Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:32:58 -0400
From: J
Subject: DOCTOR WHO, JESSE AND JEREMY 73

DOCTOR WHO, JESSE AND JEREMY and David Collins and Robin the Boy Wonder
and...

Jeremy: Enough!


CHAPTER 73

Rain pelts Collinwood in a major storm. Lightning and thunder, old friends
to the mansion on the hill accompany the deluge.

Voice of Grayson Hall: "A stirring in bed for one Jesse McCartney is not
the kind of stirring he is used to in such a place. For this last night of
June, early morning of the first of July, the boy is made frightfully aware
that there are more things in heaven and earth...than were dreamt of in his
dreams of the Doctor, who remains lost to him and his friend Jeremy
Sumpter. The Doctor may also have his memory lost..."



In Collinwood, Jesse stirred in the bed. "Doctor, no. Reverse the polarity
of the neutron flow, not the other way around...Borusa said so..."  Jesse
stirred. He felt something. He felt something in the room. He put his face
beneath the sheets again. He hoped, like some of the other phantoms of
Collinwood, it would just dissipate without any trouble.  Something heavy
seemed to be at his feet, his ankles. From under the sheet, he could see a
huge shadow, a smaller one moving behind it. The thing sat down.

Jesse gulped and peered out the sheet top. He put his back down on the bed
and stared. Suddenly as the lightning filled the room via the three or more
stained glass windows, he saw the image. Staring back at him was a large
dark colored, German Shepard canine. It sat at the foot of the bed,
seemingly rising up, headfirst to leap on it. The image he was before, the
large one was the dog, the smaller was its tail waving back and forth. The
dog stared and watched. Jesse's eyes widened. The sheet was wrapped under
his arms and he laid there staring...the dog inadvertently opened its mouth
and he could see large canine fangs and other teeth...Lightning behind
illuminated the silhouette of the dog... the large patches of hair were
black and brown at different parts of its body. It would be beautiful, if
Jesse didn't feel chills all over his spine and spreading out to the rest
of his body...



Grayson Hall Voice, "And not far from the main house, across the bat filled
woods, in the Old House populated by one Barnabus Collins, Jesse's lover
Jeremy is in a semi-trance like state, painfully unaware he is grave and
mortal danger, a danger which will be made painfully clear to him when his
neck is bitten by one vampire, the one and the same Barnabus Collins..."



Jeremy took a bath after all. When finished, he warmed himself by the fire
Willie had started in the fireplace. He rubbed his hands together. He heard
a strange howling in the woods. Jeremy went to the window, a large squared
off one. He could not see any animal and he wondered what type of animal
would make a noise like that. It had three howls and then stopped...he
thought he saw a large bat outside his window...he moved back, somewhat
unaffected by either wolf or bat...

Willie struggled to get out of the basement cellar door. "Barnabus, let me
out! You can't do this!"

Jeremy laid down in the bed, put the sheets over himself, and quickly fell
asleep.  A thick fog of smoke came from under the door to his room. If
anyone had seen it, they'd have thought the house were on fire. That alone
would be a horrid enough thing, however what it really was...was even worse
than any fire. When the fog finished rolling in from under the door, it
rose up and formed a figure...in the dark over the bed, in front of the
light from the fireplace and the head of Barnabus Collins illuminated by
bursts of lightning. The body followed, assisted by brief bouts of
thunder... Barnabus stared the prone boy, who rested his head sideways on
the fluffy pillow. Jeremy looked angelic. His medium length hair curled in
the rain and fell to his ears...his breath...his steady rhythm of life, in
and out, in and out... such life, Barnabus thought. Such grace. Such
virility. He could feel the blood pumping in the youth's veins. He could no
longer control himself. He raised his hands and Jeremy turned so that his
neck was an open target... Barnabus opened his mouth wide and his main
fangs bared, descended to the boy's throat...the tip of each main fang
already started to draw blood on the handsome, smooth and clear neck...

In Collinwood, Jesse stared at the dog and thought in the eyes, he could
see the vampire starting to bite the neck of Jeremy...he knew he had to
escape this dog ghost but what move should he make? He was almost stunned
into making none at all. "Fuck it!"  he shouted and then decided on a
quieter approach, "You're a good dog, aren't you?"  Impassively, the dog
looked at him, no movement at all. Jesse began to whistle and wondered what
it was he was whistling. He thought. He started to sing the Lassie theme
song.  Carefully, he removed his naked body from the sheets and made an
effort to get out on the right side of the bed.  The dog tilted its
head. It looked at him. He stood up. Jesse put his hands out for the dog to
stay. He moved toward the door...he rounded the bed and the dog's gaze
followed him. He saw a large note pinned to the bathroom door. Jeremy's
note. He read took it and read it. As he did, the dog moved its body to
watch him. "The foolish kid..."  He crumbled the note up and moved to the
door, twisting his body to watch the giant German Shepard.  "Bet you're a
purebred, huh, boy?"  He moved to the door and opened it. The dog stood up
and jumped off the bed and he flinched and turned to face the hallway
beyond the open door. Could he get into the hallway and close the door
before the dog could follow him...too late, it was by his side. He looked
down as it waited. "You're not mean at all, are you? I bet you're just
watching over me. You kinda look...familiar..."  He took a step into the
hallway. The dog followed...and there was not enough room for it to follow
side by side so it moved through the wall next to the door!  Jesse
stared. He moved faster and it followed...he came to the small landing
above the open vestibule leading to the exit of Collinwood...and standing
there was something that stopped him short...

A man. A ghost. A ghost of a man. Short, about 5'4 or almost 5'5. Brown
hair and eyes. Pale. Jesse knew at once the man was a ghost, although any
visible signs of how he died were hidden. The man spoke with a ghostly
ethereal voice, "Hold it!"

Jesse stopped short and took a defensive stance!



In the rain, the water hitting the cliffs beneath Widow's Hill took no
notice of ghost man, dog, vampire or two lovely time lost boys...

DARK SHADOWS THEME SONG....



Barnabus felt Jeremy's young flesh against his fangs. He was about to sink
his teeth in deeper when a pre-pubescent voice wracked his whole
body. "Barnabus, you must not do that!"

Barnabus heard it and knew, at once, who it was. He moved his teeth away
from the small cuts he had made on Jeremy's neck. He stood up fully and
whirled around as the chandelier in the room shook violently and with loud
sounds of jewels hitting jewels, for that is what hung from it. Barnabus
looked up at it as lightning from the window illuminated his craggy
face. It was followed by a burst of thunder and at the same time the fire
in the fireplace died as if it never were. Suddenly, the lightning and
thunder that seemed so prevalent, ended abruptly, and the power came back
on, the lights came back on, and Barnabus could see the small trickle of
blood on Jeremy's bare, boyish neck.

"My sweet, Sarah!"  His whole body was shaken and he felt his feet bolted
to the floor by the instant distress and guilt. "Sarah! My sweet, sweet,
sister!"

The little girl in the night clothing moved over to him from the other side
of the bed, "You mustn't, Barnabus..."

Kneeling down, Barnabus opened his arms wide and Sarah went into
them. "Sarah, you've come back to me. After all this time...all this
time..."  He cuddled her to his chest. Then, releasing her, he turned away.
"Why have you come back? To save him?"

"Barnabus," Sarah put a small hand on his shoulder and then moved around to
him, "It's not your fault this time...I know you are good now..."

"But this..."  he stood up again and saw Jeremy's neck, unburdened by
clothing. Jeremy stirred a bit. "I must!"

"No, Barnabus, you must not!"  Sarah put her pointing finger up at him.

"You are just a little girl, you don't know what this feels like!"

"I'm not just a little girl, Barnabus! I'm not!"

"I want you to go! Go now!"  He felt the bloodlust stir up in him again and
he didn't want Sarah around to see this, ghost or not. "Go!"

"I shall not!"

"Barnabus, we're both here for you..."  from the other side of the bed,
Barnabus could see the ghostly outline form. It was a bride in full bridal
dress. One he recognized well.

"You as well!"  Barnabus gasped as the ghost moved the veil up. He was half
expecting to see the broken face, the mangled eye hanging, the rock damaged
face of his true love, Josette. "Josette!"

"Barnabus," she smiled and moved through the bed and Jeremy to him. She put
her hands on his. "I know I told you we might not see each other again.
And that you were free, as am I. But this time, this time it's
different. We are here to help you."

"Who is doing this to me? Could it be Angelique?"

"Angelique might be involved somehow but we do not believe she is behind
this new revival of your curse, nor the stealing of Quentin's portrait."

"You know about that as well? How can you say it is not she?"

"Barnabus, you made peace with her back in 1840 when she not only lifted
your curse, she also died saving you..."

"Since then she has been responsible for the death of Roger Collins..."

"I believe that was not intentional, however, she has repented..."

Barnabus spat and turned from Josette, "Repented!"

"Barnabus, there comes a time, in this world and in the next when you have
to forgive and let it go..."

"You know what she's done. She was not only responsible for my curse, my
mother's death, little Sarah's here, and your own, she know what she's
capable of..."

"We know," Sarah said, "It is not her this time..."

Josette took him in her arms again, "Plus, she...she loves you, Barnabus,
she always has..."

"Then why hasn't she shown herself to me, here and now, as you both have?"

"That we cannot now answer...she seems to be struggling with something
else...someone else..."  Josette said.  "As must we. We must help her..."

"Help her!?!"

Josette waved a hand and below, the cellar door latch, opened and Willie
came pouring out, raced upstairs. "We must go, my love. More importantly
than forgiving her. You must forgive yourself..."  Josette kissed his
cheek, he closed his eyes, and as she kissed him, her visage slowly. He
remained with his eyes shut.

"Forgive yourself," Sarah said as she came to hug him and only reached as
far as his waist. He opened his eyes, kneeled down and she hugged him and
kissed his forehead.

"Sarah!"  Barnabus gasped as she vanished, repeating, "Forgive yourself..."

He rose as Willie burst into the room, "Barnabus don't!"

Barnabus repeated, "Forgive myself," a few times. He laughed at the
notion. "I suppose anything is possible..."

Downstairs, they could hear Julia opening the front door. She
gasped. Willie figured she had seen the open cellar door, gestured in her
dramatic way with her arms flung up in the air in front of her face and
came racing up the steps. "Barnnnnnabusssss!"

"It's alright now," Barnabus gasped as Julia raced into the room...her
room. She always felt a twinge of jealousy whenever Josette was
concerned. "Julia, I'm alright. See to him..."

"This is David's friend?"  Julia looked over at Jeremy's neck, "Barnabus,
no!"

"How is he?"  Willie asked.

"I ...I don't see the bite went deep...it's not really a bite at all. I
think your...I think you," she looked at Barnabus, "Just barely broke the
skin..."

"Is he...affected?"  Barnabus asked.

"Hardly likely," Julia said, "I'll clean it and let him sleep.  I mean
you've actually bitten some people who never turned into..."

"I've heard enough," Barnabus turned away, "Lock me in again and don't
leave Willie alone with me..."

Julia looked up, "I will. Willie, there...."

"I'm sorry..."  Willie said, "He used his...his powers on me again..."

"There, there, Willie," Julia stood up, "It's alright...there's the blood
in the van and my medical kit. Would you please go and get them for me..."
she held his arms, "Like a good friend that you are?"

"Yes, Julia, sure, I can do that, I can."  Willie fled.

Julia looked at Barnabus. She just stared. He averted his eyes. "I know
this is not your fault..."

"It all is," Barnabus said, "Even now the desire to bite him, to bite you,
even poor Willie...I...I want you to lock me in right now."

Julia nodded, "I will, come on."  As she lead him down the steps, she
wondered, "I wonder who's causing this, though..."

"Sarah and Josette appeared to me..."

"Here? Now?"

"Yes, here and now. Both of them seem to think it is not Angelique..."

"Yes, I have had that feeling since all this started as well...of course,
she's always the prime suspect when the curse comes back to you..."  She
helped him out of the room and down the long flight of steps.



Jesse looked at the ghost, "Get out of my way!"

"I must talk to someone...to you..."

"Look bub, any other time I'd be glad to. Hell, in this house, I'm the most
ghost friendly guest there is but right now my friend needs me..."  Jesse
started to move at the man but he grabbed both Jesse's wrists and pushed
him back, then let go.

"I don't want to hurt you..."

"Solid enough," Jesse felt each wrist with his opposite hand, "Hey, this
dog here, he...he's with me...so if you don't want to..."

Jesse looked and the dog was gone.  "Great."

"I won't hurt you."

"You already have," Jesse rubbed his right wrist. "I must help my friend,
he's in great danger...I have to get to the Old House...if it isn't already
too late...and from what I saw..."

A little girl's hand reached up and touched Jesse's wrist and the pain went
away. Jesse jumped and turned at the same time. "Another one!? Who...who
are you?"

"I do not have much time. Do not worry. Your friend is all right. He's been
taken care of..."

Jesse's eyebrows went up.

Sarah added, "In a good way. Please don't worry...this one needs you more
than Jeremy..."

Something about the girl made Jesse believe her instantly. "You...you
helped him?"

"He's safe and fine..."

"But those fangs, they cut him..."

"He is not infected if that is what you fear. He will not become a
vampire."

Jesse studied the girl ghost. He looked into her eyes. Something about them
and about her tone, the way she said what she did, made him trust
her...implicitly.  "Thanks, little girl. Thank you..."  Jesse turned to the
man and then when he looked back, Sarah was gone.  "Wow. Uhm. You. What's
wrong with you?"

"I need someone to talk to."

Jesse sat down, putting his feet through the bars of the handrails on the
landing, letting them hang over the balcony. He patted the side of the
floor next to him and the man ghost sat down on the rug...

"What's wrong?"  Jesse swung his legs in a carefree manner.

"I killed myself."

"Oh."

"Is that all you have to say is "oh?"

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"Do you know what a loser is?"  When Jesse didn't answer, the ghost said,
"Me. I'm a loser. Always was. I mean what would you know about it. Look at
you. You look like a foxy guy, hot, desirable to everyone, even after
they're dead. I'm average looking, short, I was 44 when I did it..."

"How?"

"What?"  The ghost said, clearly annoyed.

"How did you do it?"

"For God's sake, that's all anyone wants to know. How did you do it? Did
you shoot yourself? Hang yourself? Stab yourself? Set yourself on...I took
all the pills in my house, that's how I did it."

"What for? What was wrong? I mean you said you were a loser...you seem
pretty together to me, other than, you know, the killing yourself part..."

"What was wrong? I'm gay!"

"Oh, that's all! ?  You did it because of that?"  Jesse looked at him and
stopped swinging his legs.

"No," the man said, "That was the main reason. I did because I'm lonely. I
lived with my parents, had two cats, and only two friends..."

"I don't understand. Did you have a job?"

"Yes. I was a teacher at a boy's school."

"Did you molest them?"

"What? NO!"  The man said.  "I would never do that.

"You had a good job then. Then...well, I don't get it!"

"Of course you don't. You have everything you ever wanted. You probably get
guys to come to you like a magnet.  I mean look at you. They...gay guys
want blond, young, well built, tall, blue eyes...you're everything I always
wanted to be but couldn't be..."

Jesse became uncomfortable. "You..."  he looked sideways at the man,
"You're not thinking of ...of possessing me, are you?"

"What? No! I just...I just want...wanted what you have. Even just a
little. I mean, really look at you. Look at your life. I bet you've never
been alone one day in your whole entire life. And the worst thing about you
was that you had to come out. But of course, you came out and had sex
before that, after that, during that...am I right?"

"You're a ghost," Jesse frowned and put his hands on the bars. "You must
have knowledge."

"I'm guessing at all of it. But I guess I'm right or you would have said
so..."

"Yes," it was Jesse's turn to get annoyed. "But you could have if you
wanted to..."

"Oh really. Would you hit this?"  The man looked himself over. He wasn't
fat, wasn't tall, wasn't great looking but wasn't ugly either. "No, you
wouldn't. It's average..."

"So..."

"So why not find some other average guy? Listen, I'm also a virgin..."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. I wish...I dunno. I never really related well to people. I mean
they ...most of them, they liked me enough. Some of them even loved me. But
I never really got them, you know. I never really enjoyed them. I always
found them to be a lot of work. And as for my friends...well, they liked me
more when I was doing things they wanted to do. But when it came time for
them to do stuff I wanted to do..."

"What was it you wanted to do?"

The ghost had put his legs through the bars and let them hang over too but
Jesse didn't see him do that.

In response to Jesse's question, the Ghost said, "I don't know. I never
did. I mean I liked solo things. TV, movies, that kind of thing. I can't
say that some people didn't try. I just...I just always wanted to be
someone else. I wanted someone else. On top of that...I sort of dabbled in
things. I bowled, I went to miniature golf, I ran track in junior high and
high school for five years...people liked me but they didn't like like
me. I mean enough to really be close to me. Unless they needed something
from me. I always found fantasy more exciting than them. On top of that, I
was gay and had crushes all through junior and high school. I wanted two of
these guys so bad. Turned out they were both dealers and one was a drug
addict on top of being a dealer. I used to follow them around the
hallways...isn't that strange?"

"Not really. You were gay and didn't know how to express it. I can relate
to that..."

The man spat with a ghostly breath. "NO, YOU CAN'T! WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW
ABOUT A LIFE LIKE THAT?"

"I...I'm sorry. I guess I can't..."

"I didn't even know I was gay. I thought it was just that I wanted to be
like them, you know. Outgoing, personable. People others went to for fun
and friendship. Everyone and I mean everyone flocked around these guys. I
was shy for the most part, not really outgoing. Everyone or just about
everyone said hello to me and was sort of fond of me but no one really...no
one really wanted to be closer. And sometimes, some friends just left me
high and dry for others and sometimes it was my fault. I mean I made fun of
one of my friends a lot. SO much that he never wanted to be my friend again
and didn't even tell me why. He just left. I figured it out and apologized
but...another friend did drugs...oh, just smoking pot at first, and he
thought I wouldn't want to be friends with him. By the time he and I
figured it all out, he was then doing hard drugs.  He didn't want any part
of me. Another guy got way into sports and that took up a lot of his
time...I just never found myself...and on top of all of that, I had
fetishes..."

"Man, you did have a lot of issues," Jesse said, "I wish I could have done
something...you know," he put his hand on the man's leg, "...to help you."

 "My family loved me and when I came out to them..."

"Shit. You came out to them?!!!"

"Yeah when I was like 42...I had to do that three times, come out to them
three times. I told them all. Oddly enough they all took it in stride..."

"What year was this, that you did all this in?"

"Oh, I didn't mention that...?"

"No."

"I killed myself in August of 2007. I know what you're thinking. There
should have been a lot of help for me. I tell you there was some but mostly
it was slow going and my own worst enemy was myself."

"I just...suicide. To me...you had people who loved you?"

"Yeah, mom, dad, sister and her daughters, an aunt and uncle, their four
children and their families..."

"But it wasn't enough, was it? You wanted a relationship, didn't you?"

"Yes," the ghost said, "I did. And, you know, all my life before that, gay
was just something not understood. Growing up in the 60s and 70s it was
just taboo to my family and even my community. A small place on Long
Island."

"I'm sorry. I know how some of those places can be...even in the
present...I just...to do that to them. To kill yourself...it's kinda
selfish."

"I know. I knew it was when I did it but I just didn't want to feel so
hopeless any more. I just wanted the pain to go away. The thoughts came so
much...to know there were gay guys out there doing stuff I just could
not...and I even tried. I entered the gay world and community out there. I
found a lot of mean people who seemed nice when they first met me. But many
were into drugs, cheap sex...and not into me...although some guys were into
me..."

"There you go," Jesse tried to cheer up. "SO why didn't you..."

"Listen. I'm sorry. I'm shallow. I really am. Would you fuck an overweight,
bearded 55 year old or 60 year old who acted fem or whatever?"

Jesse thought about it. He shrugged. "I guess I never had to think about
stuff like that..."

"Exactly my point..."  the ghost smiled. "I didn't want to either.  On top
of that, I was also too moral or too fearful to do anything and to keep
going to those pointless bars...they were never me to begin with, bars. I
hated that scene. Yet I wished I were someone who didn't give a shit. I
knew a guy out there who...came out same as I did. Only he was blond, tall,
blue eyed, outgoing and very ,very good looking. He got more sex...and he
never reciprocated...he never sucked a guy's dick, never let a guy fuck his
ass, nothing...he was the most self centered guy I ever knew and..."

"And he was happy."

"Yes, now you've got it."

"And you wanted to be like him?"  Jesse's voice raised a bit on the last
word.


"Yes," the ghost said and thought about it, "I supposed I did. Maybe just a
little...still other guys promised stuff. There was this out group on Long
Island. I went to it, and I had a hard time at first continuing to go. I
just didn't want to face this gay stuff. But when I finally went...it shut
down and a guy took over who wanted to met at a bar, gay club really. I met
some guys there. And they all made these promises, like we'll get together
and do stuff beyond the bar...one of them hung himself. I think maybe he
and I might have been friends but I was too closeted even then...I guess. I
wasn't into him either. And I wish I was. But I would have tried to do
stuff with them, I mean like social stuff. They weren't too receptive. One
of them invited me to meet some of his friends who were active in the gay
community...helping the young gays...I mean boy, if you were a young gay
guy coming out, you had plenty of help available to you. But be like 30 to
45 and there was little to none. Then the group met again and I met some of
the guys there, some new guys. They also made promises. Even got me to
dance once or twice on the dance floor. Then I don't know what happened,
they just got...sorta funny..."

"Could be...you were..."

"Oh, I Know. I'm really negative. I think that sent people the other
way. They don't want to hear my shit. And I don't blame them...much. I know
I'm not an easy person on friends, I know that. I just wish someone would
have kept trying, that's all."

Jesse listened. "I wish...I know this might seem trite to say now, but I
wish...I wish it were me."

"Thanks."  The ghost smiled. "That helps. It's funny how all the things
they tell you in school, you know like--you can be anything you want to be,
or, I dunno, there's someone out there for everyone...are all wrong. They
don't know what they are talking about."

"Did..."  Jesse hesitated to ask the next question, "Did you ever get
counseling..."

"Over 16 years of it. And while they helped a small bit...made me a bit
more functional instead of a crying depressed mess...they really didn't
know what to do to help me either. I mean really cure me or make me like
myself or make me totally un-depressed. Medication helped for a time but
that doesn't make you make the steps or at least it didn't me. Added to
that, the counselors often didn't return phone calls, didn't hasten to make
appointments for me, and didn't really seem to care beyond my check for
services...well, that's not fair, one of them was pretty caring but still,
they almost all abandoned me, too..."

"What about the internet, surely..."

"Match.com?"  The ghost laughed, "I set up a date once on there. It was
supposed to be at a diner. The guy never showed up and I didn't have a cell
phone or portable lap top or whatever to find out until I returned home. He
said he had to drive his sister someplace. I told him okay and he could set
something up next time. He never did."

Jesse could feel his emotions taking over.  His eyes began to well up. He
felt deep compassion.  "That happens. I guess people have to try again and
again and again and..."

"I wasn't willing to do that. I never was. I mean I guess I felt why should
I go all through all this stuff that I hated...I did join a sci fi
club...met some nice guys there. But I felt beyond that, why go through
this stuff when all it got me was a not very fun time and didn't get me the
results I wanted."

"I guess I never..."

"No, because most things came easy to you."

"Yes, I guess so. I mean I had to work to get my career going and...even
there, I had some help but...I guess I don't think about people who aren't
like me. Aren't as good looking. No offense."

"None taken."

"I'm sorry."  Jesse had tears in his eyes and one dripped down to his left
cheek.  He put his arm up to hold the back of the ghostly man but it went
through him. "I...I never thought about things like that. I'm too busy I
guess. Too busy being a jerk sometimes. Making fun of things, of some
people...not like you. Like those jerky guards in the future that tried to
cut my dick off once...and just making jokes to ease the tension I
sometimes feel...traveling through time with the Doctor...well, it's fun
but it can be really, really dangerous too so I just ...I don't know, act
like a smart ass sometimes...and hey, how come...I can't feel you
anymore..."

"I..I don't know," the ghost said, "I just guess I have to concentrate more
on it. Why?"

"Well, I know, like you're dead and all," Jesse submitted, "But, I was I
like was, gonna let you do me if you wanted..."

The ghost man laughed, "Jesse, that's very thoughtful of you and
considerate but you...would you really?"

"Yes," Jesse put his hands up toward the man again. They went through the
man's chest. "I...I guess we...it's pretty hard trying to do it this way. I
mean it would be pretty hard..."  Jesse shut his eyes.

"It would just be a pity fuck, wouldn't it?"

"I..."  Jesse rubbed tears from his eyes. "No. I...I really like you,
mister..."

The ghost seemed to be crying, also. But then he vanished from the sitting
position and was standing up. "I think...I think it's time to go. I think
I'm okay now. Just chatting with you..."

Jesse joined him and faced him. "What do you mean?"

"It's time I go off to the universe...you know, to Him."

"God?"

"Yeah."

"Gosh."

"Yeah."  The ghost smiled and hugged Jesse, feeling him. Jesse felt the
ghost as solid again. "I think it'll be a grand adventure..."

"Yeah," Jesse said, "Leave the rest of this behind you...I think you'll
find what you want in the universe, in God...and there's always another
way..."

"For me, this is it," the ghost said, "Goodbye sweet one....I will visit
you sometimes...if...if you want..."  he had begun to float upwards...

"Yes, of course," Jesse smiled, "Just...."  He thought about it, and wanted
to finish before the ghost vanished through the ceiling and finally up and
out the roof. "Just let me know when you coming..."  He rubbed his elbow
across his eyes to wipe away the residual tears.

"Goodbye."  The ghost man rose up to the ceiling and out and was gone.

"Man."  Jesse looked around, then had the urge to run down the steps. He
realized, half way down, that he was still naked. He turned to retreat back
to his room, to dress, to go after Jeremy. As he turned, he realized
someone was standing before him. Someone in a long frilly night gown. "Oh
no, not another ghost..."

The redheaded Mrs. Jennifer Hart stood there, holding Freeway in her arms,
her scruffy and cute little dog, "I've never been mistaken for a
ghost. Although, I did dress up as a vampire one Halloween when I was
younger..."  She looked Jesse up and down. "You do realize that..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm naked," Jesse said, almost matter of fact, "So...Uh, I'll
be going now..."

"Okay," Jennifer shook her head as the thunder seemed to subside.

"Oh, uh, has Freeway been in his room with you the whole night?"

"Why, yes, of course," Jennifer looked down.  "Oh my..."

"I thought maybe he was in my room..."  Jesse smiled.

"No, no," Jennifer looked down some more. "He's afraid of the thunder... he
was with me the whole time. I've just come out to see if I can get him
something to eat..."

"Watch yourself, though, Mrs. Hart, this house can be dangerous...things
that go bump in the night..."

"So I see," Jennifer whispered.

Jesse turned red. While he was far from the embarrassed type, and he was
very confident of himself around males, around females, especially those a
bit older then himself, he was not very prideful. "Okay, I'd better go..."

"Yeah," Jennifer whispered and nodded. She watched him turn around and walk
back to his room...Jesse practically ran but didn't want to show her he was
somewhat shameful of being naked in front of her. Jennifer put her head to
Freeway's neck and snuggled the dog and laughed. "Oh, Freeway..."

Jesse dressed quickly and wondered what the time was. He looked at the old
clock on the dresser. It was 3:15 AM. "Holy Amityville Horror, it's been a
few hours...Jeremy..."  Jesse put on David's shorts and sneakers, no
socks. He put on a T shirt that looked like it came straight from
Woodstock, it being purple with a big peace sign of white on it and all
sorts of designs and characters plastered around the circle that surrounded
the peace sign. He didn't care, he just fled the house as fast as he could,
having grabbed a flashlight from one of the drawers. Outside, he looked up
and saw the rain slowing to a small sprinkle. He didn't care about that
either. He had to get to the house to help Jeremy. He ran, sprinted across
the lawn, and stopped. He shone the flashlight through the forest and once
he was sure of the path he had to take, he continued his race across the
woods, past the cliffs, and all the strange sounds he heard along the
way. Nothing would stand in his way from getting to the Old House. Earlier,
David had told he and Jeremy the way.

Jesse ran, breathless to the front doorway of the Old House.  Before he
could even try the doorknob, the doors opened and Jeremy stood there. He
looked white and ghost like...he seemed to be in a trance. "Hello, Jesse,
won't you come in..."



TBC