Introductory
note, by the Sage of Woodlawn:
My readers can always be assured that whatever they read here is fact
(unless clearly marked as fiction, poetry, or speculation). Even an
article posted here last April 1st -- which seems somehow to have
vanished since -- was, if read with attention, demonstrably true.
For the present narrative, we have the assurance below by Mr Broker as
to the reliability of the materials presented.
------------------------------
(How these journals, letters, and telegram have been placed in
sequence is a story for another time. For now, it is sufficient to
say that all needless matters have been omitted, so that narrative
almost beyond belief may be presented as simple fact. Throughout,
there are no statements of facts, wherein memory may err, for I all of
the records chosen are transcribed as they were originally written.
Stan Broker)
------------------------------
(Extract from the journal of Dr Hans van Ruysbroeck)
Sunday
October 21
4:30 AM
We have finished a fearful night, after a dreadful day's work, so we
should all be weary; we have nearly accomplished the end of our great
project, so we should all be joyful. Instead, once done, we shook
hands quietly, and with brief words went our way. Shannon and Ward to
their homes, in search of rest; Ocker and I to remain at the
Institute, to make sure all is secure. Shannon and Ward will come
early in the day to relieve us, while we rest; then we shall all meet
in the afternoon to discuss the final steps.
We sit here, silently, Ocker reading, I writing. I can not speak yet
with him of what we have done; nor after what we have done can I talk
of other things, light or weighty. He, I am sure, feels the same. So
we sit quietly in what remains of the night.
I am glad that dear Miss Johanna has not been with us these past two
days! She is busy at her conference, and will return on Tuesday. By
then, our work will be complete, and we can share the good news of our
success with her, as she shares the news of the conference with us. I
have had another letter from her.
My dear Professor van Ruysbroeck,
I have time for just a brief note, before the next lecture. I have
been kept busy with meetings and lectures. I have not yet had the
opportunity to meet with Dr Helena Breiner, nor with Miss Cellicorni.
With what I am learning, I shall be able to take my part in the great
Project upon my return next week. I must finish now if I am to get it
in this afternoon's post!
Thank heaven, she will be spared the great labor of the project.
Ocker is up and pacing now. He has been greatly unnerved (as all of
have been), although he and I knew more than the others what to
expect. We might have failed without him and his knowledge. All
played their part: Shannon with his steady determination, Ward with
his passion to achieve our goal; and even I can say that I have
contributed to what has been achieved thus far.
This afternoon we shall arrange the final steps. Enough for now. We
shall sit silently, I suppose, until the others come to relieve our
watch. The silence of two tired men. And the unsettling silence
behind the locked door.
(Letter from Miss Johanna Cain to Professor van Ruysbroeck)
My Dear Professor,
The conference has been a great success, and we have all earned a great deal.
I have been careful not to let on that my interest in this topic is
entirely practical, lest the news of our Project be spread
prematurely, thus endangering its success.
I want to reassure you on this point, as I know you have been worried
that the disaster which occurred in Budapest twenty years ago might be
repeated.
As far as I have been able to discover, in my role of researcher into
folklore and obscure literature, there have been no recent reports of
this "plague" other than the one which afflicts our own city. If this
is indeed true, then you are right: we stand on the verge of
eliminating it forever.
I hope that when the conference meets next, in Toronto, you will be
able to receive the public acclaim for complete success, which you
have labored for so long, with such peril to yourself.
Since it seems that I shall not be able to meet with Dr. Breiner, I
shall not be able to bring you news of her interesting studies of both
the blood chemistry, and of the dental aspects, of the phenomenon.
I shall depart tomorrow. We trust that this will be the last journey
on which I must consult the almanac for the time of sunset, before
consulting the time table for the times of the trains!
Sincerely,
Johanna Cain
(From the journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
Monday
October 23
Noon
Johanna has returned to us. We were all glad to see her, and to hear
her good news. It is as I had hoped, and predicted: the cases here
were the last ones, the last ones, I hope, on the face of the earth.
She found no credible reports from anywhere else more recent than five
years ago. And she was subtle enough in her investigations that no
suspicion of our project was raised. Imagine the panic that would
ensue, not to mention the danger that our prey would be forewarned.
She was overjoyed to hear of the success Ocker, Shannon, Ward, and I,
have had, although I could see she also wished she had been here. I
am glad she was spared that! We have had great luck, but it was a
near thing. To think that there were seven cases of this plague, not
six. We own our success, our lives, and the lives of countless
others, to Shannon and Ward.
We were all too exhausted on Sunday to meet in the afternoon as we had
hoped. We are all to meet this afternoon at the Institute, where
Johanna will report her success to the others, and we shall decide how
to take the last step. Strange, to think how we have gone from joy at
the prospect finishing sooner than we expected, to dreadful alarm, and
now to the lethargy which we all seem to feel as we consider this
unexpected final step.
It was a very near thing; but we are now presented with an unexpected
opportunity.
(Letter from Professor Hans van Ruysbroeck to Adam van Ruysbroeck)
October 23rd
Adam,
Success! And very nearly disaster; and now doubt.
We heard from Johanna last week that it was all but certain that
there were no other cases, and I resolved to act at once, without
waiting for absolute certainty. A gamble, but could I allow even one
more victim, much less the danger that our enemies would discover our
plans and evade us?
So, as soon as it was light on Saturday, we set out. We had
discovered that there were six cases, each with at least two hiding
places. The warehouse by the river which we had explored the week
before had another four large boxes, which I was satisfied had been
shipped here to provide additional resting-places. To prevent awkward
questions afterwards, I arranged for Laszlo and Edmund to move these
crates to the Institute, while the four of us struck our blow. Ocker
and Shannon took the sites to the south and west, while I took Ward
with me to deal with those on the north and east. I thought I should
be with him, lest he act recklessly, in his passion to destroy them --
which is altogether understandable in view of his fiance’s experience.
I will say no more than that we did what we must, clearing out four
of them, and uncovering nine unoccupied spaces. Ocker and Shannon
found and destroyed two, plus four unoccupied. It was dreadful work,
which we barely finished before sunset.
Once we had done, we met at Pierre's Cafe to restore our strength.
Then, for the first time free to work at night, Ocker and I revisited
the sites, to conceal as best we could any evidence of our activities,
knowing that the authorities would not be easily convinced of the
justice, or even the sanity, of our actions!
While we broke apart and scattered the boxes we had opened earlier,
and collected any papers we could find, Ward and and Shannon went back
to the Institute to destroy the boxes which Laszlo and Edmund had
brought there.
I can scarcely imagine poor Ward's horror when one of the boxes
started to open.
I had been wrong! There were seven vampires remaining! My error
could have killed Ward and Shannon, and undone all our work.
Fortunately, Shannon was close enough to throw himself on top of the
box, forcing it closed. Laszlo and Edmund came running, and they
managed to hold it closed, against the incredible strength of the
thing inside, until a very shaken Ward could secure it with ropes, and
pile garlic around it.
They all stood by, in considerable trepidation, until dawn. Ocker and
I returned soon after, and after a brief debate, we managed to get the
box up the stairs to the tower room, which has a strong, barred door,
which we strengthened with silver chains and garlic. Laszlo and Ward,
of course, wanted to destroy it at once, while it was daylight.
Edmund was (as usual) of two minds. Ocker, Shannon, and I, shaken by
the discovery of a seventh, thought it best to consider carefully
before destroying this one.
When we thought we had them all, we acted without hesitation. Now, I
am in doubt. Could there be still more? Can we learn anything from
this one? Could we trust anything it might tell us?
I am at a loss as to what to do. It was a dreadful shock to poor
Johanna, to hear that any of these foul things might have escaped us.
We are all to meet this afternoon, to decide what to do next.
Your brother
Hans
P.S. You will not be surprised to hear that, as my great work neared
completion (or so I dreamed!), I had been thinking a great deal about
matters from twenty years ago. In fact, before I set out with the
others, on what I thought would be the final stage, I left on my desk
an envelope to be forwarded to you if I did not return. It was a
letter for Marta -- in spite of all you tell me, I think you could,
if you wished, find her.
I have sacrificed everything to wipe out this plague; but the
only sacrifice that still hurts is losing her. I know what you think:
but I understand her position then, that I was unfair to ask her hand
while setting out on what she deemed a hopeless mission.
I dream of her still -- frequently and most vividly of late, as I
have closed in on my quarry. You know I keep her photograph still, in
its silver frame, near me always. Odd, how I picture her so clearly as
she was twenty years ago; I cannot imagine her otherwise.
I will say only this, and then be silent on the matter: now that I
have the end of my crusade in sight, I feel that if I could see her
once more, I could die content.
(Minutes of meeting, taken in shorthand by Johanna Cain)
1:00 PM
October 23
Present: Professor van Ruysbroeck, as chairman;
Johanna Cain, as secretary
Dr. Ocker
Josiah Shannon
Sir Merriwether Ward
Laszlo and Edmund did not attend.
Copy of minutes to be sent to Dr. Helena Breiner.
van Ruysbroeck:
Thanked all for their hard work, courage, perseverance. Each
contributed to success. Apologized profusely, especially to Ward and
Shannon, for near disaster.
Decision before us now: proceed immediately to destruction of vampire
imprisoned in tower room, or attempt to learn from it if others
survive? Shaken by turn of events, hesitates to trust own judgement,
urges all to speak freely.
Ward:
Monstrous thing must be destroyed at once; even if information could
be gotten from it, it couldn't be relied on.
Shannon:
Ward's opinion understandable, but shouldn't act in haste.
Is there any evidence of other survival? If so, is there any
possibility we could learn anything useful?
Ockerl:
Perhaps our last chance to learn about vampires, not to be thrown away
lightly. By all means learn all we can.
Cain:
Vampires have caused so much evil, can any good be brought from this
opportunity?
With precautions could we learn from this eyewitness to the history of
vampires, and to history in general?
Ward:
Shocked that those who has labored so long, in such danger, would
hesitate to end this evil forever, at once.
Ocker:
The evil is contained, and will do no more harm. We can destroy it
when we want; let us be sure before we act irrevocably.
Shannon:
Must reflect calmly; we have all accomplished so much, and all desire
the end of this curse; let us not fall out over how best to end it.
van Ruysbroeck:
Surprised that sentiment to destroy it not universal; he had sought
our opinions, not trusting his own, but still did not expect
differences.
Cain:
Let us make sure there are not still more at large! This one can do
no harm; devote energies to those that might.
Ward:
Kill this one now!
van Ruysbroeck:
(distraught) What is to be done?
Shannon:
Seconds determining if there are more; that is most urgent.
Ocker:
Call for vote of thanks for van Ruysbroeck; let no one think this
seventh vampire (and still more?) reflects on him.
Unanimous agreement
Cain:
Volunteers to check hospitals, police reports, reporters, for evidence
of continued vampirism.
Shannon:
Will assist.
Ward:
Will reluctantly agree; will help guard tower room until time to
destroy vampire.
Ocker:
Will with van Ruysbroeck attempt to determine if there is any way to
learn from captive.
van Ruysbroeck:
Let us proceed as agreed, and resolve in two days' time at latest to
put an end to vampire. Let all accept good faith of others, and not
falter now, at the end.
(Journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
October 25
9:00 AM
Johanna has been busy, visiting hospitals and speaking to her friends
at the newspapers. Shannon has been to the police stations and the
morgue. We begin to hope that there have been no more attacks! I
pray it will prove true that the one we hold captive is truly the
last.
Ocker spoke to it last night! Through the barred door; while Shannon
stood by with stakes and a silver knife. Ward was not told; he would
want no part of this. Although reluctant, I had planned to be there;
but my nerve, or my resolve, or something I can not name, failed me.
Although my life's work has been all but completed, a strange lethargy
seems to have overtaken me. The natural reaction to a long-protracted
task perhaps; or the after-effect of the shock of learning that there
was a seventh vampire, and with it the uncertainty of how to proceed
to its elimination.
Ocker, like me, had never encountered one awake before. We have both
seen enough of them in their repose, as we put an end to them. He came
to me, quite shaken. "Hans," he said, "I do not know what to make of
this."
He went on to say that, contrary to our expectations, the thing was
neither hostile, nor servile. It professed not to understand questions
as to others like itself; it merely asked, calmly enough, to be let
go. It declined, or evaded, without direct refusal, to give any
account of itself. Ocker started to leave my office, then turned back.
"I will swear to this, Hans," he said, "its English is very good: but
it is Dutch."
I think, with what our friends have learned, that we are safe to
assume that this is the last of them, and when we put an end to it, we
put an end to this curse forever. But Ocker wants to try speaking to
it once more; we both agree that, deprived of its dreadful sustenance,
it will weaken, and might reveal more to his questioning next time. I
have reluctantly consented. I haven't the strength to press the
matter with him.
Could it be the presence of this dread thing under this roof that
oppresses my spirit and saps my vigor so? Or am I merely weary after
a long hard task, a twenty-year pursuit? In this hour my thoughts turn
less to my success, than to my many sorrows, the loss of a home, and
above all my parting, long ago, from dear Marta.
Well, soon this will be done with, and I can rest easy.
(Minutes of meeting, taken in shorthand by Johanna Cain)
October 28
3:00 PM
Present: Professor van Ruysbroeck, as chairman;
Johanna Cain, as secretary
Dr. Ocker
Josiah Shannon
Sir Merriwether Ward
Laszlo and Edmund did not attend.
Copy of minutes to be sent to Dr. Helena Breiner.
van Ruysbroeck:
Hopes that all have thought about what we must do, and will all agree
to rid the world of the last vampire. We have come so far; one last
step. Feels the influence of this thing in the building is making us
all uneasy, and hesitant to act.
Ward:
Should proceed at once, this afternoon.
Ocker:
We are rational people, some of us scientists, not jury or
inquisition. As long as a group of vampires at large posed a threat,
he did his best to destroy it, as we all should remember. This one,
imprisoned and helpless, is a different case. Implores all to stand by
him, as he stood by them, in not needlessly destroying this last
remaining, and now unthreatening, survivor of its kind.
Cain:
As Dr. Ocker says, no longer a threat to the public or to us. This
creature was once human; could it not be restored again to humanity?
Are we not obligated to try? We have won the war, and should turn to
peace, not further destruction.
van Ruysbroeck:
There has never been a case of restoration or rescue of a vampire.
Cain:
Objection. Stories from Toronto.
van Ruysbroeck:
Unsubstantiated, folklore, fiction, or outright lies.
Ward:
Incredulous that anyone would hesitate to destroy it.
Ocker:
There is too much to be learned, and this the last chance to learn it.
Could it not be kept, with absolute safety, and maintained by
transfusions? Or by the blood of voluntary donors, or prisoners? Is
this different from volunteers in medical experiments?
van Ruysbroeck:
Unthinkable.
Ward:
If we could put an end to smallpox, or typhus, would we hesitate?
Would we claim smallpox deserves mercy, or peace, or a chance to
reform? If, God forbid, Dr Ocker had his way, what of the future?
Would he bequeath a poison to posterity, that would in time be
forgotten, and allowed to escape?
Shannon:
Whatever the decision, it should be made now. The thing is weakening,
Either kill it, or feed it. If it slips into the trance, or coma, of
which we have heard, what then? Of no use to science, no chance of
reform, but very dangerous. It could well outlive us in that state, to
rise again when all knowledge of vampires and how to defeat them is
forgotten.
Kill it, or try to keep it, or try to cure it: but decide now.
van Ruysbroeck:
Agrees. Do we not all see the wisdom of this?
Ward:
The only wise course is to kill it, today.
Cain:
Is there no hope of curing it?
Ocker:
Will the Professor at least speak to it, as I have? Is that too much to ask?
van Ruysbroeck:
To what end? I have seen enough of vampires.
Ocker:
As the stake went in. But at least once, the last opportunity to
witness and try to understand this phenomenon?
van Ruysbroeck
Perhaps I should.
Ward:
Unwise, and dangerous.
Shannon:
Never doubt the Professor's wisdom. And if this will hasten the
decision, by all means do it.
van Ruysbroeck:
Reluctantly agrees.
Ocker:
"Then you will speak to her?"
van Ruysbroeck:
"Her? This thing is a woman?"
Cain:
"Didn't you know?"
(Journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
Wednesday, October 31
10:00 PM
In spite of the urging of several of the others, I have not seen or
spoken to our prisoner. I cannot say whether my better judgment,
weakness, or some other influence prevents me from going to the door
of the tower room.
In any event, we are all agreed, at last. We will put an end to it as
soon as it is light tomorrow.
Ocker came around to this point of view after his experience this
evening. He has continued to speak to it, hoping to learn its
history. It is growing progressively weaker.
Just an hour ago, I was startled by Ocker, pounding on my door. He was
very shaken. “You are right, Hans,” he said, “it is too dangerous.”
He came into the room and sat down. "I went to speak to her again,
through the bars, of course, as always. Her voice grew very soft,
which I though was due to weakness, and I strained to hear her. It
seemed to me that I must not miss a word. And then, whether due to
influence of the vampire, or madness of my own, it seemed the most
natural thing to go into the room! I actually had my hand on the key
when I came to my senses."
(Journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
Wednesday
11:30 PM
I cannot sleep; I cannot concentrate on reading. I must at last do
what all the others have urged me: I shall go up to the tower room,
and look at this thing which we are to destroy tomorrow.
All of the others have seen it; some have spoken to it. Strange that I
never imagined before our last meeting that it had been a woman. A
young Dutch woman, by Ocker's description.
So, let me see this dreadful thing, this pitiful thing, which we are
about to put to rest. Then perhaps I can sleep.
(Telegram, Johanna Cain to Dr. Breiner)
Thursday, November 1
8:00 AM
Disaster. Professor van Ruysbroeck found lifeless, bloodless, in empty
My readers can always be assured that whatever they read here is fact
(unless clearly marked as fiction, poetry, or speculation). Even an
article posted here last April 1st -- which seems somehow to have
vanished since -- was, if read with attention, demonstrably true.
For the present narrative, we have the assurance below by Mr Broker as
to the reliability of the materials presented.
------------------------------
(How these journals, letters, and telegram have been placed in
sequence is a story for another time. For now, it is sufficient to
say that all needless matters have been omitted, so that narrative
almost beyond belief may be presented as simple fact. Throughout,
there are no statements of facts, wherein memory may err, for I all of
the records chosen are transcribed as they were originally written.
Stan Broker)
------------------------------
(Extract from the journal of Dr Hans van Ruysbroeck)
Sunday
October 21
4:30 AM
We have finished a fearful night, after a dreadful day's work, so we
should all be weary; we have nearly accomplished the end of our great
project, so we should all be joyful. Instead, once done, we shook
hands quietly, and with brief words went our way. Shannon and Ward to
their homes, in search of rest; Ocker and I to remain at the
Institute, to make sure all is secure. Shannon and Ward will come
early in the day to relieve us, while we rest; then we shall all meet
in the afternoon to discuss the final steps.
We sit here, silently, Ocker reading, I writing. I can not speak yet
with him of what we have done; nor after what we have done can I talk
of other things, light or weighty. He, I am sure, feels the same. So
we sit quietly in what remains of the night.
I am glad that dear Miss Johanna has not been with us these past two
days! She is busy at her conference, and will return on Tuesday. By
then, our work will be complete, and we can share the good news of our
success with her, as she shares the news of the conference with us. I
have had another letter from her.
My dear Professor van Ruysbroeck,
I have time for just a brief note, before the next lecture. I have
been kept busy with meetings and lectures. I have not yet had the
opportunity to meet with Dr Helena Breiner, nor with Miss Cellicorni.
With what I am learning, I shall be able to take my part in the great
Project upon my return next week. I must finish now if I am to get it
in this afternoon's post!
Thank heaven, she will be spared the great labor of the project.
Ocker is up and pacing now. He has been greatly unnerved (as all of
have been), although he and I knew more than the others what to
expect. We might have failed without him and his knowledge. All
played their part: Shannon with his steady determination, Ward with
his passion to achieve our goal; and even I can say that I have
contributed to what has been achieved thus far.
This afternoon we shall arrange the final steps. Enough for now. We
shall sit silently, I suppose, until the others come to relieve our
watch. The silence of two tired men. And the unsettling silence
behind the locked door.
(Letter from Miss Johanna Cain to Professor van Ruysbroeck)
My Dear Professor,
The conference has been a great success, and we have all earned a great deal.
I have been careful not to let on that my interest in this topic is
entirely practical, lest the news of our Project be spread
prematurely, thus endangering its success.
I want to reassure you on this point, as I know you have been worried
that the disaster which occurred in Budapest twenty years ago might be
repeated.
As far as I have been able to discover, in my role of researcher into
folklore and obscure literature, there have been no recent reports of
this "plague" other than the one which afflicts our own city. If this
is indeed true, then you are right: we stand on the verge of
eliminating it forever.
I hope that when the conference meets next, in Toronto, you will be
able to receive the public acclaim for complete success, which you
have labored for so long, with such peril to yourself.
Since it seems that I shall not be able to meet with Dr. Breiner, I
shall not be able to bring you news of her interesting studies of both
the blood chemistry, and of the dental aspects, of the phenomenon.
I shall depart tomorrow. We trust that this will be the last journey
on which I must consult the almanac for the time of sunset, before
consulting the time table for the times of the trains!
Sincerely,
Johanna Cain
(From the journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
Monday
October 23
Noon
Johanna has returned to us. We were all glad to see her, and to hear
her good news. It is as I had hoped, and predicted: the cases here
were the last ones, the last ones, I hope, on the face of the earth.
She found no credible reports from anywhere else more recent than five
years ago. And she was subtle enough in her investigations that no
suspicion of our project was raised. Imagine the panic that would
ensue, not to mention the danger that our prey would be forewarned.
She was overjoyed to hear of the success Ocker, Shannon, Ward, and I,
have had, although I could see she also wished she had been here. I
am glad she was spared that! We have had great luck, but it was a
near thing. To think that there were seven cases of this plague, not
six. We own our success, our lives, and the lives of countless
others, to Shannon and Ward.
We were all too exhausted on Sunday to meet in the afternoon as we had
hoped. We are all to meet this afternoon at the Institute, where
Johanna will report her success to the others, and we shall decide how
to take the last step. Strange, to think how we have gone from joy at
the prospect finishing sooner than we expected, to dreadful alarm, and
now to the lethargy which we all seem to feel as we consider this
unexpected final step.
It was a very near thing; but we are now presented with an unexpected
opportunity.
(Letter from Professor Hans van Ruysbroeck to Adam van Ruysbroeck)
October 23rd
Adam,
Success! And very nearly disaster; and now doubt.
We heard from Johanna last week that it was all but certain that
there were no other cases, and I resolved to act at once, without
waiting for absolute certainty. A gamble, but could I allow even one
more victim, much less the danger that our enemies would discover our
plans and evade us?
So, as soon as it was light on Saturday, we set out. We had
discovered that there were six cases, each with at least two hiding
places. The warehouse by the river which we had explored the week
before had another four large boxes, which I was satisfied had been
shipped here to provide additional resting-places. To prevent awkward
questions afterwards, I arranged for Laszlo and Edmund to move these
crates to the Institute, while the four of us struck our blow. Ocker
and Shannon took the sites to the south and west, while I took Ward
with me to deal with those on the north and east. I thought I should
be with him, lest he act recklessly, in his passion to destroy them --
which is altogether understandable in view of his fiance’s experience.
I will say no more than that we did what we must, clearing out four
of them, and uncovering nine unoccupied spaces. Ocker and Shannon
found and destroyed two, plus four unoccupied. It was dreadful work,
which we barely finished before sunset.
Once we had done, we met at Pierre's Cafe to restore our strength.
Then, for the first time free to work at night, Ocker and I revisited
the sites, to conceal as best we could any evidence of our activities,
knowing that the authorities would not be easily convinced of the
justice, or even the sanity, of our actions!
While we broke apart and scattered the boxes we had opened earlier,
and collected any papers we could find, Ward and and Shannon went back
to the Institute to destroy the boxes which Laszlo and Edmund had
brought there.
I can scarcely imagine poor Ward's horror when one of the boxes
started to open.
I had been wrong! There were seven vampires remaining! My error
could have killed Ward and Shannon, and undone all our work.
Fortunately, Shannon was close enough to throw himself on top of the
box, forcing it closed. Laszlo and Edmund came running, and they
managed to hold it closed, against the incredible strength of the
thing inside, until a very shaken Ward could secure it with ropes, and
pile garlic around it.
They all stood by, in considerable trepidation, until dawn. Ocker and
I returned soon after, and after a brief debate, we managed to get the
box up the stairs to the tower room, which has a strong, barred door,
which we strengthened with silver chains and garlic. Laszlo and Ward,
of course, wanted to destroy it at once, while it was daylight.
Edmund was (as usual) of two minds. Ocker, Shannon, and I, shaken by
the discovery of a seventh, thought it best to consider carefully
before destroying this one.
When we thought we had them all, we acted without hesitation. Now, I
am in doubt. Could there be still more? Can we learn anything from
this one? Could we trust anything it might tell us?
I am at a loss as to what to do. It was a dreadful shock to poor
Johanna, to hear that any of these foul things might have escaped us.
We are all to meet this afternoon, to decide what to do next.
Your brother
Hans
P.S. You will not be surprised to hear that, as my great work neared
completion (or so I dreamed!), I had been thinking a great deal about
matters from twenty years ago. In fact, before I set out with the
others, on what I thought would be the final stage, I left on my desk
an envelope to be forwarded to you if I did not return. It was a
letter for Marta -- in spite of all you tell me, I think you could,
if you wished, find her.
I have sacrificed everything to wipe out this plague; but the
only sacrifice that still hurts is losing her. I know what you think:
but I understand her position then, that I was unfair to ask her hand
while setting out on what she deemed a hopeless mission.
I dream of her still -- frequently and most vividly of late, as I
have closed in on my quarry. You know I keep her photograph still, in
its silver frame, near me always. Odd, how I picture her so clearly as
she was twenty years ago; I cannot imagine her otherwise.
I will say only this, and then be silent on the matter: now that I
have the end of my crusade in sight, I feel that if I could see her
once more, I could die content.
(Minutes of meeting, taken in shorthand by Johanna Cain)
1:00 PM
October 23
Present: Professor van Ruysbroeck, as chairman;
Johanna Cain, as secretary
Dr. Ocker
Josiah Shannon
Sir Merriwether Ward
Laszlo and Edmund did not attend.
Copy of minutes to be sent to Dr. Helena Breiner.
van Ruysbroeck:
Thanked all for their hard work, courage, perseverance. Each
contributed to success. Apologized profusely, especially to Ward and
Shannon, for near disaster.
Decision before us now: proceed immediately to destruction of vampire
imprisoned in tower room, or attempt to learn from it if others
survive? Shaken by turn of events, hesitates to trust own judgement,
urges all to speak freely.
Ward:
Monstrous thing must be destroyed at once; even if information could
be gotten from it, it couldn't be relied on.
Shannon:
Ward's opinion understandable, but shouldn't act in haste.
Is there any evidence of other survival? If so, is there any
possibility we could learn anything useful?
Ockerl:
Perhaps our last chance to learn about vampires, not to be thrown away
lightly. By all means learn all we can.
Cain:
Vampires have caused so much evil, can any good be brought from this
opportunity?
With precautions could we learn from this eyewitness to the history of
vampires, and to history in general?
Ward:
Shocked that those who has labored so long, in such danger, would
hesitate to end this evil forever, at once.
Ocker:
The evil is contained, and will do no more harm. We can destroy it
when we want; let us be sure before we act irrevocably.
Shannon:
Must reflect calmly; we have all accomplished so much, and all desire
the end of this curse; let us not fall out over how best to end it.
van Ruysbroeck:
Surprised that sentiment to destroy it not universal; he had sought
our opinions, not trusting his own, but still did not expect
differences.
Cain:
Let us make sure there are not still more at large! This one can do
no harm; devote energies to those that might.
Ward:
Kill this one now!
van Ruysbroeck:
(distraught) What is to be done?
Shannon:
Seconds determining if there are more; that is most urgent.
Ocker:
Call for vote of thanks for van Ruysbroeck; let no one think this
seventh vampire (and still more?) reflects on him.
Unanimous agreement
Cain:
Volunteers to check hospitals, police reports, reporters, for evidence
of continued vampirism.
Shannon:
Will assist.
Ward:
Will reluctantly agree; will help guard tower room until time to
destroy vampire.
Ocker:
Will with van Ruysbroeck attempt to determine if there is any way to
learn from captive.
van Ruysbroeck:
Let us proceed as agreed, and resolve in two days' time at latest to
put an end to vampire. Let all accept good faith of others, and not
falter now, at the end.
(Journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
October 25
9:00 AM
Johanna has been busy, visiting hospitals and speaking to her friends
at the newspapers. Shannon has been to the police stations and the
morgue. We begin to hope that there have been no more attacks! I
pray it will prove true that the one we hold captive is truly the
last.
Ocker spoke to it last night! Through the barred door; while Shannon
stood by with stakes and a silver knife. Ward was not told; he would
want no part of this. Although reluctant, I had planned to be there;
but my nerve, or my resolve, or something I can not name, failed me.
Although my life's work has been all but completed, a strange lethargy
seems to have overtaken me. The natural reaction to a long-protracted
task perhaps; or the after-effect of the shock of learning that there
was a seventh vampire, and with it the uncertainty of how to proceed
to its elimination.
Ocker, like me, had never encountered one awake before. We have both
seen enough of them in their repose, as we put an end to them. He came
to me, quite shaken. "Hans," he said, "I do not know what to make of
this."
He went on to say that, contrary to our expectations, the thing was
neither hostile, nor servile. It professed not to understand questions
as to others like itself; it merely asked, calmly enough, to be let
go. It declined, or evaded, without direct refusal, to give any
account of itself. Ocker started to leave my office, then turned back.
"I will swear to this, Hans," he said, "its English is very good: but
it is Dutch."
I think, with what our friends have learned, that we are safe to
assume that this is the last of them, and when we put an end to it, we
put an end to this curse forever. But Ocker wants to try speaking to
it once more; we both agree that, deprived of its dreadful sustenance,
it will weaken, and might reveal more to his questioning next time. I
have reluctantly consented. I haven't the strength to press the
matter with him.
Could it be the presence of this dread thing under this roof that
oppresses my spirit and saps my vigor so? Or am I merely weary after
a long hard task, a twenty-year pursuit? In this hour my thoughts turn
less to my success, than to my many sorrows, the loss of a home, and
above all my parting, long ago, from dear Marta.
Well, soon this will be done with, and I can rest easy.
(Minutes of meeting, taken in shorthand by Johanna Cain)
October 28
3:00 PM
Present: Professor van Ruysbroeck, as chairman;
Johanna Cain, as secretary
Dr. Ocker
Josiah Shannon
Sir Merriwether Ward
Laszlo and Edmund did not attend.
Copy of minutes to be sent to Dr. Helena Breiner.
van Ruysbroeck:
Hopes that all have thought about what we must do, and will all agree
to rid the world of the last vampire. We have come so far; one last
step. Feels the influence of this thing in the building is making us
all uneasy, and hesitant to act.
Ward:
Should proceed at once, this afternoon.
Ocker:
We are rational people, some of us scientists, not jury or
inquisition. As long as a group of vampires at large posed a threat,
he did his best to destroy it, as we all should remember. This one,
imprisoned and helpless, is a different case. Implores all to stand by
him, as he stood by them, in not needlessly destroying this last
remaining, and now unthreatening, survivor of its kind.
Cain:
As Dr. Ocker says, no longer a threat to the public or to us. This
creature was once human; could it not be restored again to humanity?
Are we not obligated to try? We have won the war, and should turn to
peace, not further destruction.
van Ruysbroeck:
There has never been a case of restoration or rescue of a vampire.
Cain:
Objection. Stories from Toronto.
van Ruysbroeck:
Unsubstantiated, folklore, fiction, or outright lies.
Ward:
Incredulous that anyone would hesitate to destroy it.
Ocker:
There is too much to be learned, and this the last chance to learn it.
Could it not be kept, with absolute safety, and maintained by
transfusions? Or by the blood of voluntary donors, or prisoners? Is
this different from volunteers in medical experiments?
van Ruysbroeck:
Unthinkable.
Ward:
If we could put an end to smallpox, or typhus, would we hesitate?
Would we claim smallpox deserves mercy, or peace, or a chance to
reform? If, God forbid, Dr Ocker had his way, what of the future?
Would he bequeath a poison to posterity, that would in time be
forgotten, and allowed to escape?
Shannon:
Whatever the decision, it should be made now. The thing is weakening,
Either kill it, or feed it. If it slips into the trance, or coma, of
which we have heard, what then? Of no use to science, no chance of
reform, but very dangerous. It could well outlive us in that state, to
rise again when all knowledge of vampires and how to defeat them is
forgotten.
Kill it, or try to keep it, or try to cure it: but decide now.
van Ruysbroeck:
Agrees. Do we not all see the wisdom of this?
Ward:
The only wise course is to kill it, today.
Cain:
Is there no hope of curing it?
Ocker:
Will the Professor at least speak to it, as I have? Is that too much to ask?
van Ruysbroeck:
To what end? I have seen enough of vampires.
Ocker:
As the stake went in. But at least once, the last opportunity to
witness and try to understand this phenomenon?
van Ruysbroeck
Perhaps I should.
Ward:
Unwise, and dangerous.
Shannon:
Never doubt the Professor's wisdom. And if this will hasten the
decision, by all means do it.
van Ruysbroeck:
Reluctantly agrees.
Ocker:
"Then you will speak to her?"
van Ruysbroeck:
"Her? This thing is a woman?"
Cain:
"Didn't you know?"
(Journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
Wednesday, October 31
10:00 PM
In spite of the urging of several of the others, I have not seen or
spoken to our prisoner. I cannot say whether my better judgment,
weakness, or some other influence prevents me from going to the door
of the tower room.
In any event, we are all agreed, at last. We will put an end to it as
soon as it is light tomorrow.
Ocker came around to this point of view after his experience this
evening. He has continued to speak to it, hoping to learn its
history. It is growing progressively weaker.
Just an hour ago, I was startled by Ocker, pounding on my door. He was
very shaken. “You are right, Hans,” he said, “it is too dangerous.”
He came into the room and sat down. "I went to speak to her again,
through the bars, of course, as always. Her voice grew very soft,
which I though was due to weakness, and I strained to hear her. It
seemed to me that I must not miss a word. And then, whether due to
influence of the vampire, or madness of my own, it seemed the most
natural thing to go into the room! I actually had my hand on the key
when I came to my senses."
(Journal of Professor van Ruysbroeck)
Wednesday
11:30 PM
I cannot sleep; I cannot concentrate on reading. I must at last do
what all the others have urged me: I shall go up to the tower room,
and look at this thing which we are to destroy tomorrow.
All of the others have seen it; some have spoken to it. Strange that I
never imagined before our last meeting that it had been a woman. A
young Dutch woman, by Ocker's description.
So, let me see this dreadful thing, this pitiful thing, which we are
about to put to rest. Then perhaps I can sleep.
(Telegram, Johanna Cain to Dr. Breiner)
Thursday, November 1
8:00 AM
Disaster. Professor van Ruysbroeck found lifeless, bloodless, in empty
