CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Dr Seward's Diary

26 September (continued)—At first, I became very upset with the professor. Such a thing was impossible to believe.

"I don't expect you to accept this right away," Van Helsing said, "But you must try. Tonight I will prove all of this to you. We will go to Lucy's tomb. I got the key from Arthur, so we can easily enter."

Later, after dinner at a restaurant, the professor and I walked over to the churchyard, where the Westenra family was resting. Their tomb was very large, almost the size of a small house. Van Helsing opened the gate with the key and gestured for me to enter first. Inside was very dark. After lighting a few candles, we could see that all of the flowers placed inside on the day of the funeral were now dead. The walls were covered with insects and the temperature inside was quite cool.

Immediately, Van Helsing searched for and quickly found Lucy's tomb. Opening his bag, he took out several tools and then went to work on opening her box. I tried to prevent him from continuing several times, but he simply said, "Be patient. You will soon know the truth." When he finally managed to open the box, he shined a candle inside and said, "Take a look." Slowly, I made my way over to him and gathered as much strength as I could. When I looked, I found that Lucy was not there.

I was very surprised, but it did not prove anything to me, except that Lucy's body had been stolen.

"If you need more proof then come with me outside," the professor said, closing the box back up and putting his tools away. I followed him out of the tomb and he asked me to sit behind a tree, while he went to the other side of the churchyard and hid himself, as well. We must have sat there for three hours. I was not at all happy about being there. I was cold and very tired. Then something white moved between some trees in front of me and then disappeared. I saw the professor run toward the same group of trees. The white figure soon reappeared, dropped something large onto the ground, and very quickly moved toward Lucy's tomb. I joined the professor in the trees and found him holding a small child in his arms.

"Is he hurt?" I asked.

We lit a candle and found that his neck was still untouched.

"We frightened her before Lucy could bite the child," the professor said.

"We don't know who that was! You can't say for certain that it was Lucy!"

We then carried the child into town and laid him gently on the ground and waited until a policeman found him.

Now I sit in bed, very much needing sleep. Tomorrow, the professor wants to visit the tomb once more, but in the daytime.

27 September—We returned at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Happily, no one was in the churchyard when we arrived. We reentered Lucy's tomb and the professor, once again, began work on opening her box. I did not like the idea of reopening the tomb. It seemed unnecessary, for she was clearly not there the night before. Why would she be there now?

Finally, Van Helsing got the box open again and we both had a look. There, lay Lucy, possibly even more beautiful than when I last saw her.

"You see? She has returned. And ... you'll notice, after one week, her body is still as fresh as if she were living. That is because she is what we call 'Un-dead'. It is now my sad duty to kill her."

"Wait. I believe you now, but what do you mean by 'kill'?"

"I must remove her head, place garlic inside her mouth, and then hammer a sharp piece of wood through her heart."

I said nothing, so confused and upset I was. The professor then suddenly changed the look on his face, from serious to thoughtful.

"No. I've decided to wait. We must bring Arthur here to see Lucy one last time. He must know the truth about her, or else he might suffer later on. He must understand, and so we must bring him here. Tomorrow, see to it that he comes. You needed to see before you could believe, and so will he. Let's go now. You can return to your hospital. Tonight, I will come back to the churchyard and keep watch over the tomb."

29 September—Arthur, Quincey, and I met Van Helsing in his room at the hotel this evening. Immediately, he spoke to us about his plans for the evening.

"I ask that the three of you come with me to Lucy's tomb tonight."

"Oh, please. Not there! It's far too soon for me," said Arthur with a shaking voice.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to be very difficult for you to accept. I ask that you listen patiently and trust my judgment."

"Go ahead, sir," Quincey replied.

"We must go to Lucy's tomb and open her box."

"Absolutely not!" cried Arthur, as he jumped up from his seat.

"Please. I know this is hard for you, but let me finish. I fear for Lucy."

"What do you mean? Do you think she was put in her tomb alive?" Arthur said. The poor man was a terrible mess.

"Not at all. Well, not exactly. I believe that she is Un-dead."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing! This is a cruel joke you are playing, professor! I would suggest that you stop at once!"

"It is not a joke, Arthur. Like all of you, I cared for Lucy very much. You must believe me when I tell you that this is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do in my life. The worst part of it is that I must ask for your permission to cut off her head."

"My God! What kind of man do you think I am? I will not let you go near her tomb!"

Van Helsing suddenly stood up and looked directly into Arthur's eyes.

"I'm sorry if this upsets you, but I have no choice! I do this at much risk to my own safety! However, I do it because it will save many lives, including yours! I have not come all the way from Holland to cut up a dead body for fun! I have come because I must! If you come with me tonight, you will see how important this is!"

Van Helsing was shaking now. Arthur saw this and suddenly calmed.

"Alright, professor. I will go with you."

(end of section)