Virtual American Gothic - Second Season Episode Two Atonement by Robyn Russell(wrussell@polarnet.com) Guest Stars: Brent Spiner as Kane Sarah Paulson as Merlyn Kathy Najimy as Death THIS STORY IS NOT TO BE ARCHIVED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S CONSENT. **************************************** Under the all-seeing eye, Gail was running for her life. As she hesitated at the top of the stairs, she saw him coming, screamed, tripped, fell, fell a long time until she lay in a heap on the floor. Buck looked up at him from where he stood over Gail's body. "Lucas, shut up!" he heard himself say conversationally as he stabbed Buck. "Get thee behind me, boy!" He was thrown over the landing, falling down, down, down .... With a start, Caleb sat bolt upright. It was only a nightmare, he reminded himself, heart pounding in his chest. He staggered over to the bathroom, turned on the light, ran a little water in sink, and splashed some on his face. He glanced up into the bathroom mirror--and here was the face of his dead sister, Merly, looking back at him. Startled, he jumped back, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. Merly's face was gone. His own reflection, wide-eyed with fear and surprise, peered back from the mirror. Hesistantly, as if his hand might slide through the glass, he touched the mirror's surface. It was solid; it was real. Illogically, he opened the cabinet door and looked inside as if Merly might be there with the toothpaste and mouthwash. Nothing. Just the same items that had been there yesterday. It was a long time before Caleb Temple was able to get back to sleep that night. "Since my baby left me, I've found a new place to dwell... Down at the end of Lonely Street, Heartbreak Hotel... I'm so lonely, baby, I'm so lonely, I could die." The voice of the King sobbed out into the darkness from Selena's car radio. Selena sat propped against the front of her Corvette with feline grace, hugging her leopard coat closer against the chill of the evening, and smoking a cigarette. The cigarette smoke blended with the fog rising from the dark, seductive river that ran enticingly just a few short yards away. A little walk down the bank, out into the cool water, and the current would just carry her away, carry her away from everything. "Now that would be a cryin' shame." Selena started at the strange voice that cut through the night mist. From out of the shadows, the stranger appeared walking into the small space illuminated by the diffused glow of her headlights. "It would be a cryin' shame for such a fine young woman to end her life over that no-account Lucas Buck." "Who are you?" "Allow me to introduce myself," the dapper, clerkish-looking man said with a small bow. "I am Jonathan Virgilius Kane." Recognition sparked in Selena's eyes. "What brings you out by the river tonight, Councilman?" she said, disinterestedly, her emotions back under control. "Your well being, Miss Coombs." "I'm touched." Selena thought again of Lucas. "What makes you think I need your help? As if you could anyway," she added. "Now that's where you're wrong, Miss Coombs. In fact, you've been greatly wronged. After all the help you'd been to Lucas, all the sacrifices you made for him, and him just casting you aside like that--well, it makes my blood boil, it truly does." "What are you planning to do about that?" "I'm going to help you get your just revenge on Lucas Buck." "And in return?" "You help me. I'll be frank with you, Miss Coombs. I intend to be mayor of this town and, not only that, I intend to run it." "Good luck." "I don't blame you for being skeptical. The office of mayor traditionally has not been a powerful one in Trinity. Far too much authority has rested with the Sheriff's office. I intend to change that." "Lucas will kill you FIRST." "I have no doubt that he'll try." The undertone of steel in Kane's voice made her turn and look at him. There was something in those eyes . . . It was gone in an instant, but she had caught a glimpse of it. POWER. "What exactly do you have in mind, Mr. Kane?" Selena's voice was not quite so disinterested now. "I intend to chip away at everything that is the foundation of Sheriff Buck's power in Trinity. Everything." Kane emphasized the LATTER. "Sounds like somethin' a lady could get used to," Selena paused to reflect on what life would be like with Lucas out of the way. A slow smile formed on her lips. "When do we begin?" she asked. Kane's charming smile didn't reach his eyes. "Bring Caleb Temple to me tomorrow night at the Johnson Bridge." Selena stiffened. "I won't do anything to hurt Caleb." "You won't have to. Just see that the boy is there on the bridge at midnight." Kane started to leave, then turned back. "Thank you for your support, Miss Coombs." "Selena," she corrected. Kane tipped his fedora. "Selena." The night swallowed him up. In the daylight, the river gurgled lazily between its banks, its dark song silenced, its waters promising only relaxation. Relaxation, but no peace. Hidden in a cluster of bushes, away from the prying eyes of truant officers and other tattletales, Caleb turned over the images from the night before in his mind. They felt real, more real than any other nightmare he had experienced. As he gazed idly into the quiet waters, the image of his dead sister appeared again. Automatically, Caleb looked over his shoulder, expecting her ghost to be standing next to him as she had done before. No one. Confused, Caleb turned back to the river. "Merly? Are you real?" "I'm a part of you now, Caleb. That means that I'm as real as you are." Her voice was just as Caleb remembered it. Sweet, like crystal bells ringing far away. Happiness surged within him. Merly had been his only real family for most of his short life. "Merly, I thought you'd gone away forever." Merly's reflection shook her head. "I'll never leave you, Caleb. Not ever." "That's good 'cause I've been havin' the worse dreams lately." "They're not dreams. They're the truth." "The truth? You mean . . . I'm the reason Gail's in the hospital?" "Yes." The full implications of her simple answer made Caleb's stomach twist. "What can I do to make it right, Merly?" "You have sinned, Caleb. Now you must atone." Her image faded into the ripples. Gail's hospital room was quiet, white, sterile. Gail herself lay there like a marionette whose strings were cut. Monitors beeped introspectively, playing a tinny rhythm. With an effort, Caleb brought himself to the side of her bed. "Gail . . . Gail, forgive me. I didn't mean for you to fall. I didn't mean to hurt you." "Don't say things you don't mean, boy." Lucas's voice, cool and sardonic, sounded from behind him. "What are you doin' here?" "Lookin' for you. Principal Skinner told me that you didn't show up at school today." "Didn't feel like goin'." "Well, you're goin' now. See you later, darlin'." Lucas kissed Gail on the forehead, then prodded Caleb outside. "Havin' second thoughts, son?" Buck asked when they were out in the corridor. "About what?" "About the things you did when you had my spirit." "Was that what it was?" "Umm-hmm. Made you feel good, didn't it? Strong, powerful, like nothing could touch you." Caleb stopped and looked at him, shocked. "I nearly killed Gail." "You nearly killed me, too, but I ain't takin' it personally." Lucas grabbed Caleb by the scruff and hustled him down the front steps. "That's the way it goes, son. Can't make an omelet without breakin' eggs. Sooner or later this body's goin' to get weak." He indicated himself. "Then the spirit needs to move on to a stronger container. That's you." "I don't want to be no container for no spirit." Buck grinned as he opened the door of his Crown Victoria and pushed Caleb inside. "You'll change your mind when the time comes." "Like hell," Caleb replied, grimly. Buck chuckled. "Close enough." He slammed Caleb's door shut and walked around to the driver's side. Across the parking lot, he could make out what could only be Dr. Billy Peale, superman of the CDC, getting out of his Suburban. Now, if he'd only pack up and shove off... ******************** With a confidence born of self-satisfaction, Lucas sauntered up the walk to Selena's house just in time to see Kane leaving. Selena herself was seated in a wicker chair out on her porch arranging a fresh bouquet of daises on a little table. "What did he want?" Lucas indicated Kane's retreating,white-suited back. "The councilman? Oh, he wants me to stuff envelopes down at his campaign headquarters," she answered, easily, in her breathy alto. "What do you want? I thought I was persona non grata, Sheriff." Lucas narrowed his eyes. "That you are, Teacher, but I've been known to forgive, now and again. Forgettin', that's another story." "And being as it's an election year, you're calling for my support?" "Selena, honey, you got a point." Lucas paused a moment. "Working down at his headquarters is a good idea. You can keep an eye on him for me." "You can keep your own damn eyes on him. I'm not spyin' for you." "I think you're forgettin' how much you owe me." "If you're talkin' about Gail, I was only lookin' out for Caleb's interests--just the way you would have wanted me to. Besides, he would've killed his new cousin sooner or later. That's how the Buck family deals with its rivals, isn't it?" "Our rivals aren't the only ones we kill." Lucas took one pantherish step forward--and found himself surrounded by cats. A threatening pride of cats with a dangerous purpose. "Don't start something you can't finish, honey," Selena said. The two held each other's eyes for a long moment. "I won't be forgettin' this, Selena, it's not my...nature," Lucas said as he retreated down the steps. A ginger tom sprang into Selena's lap and began to groom himself. Around his mouth were stray black feathers. "Caleb." Miss Coombs' voice rose above the rumble of departing students. "Would you stay, please?" Reluctantly, Caleb walked back to her desk. "Caleb, I noticed that you were distracted during today's lesson. Is there something wrong?" "Miss Coombs, do you think I'm evil?" Selena was a little surprised by the question. "My daddy used to say that there's good and evil in all of us." Caleb didn't seem satisfied with that answer. Selena tried again. "Would you like to tell me what's bothering you?" A negative headshake. "How about Miss Holt?" Another headshake. "Sheriff Buck?" "No." Very definite. Selena considered this answer for a moment. "You know, Caleb, I have a hard time talking to people too. I usually look for answers in the calm of the night...you familiar with the clearing by Johnson's Bridge?" Caleb nodded. "Last nite, I was contemplating...things, and a stranger happened by, Councilman Kane actually...he was a great sounding board...just a thought, honey. He told me he walks around there every night." Caleb looked unconvinced. "You'll find your own path, Caleb. That's all for now." ******************** On the wall, he's building a pyramid of paper eyes. He doesn't really know why, but he wants to. "You don't have to be like him." Merly's voice. In a cradle, a baby doll with a smashed in face. A dead baby. "You ARE your father's son." Selena's voice. The shape of Buck changing into that of Merlyn. "That's no way to treat your sister." Lucas carrying away the unconscious Gail. Caleb awoke with a start again. He ran his hand over his face several times. Water wasn't going to erase this dream. Water. He snapped on the bedside lamp and took a look at the clock. Close enough to midnight. Might as well go for a walk. There was a strange freedom in sneaking out of the boarding house and wandering the night. Going up to the bridge, listening to the dark water burbling far below. Climbing up onto the railing like he wasn't supposed to. Feelin' powerful, like nothing could touch him. The full moon cast its pale light on the river, but there was no Merlyn reflected in the waters below. People had jumped from the bridge or fallen off. Lots of people. Dead people. The dead slept a sleep untroubled by dreams. Or memories. "What are you thinking about, Caleb?" It was a strange voice and yet familiar. Caleb knew without asking that this was the Mr. Kane who took his constitutional at such an odd hour. "Atoning." Kane nodded, sagely. "That's a good idea." Caleb looked at him, surprised that he should agree. "If you stay here, you'll only become more like your father. Hurt more people, make them suffer. It's better this way," Kane continued on smoothly, hypnotically. "End it now. Nip that incipient evil in the bud and never let it flower." As Caleb stood there, lulled and hesitating, Kane leaned over casually and gave him a shove. The boy plunged into the water below. There were frantic splashes at first, splashes that grew weaker, and then silence. "Nothing personal, boy," Kane said into the silence. Drowning ain't so bad, Caleb thought. The desire to let go, to relax, to stop struggling is so powerful that after a while all he could think about is snuggling into the current like a comforter and sinking down, down, down... ********************** From high above, Caleb saw a light, and then a hand reaching out to him. Languidly, he put his own hand up to grasp it and felt himself being drawn relentlessly toward the surface ... Selena yanked Caleb into the rowboat with a strength she hadn't used in quite a while. Stealing a glance upstream toward the bridge, she let the boat drift while she applied the Heimlich manuever to get the water out of his lungs and then stroked for the shore. Caleb was as heavy and unmoving as a sack of feed as she bundled him into her car. "Caleb, honey, don't you die on me." Selena pressed the accelerator and Corvette shot away into the night toward the Fulton County Hospital. "Temple, Caleb Gage. Yes, that's right. No, not an electric shock, drowning. Yes, yes. Alright, I'll hold." The dark haired woman in a business suit was pacing up and down beside his bed when Caleb woke up. "Can you believe this?" she said, holding out the cellular phone so he could hear. "They've got me listening to Muzak." Caleb sat up carefully, experimentally twiddled his hands and feet to see if they still belonged to him. "Am I dead?" he asked her. "That's what I'm trying to find out," she replied. "Yes, I'm still here," she said into the phone. "I KNOW that there's a notation by his name. That's why I'm calling you. Okay, okay. Alright then." She turned off the phone. "Well, that took an eternity." "Are you an angel?" "Me? No, I'm Death. And you are going to get a chance most people don't. Least those that aren't named Jimmy Stewart. You get to see what life would have been like if you had never been born." Death opened her brief case, tossed in the cellular, and slammed the case shut. It sounded like the crack of doom. "Let's go, Caleb," she ordered, yanked backing her sleeve to check the seven timepieces she had strapped to her arm. "Old Man Bergdorf is going to be shuffling off this mortal coil in the honeymoon suite of thePowder Puff Motel in Vegas shortly and I want to be on hand to greet him. Long time client," she added, noting Caleb's puzzled look. Caleb paused outside the hospital. "It don't look all that different," he said, indicating the somnolent town. "Oh, but it is, Caleb. See for yourself." In a heartbeat, they stood in front of Caleb's school. On the side by the front door there was a new plaque proclaiming it the Selena M. Coombs Elementary School. "That don't seem so bad." "Look again. Look closer." Now they stood in Caleb's classroom. Everything was the same except for the strange woman behind the teacher's desk. "Where's Miss Coombs? Is she sick?" "Miss Coombs is dead, Caleb. You haven't been born so you won't be here when Miss Coombs is shot in a cabin out in the woods by some lunatic kidnappers." In a blink, the classroom disappeared and they stood in front of a spotless white house with black shutters. "Recognize this place?" "That's my old house," Caleb said, amazed. But the children in the front yard, the woman in the apron who called them in to dinner were strangers. "Where's my family?" "Right in front of you." Caleb looked down to see his hands resting on a tombstone. As he backed up, he could see the name--Judith Temple. "But I thought . . ." "That if it hadn't been for you, your mother would have lived? Some things can't be changed, Caleb. Remember the time your father, Gage, fell asleep on the sofa after he'd been drinking? How the lit cigarette in his hand burned a hole in the couch? You weren't there to put on the fire. Both he and your mother lost their lives." "What about . . ." Caleb couldn't bring himself to utter his cousin's name. "Gail? She's buried over on the Emory side. You weren't there to save her when she decided to jump off the roof of that building." "Where's Merly?" he asked suddenly, registering that one of the family was missing. "Merlyn survived the fire. She lives right here." Caleb looked up from Gail's headstone to find himself in front of a run-down trailer. A few pathetic geraniums in old coffee cans were set in front of the rickety steps. A second hand Harley was parked under the shade of a skinny tree. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flutter of movement. It looked like the same Merlyn he knew hanging up the wash. "Life was hard for Merlyn after your folks died. Gail was the last of her family. She kicked around from foster home to foster home after that." "She live here on her own?" "No, she lives with her boyfriend, Ray. But not for much longer." A familiar blue Crown Victoria pulled up and Sheriff Buck got out of the car. "He looks just the same," Caleb observed "Lucas Buck never changes." "Hey, Merlyn. Is Ray around?" Buck said, oblivious to his invisible audience. "Ray's at work," Merlyn answered. "He's goin' to be workin' late tonight." "That so." Buck contrived to look puzzled. "I just went by the garage and they told me he left around lunch time and hasn't come back yet. Naturally, I thought he'd be here with you." Merlyn said nothing, but her lips compressed as a dark suspicion crossed her mind. "Everything okay, honey?" "Just fine, Uncle Lucas." "You know, ever since your cousin Gail died, I've been lookin' out for you. It's what she would have wanted. Anything you need, all you have do is ask, darlin'." "Nothing I can't handle." "Alright then. But if you decide you need something--some advice, a shoulder to cry on--well, my door is always open." Buck sauntered off to his car and drove away. Merlyn stood looking after him for a long moment, her face unreadable. "Don't listen to him, Merly," Caleb urged. "He's lyin', I know he is!" "She can't hear you, Caleb," Death said. "And even if she could, it wouldn't be any use. Lucas has spent a long time cultivating her." As if listening to some internal voice, Merlyn disappeared into the trailer, emerging moments later with a denim jacket and her helmet. She revved up the motorbike and sped away. "Merlyn! Where you goin'?" Caleb yelled after her. "What's the matter with her? Has she gone plumb crazy?" he asked Death, unruffled in her spotless black suit. "Some people need people to protect them. Others need people to protect. Merlyn grew up without a little brother to defend from Sheriff Buck so she was easy prey herself." "Miz Loris, you want me to close up?" Rose's voice jolted Caleb's thoughts away from his sister. They were standing in the middle of a run down diner in Goat Town. "Yes, Rose, thank you." Loris herself came out of the kitchen, peeling off her grease-splattered apron. She looked older and more tired than Caleb had ever seen her. "What's Miss Holt doing here?" "The state used to pay her some money every month to take care of you, Caleb. She didn't have you so she didn't have that little cushion to fall back on when hard times came. Loris lost the boarding house. Now she runs this diner with the help of Rose and Rose's mama." "I knew she got a check for me, but I never thought it was all that important." "Life is like a tower of blocks, Caleb. Take one block away and the whole structure is affected." "Matt! Matt!" Loris shook the shoulder of a bum, snoring across a booth in the back. "It's time to go. We're closing up now." "Just one more--for the road," he mumbled, swaying bonelessly in the seat. "Dr. Matt? Is that you?" Caleb asked increduously. The hair hadn't been combed, the beard was several days old, but the face was unmistakeably Doctor Crower's. "What happened?" Matt stared blearily in Caleb's direction. "I never meant to kill anybody. I was jus' so tired. It was a mistake, thas' all. A mistake." "Oh, Lord, Matt, don't do this," Loris said, tiredly. "Gladys!" she hollered toward the kitchen. "Get the coffee. He's talkin' to ghosts again." "What happened?" Caleb asked Death. "You weren't there, Caleb. Dr. Crower didn't have anybody to set a good example for. He started drinking again. One night he prescribed the wrong drugs, killed a patient. He lost his license and after that, well, he's been killing himself slowly ever since." Matt pulled himself away from Loris's grip and staggered out into the night. "Just another lost soul." A sobbing Merlyn ran past Caleb, up the walk, and began hammering n the door of the Buck mansion. Before Caleb could try to comfort her, the door opened and Merlyn rushed into Lucas's arms. "What she doin' here?" he demanded as the door closed. "Meeting her destiny. Lucas Buck doesn't intend to leave this world without an heir. You've never been born. Your mother and Gail are dead. Merlyn's the only one left." They stood inside the darkened living room. On the couch, Merlyn was pouring out her heart to a so-sympathetic Lucas. " . . .and then I saw him there kissing that Bellamy girl." "There, there, darlin', don't you cry. The problem with Ray is that he's just a boy. He don't know how to treat a woman like you. If it were up to me, now, why I'd always take real good care of you," Buck said, stroking her hair and wiped the tears away. Cradling her face between his hands, he kissed Merlyn gently on the lips. Merlyn was surprised by the kiss. Hesistantly, she kissed him back. The first kiss was followed by others less hesistant and more passionate. Gradually, Buck drew her down from the couch until she was kneeling with him in front of the fire. "Get your hands off my sister!" Caleb sprang forward and tried to grab Buck, but couldn't make contact. His hands went straight through the sheriff's body as if . . . as if he wasn't there. "You can't interfere, Caleb. You don't exist," Death said. In front of the fire, Lucas pulled Merlyn down on top of him, his fingers entwined in her hair. "Tonight Lucas will conceive a child with Merlyn, " Death continued dispassionately as the couple continued to embrace. "And when she tries to protect her son from him as she once protected you, he will kill her." Death directed Caleb's attention to the head of stairs. Morning light poured through the stained glass eye. A crash. A woman's scream. an older Merlyn appeared, fleeing something that pursued her. "Merlyn, don't you run away from me!" Buck's voice roared out, raw, angry, and somehow inhuman. Frantic to get away, Merlyn slipped on the top step, lost her footing and tumbled down, finally sprawling unconscious at the bottom of the stairs like a broken doll. Buck descended the steps slowly, his calm demeanor more menacing than any show of rage. With deliberate precision, he cradled Merlyn's dark head in his arms and then abruptly snapped her neck. The crack made Caleb jump. Buck's head swiveled toward the living room. There in the entrance stood a dark haired boy of about ten, his face white, his eyes wide and horrified. "Andy!" Buck said with the same icy calm. "Call the doctor. Your mama just had a bad fall." Andy looked into his father's cold hazel eyes for a moment. Then he turned and ran for his life. From the end of the house, there was the bang of a screen door. Sighing in exasperation, Buck placed his dead wife's head gently on the floor, and proceeded to place the call himself. "What's going to happen to Andy?" Caleb asked. "He can run, but he can't hide. Not from his father and not from himself. Our time has come to an end, Caleb," Death said, glancing at her array of watches. "Now it's time for you to choose--life or death?" "I choose . . . life." "Good decision." Death's beeper went off. "Gotta fly. Somebody's time is up." "Caleb! Caleb, honey, can you hear me?" Caleb opened his eyes and the face of Miss Coombs swam into focus. "Billy, he's awake!" Dr. Peale leaned over him, pulling back first one of Caleb's eyelids, then another. "His pupils aren't dilated. How many fingers am I holding up?" "Two." "And now?" "Three." "And now?" Buck's voice this time. "Go to hell." "That's no way to talk, boy." Dr. Peele grinned to himself. "He sounds fine to me. Caleb, I'm going to keep you overnight for observation, but we'll probably be able to send you home tomorrow. Okay, everybody's that's not a nurse, get out! It's time for Mr. Temple to get some rest. That goes for you, too, Sheriff." Buck left reluctantly. "Miss Coombs? You saved my life, didn't you?" Selena stopped, surprised by the question. "Yes, I did." "Someday I'll do the same for you." "I believe you will, Caleb," Selena said, kissing him on the forehead. She and Dr. Peale both left and Caleb settled into a deep, dreamless sleep. Selena sat out on her front porch playing solitaire. She dealt the cards out into a Tarot-like tree of life design and had matched two when she looked up to see Kane watching her. "I don't appreciate people interfering with my plans. Caleb was supposed to die." "I told you that I wouldn't do anything to hurt, Caleb," Selena replied, unperturbed. "So you did." Kane and Selena locked eyes for a long moment. "I admire a woman who puts her cards on the table." He reached out and expertly flipped a length of cards face up to reveal his picture. With a little smile, Selena reversed the cards and then turned them face up again to reveal her picture. Kane grinned. "I'll be seein' you around, Selena." Selena watched the councilman leave, then resumed laying the cards out in a Tree of Life design. She flipped over the top card. Caleb's face looked up at her. Selena smiled quietly to herself. FINIS