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"That's the estate of an evil woman! They say she's a vampire that drinks blood at midnight! Her name is Lisilee, the bloodsucking vampire!" ~Teddy
Our blood curdling story begins one peaceful day in Avonlea while Andrew and Felicity are showing their new friend Lily around town. Little do they know the terrifying horrors that await them...
"Come on, let's go see Avonlea," Andrew said while holding the door for Felicity and Lily. "How about if we start with a stroll by the school?" Andrew suggested.
Lily slid out the door smiling. "I would love to start anyplace. But the school sounds perfect at the moment." She said looking at Andrew and smiling.
Felicity took off her apron and headed outside. "School," she mused to herself. "I can think of a few interesting things that have happened there over the years." She thought of the spelling bee that Felix won (and her own threat to Andrew with the "magic" cookies); the classes with Professor Dimple--which she could now laugh about as opposed to then, when she was dead against it; the first days with Clive Pettibone as a teacher; the first day Gus came to school...the list went on and on.
Andrew, Lily and Felicity walked past the blacksmith shop and across the field. In a few short moments they reached the schoolyard.
"Boy, this sure brings back memories Felicity," Andrew said. "Remember the time we dropped frog face Sally Potts into the pond. Come on Lily, I'll show you where the pond is."
Lily giggled. "Really?"
Felicity laughed. "She was just covered in leeches!" She then told Lily what had happened with the Magic Lantern Show, with Sara telling the story of 'The Little Match Girl,' and Sally's childish prank which caused the town hall to go up in flames.
"Ohh that must have been terrible. A good cause and everything go up in flames." Lily stated.
As they approached the pond, Andrew heard some voices in the woods. "Hey, come on let's go check it out," he told the girls.
Teddy noticed them approaching and turned to Gus. "Hey Gus, hide the bottle, here comes Felicity!"
"Hello, everyone," Felicity said. She noticed the bottle in Gus's hands. "What's in the bottle, Gus?"
"It's rum," Gus said plainly with shame, "ah ain't too proud of it either."
"Gus!" Teddy whispered, "you should have told her it was syrup!"
"What would ah be doin' with syrup out in the middle of the woods?" Gus asked the boy.
"Hi." Felix told his sister flatly.
"Hello there Andrew, Felicity," Gus said, "and who may this be?"
"Gus, this is Lily," Andrew said. "She will be staying in Avonlea and visiting our family while her father is in Africa."
"Nice ta meet ya there Lily."
"Hello Gus." Lily said. "It is nice to meet you."
* * * * *
Kyle had followed Izzy, Felix, and Teddy to where Gus was, and let them speak their minds. He nodded his head in agreement, here and there, and looked confused when Morgan tried a pity act. Later, when they noticed Felicity, Andrew, and some new girl heading their way, Kyle hung back. For one, he didn't want to get into the cross fire of Felicity if she found out Gus had a bit to drink, and two, he knew where the group was positioned. Long time ago, on hikes with his cousin, they came across an abandoned house that was supposedly haunted. On a dare, he climbed into an open window and walked through it. He was scared to death, but halfway through the house, he realized it wasn't haunted; it just needed a good cleaning. Looking around him, Kyle got an idea. He thought he'd scare everyone. 'They haven't noticed I'm missing yet, so it's a great opportunity,' he thought to himself.
So, Kyle snuck around them, through the woods and waited for them to come closer to the house. As he did so, he gathered a few things that would make for great camouflage.
* * * * *
Teddy suddenly looked up a tangled hill and gasped in terror. "Oh no!" he said while noticing a large estate in the distance, barely visible above the tree line.
"What's wrong Teddy?" Gus said.
"Oh Gus," Teddy said with wide eyes, "you don't want to know. That's the estate of an evil woman! They say she's a vampire that drinks blood at midnight! Her name is Lisilee, the bloodsucking vampire!"
"Ah Teddy," Gus laughed, "that must be just an old folk tale."
"Nobody lives there anymore, Teddy," Felicity mused. "It's an old wives tale."
"Avonlea's got plenty of them." Felix muttered, remembering the Lloyd house.
"Felix dear," Felicity said, "you don't need to remind us about what happened with you and Sara at the old Lloyd mansion."
"Then I won't dearest sister!" Felix replied.
"If it's a folk tale, then why don't you go up there," Morgan told Gus while stepping out of the underbrush. "I dare you!"
"Morgan, what's your problem?" Felicity wondered.
"My problem? Let me give you a few clues." (Counts with fingers) Sails in the sunset. Minnie May Barry. My sister and someone who I thought was my best friend! That's my problem."
"That was just a dream Morgan! You can't blame Minnie May Barry and Izzy for a dumb dream you had!" returned Teddy.
"You don't want to know," replied Izzy. She then turned to her brother. "We'll all go if you go!"
"Y-You mean I could actually join you all?" Morgan said with surprise.
"You heard Iz," Teddy replied.
"And no, Felix King," Felicity jumped in, "No stories about how you once thought you were a vampire like Dracula."
Felix glared at his sister. "I wasn't going to say anything, sister of mine, but don't worry, I won't say anything about *your* face when I told you I wanted your blood."
"I'm just thankful you're not a vampire, Felix King," Felicity mused. She then looked at Lily and added, "I'm surprised Andrew didn't introduce them earlier. This is my brother Felix; his best friend Izzy Pettibone, her brother Morgan; and their friend Teddy MacPherson. This is Lily Taylor; she's staying at the hotel. Andrew and I were showing her around Avonlea. Believe me, none of you want to go into that house. There's no such thing as vampires." She also gave Felix an evil eye. "And besides, that house has been deserted since goodness-knows-when."
"Hi Lily, join the gang," Teddy welcomed the new girl.
"Nice to meet you." Felix said. "And I'm NOT a vampire, but if I were I wouldn't eat my sister's blood, it's too sour."
"And I wouldn't want you sucking on it, either, Felix dear," was Felicity's sarcastic reply. "I might have gotten blood poisoning from your dirty fangs."
Felix gave her a cocky grin. "More likely, it's the other way around, Felicity *darling*"
"I am sure your not." Lily replied smiling. "One time while I was staying in Scotland there was known to be a haunted house. I was scared to death of it." Lily told them.
"Lily, there is no such thing as haunted houses," replied Felicity. "They're just old wives tales made up to scare children."
Felix shrugged, "Something can be haunted if people make it out to be. Look at the woods, it scares half of Avonlea since Anne Shirley said it was haunted!"
"I'm still game," returned Izzy. "I'll go if Morgan goes." She looked to see if the others would agree with her.
"What have we got to lose?" Felix asked.
"Nothing!" Felicity jumped back in.
"See? Absolutely nothing. Let's go!" Izzy urged. Before she could get far...
Peter Craig had just arrived back in Avonlea from visiting his mother. He had to live on his own for a few more months while his mother found a new job. He walked into a bunch of people in the woods and immediatly noticed Felix King. "Hello Felix." Peter said smiling.
"Hello Peter," Felicity greeted before giving Felix a chance. She introduced him to Lily.
"Hello Peter," Felix answered, I'm glad you met 'Felix'." he made a face at Felicity.
"Well, are we going to go into the old house or what?" Izzy was losing her patience.
"By all means!" Felix answered. "Lets go!"
Kyle watched as the group drew nearer to the house, still debating on entering. 'I'll follow them in,' he decided to himself. 'They'll never suspect it's me, and they'll think it's a ghost! This'll be great!' he thought as a mischievous smile crossed his face. He kept a close eye on all of them as they reluntantly made their way for the house.
"Sheesh, if you don't all shut up, that vampires going to hear us," Morgan retorted. "It's a wonder we haven't woken up every blood sucker in the woods with all your big mouths."
"Watch yer manners," Gus scornfully told Morgan.
"Sorry," Morgan said and then picked up a stick from the underbrush. "Before we enter the house, you each need to know the basics on how to defend yourselves against vampires." He held up the stick. "Lesson one. To properly kill a vampire, who is of the blood sucking type as Lisilee, you have to stab her through the heart with a stake!"
"We know that already," Gus said. "Just go!"
"Yeah, I double dog dare you!" Teddy said.
"Fine," Morgan said. "I'll go first and then tell you all when the coast is clear."
Before they could reply, Morgan ran up the hill and past the old iron gate of the estate. Soon, he disappeared into the dark manner and after a few moments, they heard a yell. "Aaaaarghhh!"
"Oh no!" Teddy said, "Lisilee got Morgan!"
"Great," Izzy said. "Now I suppose we should go in after him. Come on..." Izzy led the way.
"Ah'm right with ya," Gus said and followed the brave Pettibone soldier girl.
"Izzy, I have an idea," Teddy said while finding two sticks. He cut the edges in a sharp manner with his scout knife and handed one of the stakes to Izzy and kept the other for himself. "Iz, If were going to fight vampires, we might as well go in armed."
"Good idea." Izzy took the stake in her hand and continued toward the house.
Meanwhile, Felicity gave Felix another evil eye, as if to say, "No trickery, Felix King!"
"...the reason why nobody can prove Lisilee is real is because no one has lived to tell the frightful tale!" -Teddy
Juliet Woodhouse and her Nan approached the the new "Woodhouse Estate." With glee, Juliet peered at it through the window of the carrage. When they reached the big golden gates they noticed that they had been opened. "Mmm." mumbled Nan.
They went through the gates and pulled up to the big house. "Well it certanily will need some cleaning done to it..." Nan commented.
Juliet giggled at the house. "I am sure I will be happy here."
Their driver came and opened the door to their carriage and gently helped them out. Juliet was sixteen and looked a bit younger. Her brown hair was up in a very playful up-do with daisys woven in. Her long white dress dragged along the dirt on her way into the house. Nan quickly followed behind. "Do not get your dress dirty child."
"I wonder when mama and papa shall arive to see our new home?" She wondered aloud as she peered at the grand opening of the home.
Cobwebs were all over the corners of the ceiling. "This will definitly need some cleaning." Nan commented.
* * * * *
Lily walked into the house following. "I am sure it is not haunted." Lily commented.
"There isn't any such things as ghosts," Andrew replied. "Ghosts are the result of visual and auditory hallucinations people often experience during states of emotional trauma. But there is a case of human vampirism in Transylvania in the sixteenth century concerning a woman named Madame Bathoria. While it's impossible to morph into a bat, I know that there are people like Lisilee who like to suck blood and eat children."
"Lily never implied that there were ghosts in that house, Andrew King," Felicity told her cousin. "You are right, though; there are no such things as ghosts and spooks."
"Stop it Andrew!" Teddy said while holding the stake out toward the dark shadows. "It's giving me the creeps."
"Really, Andrew," added Izzy. "You don't want to scare the bejeepers out of us, do you?"
Kyle Blythe, from where he stood in the woods, froze when he heard the yell. He gulped, wondering if the place really was haunted. Gathering what wits were left, Kyle decided to chalk it up, and headed for the house quietly. A twig snapped under a couple of his steps. 'So much for sneaking towards the house quietly!' he thought.
Standing in front of a side window on the wrap around porch, where the group couldn't see him, Kyle decided to enter the manner. Creeping past and through rooms, brushing away cobwebs, Kyle started looking for Morgan. He soon found him in the dark parlor. "Morgan!" he whispered loudly. "Are you alright? It's me, Kyle Blythe."
"Aaaargh!" Morgan shouted again. "Kyle Blythe! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Morgan griped. "What are you doing here? Don't you know that an evil vampire named Lisilee stalks these premesis? I only came in here to challenge a bet from my obnoxious sister's friends; but now that I have seen how creepy this place is, I say we get out of here!" He began to walk toward the door. Suddenly, a trap door opened with a creek and Morgan slipped through the floor, disappearing into the dark abyss.
"I heard that," Izzy said. She froze for a moment, then collected herself. "Come on, and be careful where you step." She entered the house.
* * * * *
Juliet and her Nan had already journeyed into the house and were looking about. Juliet looked at the faded pictures on the wall and something sticky went across her face. She screamed as load as she could and wiped the spider webs off of her face. "Are you okay child?" Nan asked her worried.
"Just spiderwebs." She said shuddering.
* * * * *
Lily heard the scream and grabbed Andrew's arm. "Who was that?" Lily asked, now scared out of her wits.
"Who do you think it was?" Teddy said fearfully, "it was Lisilee, the blood sucking vampire, feasting on her latest victim's blood!"
"Don't worry Lily, the only thing in this house that is dangerous is its condemnable status."
"Be careful y'all," Gus cautioned. "This house is falling apart as we speak. Gus held Felicity's hand and whispered, "ya better stay close ta me."
Felicity and Izzy perked up. "Yes, who was that?" Felicity mused.
"Come on, you guys. We need to find out who was screaming. Let's find some lanterns and check it out." Izzy looked around in the house.
Lily followed Izzy and Felicity. "I hope no one is in danger.." Lily stated.
Felix hadn't said anything, mostly because he couldn't get a word in edgewise. Privately, he found the adventure rather amusing, although he did jump when he heard screaming. His fingers hit on something...it felt like human skin. He yelped in suprise.
"Is someone there?" He questioned.
"It's just me," Andrew said, "I was looking for some candles." He found a small candle and lit it with a match from his tinderbox. Andrew wandered into a parlor room and saw a large book case. "Wow, look at this! Whoever owned this house had all the great horror classics." He beamed at the books on the dusty shelf. "They had Bramstroker's 'Dracula!, Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and 'U.S. President Milliard Fillmore's Autobiography!'
"Now, Andrew," Felicity said jokingly, "let's not remind dear Felix about 'Dracula.'" She flashed her brother a smile.
Andrew reached for a book when suddenly, the book case revolved, pushing him behind the dark wall. "Hey!" He yelled and disappeared.
"Hey, where did Andrew go?" Teddy wondered.
Lily ran over to the bookcase and started touching books like Andrew was. "Andrew?" She yelled through the bookcase. "Can you hear me?!"
"Maybe Lisilee got him!" Izzy replied. "And she's going to stick her bloody fangs into his arm and bite into him, like a chicken leg."
"Izzy, not you too," Felicity said, exasperated. "Let's just find Andrew and Morgan and get out of here."
* * * * *
Juliet heard talking. "Nan, do you hear that?" she asked, gripping onto her Nan's arm. "Could the house be haunted?"
"Nonsense. There is no such things as ghosts. You have been reading too many books filling your head with frivilous notions." Nan scolded, while her expression remained soft.
"Oh Nan, I am so grateful you are here."
She lit some of the candles in the halls with matches that she had hidden in her pocket. Juliet let go of Nan and peered around the corner to see figures bustling around. "Nan, I will be over here for a moment," she said, grabbing one candle and moving towards the objects.
Juliet walked down the hallway and noticed a door. "Nan!" Juliet called.
Nan came shuffling down to where she was in the next hallway. "Look at all these doors." Juliet said a chill going through her.
"Well lets not go here quite yet. Goodness knows all the dangerous things in this house must be repaired." Nan said taking hold of Juliet's hand.
Romeo and Buttercup had excaped from the carrage and ran inside the house to find their Juliet. Romeo sniffed the ground and followed the scent. He managed to find the parlor Buttercup following. The dogs managed to sniff every person in the room.
Felicity and Izzy looked down and saw the dogs. "Well, hello there," Felicity said as she bent down. "Are you checking us all out?"
Juliet walked into the parlor and saw kids standing around. She screamed. "Could they all be ghosts?" She thought to herself.
Lily looked over at the scream still fiddiling with the bookcase. She notced her cousin standing in the parlor. "Juliet?" Lily said filling with amazement at her cousins arrival. But before she could go over there the bookcase swept her in and she was behind the wall. "Andrew?" She said, with tears coming to her eyes.
Izzy inched her way to the bookcase. "Andrew?" she called. She then got aggressive and added, "Whoever got him and my brother Morgan, come out and show yourself!"
Juliet ran out of the parlor. "Surley my worst fears are coming true." Juliet said under her breath. Finding Nan again. But her Nan was no where in site. "Maybe the people in the parlor are alive?" She thought taking the chance of finding out.
Juliet walked back to the parlor and unknowing walked to Felicity and touched her.
Felicity let out a yelp and turned around. "Aaaah!" she freaked out. "Who are you?"
"You're real," mused Juliet, not answering Felicity's question. "OH thank the Lord."
"Of course I'm real," Felicity said. "All of us in here are real, unlike that blasted vampire Lisilee!"
"Oh thank the Lord... I was most scared by your presence." Juliet said calming down. "Who is Lisilee?" Juliet asked raising her eyebrows. 'Then Lily must have been real,' she thought.
"She's a vampire," Izzy replied in a dramatic tone, "who likes to suck the blood out of people. Rumour has it she lives here in this house."
"Izzy, you don't believe that old wives tale, do you?" Felicity asked. "It's just an urban legend created to scare vulnerable children."
Juliet raised her eyebrows at Izzy's comment. "Oh a vampire. Well as long as you wear garlic you will be cured from that." Juliet said giggling. "My name is Juliet Woodhouse and I am moving into this house once it is safe from all the disaster it is upon at the present moment. I am from England."
"Ah can vouch fer that," Gus said, "ah can't tell ya how many tall tales ah heard out at sea."
"Izzy's right," Teddy exclaimed, "the reason why nobody can prove Lisilee is real, is because no one has lived to tell the frightful tale!"
"We best be careful," Izzy said.
"Ya done it now Andrew King... ya don't want to git Felicity on yer bad side." ~Gus Pike
Cecily King and Clemmie Ray walked along the road talking about this and that when they came across Peter Craig.
"Hello Peter. Welcome back to Avonlea." Cecily said smiling. "What have you been doing?"
"Well I was planning to go in that house and see if everyone is all right. They haven't come out for a while now." Peter told them. "I am going to see if anyone is hurt. That old house is falling apart."
"Can we come along?" Cecily asked.
Clemmie looked sort of scared. "I heard it is haunted." Clemmie said.
"No such things as ghosts." Peter said starting to walk.
Cecily and Clemmie followed behind him. When they reached the house the door creaked open and they stepped in. "You guys?" Peter said loudly.
"I hear some talking coming for that way." Cecily said pointing toward the parlor. They all walked that way and saw everyone standing in the parlor. "Hello." Cecily, Peter and Clemmie said together.
Felicity and Izzy swung around. "Cecily!" Felicity exclaimed. "Peter! Clemmie! What are you all doing here?"
"Well I was coming in here to check on you all. And Cecily and Clemmie were on a walk and joined me." Peter said.
"Who are you?" Cecily asked Juliet.
Juliet smiled at the girl. "I am Juliet Woodhouse and I am moving into this very house in a month." Juliet said.
Izzy went over to Felix and said, in a low voice, "I wonder if she knows what she's in for."
"Cecily, you shouldn't be here, you know?" Felicity said. "Clemmie, why don't you walk her back home. Mother and Father are probably worried about you, Cecily. You can tell them that Felix, Andrew, and I are here, and we'll be home for dinner."
Cecily felt mad and in her head she thought, "'Oh Cecily, you shouldn't be here, you know,'" mocking Felicity's voice.
"That's ah good idea," Gus agreed. "This house ain't safe ta be in."
Clemmie touched Cecily's shoulder. "Yes, we probly shouldn't be here. Come on; let's go back and go play with the chickens." Clemmie suggested. With that Clemmie and Cecily were off, Cecily still angry about not being included.
Teddy heard a soft wail coming from the other room. He stepped cautiously inside and saw the trap door that Morgan fell through. "Morgan, are you down there?"
Izzy turned around in a split second. "Morgan?" She rushed to Teddy's side.
Lily did not hear a reply from Andrew and began to bang on the wall. "Can anyone here me?!" She yelled.
"Ah can hear ya," Gus said and noticed the noise coming from behind the bookcase. He pushed the bookcase and it rotated around until Lily appeared. "Why Lily, how did ya get behind there? And where is Andrew? Weren't ya with him?"
Lily walked out and threw her arms around Gus. "Thank you for getting me out!" She said smiling friendly. "I just pushed this book and it swept me behind there. And Andrew wasn't there. I was so scared." Lily said joining everyone in the next room.
"Help me Teddy!" a soft voice drifted up from the depths.
"I got to help him!" Teddy said. He ran into the closet and searched around until he found some old rope. He tied it to the old staircase banister and tied the other end around his waist.
"Teddy!" Gus said, "what' are ya doin'?"
"I got to help Morgan! He's fallen through this floor! Jasper Dale once did the same thing for me, and now it's my turn!" Before Gus could stop him, Teddy dropped down with the rope.
"Teddy!" Gus yelled again into the dark abyss so far below. He began to pull up the rope. He tugged and finally pulled the rope up, and his eyes widened in astonishent with the after thought realization that Teddy was not attached to it.
Izzy looked down. "Morgan? Teddy?" She looked down into the abyss, and also realised that Teddy was no longer at the end of the rope. Then again, neither was Morgan. Andrew, maybe? No; not him, either.
Felicity rushed over as well, and looked down the abyss. "Gus!" she whispered. "It couldn't be....could it?"
Izzy looked at Felix, then looked down the abyss again.
"Nan was right. She said this house was not safe." Juliet commented.
Peter looked down the abyss. "Well should I go down there?" Peter suggested.
"You may use my candle if you like. We have many more in the hallway." Juliet said offering her candle.
"Enough people are missing," Izzy said, "but they have to be found. I'll go down."
"Izzy, no!" Felicity protested. "Let Gus or Peter or one of the others boys go down."
"We're already missing three *boys*, Felicity," Izzy pointed out. "If a *girl* goes to look for them, maybe it'll be different."
"Well...be careful."
"Izzy no, it's not safe," Gus warned, but before he could do anything, the brave Pettibone girl was on her way.
Izzy carefully grabbed the rope and slid down, trying not to bump whatever (or whoever) it was on the other end. "Andrew? Morgan? Teddy?"
"Izzy," Teddy whispered once she had reached the ground. "Follow me, I think I hear some voices..."
Teddy lead her near a small dark room in the cellar where they heard the voices of Andrew and her brother Morgan...
"Shh, listen," Teddy told Izzy.
Morgan and Andrew were whispering in the room...
"I can't believe they are falling for this," Andrew chuckled. "Boy, this is sure going to get Miss Bossy Felicity King back for the pranks she pulled a few years ago!"
"Pay back time, my good friend!" Morgan smirked, "This is sure going to put my *dear* sister in her place too. You should have heard us Andrew. I was telling my sister this big sob story and she was believing it."
Teddy turned to Izzy and whispered, "all we found were two rats!"
Meanwhile, Gus peered down through the dark. "That's it, if they don't answer ah'm goin' down there." Gus yelled into the abyss, "Teddy, Izzy, can ya hear me? Are ya alright?"
Lily looked at the girl who was standing looking down. She though it was a dream when she had seen Juliet when she went behind the bookcase but now she realized it was not a dream but she was really there. "Juliet?" Lily said.
Juliet turned around at the sound of her name and saw Lily. "Lily!" She practicly yelled. They threw their arms around eachother. "I thought I was never going to see you again. Imagine you and me shipped to the same island?"
Lily smiled. "I know. How nice you look Juliet. I imagine you left quite a deal of suitors behind in England."
Juliet blushed. "Well maybe a few."
The girls both looked down the abyss. "I hope everyone is all right." They said together.
Peter looked at Juliet and smiled. "I am sure everything will be all right." He said.
Juliet looked back at him and blushed. "I hope."
* * * * *
"Gus, we're fine," Izzy replied. She boldly went into the room where Andrew and Morgan were. "Alright, you two. Time for you *both* to get off your high horses. The joke's over," she said so all above could hear her. "And this, Morgan Pettibone, is the lowest, most selfish thing you've ever done. You must really love making people miserable." She headed back for the rope.
As she climbed back up, Felix congratulated her saying, "Well done, Iz! As I once told Sara, it pays to hold your temper; you just let others lose it for you!"
Both began to laugh. "I wasn't about to let my brother get the better of me."
"Izzy wait," Morgan pleaded, "it was only a prank."
"Well, at least Felicity and I are even now," Andrew admonished while crossing his arms confidently.
Felicity looked down the hole. "And as for you, Andrew King, you'll be getting your due, to be sure!"
"Ya done it now Andrew King," Gus said, "ya don't want to git Felicity on yer bad side."
The cocky smile soon disappeared from Andrew's face. "What? But...Felicity, we're even now!"
"Come on, Iz," Felix said. "Let's get out of here." The two walked out of the house...
Lily watched the two walk out the door. She peered down the hold. "Andrew?" She called.
"We're safe Lily," Andrew replied. "We just had to show my cousin a lesson."
Nan walked towards Juliet. "Juliet, I thought I had lost you!" Nan said. I was walking along and when I looked back you were gone. You have scared me senseless." Nan told her. Nan looked around and saw the others. "Who are you? And what are you doing in Mr. Woodhouses estate? Tresspassing I presume?" Nan asked raising her eyebrows.
"Nan it is okay. I am most certain this place is going to need some fixing up." Juliet muttered.
Nan looked over. "Lily! What in the heavens are you doing here?" Nan asked bewildered. She smiled and threw her arms around Juliet's cousin. They hugged and looked at everyone.
"We're..." Felicity was trying to think of a good explanation. "We're friends of Lily's. We came across this house, and decided to have a look around. We didn't know anyone else was here; this old house has been abandoned for years!" She then focused her attention back on what was going on below.
Nan smiled. "Well if that is all then it is fine."
"I can't believe they actually thought that there was *really* a Lisilee," Morgan smirked.
"I *told* you it's just an old wives tale!" returned Felicity. "Morgan Pettibone! Andrew King! Somebody could have been hurt with your stupid prank!" Infuriated, Teddy turned to climb back up the rope.
"Oh Teddy, go play with the girls okay?"
"Yeah, go play with Cecily's dolls. Hahaha."
Kyle had found some rope, shimedied down the abyss, and started looking for Morgan. He heard the others above just after he got down, and quickly and quietly gathered his rope, saving it in case it would be needed in the near future. He started looking around, as best he could, without a light source. Then, from a different end of the basement, close to the cellar stairs, he heard others talking, but didn't recognize any of the voices. Sensing something wasn't right, he quickly and silently headed to the other side of the basement, figuring that's where Morgan and Andrew were. He got there just in time to hear it was all just a prank and saw Izzy climb back up the rope. But, before he could join the group, he heard footsteps heading in there direction. Kyle, sensing trouble, decided to hide behind some big crates and wait and see what was going on.
Suddenly, Andrew and Morgan heard a creeking sound behind them. They turned and stared in frightful astonishment to see an older woman walking down the cellar steps with a large candle holder. "Who dares invade the premises of Lisilee!" She scoffed in a gruff voice while taking a puff from her cigarette. The two boys stood paralyzed, shaking, with mouths agape in fear.
"...how come all the vampires we read about drink blood? ...Someone should've told that to the Dracla guy." ~Izzy Pettibone
"Andrew? Morgan? Are you alright?" Lily asked stepping closer to the hole hearing the noise. The floor suddenly gave out on the edge and broke, Lily tumbling down and crashing to the bottom.
"Lily?" Juliet called looking at her Nan with worry.
Lily held her leg. "Ouch." She muttered.
"Don't move Lily," Andrew said, "I'll have to find something to make a splint for you."
Peter looked down. "I am coming down." He said and with that he went down the rope quickly and rushed to Lily's side only to see an old woman stepping towards Andrew and Morgan.
Felicity turned around and nudged Gus. "Gus," she whispered, "Could it be true?"
Juliet heard Felicity's comments to Gus. "I think it is some old woman trying to scare us." Juliet said.
"We know that there's a woman callin' herself Lisilee. Ah better go make sure everyone's okay. Ah'll be right back. You best stay up here Felicity. If anything happens ya should run and get the Constable." Gus slipped down the rope into the cellar.
"Please don't suck our blood Lisilee!" Morgan pleaded. "My blood isn't even sweet. It's sour and yucky."
The old woman scoffed. "How did you children find out about our hideout? I suppose ya heard about the train robbery. I'll do worse than suck yer blood if you inform anyone!"
"Hide out?" Gus said, "wait ah minute. Ah know who ya are. Yer the woman who robbed the train in Halifax with her two sons. Yer the most horrible woman in the entire Province!"
Lisilee's two sons ran out of the dark. They were burly men with handlebar mustaches who loathed baths.
"You children are not going to run and tattle or be witnesses. Now Shove it!"
Lislee looked at her two sons impatiently. "I said shove these milk crates out of the way so we can tie all these children up!"
"Ohhhhh," Lily whined. "I don't want to be tied up," Lily said looking at Andrew, Peter, Gus and Morgan forcing a smile.
"Who doesn't want to be tied up?" Morgan replied.
"Your right..." Lily said trailing off.
"I am sure everything will be fine," Peter told Lily.
Kyle held his breath. 'Great,' he thought, 'some train robber and thugs of sons are hiding out here and now my friends are in trouble, thanks to Morgan's stupid prank! They need help!' So, Kyle stayed where he was, figuring it was their best bet. He squatted down behind some crates and watched and waited for what would happen next.
Juliet heard what the voice had said. "Um excuse me.. But this is my house." Juliet commented.
"Eat my corset you old bag!" Lisilee scoffed and then took another puff from her cigarette.
Juliet gasped at Lisilee's words. "Well... I never.."
"We've got to get out of here!" Felicity whispered to everyone above. She ran outside and began to run for the Constable. She noticed Felix and Izzy looking inside. "Come on, you two!" She grabbed both their arms. "We've got to find Constable Jeffries!" The three headed for town.
Morgan looked up and shrugged. "It figures my sister would run away in a time of trouble. I'm holding her personally responsible for this."
"You children are in for it! You know what happened to the last children who came here? Well let me tell you a story..."
***story/flash back***
"Sabrina, I'm hungry"
"Oh shutup, you can wait until Richie shows up."
"Whens the Constable get here?" Dickon said.
"How would I know."
"Boy, we sure destroyed that dumb dance of theirs. Let's go in this mansion and destroy all their pies and punch too."
"Good idea, be quiet Lizzy. Don't growl. Food will come later."
"After this lets go beat up our teacher Miss King."
"I'm bored."
"Okay, were inside, now what?" "Hey who are you?"
Lisilee turned around, clenching her candelabra, which illuminated the room. "What are you children doing here?"
"Were here because we want to be here."
"Yeah who's going to stop us."
"Richie tried that once," Mary said.
"Yeah, but we know Richie could never take Sabrina in a fight."
"Hey, look, there's Richie now!"
Richie ran out of a parlor with a mountie and three masked wrestlers from the recent carnival.
Suddenly, Lisilee's sons ran from behind a curtain and held their guns at the kids. "Now who is laughing now, Hahahaha." Lisilee smirked as they took the kids, tied them up and brought them deeper into the cellar.
***end of flashback/story***
"And those children, all twenty four of them, were never heard of again." Lislee's laugh was only interupted by coughing, followed by another puff of her cigarette. "Now tie these children up! And take them to the depths of this cellar with the others!"
Lisilee's men, carrying guns, began to tie up Gus and Andrew. Morgan gulped. Meanwhile, Lily also sat and waited to be tied up, shuddering.
* * * * *
"Constable!" Felicity called out as she entered the office. "There's trouble at the old house by the creek." She told him all about the ordeal with Lisilee.
"Strange goin'-ons, I must say!" he replied. "Well, let's go check it out. Show me where the house is."
Felicity and Izzy led him to the scene of the incident. When they got there, Felicity looked in the window, and saw Lisilee's men proceed to tie everyone up. "I know where I've seen them before!" the Constable exclaimed. "There's a wanted poster with their pictures on it back in my office. The lot of them are wanted for train robbery. Felicity, you best stay out here with Izzy and your brother. I'm going in."
Izzy snuck toward the cellar and looked inside. "The Constable's down there now; he's arresting them!" she said.
"Do you see anything else?" Felicity asked.
"Just a minute...."
"No one can ever say Avonlea isn't interesting." Felix muttered. "I wonder what that lunatic will do next."
"She's no vampire, I can tell you that." Peg Bowen answered, coming out in that strange way of hers.
Izzy turned around. "Miss Bowen!" she exclaimed.
"I told you she wasn't a vampire, Felix King," Felicity retorted matter-of-factly.
Felix glared at Felicty. "I NEVER said she was. In fact, I barely said anything at all. That Vampire thing was Morgan's stupid idea!"
"Vampire's aren't all that bad," Peg said matter of factly. "In fact, most don't actually drink blood."
"Then how come all the vampires we read about drink blood?" Izzy mused. 'Someone should've told that to the Dracla guy,' she thought.
Peg shook her head. "Dracula was a Prince in Transylvannia who was a sadist. He loved to kill people for simple mistakes. They said he'd impal his soldiers and then his wine was always so red...naturally people decided it was *blood* red wine...with a rather odd taste..." Peg looked around grimly. "Vampires have a disease that makes them almost alergic to sun light and they crave strange things."
Felix couldn't tell if Peg was pulling his leg or not, but he shuddered anyway. "I think she's worse then anything." He admitted. "Even worse then my sister." He whispered to Izzy.
"Almost all evil people are worse than Felicity sometimes," Izzy whispered back.
"What are you two children talking about?" Felicity wondered.
"Nothing!" Izzy replied quickly. She elbowed Felix lightly to give him the hint.
"Yes, that's right, nothing." Felix added. "We were just commenting."
Peg sighed, "well, I guess I'll be on my way."
"How does she do that?" Felix wondered.
* * * * *
The Constable made his way into the house, and went down into the cellar. "Stop in the name of the law!" he exclaimed, drawing a pistol and pointing it at Lisilee and her men.
"Bah! The jig is up!" Lisilee scoffed as the Constable confronted them. Lisilee and her sons put their hands in the air and walked out of the old estate followed by the Constable. Lisilee turned and looked at the old home and a tear welled up in her eye. "Bye bye Avonlea," she said.
"Good ol' Avonlea," one of Lisilee's son's exclaimed, "the greatest place on God's green earth!"
"Oh shove it!" Lisilee spewed.
"The Constable' ought ta lock ya up fer good," Gus told Lisilee as she passed by and was taken to prison.
Morgan let out a sigh of relief and then followed Gus and Andrew back to where Felicity, Izzy, Felix and the others were.
"I told you there weren't any such thing as vampires," Andrew told Morgan.
Morgan shook his head. "I just can't believe I let you all talk me into this."
"Oh, get over it, Morgan," Felicity replied. "We're all safe and sound and that's the important thing. Come on, Felix and Andrew; let's go home. Mother and Father are probably worried."
"Wait up Felicity," Andrew said, "Lily has hurt herself. Are you okay to walk Lily?" He asked.
Lily stepped on her ankle and winced in pain. "It hurts quite a bit Andrew." Lily said.
"Oh, Lily you poor dear." Juliet said.
"I will help you to the carriage Lily." Peter said.
"Thank you for the offer," Lily said smiling gratefully.
Lily, Juliet, Peter and Nan all went to the carriage. "Thank you for showing me around Andrew and Felicity." Lily said gratefully.
"It was no trouble," replied Felicity. "I'm just sorry that it turned out like this!"
"It was nice to meet you." Felix added, "Believe me, Avonlea isn't always like this!"
"Yeah," Andrew added, "except for the time those carnival people kidnapped Sara, or the time Mr. Beedy ran off with the school library funds, or the time Abe Pike tried to kidnap Gus, or the time Amanda Stone tried to... Oh, you get the picture."
Felix started to mentally do spelling words, remembering that he had to find Sara and study with her.
"Andrew King, if you mention that tramp's name again, I'll have your hide." Felicity still wasn't *quite* over Gus's former infatuation with the beautiful jewel thief. Just the mention of Amanda's name would send Felicity reeling.
"Okay okay," Andrew said defensively, "I'll never mention Amanda Stone's name again. I just heard about it anyway. I heard that Gus liked to call her Mandy from time to time," Andrew teased.
"We should go home, too, Morgan," added Izzy. "Come on. Last one there is a rotten egg!" She dashed through the woods and, eventually, into her house.
Felix gave in. He was getting hungry anyways. "See ya tommorow Iz!" He called out, "See if you can convince the Morgan we know to come back!" He quickened his step, thinking of the appetizing dinner his mother was preparing.
~Fin
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