fired a warning shot into the air,
“Don’t touch my car!” Only now did Billy realize humans were inside the cabin.
Not the light. He stopped in his tracks. Peter backhanded him to knock reason
into the quivering boy as he led him inside, “So, you want to see Mary. Come
along.”
As soon as
Billy saw Mary, “Mary, oh God Mary. We’re gonna die. It’ll kill us all. Why
didn’t you warn Clem and I about it!? You told us
to scare Doc Webb into emptying his safe full of money for us. But that crazy
girl attacked me which startled Clem who shot the old man. As he fell into that
chair, he pulled down that box. It broke open then all hell broke loose. The
‘Dead Light’ spilled out and poured into Clem. Him screaming and twisting and
contorting. Then the light starting to seep out his eyes and nose. Every orifice.
I ran. And ran. Been running ever since till I saw your headlights that brought
me back.”
Peter and Essie tied Billy up to join Mary in the bathroom. Peter asked Emilia, “Your grandfather’s journal mentioned a spell to control the creature. It’s probably in the safe. Do you know the combination?” They were directed to grampa, “In his wallet.” But not only did they find the combo, they also noticed a silver necklace around his neck with a coin amulet etched with a star pattern. Essie suddenly remembered seeing the same thing on Emilia’s neck.
[Occult]
Memories tugged at Essie who remembered seeing such in a book, “It’s supposedly
some kind of protection symbol. Emilia, what do you know about this?” The girl
just repeated what her gramps told her, “He always told me to keep it on as
safety from his work.” Peter handed gramps necklace to Essie.
As guessed, they found the book in the safe. But it written in Latin. It
would take weeks (they didn’t have) to try to learn the spell of control. They
soon realized tonight was a survival night! And the first order of business was to get the
generator working. Which gave them an idea, “What if we use the generator to electrocute
the creature? Maybe we can find jumper-cables in the garage.” Essie went full
survival mode [To the utter
surprise of Jordan and myself!], “But we’ll need bait. I say we use Mary
and Billy. Maybe fill up the bathtub with water. Or just have a jug of water to
throw on whichever is attacked by the light.”
CLIMAX
It was
already after midnight. Another hour to get everything ready in the basement
with Mary and Billy shoved in the corner without explanation. Then it became a
waiting game. A nervous, panicky wait! Essie wacked Billy with the crowbar to
get him to cry out in pain. More hours. “Where the hell is it?! Just come and
get it over with!”
Careful what
you ask for. A thin line of blue light appeared at the threshold of the
basement door. “Get ready!” Words to incite fear. Essie and Peter stood resolutely.
Backing up to give it a direct line to their bait. Mary and Billy now in unison
screaming with fear as they tried to squeeze themselves into the corner. “No,
no! God, NO!” The blue light flowed down the steps, wavering near the captors…
a pause that made Essie bit her lip. And then suddenly, the light poured into
Billy. His legs already started to constrict. “NOW! Hit him with the cables!”
Billy was
already convulsing from the Dead Light. His muscles seized upon electrocution.
Sparks erupted around the basement. The overhead light bulb exploded, raining
glass shards over everyone. But glass cuts meant nothing to Billy who lay dead.
Mary now catatonic in the corner, fully insane. The Dead Light? “Where did it
go? Did we kill it? Or just piss it off?”
Essie ran up
the stairs to check the chest. Hope that it returned to its container. But the
chest undisturbed. Just as they left it. Fear that they let it get away. But
then they saw the dim light of dawn just starting to paint the treetops. The
storm had passed. “It’s day! It can’t exist in daylight! We did it!” Essie
calmly went into the kitchen and made tea for everyone. Once she washed her
hands a dozen times over. “No Chamomile tea. Just Earl Grey.”
EPILOGUE
“What should
we do with Emilia? We can’t just leave her here. At least take her to any
surviving relatives.” They emptied the safe of cash and handed it and the bank book to Emilia.
As for Mary, “Untie
her. She’s too insane to go anywhere or be any further harm.”
They returned
to the diner where they found Sam. The others asleep at the booths. Sam
explained, “I got them drunk and passed out. I figured that way they wouldn’t
attract the Light. For a minute I thought it didn’t work as I swear, I saw the
Light in the road. But then it was gone. And when the storm passed, the phone
worked. I called the Bolton police. They should be here shortly.”
They quickly
concocted a story… a robbery gone wrong. Essie the spokesperson. No mention of
any Dead Light. “Two local boys tried to rob Dr. Webb. Killed him. But then
greed consumed them and they had a shootout. Both dead. One in the basement
fell on the generator and electrocuted himself. The other crawled back upstairs
and fell dead before the fireplace. I think a log must have rolled out and burned
his legs off. Horrible!”
They made it
up to Ipswich for grandmother’s 90th birthday.
And over the next 8 weeks studied the doctor’s book, trying to
learn the spell. Peter looked over the jar of special wax collected from the
safe (used to seal the chest closed once the Dead Light was within) and the chest
retrieved from the floor beside gramps. For they had learned the Light was
still out there. Over those 8 weeks, local papers listed obituaries for people
mysteriously killed. Peter tried to reason the best approach to capture the
thing. Essie added her 2 cents, “What… or who should we use as bait?”
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