Donald and Thomas sat down at a table at the Blue Whale like they did most nights. They had spent a long day fishing just off the coast of Collinsport and needed a drink and the Blue Whale was the kind of bar that made you want to have a drink. Not in a way that was fun and cheerful, but in a way that told you you needed one to survive the atmosphere and decor.
"Wonder if they're ever going to find that Evans girl," muttered Donald as he took a sip from his watery beer, "Sam sure is real shook up about it."
Thomas nodded. Sam, Maggie's father, had been a drinking buddy of theirs in the past, but ever since his daughter went missing he had, understandably, not been around much. "I still think it's weird that ever since that new Collins moved to town there have been a bunch of women getting attacked."
"You're just getting paranoid again, nothing is weird about the Collins family."
"Everything is weird about the Collins family," Thomas countered. "They are somehow still rich in this rinky dink town, Elizabeth's husband disappeared ages ago, they hired that creep Loomis, they have two houses, but only used one until this guy showed up...I could keep going."
"Please," said Donald, "don't."
"Are you telling me that that guy who walks around in a cape at night and whose appearance in our town coincides with attacks on young women isn't suspicious?"
"I thought we weren't talking about it." Donald sipped more of his beer. He didn't really want to talk about the Collins family, it seemed to be all anyone did in this town. Yeah it was named after them, but surely some people had their own lives that were tangled up in theirs, yet he couldn't think of anyone who had had problems that weren't related to them. Maybe the beer was getting to him faster than he thought.
"He also has a creepy cane," Thomas pointed out after taking a sip of his own.
"I will grant you that," admitted Donald finally. Dogs and wolves had always creeped him out and he couldn't fathom why a man would walk around town with a cane with a wolf head on it.
"Maybe," Thomas said conspiratorially, "that Barnabas fellow is a werewolf."
"How have you already had so much to drink?" Donald said, trying to laugh Thomas off.
"No no no, think about. This town has always had a creepy vibe to it, right?"
Donald shrugged, "Sure, but I don't think more so than a lot of old towns around here."
"But the Collins family knows that business has been going down lately."
"Yeah, that's true." Donald knew Thomas knew that. Heck, everyone in Collinsport knew since they were nearly all employed by the Collins family.
"So maybe they thought they'd just really go for it with control over the town with a werewolf cousin who could turn the town." Thomas sipped his beer, raising his eyebrows as if telling Donald to think about his work of genius.
"That sounds insane, Thomas," Donald said frankly, looking Thomas in the eye.
"Okay but how do you explain the wolf cane then? And what about all of the dogs barking at night?"
"The cane is weird, but weird wolf canes don't be lycanthropy."
"Like you can possibly know that."
"I think I would know if a supernatural creature was roaming about our town." Donald was starting to get a bit heated. He had just wanted to have a sad drink in his sad town's sad bar, but now he was having to talk about werewolves.
"How? By young women being attacked? By one going missing with no trace? Seems like supernatural stuff to me," Thomas said, the last part being muffled as he raised his pint to his lips.
"If I agree that the guy is weird and his showing up right now is weird, will you drop this werewolf stuff?" Donald really just wanted to move away from this conversation.
"Yes," said Thomas, a bit smugly.
"Fine, he's weird and it's weird he's here now."
"Thank you," Thomas replied, raising his half empty pint to cheers with Donald. After their glasses clinked, they saw something out of the corner of their eyes as they heard a wolf howl. They turned to the bar window and saw, for a moment, the staring face of Barnabas Collins.
After the face vanished, Donald turned his eyes back to Thomas, "Run me through the werewolf idea again?"
(Prompt by Betsy Rubin)
"Wonder if they're ever going to find that Evans girl," muttered Donald as he took a sip from his watery beer, "Sam sure is real shook up about it."
Thomas nodded. Sam, Maggie's father, had been a drinking buddy of theirs in the past, but ever since his daughter went missing he had, understandably, not been around much. "I still think it's weird that ever since that new Collins moved to town there have been a bunch of women getting attacked."
"You're just getting paranoid again, nothing is weird about the Collins family."
"Everything is weird about the Collins family," Thomas countered. "They are somehow still rich in this rinky dink town, Elizabeth's husband disappeared ages ago, they hired that creep Loomis, they have two houses, but only used one until this guy showed up...I could keep going."
"Please," said Donald, "don't."
"Are you telling me that that guy who walks around in a cape at night and whose appearance in our town coincides with attacks on young women isn't suspicious?"
"I thought we weren't talking about it." Donald sipped more of his beer. He didn't really want to talk about the Collins family, it seemed to be all anyone did in this town. Yeah it was named after them, but surely some people had their own lives that were tangled up in theirs, yet he couldn't think of anyone who had had problems that weren't related to them. Maybe the beer was getting to him faster than he thought.
"He also has a creepy cane," Thomas pointed out after taking a sip of his own.
"I will grant you that," admitted Donald finally. Dogs and wolves had always creeped him out and he couldn't fathom why a man would walk around town with a cane with a wolf head on it.
"Maybe," Thomas said conspiratorially, "that Barnabas fellow is a werewolf."
"How have you already had so much to drink?" Donald said, trying to laugh Thomas off.
"No no no, think about. This town has always had a creepy vibe to it, right?"
Donald shrugged, "Sure, but I don't think more so than a lot of old towns around here."
"But the Collins family knows that business has been going down lately."
"Yeah, that's true." Donald knew Thomas knew that. Heck, everyone in Collinsport knew since they were nearly all employed by the Collins family.
"So maybe they thought they'd just really go for it with control over the town with a werewolf cousin who could turn the town." Thomas sipped his beer, raising his eyebrows as if telling Donald to think about his work of genius.
"That sounds insane, Thomas," Donald said frankly, looking Thomas in the eye.
"Okay but how do you explain the wolf cane then? And what about all of the dogs barking at night?"
"The cane is weird, but weird wolf canes don't be lycanthropy."
"Like you can possibly know that."
"I think I would know if a supernatural creature was roaming about our town." Donald was starting to get a bit heated. He had just wanted to have a sad drink in his sad town's sad bar, but now he was having to talk about werewolves.
"How? By young women being attacked? By one going missing with no trace? Seems like supernatural stuff to me," Thomas said, the last part being muffled as he raised his pint to his lips.
"If I agree that the guy is weird and his showing up right now is weird, will you drop this werewolf stuff?" Donald really just wanted to move away from this conversation.
"Yes," said Thomas, a bit smugly.
"Fine, he's weird and it's weird he's here now."
"Thank you," Thomas replied, raising his half empty pint to cheers with Donald. After their glasses clinked, they saw something out of the corner of their eyes as they heard a wolf howl. They turned to the bar window and saw, for a moment, the staring face of Barnabas Collins.
After the face vanished, Donald turned his eyes back to Thomas, "Run me through the werewolf idea again?"
(Prompt by Betsy Rubin)
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