The Grenier Ascension - Pt 5

For the second time, recognition kicked the foundations out from under Vicky's world.  The dark-haired woman who'd arrived with Dr Collins was undoubtedly the same one she'd seen burst into the Count's torture chamber; the one she'd seen him run through with a spear.  She was alive at least... Vicky wanted to say of course she was alive, because the torture chamber was just a dream... but it wasn't just a dream, couldn't be just a dream; Vicky, Lexi, and this newcomer had all been there at the same time.  Vicky clenched her fists; the next few minutes were going to bring comfort or madness, and she had no idea which.

"This is Wendy," Dr Collins said.  "Wendy, this is Lexi, and this is Vicky.  And just introducing you all violates about half my professional ethics."
"Who are you?" Lexi asked Wendy.  "Who is the Count?"
Wendy eased herself into a seat; for the first time, Vicky noticed how tired and pale she looked.  "We don't know who he is exactly," Wendy started.  "But he's some kind of ghost; and he's survived for a long time by feeding on woman.  There's this book.  If you sleep with it in the room, you dream of his castle, and he takes over your mind.  Seduces you."
"He's not seducing either of us," Lexi said, her voice shaking.
Vicky swallowed as she recalled some of her body's reactions in the Count's hands.  "I don't remember any book.  But he is feeding on us; I feel sicker every day after going to that place."

"He's used the book to get hold of two of my friends," Wendy said.  "But you're right.  What he's doing to you is something else."
"He's got family in the city," Sonny interjected.  "One of them works here.  He injected you both with something."
"He told me he was going to have more," Lexi said; then took a sharp breath and added, "No, he said 'be more.'  He said he was Count Grenier, but he was going to be more."
"What the hell does that mean?" Niella asked.
"Wanting to be alive again?" Vicky suggested.  No, that didn't sound right.  "Alive but keeping the power he's got now?  In the room where he... where Lexi and I go, there's this circle drawn out on the floor.  Maybe... what he takes from us, he's putting in that."

"Ok, but what are we going to do?" Lexi interrupted, the promise of a scream in her voice.  "He's killing us.  Sonny said you were going to stop him.  How?"
"He uses that book to survive," Wendy said.  "So we're going to get hold of it, and we're going to torch it."
"How?" Vicky echoed.

   ****

"If you've got nothing left, then take from me.  Share my life, because we're getting out of here together."
Denise shook her head at Criss's words.  "There is no way out of here," she said.  "We're still right outside the room; why do you think he hasn't followed us out yet?  He's anywhere he wants to be in this place; he can just wait for us wherever we try to run.  Your only chance is to wake back up."
"I can't wake up," Criss replied.  "They drugged me.  And I'm not leaving you."
"I'm not leaving you either," Denise said.
"Then we run.  If we keep fighting him, he can't get back in our heads again."
Denise nodded.  Bracing herself on the wall, she forced herself to her feet.  Still leaning on Criss, she began to half-stagger half-run down the hallway away from her chamber; if not away from the Count, at least from the idea of his dominion.

   ****

"Are you sure about doing this?" Sonny asked.  "We don't know what will happen to you if you go back there."
Wendy closed her eyes and took a long breath.  Vicky's 'How' had been a fair question.  But Wendy was linked to the Count's book as well, meaning she had a way to reach Criss and Denise; and thus a way to get some idea of the inner layout of the Green estate.  Once they had that...  "I'm sure," she replied.
Sonny settled her back onto the couch.  "I'll wake you in fifteen," he said.
Wendy nodded.  She figured sleep would come pretty-

She stumbled slightly as she found herself on her feet.  Back in the damn ballroom.  Her stomach hurt from where the Count's spear had gone through her, but she wasn't bleeding or dying.  All right, if Criss or Denise were here, where would they be?  Denise, probably her bedchamber. But the way Criss had screamed when Grenier had... Wendy shivered a bit at the thought... killed her... did that mean Criss had broken out of his thrall?  If she had, she'd either go looking for Denise, or for the torture chamber to try and help the girls she'd seen there.  Wendy at least knew the way to the latter; so start with that.

   ****

After Sonny and Wendy had left, Niella found herself unsure what to say to Vicky and Lexi.  Sonny was a friend as well as a colleague, but Vicky and Lexi were her patients.  A professional obligation.  But the last day had taken her so far out of her professional sphere that she was lost.
In the end, it was Lexi who broke the silence with a fit of giggles.  "I'm sorry," she said after a moment; "it's just... having my psychiatrist talking to me about all this."
"I know what you mean," Niella replied.
"Please don't ask how I feel about it," Vicky said.
"I don't have to.  I think I feel the same way."

"Can you stop him?" Lexi asked with a slight shake in her voice.
"We're getting a plan together," Niella replied, forcing the reassurance back into her tone.  "Wendy's friends are inside the Green estate.  Once she talks to them, and gets the lay of the land, we can get in there and find the book."

"What about us?" Vicky asked.  "Next time we go to sleep we'll be back in his torture chamber."
"Not if I keep you awake until it's done," Niella said.
"What if you don't?"
"I will, I promise."
"No, I mean what if you on-purpose don't.  Let me go back there.  I can't help with a burglary, but maybe I can distract him from what Wendy's friends are doing."
"I can't let you do that."
"It's nothing worse than what he'd be doing to me anyway."

"Me too then," Lexi said.  "If Vicky's going to, I have to too."
"Are you both sure about this?" Niella asked.  Inwardly she wondered how she could even ask that; even contemplate allowing her patients to risk their lives.
"If this doesn't work, he's going to end up killing us," Vicky said.  "So if I can help make it work..."
Lexi nodded in agreement.  The two girls reached their hands out to one another, squeezing hard.
"Ok," Niella said.  She took each of their free hands in hers.  Another gulf between her and her ethics.

   ****

Criss led Denise down the main stairway into the entrance hall.  At least it ought to be an entrance hall, but there was no door that led outside; the place where it should be was hung with more of the Count's innumerable tapestries of hunting, sport, and warfare.  The threads were nearly the same colour as the stone, and looked almost as heavy; free from the Count's thrall, the place looked more like a tomb than a home.  Did it resemble where he'd used to live, or was it just designed the crush the souls of the women he'd brought here?  Or both?

She stopped sharp as she saw a movement to the side of the stairs; then let out a shuddering breath as she saw it was Wendy.  "Is... it really you?" she stammered.  "I thought he'd killed you."
"It felt like he did.  He took a lot-"
"I'm sorry," Denise broke in.  "Both of you.  You're in this because of me.  I brought you that book.  I told him about you.  I'm so so sorry."
Criss put her arm back around her.  "You didn't have any choice," she said.

"Listen," Wendy said.  "I've got some people working with me.  We're coming to get you, and that fucking book, but we need to know the layout of the Green's estate, anything you can tell us."
"I can do better than that," Denise said.  "When I'm awake, I pretty much have the run of the place.  There's one... there's one the Count makes me..."
As Denise's voice tailed off, Criss hugged her again.
"But the rest of them usually try not to see me," she resumed.  "There's a gate around the side of the estate.  Meet me there at three; a lot of them will be out, and I'll take you to Criss's room."

Plan made, the three girls hugged one another.  "My friend Sonny is waking me up soon," Wendy said.  "What about you?"
"Plenty of sharp things I can jab myself on," Denise said.  "Criss?"
"He still wants me for a bride," Criss replied.  "Whatever happens, he won't hurt me.  And I won't let him take control of me again; I won't give you away."
They hugged again, waking for Wendy to awaken.

   ****

Sonny passed the vape under Wendy's nose, breathing a sigh of relief when her eyes opened.  "How did it go?" he asked.
"I found them," she replied.  "They're both out from under his control right now, but they're still in trouble.  Denise has pointed me at a side gate to the estate.  She's going to meet us there at three."
Sonny looked at Wendy's drawn and pale face.  He knew she wasn't going to like what he had to suggest.  "I think you should stay behind," he said.
"What-"
"You're still half-dead from what he did to you," he pressed.  "If Eve and I can't handle what we find, the three of us probably won't fare any better."
"They're my friends.  I can't-"
"And you're my friend, and I can't.  Please, Wendy."

"There's something else you can do instead," came Niella's voice from the doorway.  Sonny and Wendy both looked in her direction.  "Lexi and Vicky are both determined to go under again.  They think they can keep the Count distracted while you go burgling.  And it's a good idea; we don't know how he communicates with the Greens or what he could do to help them.  So I'm going too.  I'm going to take the third dose you got off of Darryl."
"Are you crazy?" Sonny and Wendy asked together.
Niella grinned slightly.  "Is this a good time to point out I try to steer clear of that word?  Think about it.  If the idea is to distract him, someone else showing up along with his victims is going to do it.  I was going to watch over them, but you can watch over us instead."
"So everyone takes the risk except me," Wendy said.
"You've done nothing but take the risk from the moment this started," Sonny replied.  "Now it's our turn."

   ****

A friend is someone who'll watch your houseplants, Eve thought as she paced around Sonny's house; a real friend is someone who'll watch your prisoners.  Although maybe the two thugs now bound and gagged upstairs were more Eve's prisoners than Dr Collins's; Eve had been the one who'd taken them down.  She tried to concentrate on the 'thug' part; whether any of what Dr Collins and her friend Wendy had said about ghosts was true, the two men had tried to kidnap them.  But then because of that same ghost stuff, Dr Collins hadn't wanted to go to the police, and there wasn't anything else to do with the men except kill them or let them go; Eve had briefly tried questioning one of them, only to get a stream of insults for her trouble.  So now she was just watching them, while Dr Collins and Wendy were off making their plans.

Make them fast, Eve was thinking for the she-didn't-remember-how-many'th time, when she heard a key in the front door.  Sonny entered, toting a pair of syringes.  "Sedatives for the dodgy duo," he said in response to her quizzical look.  "We're on."
"On?"
"Rescue mission and a book theft."
He paused, with a quizzical look of his own; Eve realised he was trying to give her a chance to back out.  "Ok," she said.  "On it is.  More thugs to beat up is something I understand, at least."

   ****

Lexi had almost balked in the end; her dreams of the Grenier dungeon were pain, violation, and life leeched away.  Only Vicky's apparent determination had let her go through with it.  And Dr Collins's too, now.  She wondered if they were feeling the same way, maybe kept on task by her own brave face.  She wondered what Dr Collins had done with the rest of her day's regular appointments.  And as the psychiatrist injected the Greens's drug into her arm, she wondered if any of them would live through this.  Patients and doctor alike settled on couches in the interview room, while Wendy took the most uncomfortable of the chairs; presumably to keep herself awake.  Lexi waited for sleep to claim her.

   ****

Denise had managed to wake herself around lunch time.  Billy was at school, and as she'd told Wendy, the rest of the family treated her as a shameful habit it was best not to acknowledge.  It gave her time to psych herself up; if they caught her at what she was doing, or realised she was no longer under the Count's thrall, there would never be another chance to escape.  She'd wondered if she should just grab Criss now and go to the gate with her; but Susan Green was on guard outside Criss's room, and Denise didn't think she'd be able to get past her in her present state of illness.  So instead she ate, trying to build up some sense of strength, and watched the clock approach three...