Virtual American Gothic - Second Season 
		   Episode Five

		The Last Picture Show
		by 
		Dana and Queribus
		<queribus@calweb.com)
*********************************************
[Archivist's Note:  Words bracketed by "< >" indicate Gail's 
thoughts and visions.  Consider these words as italicized. - R]

NOT TO BE ARCHIVED TO A WEB PAGE WITHOUT 
THE AUTHOR'S PRIOR CONSENT.

Guest stars: 

Christopher Walken as Buck
Isabella Roselini as Simone Buck
Polly Holiday as Lucila Buck
*********************************************

Gail leaned over the Sheriff's counter, patting it with her open palms.
Restless again. Those damn  dreams keeping  her up all night. No 
images, no story, just a terrible longing.

"Is Lucas around, Ben?"

"Well, Lucas has meetings, he's busy all day, Gail."

Ben leaned over the office counter toward her, smiling, helpfully,
uselessly.

"When do you expect him back?"

"He said something about some business in Ascension, and 
some local businessmen's meetings, and to expect him 
sometime around three. He'll be around, but not in his office 
much.  Everything okay with you?  Anything I can do?"

"No, Ben, everything's fine. He just...disappears sometimes, 
doesn't he?"

"Like you didn't know, Gail, get a grip," she thought.

"Well, Gail, I think you could safely say that."

Ben had that --poor thing, Lucas has done it to another one-- look 
in his sad brown eyes. Gail dropped her usual attitude and smiled 
warmly.

"Thanks, Ben. You're a peach." She slung her enormous bag 
over her shoulder and left the Sheriff's office.

Floyd  spun round in his chair, inane grin on his face.

"Thanks, Ben. You're a peach," he mimicked.

"And you're the pits, Floyd."

Floyd shot Ben a pouty schoolboy look and commenced spinning.

*******
The classroom was a hub of frenzied children splattering paint 
and chalk, except for Caleb. If they didn't like his black flowers 
before, they sure wouldn't like what he'd be painting now. He sat 
with his chin on his hands, a thousand miles away.

"WILL CALEB TEMPLE COME TO THE OFFICE, PLEASE?"

The loudspeaker had him jumping from his chair.

"What'd I do?" he whispered.

"You'd better go, Caleb." Miss Coombs smiled at him..

Caleb wandered down the hall aimlessly. "Who's dead this time?" He
thought.

Lucas Buck was leaning against the frame of the office door, 
thumbs looped through belt loops, smiling.

"Hey." Caleb raised a loose arm to the Sheriff.

"Hey, yourself. I got a problem I was hoping you could help 
me with."

"Me?" Caleb brightened.

"See, I have a day coming up that...well, I just don't even want 
to think about it. I was thinking I might play hooky. Now, the 
thing about hooky is, it's no fun unless you got someone to play 
WITH.  You know anyone might be interested?"

"Sure do!"

"It ain't Boone MacKenzie, is it?"

"No sir. It's me."

"Just the answer I was looking for. Good boy."

Lucas turned through the doorjamb, leaning into the office. "Taking
Caleb Temple here out of school for the day, he's got some family 
business to take care of."

The secretary nodded and made a note.  That boy had so many 
comings and goings the school hardly noticed anymore.

*******

Gail  sat in the parking lot, absent-mindedly revving the Mustang's
engine. Since she'd come out of the hospital, she'd felt this
energy pouring through her, as if it had been building up while she 
lay still and unconscious. Building up until she could do. . . 
something . ..something important. And it was always pushing 
her toward Buck; as if he was the answer to some unspoken 
question.

<Meetings??>

<All day?????>

She opened her bag, rustled around in it momentarily before 
removing a mini tape recorder. She checked the batteries, and, 
satisfied it was in working order, put the car into gear and drove 
off.

************

Caleb settled into the passenger seat of Lucas' car.

"Where we goin?"

"Anywhere you like."

Caleb screwed his brow, an exaggerated thinking motion.

"Gator World??"

"Gator World?!"

"Sure! I seen it on the TV! They got gators bigger than this car! 
And they got men who wrestle 'em!"

"Gator World, huh?"

"Yessir!!"

Lucas shifted into drive and off they went.

********

Gail pulled up in front of the home of Lucas Buck. The air was 
oddly still and expectant. Where was that damn wind he always 
kept in his pocket?

She reached for the key he had given her and took a deep breath. 
Before she could question her own motives she rushed up and let 
herself in. Feeling hurried, pushed, driven, as if she was doing 
something wrong. No one would think her out of place, after all, 
it was common knowledge she and Buck were together.

In her heart, though, she knew why she felt as she did. Her heart
pounded with anticipation.

Time all to herself, in his silent house? Too easy. Surely he'd
planted that Selena here to keep an eye on things.  He didn't trust
Gail, she knew this, she could see it in the looks he threw tauntingly
in front of her. He didn't love her, either, and this, deep in her
heart, she also knew.  But he wanted her.

Even though he had other women, even after their baby died. 
There was no reason for it- just acceptance, but it was not in 
her nature to accept without full comprehension.

All her vague longing and restlessness was centered in this big old
house. Somewhere here, among the stuffed crows, the black 
candles, and the dim paintings had to be what she was searching 
for. The connection between the two of them, the link she couldn't 
break. Not that Gail knew what it might be, but somewhere in his 
fortress there had to be some answers.

She wandered from room to room, and although she had been 
a guest here many times, today she felt the house closing in 
around her. She felt the walls breathing on her face, the mirrors 
reflecting  her  guilt. She felt exposed in this house,  like she had 
in the hospital. . just lying there for weeks at the mercy of. . .what? 
Time to find out.

She came to his study, her footsteps echoing on the tile floor. 
Her heartbeat pounding, telling her, like a child's game, <you're 
warm now, getting hotter. . .you're burning up!!>

"Good a place as any," she dropped her bag onto the leather sofa.

Sure, she'd looked here before, and never found what she needed. 
But Buck had found her and given her the answers she'd been 
searching for about her parents. Maybe, this time she needed the 
answers he hadn't given her. The ones he kept hidden. In one 
corner was a large glass covered bookcase, crowded with 
antique books.

Classics  and history, theology and philosophy piled haphazardly 
within. Something in there, something hidden under the thick layer 
of dust. Getting really really hot now.

She leaned down, trying to reduce the glare as she perused the 
titles.

Finally, one book caught her eye.  It had a blank spine,  and was 
under three other books. Dust-free, despite the condition of the 
ones around it. Bright green like a snake. Someone took good 
care of this one.

She opened the glass and pulled the book free. Red-hot, her heart
pounded, game, set, and match. It was heavier than she'd expected. 
It's hard cover blank and nameless. She felt relief drop over her like 
a blanket.

Gail hauled it back over to the sofa, pulled out her tape recorder,
turned it on and set it down next to her as if the book  itself would 
speak.

*******

"So, Caleb," Lucas began, "You given any more thought to what we
discussed?"

"You mean about me movin' in and all?"

"Right."

"Well, yes and no. I think it might be okay sometimes, but if I leave,
no one's gonna take care of Ms. Holt! She'll be all alone. She needs 
a man in the house." Caleb made himself as tall and big as he could, 
considering he was sitting down.

"Caleb, I know you been lookin' for a way to make it up with Gail. 
I think I have an idea that might work. See, I've asked her to live 
with us in my house."

"She won't like that at all. She hates me for what I done."

"Not so. She's......she's got some reservations. But I think we can 
work on those. I think we could be - a real family."

*******

A photo album!

Page after page of yellowed  Kodak paper, line drawings, 
sketches, watercolors.

Land and buildings, for the most part unfamiliar to her.

<What am I supposed to do with this?> Her heart told her, 
<they're keys to something. So use them like you used your 
mother's key.  Go inside, Gail. You know how.>

There was Lucas' house.  A long time ago, by the looks of it.  
The further into the album she moved, the more she found 
familiar places. Churches, homes, the hospital.

No people?

She rifled more quickly through the pages,  page after page of
buildings and land.

No people.

Go inside. <You're getting warmer...>

Resting on a photo of the Sheriff's office, still with an uncut
ceremonial ribbon around it, Gail closed her eyes and let go as 
Lucas himself had shown her.

In her mind she watched as the new Sheriff's office open amidst 
much pomp and circumstance.  Lucas, as a deputy , was there, 
shaking hands and kissing babies.  Balloons flew into the air
and a marching band played.  The mayor of Trinity cut the ribbon, 
and turned to shake the hand of Lucas Buck, one hand on his 
shoulder, with a sly wink.

Opening her eyes, Gail breathed heavily, letting the vision pass, 
and moved backward through the pages. Don't recognize this 
place, she thought and rested her hand on a photo of a 
farmhouse, closing her eyes.

	<With a scream, the woman backed away from the kitchen
	door,  which now opened forcibly, bouncing against a
	wall as it slammed into it.  The woman screamed again,
	taking refuge of sorts behind  the kitchen table,
	grabbing vainly for a knife laying before her.

	"Why are you doing this?? WHY?" She shrieked at the
 	unseen intruder,tears running down her cheeks, hands
 	grabbing still at the knife, then wrapping over her chest, "I
 	gave you what you wanted! You have your son,damn you!"

	Through the door stepped a man, dark haired, tall, sinewy 
	under his fancy clothes. A  city man.

	"Now, it's about family. You know that. Sure, you gave me 
	my  son.  But Lucas?.well, he has a mind of his own. Only 
	three years old and he's already willful.  I been thinking I 
	need an insurance policy. You know,an heir and a spare."

	"Why me? You have your wife, your whores. Leave me 
	alone!"

	"Well, you know I can't do that, don't you.  We got 
	bloodlines to think about here. You Cross women are all 
	alike, aren't you?  Thinkin' you're too good for us Buck 
	fellas. Well, think again."

	He lunged at her, overturning the table easily, and as he
	pinned the woman to the stove and took her,  Gail opened 
	her eyes to block out the screams.>

"My God," she said out loud, " Cross women.  Mom. Aunt 
Judy."

"Me."

***************

"You hungry, Caleb?"

"Sure am."

"I know this place up the road, does a great breakfast. What 
say we stop in there and get something to eat before we hit 
Gator World?"

"We ARE going to Gator World?" Caleb tried unsuccessfully 
to contain his excitement.

"I guess we are, since it's what you want."

"What about what you want, Lucas?"

"We'll get to that later, son." The bright yellow sign of the Dixie
Diner loomed over them. Lucas opened his door and climbed 
out.

*******
Gail awoke with a start. She was on Buck's leather sofa, her hand 
on a book. A dream of insistent warning fading quickly from her 
mind.

The photo album. With it's hidden family history. Her family.

She slid it into her bag and headed out, careful to make it look 
like she'd never been there. Aware that Lucas could easily sniff 
her out, she left a window cracked, and decided to hope for the 
best.

"No wonder. It's not me, it's my blood."

Now there's a story, she thought to herself. A true journalistic
endeavor, uncovering a lifetime of rape and dominance in the 
Southern hierarchy. Fantastic! Just a little more research.....she 
tapped the bag and thanked the Lord for her professional 
detachment.

Gail parked the car, took the porch steps two at a time and 
flipped the air conditioning on.  Pouring a glass of wine, she 
took the photo album from her bag and again examined it's 
faintly yellowed pages.

She settled on a photo of Buck manor maybe thirty years ago, 
judging by the size of the trees.

She closed her eyes.

	<"You cant do this to me!! Have I not been a good wife 
	to you?!  She is all I want!"

	Clad in black, the woman was on her knees, arms raised
	before her husband. The man from the kitchen rape.

	"We don't need no girl child in this house. She's no use to us.
	You got to devote yourself to Lucas and his upbringing. A 
	girl child would just cloud your mind with frilly dresses and 
	hair ribbons. You have a job to do."

	"I wont do it!! You take my daughter from me now and you 
	will raise Lucas alone!"

	She grabs a knife from the table and slashes at her wrist.
	Blood flows,but the husband remains unmoved.

	"Where's that baby?"

	"I'll die first. You can raise that boy on your own! He is 
	nothing to do with me!! He isn't my son!! He's YOUR devil 
	from that Cross whore!"

	The man reaches for her, slaps her across the face, knocks
	the knife loose.

	It skids across the floor, her eyes watch it slide under a 
	stove, as it disappears, so does the fight leave her eyes. 
	Holding her bloody wrist,she  lowers herself completely to 
	the floor.

	Buck puts his foot on her back, pressing down.

	"Where is the child?"

	She whispers, "With your mother."

	Buck takes his foot away, opens the door and makes to 
	leave.

	"Clean this mess up, woman."

	The door slams behind him.>

******

Gail opened her eyes slowly. Jesus, Lucas was her own blood. 
Her own blood turned against itself.

She felt sick, her insides turning knots on themselves. She'd been 
with her own blood.  She rubbed her forehead harshly, trying to 
erase the thoughts that flooded  her mind.

"So I'm just the latest in a long line of Cross whores? God, now 
what? I  have to make this stop. I have to find a way to stop it. 
Stop HIM."

***********

The table is laid full of breakfast foods, pancakes, eggs, sausages,
grits. Caleb, mouth full to exploding, pouring syrup on a short 
stack.

"Boy, you sure can eat."

Mouth full of food- "Mmmmmm...I'm Growing...mmmmmm"

"I guess you are. You want another orange juice?"

Still chewing, Caleb nodded.

"Nora? " A blonde waitress comes to the table, smiling wide at 
Lucas. "Could you get my friend here a double large OJ?"

"Handsome boy, Sheriff. Where you been hidin' him?"

"Why, Nora, this is my boy Caleb. Caleb, this is Nora."

Caleb nodded and smiled, motioned to his full mouth.

"Pleasure to meet you, Caleb. Glad you're enjoying your 
breakfast."

Caleb swallowed, hard. "Sure am, Ma'am. Thank you."

Nora turned away, and Caleb eyed Lucas.

"What's that all about, son? You got something in your eye?"

"You never introduced me as your son before."

"Well, Caleb, that's just one of the changes I had in mind. Time 
we start being a real family, you and I. Family looks out for each 
other, and we're proud of each other."

"You proud of me?"

"Yes son, I am."

Nora set the large OJ in front of Caleb.

"Good to see you again, Sheriff," she winked. "Don't be such a
stranger."

"Sure thing, Nora. Here's a little something extra for you." 
Lucas handed her a twenty. "Now here's a tip: you keep 
serving these fantastic flapjacks and I'll never be away for long."

Nora grinned and walked away.

*****

Gail hopped out of the Mustang and ran into the Sheriff's office.
Frantic.

"Ben, is he here?"

"Not yet Gail. Anytime, though. I guess things must be takin 
longer than expected."

"I guess so." Time was not helping and for some reason she 
knew there would never be enough.

As if he might turn up any minute, Gail drummed her thumbs 
on the counter top, staring vacantly at WANTED signs, road 
maps and postcards.

"Gail, I can let him know you been by a few times to find him." 
Ben eyed Gail's musical thumbs.

"Oh. Sorry. Well, Okay. I guess....I guess I'll go....get a coffee.
You want one, Ben?" She was almost jumping out of her skin 
with the need to DO something..

"No, Thanks."

She left the office, the breeze floating in the door with her perfume
riding it's coattails. Ben smiled.

Having paid for her coffee, Gail walked about town, killing time,
contemplating her tack. <When I see him, he doesn't stand a 
chance. Not a chance.>

A crowd had gathered on the corner, Gail walked over to check 
it out.

"Glad you kept MY BOY in charge of this town, You hear me? 
Trinity ain't Nothing without Lucas Buck."

There was Lucila Buck,  holding court, regaling listeners with 
tales about 'her boy, Lucas Buck'. Gail laughed bitterly, trying 
her hardest to imagine that devil as a child, with train sets and 
Lincoln logs....

She reached in her back for a notebook, her hand landing on 
the photo album instead.

Without thinking too hard, she pulled it from her bag, hoping to 
find a picture that would show her Lucas' childhood, what it 
was like.

	<Lucas as a teenager. Gail noted that Lucas appeared 
	to have sidestepped the awkward pimple and bad hair 
	stage and gone right to manly good looks.Lucila Buck 
	was sitting at a table, leaning into him, sharing a secret.

	"Your mama has a secret, too, Lucas. We all do in this 
	family. But Mama's is one we can help her with. You 
	understand?"

	"Yes, Ma'am."

	Mrs Buck places the very  photo album  Gail now holds 
	on the table, and shows Lucas the photo of Buck manor. 
	The same photo!

	" I want you to read this one, Lucas. Like I showed you."

	Lucas closes his eyes, hand on photo. His brow furrows, 
	mouth hardens. He does not like what he sees.

	"He took my sister?"

	"Yes, son. But not far. You have a job and secret now, 
	too. I want you to keep an eye on your sister. She is 
	useful to us, your father was wrong about that. Right 
	now I'm sure Reverend Coombs has filled her mind with
	nonsense, but I suppose that was your father's plan all 
	along. He left her at the church for what he saw as good 
	reasons.  Your job, Lucas, your responsibility as a man, 
	is to bring Selena back to us. We need her. She is blood, 
	after all."

	"Yes, ma'am. You can be sure I'm on top of it."

	"Watch that mouth, son." >

She put the album away, paused briefly to listen in on the woman's
boasting about her grandson, Lucas and how tight the Buck family 
was. .
.
***

Getting even warmer.....

'My God!'

 THAT woman in black was SELENA'S mother! From the photo, 
at the kitchen table... "you cant take her". Gail's coffee cup toppled 
onto the street.

Lucas and Selena.....

So I'm not enough? Sick as it was, somehow this seemed worse. 
Why? Because he had promised to look out for her. THIS is what 
Lucas called looking out? Gail had seen the disdain Lucas could 
hold for Selena. What Lucas could do to her was beyond 
comprehension. She knew they had a connection, a link. She 
had no idea.

Gail ran towards her car. THIS was the capper, THIS story 
would topple that son of a bitch once and for all. Old South or 
not, no one wants the town's leader to be doing the deed with 
his own half sister, no one!! <People wouldn't believe me about 
me, but somewhere there HAVE to be records of this. Someone 
out there knows.>

Fighting the nausea, Gail unlocked the car door and climbed in. 
Nothing would stop her. She had the key, now. She'd show that 
son of a bitch. Rape, murder, incest- she was going to take him 
down. She could fight the revulsion so long as it meant finding justice.

The engine fired up, Gail now realized she had no where to go, 
no one to share the information with.  Once done, the story could 
be printed down in Charlotte, of course, and the Bermuda Triangle 
of Tourism would at last get it's come-uppance. But now, right now, 
she HAD to tell someone. Someone she could trust never to breathe 
a word...

**************

Lucas pulled the Buckmobile into the lot at Gator World. Caleb 
was half out the car before the engine switched off.

"Lucas, there's no line!"

"The beauty of coming in the week, Caleb. No lines, no waiting. 
This is how life can be, in our family."

Caleb ran ahead, looking over his shoulder to see that Lucas was 
keeping up. Big plastic gators, poisonously green, grinned at the 
entrance.

Lucas smiled and waved the boy on. It would seem things were 
going well, the boy was responding. Sometimes it just takes a taste 
of the good life to show a boy what he needs. Or, Lucas noted, 
a trip to Gator World on a school day.

Too bad Miss Emory couldn't be brought over so easily.

'Wonder how Cousin Gail feels about Gators?'

**************

She parked in the large lot outside Juniper House. Matt was a 
safe bet, Gail decided, because even IF he said anything, people 
would just imagine his accusations to be the delusional ramblings 
of a mental patient, and she'd be safe. If he was able to see her, 
if he even knew who she was. .
.
It had been ages since she'd contacted him. Just the other day, 
on a whim, she had dropped by but he was having an episode. 
And Buck was here, and that old harridan Lucila and her 
memories of the Temples. <Well, I'm not a Temple, Mrs. Buck, 
I'm a Cross and I'll bet you know what that means, don't you.>

Matt's little episode was staged by the Buck clan, for sure. She 
hoped...she wondered if he'd even be willing to see her. So much 
had happened that he was unaware of, so much water under their 
respective bridges. He didn't  know about the baby - but then, 
she didn't want him to.

She signed in at the desk, and a young orderly walked her 
down the halls to Matt's room. She was surprised to note the 
rooms were sunny and bright, decorated by the patients 
themselves. It cheered her considerably.

The orderly knocked on the door. "Dr. Crower, you have 
yourself  a visitor."

"Who the hell is it?" Snapped the voice from inside.

"It's Miss Emory, Dr. Crower."

"That's what they all say", he snapped again.

"Matt, it's me, Gail. May I come in?" Maybe this wasn't the best
idea.....

Matt's face appeared in the small glass square in the door.

"Huh. So it is. Come on in."

He stepped away from the door and the orderly unlocked it to 
allow Gail to step inside. She stopped short, and looked at the 
orderly.

"Why is he locked in here? I see other doors are just hanging 
wide open."

"Dr. Crower has some difficulties adjusting to the life here, and 
we've just moved him down from security wing. He's having his 
transitional phase."

" Oh. I see. You get that straight out of the rule book or is 
"transitional'  something you came up with on your own?."  
Sounds like the work of a certain Lucas Buck, you ask me.

No sun, no brightness illuminated this room. The light was 
sucked out of it like life sucked out of a corpse. Then she 
saw the man who had to live here.

The change was obvious, Matt was pretty much skin and bone. 
Unshaven, eyes dead. Gail tried not to gasp.

"Hi, Gail. Long time no see." Matt extended his hand to shake.

"Matt." Suddenly she reached for him, and pulled him to her 
tightly, as though she could transfer her energy and warmth to 
him through contact.

"Matt, I need to tell you something. It might help you, actually."

Matt broke free of her, and stood back. It hurt to be too close 
to people after all this time. It brought back the memories of a 
real life.

"I doubt there's much that could help me now. I'm certifiable, 
haven't you heard?"

He smiled, his familiar  grin. Gail smiled back.

"Can we sit down?"

They sat together on the edge of Matt's bed, and Gail pulled 
the photo album from her bag.

"I know things that I don't think too many people know, and I 
learned them in here," she patted the album.

"I don't get it," he turned the pages, noticing the landscapes and
buildings. Nothing but emptiness.

"You can't see what I can, Matt. But these pictures, they tell 
stories. I saw Lucas' father, raping some poor woman, you 
know, for a son. Just like Lucas did with Aunt Judith! It's been 
going on for generations, Matt. The women in my family have 
been subjected to it for a century."

Matt glanced at his old friend. Not all the delusions were 
wrapped up in Juniper House.

"That's a hell of a story, Gail." he said tentatively, "But Lucas 
covers his tracks pretty well. You'd  need proof."

"Who needs proof when you've got blackmail? See this one? 
This one is all about Selena, and her brother."

Matt looked hard at the picture of an empty house, trying to see
something that wasn't there. Trying to believe.

"Selena is dating LUCAS BUCK, Matt."

"Well, that's no secret, Gail."

"They are related. That IS."

"What?"

"Selena's father is Lucas' father. Different mothers, yes, but 
the same paternal lineage."

"I thought Selena's father was the Reverend. Or, that's what I 
was told once."

"Adopted. Lucas' father left her at the church. He took her 
from his wife and dumped her on Coombs."

Matt leaned back onto the bed, smiling.

"Helluva story, Gail. But I don't know, blackmail and Lucas- I think
he's cornered the market."

"I'm a reporter, Matt. I majored in Blackmail 101."

"Well, do what you have to, Gail. " He touched her hand, lightly. 
He felt the certainty, the truth of what she was saying rush into 
him. Maybe, maybe. . .

"I need to go, but I'll come back, Matt. I won't wait so long this 
time, I promise."

She squeezed his hand and he felt the skin go cold, like ice, like 
bone...

"Be careful, Gail."

The familiar words sent a shiver down her back. She hugged 
Matt again.

"You could decorate a bit, Matt. Make it a bit nicer in here." 
Gail eyed the soft green walls with disdain. "And eat something, 
okay? You look like hell."

Matt grinned, "I'm fitting right in."

****************

Five hours at Gator World. Caleb, sitting in the passenger seat, his
arms loaded with souvenirs.

"What about that big ol gator with one eye, Lucas? He was huge!"

"Yessir, that he was."

"And the wrestlin guy! He only had one arm, Lucas! You think 
the gator got the other one?"

"Yes, I do. You?"

"Yessir. But good!"

"Caleb, how about we grab some dinner, then you can stay 
round my place tonight?"

"I'd like to, but I don't think Miss Holt is gonna be too happy 
about me missing school again."

"No, Caleb, tomorrow I'll drive you to school myself. I cant play 
hooky for two days. Not even if I want to. Imagine what would 
happen if I left Ben in charge."

Caleb smiled, "I don't think I'd like to do that, Lucas."

"Me either. So I have to work, and you have to go to school. 
But we can have a good night in between."

"Okay. Sounds like fun. Can we rent a movie?"

"Does Miss Holt let you rent movies on school nights?"

"Ummmmm, no sir."

"Then we can stop by the video store on our way home. You 
like popcorn?"

"Yessir!"

"I have the top of the line, deluxe popcorn popper. Orville 
Redenbacher himself cant make a better batch than me. You 
know what movie you want?" 

"There's a new Ninja Turtles one, Miss Holt says it's too violent. 
Or Mad Max, or The Evil Dead! Or..."

"Slow down, son. I think we got time for one movie tonight. 
You'll have to make a big choice. I'll drop you by the boarding 
house after you pick, so you can get your toothbrush and what 
have you, then you can ride your bike over."

"Thanks!"

****

Gail's coffee table is littered with notes, scrunched balls of paper,
legal pads, reference books. Gail, pencil behind one ear, pounds
furiously on her laptop.

 Her fingers fly over the keys,  she barely hears the knocking at her
door over the clicking of her fingers.

"Gail? Gail? It's Caleb! Your cousin! "

Gail ignored him, typing ever faster. There would be time for 
Caleb later. Plenty of time, once his father was out of the way, 
to tell him he did her a favor by freeing her from that baby.

"Come on, Gail, talk to me!"

Brusquely- "Not now, Caleb, I have a deadline."

"Gail, it's important! It's about family! Come on, now. Please?"

"CALEB! NOT NOW!"

Gail's fingers flew over her keyboard, so quickly she no longer
controlled them. Page after page on her laptop, all the same thing:

Kill the bastard. Kill the bastard. Kill the 
bastard. Kill the bastard.

The ringing phone made her jump.

"What?!"

"Gail, it's Matt, I only have a second here, we lunatics aren't 
allowed to use the phone. Might hang ourselves with the cord. 
Call that new Mayor, huh? He might have an idea. I'm pretty 
sure he isn't in cahoots with Buck. It's worth a try. Good luck."

The phone went  dead.

Gail picked the bag up, yet again, and drove herself to Kane's 
place. Kind of dark. Candles flickering in the windows. She 
banged on the door several times before it opened.

"Why, Miss Emory, what brings you here?" Selena Coombs 
opened the door, wearing a little number which proved she 
hadn't just arrived.

"I wanted to see Mayor Kane, Selena."

"Well, he's a little? tied up at the moment. But I bet I can 
help you."

"I doubt it, Selena. But thanks." Gail turned to go,  Selena 
reached out to catch her arm- her eyes surprisingly gentle. "I 
know what you have there in your oversized, 1980's  style 
handbag, Gail.  And I know what you know."

"What? How-"

"You think you're the only one who can see things? Not by a 
long shot."

"I think this could help me-help US, Selena. To ruin Lucas."

"Not in a million years, Gail. I've thought about it more than 
once myself, but what would it do in the end, really? I'd be 
kicked out of the school district and blackballed from Trinity to
Timbuktu. Lucas would come out golden, he always does.  No, 
in this case, I'd resist those journalistic urges of yours, sister, and 
just swallow hard, like the rest of us. You made your own bed. 
Or garden party, as the case may be. Now, if you'll excuse me." 
She shut the door.


Gail stood on the step, staring blankly after the door shut. She 
took her recorder out, tapped it. "Just you and me against the 
world, huh?"

*****

The porch was littered with paper. Mail overflowed from the 
letterbox, newspapers piled knee deep. Little scraps of paper 
stuck into the doorjamb at every possible angle, all marked 
"GAIL" in a child's scrawl.

Gail, her hair unwashed, her eyes ringed with dark circles. 
Half filled coffee cups surrounded her like the Great Wall Of 
China.  Her answering machine light blinked furiously, the 
ringer on the phone shut off.

She was sitting in front of her computer again, although she 
had long stopped typing.

Gail had decided to return the album. The book that held all her
family's pain. It took forever to decide, but Lucas was no 
doubt onto her by now. She had to take the chance.

She showered and dressed, trying to recall the Sheriff's schedule.
Well, he usually goes out for breakfast, so there's my shot.

Gail sat looking at the clock, drumming her fingers against her 
laptop  8:45. 9:04. 9:17. God!

10 am seemed good, safe. At 9:58 Gail threw the album into her 
bag, and headed out the door, kicking the rubbish out of her way. 
She picked up one of the little scraps of paper with her name on it, 
and put it into her hip pocket.

 It was a short drive to Lucas' house, and again, although she had 
all the reason in the world to be there, or so people thought, it felt
wrong. She held a ton of guilty bricks on her shoulders. The 
ferocity of the wind picked her up and nearly blew her inside.

Quickly, she removed the album from her purse and trotted to 
the study. Opening the bookcase, reaching to put it back-

 "My God."

 The whole thing, top to bottom, had been dusted.

<Maybe it wasn't him, maybe his cleaner did it, I'm still okay 
with this, just get it in here, under this one....>

 "You got your library card handy, Miss Emory, or was there 
something else you came by to... check out?"

"Lucas, I-"

"I know, I know. I know exactly. You been tellin tales out of 
school again, haven't you? Don't think for a minute the walls 
don't have ears. You learned a little history, thought you'd give 
an oral report, earn yourself an 'A', is that it?"

"Not exactly. But I have proof-"

"You don't have squat. Oh, wait, now that ain't exactly true, 
either. You got something very important. Bet you didn't know 
about it, though. Not Yet."

"What in hell are you talking about?"

"You're performing a little courier service for the Sheriff. Package
is due to arrive...oh, about 8 months and 23 days from right now."

Gail grabbed her stomach, eyes wide, her colour draining rapidly.

"I was in a COMA! You sick son of a bitch!!"

 "You needed some tender loving care, Gail. And I gave it to you."

She was weeping now, choking sobs out as tears flooded down 
her face. Lucas reached down to her, to pull her up -

	<her hospital night dress tears, and there he is, "Don't you 
	go fighting me off, now", holding her down. She can't move 
	right, what, has he tied her down?? No, tubes. IVs hanging 
	from her arms, holding her tightly. She does the best she can, 
	kicks her legs but is no match. Lucas forces himself on her, 
	smiling.- >

 She hit at him, trying to stand and gain some control.

 "You might want to think about your buddy Kane and that Highway 
To The Future, Gail. Because 8 and a half months is not a very long 
time. And that's all the time you got left here in Trinity."

 "WHAT?!"

"You think I want you hanging around here, interfering with my 
boys? Think again. You're breeding stock, Missy, you and 
everyone of them before you. I'm not going to try to woo you 
with fancy words or lofty promises. I want my son, and I don't 
want you. Of course, there's a nice settlement in it for you. And 
that's more than any of your predecessors can say. You're
getting a real bargain, Miss Emory. I always did admire your 
spunk."

Lucas reached out to her, his palm sliding over her cheek, Gail 
closed her eyes, feeling the sparks fly off him into her, then she 
remembered.

"You BASTARD! You BASTARD!" She slapped his hand 
down, and ran through the hallway, screaming, crying.

Slamming the Mustang into gear, Gail left black burning streaks 
behind her.

Once home, she slammed open her door, threw the bag onto 
the couch, where it slid onto the floor, contents first.

 She washed her face, hard, considering herself in the mirror.

<Strong coffee, sit down, calm yourself. What the hell can you do
about this?>

Picking up the spilled purse holdings, Gail noticed it, lying there.
Mocking her.

That farmhouse photo.

That was all she needed to see.

Suddenly, it was like her strength, her confidence, her will drained
out of her, and lay in a pool at her feet, where it shimmered and
laughed.

"There's no stopping it."

 And her soul corrected her: "Yes, there is."

 Again, Gail loaded her bag, stopping around the house to collect 
bits and pieces from drawers and cupboards. She grabbed the 
car keys and headed out the door, with purpose. She started 
the motor and drove away.

	            THE END

[Disclaimer: Any Story/Episode that is a part of Virtual AG Season 
Two is based upon the Television show "American Gothic", Which 
is the property of Shaun Cassidy, Renaissance Productions and 
CBS... the characters and storylines added to support this concept 
are the property of the writers acknowledged as such, PLEASE 
DON'T SUE US!]