Chapter Eight. Waiting for Count Dracula
Dr Seward's diary (continued) – 11th October
Mina and Jonathan talked to all of us today. Mina doesn't want to hurt anyone. She wants us to kill her, if she becomes dangerous. The professor knows this is wrong. If Mina dies now, she'll be Un-dead. We know from Lucy that the Un-dead are very dangerous. We must make sure Mina stays alive. That's the only way to save her and to save other people.
After lunch, we're going to the chapel in the big house. We're going to destroy the boxes there. We must do this during the day. We'll all be safe until the sun goes down.
Later
Before we went to the big house, the professor touched each person's head with a cross and prayed. When he touched Mina's head, she screamed. The cross made a mark on her head. Then, like last night, again she said, ‘I'm unclean. I'm unclean.' She was in terrible pain.
We put her to bed and told her to stay there for the afternoon. She agreed. Then we went to the big house. We all had our garlic and our crosses. We used the skeleton keys again. One by one, we opened the boxes. We put some garlic into each box and we made the sign of the cross in the earth. Then we closed the boxes again. We did this over and over again. Now the boxes are sterile. They're useless to the count. The great house, here in Carfax, is now safe. Tomorrow, we're going to London. We're going to visit all of Count Dracula's new houses. We're going to do the same thing with all the other boxes. We're going to destroy him and his houses.
12th October
Mina said goodbye to us and we went to the station. She's better today, but there's still a mark on her head. The professor had his skeleton keys. We went to the first house in London. The professor unlocked the door and we went inside. The smell was horrible. It smelled of death and dying. We looked around the house. We found eight boxes. One box was missing! We also found a lot of keys: the keys to the other houses. In one room, we found letters with addresses: the addresses for the count's other houses. Quincey and Arthur went away with the keys. They went to sterilise the boxes in the other houses. The professor, Arthur and I stayed in the first house. We waited for Count Dracula. We waited to surprise him. We waited to kill him.
It seemed like a long time. Then we heard a sound at the door. All three of us held our crosses and our garlic. We were ready to attack. The door opened, but it was Quincey and Arthur. They were very pleased. All the boxes are now safely full of garlic. Each box has the sign of the cross in it. The boxes are sterile! We're winning!
All five of us now waited in the dark. We waited for the count. Finally, there was a noise at the door. It was the count. He ran into the room. His eyes were red and angry. He came towards us, ready to attack. But we were all ready, too. We ran towards him with our garlic and our crosses. He shouted at us, ‘I'm going to kill you all!'
Then, for a moment, he looked frightened. He saw the crosses and he ran to the window. He jumped out and ran away.
We went back to the station and came back here to Carfax. We didn't want to leave Mina alone after dark. Our work in London is done. But, where has the count gone now? We need to talk to Mina. The count often visited her in the hospital. Mina is the key. In some way, her head is linked with the count's head, in the same way that Renfield had links with the count. The professor says Mina will help us find the count. The professor wants to hypnotise her. He says he can find out a lot about the count from her. I think it's a good idea. Mina thinks it's a good idea, too. She knows she can tell us a lot. With the count away from the great house, Mina's looking better.
13th October
Now we know! The professor hypnotised Mina today. In her sleep, she told us about the count. Like Renfield, in part, Mina is under the count's control. Count Dracula has a plan to escape. He's going to escape on a ship. He's going to go to Varna, a city on the Black Sea. Then he's going to go back to his castle. Perhaps we can stop him before his ship leaves. We must destroy him!
Jonathan and I went to the port. Unfortunately, a ship left for Varna this afternoon. We asked the port officer about the passengers. There weren't very many people on the ship. Jonathan described the count. Yes, the count was one of the passengers.
We went back to the hospital in Carfax. We made a plan. We're going to follow the count. We're going to travel on land as much as possible. Travelling on land is quicker than travelling by ship. We can get to Varna before the count's ship. We can wait for him at the port in Varna. Then, we can attack him and kill him.
14th October
Mina's changing. We're all worried about her. Just like Renfield, in the daytime, she's free and happy. At night, she's pale and weak. We must be careful to watch her. We mustn't leave her alone. But Mina is a very brave lady. She knows she's changing. She wants us to be safe. She thinks she's communicating with Dracula in her sleep. She thinks she can help us.
Dr Seward's diary (continued) – 4th January
We've done it. Count Dracula is dead! We've destroyed him.
It was a long journey to Varna. We waited there for a week. The ship didn't arrive. We asked at the port office. At first, no-one had any news for us. Then we heard that the count's ship was in Galatz. He wasn't coming to Varna. We couldn't believe it. How did he know we were in Varna? Was it Mina? Was she still communicating with him? The professor hypnotised her again. She gave us some important information. The count was going home. She could see him; he was travelling by boat.
Quickly, we made a plan. We decided to go to the castle in 3 pairs. Arthur and Jonathan went by boat on the River Danube. Quincey and I went on horses. Mina and the professor went by train and then by coach.
Mina and the professor reached the castle first. It was snowing and it was very cold. It was getting dark and the count wasn't there.
They made beds for themselves in the dining room. The professor made a circle of earth around Mina's bed. He touched it with his cross. Then he put garlic all around the circle. That night, three women visited Mina and the professor. The women tried to get into the dining room. They wanted Mina to go with them. They wanted to drink the professor's blood.
The following day, the professor went to the chapel. He destroyed the three women. He sterilised the count's box with the cross and the garlic. Then, Quincey and I arrived. Mina and the professor were still waiting for the count. Then, in the distance, we saw his coach: the huge black horses and the strange blue lights. There were two men on horses behind him. They were Arthur and Jonathan!
The count arrived at the castle and went to the chapel. We all ran into the chapel behind him. He screamed when he saw his box. He turned towards us, his red eyes full of hate. Quincey ran towards him, but the count was too fast. The count killed Quincey. Jonathan quickly attacked the count and cut his throat. He hammered a stake through the count's heart. The screaming was terrible. Then, strangely, the count's face was calm. He smiled for a moment. Count Dracula was dead.
All the events of the last 6 months seem like a distant memory. Mina is well again, so is Jonathan. The professor is back in Holland. And Arthur is learning to live life without dear Lucy.
In the spring, we're all going to meet again. It'll be sad to be together, without Quincey. But it'll be good to see everyone else again.
