CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jonathan Harker's Journal

2 October—Last evening I met with Mr Joseph Smollet at his home. He is the owner of the moving company that has been responsible for the Count's boxes. A very nice fellow, he informed me that he had taken six boxes to 197 Chicksand Street, and another six to Jamaica Lane, Bermondsey. I realized then that the Count was planning to make many homes for himself all over London. That way, he would be able to practice his evil in any part of the city.

Mr Smollet suggested that I talk with his partner, Sam Bloxam. He felt that he might know more about the boxes, for he was directly involved in their transport. At the time, he did not know Mr Bloxam's address, so today he sent me a letter telling me where I could find him.

As soon as I got the letter I jumped out of bed. Mina was so tired that she did not wake. I think that she is a little sad about not being included in this business. Her face has become very white and she is sleeping later than usual. I think that tomorrow I will send her back to our home in Exeter.

After quite a bit of searching, I finally found Mr Bloxam at the address given to me. From him, I learned that the Count has a home in the area of Piccadilly.

"I took nine boxes there. I remember it well, for those boxes were terribly heavy. I struggled getting them onto the wagon to take them there and I wasn't looking forward to having to unload them. Luckily, an old fellow met me there and helped me to put the boxes in the house. That guy was very strong, especially for an old man. He picked up its end of the box as though it were nothing more than a piece of writing paper!"

I paid Mr Bloxam for the information he had given me and then immediately left to find the house. It was quite easy to locate, for it seemed to be the oldest in the area, and the least maintained. By asking around, I was able to find the real estate company that had recently sold it to the Count. They were called Mitchell, Sons & Candy. Unfortunately, they did not want to share any personal information about the owner of the homes in Piccadilly. Knowing how well respected Arthur Godalming is in London, I, therefore, informed the office worker that the information was not for myself but for Lord Godalming. Immediately, the office worker changed his attitude and promised to provide my friend with a letter containing all of the information he wanted. I thanked him and asked that he be sure to send the letter today.

Dr Seward's Diary

1 October—I visited patient Renfield this morning. He was quite different from the last time I had met with him. He spoke to me as if I were a complete fool. When I asked him how he was doing, he replied, "Just fine. I've no more need for insects. I haven't any need for many things any longer. Not even a soul. I am living and that is all that I want now. To live."

Later that same day, he asked the guards to call me back to his room. Not having a lot to do, I agreed to come. Upon seeing me, he, again, started to talk about souls and how he wanted nothing to do with them. Life was what he wanted.

"But not the life of an insect or cat. Human life," he said.

"You want human life and yet you don't want a soul. How is this possible?" I asked.

He seemed very confused by my question. I decided to give him another problem to think about. "You have eaten many living things. All of their souls are now a part of you. How does that make you feel?"

"Do you think that's true? Are all of those souls inside of me now? Will I have to live with them for the rest of my life? I don't want their souls!" He seemed truly upset by this idea. "I don't even want their meat any more. I can only eat them, I can't dri ... " he stopped suddenly. "I need human life," he then said with a different, more serious, look on his face.

Suddenly, his meaning became clear to me. He had no use for his insects any longer, because he now desired ... My goodness! He has been in contact with the Count again!

Immediately, I informed Van Helsing of my discovery. We decided to observe patient Renfield very carefully this evening.

Letter to Arthur Godalming from Mitchell, Sons & Candy

October 1

Dear Lord Godalming,

About the new owner of 347 Piccadilly, we know very little, except that he is a foreigner named, Count de Ville. We are sorry that we haven't any more information to share with you.

Sincerely,

M, S & C.

Dr Seward's Journal

2 October—Unfortunately, the guard I had watching Renfield last night, fell asleep while working. He only remembers hearing the patient praying rather loudly at one point. He could tell me nothing more. I checked on the patient myself and found him sleeping deeply. Let's hope that nothing happened.

Today, Harker is continuing his investigation of the Count's ownership of London houses and Professor Van Helsing has been reading the Harkers' journals very closely. He has also been researching ancient medicines for fighting evil.

Later that night—I had just heard a scream from the patients, hallway. One of the guards has informed me that patient Renfield has been hurt. He was found lying face down on the floor, with blood all over his body. I must go now to see what happened.

3 October—I must remain calm and try to clearly remember everything that happened. Indeed, patient Renfield was terribly hurt. His face looked like it had been beaten very hard against the floor of his room. His back was also broken. The blood that covered him was from a bad head injury. Quickly, I had Van Helsing brought to the room to see if he could help the patient. Upon seeing Renfield, the professor looked at me and asked that I send away the guard. He then immediately began to work on saving the poor fellow's life. After a while, Lord Godalming and Quincey appeared at the door, for they had heard the guards talking outside their door. They came in and watched as Van Helsing worked on the patient.

We had very little hope of saving the man. I thought for certain he would never again wake up. However, Van Helsing, managed to keep death away for a while. Renfield eventually woke up. His eyes were full of fear at first, but then he suddenly calmed. He was terribly weak.

"He came to me," he said, "I didn't want to invite him in, but he gathered so many animals for me to eat, I could not control myself. He entered my room, but right away he knew that I was angry with him. He knew that I was angry because he has been drinking the blood of Miss Harker. I knew it, because she visited me earlier today. Her skin was much whiter than usual. It was obvious that she was losing blood. I tried to fight him, so that he could no longer hurt her; but his eyes somehow weakened me. Before I knew what was happening, I found that he had taken hold of me and raised me high into the air. Then he threw me hard upon the ground and I can only remember the sound of my own bones breaking."

Van Helsing called the guards to watch over the patient, and then asked me and our two other friends to come with him.

"Gather all of the weapons I gave you the other night. We can no longer wait. We must go after the Count tonight. Come. First, we must see poor Mina."

We went straight to the Harkers' room, but found the door locked. The four of us then, together, forced the door open. What we then saw inside, I will never forget in my life.

Jonathan was lying in bed in some kind of unnatural sleep. His chest was rising and falling very quickly as if he were running. Mina, on the other hand, was sitting on her knees at the end of the bed. Her white sleeping clothes were bloody. Next to her, stood a tall, thin man in black clothing. He had his hand around the back of Mina's neck and he was forcing her face to his chest, where there was a freshly bleeding wound. He was making Mina drink the blood that dripped from this wound.

Upon hearing our entrance, the man in black quickly turned his face toward us. His eyes were red with anger and his long, white teeth made a clicking sound as he opened and closed his mouth. He then threw poor Mina onto the bed like a small doll and came toward us. Van Helsing, however, was ready and held up his cross. The man immediately began to back away and then suddenly changed himself into a cloud of smoke and then left the room from the window.

Mina suddenly let out a terrible scream and covered her face with her hands. It was as if she had just awakened from a horrible dream. She would not let anyone touch her. Jonathan still lay on the bed, unaware of what was happening. I took a wet cloth and gently let the water drip onto his face in order to awaken him.

Soon, his eyes opened and he quickly sat up with a look of fear on his face. "What just happened! You must tell me!" He then looked over at his wife and, seeing the blood on her clothes, cried, "My God! No! Not my dear Mina! Don't let this happen to my dear Mina!" He then took his wife into his arms and held her closely to him.

"No, Jonathan!" she cried, "Don't come near me. I have evil inside of me now. I don't want to hurt you!"

Jonathan would not let her go. He held her even more tightly and began to gently run his fingers through her hair.

Just then, Godalming and Quincey, who had left the room to try and follow the Count after he disappeared, came running back. Godalming was the first to speak: "Renfield's dead. And, your office, dear friend," he said to me, "has been completely destroyed by fire."

"I saw a bat fly out of Renfield's window and head East," Quincey then added. "I don't think we'll find the Count next door today. He's gone to one of his other homes. The sun's just getting ready to rise now, so there's no fear of him returning tonight."

"Mina, dear," Van Helsing began, "I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, but I need for you to tell me exactly what happened tonight. The more we know, the better we'll be able to deal with the Count."

Mina began to cry again for a moment and her husband held her even more tightly to try and comfort her. Soon, however, she calmed and began to speak.

"I remember waking up from a deep sleep and finding my husband lying next to me. I then saw a cloud of smoke pouring into the room from the window. I began to feel afraid and tried to wake Jonathan up, but something was keeping him asleep. Soon, the smoke disappeared and next to me stood a tall, thin man. I recognized his face from the day that Jonathan saw him in the town square. Oh! That face!"

"I wanted to scream, but he quickly placed his finger over my lips and said, 'If you resist me, I will make you watch as I kill your husband.' I felt completely helpless. He took hold of me and pulled me violently off the bed. Then, with his long fingernail, he cut open a part of his chest and began to bleed. With his powerful hands, he forced my lips to his wound and made me drink the blood. My God! Why has this happened to me?"

Mina buried her face in her husband's chest and began to cry again. Outside, the sky had brightened. In the morning light, I could see on Jonathan's face a look of deep sadness and anger.

(end of section)