Melinda was in the kitchen preparing soup when Seth left, looking a lot happier than he had the previous morning, Melinda noticed. Almost smug.
He nodded at her again as he passed, although this time he wasn’t so keenly followed by Faith, who appeared a few minutes after he’d gone.
“Everything OK?” Melinda asked as Faith seated herself at the card table. Her frown quickly gave way to her over-confident smile.
“Yeah, just fucking knackered.” She smirked and winked. “Holy shit, Mel. That man is so damn into me, couldn’t keep his hands off me, again.”
Melinda sighed. She was very used to Faith’s brazen talk, but this was far too full-on for first thing in the morning and on an empty stomach, too.
“So I could hear,” Melinda muttered, cringing as she remembered trying to find a place in the house where she couldn’t hear bed springs and Faith’s potty-mouthed bedroom talk. She busied herself with preparing Danny’s breakfast, hoping that Faith would just stop talking but, in a way that reeked of over-compensation, Faith went on.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” she said dismissively. “He wants to see me again tonight, but this time we’ll go fuck outside, give your ears a rest. Is Caleb done yet? I really need a shower. I probably should wash the bedsheets, too…”
April and Caleb had arrived shortly before dawn and Caleb had gone straight up to take one of his hour-long showers and get ready for his job interviews. For the second night in a row, they hadn’t found anyone suitable for the basement and for the second night in a row, it appeared that the two had been arguing; Caleb was wound tightly and April looked miserable.
Although, April seemed to look miserable a lot lately. Melinda really hated to see April sad, but soon she wouldn’t have to see her sad face ever again.
Hopefully.
April had gone to lie down in the little bedroom, still feeling sick and now dizzy, too. Faith was not Melinda’s first choice for basement back-up, but Danny really needed to eat soon and, Melinda hated to admit it, but she did too. But before Melinda could ask Faith to join her, she heard the shower stop running.
“About time,” Faith huffed, leaving the playing cards in an untidy pile and heading upstairs.
Melinda watched her go, looking at the soup bowl, her insides gnawing away. Could she eat tomato soup? It was warm, it was red…
She took a spoonful to her lips, but the ashy, acrid taste was all she got as it burned its way down her throat, then immediately burned its way back up again and into the sink with the force of a bullet from a gun.
No, guess not.
Maybe she should just go down to the basement by herself. If Danny was awake she’d just have to immobilise him somehow. Could she bring herself to restrain him and drink from him? Could she even do that by herself? Was she strong enough? She sighed. For the first time ever she was wishing that she was a bit meaner when, thankfully, April appeared.
“Feeling better?” Melinda asked.
April nodded. “A little.” She looked at the hot bowl of soup on the counter. “Are you going to see Danny?”
“Yes,” Melinda said quietly. “It’s breakfast time. For both of us.”
“I should probably go with you, then. Mesmerise him for you,” April said. “Unless you want to feed off him while he’s awake, but I don’t know how Faith can do that. I think it’s really cruel of her. I don’t think I could bite someone without mesmerising them first.”
You bit me without mesmerising me, Melinda thought bitterly.
The two girls made their way down to the basement. The route had two doors that each locked with a combination handle, much like the front door. Caleb had explained that Lilith had designed it this way, for security.
The girls locked the first door behind them and they approached the second door that would lead them down into the main basement chamber; Melinda eagerly listening for any signs of movement.
“He’s by the bed,” April whispered. “We can sneak in now, I think.”
“How do you know he’s by the bed?”
April shrugged. “I just know.”
In any other circumstance, Melinda would have been in awe of this; another thing about April that was just amazing, but the cooling bowl in her hand, the knot of hunger in her stomach and memories of April looking at Caleb like the sun shone from his bum while he mistreated her and made her unwillingly carry his demon spawn were dampening her spirits somewhat.
April gently teased the door open and the two girls entered, as quietly as possible, rounding the corner to see Danny, who leapt out of his skin as he laid eyes on them.
Melinda had expected him to be terrified of them, maybe even aggressive towards them but the look on his face was pure surprise.
“Oh my god! I’m so relieved to see you! Are there any others trapped here? Why are we here? Is there a way out? I’ve been exploring every crevice, poked every brick, y’know? In case there’s a secret passageway or something, but there’s only that door that doesn’t have a handle and… wait, how did you get in? Is there another chamber? Have you been here long? Is that for me?”
He pointed to the bowl in Melinda’s hand; she could hear his stomach growl.
Melinda so wanted to explain to poor Danny. Ideally, she wanted to take his hand and run off up the stairs with him. But every plan she’d made in the distant rooms of the house evaporated in the proximity to the boy in the basement. She could see Danny’s lips moving, remember her plan, but all she could focus on in the dark, echoing room was the painfully loud thudding coming from his chest.
She swallowed back the lump in her throat, placing the bowl of soup on the floor and stepping back. “Yes, um… we…”
Was it her imagination or were her fangs suddenly sharper? She pressed her tongue against one, felt the brief pain as the cusp of the tooth pierced the flesh as easily as a hole punch does to paper. It felt like penance so she did it again. The blood that welled forth was thicker than she remembered, heavier almost, reminding her of that night in April’s bathroom.
Ah. And she thought she couldn’t feel any worse.
“Um… we’ve been trapped in here for days,” April interjected, giving Melinda a funny look. “We’ve been kidnapped.”
“We have?” Danny said, looking confused. “Why?”
“We don’t know,” April said. “All we know is that we were given this soup and told to bring it to you then to return to our chamber immediately and await further instructions.”
Melinda threw April a look that clearly said ‘he’s not going to buy that!’ but April didn’t even blink.
Danny rested his head on his shoulder, fixing April with a suspicious stare, before he picked up the cold soup and ate the lot within about a minute. He belched and looked over at the two girls, focusing on April in particular.
“I know you; you’re April Moss! And you must be her friend, um, something Bucket, right? Where’s the other girl? Woah, so the news was right, you have been kidnapped! Was it that Wangshaft guy everyone thinks it is? Is he the one holding us here?” Danny began pacing and the girls followed. The way he walked, the way he talked – it suddenly hit Melinda how young he was. “What does he want with us? I get what he’d want with you two, but me? I’m nobody.”
“I don’t know, Danny,” April replied.
“We need to get out of here. I’ve tried calling my mum but I can’t get any signal in here and my phone’s dead now. Maybe if we work together,” Danny whispered, looking around as if he expected the kidnapper to stroll in any second. “Where does the soup come from? Is it like a dumbwaiter kind of deal? Through a hatch in a door? Maybe we can ambush them, next time they bring you soup?”
“Maybe,” April said quietly. She lifted her arm, no doubt to unleash some green wriggles, but Melinda slapped it back down, shook her head.
“Wait,” Danny breathed, turning sharply on the spot. “How do you… I didn’t tell you my name. Did he tell you my name? Wangshaft?” Danny looked between the two girls, panic starting to take over. “Are you… are you two involved with the kidnapping plot? Are you holding me for ransom or something? Oh, shoot! Have you mistaken me for someone else? Look, my folks are just teachers, they’re hardly loaded! What do you want with me? What’s going on here? Why are you just staring at me and not saying anything? Help me find a way out!”
“There isn’t any way out, Danny,” April said.
“No. There has to be a way out. There has to be!” Danny cried. “I’m supposed to be starting college in the summer; supposed to be training to be a sports therapist not locked in some weirdo’s dungeon. There has to be a way out. I can’t be trapped here forever! I can’t! I—“
Danny stopped mid-sentence; his arms dropped to his sides and his breath lingered in the air.
“Just like that, huh?” Melinda whispered as April lowered her hands.
“Just like that,” April replied. “I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t handle him talking about being trapped.” She gently slipped her hands into his pockets in turn until she had located and removed his phone. “This prisoner thing is a super bad idea, isn’t it? Please don’t tell him I said this, but I…” she lowered her voice so much that Melinda struggled to hear her. “I… I think Caleb has lots of bad ideas.”
Melinda nodded, looking at poor Danny who was clearly no longer with it.
“I can’t do this,” Melinda said, even as she felt her form slipping. “I think he’s even younger than we are.”
“He is,” April confirmed. “But not by lots.”
“I… I guess we can’t let him leave now. He knows too much,” Melinda sighed.
April nodded and Melinda stepped towards Danny. She lifted his hand gently, looked at the tiny, neat, barely-there puncture holes in his wrist and hesitated.
“You have to drink, Mel,” April whispered softly. “Please. I can’t lose you.”
“I’d never forgive myself.“
Tough.
—
Yesterday had been quite the day.
Ralf took his coffee in to his dining room. He would usually savour every sip with the current newspaper laid upon the table before him, taking his time over every article and column, until his watch insisted that he get dressed for work.
Not today.
Ralf had no intention of going to work this morning. He was exhausted. After the grim task of identifying the body of his nephew and deputy, Chase Crooks aged only twenty-nine, he had spent the night consoling his sister and his niece who had both clung to him in their grief and begged him not to leave. He was the stability they needed even though his own knees were failing him. Their rock made of crumbling mud. Their hero composed of lies.
To hell with the fly-tipping reports and whatever other petty crime was going on today; Ralf would be visiting his sister again. He would sit with her until he saw her smile if it took him all darn day.
The sharp rap at the door was the sound of fate coming to take a dump on his plans.
Ralf briefly considered running out the back door, in his robe and slippers, or hiding in the bathroom but he knew that neither of those were viable options. There was really only one option available where Wilbur Wangshaft was concerned.
Comply.
True to form, the octogenarian did not offer a greeting, instead inviting himself into Ralf’s house and seating himself on the sofa.
“You’re making house calls now?” Ralf said, trying to keep it light-hearted. He took a seat beside, being careful not to flash; he hadn’t anticipated the company or he would have put some shorts on.
“I came to see how you were,” Wilbur replied, although neither his face, voice or body language conveyed any of the care his words suggested.
“Really? I- I thought maybe I wouldn’t go in today. I need to go and see my sister—“
“Why?” Wilbur asked, sharply. “Is this still about Deputy Crooks?”
Still? Not ten hours ago, Ralf had been weeping over Chase’s waterlogged corpse. He tried not to sound as ruffled as he felt as he calmly endeavoured to explain the nuances of grief to a Wangshaft. “He was my nephew—“
Wilbur sighed in an impatient way that clearly conveyed his disinterest. “Was being the operative word. What is the point in dwelling? Crying won’t bring him back. Do you have an acting deputy? Don’t tell me you’ve left that Spoon girl in charge.”
The way Wilbur said Jessica’s name made Ralf’s skin crawl. It was getting more and more difficult to bite his tongue and remain calm. “I have no one else and Jessica is very efficient.” He knew Wilbur wouldn’t see that as a positive, so he hastened to add, “I’ve limited her access and she’s inexperienced. Oh, you should hear some of her theories.” Ralf laughed, a little too hard and a little too long.
Wilbur didn’t blink until Ralf had fallen silent, then he asked. ” Theories? Elaborate.”
Great. Ralf tried to think through all of Jessica’s ideas; which one sounded the most bizarre and least likely to be correct? “Ah, well after her séance with the Truth Society at the bar yesterday morning, she’s convinced there’s a cover up involving ghosts and vampires.”
“Truth Society?” Wilbur enquired, his eyebrow twitching the tiniest bit. “Vampires?”
“Yes,” Ralf laughed, uneasily, wondering how much more he could embellish Jessica’s quirks and keep her off Wilbur’s radar without making her sound like a liability. “She was always a bit doolally, talking to her knitted turtle. She’s harmless. Kooky, but completely controllable.”
“Was she close to Chase?”
Ralf hesitated. “They, um… had their moments.”
“I see,” Wilbur leaned forward, looking unusually thoughtful before returning to his unreadable demeanour. “Call Spoon and tell her not to go in today—“
“Why?”
“—Then get dressed and head down to the station. I’ll find you a replacement for Deputy.” Wilbur continued, ignoring Ralf’s question entirely. Ralf knew better than to ask it again. “I have someone in mind.”
“I’m sure you have,” Ralf mumbled. “You know I really am quite upset about what happened to Chase and I—“
“I’ve told you what I require from you, Ralf. I assume we don’t have a problem?”
“No. No problem at at all,” Ralf choked around his integrity. He fought back tears. “Have you heard anything from your boy?”
“No,” Wilbur answered crisply, rising to his feet, completely unbothered. As if he was a discussing losing an eyelash rather than his only son he gave his reasoning, his tone monosyllabic, “Four days without a single word. Media at our door day and night, harassing Bethany and Gloria. I’ve been forced to close the mill so that’s losing me money. He knows better than to come crawling back now.”
“He’s your son, Wilbur.”
“He was,” Wilbur replied coldly as he opened the front door. “Everyone is disposable, Ralf. There is no point in dwelling.”
< Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter >
Almost Eternal 
“couldn’t keep his hands off me” Well that’s one way of putting it, lol.
Ah, so Melinda found a spot in the house where she couldn’t hear them so she did not hear the interesting part at the end. To be fair I hadn’t even considered she could have, with those stone walls.
“For the second night in a row, they hadn’t found anyone suitable for the basement” Anyone suitable? What is their criteria, apart from male? Underage? Has a phone? 🤨
Is Melinda thinking she won’t see April’s sad face because she’s planning to ditch them, or because she hopes that if she “frees” April, she will become less sad? Why is she still there making soup? Just leave, dude. Then again, her leaving just means going to Lilith who will once again switch into her superiority mode, and I’ll whine some more – I find Lilith so much more palatable when she isn’t around other vampires, pretending how much better she is. So do continue making soup, Melinda. You may be able to add some of Seth’s potatoes to thicken it up 😆
So April’s feeling sick and dizzy. My brain still does not really compute how she could be pregnant, so I’m going to continue to believe that there’s another explanation for that to do with who she drank. Though it feels like that would have left her system by now.
The mesmerising thing is interesting. Did April bite Melinda without mesmerising her simply because she didn’t quite know what she was doing now? Or had she at that point already started trading with Caleb, and has he now returned some of her former compassion back, because he wants to keep her “sweet,” or however he’d put it?
Oof it’s pretty chilling seeing Melinda’s humanity slipping bit by bit. I wonder if she’ll kill Danny. If this is his second day in a row there and both Mel and April have already fed on him, and now going in for seconds, I can’t imagine he’d last much longer, unless they need much less blood than I thought. He’d definitely be toast already in BC land 😕 Anyhow, doesn’t look like Mel will be leaving after all. Or will she, once she kills Danny, try to run away from herself?
Oh, Ralf. Somehow, the more we see of Ralf the more my reaction to him appearing becomes somewath “ugh, Will”-like. Ok, fine, that would have been a tough night. Still slightly struggling to feel sorry for him. Ah, Will’s dad. Ok, that will do it, put him in a room with a bigger asshole. Yes, I feel sorry for Ralf now. Well done. Them Wangshafts living up to their name. I wonder who he has in mind for deputy…
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Perhaps Faith wanted to be heard.
Yes, lol, that’s the criteria. Not many male youths hanging around the mean streets of Windenburg at night, clearly.
Why *hasn’t* she just left? It’s not like she hasn’t had chance to, right? Hm. Ah yes, wouldn’t want Lilith thinking that she was worthy of company now, would we? Oh geez, I could make potato soup for years with all the spuds Mr. Grimm has had pelted his way lately. So glad I wrote in a cooldown between each of his appearances.
If that’s the case then which of the women she drank from is/was pregnant/ill?
Good question. Probably didn’t know what she was doing when she drank from Mel, although yes, at the point she drank from Mel, she was already ‘Caleb’s’ and that has its own implications.
Ah, I’ve confused you here, my bad. April hasn’t fed from Danny, only Mel has and she only took a tiny bit last time then cried for hours so it would be quite some slip from humanity to kill Danny now. Although, they can’t let him go as he knows where April is, so something will have to give…
“Put him in a room with a bigger asshole” reminds me of the start of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXhjp85UNJI
I’m sure whoever he chooses for deputy will be fair and impartial. Ahem.
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Ooh, I quite like that song 😀
“If that’s the case then which of the women she drank from is/was pregnant/ill?” I do have a theory.
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You tease me.
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I’m sure you’ve done that to me before 😛
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Yes, keep talking about yourself, Danny. The more Melinda knows, the more guilty she’ll be feeling if you die. I wouldn’t put it past Seth to sneak in and kill Danny just to mess with Melinda’s head and send her on a long guilt trip.
I wonder what’s Wilbur’s leverage on Ralph. Must be something huge if it sucked out all work enthusiasm from him even when he lost a family member. Can’t be just politics.
I’m hoping Melinda comes back to Lilith right before that family dinner. 😁
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Poor Danny; just a pawn in a horrible vampire power game.
It’s not just politics, no.
Now that would be fun…
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Oh.. wow. I know I wanted a Mel pov, but damn she’s so miserable. 😭 she doesn’t trust anyone and is even second guessing April. Which is a good thing tbh. Although it is built resentment and seems likely to change her mind if April pays her enough attention.
Say, how does April’s powers work? Can she read Mel and Faith’s mind? She can sense Danny and sometimes gain insights to his head. Can she do that with her friends? Does she know what they are feeling now? Has she been quietly listening in the whole time?
April feels trapped too. They all are, but she definitely feels it. At least Mel has a plan and Faith has somewhat a faux idea of control and choice. Mel went from Sandy to Caleb.
Oh no… Mel turning into her dark form at April’s words. Will she act upon April like how Caleb did? Will it be on Danny? What will reasonable cool headed Mel do when she is pushed beyond the brink of her humanity and patience? 😔 It would be so sad if she does something that goes against her code. In a fit of rage or desperation or injustice too. The line I’ll never forgive myself. Mel would feel the same too.
Awww. So Ralf really was! Ralf’s pov is just as hard to read as Mel’s. Especially when he does care for his police force. Ahem. Jessica. Yay. She does have someone in her court. And him suspending her from the case was for her own good.
Tell Jessica not to go in today???? Why!? That got all the red flags waving for me. Nooo! Come to B2W and hide girl! 😣 you can borrow Sindybelle to rip whatever it is headed your way to pieces.
Woah. Wilbur is a cold piece of ass. I can’t decide if he’s faking to look un-vulnerable or not. Even if he is, anyone having to grow up around that is horrid. No wonder the family is so messed up. Especially when he’s the shot-caller! Argh. I want to toss him in a fiery pit of snakes. (With snakes being fireproof, no harm to animals) 😆
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Omg i mean April went from Sandy to Caleb!! 😂
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Melinda is super miserable, clinging to what she had. Poor Mel.
All that will be explored soon. Yay! Yeah, April feels trapped, she couldn’t even let Danny finish his sentence about being trapped. From one controlling relationship to another.
Mel’s form was already slipping because she was thirsty and in proximity to a yummy human, so hopefully just that.
Ralf is trying to help but… man. He has no idea what he’s facing.
Maybe Wilbur thought that Jess should have a day to recover and recoup and is going to send round some flowers and a sympathy card.
Now you’re getting to know Wilbur you can probably understand why Will grew up to be the entitled, using, empathy-lacking sack of shit he was. No animal harming allowed here. Please ensure that the snakes have little Nomex suits on. Thanks. ❤ Wilbur can totally be plucked ’til he’s pink and raw and thrown in balls first though, that’s fine.
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That foreshadowing! Now I’m wondering if Wangshafts are occults themselves >.> What *is* Ralf facing?
Yes, Wilbur’s influence on Will is not lost to me. ugh… you need a bog. Do you have one? Maybe that ravine. Looks nice and deep and untraceable 😀 Except they did find April’s suitcase…. okay.. 😅 Nomex suits lol.
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Yes, Seth does not bother to play the role of lap dog anymore.
Melinda obviously sees everything.
I really hope Melinda succeeds in finding Lilith. It looks like she’s about to perish.
Not least over her guilt over poor Danny’s captivity.
I guess Danny could have met his fate with a worse vampire. April shows him the grace to enchant him.
Since escape is out of the question, I almost hope he never wakes up again.
Of course, there is also the possibility that Melind turns him into a vampire and takes him with her on her escape. She’s the only one who’s not bound yet, so let’s just make full a plate.
Wilbur Wangshaft is a man who is used to getting his will and he can not stand anything but obedience.
It is clear that Ralf is under his control.
I hope he has not revealed too much … but anticipate that he certainly has.
I still need to understand who Wilbur is.
Is he a mafia boss or is he the communitys Scrooge McDuck?
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Yes, let’s hope Melinda finds somebody, soon. There’s another fate available for poor Danny, if any of our clueless crew can grasp it in time…
Who is Wilbur? Just an old man who has a certain sinister influence over Ralf and the town in general. 😉
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I agree with Melinda – Faith’s brazen talk is way too full-on for early in the morning. At least allow us some coffee/tea/breakfast first. 🤣 gods, and they can hear each other? I’d kind of forgotten about that and assumed the thick stone walls would keep most sounds out, but that doesn’t work with vampires. Even newly turned ones. Ick. So Melinda can hear both Seth and Faith’s activities as well as Caleb and April, too. 😣
I wonder what Caleb and April keep arguing about. Well, I can take a guess, at least. Seeing how they’ve agreed only to kidnap men and Caleb was already insanely jealous of April as much as looking in Danny’s direction, I wonder if Caleb is throwing a hissy fit whenever they find someone and refuses to take him. Or April is growing a conscience with Danny locked in the basement and is sabotaging things… but the first option seems more likely.
“soon she wouldn’t have to see her sad face ever again.”
Melindog, does that mean you’re planning to leave and take her with you, or you’re planning to leave and abandon her? 🤔
What on earth did Lilith need a fortified basement with not one, but two combination handle doors for? To keep something in? And what or who would that even be? Caleb, when he had his tantrums? Seth? Herself? Someone else entirely? Or is she just paranoid about having good doors? No wait, then the front door would have looked like a vault door or something. Or one of those gates with black spikes falling shut in front of it.
Oh, Danny. You poor soul. He’s still so young. I feel so bad for him. And now that he knows April and Melinda, he officially knows too much to be let go. Unless they can figure out how to alter his memory – which Seth can do…. But he’d probably just kill him instead, wouldn’t he?
How ironic that April can’t handle the literal prisoner that they’re feeding off of talking about being trapped. I know why she can’t handle it, going from Sandy’s thumb straight to Caleb, but that did make me facepalm.
Comment is getting long again, so I’ll post the second bit about Ralf: Bathrobe Edition and Wangrod Wangshaft on your thread later. ❤
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Hey, if you choose to read the new chapter before breakfast, that’s on you. 😉 They can all hear everything; bedroom activities, showers, gossip…
Jealousy is certainly playing a part in the argument.
Maybe she’s gonna kill her.
Ooh, check you out noticing my sneaky details. Why did she need two doors indeed. It’s the sort of set-up you get on those fancy jewellery stores; maybe it was full of expensive paintings that Seth stole? Yep, maybe that’s it.
Yeah, would Seth bother wiping Danny’s memory or just rip him to bits? Plus, they’d have to convince him to go down there in the first place and it’s very, very enclosed…
Oh April. Too little, too late.
Ralf: Bathrobe Edition makes him sound like a fun, limited edition collectible.
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HOLY COW. This is the binge read for throwing all my character ideas for a loop. Is that…sympathy I feel for Ralf? I did not think about how trapped he was until this moment. I mean, Wangshaft is a funny name, but that dude was bad news and a huggggeee dick.
Honestly, I want all my lil supernatural babies to be okay, but I’m also invested in Ralf getting justice, and Jessica solving the case, and dang it, my loyalties are all divided!
I do appreciate Ralk taking care not to flash.
Ummm, also, is April showing empathy here? Are she and Melinda the only ones with sense? It was hard to watch them mesmerize Danny. I’m with April. We cannot let him keep talking because he is breaking our hearts.
That line about him not being that much younger than them…
whew.
It doesn’t take much to become the monster, eh?
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Ooh dear. Divided loyalties will get you killed in Wangshaft’s game. Better pick a side.
Last thing this scene needed was more genitalia.
Nope, it doesn’t. We are all just one shitty decision from being bastards.
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Hmmm… So, Faith´s pretending everything is okay and she´s not fooling Mel any. Whoops.
April and Mel are both being miserable… I do wonder how long the effects of one feeding last. They do drink every night, so shouldn´t stuff get diluted pretty fast? I agree with the theory about Caleb being jealous and not wanting to grab anyone April would pick. Talk about petty and “she´s just food,” sheesh.
Danny´s pretty sharp though, and that´s really bad in his situation. Too bad for him that he didn´t buy them all being victims here.
Also, April reminds us that yes, she is the one who turned the other two and yes, she´s still possessive of them. But it seems she´s been neglecting those bonds so, as Mel says, tough. If Mel tries to run, April will freak out, won´t she? And Caleb will be mad. Uh-oh.
Also, them double doors. Lilith made them… was it supposed to be a hidey hole in case humans came and tried to get them? Then again, the doors would probably burn, so not much help there. And there isn´t much need to keep things behind a double door. But then, this place is probably from the time when Lil was ruthless, right… the basement certainly does seem perfect for its current purpose.
Now, what do I gather from the last bit. Hmmm… Wilbur makes me wonder, again, what is his problem with the Spoon family. I totally feel like these is some nasty history there. It´s like he doesn´t even care that she´s a girl or that she´s half crazy. He´s got a problem because she´s a Spoon. Interesting.
And then Ralf, trying to make Jess seem like she isn´t a threat and knowing nothing himself, blabbered about the worst possible thing. Because there /is/ a coverup. Ooops.
I am most definitely looking forward to meeting the new deputy. Even though I might regret it the moment I do. XD
And that last bit. Wilbur is obviously threatening Ralf with the “disposable” bit… but it almost looks like he thinks more highly of “Bethany” than his son. I wonder if he was actually disappointed in Will. He seems like a sharp businessman and Will… was not very efficient, was he? He didn´t even seem smart enough to run whatever it is the Wangshafts are running. I wouldn´t be surprised if Wilbur hated the thought of Will being his heir… if he´d been afraid whatever they are hiding would come to light. I wouldn´t be surprised to find out he was /glad/ to be rid of his son.
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Maybe if Faith fakes it enough, it’ll all become real? No? Worth a shot.
They drink every day, but stuff takes a while to go through, as you’ll see a bit later… 😉 There’s no easy solution for the hapless love triangle, unless one is abruptly removed from the equation, of course. Ahem.
“And there isn´t much need to keep things behind a double door.” There isn’t now, but maybe there was.
What makes you think that Wilbur dislikes Jessica Spoon? Maybe he feels bad for her and wants to take her out for a stroll in the park and a heart-to-heart. Oh, was Will not heir material? What let him down? His scandal-prone persona? His poetic language skills? His face? 😆 Ooh, you think he preferred Beth? I mean, marrying Beth she was probably the best thing Will ever did, so you may not be far wrong…
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Hmm… I see. What I meant, though, is that having items locked behind a double door is really just stalling for time, because if any potential thief were able to get through one set, then they´ll probably be able to get through the other too. That´s why a double set of doors seems to suggest more strongly keeping something living in there, something that could try to go through you, or around you, once you open the door closest to it. Just like poor Danny. They definitely came in handy now, didn´t they. 😀
Yep. Let´s just say I think Will´s business skills were pretty lacking. Didn´t really strike me as the type who would be good at leading much of anything. Or maybe the skills were there, but the ambition and motivation to use them was what was missing. I mean, the Wangshafts seem really rich, yet Will went after the reward money like he needed it… yep. Definitely think daddy wasn´t too happy with him. Beth, on the other hand, seems to have ambition aplenty. I mean, honestly. Why else would she have married Will in the first place? Somehow, she doesn´t strike me as the type who wouldn´t have realized what she´s getting herself into ´till it was too late. XD
…also, I know I´m being cold… but Will having gone missing the moment there is a child seems like an awfully interesting coincidence… very convenient. Again. The Wangshafts… they got some serious dose of… luck on their side, don´t they.
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“the Wangshafts seem really rich, yet Will went after the reward money like he needed it” weird that, isn’t it? Add in that he actually had a job ‘running’ the lumber mill and it doesn’t seem like Will was really in the Wangshaft loop at all, does it? “Why else would she have married Will in the first place?” There’s somebody for everybody. Clearly there was something about Will that Beth found attractive. 😉
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Exactly. I thought maybe running the mill was kind of a starter… an opportunity for Will to show he could run things before he was put in charge of something more important. But then, it´s likely he hadn´t done a good job at even that and… turned into a massive disappointment. Something tells me it´s not good to disappoint Wilbur.
*smirk* Oh, I bet. A guy who has a ton of power… or at least is supposed to get a ton of power eventually, but can´t really handle it. Cases like these, there will always be a shark of a woman smelling blood in the water. Speaking of… I do wonder how much Beth knows about all the family secrets. 😉
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