Dracula (Can You Survive)

by Ryan Jacobson

  As you rush into the room, the Count turns his face. His eyes flame, and his sharp teeth clamp together like those of a wild beast. He throws his victim back and springs at you.

  The Professor thrusts a Communion Wafer forward. The Count suddenly stops and cowers away. You lift your crucifix and advance. Your enemy slinks further and further back.

  Suddenly, the moonlight disappears as a black cloud sails across the sky. Quincey lights a gaslight, but the Count is gone. You see nothing but a faint vapor.

  Mina draws in her breath and lets out a wild scream. For a few seconds, she lies helpless. You and Van Helsing rush to her side. Her face is ghastly, and her eyes are mad with terror. Then she puts her face into her hands, and she begins to cry.

  She stretches out her arms to you, to embrace you. Instantly, however, she draws them in again.

  You start toward her, but Arthur stops you. “No,” he says. “She drank his blood. She is a vampire.”

  Dr. Seward and Quincey grab Mina gently and begin leading her out of the room.

  “We must do for her,” says Arthur, “what we did for Lucy.”

  Can it be true? Do your friends intend to take Mina away from you forever? Or are they doing you a favor? You saw with your own eyes. She drank the vampire’s blood. She is contaminated! You can allow them to destroy her, so you and the others will be safe from the vampire within her. Or else you can stop them from harming your wife, no matter the consequences. What will you choose to do?

  Let them proceed.

  Stop them.

  You stand in stunned silence, watching as Seward and Quincey lead Mina away. The Professor places his hand upon your shoulder, but you barely notice. You are numb, empty, without emotion. Your mind is too afraid to imagine the horrors going on within the next room.

  At last, Seward and Quincey return without your wife, and Quincey says, “It is done.”

  Suddenly, the moment becomes real again. You feel your heart break, and you scream in anguish. You collapse to the floor, and your friends surround you.

  For a time, the mission is forgotten. But eventually Van Helsing turns toward you and addresses the group. “All we can do for now is done. But we need not despair. There is just one more box. When that is taken care of, all may yet be well.”

  You clench your teeth and almost growl. When you speak, you speak with venom, “All may yet be well? No, all will never be well again!” With that said, you storm out of the room.

  Many days pass. You slowly grow used to your quiet life alone. You begin to hope that you will never hear the name “Count Dracula” again. Those hopes are shattered when a servant bursts into your sitting room.

  She looks into your face and sobs, “Oh, Mr. Harker, it is a terrible, terrible day!”

  “What has happened?” you ask.

  “Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris, Dr. Seward, and that kind Professor—they have all been killed!”

  A lump forms in your throat. It grows and grows until you can no longer contain it. It forces its way out of your mouth as a desperate cry. “No!”

  You did not know those men well. But you shared a common enemy, and your hopes rested with them. You prayed that they would succeed in destroying the Count without you. But they failed.

  Would they still be alive if you had helped them? Will the Count be coming for you now? These questions will haunt you for the rest of your life. Without Mina—and because of your worries—you will never again know peace.

  Try again.

  Mina is your wife. You cannot allow this to happen. You beat your hands wildly together. “Dr. Van Helsing, save her. It cannot have gone too far yet!”

  The Professor holds up his golden crucifix and says with wonderful calmness, “Do not fear. While this cross is close to Mina, no foul thing can approach. She is safe for tonight, and we must be calm.”

  Mina seizes hold of you, her expression frantic. She pulls you down to the bedside and clings to you. You hold her in your arms while she sobs.

  You look at your friends. Your eyes blink damply; your mouth sets as steel. “We must work tomorrow,” you say through shut teeth.

  “Yes, we must,” Van Helsing replies. “Mina’s only hope is the destruction of Count Dracula. In time, she will become as he is—unless we can finish the Count before it is too late. It is her only cure.”

  He turns to your wife and says, “Until the other is true dead, you must not die. You must struggle and strive to live. You must fight Death himself. By the day or the night, in safety or in peril! On your living soul I charge you that you do not die.”

  Mina grows white as death. She shakes and shivers. She remains silent and eventually calms. She holds out her hand to the Professor and says sweetly but sadly, “I promise you, my dear friend, that if God will let me live, I shall do so.”

  “Thank you,” Van Helsing says to Mina. Then he turns toward you and addresses the group. “All we can do for now is done. But we need not despair. There is just one more box. When that is taken care of, all may yet be well.”

  11. Mina’s Misery

  Another day passes, and still one box of dirt remains. The Count alone knows where it is. If he chooses to lie hidden, he may do so for years. And in the meantime—the thought is too horrible; you dare not think it.

  Van Helsing, who was off on an errand, hurries into your room. As if reading your mind, he announces, “Our enemy has gone away. I am sure of it. He is on his way back to his castle in Transylvania. His last box was ready to ship. He found a boat going by the route he came, and he got in it. We must find that ship.”

  The news that the Count is out of the country gives Mina comfort. Now that his horrible danger is not face to face, it seems almost impossible for you to believe in it. Even your own terrible experience in Castle Dracula seems like a dream.

  Mina says, “Perhaps we are all the tools of ultimate good.” Yet she asks again, “Is it really necessary that we should pursue the Count?” She dreads that anything should happen to you.

  “Yes, it is,” you tell her. “For your sake and for the sake of humanity. This monster has done much harm. He infected you, and in time, death shall make you like him. This must not be!”

  Days go by, and Mina falls more and more silent. You and the others meet in Dr. Seward’s study, and you share your fear that Mina is becoming secretive. You know that she forms ideas of her own, but she will not—or cannot—share them. You suppose it is that horrid poison in her veins beginning to work.

  The Count had his own purposes when he gave her his blood. You suspect a terrible danger in the work before you. The same power that keeps Mina silent may also control her speech. She could, some day soon, lead you into a trap!

  Worse yet, Dr. Van Helsing confirms your greatest fears. “Our poor, dear Mina is changing. I can see the signs of the vampire coming in her face. Her teeth are sharper, and her eyes are harder. Her mind and the Count’s mind are linked. If we hypnotize her, she can tell what the Count sees and hears. I suspect that our enemy can do the same, forcing her to share with him what she knows of us.”

  You nod, forcing back a shudder.

  He goes on. “We must keep our plans secret, so she cannot betray us.” He wipes his forehead, obviously hurt by his own accusation.

  You do your best to comfort him by telling him that you agree. Then, without Mina, you go into your plan of attack.

  Van Helsing puts the facts before you. “The Count’s ship left the Thames yesterday morning. It will take him at least three weeks to reach Varna. We can travel by land to the same place in three days. We must leave here on the 17th at latest. Then we shall be in Varna at least a day before the ship arrives. Of course we shall all go armed against evil things, spiritual as well as physical.”

  “There is no need to wait until the 17th,” you say. “Tonight and tomor
row we can get ready. And then we can set out on our journey.”

  You have come to realize that sunrise and sunset are Mina’s times of freedom—when she can be her old self without any force controlling her. Tonight, you sit beside her on the sofa while the others bring chairs close.

  “We are all here together in freedom, for perhaps the last time,” she says. “In the morning we go out upon our task, and God alone knows what may be in store for any of us. There is a poison in my blood, in my soul, which may destroy me. Oh, my friends, you know as well as I do that my soul is at stake. But there is hope before us and a bitter task to be done.”

  Later, in the heart of night, Mina awakes you from a dreamless sleep. “Jonathan, I sense him! The Count, he is near!”

  You bolt upright in bed. “The Count? Where?”

  “Outside,” she tells you, “hiding in the alley. You must gather the others, Jonathan. This is our chance!”

  You jump out of bed and quickly begin to dress. But you remember your earlier thoughts about Mina. The same power that keeps her silent may also control her speech. She could be leading you into a trap. And yet, if she is being truthful, this is your opportunity. You could end this madness, once and for all. You may never get another chance. Should you trust your wife and lead the others into battle? Or should you stay inside? What will you choose to do?

  Investigate the alley.

  Remain inside.

  One by one, you awaken the others. You tell each of them in turn, “The Count is outside. Our moment of victory has arrived.”

  You gather at the door, armed with crucifixes and stakes, protected by wafers and strands of garlic.

  “Mina senses him in the alley,” you say. “We must move swiftly.”

  The four of you charge outside and into the alley. You extend your crucifix in one hand, while clutching your wooden stake in the other. You are finally prepared to put an end to the Count’s evil reign.

  But it is not the Count you find, hiding within the alley. Instead, you encounter no less than nine of the Count’s gypsies.

  “It’s a trap!” exclaims the Professor.

  Too late, you realize that he is right. The gypsy men surround you, and each of them wields a sword. Your weapons—intended for a vampire—are useless against the Count’s servants.

  “Mina, what have you done?” you gasp.

  “Do not blame her,” says Arthur. “She is no more at fault than poor Lucy was for her deeds.”

  His words reassure you for a moment, but they also carry a terrible reminder—one that fills you with dread. If this is to be your last stand, if this moment marks the end of your life, then Mina is destined to become as Lucy was. She will be the same as those three monsters at Castle Dracula.

  The thought propels you into action, but the gypsies’ swords are too much to overcome. You dodge one, but a second pierces your stomach. There is a sharp pain, and all of your strength seems to flow from you. You collapse to the ground. Your vision blurs, but you still manage to glimpse another blade falling toward you. And then there is nothing.

  Try again.

  You rush out of the bedroom, but you do not go outside. Instead, you remain awake for the rest of the night, on guard against the Count—and your wife.

  In the morning, Mina seems to have no memory of your last conversation.

  You and the others leave England and arrive in Paris. You continue your travels night and day. Throughout the journey, Mina sleeps nearly all the time. Before sunrise and sunset, however, she is very alert. It becomes a habit for Van Helsing to hypnotize her at such times. She seems to yield at once, and Van Helsing always asks what she can see and hear.

  She answers to the first, “Nothing, all is dark.” And to the second, “I can hear the waves lapping against the ship and the water rushing by.”

  So Dracula’s boat is still at sea, on its way to Varna.

  “Our best chance will be to get onto his boat in daylight,” says Van Helsing. “The Count, even if he takes the form of a bat, cannot cross running water on his own, so he cannot leave the ship. If we can come on board after sunrise, he is at our mercy.”

  You travel by train from Varna to Galatz. Mina again prepares herself to be hypnotized. It takes more serious effort on the part of Van Helsing, but she eventually sinks into a trance.

  The Professor asks her his usual questions, to which Mina responds, “There are no waves lapping, but only a steady swirl of water softly running. I can hear men’s voices calling and the creak of oars. There is a gleam of light. I can feel the air blowing upon me.” She raises both her hands, palms upwards, as if lifting a weight.

  Van Helsing and Dr. Seward look at each other with understanding. There is a long pause.

  Suddenly Mina sits up. She opens her eyes and says sweetly, “Would anyone like a cup of tea? You must all be so tired.” With that, she bustles off.

  When she has gone, Van Helsing says, “He is close to land but has yet to get on shore. We may yet arrive in time.”

  Sunrise and sunset come and go. Mina yields to the hypnotic influence even less easily than before. You fear that her power of reading the Count’s thoughts may die away, just when you need it most.

  When she does speak, her words are vague. “Something is going out. I can feel it pass me like a cold wind. I can hear men talking in strange languages, falling water, and the howling of wolves.”

  After that, she says no more, not even in answer to Van Helsing’s questions. When she awakens from the trance, she is cold and exhausted.

  The whistles sound. You are nearing Galatz. You are on fire with anxiety and eagerness. Things are getting quite desperate.

  12. In Pursuit of the Count

  Count Dracula’s problem remains how to return to his own place. He must still be taken back by someone because he is helpless between dawn and sunset; he must remain in his wooden box. How is he to travel? By road, by train, or by boat?

  By road, there are endless problems for him. By train, there is no one in charge of the box. It would have to risk being delayed, lost, or sent to the wrong place. By boat, he risks shipwreck, which would indeed kill him.

  Yet, all in all, travel by water seems his safest bet. Your enemy is at his most helpless, and if you can come to him by day, on the water, your task will be over.

  “Now men, to our Council of War,” you say. “We must plan what each shall do.”

  Arthur says, “I’ll get a steamboat to follow him.”

  “And I shall get horses to follow on the bank, in case he docks,” says Quincey.

  “Good!” exclaims Van Helsing. “Both good. But neither must go alone. Dracula will have his defenses. He has his gypsy followers.”

  Quincey smiles. He says, “I brought Winchester rifles. They are pretty handy in a crowd, and there may be wolves.”

  “I had better go with Quincey,” says Dr. Seward. “We have hunted together, and we will be a match for whatever may come along.” Then he looks at Arthur. “You must not go alone. We cannot take any chances. We must not rest until the Count has been defeated.”

  You look at Mina, your heart torn. Of course, you wish to be with her. But you wonder if you may be needed elsewhere. Should you stay with her, or should you trust Van Helsing to protect her? Should you go with Arthur, or is it wiser to send the Professor? Each of you has a part to play. You must decide where you are needed. What will you choose to do?

  Leave with Arthur.

  Stay with Mina.

  You make your decision. Before anyone else can speak, you say, “I will stay with Mina. The Professor can join Arthur.”

  “Friend Jonathan,” says Dr. Van Helsing. “You are young and brave and can fight. All energies may be needed. Besides, it is your right to destroy him who has caused such pain to you and yours.”

  “
I’m sorry, Professor, but my decision is made,” you answer. “I will not leave Mina.”

  Weapons are given to everyone. Arthur uses his riches to secure a steamboat. Quincey uses his wealth to buy half a dozen good horses.

  You say goodbye to your valiant friends. There must be no tears, though, unless they are tears of victory. Then you and your beloved Mina leave by the 11:40 train, on your way back home.

  Many days pass without incident. Mina’s condition seems to improve. Your friends must’ve been successful. You begin to hope that you will never hear the name “Count Dracula” again. Those hopes are shattered when Mina bursts into your sitting room and faints.

  You leap from your chair and hurry to her side. You squeeze her hand as she slowly awakens. When her eyes regain their focus, she looks into your face and sobs, “Oh, Jonathan, it is a terrible, terrible day!”

  You touch the side of her face, wiping away her tears. “What has happened?”

  “Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris, Dr. Seward, and that kind Professor—they have all been killed!”

  A lump forms in your throat. It grows and grows until you can no longer contain it. It forces its way out of your mouth as a desperate cry. “No!”

  Your hopes rested with those men. You prayed that they would succeed in destroying the Count without you. But they failed.

  Would they still be alive if you had helped them? Will the Count be coming for you now? Worse yet, how much longer before Mina becomes a vampire? And what will you do when she turns? These questions will haunt you for the rest of your life, and because of your worries, you will never again know peace.