#mrs. dallion

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

With Ryan safely at their friend Birdie’s house, Micki and Johnny rushed to the hospital. Worried about what had become of Rashid and Mrs. Dallion, and what Jack was going through back at the mansion, they drove together in silence.

Johnny was thinking about how Micki would be, once Ryan went back home with his mother. He remembered how hard it had been for her the first time Ryan went away. He wasn’t looking forward to that again, her sadness, her snapping at him. Listening to how Ryan would do this or that differently.

He glanced quickly at Micki, sitting in the passenger seat. She was biting her nails. Suddenly he felt selfish and petty. Maybe Ryan was better than him, after all. Or maybe the comparisons between them didn’t exist anywhere but in his head. After all, he had met Ryan, before he had been transformed back into a ten-year-old, and he liked him alright. He was a good guy, a regular guy. Maybe the comparisons to Ryan would stop if Johnny stopped trying to be someone else, someone other than Johnny.

He squeezed the wheel a little tighter as he drove, weaving in and out of the morning traffic.

Micki looked over at Johnny and was about to say something about slowing down, but changed her mind. She wanted to get to the hospital just as fast as he did. Had she been driving, she would have been as reckless as him.

She turned back, looking out her own window, her thoughts going to Johnny and Ryan. She knew Johnny was having a hard time dealing with Ryan’s return, even if he was just a boy now. Johnny imagined this competition between himself and the memory of Ryan. Biting her lip, she wondered now if she had helped to perpetuate it by being harsh with Johnny, especially in the first few months after Ryan left.

Johnny was a really good guy, and he had been through a lot. He also gave up plenty to help her and Jack get back the antiques, as well as run the shop itself. Whether she had meant it or not, she hadn’t been fair to him, and she resolved to change that. Once this was all over and done with.

Johnny pulled the Mercedes into a parking spot and turned the engine off. He turned slightly in the seat to look at Micki.

“Okay, so, what’s the plan here?” he asked. “We can’t just barge in, asking if some lady and an odd mystic were brought in. I mean, hopefully they are both fine. But if they aren’t, how are we going to explain it all without dragging the cops into it?”

Micki thought about that and had no answer. “We have to find out, somehow. This is Ryan’s mother we’re talking about. And Rashid, Jack’s best friend. We can’t just leave them here to fend for themselves. Especially if they’re hurt or… something.”

Johnny nodded. “Okay, well, then we should just play it by ear. Go inside, wander a bit, see what information we can uncover and go from there.”

Micki agreed and they left the car, heading for the emergency room waiting area. Once inside, they scanned the waiting room. Neither Mrs. Dallion nor Rashid was present. Micki made her way over to the reception desk. A volunteer candy striper was manning the desk. She was a young girl, either in her late teens or very early twenties.

“Excuse me, uh,” Micki looked at her nametag. “Mandy. Hi, I was wondering if you could help us.”

The girl looked up at Micki, and her face showed she was either very tired or eternally uninterested. “Yes? Help you with what? Are you hurt?” she asked Micki, already pulling out a form and attaching it to a clipboard. “You need to fill this out.”

Micki smiled. “Um, no. You see, my, um, boyfriend here doesn’t get along with his parents. We were told they were coming to the hospital and were hoping you could help us find them, or at least let us know if they are okay?”

Mandy sighed audibly and it was all Micki could do not to remind her that she was volunteering to be here, to help people. Yelling at the girl would just make things worse, so Micki just smiled politely.

“Name?” the girl asked, looking down at a sign-in sheet.

Micki tried to get her own look at the sheet, but couldn’t read any names. She said to Mandy. “Um, could you try ‘Mrs. Dallion‘, please?”

The girl scanned the sheet. “Nope, no Mrs. Dallion. Sorry.”

Before the girl zoned out completely, Micki spoke up again.

“What about the name ‘Rashid‘?” she said to the candy striper. “That’s his father’s first name. Could you try that?”

Again, Mandy sighed. But she scanned down the sheet once more. “Nope, no Rashid, either. Look, what were they brought in for? It would help to have more information, you know?”

Micki smiled, said a small thank you and walked away from the desk. Johnny was standing at a bulletin board, so Micki walked over to him. She was about to speak when Johnny raised a finger to hush her.

Two men who had been standing nearby, chatting, walked off in different directions.

“What was all that about?” Micki asked.

“Those two are janitors or something. I heard one of them say something about a van that drove up and dumped some people by the service door.” Johnny said, keeping his voice low so only Micki could hear.

“Service door? Why not the ER?” she asked, perplexed.

“No clue. But Micki,” he added, pausing to look in her eyes. “They said one of them was D.O.A.”

Micki gasped, her hand going to her mouth.

Johnny looked around and found a wall with a directory board nailed to it. He pulled Micki by the arm, and scanned the departments. Finding the one he wanted, he put his finger on the name.

“The morgue?” Micki asked, the thought making her stomach turn.

Johnny merely nodded, pulling Micki after him down a long hallway. They decided to use a staircase to go down to the morgue. A stealthy approach was better than riding the elevator and hoping no one was there when the doors opened.

Needing to descend only one flight to the morgue area, they were in a long, bright, cold corridor within a minute. Johnny motioned at a sign with an arrow, and they followed it. Before long, the morgue loomed ahead. A voice came from somewhere in front of them and was quickly drawing closer, so Micki grabbed Johnny’s arm and pulled him into the nearest room to hide.

They waited until the voice went past the room they hid in, then opened the door again. Micki looked back upon the room they had used for a hiding spot and she gasped. Johnny spun around to see what had scared her.

Before them, on a metal examining table, lay the lifeless body of Mrs. Dallion, Ryan’s mother.

“Oh no!” Micki said out load. “No!”

Johnny put his hand over Micki’s mouth. “Shhh!” he said. “Mick, you gotta be quiet, okay?”

She nodded, and he could see the tears already welling up in her big eyes. He took his hand away from her mouth, and she walked forward towards the table.

Mrs. Dallion looked broken, twisted somehow. Her face was cut in a few places. Micki touched her hair, fixing it somewhat, not sure what else she could do for the woman.

“Oh Johnny, this is going break Ryan’s heart.” she said, wiping a tear off her cheek. “They had so little time together, this just isn’t fair. Dammit, it isn’t fair!”

Johnny put his arm around Micki, pulling her close to him. “Yeah, I know, I know. She didn’t deserve this. Maybe if I had gone back, I could have….”

Micki let her head fall into Johnny as tears went down her cheeks. “No, Johnny. This isn’t your fault. It’s that man, that Casares. And Uncle Lewis. Once again, his curse has ruined more lives.“

They both stood for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

A voice from the hall brought them back to the moment. Johnny pulled Micki off to the side, away from the line of sight between the door with it’s glass pane and the table with Mrs. Dallion on it. The owner of the voice went past this room, and Johnny and Micki slipped out and back into the hallway.

Looking down at the rest of the rooms yet to search, Micki suddenly felt overwhelmed. “I don’t know if I can go in these rooms, Johnny. I don’t know if I can see Rashid like that, too.” she said, her voice quavering.

Johnny looked at her. “You stay here, stand guard in case someone shows up. Just tell them you got lost or something. I’ll check the rooms quick, okay?” he said.

Micki just nodded, her gaze going back to the room with Ryan’s mother inside.

Johnny stepped away from her and into the next nearest room. He came out shaking his head. He repeated the step three more times, then pointed at the final room. He slipped inside there, as well.

This time, it took what seemed like forever for him to reappear.

“Nope, he isn’t anywhere down here. Come on, let’s get out of here, Micki.” Johnny said, anxious to be out of this cold, dead place.

“What about her?” Micki asked, indicating the room with a nod of her head.

“There isn’t anything we can do for her. We can report her missing or something later, but for now, we need to concentrate on finding Rashid and helping Jack. Okay?” he answered, looking right at her.

She nodded, another tear falling down her cheek.

They quickly went back up the staircase and out through the ER waiting room. Across the parking lot, they got inside the car and sat down, pausing to catch their breath and process what they had just seen.

Micki was anxious to find Rashid, but dreaded the thought of reentering and searching the hospital. She looked at Johnny and said, “We haven’t found Rashid yet. He might still be in there, maybe in surgery or something.”

A voice from the backseat of the car caused Micki to scream and Johnny to jump in his seat.

“That would be the day I let some hospital doctor wield his knives over me.” Rashid said from behind them.

“Rashid!” Micki yelped, turning around completely in her seat to look at their mystic friend. “I can’t believe it! Are you alright? You don’t look alright.”

He nodded. “I will be fine once I get some herbs and medicines I have at home. Please, can you drive me there?”

Johnny, his heart still racing, nodded and turned the ignition on. He backed the car out of the spot and through the lot, making his way to the road once more.

“Rashid, what happened back there?” Johnny asked, speeding as carefully as he could through traffic.

As the mystic recounted what he knew of the events, he winced. Micki saw he was holding his side.

“You're wounded. Were you shot?” she asked.

He nodded, then said.. “As I said, all will be well once I am at my own home.”

“How did you get away from the hospital?” Micki asked.

Rashid winced again as Johnny hit a bump in the road. “Distraction. It’s all in where you want them to look.”

“And how did you know our car was here?” Johnny said, looking into the rearview mirror at the man and, seeing the pain on his face, driving a little more carefully.

“Let’s just say I had a feeling.” Rashid said, attempting a smile for Micki.

“How did Mrs. Dallion die?” Micki asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.

“I have no idea.” the man answered. “But, I did speak to Jack, briefly while we were locked in the room together. He wanted me to tell you something he had learned just before the chaos in the hallway.”

Micki and Johnny said “What?” at the same time.

“First, he said not to worry about him. He will be fine.” Rashid said, sweat on his brow.

“Yeah, right.” Johnny responded, as he swerved around a city bus. “The other thing?”

“The woman in the mirror, she told Jack her name. He wants you to find out what you can about her, maybe it will help in figuring out how to free her.” He said, adjusting himself on the back seat. It hurt to move, but he needed to stretch a little.

“Well?” Micki asked. “What’s her name?”

Rashid responded, a little breathlessly. “Catherine. The woman trapped in the cursed mirror is Catherine Chandler.”

[imperfectly360]

If you look autistic no one will be your friend if you sound autistic you don't respect audible and if you sneeze it means you didn't give up your booklittle for what you want and you won't be worth anything and your mom and dad are not proud of you and your yours blankie and personal belongings are getting locked up you fat chump and you won't ever get Mr D's dick to suck ever again because he is inserting it in fat Alyssa's lips and vagina hole and her last name is fat ass and he is shooting stars left and right of her and they are making lots and lots of kids and adding on to their family heritage called richer than yours and also also where do you get your clothes because you are exactly what you wear and that is going in your first impression and we remember that forever as who you are you are autistic and your middle initial is a for aware and you wear idk tbh naked because you need to be clothed and your neck is naked too and it's ina ana and you still play games with bouncy balls and you don't retire your thumb thumbs and one day when they get cut cut you will be sad sad not bad bad fast furious fingers and fuck face is still wondering when did his name evolve to fuck face and not fat fuck and I don't want to talk about it because tacos are derogatory and the inside food area looks like dallion faggion food and warewolves make fun of it and also nobody I said nobody wants to make you a taco ever because it is bad omen and it is going to kiss ass and Rick Rick is going to catch you red handed because it makes him feel good aboht himself

[blueboyluca]

It is a variety that has not been taken in hand by Australians as a separate breed, but used as a cross amongst the Fields. The only pair of recognized Sussex that I can trace amongst the imported stock are Bridford Dallion, 18,486, and Bridford Ruby. The latter came out as a youngster. The dog, however, landed with a very high reputation, which he fully maintained up to quite an old age. He swept the boards wherever shown, either in Queensland, New South Wales, or Victoria. As the prefix denotes, this pair were bred at the celebrated London kennel of Mr. M. Woolland. They were imported by Mr. E. F. Stephen, of Sydney, who parted with them to Mr. Bain, who in turn passed them on to Mr. J. K. Stewart, of Brisbane, Queensland, who had a very successful career with them. The dog passed into the hands of Mr. D. Kinnear, Melbourne, a couple of years ago, and died quite recently.

— Walter Beilby, The Dog in Australasia (1897)

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Moments before, the second floor hallway of the mansion had been devoid of sound and movement. Now, it was teeming with both.

As Jack, Micki, Ryan and his mother left one room, Rafael Casares and his right-hand man, Carlos, stepped out of another. The two groups stopped at the sight of each other.

“What is this?” Raphael asked, his voice loud. “What are you doing in my home?”

Carlos stepped out from behind his boss, his small handgun drawn and leveled at the group. “No one move, no one do anything.” he snarled.

Micki pushed Ryan behind her at the sight of the gun. “Look,” she said, addressing the two men. “We don’t want any trouble. We just came to get them out of here. Let us go, and no one ever has to know any of this happened.”

Raphael looked over at Carlos and laughed. His employee smirked, but said nothing. Raphael walked closer to Jack and Micki, appraising them as he approached.

“You must be from the shop, no? ‘Curious Goods’? Or, as it was previously known, ‘Vendredi’s Antiques’.” he said, more of a statement than a question. “Come to play the heroes, I suppose?”

Jack raised his hands in protest. “Yes, that’s right, we’re the owners of the store. What exactly was your reason for kidnapping this boy and his mother?” he asked.

Raphael smiled and looked to Carlos, then turned back to face Jack. “I am sure you have an idea of why I did what I did. But come, I will show you.” He turned back towards the room he had walked out of moments earlier.

Jack stepped forward to follow, with Micki on his heels, but a wave of the gun in Carlos’ hand caused her to stop short.

“Just the old man.” Carlos said, then added, “The rest of you stay right where you are, and don’t try anything stupid.”

Micki backed up, putting herself in front of Ryan and his mother. She turned to them and smiled. “Don’t worry.” she said. “Jack will figure something out. I hope.”

Jack followed Raphael into the bedroom, which was much larger than the one Ryan had been in. The man was standing off to the side, his hand out, gesturing towards a tall, wooden, antique mirror.

“This is why I have done all I have done.” Raphael said. “From the books and papers I… borrowed from your shop, I have a feeling you know more about it than you let on. Come closer, please.”

Jack walked over to the mirror, looking it up and down. Like all of the cursed antiques they had to deal with, it looked perfectly normal, harmless. But he knew better. If this man had gone through so much to break the curse it held, there was without a doubt something deadly here.

The man abruptly held out his hand to Jack. “My name is Raphael Casares.” he said.

Confused, Jack shook the man’s hand. “Jack Marshak. And I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the curse on this item, like all the rest, is unbreakable. It was part of a pact with Satan himself, and neither I nor anyone I know can break it.”

Casares’ face changed from hospitable to angry at Jack’s words. He turned his icy gaze on the mirror, and for a moment, Jack thought that if anything in this world could break the glass of that cursed antique, it was a cold, hateful gaze such as this.

Looking away from the man and back at the mirror, Jack saw something that made his heart jump. There was a woman reflected in the glass. But, looking around the room, there was no woman here to be found. Jack stepped closer, looking at her.

Raphael stepped back and away from the mirror as Jack approached it. He walked over to the desk and looked down at the books and items that really belonged to Jack and Micki. “Now you know it’s secret.” he said, his head bowed.

Jack came close to the glass and raised his hand to touch it. It felt cool to his skin. The woman inside looked back at him, and the sadness in her face touched his heart. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have had a hard time believing it. She was somehow trapped inside, in a room that mirrored this one.

The woman looked past Jack, across the room to where Raphael stood, still looking away from Jack and the mirror. She raised her hand up and pointed to her palm with her other hand.

Jack looked closer and saw there were tiny letters in the palm of her hand. He pulled his reading glasses out of his pocket and bent close to the glass.

From across the room, Casares turned and asked, “What are you doing?” He quickly came up behind Jack, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“Oh, just looking at the carving in the wood here. Very ornate.” Jack said, pretending to scan the frame of the antique. “Just wanted to see if it was anything of importance, maybe a clue as to the nature of how the curse works upon this item.”

Raphael looked suspicious, his eyes going from Jack to Catherine on the other side of the mirror. She stood, looking back at the two of them, her hands hanging by her side. She looked confused and, he had to admit, very sad.

“Enough.” Raphael said. “Enough of this. Can you break the curse and free her from this prison or not?”

Jack hesitated, unsure of what to say or do. “Well,” he stammered. “It’s not that easy…”

But his words were cut off at the sound of a small explosion from the hallway, followed by gunshots and screams. Raphael ran away, out of the room and into the corridor. Jack turned to follow, then eyed the manifest on the desk. He walked quickly over and picked it up, looked back once at the woman in the mirror, then ran to the door Casares had just stepped through.

In the hall, confusion reined. Rashid and Johnny had come running up the staircase and rounded the corner, startling Carlos. Rashid acted quickly, tossing one of his handmade smoke bomb packets at Carlos’ feet. The smoke had worked in confusing Carlos, but it also filled the narrow hall, causing chaos.

“Mom!“ Ryan yelled from somewhere in the cloud of smoke.

“Micki!? Jack?!“ Johnny called out, as well.

Coming up quickly behind Johnny and Rashid was the security guard from downstairs. Upon seeing the smoke, he too drew his weapon, holding it forward, unsure of where to aim.

“Let’s get out of here!“ Jack yelled out over the smoke and screams. “Hurry!”

Carlos was next to speak, saying “Don’t let them get away.” He caught sight of Raphael to his right, so he moved his gun off to the left and fired blindly. A scream of pain answered his gunshot.

Jack had to act fast, as the smoke was clearing and he wasn’t sure if someone was now the victim of a bullet. Catching sight of Johnny, he pointed towards one of the two sconces in the hall. “The light!” he said, as he aimed and threw one of his lock picks at the other. It smashed and went dark instantly.

Johnny took the hint and ran down the hall towards the other light, stumbling over someone as he did. He pulled the flashlight from his pocket and smashed the small light. The hallway was plunged into darkness.

“Ryan!” Micki yelled from somewhere in the dark. She felt someone bump up against her and grabbed at them. “Ryan?” she asked.

“Micki!” the small voice answered.

Johnny came up and grabbed the small boy then, and yelled, “Micki, I’ve got him. Now let’s get the hell out of here!” Johnny aimed his flashlight ahead, enough to locate the stairs. Someone bumped into him, but he pushed them off, and lost the flashlight in the process. Micki grabbed his free hand and the three of them ran forward, around the corner and down the dimly lit staircase.

As they descended to the foyer and moved towards the front door, another gunshot rang out, shattering the glass in a window pane close to them. Micki unlocked the huge door as quickly as she could and they stepped outside, slamming it closed behind them.

Micki, Johnny and Ryan ran towards the side of the house, hoping to get to the woods, to some cover. And hoping their friends were already on their way to safety, as well.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Johnny and Rashid had made their way carefully through the long, dim hallway, had passed through a tidy yet vacant kitchen and breakfast area, and were now in a small hallway that was almost pitch black. The only light here was from a door, slightly ajar, at the far end of the hall.

The pair walked softly up to the open door and waited, listening. No movement came from inside, only the unmistakable sound of snoring. Rashid raised a hand to his lips, motioning for Johnny to be quiet and wait. He slowly pushed the door open, enough to peer inside.

The room was a security hub of some sort, as Rashid saw a wall consisting of at least a dozen monitors, each showing a different black and white scene. Some monitors were of rooms in the house, some of the grounds outside. A metal desk sat before the screens, with a control board and a couple of telephones. The security guard sat here, with his feet on the desk and his chin on his chest. Fast asleep, he was the source of the loud snoring. In his odd position, his height was hard to determine, but his bulk was obvious. It was best if they did not disturb his slumber.

Looking at the wall of security monitors, Rashid looked for movement on the screens. Most were unchanging views of empty rooms. A couple rotated between different angles of certain spaces, such as the kitchen, which apparently had three cameras set up. Sudden movement on a screen to the right brought Rashid’s attention.

He saw a bedroom in the shot, with two people on the bed. One person was smaller than the other, and he immediately thought of Ryan. Other movement on the screen caused Rashid to step a little further into the room, looking once at the guard to make sure he was still asleep.

Studying the small screen, Rashid realized the movement came from Jack and Micki, in the same room as the boy. They had found Ryan and his mother, he thought, and the relief Rashid began to feel was quickly dashed by movement on a second monitor, above this one. This screen also showed a bedroom, with only a small edge of the bed visible. The main focus of this camera was the back of a large, standing antique mirror. Two men were standing in front of this mirror, one bald and muscular, the other slender and well dressed. This, Rashid realized, must be the mirror the man mentioned on the phone.

The men on the monitor stood near the mirror, talking, looking back and forth between a small book the well dressed man held and the mirror. Rashid looked back at the screen with Jack and the others and, unable to make out their words, tried to understand what they were doing. Jack was moving back to the door. He appeared to be listening for something. Ryan and his mother were getting up off the bed, moving to where Micki stood near Jack.

Looking back to the monitor with the only other movement, Rashid noticed the men were walking away from the mirror. Deducing that the two rooms were close in proximity, Rashid turned away from the monitors and slipped back into the hallway, leaving the guard to continue to snore contentedly.

Rashid carefully pulled the door behind him, leaving it as he had found it, slightly ajar. In the hallway, he whispered to Johnny. “We are very lucky that this Casares man has an either overworked or very lazy guard, for we would never have made it across the grounds and through the house, had he been paying attention.”

“Okay, so we lucked out.” Johnny whispered back. “Now what? We haven’t found anything.”

Rashid began to walk down the hall, away from the snoring coming from the security room. “We have to get upstairs, quickly. Jack and Micki have found Ryan and Mrs. Dallion.” he said to Johnny as they walked.

“Hey, that’s great!” Johnny answered, happy that something had been accomplished on this mission. “Let’s just get outside and wait for them to show up.”

Rashid shook his head. “No, Johnny. They found them alright, but they are all in imminent danger. I fear they are going to need our help momentarily.”

A noise from behind brought them to a sudden stop.

“Hey! Hey, who the hell are you two?” the voice from the no-longer sleeping guard called out to them.

Rashid and Johnny looked at each other and, at the same time, yelled “Run!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the light flipped on, Micki and Jack turned around and came face to face with Ryan. The sight of him as a ten year old boy was still strange, but one look at his eyes, and you knew it was him. Micki and Jack both smiled at him.

“Micki, is that really you?” Ryan asked again. He was propped up on his elbow looking at them both.

From behind him, his mother moved, turning to see who her son was talking to. Seeing Micki and Jack caused her to gasp. “What? What are two doing here?” she asked as she sat up.

Jack spoke first. “We are here to get you two out of here. But please, keep your voices down.”

Micki walked closer to the bed, smiling down at Ryan. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” she asked them both, even though her gaze never left the boy.

“No, no we are fine. Mostly they have kept us in here. Although they did have a lot of questions about some old mirror.” Mrs. Dallion answered, swinging her legs off the side of the bed and standing up. “It was very strange, actually.”

“Odd how?” Jack asked, stepping forward.

“Well, they kept asking if I knew how it worked.” she answered as she straightened her clothes. “How else does a mirror work? You look in it, see yourself. Pretty odd, if you ask me.”

Jack and Micki exchanged a glance that was not overlooked by Ryan, who asked, “What does the mirror do?”

Micki sat next to him. “Well, we aren’t really sure, Ryan. But, it’s nothing to worry about. Now, why don’t you get up and we will get out of this place. I am sure you’re anxious to get back home, to your own bed.”

The thought of his bed and his nightmares didn’t excite him. “The mirror does something bad, doesn’t it?” he asked as he got up and out of the bed, standing before Micki.

“Why would you think that?” Micki asked him. She thought of the letters his mother had sent, of his very vivid memories.

“I dunno.” he answered. “Just a thought. Can we go now?”

Jack walked back to the door and stood, listening. Micki stood up and came close to Jack, then waved Ryan and his mother to come over closer to her.

Mrs. Dallion came up close to Ryan and put her hand over his shoulder. She looked at Micki and asked. “How did you know we were here? Or even where here was?”

Micki gave a small smile. “Well, we received a phone call informing us of your, um, predicament.”

Mrs. Dallion looked more confused than ever. Her mind went back to the bizarre events of a year ago, the unexplainable events that transformed Ryan from and adult to a child, something that had changed her view on the world forever. “This has to do with that antique shop you run, doesn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes, we believe it does.” Jack answered. “Although we aren’t sure as to how or why they felt that kidnapping you and Ryan would help.”

Micki spoke up. “Look, there is plenty of time for talking this over later. Why don’t we just get out of here before someone finds us.”

Jack nodded and went back to listening. Hearing nothing from the hall beyond the door, he waved his hand at the others, indicating that he wanted them to follow. He slowly turned the handle of the door and opened it. Soon, the four of them were in the hallway.

Then all hell broke loose.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Ryan again tried to open the window, but it wouldn’t budge. He banged on the glass and looked out. Even if he had somehow gotten the window open, the bars outside it were another obstacle he would have to overcome. He turned around and scanned the rest of the bedroom, again. He had to find someway out of here.

It had been hours since his mom and him had been taken from their apartment and brought here. He still had no idea why they were taken or by whom, but he knew whatever the reason, it couldn’t be good. Nobody just takes you from your home like they did with good intentions. And now they had taken his mom out of this room into some other place without telling him a thing.

Banging his hand into the wall beside him, he walked away from the window and went to the only door to the room. It was a big, wooden door with hinges made of iron or something. He had no keys or pins to pick at the lock, even if he knew how to do that. He jiggled the handle again, but the door didn’t open, it didn’t even move in it’s frame.

He had gone over every square inch of the room, even searching the small bathroom, which had no window. There was no way out. He walked over and sat on the bed. Sometimes he just hated being ten years old.

Then again, sometimes he didn’t feel ten years old, sometimes he felt like he had lived another life, been another person. He had told his mom about the nightmares, mostly because she had heard him screaming in his sleep. But he hadn’t told her about the other experiences he was having, the daytime nightmares.

It had started not long before they moved to the new apartment. He had a hard time remembering their old place. He wondered where his dad had suddenly gone to, and why his mom was suddenly back in his life. It didn’t make sense. And when heard what year it was it somehow felt… wrong. He hadn’t talked about it with his mom because she would just think he was being goofy. She always just said he was being silly, that he had too much of an imagination. Although his nightmares had seemed to cause her some worry.

He tried not to think much about them. They were filled with faces and places he didn’t remember but felt that he knew. Filled with horrible people doing terrible things. He hated them, hated waking up at night, in the dark, sweating and screaming.

Ryan stood up again and walked to the dresser with the mirror over it. He looked at his reflection. Something about his own image unsettled him. He felt like he wasn’t looking at himself. At least not his true self. That was one of the things he couldn’t tell his mom.

The other was about his cousin, Micki. He had been remembering her, remember talking with her, sitting with her. She was beautiful, with long red hair and a funny laugh. He felt like he really knew her well. But it didn’t make sense, they had barely met.

Sure, she had kept in touch with him and his mom since they ran into her in France, but he couldn’t understand why she had suddenly taken an interest in him. Just like he couldn’t explain his mom showing up in France or, for that matter, why he was even in France. None of it made sense, and none of his mother’s explanations made it any better.

At first he thought he might be going crazy. But when he went to the library and looked up books on dreams and stuff, he had found something about déjà vu. That is how he felt all the time, like he was stuck in some sort of déjà vu that he just couldn’t break out of. And he could live with it, he thought, if it wasn’t for the nightmares.

The door to the room opened then and his mom was escorted inside by the bald man who had brought them here. His dark eyes unnerved Ryan, but the boy still got up and went to his mother.

“Mom, you okay?” he asked, hugging her around the waist. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Mrs. Dallion hugged her son back tightly. “No, not at all, Ryan. They just wanted to ask me some questions, that’s all.”

The bald man left, shutting and locking the door behind him as he did.

Ryan and his mom sat back down on the bed.

“Questions about what?” he asked her. “Why did they bring us here?”

She was hesitant to answer, unwilling to frighten the boy anymore than he already was. “Nothing, really. They just showed me a mirror, that’s all. Wanted to know if I knew anything about it. I told them I didn’t. Then they brought me back here.”

“A mirror? All this for something about a mirror?” Ryan responded, confused. “Did you ask what they are going to do with us? “

“Now, now, Ryan, don’t worry so much. They promised not to hurt us and I believe them.” she said, the tone of her voice betraying her words.

Ryan knew his mom well enough to know that she was trying to protect him from something. She had no more of an idea as to their plans than he did.

“Now, why don’t we try and get a nap in, hmm?” she said, almost as if they were home waiting for dinner to be ready or something. “They said they would be back later with some supper, so we should just rest and wait and I am sure they will see this is all a big misunderstanding.”

His mom laid back on the bed, her head on one of the heavily decorated pillows. He laid next to her, to make her feel better, to let her think her attempt to calm him down had worked. But he wouldn’t be able to sleep. He knew they were in danger, he just knew it. And it was going to be up to him to get them both out of here.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Amidst the smoke and confusion, Mrs. Dallion became disoriented and lost track of Ryan. She felt around for him, but instead kept bumping into either the wall or someone else. She heard her son call out to her once, she felt helpless.

Then, Jack yelled something, and another voice called out, and then a loud bang and a scream. She froze, terrified. She couldn’t bear to lose another son. Jack was yelling again, and suddenly the lights in the hallway were gone. The heavy darkness was even more disorienting, the confusion of the smoke suddenly preferable.

Micki yelled Ryan’s name. Mrs. Dallion tried to follow her voice, moving as carefully as she could to where she seemed to be. Then Ryan’s voice broke through the darkness, and Johnny yelled back. He had Ryan! She was close, now. Just then a beam of light came through the dark, close to her eyes, momentarily blinding her. The person holding the light collided with her, and it fell to the floor and turned off.

Realizing it was Johnny who had bumped into her, she turned to follow. Far ahead in the hallway was a very dim light, and she thought that it must be where the staircase was, light coming up from below. She moved as quickly as she dared, worried about who else was still with her in the dark here.

As she drew close to the end of the hall, she saw a man standing at the balcony, looking down. He raised his arm and a shot rang out, glass shattering somewhere. ’Ryan!’ she thought and ran forward. The man began to head down the stairs, but stopped and raised his arm again, gun aimed.

From below a door slammed and, without a second thought, she acted.

“Stop!” she yelled as she rushed forward on the staircase, reaching out to the arm brandishing the weapon. The big man turned to look at her, but before he could react, she was upon him, grasping for the gun. She was no match for his strength, and as she grabbed at him, he swung his arm out, knocking her into and over the staircase railing.

As she tumbled over, she reached out for him once more and this time both her hands locked onto his arm. The weight of her and the momentum of her fall were enough to bring him over the railing with her, and together they fell. They smashed into a small table with an old vase, and the gun went off, a wild bullet ricocheting off the marble floor into the ceiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back upstairs, the confusion had faded away. Carlos had opened a bedroom door and flipped on a switch. The light from this room partially filled the hallway, and he could see well enough. On the floor of the hall were the two older men, one laying on his back, the other attempting to revive him. He had fired his gun earlier and must have made contact with the man now laying on the floor.

Another gun shot rang out further away and he turned towards the sound, toward the stairs. The older woman was rounding the corner, yelling. Within moments, he heard a loud crash, another gunshot, then silence.

He turned back to the two men in time to see the uninjured one coming at him with a large book raised over his head as a weapon. He dodged the blow, then turned and brought the handle of his gun down on the back of the old man’s head. He crumpled to the ground. He waited, gun raised, but the man was still.

“Mr. Casares?” he called out, wondering what had happened to his boss.

The door to the master bedroom slowly opened, the light from inside also filling the hallway, further illuminating the space. Raphael stepped out, a look of fear in his eyes.

He looked from Jack, at Carlos’ feet, to Rashid, further down the hall, unmoving. He looked at Carlos. “Where is everyone else?” he asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

Trying, and failing, to keep the shame from his own voice, Carlos answered “I guess they all got away.”

Casares felt the belittlement in the words. “I had to make sure the mirror stayed safe.” he said, straightening his linen coat with both hands.

Carlos didn’t answer him, instead he stuffed his gun into the waistband of his pants and bent over Jack, grabbing the older man’s two arms in his. He dragged Jack down the hallway and into the bedroom they had kept the boy and his mother locked in. Once Jack was inside, Carlos stepped back out and looked down at Rashid.

“He’s been shot, but he’s still breathing. We can deal with him later.” he said, then grabbed this second man by both feet and dragged him into the same room as Jack. Back in the hallway, he shut the door, withdrew the key from his pocket and locked it.

Casares still stood in the hall, looking like a helpless child. Carlos walked towards him and then bent down to the ground, picking up the book Jack had tried to bash him in the head with, the manifest. He held it out to his boss.

“What are we going to do now?” Raphael asked, the panic evident in his voice again.

Carlos locked eyes with him and, for a second, he could see the face of Raphael’s brother, Gabriel. He had been the true head of this company, this house, this family. But, he was dead now, and much as Carlos loathe to admit it, Raphael was in charge, and that was all that mattered.

“Go into your room and lock the door.” Carlos said finally, pushing the book at him once more. “I will see what happened to Jameson and the others. Don’t come back out until I give you the okay.”

Raphael nodded, took the book from him and disappeared back into his bedroom, the door closing and locking behind him.

Carlos redrew his gun and made his way towards the staircase, stopping at the top and looking over. The boy’s mother and Jameson lay in a heap upon the remains of the hall table. There was blood on the marble tile. No one else was present.

Slowly walking down the staircase, he kept his eyes on the shadows of the room, expecting someone to jump out at any moment.

He reached the bottom without event, and walked over to the fallen pair. He knelt down, careful of the blood and shards of the ruined vase, and felt for a pulse on the woman’s neck. Nothing. He did the same for the guard Jameson, and found no pulse there, either.

He stood up and looked left and right, into the hallways that led off on either side of the foyer. Shrouded in darkness, he could make out no movement,. He would need to explore them further. Looking towards the main door, he noticed the shattered window. He stepped closer and placed his hand on the door, which was unlocked, not how he had left it. Swinging it open, he stepped quickly outside, the gun leveled before him.

The grounds were lit well enough, but he saw no one about. If they had made it outside, they were gone. And if they were still in the house, he would find them. Carlos turned on his heels and went back inside, slamming and locking the oak door.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Having left the Mercedes at the edge of the small forest, the foursome made their way through the brush and bramble. The estate they were heading to had only one road of access, the remainder was bordered by these woods and a small pond. The owner obviously enjoyed his privacy.

Jack and Rashid had been successful with their locator spell this time. They had found where Ryan was being held, and they hoped his mother was with him. The group had debated over how to proceed, finally deciding on a simple plan: Get inside, find Ryan and Mrs. Dallion, and get them out. Of course, it wasn’t really simple at all. And, if experience taught them anything, it was going to be dangerous, as well.

If possible, they also wanted to find the manifest, too. That book was vital to them. Lastly, if they were really lucky, they hoped to find the mirror Ryan’s captor had mentioned. They assumed it had to be one of Lewis’ cursed items.

They had waited until it was dark, wanting any advantage they could get on this rescue mission. Having hiked for close to an hour now, they finally stopped at the place where the woods ended and the large grounds of the mansion began.

Micki stepped close to Jack. “What now?” she asked. Like the rest of her group, she had dressed in black. She also wore a black baseball cap to cover most of her red hair, the rest tied in a ponytail down her back.

Jack pointed at the large brick house before them. Random lights lit up parts of the grounds, as well as a few of the windows in the building. Someone was obviously still awake and about inside, but they had not seen anyone walking the yard.

“Should we go together, or split up?” Johnny asked, eager to get inside and get this over with.

Jack looked around some more before speaking. “I think we should get inside together, just in case we come up against some guard. Or guards. Once we’re safely inside, we can split up and cover more ground. Let’s go, slowly, to that door there.” He was pointing now at set of French doors that led from an outdoor patio to some room inside the house that was dark and hopefully unoccupied.

Weaving across the yard, stopping briefly behind bushes and keeping to the shadows, the group made their way forward. When they were all gathered on the brick patio, flat against the wall, Jack used his lock-picking skills to quickly get the glass doors open. He paused, listening for an alarm announcing their intrusion. When no sounds came, they entered the room and closed the doors behind them.

Johnny turned on his flashlight at the same time Rashid turned on his. They both swung the beams over the room, revealing a good size den or library. Scanning the space, they saw it was filled with hundreds of books lining several shelves, various pieces of art and a few large paintings. The center of the room featured four overstuffed sofas in a square formation, making for a comfortable conversation area. If their mission wasn’t so dangerous, and the place so creepy, Micki would have called it cozy.

Jack walked over to the double doors on the wall opposite the one they had entered. He stood with his ear against the wood, listening. Micki, Johnny and Rashid came up close to him, waiting for the next step. For a few minutes, the only sound to be heard was their breathing.

Jack slowly opened the door and peered outside the room. He brought his head back in and shut the door slowly.

“Okay, this room leads to a long hallway. We should split up here. Rashid and Johnny can go one way, Micki and I will go the other. Walk slowly and keep your ears and eyes open. We have no idea how many people this Raphael Casares has working here. So, be careful and be quiet. If you find Ryan and his mother, get them and get out, don’t wait for the rest of us.”

Johnny was about to protest this, but Micki placed her hand on his arm.

“Jack’s right, Johnny.” she said. “Their safety has to be the priority.”

Johnny nodded and Micki let go of him. Jack opened the door again slowly and peered out.

“One hour.” he whispered, looking back at the group. “If you haven’t found anything by then, meet back here, or just get back to the woods and to the car.”

Rashid and Johnny nodded, and Jack stepped forward, Micki right behind him. They walked to the right, down the dimly lit hallway. Johnny and Rashid came out behind them and proceeded to the left, soon disappearing around a corner.

Micki and Jack walked slowly down the hall, stopping to listen at each door as they proceeded, peeking in the ones that opened when they tried the doorknobs. Before too long, they entered a foyer that must be the main entrance, two large wooden doors ahead of them. The room also featured a very grand and winding staircase. As was the rest of the house, this area was dimly lit and deserted.

Jack and Micki ascended the stairs carefully, Jack keeping his eyes forward as Micki kept looking back. The emptiness of the place worked to their advantage, but it also upped the eeriness of the place. Micki felt like eyes were upon them, watching.

The top of the stairs led to a small balcony, and around a corner was another long, dim hallway. Jack peered around this corner and quickly pulled his head back. He raised a finger to his mouth, warning Micki to be quiet. He pointed over his shoulder, and raised one finger to inform her that there was one person in the hallway ahead of them.

Micki shrugged, silently asking what they were going to do now. Jack was at a loss as to how to proceed when the problem resolved itself.

A door somewhere in the hallway ahead opened and a male voice called out “Carlos, come here, please.”

Micki and Jack waited, pressed against the wall at the top of the stairs, ready to run back down if the men approached. They heard footsteps and then a door shut. Jack waited a few moments, then again peered around the corner.

He looked back at Micki. “Come on, let’s move fast.”

They turned the corner and walked quickly down the now-deserted hall. Jack brought them up to the door where the man he had spied had been standing and tried the knob. It was locked. For the second time tonight, he took out his lock picks and went to work.

“Hurry, Jack.” Micki said, her voice low but nervous. She kept her eyes scanning the other doors in the hallway, listening for any movement, any voices.

The moment she heard a click from the door Jack was working on, she heard another sound from another door. “Jack…” she whispered, turning towards him.

Jack opened the door and pushed Micki inside in one quick motion. He stepped in right behind her and closed the door behind him. They both paused, ears pressed against the wooden frame. In the hallway they had just left, they heard two voices, but the words were too muffled to make out. Then there was silence. Still, they waited, expecting the door they were leaning against to burst open at any second.

A small click sounded from somewhere in the room they were in, and instantly the room was filled with light. It took a moment for Mick and Jack to adjust to the sudden brightness. Then a small voice spoke up.

“Micki, is that you?” Ryan said, from across the room.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

The day following the mysterious phone call, Jack had to force Micki to go with Johnny to retrieve the hatpin murder weapon, currently locked up in police headquarters. While they weren’t positive it was one of the cursed antiques, they had a pretty good feeling it was. Once they had their hands on it, they could just try and break it to see if it was real. All the cursed antiques were indestructible, necessitating their careful and permanent storage in the vault below their shop.

Jack was glad when Micki finally relented and agreed to accompany Johnny, mostly to drive the car in case he needed a quick get-away from the cops, but also as a back-up in case he ran into some unforeseen snag. She had been hovering over Jack and Rashid since last night, and while Jack knew she just wanted to aid them in their search for the answer they needed, she was more of a distraction than a help.

She was worried about Ryan and Ryan’s mother, he knew that. He was, too. He cared for Ryan and Micki as if they were his own children, and the loss of Ryan a year ago had been overwhelming. In a way, Jack felt responsible. He was supposed to watch out for them, and he had let them down.

Not this time, though. Jack was determined to find some answer, some way to either break the curse on the mirror Ryan’s captors had, or find some way to free Ryan and his mother from them.

After the phone call, he had made a call of his own, to Rashid. His mystical friend hadn’t hesitated when Jack explained the situation. He came directly back to Curious Goods and all night the two of them went back an forth between reading old texts and conjuring ancient spells. So far, they hadn’t made much progress.

Jack had taken a short break to whip up some official-looking documents for Johnny, enough to gain him access to the store rooms of police headquarters. Finding the evidence room and then the hatpin was going to all be on Johnny. Jack had faith he could pull it off, if he took his time and didn’t overreact.

Johnny had stepped up when they needed him, after Ryan had been transformed and left to go live with his mother. Unlike Micki and Jack, Johnny had no real responsibility to their mission: to retrieve Lewis’ cursed antiques. But he had joined them, helping them out time and time again, sometimes risking his own life in the process, and several times saving theirs‘. He was a good man, a good friend. Jack regretted that Johnny felt compared to Ryan, like he was second best. Truth was, Johnny was just as good and brave as Ryan had been. He just wasn’t Ryan.

A shout, in some foreign tongue, from Rashid brought Jack back to the present. They had brought up one of the smaller items from the vault, a cursed quill pen. It was one of the first items they had managed to get back. Now, Rashid and Jack tested their spells and charms on it. Once the spell was complete, they’d attempt to destroy the quill pen. If it broke or burned up, then the curse was broken and they had found the right incantation. So far, the quill pen looked as it did when they had started.

Jack smiled at his friend and then looked back down at the 10th century scroll he had been reading. Lewis was able to make this damn pact and somewhere there had to be a counter-spell, an invocation, something. Micki, Ryan, Mrs. Dallion… they were all counting on him. And this time, no matter what, he was going to get Ryan back, safe and sound.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Micki sat in the black Mercedes waiting for Johnny to come out of the police station. They had agreed on a half hour. If Johnny wasn’t back by then, she was going to head inside and create some kind of a distraction or disturbance. Something to give him time to look for the hatpin. He had five more minutes before she had to act.

Her thoughts were mostly on Ryan and his mother. She was worried, more than she had ever been. Ryan was just a child now, and he needed protection. Sending him away to live with his mother was the only way they knew to keep him safe. But that had backfired. Obviously, the letter from Ryan’s mother, and whatever else they stole from the desk, had been enough to show these people how important they were to her and to Jack. Important enough for Micki and Jack to do whatever it was they asked of them.

She squeezed the steering wheel tightly. This car was one of the few things left to them by Uncle Lewis that wasn’t tainted with the curse. The car, the shop, this never-ending mission to retrieve these horrible objects. One hell of a legacy. Ryan would have made some joke now, would have made her laugh. Instead of getting used to him being gone, Micki missed him more and more each day.

She looked at her watch. It was time, so she unlocked the car door and almost had it opened when she saw Johnny come out the front door of the station. Sighing, she reached over and unlocked his door, then started the old car up.

Johnny got in and sat down. He was smirking.

“Well?” Micki asked, already shifting the car into drive and pulling away from the curb. “Did you find it? Or do we need to come back and do this all over again?”

Reaching into his pocket, Johnny pulled out a handkerchief and slowly opened it, revealing a sharp hatpin with an ornate head made of some pearl or opal. She couldn’t tell for sure without a closer look and right now she was just anxious to return to the store.

“Are you sure it’s the one?” she asked, reluctantly. She knew Johnny understood the curse and how they had to be sure, but she couldn’t help and ask.

Johnny folded the handkerchief back over the pin and stowed it in his coat pocket. “Yeah, I’m sure.” he said, looking away from her, out his window.

Looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, she could tell he was offended that she had even asked. “What about the replacement? Did it match well enough?”

Jack had given them a few old hatpins they had for sale in the shop. They hoped one would resemble the cursed one enough that the police would never become wise to their switch.

“Yeah, one had a similar gem, but of a different color. Best I could do. Odds are, no one will ever catch on.” he answered, still not looking at her. “From what I heard inside, the person who used it to kill that woman totally snapped and is going to be sent away to some hospital. There won’t be any trial.”

“That’s something, I guess.” Micki said. “Thank you, Johnny.”

“Yeah, no problem.” he replied. Then he looked at Micki as she drove. “You know, I am worried about Ryan and his mom, too.”

Micki turned her head and smiled at him. “I know. He’s so young, you know? Just a kid now.”

Johnny put his hand on her shoulder. “Jack and Rashid will figure out something. They always do, right?” he said, doing his best to sound upbeat.

She smiled and nodded, turning her attention back to the road. More than anything, she hoped Jack would have an answer when they got back. If not, she didn’t know what she would do. In her head, she always pictured Ryan as his adult self, even though he had spent the last year reverted back to his childhood, physically and mentally, the result of another horrible experience with the worst the world had to offer. Right now, however, all she could picture was Ryan as a little boy, scared and waiting for help, waiting for her to rescue him.

Her hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and her foot pushed the gas pedal a little harder.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Micki made her way down the stairs into the store, a mug of coffee in each hand. Walking over to the paper- and book-covered desk Jack sat at, she placed his mug down on one of the few bare spots. “Anything new?” she asked, looking at the newspaper Jack was scanning intently.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing jumping out at me, no.” Jack answered, laying the paper down and picking up the steaming mug. “Thank you for this.” he said to Micki.

“What about last night? Any mention of Garth’s death?” Micki asked, leaning back against the bookshelf, holding her warm cup with both hands. The chill from the pouring rain and the terrible events of last night lingered with them both, and the coffee offered some solace.

“No, nothing. It was probably too late to make the morning edition.” Jack responded, picking up the paper once more. “None of the obituaries listed seem particularly odd. At least, not in the cursed antique sense.”

The bells over the door jingled just then, as Johnny entered the store. He made his way quickly through the display portion of the storefront and up the small staircase that led to the desk, the cash register and the small sofa, their makeshift office. He tossed a bundle of mail onto the desk, right on top of Jack’s newspaper.

“Mail was already here.” he said, dropping down on the sofa. He looked longingly at the mug in Micki’s hands, but said nothing.

“Thanks, Johnny.” Jack said, breaking the band that bound the mail and looking through the letters. “Any news on Garth?” he asked.

Johnny sighed before speaking. “Yeah, I listened to my police scanner after I got home. They are treating it as a suicide, and linking it to the deaths from the art gallery. The cops seem to believe he killed those people, they just have no idea how.”

Micki chimed in. “Well, good. He did kill those people. The method shouldn’t matter as much as the fact that he can’t kill anymore.”

“Oh, I agree, Micki.” Jack said, looking at them both. “But we can’t begrudge the police their curiosity. However, they would never accept our explanation, that Garth killed them with a cursed paint brush and used their blood to create masterpiece paintings. Best if they are left to wonder.”

Micki shook her head before saying, “Is there anyone these damn antiques can’t corrupt? Garth was such a peaceful man before he got a hold of that brush.” She looked off into the store, where a few of Garth’s old paintings were on display for sale. He had been trying to sell his work for years, with little success. Micki liked his style, however, and paid him what she could afford to add his latest work to the store’s inventory. She had always wished they could offer him what he deserved, but they never sold more than a couple of his works. Now, she wanted to throw them into the trash and never see anything he had painted again.

Jack and Johnny didn’t answer her question. The truth was, they didn’t have an answer. The items that Micki’s Uncle Lewis had cursed and sold to the world had an innate ability to find the weakest spots in their owners’ psyche, then adapt and exploit these flaws. Normal people became cold-blooded killers. And the number of antiques left to recover seemed endless. The horror kept going and going.

Micki stood up now, trying to shake off the thoughts racing through all three of them. “Anything good in the mail, Jack?” she asked before taking a big gulp of the hot coffee.

Jack turned his attention back to the letters. Scanning them, he threw the junk mail in the trash immediately. “Bills, mostly. Some invoices. There don’t appear to be any responses to our mailers today. Oh, here is a letter from Mrs. Dallion.” he said, holding the letter up for Micki.

She stared at it, then shook her head. “Just leave it on the desk, Jack. I’ll read it later.” Truth was, she couldn’t right now read another letter from Ryan’s mother. She didn’t want to hear that Ryan was having even more bad dreams. He had left here, transformed back into his ten-year-old self, and they had believed he was free of all the terrible things he had seen and experienced. But over the past few weeks, he had been having vivid nightmares, nightmares he couldn’t make sense of. When Micki had spoken with him, he had related a few of them to her. She was chilled to her core at his words. The dreams were of things the adult Ryan had gone through, with her and Jack, in their attempts to retrieve the cursed antiques. The memories, obviously, were still buried somewhere in Ryan’s mind. Even his fresh start, away from all this chaos and terror, wasn’t free from this place, from Uncle Lewis and his damned curse.

Jack placed the letter down on the desk near the Manifest, the book Uncle Lewis used to catalog all his sales. They now used this old book to track and recover the antiques, through any means necessary, so they could lock them away in the vault, keeping the horror buried in the basement of the store where it could do no further damage.

“C’mon, let’s get some more coffee.” Micki said, heading up the staircase to where the kitchen was, where her bedroom was, where Ryan’s now-empty room was. Jack and Johnny followed her, silently. None of them was eager to get back to searching for another lost item. At least not for a little while.

After the trio had disappeared upstairs, the face that had been watching them through the shop window moved quickly to the door. Opening it very slowly, very carefully, so that the bells above didn’t signal his presence, the man entered the store. With precious little time available to him, he began the search his master had sent him here for.

[imperfectly360]

Dallion medallion is not like the others. He's the only one that will take the exit on the other side of the gymnasium and go horse back riding. Okay d. Have fun with your orange and blue gym shorts and tank. You're a sharky. And you know what else Mr. Sunny d, you can take your inflatables with you. You're a plastic tablecloth disposable silverware and dollar store sunglasses. And also did I mention you are u-nik? I hope you enjoy your shmoofie. Paramount Lion. Disney plus streamer. You don't wanna love me. I don't wanna love you. Don't tell me I'm cute. I won't tell you you're ad-dorable. Adios mi amigo. MI amour. MI Espanol Numero uno. My dua lino. MI no bueno familia. MI Walmart pinto y Picasso tree bb. Y pearl arbor. No bueno. Astalabista bb.

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

The Prophecies - Part 2

Episode Recap #54: The Prophecies - Part 2 Original Airdate: October 7, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Fritz Weaver as Asteroth Marie-France Lambert as Sister Adele Jean Brousseau as Father Decroux Steve Monarque as Johnny Ventura (as Steven Monarque) Tara Meyer as Chris Davis Madeleine Pageau as Sister Francis Lee J. Campbell as Mr. Burt Davis Nathaniel Moreau as Young Ryan Robert Desroches as Mr. Thorez (as Robert Des Roches) Jacques Tourangeau as Lieutenant Marceau (credit only) Jill Frappier as Elizabeth Dallion Guy Provencher as Blind Beggar Joshua Labelle as Jimmy Dallion Huguette Oligny as Housekeeper / Theresa

Written by Tom McLoughlin Directed by Tom McLoughlin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2 picks up with a recap of Part 1. Then we are back in the streets of Marie-Mere, with Micki finally finding Ryan, who seems dazed. He said he tried to get the book but was knocked out. Micki is worried, since it has been over an hour. He insists he is fine. She says they should check on Jack. Ryan wants to see Adele, but Micki says they will after seeing Jack.

Asteroth goes to a cemetery crypt. He breaks in the stone door via magic. Inside, it is a huge space. He breaks open more crypts, exposing skeletons. He tells Lucifer the place of his return awaits and laughs.

At the church. Christine and her father sit and pray. She's worried, asks him to pray for her.

Micki has been going through Jack's papers about the Book of Lucifer. She gets frustrated by Ryan just staring out the window. He says it is a waste of time, he needs to see Sister Adele. Micki says no one can see her. Ryan acts weird and then leaves.

Later, Ryan is outside the church as Asteroth reads the next prophecy. Ryan heads forward. He gets inside, upsetting the other nuns with his insistence on seeing Adele. She says it is okay, he's a friend. Ryan says he has to speak to her in private. Uneasily, Adele takes him to her room. Ryan tells her he met Asteroth. Adele knows Ryan is under Asteroth's hold and tries talking to him, then grabs her crucifix and begins praying. Decroux and the other nuns try getting into the room as the possessed Ryan attacks Adele. Asteroth speaks and laughs through Ryan, opens the door and tells Decroux that Adele is dying for her faith. Then he runs off. Decroux and the nuns find Adele and pray to God.

In an alley, Ryan is lamenting what he just did under Asteroth's control and finds the 666 on his chest. He screams.

At the hotel, Micki calls Johnny who's at Curious Goods, worried about Ryan's odd behavior. Ryan's mother shows up at the store. Johnny tries to calm Micki, who asks him to come to France. He agrees, then tells Mrs. Dallion it will be okay.

Cops bang on Micki's hotel room door, then barge inside, looking for Ryan. They take Micki with them.

Johnny talks to Ryan's mom, who is worried about him, thinking he must hate her. Johnny says Ryan loves her, and everyone deserves a second chance. She says she can't lose another son.

Ryan slips into the hospital and goes to see Jack. He begs his friend to wake up, telling he killed Adele and doesn't know why. He begins to cry, thinking his life is over now. Jack lays unconscious, Ryan asks why he couldn't help him this time. And tells Jack he needs him as he continues to sob.

Asteroth is chanting his evil prayers over a skeleton, and Ryan is again possessed, leaping out the hospital window as nurses rush in. He runs off into the night.

Next day, Micki is still being interrogated by the police. They don't believe her claims of strange events and she doesn't believe their claim that Ryan killed Adele. They won't let her leave or make a phone call.

Asteroth continue his work in the crypt, with Ryan at his mercy. He makes an upside cross on Ryan's forehead and says a child of God will be Lucifer's vessel.

That night, at a candlelight prayer vigil, Adele's body is carried through the streets. Johnny arrives via taxi and goes to the hotel, where he finds out Micki was arrested.

Ryan watches the prayer from the streets.

Johnny demands they let Micki go if they aren't charging her, and is shocked with the allegations against Ryan. He tells the detective they are leaving to look for Ryan, and they head out.

Ryan spots Christine and her father in the prayer group, and takes the girl, her father rushing after him.

Decroux begins a prayer over the body of Adele for all of those present. He tells them Satanic powers are at work to destroy their faith.

Ryan rushes with a protesting Christine as Micki and Johnny search frantically. Christine's father tries to stop Ryan, but Asteroth possesses Ryan, who tosses the man to the pavement.

Decroux continues to pray, saying Adele was killed because she was a symbol of good. He tells them they should have faith and pray. As they do, Jack has memories of what happened, what Adele had told him about her faith, and finally awakens, saying "The child."

Ryan brings Christine to Asteroth in the cemetery crypt.

Micki and Johnny still search, then go to see Jack, who is gone from the hospital.

Asteroth continues to read from his book, as Christine prays on her own. Asteroth tells her Lucifer is the true ruler, but she is brave and keeps praying. Asteroth uses his magic to heal her legs for Lucifer's arrival.

Jack finds Christine's injured father, who tells him Ryan took Christine. Micki and Johnny come upon the men, thrilled to see Jack. Micki fills Jack in on what she read, and Jack realizes the place of the dead mentioned must be the cemetery. Before dying, her dad asks them to save Christine.

Asteroth continues his plan to bring Lucifer to Earth. Asteroth has Ryan pull Christine to her feet, to show her what his faith in Lucifer has done for her. She can now stand on her own and walk. Christine listens to Asteroth, but refuses to praise Lucifer, so Asteroth makes her legs give out.

Decroux and the crowd continue to pray, as wind begins to blow.

Ryan is forced to hold Christine down as Asteroth works to use the Book to bring forth his master. He picks up a sharp skeleton bone, and says since she won't accept Lucifer, he will kill her and Lucifer will be resurrected in her body. He lifts the bone over her.

Jack, Micki and Johnny race through the cemetery looking for Asteroth and Ryan.

Christine appeals to Ryan, trying to get through to him. He looks at her and is flooded with memories of his late brother. Just as Asteroth brings the bone down, Ryan screams and puts his body between it and Christine, Asteroth stabbing him in the back. Micki, Jack and Johnny arrive at the same moment. Ryan, out of Asteroth's control, asks Christine to pray for him before falling to the ground.

His body is wracked in pain and transforms into young Ryan. Asteroth says the prophecy has been fulfilled, thinking Ryan will be the vessel for Lucifer.

At the funeral vigil, wind blows and a bright light appears in the sky. All are in awe.

The light even reaches the crypt, worrying Asteroth, who is burned reaching for the Book after struggling with Johnny. Christine stands in the light. Jack rushes to her. Asteroth stumbles to avoid the light. Jack finds the unconscious boy on the ground and picks him up. Micki is confused. Asteroth again tries for the book but it bursts into flames, then he does as well. He thrashes about before turning into his demon form and exploding. Micki holds the boy, and Christine says they must get him to the shrine.

They get to the shrine, still bathed in the bright light. Ryan begins to thrash about. Decroux prays over him, hoping to rid him of the influence of Satan. Christine kneels and prays to the Blessed Mother, asking them to return Ryan to what is God's will. A visage of a woman appears, the light becomes blinding and Ryan screams.

The light dims and fades away, and the boy lies calm. Jack talks to Ryan, who asks who he is. Ryan remembers Jack as a friend of Uncle Lewis. Christine introduces herself, but Ryan doesn't recall her. She thanks him. Ryan asks where his mother is. Christine tells Decroux that the Blessed Mother wants her to stay, and the Shrine waters flow again. Ryan asks if Micki is okay. She tries to get him to remember her, but all he can recall is a cousin named Micki, with red hair. They hug.

Back in the airport in the US, they all arrive home. Ryan runs off, Jack says he didn't say anything to Mrs. Dallion because it would be hard to explain. She is there, waving at them. Ryan comes up to her, calling her mom, but at first she thinks he's looking for someone else. Then she recognizes the boy her son used to be. Ryan says she looks different. She is shocked and Jack tells her this is Ryan, as hard as it is to believe. Micki tells Ryan she recognizes him, but he looks a little different. He says she is still the prettiest mom in the world, and them embrace, as Jack, Micki and Johnny look on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts:

As I said last week, this is written and directed by Tom McLoughlin, who was the man behind Friday the 13th: Part VI - Jason Lives!, one of my favorite in the film series. He did a great job in opening the third season, while finding a creative way to write out - but not kill off - Ryan. I commend and thank him for that.

I remember the first time I watched this episode. I had graduated high school around the same time as the season two finale. Was working nights now, and was harder for me to be there each late Saturday night. I recorded this and watched it a few days - maybe weeks? - after it had aired. Like I said, no pre-information. It was, to me, just the season three opener. Little did I know.

Ryan becoming possessed and killing Adele is so much. But, as it was with weekly shows, you assume they will somehow over come this. Ryan won't be sent to prison! Then he sacrifices himself for Christine, and you think this will either wound him and also redeem him or kill him. But he's back for season three, they won't kill him off.

Imagine my - and other fans - shock. Ryan is turned back in to a child… and stays that way! Yeah, he isn't killed off. But LeMay is gone? What does all this mean? I was stunned. Ryan and Micki were so big to me as a lonely, awkward teen. How could Ryan be gone from this group?

We had no answers this week. Just this ambiguous end. I remember after watching this, going to let my dog out and just standing, looking out at the bare trees and feeling the end of something. Like I said, I'd graduated and was working. I'd begun to miss episodes of the show and had to play catch up. It all just felt like an end had begun for something that had been so special and important to me. And I had no clue what the future held, for Ryan, for Micki and Jack, and in my life, for me. A weird, very personal, nexus point of life, I guess.

Johnny, as we know now, took over the younger male lead role. They play Johnny here a little different than before. Less harsh and horny, and more friendly and helpful. I don't mind Johnny, but Ryan was irreplaceable.

The religious motifs here are huge, and it makes sense. The show always focused on the demonic and Satanic, so it was interesting to see the flipside of that. But, I have to wonder if this big season opener, with God, and prayer, and nuns and Lucifer combined with airing in more prime time slots, opened the door for more tight ass religious zealots to see and condemn the show. Is it a coincidence that this ended up being the final season?

All in all, a great big movie of a season opener, with the show's status quo truly shaken up. Glad Ryan was left alive, for a possible return. Never happened, unfortunately. Only in my fanfic. Maybe I'll share that one day, if anyone would care to read it.

Good-bye, Ryan.

Next week: Demon Hunter

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Mesmer's Bauble

Episode Recap #46: Mesmer's Bauble aka The Secret Agenda of Mesmer's Bauble

Original Airdate: May 6, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Vanity as Angelica Martin Neufeld as Howard Moore Laurie Paton as Anita Devon Eve Crawford as Mrs. Burns Jennifer Cornish as Girl #1 Sandra Brown as Girl #2 Tim Gannon as Jogger Tony De Santis as Roger Zimmerman Patrick Brymer as Kirk Bill Vibert as Security Guard David Clement as Henry Pinkman Evelyn Kaye as Woman Bystander

Written by Joe Gannon Directed by Armand Mastroianni

We open on a sexy woman singing a song. It is the superstar Angelica, and it turns out we are seeing her on a television set, in a room covered with posters and photos of her. A man is applying makeup to his face in the mirror, then he walks through the room, caressing her image on the walls. He seems obsessed and sad, mouthing "I love you" to a poster, then he begins to sob.

Cut to the outside shot of the Vinyl Museum Record Depot, where the man, Howard, works. He is busy filling a display for Angelica's music, and his boss tells him a PR rep for Angelica's label will be stopping in. She also gets Howard's hopes up by hinting maybe the rep can even get Angelica to stop by herself.

Some teen girls are shopping, and an overzealous Howard tries to help, wanting to show of his knowledge of Angelica. They mock him and leave.

That night, Howard is walking home and looks at his reflection in a window. As he does, two men jump out of a car and smash a store window, grabbing items and fleeing as the alarm sounds. Howard walks over and finds a chain with a crystal bauble. He picks it up just as a bystander grabs him, thinking he is the burglar. Howard tells the man to drop dead, and the bauble kind of puts the man in a trance. He walks off, we can hear his heart pounding and he collapses. Howard goes to check on him, but the man is dead. The cops arrive.

Later, Howard is finally at home and examines the bauble in front of the mirror. He asks it to fix his skin, and his face instantly looks smoother. He then asks it to fix his face, but nothing happens.

At Curious Goods, Ryan is excited to have to tickets to Angelica's concert. Ryan really likes her, but Micki pokes fun at him. Jack then finds the bauble in the Manifest, and shows the cousins the police report of items stolen, and it includes Mesmer's Bauble. Jack tells them Mesmer was a hypnotist, and they wonder what Louis' curse did to the item. Micki and Ryan leave to investigate.

At a club called The Copa, fans eagerly await as Angelica arrives. Howard among them. She waves and signs a few autographs then is ushered inside.

Howard arrives at the record store and his boss introduces him to Anita Devon, from Angelica's label. Howard is excited to meet someone who actually knows his crush. His boss comments on his face looking clearer.

Howard shows Anita their storeroom and she gives him an autographed photo of Angelica. He also spies her backstage pass. Howard continues to ask questions, and it quickly gets too personal. Anita thinks he is a wacko fan, and is uncomfortable. She wants to go, but Howard pushes, and she says Angelica wouldn't be attracted to someone like him. He pulls out the bauble and puts her in a trance. He tells her to go for a walk. She obeys, walking out of the store, only saying goodbye to Mrs. Burns at Howard's insistence. Howard walks out with Anita and tells her to walk into the traffic. She is hit by a semi. His boss runs out and tells him to call an ambulance.

That night, Howard rushes home and again holds the bauble, asking it to make him beautiful and someone Angelica would notice. He writhes on the floor in pain.

At The Copa, Howard arrives with Anita's backstage pass. He looks more attractive, and even his hair is flowing. He heads backstage, where Angelica and her crew are rehearsing. Howard follows the monitors and soon he is within feet of the singer, watching her. Roger, Angelica's manager, is ushering her out when they encounter Howard, who says he is there replacing Anita. Roger says he better do better than her, to Angelica's chagrin. Howard and Angelica shake hands. Roger takes her away, saying they can talk business later. A stagehand says there is an issue with too many fans and asks if Angelica will come out and sign some autographs. Roger tries to blow him off, but Angelica goes to them. Howard wanders backstage.

Later, Roger is ranting about lost time as he and Angelica finally get to her dressing room. He says she is too good to her fans. As she goes to change, Howard watches from the clothing rack. Angelica says Roger is too possessive, and Howard realizes they are a couple.

Micki and Ryan arrive at the store that was burglarized. They talk to the owner, and tell him the cops caught the thieves and got most of his items back. They ask about the bauble. He thinks the crooks fenced it, but Micki says there wasn't time. He mentions the kid who talked to the police, and Micki asks if he means Howard Moore. The man calls him and ugly kid, and talks about the jogger that died. Micki and Ryan head off.

At another rehearsal, Howard watches Angelica perform. He then approaches as Angelica and Roger go to leave, but Roger rudely tells him he should be working and not hanging around, and then takes off as Howard seethes.

Micki and Ryan are at the record store and talk to Mrs. Burns. She said Howard called and quit this morning, and tells them kids were always giving Howard a bad time over his looks. Then she tells them about Anita getting hit. Micki says to Ryan that everywhere Howard is, someone dies.

Howard lies in bed, listening to Angelica's music, and says out loud that he knows she wants him. A knock on the door and Micki and Ryan are there. They ask about the robbery and if he noticed the bauble. He says no, but Micki spies all the Angelica photographs before he shuts the door. She comments to Ryan that he is not at all ugly. They wonder if the cursed antique is already at work. Micki thinks he wants Angelica, so they leave to find where she is staying.

In his apartment, Howard holds the bauble.

At the hotel, Roger stops shaving to answer the door. It is Howard, who holds the bauble up and entrances the man. Howard tells him to finish shaving, really close, with no water. He keeps telling him to go closer and closer, and not to forget his throat. Blood hits the sink and Roger collapses. Howard looks in the mirror and tells the bauble he wants to be Angelica's lover.

In the hotel lobby, Micki and Ryan see a body wheeled out. A woman says it was Angelica's manager. Then, Angelica and Howard get off the elevator, together. Howard has instantly replaced Roger, telling the assembled group to give her privacy.

Jack is reading about Roger's death, with a quote from Howard saying Roger was depressed. Micki says Howard spent the night planning Roger's funeral. They are sure he has the bauble. Jack tells them about his research, that the bauble fulfills fantasies. Ryan wonders if Howard will hurt Angelica. They head to the club.

Angelica is crying in her dressing room when Howard arrives with a rose. He tells her he took care of Roger's funeral, and she cries on his chest. She wants to cancel her show, but Howard insists she must go on, for all her fans. She is unsure. A man knocks on the door, and Angelica says she will go on. Howard tells her he wants to show her something.

We cut to him taking Angelica to his apartment with all the photos of her on the walls. She asks if he wants her and begins to undress.

Micki and Ryan burst into the club, wanting to find Angelica. A man stops them, and Ryan asks where she is. The man says she left with her new manager.

Howard and Angelica are naked, and he is caressing her body. He keeps looking from her to her photos, then he is touching his own chest, then the bauble. Angelica asks what's wrong, and kisses him. She pulls him to the floor on top of her, but Howard says he can't do this, it isn't what he wants. He says he wants to be her. She struggles, as he holds her down. The power of the bauble works on his wish, melding their bodies. Later, Howard who is now Angelica looks in the mirror and laughs.

That night, the stagehand tells Howard/Angelica it is almost showtime. She admires herself in the mirror.

Ryan and Micki arrive at Howard's apartment and bang on the door. Ryan forces the door open. Micki sees weird slimy ooze on the floor, and they rush off to the club.

As the show is about to begin, the fans fill the club. Howard/Angelica prepares to go on stage. Micki and Ryan head in with the other fans, looking for Howard. Angelica/Howard is introduced and comes on stage, singing and dancing.

Micki notices the bauble around "Angelica's" neck and as the singer makes her way around the stage, Micki reaches up and grabs the bauble, pulling it off without their knowing. Suddenly, Howard/Angelica's voice goes deep, his body and face change. He is transforming into Howard again in front of a freaked out crowd. He hears the mocking voices in his head, backs up in a panic and falls into a floor panel of lights, sending sparks into the air. Micki, Ryan and the club all watch in horror.

At home, Ryan is listening to Angelica on the radio, and Jack and Micki tell him to try and make sense out of it. Micki says the bauble is in the vault, but they blew it this time, lamenting being unable to also save Angelica. Jack says there was no way to know what was going to happen, or what was going on in Howard's mind. Ryan looks at the ticket stubs and thinks of Angelica.

My thoughts:

Wow. What an episode. I remember the first time I saw this one, I was really confused as to what happened. Makes way more sense now, but quite the twist here.

One thing that is nuts is how much is made of how 'ugly' Howard is. Are all the people around him so superficial and mean to that extent? Sadly, I can see it being true. Might be a bit played up for the drama, but people can be real jerks. Still happens to this day. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

The antique is quite a powerful one, basically acting like a genie's lamp in granting wishes, as long as you give it deaths, and don't let it go. Howard obviously wanted very specific things, but he could have had literally anything from it, it seems.

Our group is getting real good at investigating things, but you have to wonder if the cops have questions about these people always wanting information on things. A recurring cop or someone on the inside would have helped with this.

Glad to have the three of them back together after three episodes with them apart.

The final transformation on stage in front of the crowd and the at home viewers had to have been big news. No way to keep that a secret. I assume Micki and Ryan just took off, but all those people watched Angelica transform into Howard, who then fell and died. And Angelica was gone, too. Had to be huge news! But they make no mention of how it was explained to the world, at the end.

Do appreciate their melancholy, though. They did their best, but Angelica still died. Not easy to live with, I'm sure.

Next week: Wedding in Black

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Eye of Death

Episode Recap #39: Eye of Death Original Airdate: February 4, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Tom McCamus as Atticus Rook Brooke Johnson as Abigail Bodine Jack Creley as Edward Easton Patrushka Sarakula as Lydia David Bolt as Colonel Danny Pawlick as Wounded Soldier Bernard Behrens as General Robert E. Lee Al Koslik (as Al Kozlik) as Murphy Richard Waugh as Zack Bodine Reg Dreger as Detective Howard Michael Beattie as Photographer MacLeod

Written by Peter Jobin & Timothy Bond and Roy Sallows Directed by Timothy Bond

Open with a man writing a letter to Jefferson Davis about the casualties his troops are suffering, and the further trouble ahead for them with advancing Union troops. Turns out the man is Robert E. Lee and this is the Civil War.

We see shots of people around this camp, many dead, dying or severely wounded. In a house used as a make-shift hospital, it is more the same, the horrors of war. A man is trying to convince Lee that they need to retreat, but Lee won't hear of it. Then a strange man approaches and tells them they will be safe if they stay. Lee seems to know this man, and while he is apprehensive, he listens. The man, Mr. Rook, asks if has ever been wrong before?

More shots of wounded and dying, then Rook stealing from a dead soldier. We meet a wounded soldier, Zack, is being tended to by his wife Abigail. Rook arrives saying he is the doctor and sends Abby for supplies. He takes the flask that stopped the bullet from killing Zack, then twists his neck and runs off. He is shot at and chased but vanishes into a square of light.

Rook then appears and runs out of a Civil War slide photo projected on a wall. He dumps out his bag of all the items he stole from the past and calls Edward, telling him he got a shipment of pristine antiques.

Cut to the auction, and Jack is admiring the flask with the bullet hole, while Micki and Ryan scan the crowd for Rook. Jack calls Rook a picker, like himself, who find items to sell. Jack thinks Rook would have sold the magic lantern from Curious Goods.

Rook is admiring an antique slide, but the owner says its not for sale. The man says Rook should make $100,000 at least, tonight. Micki spots him and wonders if Rook is aware of the curse. The auction begins, the flask the first item. Ryan chats up Rook's date. The flask sells for $15,000.

Rook asks Edward, the auctioneer, what Lee's broken sword would get. Edward says about a half million. Jack appears and Rook recognizes him. Jack compliments his good fortune and tells him he took over Louis' store, mentioning that he knows Rook was a customer. Rook and his date leave, Ryan relates that the woman said Rook has been in town for weeks, but Micki is confused. He never answers his phone. Ryan goes to follow Rook.

Rook and his date, Lydia, head to his place. Ryan watches. Having a drink, she is surprised by Rook in his old-time outfit. He says it is for a history lesson. He shows her the lantern, lights it, and tells her it lasts three hours and lets him go anywhere. The slide he puts in is from 1862, and says 22,000 men died, leaving a fortune in antiques. He creeps Lydia out, then snaps her neck so the cursed item will work. Outside, Ryan sees Rook dump her body in the trash. Back in the apartment, Rook prepares to enter the slide when Ryan jumps him, and they are both transported to 1862. They struggle, Ryan falls and Rook takes off. Ryan is shocked by the sound of gunfire, then knocked out by Rook.

At the store, Micki and Jack are frustrated reading on the lantern and worried about Ryan. Micki speculates on how Rook specializes in one specific year and battle. Jack guesses how the curse works and they rush off.

Ryan wakes in a bed, bandaged. Abby and her father saved him, but when Ryan says he is from Chicago, the old man grabs his rifle. Abby stops him, and they question Ryan, who says he's looking for Rook and they think Ryan is a bounty hunter. They wonder if he can help them find the man who killed Zack, unaware Rook is that man. Ryan clues them in. Ryan says he has to see Lee.

Abby gives Ryan some appropriate clothes that were her late husband's. Abby also gives Ryan Zack's gun, hoping he can kill Rook with it.

At Rook's apartment, the cops are swarming because of Lydia's found body, and one stops Jack and Micki, asking if they live in the building, Jack says yes, calling himself Rook, and Micki his daughter. The cop asks if they recognize Lydia, they say no. They enter the apartment and find the lantern in use. Jack stops Micki from interrupting the lantern, and they look at the picture on the wall. Jack finds blood on the floor, then tries to figure out the lantern.

In 1862, Abby's dad catches Rook with his rifle and leads him off.

Micki finds a book Rook was reading to learn about the past. Jack says the lantern will burn for awhile, and tells Micki it might be Ryan's only way back if he did end up in the past.

Rook tells the old man he has plans for Lee, then tricks him and kills him. Ryan watches and shoots but Rook escapes back to the present and blows out the lantern, trapping Ryan. Ryan tries to rouse the old man, but soldiers spot him and chase and shoot after him. Ryan hides in a tree.

At Curious Goods, Jack and Micki do research on that specific date. Micki wonders if Rook kills to go forward in time, too. Jack thinks so. Then Micki finds Ryan in photo from 1862 with Lee. Jack tries to explain how Ryan could have died in the past to a confused Micki.

Ryan listens as Lee continues to disregard his aide in favor of waiting on Rook and the promised plans from the Union side.

The cop knocks on Rook's door and wants a statement about Lydia's body. The cop doesn't seem to remember Jack pretending to be Rook, but asks for ID. Rook overpowers him, strangles him and kills him. But the slide is broken in the struggle.

A soldier show's Abby her father's body and the description of his supposed killer shocks Abby. She rushes off to find Ryan first.

Rook calls Edward, saying he can still get the sword if the man can get the money.

Ryan startles Abigail, and says Rook killed her father. She grabs the rifle, unsure. Ryan tries to come clean and explain that he is from the future. He shows her items from his wallet. She is confused.

Jack and Micki drive back to Rook's and see him leaving. They follow.

Abby is having a hard time believing Ryan, who tries to convince her that her family didn't die in vain. He says he needs to stop Rook from getting Lee's sword. His plan is for her to turn him in to Lee.

Edward can't get the money at night, but Rook says he can take antiques instead, and tells the man to get the other slide from 1862. When Edward does, Rook puts it in the projector, then kills the old man. Before he can step into the past, Micki tackles him and they both vanish. Jack is too late and remains in the present.

Rook punches Micki and takes off. A photographer wants a photo of Lee and his aides. He takes one and wants another as Abby leads Ryan at gunpoint to Lee, who asks why she think he's a spy. As Lee, his men and Ryan enter the building, the photographer snaps a photo. The one Micki saw in the book.

Micki wanders, looking for Ryan and finds a stray horse. Jack checks on the flame, which is still burning.

Lee questions Ryan about Union plans, but Ryan has a hard time remembering his history. Rook appears and gives Lee the plans he promised. Ryan tries to dissuade Lee, but he has Ryan taken away. Abigail sees Ryan hauled off and Rook leave with Lee's sword. She follows.

Micki races to camp on horseback and rushes up and rescues Ryan.

Abby shoots toward Rook, who tries to stop her, then grabs the gun that goes off and shoots Abigail. Ryan hits Rook, then rushes to Abby who dies. Ryan wants to kill him, but Micki stops him. She tells him they have to run to the square of light to get back, which appeared when Abby died. They rush off with Rook chasing them. Ryan and Micki leap through into the present, with Rook following and shooting. Jack does the only thing he can and blows out the lantern. Rook is caught in the wall, dead.

Later, Ryan is amazed to see his photo in the Civil War history book. Ryan wonders if anything Rook or he did in the past changed things. Jack says maybe the past happened as it was supposed to. Micki thinks Lee's sword should be worth something. Jack says maybe a couple of bucks, cause everyone knows Lee broke his sword. This one would be seen as a fake.

My thoughts:

I've always like this episode. I think they handled the scenes in 1862 very well, doing their best in their budget to make you feel like you've gone back in time.

Also like the cursed item. Quite a potential with this one, imagine going anywhere in time as long as you had a slide for the projector?

Rook could have been a little more subtle in his actions. He kills Zack in the midst of people, kills Lydia and dumps her right outside his building. Playing with fire, this guy.

Ryan wonders if they affected the past. Well, who knows what was changed with Zack, Abby and her father being killed. Maybe they would have changed history, or one of their descendants could have? But as Jack speculates, maybe history played out just as it was supposed to.

Loved Micki riding in on horseback to save Ryan. She has come a long way from the beginning. Also loved Jack not just grabbing the latern, realizing they needed to proceed cautiously to make sure Ryan could get back.

The cop investigating Lydia's death was not great, and in fact reminded me of the cop from Badge of Honor.

Also, what the heck did the landlord and cops think when they found Rook stuck INSIDE the wall? Good thing Jack didn't give them his real name.

And very cool to have a photo of Ryan from 1862!

Next week: Face of Evil

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

The Prophecies - Part 1

Episode Recap #53: The Prophecies - Part 1 Original Airdate: October 7, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Fritz Weaver as Asteroth Marie-France Lambert as Sister Adele Jean Brousseau as Father Decroux Steve Monarque as Johnny Ventura (as Steven Monarque) Tara Meyer as Chris Davis Madeleine Pageau as Sister Francis Lee J. Campbell as Mr. Burt Davis Nathaniel Moreau as Young Ryan Robert Desroches as Mr. Thorez (as Robert Des Roches) Jacques Tourangeau as Lieutenant Marceau (credit only) Jill Frappier as Elizabeth Dallion Guy Provencher as Blind Beggar Joshua Labelle as Jimmy Dallion Huguette Oligny as Housekeeper / Theresa

Written by Tom McLoughlin Directed by Tom McLoughlin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Season 3 opens with the recap of what Uncle Lewis did and Micki and Ryan's attempts to return the items before the traditional opening. We are then at a religious shrine in a city in France. It is night and all is quiet. A taxi brings Jack to the local hotel as the church bells ring. Jack sees lots of religious items about. He checks in, the man says Jack is early for the Feast of Marie-Mere but Jack says he hopes to talk with a Sister Adele. Jack is doing research.

Later, Jack is asleep when, at 3:33 am, the church bells peal, awakening him and much of the town. A nun is seen praying and we hear a man reciting from a book about three who will herald "His" return. We see another nun thrashing about in her bed. The nun wakes, seemingly possessed, tearing the cross off her neck. The man's chants come through the voice of the possessed nun as she enters the room of the praying nun, who is Sister Adele. Other nuns rush to help as the woman attempts to strangle Adele. The priest comes, praying, as the other nun slides up the wall. The man reading the book says the first prophecy has come to pass. Calm settles and the once possessed nun dies. The man, somewhere, closes his book.

At Curious Goods, Micki returns home with groceries and goes upstairs. The chime rings on the door, but she sees no one when she comes back down. Suddenly, she is startled by one of their antique masks. It is Johnny, playing a prank. She doesn't give him a hard time. Johnny is looking for a new apartment. He asks about Ryan and Jack, and Micki tells him Jack is visiting Sister Adele, who apparently had a vision ten years ago. She then says Ryan is depressed and when Johnny offers to cheer him up, Micki says he is at the cemetery, it is the anniversary of Ryan's brother's death.

Ryan, at the cemetery, is remembering his brother's death and we see it all via flashback, including their mom rushing outside. Current Ryan is interrupted from his memory by the voice of a woman, who turns out to be his long-missing mother, who left after that accident. She tries to apologize for blaming him, that it was no one's fault. Seems she's been having bad dreams about losing Ryan, too. So they leave to go talk.

Back at Marie-Mere, Jack goes to try and visit Sister Adele. He is great by Father Decroux, but is told she is not going to see any guests. Jack tries to persuade him, to no avail. He asks the bells last night and is told it was a malfunction being remedied, then shown the door. Outside, an old woman approaches and tells him to warn others that Satan wants Sister Adele and that three other nuns have died trying to kill her. Decroux opens the door and brings her inside.

That night, Jack watches from a coffee shop and sees the Father Decroux walk Adele away with a suitcase, and follows them to another building. Jack looks around and finds a dark doorway to watch.

Inside, Father Decroux is doing a prayer to keep Adele safe, but she says it is all no use. He says they can't give up, but she says she hasn't, she just has faith. Outside, the bells again peal wildly at 3:33 am. The man is reading from a book, about beasts and suddenly animals all over are barking and running. A dog is possessed, running towards where Adele is. The man keeps chanting, as Decroux and Adele pray. The dog breaks through a window and is attacking Decroux to try and get to Adele. Jack enters, grabs a fireplace poker and kills the dog. The mysterious man talks through the dog as they watch. He says the second prophecy has come to pass and closes his book.

Next morning, we see a car packed and leaving the town, and some scraggly hitchhikers arrive. Decroux is holding mass, as the choir sings. Jack is talking to Adele, wanting inforrmation. She says they are in God's hands. Jack says the dog said "Nema", which is "Amen" backwards and fears demonic possession. The woman says a man is reading from a book. She tells Jack about the time the Holy Mother visited her, and blessed the waters. Seems she also warned of this day and a visit from another. Jack presses, and she says it is Asteroth, one of the Fallen Angels, and he has the Book of Lucifer. Seems there are six prophecies and if he fulfills them all, Satan will ascend unto the Earth. Seems he chose this most holy place because if he can corrupt it, then any place on the planet is fair game.

At the store, Micki is packing after a call from Jack. He needs his research on Asteroth and the book. Ryan is torn about leaving now, with his mother finally back. Micki reminds him Jack must need them. Ryan says she doesn't feel like his mother any more.

At the hospital, Adele continues to see the mentally disturbed patients that have been her calling. Jack is worried, but Decroux says she insists. He also called the police, but they have a hard time accepting religious stories. They think the nuns died of natural causes, but are investigating because of how important Sister Adele is.

Jack tries to talk to the townspeople, who are packing and leaving, but no one will stop to chat. A blind man cackles and says "Lucifer is coming." Jack asks how he knows, and he says they took his eyes so he'd have eternal sight. Then laughs manically.

At the airport, Ryan's mom has brought them and Micki goes to get their tickets so they can talk. They see a young girl in a wheelchair being sung to by other children. Her father thanks the church and the Father for raising the money to send them to Marie-Mere to hopefully get the girl, Christine, cured. Ryan's mom hopes the girl can be helped, and that Ryan comes back safely, too. Micki and Ryan say good-bye.

Christine talks to them in line and when she shakes Ryan's hand she has a vision and tells Ryan not to go. Her father calms her, but she tells Ryan not to go. Micki and Ryan walk to board the plane.

That night, Adele is trying to tell Decroux and Jack that locking her up is pointless. Jack hopes to break the chain of prophecies. They bring her to a room under the church altar above. She tells them she has always had faith. Jack tells her he hopes to remove the tools evil uses, as in the Book of Lucifer. She hopes God watches Jack. Decroux tells her to lock the door.

Asteroth opens the Book and starts on the next prophecy. Jack is doing his own research, again at 3:33 am. Lighting strikes and the bells chime again. Adele prays. The next prophecy says the mental patients will lose all the progress they made. Soon, the hospital is overrun with rampaging patients, attacking nuns and orderlies. They grab a nun and stab her with syringes. People run into the streets, Jack included. The patients toss an orderly out a window, then call for Lucifer. Decroux is dismayed. Jack finds and enters the building Asteroth is in and is attacked by him. Asteroth knows what Jack is up to. He shows Jack of vision of all the terrible thing to come, then throws Jack over a railing. Jack hits the ground, seemingly dead.

We cut to a body under a bloody sheet. Micki and Ryan arrive and ask about Jack and are sent to a room where Jack lies in a bed, tubes helping him breathe. Sister Adele is there. They are shocked, and she says this is what awaits them all. That Asteroth is trying to weaken their faith to help Lucifer ascend.

A bus arrives with travelers to try and get close to the healing waters. Father Decroux is conducting healing prayers at the stream. Christine is carried by her father. Asteroth walks by carrying the Book of Lucifer. Decroux tries to cure a woman who keeps coughing. Christine is sure a miracle is about to happen.

Ryan and Micki leave the hospital, unsure what to do. Micki says they should check the files Jack had them bring.

Asteroth opens his book near the stream and starts the next prophecy, to turn the healing powers of the waters against the believers. He causes the waters to stop flowing and the sky darkens. A wind picks up. Christine tells Decroux to keep his faith. He tries, and puts his hand in the water, but it boils and burns his hand. Asteroth laughs as the village panics. Asteroth shows himself to the crowd. Ryan and Micki arrive and notice the book. Asteroth says one of them will be Lucifer's disciple and points directly at Ryan, then flees. The cousins rush after him, and split up.

In an alley, Asteroth leaves the book for Ryan to find. As Ryan approaches it and picks it up, he is attacked and knocked out by Asteroth. Micki hear this but when she arrives, she doesn't see them. Asteroth opens the book and starts his next prophecy, carving 666 into Ryan's skin and turning him into Lucifer's disciple.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts:

This is written and directed by Tom McLoughlin, who was the man behind Friday the 13th: Part VI - Jason Lives!, one of my favorite in the film series. He does a great job here, too.

The opening is nice, very picturesque in the quaint town of Marie-Mere. And quite shocking with the possessed nun and mysterious man.

Johnny scaring Micki with the mask is an obvious homage to her first meeting with Ryan in the first episode. A little hint of what's about to occur.

Ryan running into his mother was unexpected. All of this is set up for the twist at the end of this feature length season opener, but you have to remember, this was pre-internet. We had no clue what was going on behind the scenes ahead of time. So this was all watched blindly with no way to pick up clues.

The escalating prophies are scary stuff, out of Exorcist type territory. Watching now, the episode seems quite well done and theatrical in scope and style.

Asteroth is, in the end, a one and done villain, but he could have been a big bad, had the show gone on longer. Fritz Weaver was quite a good casting choice!

Adele seems legit good and sweet.

Jack's fall scared the heck out of me the first time, he looked dead!

And Ryan falling and being at Asteroth's mercy seemed like something he'd get over by the end of the episode. But now it all seems like a step to a direction he cannot turn back from.

I remember the first time I watched this episode. I had graduated high school around the same time as the season two finale. Was working nights now, and was harder for me to be there each late Saturday night. I recorded this and watched it a few days - maybe weeks? - after it had aired. Like I said, no pre-information. It was, to me, just the season three opener. Little did I know. More on that first viewing after next week's part two.

Next week: The Prophecies - Part 2

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

The Maestro

Episode Recap #49: The Maestro Original Airdate: May 27, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Colm Feore as Anton Pascola Cynthia Preston as Grace Colwell (as Cyndy Preston) Karen Woolridge as Susan Cartier Patric A. Creelman as Thomas Manning (as Patric Creelman) Sonya Delwaide as Anne Marcotti Jadson Caldeira as Adam Brown Abbott Anderson as Gus Carole Galloway as Mrs. Eunice Lear

Written by Karen Janigan Directed by Timothy Bond

~~~~~~~~~~

A couple is laying on the floor, gasping for air, as their teacher bangs his cane on the floor and demands they keep dancing. They get to their feet, he restarts the old symphonia and tells them to follow along with the music. He records them as they dance, still exhausted and begging to stop. The music plays on, they begin to dance out of their own control as he continues to shout "Dance!" Suddenly, they both dance right out the windows and to their death. Anton closes the music box.

Later, Jack, Micki, Ryan and a young woman, Grace, are sitting in a theater for a performance of Anton Pascola's dance troupe. Micki said she saw him dance once, and Grace is thrilled that she's been asked to join his troupe. An announcer states that the leads of Romeo and Juliet will be played by other dancers, and Grace tells them the lead dancers committed suicide together.

The dance begins, and backstage, a woman, Anne, tries to talk to Anton. She wants a better role in the show. Anton roughly tells her she isn't good enough. She begs for another chance. He notices her desperation and tells her to come to his studio tonight.

After the show, Grace and the guys go to see Anton, and she is nervous. Anton welcomes Grace and Jack into his office. Seems Jack is a good friend of her father and is looking out for her. Anton says his dancers must be strict and follows his rules for no distractions, only live to dance. Grace is awed by Anton. Jack tells Anton he is looking forward to Anton's Lady of Sheba, and Anton says he has yet to finish the choreography. Anton gives Grace a videotape to study, and Jack notices an antique symphonia. Anton doesn't let Jack touch it. He then tells Grace he sees potential in her. She agrees.

At Curious Goods, Grace is studying the tape when Jack says he has spoken with her father, who is worried. Grace reminds Jack she is 18 and this is what she wants to do. Jack reminds her him and Micki and Ryan are here for her. Jack sees the tape and Grace says Anton is strict about who he allows in his studio. Grace tells Jack she has to concentrate.

Anton is watching the tape when the desperate dancer Anne arrives. He needs five more minutes of choreography to finish his dance. He has Anne place her hand on the symphonia and repeat that she dedicates her body and soul to the dance. He turns the machine on and she begins to dance.

At the store, Jack opens the manifest and looks for music boxes.

Anne continues to dance as Anton records. She is having pain and he pushes her on, the music box forcing her to do his bidding. She dances, in pain and out of control, bleeding. She collapses and dies. Anton is upset to have only gotten one new sequence from her.

The next day, Anton greets Grace as Ryan drops her off. Anton reiterates no distractions, thinking Ryan is a boyfriend. Ryan tells her he will pick her up later. The other dancers are worried that he hasn't finished the choreography, and that Anne hasn't arrived. Anton says she quit. Rehearsal begins.

Jack finds the symphonia in the manifest. He tells Micki Anton had one in his office. He is suspicious about that and the recent suicides. Micki begins to see Jack's point.

Anton pushes the dancers to exhaustion, demanding more. He tells them Grace should be a model for them all, impressed with her only.

Jack makes a call to the person who had purchased the symphonia but learns that person died. Ryan comes back and is filled in. Jack saw Anton using it on the tape Grace had. He tells Ryan to investigate when he picks up Grace.

Jack and Micki visit the mother of the dead man who originally bought the music box from Lewis. She is reluctant to talk about it. She says to ask the man who her son gave it to, Anton. Her son was a dancer with Anton when the man hurt his leg. Anton couldn't dance but worked her son to dance to his death. She can't prove it, but believes it to be true.

Anton wants Grace to dance his final, yet unfinished dance. She does as she is told.

Ryan arrives and finds the dancers in post-dance mode. A therapist is working on one of them, Ryan compliments them for their performances last night. Ryan prods them about the suicides, and hears the woman says Anne still isn't answering. He comments on Anton's perfectionism. They say he is good, whether dancers like it or not. They think he can create great art.

Anton is pushing Grace, telling her she can do it, even though she herself is unsure. He thinks she could be the one. He says he wants to teach her all he knows. She must live the dance, and to move in with him. She is surprised. He continues to flatter her, then has her place her hand on the symphonia and repeat the oath. Then he kisses her hand.

Ryan and Grace arrive back at the store, and Ryan tells a shocked Jack about Anton's offer. Grace is thrilled. But Jack is dumbfounded. She rushes off to study, and Jack is worried, but Grace trusts him and goes off to study. They then fill Ryan in that Anton does have the cursed item, and that each time he creates a new piece, dancers die. Ryan tells them six have been lost since he started this new dance, The Legend of Sheba, some missing, some dead. Jack seems to understand that the music box only gives the dancers a piece of the dance.

Grace watches the tape, studying the moves, not noticing how each bit is played by different dancers, and that the tape cuts off right before each died.

Anton addresses his troupe and tells them only one of them is good enough for the lead, and that it will be Grace, to the shock of the others. He ignores them. The female dancer confronts him about this, and he slaps her. Then strikes her harder and tells her to accept it or leave. She defiantly says she can complete the last few minutes he needs, so he tells her to come to his studio tonight.

Ryan and Micki arrive at the missing Anne's apartment and go inside. The place is empty, but the look to see if clothes are missing but find all in place. Micki then opens the other closet door and they find Anne hanging, dead.

At Curious Goods, our trio tries to figure out how to stop Anton. Jack goes to try and talk sense into Grace, who is packing to leave for Anton's. She is excited, and Jack struggles to change her mind. Grace says she has a lot of work to do, and not to worry. Jack mentions all the deaths, but it doesn't phase her. She trusts Anton, but Jack begs her to stay, and she eventually gives in.

At the studio, Anton again has the oath recited by the female dancer and she begins. At the store, Grace grabs her bags and sneaks out. Anton and the symphonia again push, the woman dancing past pain until she crashes through the mirror and dies. Anton is upset she didn't finish what he wanted. He doesn't realize Grace was watching.

At the next rehearsal, he is telling the troupe about dancing and pain and about Susan's death. He says it is opening night tonight, and wonders why Grace is late. She arrives, and they begin. The dancers get to the end of the choreography and wonder how they can go on tonight if he hasn't finished. He tells them to take a break, angry at them all.

Ryan tries to open Anton's cabinet, looking for the symphonia. Anton arrives and Jack tries to say they wanted to talk about Grace, but Anton tells them to get out. He opens a desk drawer and withdraws the antique.

Later, Grace arrives at Anton's request. He tells her the final duet will be an improvisation. She says she can do it if he believes she can. He is sad to have to lose her so soon, and they kiss. Soon the curtain rises.

Jack, Micki and Ryan try to plan what to do. Jack thinks Grace is safe, since Anton only uses the symphonia for choreography. Micki is worried, and finds the tape of Anton's choreography. They play the tape and see the dancers that have all gone missing or died. Jack knows the symphonia only gives him a piece at a time. Then they see the recording of Grace giving the oath. They rush to the theater, Micki and Ryan running when Jack is stuck in traffic.

At the dance, they arrive to see the performance and grab Grace to free her, but Anton hits Ryan with his cane. Anton wants the lead male to give the oath, but the man quits, so Anton takes his place. He turns off the music, goes on stage with the symphonia. Everyone quietly watches as he turns the machine on. He then recites the oath, standing with his cane, which he tosses aside. He then begins the dance with Grace, as a montage of all the deaths plays. The two continue to dance, and bleed, and push forward, eventually completing the dance and collapsing on the stage and dying. Jack arrives and turns off the symphonia, but is too late. And unaware audience gives a standing ovation.

Arriving back at the store, Jack angrily demands a rag to wipe the blood off the symphonia. He kicks over furniture and pushes Ryan away. He throws items off the counter, and Ryan grabs him. Micki tries to convince him Grace couldn't have been convinced to stop, and they both hold Jack as he breaks down and cries.

~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts:

Grace only informs Jack and all that the lead dancers killed themselves after the announcer relates their replacements? Seems like that kind of news would be the first thing you tell them, and all over the local news!

The antique offers a different curse, making Anton to give more and more bodies to keep getting pieces of his choreography. Again, it feels like there is some sort of awareness to the curse. Like was their a specific demon in charge? Kidding, but it is weird.

The amount of deaths around Anton should be huge red flags to the cops, and the other dancers, but it all just seems like "oh well, such is the life of a dancer!" What?

Grace spying Anton pushing the woman to die seems like a moment she would snap out of it, and I thought maybe she was secretly working with Jack and all to stop Anton, but no. She just keeps on dancing and doing what Anton wants. Not the brightest. Or maybe, after giving the oath on the antique, she was already held in the grip of the curse and unable to do otherwise?

And with all the death surrounding them and the store, why did Jack even say okay to letting Grace stay with them? I mean, in the end, she was involved with Anton regardless of her connection to Jack, but seems like a bad idea.

At the end, when Anton knocks out Ryan, why didn't Micki do anything to stop the dance? She knew about the symphonia, but it isn't closed until Jack finally gets there and closes it. Micki is way smarter than that, and Ryan would have understood her leaving him for a moment to stop a cursed item. Not good.

Jack snapping at the end is good, though. He tried to figure out how to keep Grace away, but in the end, she wouldn't listen. Hate the phone call to her dad he has to make.

Next week: The Shaman's Apprentice