Chapter Seventeen

In her dreams, Ronald came to her first. He held out his hand to her
and she took it. She felt a light sensation and then, there she was,
transported by dreams to the day he died. Miriam shivered inside
herself, her head screaming for her to wake up, that she didn't
want to see what was coming, but she would not wake. She had had this
dream before.

Ronald had played her other son, Steven, a lawyer for Hope Falls
municipal courts. He was successful and a ladies man. Ronald was much
the same in real life. She remembered their brief fling when he had
started on the show, but they decided they were better suited as
friends. He was like her son in real life too and they got along
famously. She loved him with all her heart. That is why it almost
killed her when he died. Four years after Stacey's death.

She had not known that he had a Lifetime Contract until after. She
wished she had known, but what good it would have done was beyond
her. The scene they had been doing that day revolved around
Ronald's character. He was chasing down a mugger that had stolen
some of Melanie's jewelry.  Miriam had watched from the side
lines as the scene was played out on the set in front of her.

They had erected an alleyway, complete with fire escape and rough
brick walls. The mugger ran into the alleyway and Steven had rushed
in behind him. "Give me back my mothers belongings!" Steven
had bellowed.

"Never, chump!" the mugger had replied, going deeper into the
alleyway, into the darkness at the back of the set. Shadow covered
him.

"Than I will take them back!" Steven yelled, "Here I
come!"

Miriam had recalled from reading her script that the sounds of a
scuffle would play out and Steven would come out of the darkness
clutching the jewelry, bright in the lamplight. That did not happen
however. What she heard instead was a muffled curse.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ronald yelled out of
character. "That's not in the script!"

There was the sound of a fight and than the soft sound of something
slicing cloth. Miriam heard a grunt, another grunt and a sharp intake
of breath. She heard a moan than, a soft, whimpering moan and it sent
a shiver down he spine.

She watched as Ronald crawled out of the darkness, leaving a trail of
blood behind him. He dragged himself along the ground, obviously in
great pain. The mugger came out from the darkness behind him, a large
silver knife held high like the moon. His arm descended and he
stabbed the knife deep into Ronald's back. He withdrew the blade
and stabbed Ronald again, and again and again. Seven times in all, he
had been stabbed.

Blood poured from the fresh wounds and she cold see a trickle of it
coming from Ronald's mouth. For one, brief moment, his eyes met
hers. Understanding was there. He knew what had happened. And with
one final breath, his life left him. They had murdered him.



*


Miriam woke with tears on her eyes. Something had woken her. She sat
in bed for a few minutes before she heard the click click click of
her doorknob being jiggled. She waited until the noise stopped before
she went out to her foyer. A white X was on the peephole again. She
could see nothing but could hear no one outside her apartment. She
waited a few moments before opening the door.

At her feet was another box wrapped in crinkly black paper. Her name
was on a white card that had been taped to the top. She picked it up
and brought it inside, locking the door behind her. She looked at
Caroline's picture on her nightstand and wondered what would be
inside the box this time.

She opened the card first. Inside was a blank white card with the
following written inside in a rough script:



I am glad you survived the crash. Talking can be dangerous to your
health. They have ears everywhere. Tred carefully, do not let your
fate be like his.

X


Miriam shivered and watched as a snapshot of Ronald fell to the
ground. Who was this mysterious X and why had he or she chosen to
help her? If that was what they were really doing. She felt as if she
were being threatened. The picture of Ronald smiled up at her from
the floor.

Brushing a tear away from her eyes, she pushed aside the black tissue
in the box and withdrew a small, white music box. She studied it for
a while, listening for ticking. Deciding it was too small for a bomb,
Miriam opened the box and stared inside.

Chapter Sixteen

"The perfect cure for a near death experience," Susan
said. "Shopping!"

"I still don't see how you can be so happy seeing as we were
almost killed." Sophie said.

"Because I have a charge card in my hand and I'm buying
things. What else is there to be happy about?"

"Good health, happiness?" Sophie suggested.

"Nah." Susan replied with a smile. "Those pale in
comparison to a new pair of Gucci pumps."

They were in Ladda's, a chic and overpriced ladies shop in the
mall and they were shopping for Miriam's disguise. "I'm
still not sure what I want to look like."

"Well, leave that to me. I'll figure out the make up
part." Susan said. "You figure out who you want to be."

"But we already have, I'm going to be Miriam Stevens."

"Yes, but you can't go in to the studio looking like Miriam
Stevens, or dressing like her. You'd be recognized." Sophie
said, holding up a blue camisole. "Do you think I'd look good
in this?" she said.

"Sophie? We're here for me, okay?" Miriam said.

"It doesn't mean I can't check out a few things for
myself." She said. "When in Rome…"

Miriam was a little overwhelmed. She had never enjoyed shopping. It
had to do with the masses of people who always recognized her
wherever she went. She wore a kerchief over her hair and a large pair
of sunglasses, but that was only drawing more attention to
herself. "How do you two stand it?" she asked, looking
through a sale rack of blouses.

"Stand what?" Sophie asked.

"The fame." Miriam replied.

"You just got to go with it." Susan said. "They pay you
to be famous, remember?" she held up a periwinkle coloured
blouse. "Do you think I can get away with this?"

They looked at clothing for most of the afternoon. Miriam could not
decide on the look she wanted. "Won't I just want to blend
into the crowd?"

"You'd think so, but that may draw attention to
yourself." Sophie said. "We have to make you look a little
younger."

Miriam snorted. "I AM young, thank you. I'm only forty
one."

Sophie snorted back. "Yeah, and I'm Kate Bush, get real
Miriam. We need to make you look younger so no one will recognize
you."

They settled on a new wardrobe of simple wrap skirts in a variety of
different colours, sling back sandals and pumps and comfortable t
shirts and cotton blouses. There were no "Melanie Stevens"
clothes here. Her character would not be caught dead in a wrap skirt.
For that matter, neither would she. "They make me look fat."

"They do not." Susan said. "And no buts, we're
getting the lot."

The total came to a shocking three thousand dollars. Miriam
blanched. "I've never spent that much on clothes."

"Than it's about time you begin, isn't it? Come on,
we're done here, on to the next store."

"But we got all these clothes! I don't need anymore."

"No, no, not clothes. We're going to go shopping for
hair."

"HAIR?!" Miriam exclaimed.

"Well, c'mon honey, I'm whiz with make up, but I'm
not a freaking hair dresser."

They drove to a new wig shop over on Fourth. It was called Mama's
and specialized in all kinds of wigs in all the colours of the
rainbow. Miriam could not think who would want to have purple hair,
but she supposed to each their own. She looked through the isles of
wigs and finally chose a red one. It was curly and hung to just above
her shoulders. It looked fabulous on her and hid her natural blond
hair.

"I feel like I'm living a double life." She said.

"You are." Sophie said. "The red looks fabulous on you by
the way."

"It brings out the blue in your eyes." Susan said.

Miriam blushed. "Thanks you two."

"No thanks needed. Tomorrow, we work on your make up."



*


When Miriam got home later that evening, the sun was already setting.
She let herself in through her front door and dropped her keys in the
bowl. Dropping her purchases in the hallway, she stripped off her
clothes and drew herself a hot bath with a generous helping of bubble
bath.

The day had troubled her. If they were willing to kill two other
people in order just to get to her, there was going to be trouble.
She shivered as she remembered the tumble down the hill and the
explosion. It seemed like it had all happened yesterday, so far away
from now, but it was only a few hours ago.

She tried to relax in the bath, but her mind was running a mile a
minute. Getting out of the bath, she dried off, wrapped herself in
her bath robe and poured herself a large helping of vodka. She put a
little bit of Coke in with it, so she wouldn't feel so guilty,
but if she didn't calm her nerves at least a little, she would
never get to sleep.

Miriam looked at Caroline's picture on her coffee table. Caroline
smiled back at her. "Who's doing this, Caroline?" she
said out loud. "Who would want to kill us? Is there anything you
can tell me?" But Caroline's picture remained stubbornly
silent.

She finished her vodka and went to bed, knowing that as soon as she
closed her eyes the nightmares would start. She didn't have long
to wait…

Chapter Fifteen

"I want to get so pissed that my bladder is swimming." Susan
said.

They were sitting in the Chic Taverna, a pub that was situated across
the street from the Burbank Place mall. Its walls were covered in a
soft wood that seemed to glow from within. Sophie was slugging back
shots of straight vodka, Miriam was drinking a Pink Lady and Susan
played idly with her Mai Tai, stirring her straw in a counter
clockwise motion.

Miriam's heart had finally stopped racing. After the car had
stopped tumbling down the hill, they had taken off their seatbelts.
Of course, as soon as they did that, they all fell out of their seats
and hit the roof of the car with a loud thud. After several minutes
of waving arms and swinging legs, they were able to disengage
themselves and crawl out of the car through the open passenger side
window.

Sophie, still whimpering, had gone back in the car briefly to grab
their coats and purses and they started the climb up the large cliff
face. When the got to the top, Miriam heard a noise and turned.

"Look!" she whispered urgently.

Sophie and Susan stared awe struck by the smoking car. There was
another sound, like metal crunching, and then they saw the fire.

"GET DOWN!" Susan yelled, pulling the other two women down on
to the ground with her. Seconds later, there was a deafening boom and
they watched as the car erupted in flames. They could feel the heat
of it from where they lay on the ground, could feel the ground
shaking from the blast.

They stood slowly and looked at the burning car, thankful that they
were not in it. Finally, Sophie spoke. "Someone wanted to kill
us." She said.

Susan threw her a condescending look and said "Duh!"

"Someone wanted us to have an accident." Miriam said.
"It's all my fault!" The tears she had held in check for
so long finally poured down her face. "OH GOD!" she sobbed,
"You could of both gotten killed, I could of lost you both!"
she sobbed some more.

"Hey," Susan said patting Miriam's shoulder,
"C'mon, we just met." She said in an attempt to be funny.
It didn't work that well.

Miriam's sobs increased. "You could of both DIED!" she
screamed. "GOD! WHY DO YOU MOCK ME?"

"I don't think we need to bring him into this." Susan
said.

"I'm just so thankful that we're all okay!" Sophie
said, her voice returning to it's normal pitch.

"You both have to leave now!" Miriam shouted suddenly.
"NOW! GET AWAY FROM ME! I'm poison, I ruin everything I
touch! Caroline, Jack…Toby." The last word was said in a
whisper. She put a hand to her throat and ran a hand through her
hair. She chocked back another sob.

"Don't be stupid." Susan said. "They've tried to
kill us now too, so we're all in it together. Kapessh?"

Miriam nodded, wiping at her tears with a handkerchief that she had
gotten from her purse.

"I could really use that drink now." Miriam said quietly.

They left the car burning where it was. Without saying a word, they
walked towards the mall. They could see its windows sparkle in the
distance. Susan spotted a car dealership and they stopped there.
Thirty minutes later, they were speeding the rest of the way towards
the mall in the comfort of a red convertible. The top was up, but the
wind still whipped their hair through the windows. "I'm going
to miss that little BMW." Susan said. "That car was my
baby."

"How did you get a new car so quickly?" Sophie asked.

"Because money can buy you anything." Susan said with a
smile. "And I have a lot of money."

The arrived at the Taverna and had each downed two drinks in quick
succession. A plume of smoke, like blue ribbon, floated above
Sophie's head. She was smoking menthols and the minty scent
reminded Miriam of peppermints.

"I thought you were joking." Susan said quietly.

"What?" Miriam was not sure she had heard her.

"There was a little part of me that thought you were joking, that
you were a little crazy." She held up her hand at Miriam's
shocked look. Miriam put a hand to her throat. "Now, wait a
minute," Susan said, "Hear me out. You'd think anyone
else was crazy if they told you a story like you told us."

Miriam nodded. "I still think I'm crazy."

Susan reached out a hand and squeezed one of Miriam's.
"You're not crazy honey. I know that now." She sipped her
Mai Tai. "How can another human being do this to another human
being? How can people be so cruel? I thought you were making it all
up, but they just tried to kill us in the car with you, without a
second thought."

"We're dealing with professionals here." Sophie said.

"I'm so sorry for getting you all into this." Miriam
said. She looked crestfallen.

"I'd just like to know WHY they're doing this." Susan
said. "I mean, what do they have to gain by killing people this
way, by executing them?"

"A longer lasting show, better ratings." Miriam said.
"It's all the reason I can think of. I feel like a piece of
property. Harold might as well have unzipped Mr. Fireman and pissed
all over my face."

"Mr. Fireman?" Sophie said with a smile.

"Toy Solider?" Miriam tried again.

"Rumple foreskin?" Susan said.

"Phony baloney?" Sophie said.

"Chicken neck?" Miriam said and Susan snorted into her Mai
Tai, sending out a spray that covered all of them. When Susan got a
look at Sophie and Miriam's shocked faces, she burst out
laughing.

The other two women looked at Susan and than at themselves and
quickly followed suit. When the laughter had quieted down and Susan
had wiped her eyes with a napkin, she smiled at them.

"Ready?" she said, reaching for her purse.

"For what?" Miriam replied, dabbing at her own eyes.

"For shopping, dear girl!" she said with a smile. "What
else?"

Chapter Fourteen

The black car continued to ram them hard from behind as they barreled
down the expressway. Cars sped by on their right and left like
ribbons of colour outside their windows. Susan was driving the car
over a hundred miles per hour. Miriam could hear the wind whistling
outside.

"What are you planning on doing, Susan?" Sophie's voice
was reaching a high pitch. She never did well under stress.

"I don't know yet."

"I don't know how they could of known you talked to us,
Miriam." Sophie said. "I don't know how the figured it
out."

"This is an operation." Susan said. "Think about it;
they're executing people for the sake of film. There have to be
tons of people involved, maybe the president of the network. Someone
has to know what is going on for it to continue. Hell, they can't
kill people in a TV studio and NOT have anyone know about it."

The black car hit them again from behind, harder this time. As they
gathered up speed, so did Death's car. It rammed them again and
Sophie whimpered in the back as the back windshield cracked. The
crack snuck its way like a snake across the glass.

"You okay back there Sophie?" Susan said.

"What are you going to do?" Miriam asked. Concern was evident
in her voice.

"I haven't figured that part out yet." Susan said. She
was gripping the wheel so hard, her knuckles were turning white.

"Let me out here." Miriam said. "They want me, it's
me they want, I'll jump from the car, I will throw myself in the
road, I will lead them on a chase!"

"Don't be stupid," Susan said. "We're not in a
soap opera right now, this is our lives honey."

"Besides," Sophie said quietly from the back seat. "They
know you've talked to us; they've seen you with us. We're
marked now too."

"So we're in this together?" Miriam said.

"It would seem so." Susan said. "We can't go back to
our homes, to our families. Not that I have one." She
laughed. "Husband left me years ago, said my life wasn't
exciting enough. Well, look at me now!" she laughed again. "I
shouldn't be laughing at a time like this."

"I, for one, do not find anything funny in the situation."
Miriam said.

"Please don't joke, Okay?" Sophie said. She looked out
the back window. "It's gaining speed." She swallowed
hard, her nervousness showing. "What are we going to do?"

"Out run him." Susan said. "Hold on."

She swerved the car sharply to the right, horns blaring around them
in protest. The black car stayed with them on their tail. Susan
swerved the car sharply to the left again and then quickly to the
right in front of a large truck. The black car tried to pass, but was
stuck behind the truck.

"As long as that truck stays there," Susan said, speeding the
car up even more. "We're home free."

They watched in horror as the ten wheeler turned right onto an exit
and the black car sped up to ram them in behind again.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Miriam said. "Is there no escaping
the madman?"

"I'm not done yet." Susan said through gritted teeth.

She sped forward even further and than, quick as a flash hit the
breaks. The car squealed in protest.

"What are you doing?!" Miriam shouted. She put a hand to her
neck and one on the panic bar above her head. "You're going
to kill us!" She sighed, her heart racing.

"Not if I don't kill him first." She said.

The black car had not anticipated their move. It had to hit the
breaks and swirl to its left to avoid hitting any of the other cars.
Miriam blanched. She had been right. They wanted them, only them. She
watched as the car was able to right itself several cars behind them.
They wanted her. "Do you have a gun?" Miriam asked.

"Of course I have a gun." Susan said. "But there is no
way in hell I'm letting you fire it out my window. I'm not
having you hit anyone, okay?"

"Than what else can we do?!" Sophie said. Her voice had
reached the screech level.

"Sophie." Susan's voice was harsh. "I have valium in
my purse. Calm down or I'll make you swallow half the bottle. Do
you understand?"

Sophie nodded meekly in the back seat, tears streaming down her
cheeks.

They watched the black car swerve to the left of them, tires
squealing, leaving long black marks like mascara on the road.
"What is the car doing?" Miriam asked. "What is it
doing?"

"How the hell should I know?" Susan said.

The car was gaining speed fast and soon it was riding beside them on
the left, on the driver's side. Their windows were even with each
other, but Susan could not look inside the other car. "The damn
windows are tinted!" she yelled.

"They are like the darkness, like the shadow." Miriam said.

"Don't go weird on me here, okay?"

They screamed when the black car rammed them on the left side. The
car shook and vibrated. "What are they DOING?!" Miriam
screamed.

"They're trying to run us off the road!" Susan said.

The car hit them in the left again, hard. It sent them skidding. The
car came at them again and again, each time making them skid a little
further to the right. Susan could see the railing of the expressway
getting closer and closer.

Finally, the black car rammed them really hard, the sounds of
crushing metal high and painful in the air. The cars seemed to cry as
sparks leapt from them. The black car pushed the BMW until it was
right up against the railing and then they were over the railing,
tumbling.

The car rolled down a steep cliff covered in sand and rock. The water
loomed up at them and Miriam could see the water each time the car
flipped over, a line of black blue water that seemed to call to them,
call to her as if it longed to close over them and fill their lungs
with liquid.

"I can't die like this," Miriam said. "Not like this,
Oh, please!"

She was sobbing now, holding on to the panic bar. She could hear
Sophie screaming in the back seat, her screams reaching fever pitch,
making her voice raw. Susan held onto the wheel, her face like stone
and her eyes looking straight ahead. She was not afraid to meet
death, it seemed.

Miriam found Toby's chain under her shirt and pinched it between
her fingers. She couldn't die like this, they couldn't die
like this. She closed her eyes and prayed.

She felt the car tumble a few more times, the rocks breaking the
glass, cracking the windshield further. Metal screeched under them,
they could feel the car shaking with each new turn.

Suddenly, they stopped. The car was upside down. They were held into
their seats by their seatbelts, their breathing loud in the car.
Sophie still screamed in the back seat, but as the car continued to
rock back and forth on its top, slowing it's rocking slowly and
finally standing still, Sophie finally quieted. Miriam looked out the
window. The water was a few paces from the front of the car. Another
foot and they would have been in the water, they would have drowned.

Susan was quiet for a few moments before she spoke. "I don't
know about you girls, but I could certainly use a drink" she
said.

Chapter Thirteen

"What do you mean we're going shopping?" Miriam asked.

They were speeding along the expressway in Susan's BMW
Beamer. "Shopping, you know, clothes and jewelry and what not?
Every woman knows how to shop."

"Don't be so sure." Sophie said from the back seat.
"I hate shopping. It unnerves me, all those people."

Susan looked at her in the rearview mirror. "Are you sure
you're not ill?" At Sophie's socked looked, Susan laughed
heartily. "I'm sorry dear, just kidding. I LOVE to shop. If
shopping was an Olympic sport, I'd win hands down."

The sun was bright this morning as they sped along their way. Miriam,
lost in thought, watched the other cars pass her in flashes of metal
and chrome. They reminded her of children running, horses
galloping. "So why are we going shopping?" she asked finally.

"I thought you would never ask." Susan said. "We gotta
get you new clothes."

"But I thought Sophie said you were a wiz with make up."

"I am, but darlin', even I can't sew you a new
wardrobe."

Their plan was simple. They had talked it out over more drinks and
some chocolate cake for dessert at Amigo's. Miriam had to become
Melanie Stevens in order to sneak around the studio. She needed to
find out who was involved in the Lifetime Contracts so that she knew
who she was dealing with. The only way to do that was to become
someone else.

"But I'm already Melanie Stevens." Miriam insisted.

"We know that, but you can't play spy looking like Miriam, or
Melanie. You'd be recognized either way." Sophie said.
"That's why we need Susan here."

"I can make anyone beautiful look ugly, anyone ugly look
beautiful." She waved her hands with a flourish. "My hands
are magic." She said with a wink and a smile.

"I don't know if this is going to work." Miriam said
sadly.

"But we're going to try it anyway." Sophie said.
"What else have you got to lose? You have nothing to go on,
you're life is at stake and there is nothing you can do. You HAVE
to find out who is involved, Miriam. Otherwise, there is no hope of
fighting this thing."

"But you both believe me? God, it helps just knowing that someone
doesn't think I'm crazy."

"It's too crazy not to believe." Susan said. "Hell,
it's better than any damn soap opera that I've ever heard of.
I just can't believe that they've been filming real deaths and
passing them off as television…to think that we have all watched
someone really, really die on screen." She shivered.
"It's horrible."

"But WHY are they killing people off?" Sophie asked. "I
mean, there has to be more to it than keeping their actors on board
so they don't jump ship, there just has to be. Why not just fire
someone with a Lifetime Contract, rather than kill them off on
screen? I just don't understand."

"But that's why we have to get in there." Susan said.
"Why Miriam has to get in there. Maybe the answers will be in
Harold's office."

"Miriam won't be going in there." Miriam said.
"Melanie Stevens will."

So now they were on the way to the mall to buy her new clothes. She
couldn't dress like Melanie Stevens, that would give her away.
She would have to choose a new name, or simply call herself Melanie.
She brought it up to Sophie and Susan.

"I think you ought to keep using Melanie Stevens." Susan
said. "It'll throw people off."

"You don't think it would be too obvious?" Miriam said.

"Hey, if you have to leave a paper trail, who would go looking
for Melanie Stevens? She doesn't exist, remember?"

Miriam smiled. "Good point."

"Besides," Sophie said. "She's already your alter
ego. You already know her. It'll be that much easier to play her
than someone else."

"But this isn't acting." Miriam said.

"That's EXACTLY what it is." She said, looking briefly
over at Miriam in the passenger's seat. "Think about it:
you're playing a role to save your life. Sounds like acting to
me."

It was Susan who noticed the black car first. "Gals, I think we
got trouble." The other two turned and looked at the black car.

"It just wants to pass." Sophie said.

"I don't think so." Susan said.

They watched as the car kept swerving to stay in behind them. The
windows were tinted black and there was no license plate. It reminded
Miriam of a car of death, Death's car, stalking the highways for
fresh prey.

They knew they were in trouble when they felt the car bump the back
of Susan's BMW. At first, the bump was soft, playful. But they
all jumped when the car sped up and rammed right into the back of the
BMW, making the women shake in their seats.

The car came at them again, delivering another whiplash inducing bang
to the small car. This time, the entire car shuddered when it was
hit. "Oh, God!" Sophie cried. "What are they trying to
do!?"

"It's because I've talked." Miriam said. "I was
warned not to speak to anyone about this, they're after me!"

"How could they know you talked to either of us?" Susan said,
swerving right and left, trying to lose their tail. "How could
they have possibly known?"

There was another bang as the car hit them again. "Oh god,"
Sophie said, "They're trying to kill us, aren't they?
They're trying to run us off the road."

"Hang on girls!" Susan said, "It's going to be a
bumpy ride!"

Chapter Twelve

Her plan was simple: If she was going to sneak into the studio and
find out who was involved in this whole mess, she would have to do it
as Melanie Stevens. That way she would not be recognized.

"But see, you're wrong." Sophie pointed out.
"Everyone knows what Melanie Stevens looks like."

"Yes, but even Melanie Stevens has been known to wear a few
disguises."

Sophie regarded her friend for a moment. "Just what are you
planning here, Miriam?"

Miriam shrugged, smiled. "I don't know yet. I wish I
knew."

They were in Sophie's car, the early morning sun streaming
through the windshield. Miriam wore her large, gold sunglasses so
that her eyes could tolerate the light. She had had nightmares last
night, of Ronald. Of Jack. And Toby, sweet Toby, who still called to
her in her dreams. She had woken this morning with bags under her
eyes. She had found Sophie's booze cupboard and put a healthy
dollop of vodka in her coffee this morning. It helped to calm her
nerves.

They were meeting Susan for Saturday brunch at Amigo's, a small
bistro on Third. It served Californian food: bright fruit plates,
eggs and bacon, cottage cheese and bagels. The food was wonderful,
the clientele amazing and the ambiance was incredibly breathtaking.
Light cloth walls surrounded you in hues of beige and orange, reds
and browns. The ceiling was inlaid with soft light and music played
softly in the background.  And it was always busy. There would be
little chance they would be overheard.

Susan was already in a booth when they got there. Sophie smiled and
they headed towards her, as Susan stood to greet them. Sanding at a
petite five eight, Susan was an exotic beauty. Dark brown curls
tumbled in cork screws to her shoulders, framing an oval face and
large brown eyes. Her lips were pouty and she had curves to spare.
Her mouth widened in a huge smile when she saw Sophie.

"Sophie!" she gushed happily at seeing her friend, "long
time no see!"

"It HAS been too long," Sophie agreed, kissing Susan on both
cheeks.

"Yeah, well, let's not let that happen again." Susan said
smiling. She turned to Miriam. "I know who you are, of course. I
love your work, Miriam." She hugged Miriam softly.

Miriam tensed slightly, taken aback by Susan's kindness.  She
softened a little and hugged her back. "Happy to meet you."
Miriam said. "You're such a good addition to Passions."

Susan smiled. "Juliet Mills is getting pissed that I'm
stealing all her good scenes, but hey, what can you do? That's
showbiz."

They sat down in the booth, a deep seated affair with soft benches
covered in plush green fabric. The booth was a dark wood affair with
gold brass finishing's.

The waiter came and took their drink orders. "I want a Mai
Tai," Susan said. "Nothing beats a good Mai Tai."

Sophie ordered coffee. Miriam ordered a mimosa.  When the waiter came
with their drinks and they ordered brunch (lox and bagels for all of
them, plus a side of potato wedges, juice, sides of bacon and toast)
Susan turned to Sophie and smiled. "So," she said. "How
about you tell me what's going on?"

"What makes you think anything's going on?" Sophie asked.

"Because, I know you. I know when something is bothering you.
Look," she pointed to Sophie's left eye. "Your left eye
is twitching again."

A hand flew to Sophie's eye. "Is not!"

"Is so!" Susan shot back. "Come on, out with it. Whatever
it is, it can't be any worse than some of the storylines on
Passions…"

Sophie looked at Miriam. "Did you want to tell it or should
I?"

"I will." Miriam said. "It helps…" For the next half
hour, while they dined, Miriam filled Susan in on what was going on
the sets of "Hope Falls".  To her credit, Susan didn't
interrupt once. She just ate and listened and sipped her Mai Tai.
Miriam left out the deaths of Ronald, Jack and Toby. She could not
bear to recount their ends yet. Besides, they would meet her in her
dreams.

When she was done, Susan smiled wryly. "Well, I was wrong.
It's worse than a storyline on Passions."

"But you believe us?" Sophie asked.

"You would never lie to me, I know that."

"Than you'll help me?" Miriam asked. She pleaded with her
eyes.

"Yes, I will. But after that, I need another Mai Tai. Then
we're going shopping." Susan signaled the waiter to bring
them all another round of drinks. This time around, Sophie ordered a
screwdriver.

Chapter Eleven

"They what?" Sophie whispered. The evening was coming fast.
Miriam had been talking most of the day and the end of another day
approached. They could see the sun setting in the distance. Sophie
stood from her barstool and started rummaging in the fridge.

"They burned her to death." Miriam repeated.

"Miriam…what are you saying?"

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me."

"I believe you, I do, I really do." She ran to her friend and
took her hands in hers. She squeezed Miriam's hands and gave her
another cigarette. She refilled her coffee and went back to the
fridge. She took out a chocolate cake and set it on the table with
two forks. She rejoined Miriam on her own bar stool "What
happened, Miriam?"

"It was three years after Caroline's death. There had been
another rewrite."



*



Miriam remembered seeing the blue pages in amongst the white ones,
remembered that familiar feeling of dread that she felt in the pit of
her stomach. She flipped to the blue pages and began reading:


….(INT: Night, STEVENS MANSION. STACEY sits in the living room,
alone. MELANIE and MARK are both out. STACEY site alone. She looks to
the picture of GRAM STEVENS on the mantle piece. Mesmerized, she
approaches the mantle and takes hold of the picture.)

STACEY: (sadly) You never loved me.

(She holds the picture to the light so that the glass shines. GRAM
STEVENS seems to move underneath the glass.)

STACEY: You never loved any of us. Mother is so screwed up because of
you, do you know that Gram? Do you?

(she is becoming irate, pacing the ground. She spits at the picture.)

STACEY: I hate you! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU! YOU RUINED OUR LIVES!

(There is a noise and a GHOST appears in the shape of GRAN STEVNS)

GRAM: You wretched little whore! You don't love your mother like
I did, you don't love my baby! You only exist to suck her tit! You
suck her dry until she has no more love to give you!

STACEY: Than why does she fear you? Why does she fear the mention of
your name?

GRAM: Because I am able to strike fear into all that meet me.

STACEY: You don't scare me! I'm not afraid of you!

GRAM: You should be. (Menacing look) You should be.

(There is a loud BANG and a large fireball roars out of the
fireplace. STACEY SCREAMS as she is engulfed in the flames.)

GRAM: Your mother was cursed when she had you! Now you will pay the
price!

(STACEY continues to scream, flailing about the room, waving her arms
and SCREAMING in the loudest, shrillest voice. Fire leaps off of her
body and sets furniture on fire.

[EXT: NIGHT: STEVENS MANSION:  MARK and MIRIAM drive up in time to
see the mansion burns to the ground. There is another SCREAM and
STACEY throws herself from the window, hitting the ground five stores
below with a loud SMACK]


*


"I had to watch her die again when they played the dailies."
Miriam said. "They shot gasoline out at her when she shot out the
fire. I could smell it when I ran to her. I took my coat off and
tried to put out the flames. But it was too late." A tear rolled
down Miriam's cheek. "She was a charred corpse and was dead
when she hit the ground."

Sophie didn't say anything for a moment. Then she said: "What
are you planning to do?" When Miriam told her, Sophie looked
grim. "I don't know if I can help you with that."

"But you have always been good with make up! You used to work in
the theatre."

"Yes, but this goes beyond even my expertise. But don't
worry; I can take you to see a friend of mine."

"Who?"

"Her names Susan. She plays Annabelle on Passions."

"Isn't that the woman that is really Tabitha's
sister?"

"Yeah, except no one except Tabitha knows yet."

Miriam smiled. "Do you think she can help me?"

Sophie smiled back. "Girl, if she can't help you, no one
can." She drank the last of her coffee and took another mouth
full of cake. "Now come one, dig in. We'll watch a movie
tonight and go and see her tomorrow morning. It's too late right
now to make a house call."

As Miriam readied herself for bed, she knew that nightmares would be
coming for her. Talking of Bruce, Caroline and Stacey always brought
the dreams. Thinking of them brought nightmares.

She closed her eyes with worry, but, thankfully, she was asleep in
moments. She slept a dreamless sleep that night, but sometime around
four o'clock in the morning she heard a tick tick tick sound
coming from the window. When she looked in that direction, there was
no one there. She had the vague sense that she was being watched.

She got up, closed the blinds and nestled further into the blankets.
She laid her head back down and was asleep again within moments.

Hey Jax!

I'm glad you enjoyed Electric Blue. I had fun with that one. Were you able
to read Electric Pink yet? I'm glad you find my work so readable, that's a
high compliment! Now if only I can find an agent.. :) I'm just glad taht
you're enjoying my work!!!

And sure, if you write a serial novel, I'd be honoured to read it! If you
need some tips on how to write one, I have my column up on my web site at

http://crowswolf.tripod.com/jamiesonwolfvilleneuve/id9.html

Thanks for calling me a compelling writer, no one has every said that to me
before! ::blush:: thank you so very much! I'm just glad you're enjoying the
ride!

Cheers and Hugs
Jamieson

jax goss wrote:

> Jamieson, I never got to tell you how much i enjoyed
> electric blue. I've been away, so I had to sit down
> and read most of the last half in one shot! It was
> awesome. And I'm really enjoying this one too!
>
> I'm kinda thinking of starting my own serial novel -
> you've inspired me! If i do, would you want to read
> it?
>
> anyway, thanks for letting me in on this, and keep it
> up - you're a very compelling writer!
>
> Jax
>
> =====
> "The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty.
>        The glass is just twice as large as it needs to be."
>
> Visit the dragon's lair....    http://www.freewebs.com/royaldragon/
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!
> http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Jamieson, I never got to tell you how much i enjoyed
electric blue. I've been away, so I had to sit down
and read most of the last half in one shot! It was
awesome. And I'm really enjoying this one too!

I'm kinda thinking of starting my own serial novel -
you've inspired me! If i do, would you want to read
it?

anyway, thanks for letting me in on this, and keep it
up - you're a very compelling writer!

Jax

=====
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty.
        The glass is just twice as large as it needs to be."

Visit the dragon's lair....    http://www.freewebs.com/royaldragon/



__________________________________
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New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!
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Hey Erin,

I'm so glad you're enjoying Hope Falls! (and I'm really glad you enjoyed
Electric Pink too! That's excellent!)  Now you can read Electric Blue if
you'd like. LOL. Keep reading Hope Falls and I'm so glad to have you on
board!

If you think anyone else would enjoy it, send them here! The more the
merrier!

Cheers,
Jamieson

yadda wrote:

> Awesome! I've missed reading it :) I'm a new fan so at
> least I could read the other online novellas you have.
> I've just finished electric pink and really enjoyed
> it. I found out about you from Kelley Armstrong's
> board.
> ~Erin
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Awesome! I've missed reading it :) I'm a new fan so at
least I could read the other online novellas you have.
I've just finished electric pink and really enjoyed
it. I found out about you from Kelley Armstrong's
board.
~Erin



______________________________________________________________________
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca

Chapter Ten

"What do you mean, you have to become Melanie Stevens?"
Sophie said. "You're not making sense."

"Oh, none of this makes any sense, Sophie!" Miriam wailed and
flung herself back on the bed. "None of this makes any
sense." She started sobbing into the covers.

Sophie came over and rubbed her friends back. "It's going to
be okay, Miriam. Here, we'll take your breakfast to the kitchen
and eat in the sun. That ought to cheer you up. Than we're going
to have a drink and you're gonna spill the beans. Kapeesh?"

Miriam nodded her eyes puffy.

"Here, I'll carry that. I'll also get us something to put
in that coffee."

Sophie led the way to the kitchen and Miriam, as always, was awed by
it. It was an array of wood and chrome, both shiny. There were wooden
cupboards over top of a stainless steel stove, which was next to a
chrome and steel fridge. A dishwasher glinted in the corner,
underneath granite counter tops. Sophie loved to cook and had made
the kitchen her oasis. She had never married.

Miriam sat on one of the stools that surrounded the bistro table in
the kitchen by the window. She shuffled softly to the table and dug
into her eggs and bacon that Sophie had placed on the table. Sophie
returned a moment later with a bottle of Bailey's.

"A little drop in the morning will do you good." She said
smiling. She poured a dollop in each of their coffees, paused and
added another. "Sometimes you need more than a little."

Miriam sipped at her coffee and felt the Bailey's rush through
her bloodstream. It warmed her tummy and she could feel the coffee,
hot, heating her skin. She sighed with pleasure. She felt almost
human again.

"Now," Sophie said when Miriam had finished her breakfast.
"How about you start at the beginning okay?"

"You're not going to believe me."

"Yes I am, now spill." She pulled out a pack of Menthols.

"Can I have one of those?" Miriam asked.

"You don't smoke."

"I do for this." Sophie handed her a smoke and Miriam lit
up. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Miriam inhaled and blew out a plume of blue smoke. "I guess it
all started the day I tried to leave for a role on Days of Our
Lives."

"You got a part on that? You didn't tell me that!"

"Yeah, it was eight years into my stay at Hope Falls. But Harold
came to see me." She relayed what he had said about the Lifetime
Contract, how she had laughed at him. She told her about Bruce's
death a year later, Caroline's two years after that. "It was
so horrible, Sophie, so horrible!" she sobbed, remembering
Caroline. "She was such a good actress, Bruce was such a
sweetie."

"What about the others?" Sophie asked. It was the first time
she had spoken in over an hour.

"The others?"

"Yes, who were the other actors who had Lifetime Contracts?"

"There were eight of us, including me. Bruce, Caroline, Rachel,
Stacey, Ronald, Jack. And Toby.

"Toby, wasn't that the one who-"

"Yes." Miriam said. Her voice made it clear she would discuss
him no further.

"What happened to Stacey, than? You've told me what happened
to Bruce and Caroline."

"Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes." Sophie took her friends hand.

"They killed Stacey on set, just like the others."

"Who was she again?"

"She was that young woman who played my daughter, Anna. Remember,
the one who died in the house fire?"

"Yes, I remember her. House fire? Wait a minute, if what
you're saying is true, that means they-"

"Yes." Miriam said. "They burned her to death."

Hey Everyone,

Before I post todays chapter, I have to apologize. In my haste to
leave for my nine day vacation, I forgot to let you all know that I
would be away from a computer for that time. I am SO SORRY I forgot
to email you all and let you know. I hope you haven't been salivating
for Hope Falls too much. :)

So, please accept my apologies and without further ado, I'm going to
post todays' chapter. Hope Falls is back!

Cheers,
Jamieson

Chapter Nine

Miriam woke in a haze.

She turned onto her side when she heard bird song from the window.
She opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was.

Miriam sat up and took a look at her surroundings, wiping sleep from
her eyes. She was in a soft, lilac coloured bedroom. She was lying
beneath a purple duvet, surrounded by pillows. The bed she was on was
made of a dark wood. If she was going to survive, she had to be
observant.

She heard a noise in the hallway and pulled the blanket up to her
chin, though it would do no good. She noticed that she was no longer
wearing her clothes, but instead was clothed in a cotton night gown.

The noise came closer. It was a tinkling, clinking noise. Miriam kept
her eyes on the door. The doorknob rattled, reminding her of the
mysterious X at her apartment door. She began to shake under the
covers and watched as the door opened.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Sophie. She had two trays
of food balanced on her arms and a warm smile on her face.
"I'm glad to see you're awake."

"Thanks." Miriam said, taking a hold of one of the trays.
Sophie had made them a breakfast of eggs, toast, pancakes and hash
browns. "I'm going to gain twenty pounds when I eat this."

"You can stand to gain some weight."

"Thanks, love you too."

"Well, you can. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror
lately?"

"Of course I have."

"Than are you blind?"

"What kind of a question is that to ask me?" A hand went to
Miriam's throat.

"Don't play victim with me, Miriam. You do enough of that at
work."

"What a horrible thing to say!"

"It's the truth!" Sophie was red faced, her black hair
tussled. Miriam couldn't help to start laughing at her friend;
short as she was she looked like a very angry gnome. "Oh, I'm
glad you think this is funny!"

"I'm sorry!" Miriam said through laughter, "you just
look so…so…pissed off!" Miriam lost herself in a new fit
of the giggles, snorting coffee through her nose. When she was done,
Sophie looked at her.

"Now do you feel like telling me what is going on?"

"How did I get here?"

"I carried you after you fainted last night. I told them you
didn't like the sight of blood. I put you in my car and drove you
here. What happened at the restaurant last night, Miriam?"

"We were being shot at." Miriam whispered.

"Miriam, what do you mean?"

"Just what I said, we were being shot at."

"Miriam, who was shooting at us?"

"I don't know. They were shooting at me."

"Why were they shooting at you?"

"Because they want to kill me."

"Oh my god…" Sophie put down her coffee, went to the desk
beside the bed Miriam was on and took out a pack of cigarettes from
one of the deep, wooden drawers. She pulled out a cigarette, flicked
a lighter and lit it. She inhaled, a blue plume of smoke rising above
her head. She handed the cigarette pack to Miriam who took one and
lit up as well. Then, Sophie spoke. "I think you have to tell me
what is going on."

"You believe me?"

"I don't know what to believe. But I can see you're
scared, Miriam. You have to trust me, you have to tell me what is
going on. There is something eating you inside, I can see that."

Miriam burst into a flood of tears. "I'm just so scared!"
she sobbed. She felt her forehead and the cuts that were there. She
had not imagined last night.

"Its okay, Miriam. I'm here for you, whatever you need me
for, alright?" Sophie sat down beside Miriam on the bed.
"You're like my sister. I'll do anything for you."

"You may regret you said that."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I need help. I need to become Melanie Stevens."

Chapter Eight

Miriam couldn't believe that she had not thought of it before.
This entire time, she had been trying to formulate a plan, something
to do to get her life back. All she had to do was become her
character. It was so simple, how could she not have thought of it?

People were always telling her to use what she knew. Well, she knew
how to act, knew how to act like a different person. Melanie Stevens.
Miriam smiled; this could work, this could really work.

"My name is Melanie Stevens." She said in her wispy actress
voice.

Melanie Stevens had worn many masks. During her thirty year stay in
Hope Falls, Melanie had been a psychologist, an explorer, an antique
hunter, a kidnapper, a detective, a police woman, an assassin and
many other professions. Each time she was to portray another skill;
someone would be hired to be her educator.

Like when she had to have a karate fight with one of the old evil
characters, a karate instructor had come to show her the art of self-
defense. She took to it like a natural. Or, when she had had to play
a cop, she had ridden around with a real police woman, watched her in
action and learnt a bit about the law.

This didn't make her an expert in anything, she knew that; but it
gave her an edge. It gave her something to fight back with. She would
not take all this lying down. She would stand up and fight; something
that they were not expecting from her. She knew that they probably
considered her a patsy, a push over, a helpless woman fighting for
her life. Well, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

Miriam thought again of Caroline lying bloody and still breathing on
top of the glass table. She had screamed and screamed a sound that
chilled her blood and all the while they filmed her. All the while,
the camera was still rolling. She ran to Caroline and put her arms
around the woman. And for the second time, someone died in her arms.

She would not allow herself to end up that way. She would not allow
herself to be at the mercy of these evil people. She had to find out
who was behind all this, all the Lifetime Contracts. She knew she was
the last actor on the show who had a Lifetime Contract and that her
days were numbered. She could not let everyone else's death be in
vain. She could not allow it.

Melanie Stevens was an intelligent woman. Melanie Stevens had
connections. She would become her character; she would start to
observe the world from inside Melanie Steven's head. She would be
able to immerse herself in the enemies' waters that way, would be
able to observe the enemy. It had to work. It just had to.

The night crawled on outside her apartment. She could see the shadows
crawling across her floor, could hear the buzzing of the street lamps
as the lit up. Her vodka and coke was on the table; she went to it
and took a sip. It steeled her nerves, made her stronger.

She couldn't phone DeDe again, not yet. She had to think of a way
to convince her. She knew someone who would help her, though, who
would believe her. And she needed help if she was going to pull this
off. She needed a shoulder to cry on. She picked up the phone and
called Sophie.


*


Sophie was also an actress on another popular daytime soap. All My
Children had been her home for several years and the two women had
bonded during a soap fan convention. They had become fast friends and
were like sisters. At least Miriam hoped they were. She could not
stand to be devastated again. The sound of DeDe's laughter
sounded in her ears.

Miriam was meeting Sophie in Mama's, a popular family restaurant
that specialized in Lebanese food. Miriam loved the spicy donairs,
the cool tubule. When she got to the table, Sophie was already there,
dipping pita bread in humus.

Sophie was short, just under five four and dark haired, with striking
brown eyes fringed by thick lashes. Her mouth was small with pouty
lips. But when she smiled, she lit up a room. Miriam envied her
friend. She played one of the hardest roles on television, that of
two identical twins. One was a good twin, one was a bad twin. Sophie
played both roles.

Her face smiled when she saw Miriam. "Honey, I ordered you a
Bloody Mary."

"Thank god."

"Well, not to be blunt, but you look like you need it."

"You have no idea."

Their drinks came and Miriam felt the warmth of the booze run through
her system. Sophie stated talking but Miriam held up her hand. She
ordered two more Bloody Mary's and a large grilled chicken salad,
a donair platter and some coffee. She drowned her second Bloody Mary
when it came and then turned to her friend.

"How about cluing me in on what is going on here." Sophie
said.

"I have something to tell you."

"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?"

"Is it?"

"You never drink like this, you normally eat like a bird, yet
you've downed two drinks in the space of half an hour and ordered
enough food to feed an army. What gives?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Hey," Sophie said. "We're soap actresses. We've
seen everything, remember? How about telling me what is going on
before running scared?"

Miriam nodded. "Alright. I have to tell someone." She said.
She was about to continue when her glass exploded, showering her in
Bloody Mary and shards of glass. Through a haze of glass and blood,
Miriam saw her friend reach forward and grab her hands.

"What is going ON, Miriam?" Sophie whispered.

"They're after me," she said. "They're trying to
kill me."  Blackness came quickly and she fell to the floor.

I'm so glad that you are hooked on another of my stories. :) I'm glad that you love it so much! I would love to find a publisher, but gotta find an agent first. LOL  King of Cliffhangers, eh? Yeah, I could get used to that name.

Todays episode is as much of a cliff hanger too. I hope everyone keeps enjoying the story as much as I'm beginning to enjoy writing it!

Hugs
Jamieson

Wanda the *B*Witch wrote:

 Jamieson, again you have me hooked! I finally had a chance to read all 6 chapters and all I can say is, you better find a publisher and fast! Love this story too! You are on overdrive and it shows in your work! Thank you for keeping me in your world! Can't wait but have to for the next chapter! You are the King of cliff hangers on each chapter! Well, I am hang on a vine on those cliffs, so you know where I am waiting for the next chapter! LOL You keep us all hanging! love this story!!!!!!! Wanda the *B*Witch
 Wanda the *B*Witch and Her Merry Band of Hobbits,One Cranky Dwarf,and One Gaffer Angel :)WANDA   f   English
Pronounced: WAWN-da
Possibly means "a Wend", referring to the Slavic people who inhabited eastern Germany.WANDA (f.) - Teutonic 'wanderer'; so RánaMerenwen Oronrá (elvish)Ruby Smallburrows of Sandydowns (Hobbit) 
 
 
 
 
 

---

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Chapter Seven

Clutching the box to her chest, she grabbed the vodka bottle and a
bottle of coke from the kitchen and went into the living room. She
placed the box and the bottles on her glass topped coffee table. Her
stomach growled at her and she realized that she hadn't eaten in
hours. She went back to the kitchen, grabbed a large bag of corn
chips and a jar of salsa and went back into the living room.

Ripping the bag open, she shoved some of the chips into her mouth and
crunched down hard. She felt like a fish in a bowl, her curtains open
to the black night around her. She could see lights in other
apartments, other houses, could hear voices raised in conversation on
the street. She felt alone and vulnerable and her apartment made her
cold.

Miriam went to the windows and pulled the curtains across the glass
panels with a swish of her wrist. Soft panels of cream coloured
Egyptian cotton stared back at her, a tapestry pattern roving over
the lengths of fabric. They closed out the world, helped her cocoon
herself. She had to be sure she was alone. Someone could be watching
her. She poured herself a glass of vodka, added a splash of coke and
sat on the couch in front of the box.

She reached forward and lightly touched the crinkled black paper. It
was the same paper as the envelope delivered by the mysterious X.
Dare she open this box? What if X meant her harm? She picked up the
box and shook it lightly, before putting it back on the table. She
recoiled from it, as if it would explode. It remained on the table,
no ticking coming from the inside. She picked up the box again.

X seemed to be a friend. She had been warned after her talk with
DeDe, and X had been right about that. The severed head in her
dressing room had been proof of that. Even then, X had taken pains to
write that note on the copy of her script. Who was they mysterious X?
Could this box hold a clue to X's identity? With shaking hands,
she reached forward and plucked the top off the box.

Inside were three things: A photograph of Caroline Ready, an envelope
and a small jewelry box, covered in soft black velvet.

"Someone is playing tricks with me." She said out loud.
"Someone is playing games." She shook her head and took
another sip of vodka to soothe he nerves. The stuff would be the
death of her.

The black envelope was the same as the other one, made from crinkly
black paper, except her name was written on the front on a white
piece of paper, made from the same stock as the card on the package.
The script was curvy; it flowed over the piece of paper, making her
name look like music notes.

She opened the envelope and removed the single white piece of paper
inside. On it were written the following words:


Do not let your fate be like hers.

X



Miriam closed her eyes and felt the tears well up. She flashed back
to Caroline Ready, to what had happened to her. She remembered it was
if it were yesterday…

…...They had been on set. Caroline played Miriam's mother on
the show, Prudence Stevens who was a woman made wealthy by her large
family fortune. Caroline had played Miriam's mother since she had
started on the show and the two women had formed a fast friendship.

Again, though, Caroline's ratings were falling. Her storyline had
faltered and Caroline had not been on the show much. It was as if her
character had become dead weight and the show had wanted to get rid
of her. Caroline Ready had a Lifetime Contract. At this time, Miriam
had been on the show for eleven years.

Two years after Bruce's death, Melanie received a script one
morning in her dressing room. Instead of all white pages, there were
blue pages at the end of the scene. There had been a rewrite. She
flipped to the end and read:


*


… (Int: STEVENS MANSION, Night. CAROLINE is standing on the
second floor landing of the STEVENS mansion. She stands in front of
the stair case, talking to MELANIE, MARK, ALISON STEVENS who are
standing below.

CAROLINE: Oh, my family, I am weary of this life!

(She moves to place her hands on the second floor landing railing.
The staircase if large, almost too big.)

MARK: What are you talking about mother? You look beautiful, not a
day over sixty.

CAROLINE: Oh, you flatter me, darling, my darling Mark. I am so happy
you found happiness with Melanie. Let her be the matriarch of this
family now; let her reign in my place, let her lead the family. She
will keep you safe, my son.

MELANIE: Oh, Caroline, what are you talking about? You are going to
outlive all of us!

CAROLINE: Oh, I am not, my darling. I can feel it, I can feel my time
coming!

ALISON: Grandma! Stop it, please grandmother, you're scaring me!

MARK: You're scaring the child, mother!

CAROLINE: I'm so sorry, Mark! Ever since I was hit on the head
during that freak winter storm accident, I have been able to see
things, you know of this! You have heard me talk of visitations,
spirits! They come to me at night, Mark!

(CAROLINE begins to twirl, her arms raised at her sides, spinning
madly like a top.)

CAROLINE: I can feel the spirits, Mark! They are coming for me!

(CAROLINE trips slightly, losing her footing. She falls into the
second floor landing railing which splinters and gives way under her
weight. With a SCREAM, CAROLINE falls two stories down onto a glass
topped coffee table. The TABLE shatters, impaling CAROLINE with glass
shards.)…


*

Miriam had dropped the script as if it had spit at her. She looked at
it, lying placidly on the floor at her feet. Caroline would die
today, she remembered thinking. Caroline would die today and she was
helpless to stop it.

On set, Caroline had died just as the script said she would. She
could tell the other actors, Toby, Anna, they didn't know what
was going on. At the time, Melanie did not know who had a lifetime
contract and who did not.  They were just acting. She knew that
Caroline had a lifetime contract too. The other actors thought
Caroline was acting. Melanie knew she was dying.

As she watched her friend bleed to death, Melanie promised herself
that she would not let the same fate come to her, would not let the
same fate end her life. She would fight for it. This thought brought
her back to the present, where she looked at the black box sitting on
her table.

She took out the picture of Caroline, her red hair full and thick, a
smile on her face. She set the picture on her table, so that she
could look at her. She kissed her fingertips and pressed them to the
picture and then opened the velvet box.

Inside was a small silver ring with a diamond in its centre. Melanie
recognized the ring instantly; it had been Caroline's when she
had been alive. How it had ended up in her box, how the mysterious X
had gotten a hold of it, she had no idea. She slipped it on to her
right hand ring finger and it felt good there. It made her feel safe.
She cried at the memory of her friend.

Do not let your fate be like hers, the note had said. She knew what
she must do. She would become her character, her alter ego. She would
become Melanie Stevens.

Chapter Six

"I don't want to get out of the car." Miriam said.

The actor playing the cop had the gun in her face, through the rolled
down window. The lights on the set made the car hot, like a small
oven. Miriam could feel her make up beginning to slip off her face.

"Step out of the car, please, m'am." The man probably
didn't know that the bullets were real. He probably thought he
was still acting, Miriam thought, when she was fighting for her life.
She looked around the set, wildly. Who else was in on this? She knew
Howard was, but whom else? She had to find out whom and take them
down.

"No, I don't think I will." Miriam said in Melanie's
whispery voice. "I'm not feeling well, officer, I don't
think I can get up." She coughed unconvincingly. "Ahem."

"M'am, it's just a routine traffic check, but we need you
to get out of the car." He stood in front of her now. "We
found something in the trunk of your car, m'am. Children."
Miriam blanched. They had put bodies in the car, set the scene before
she got on stage. The prop master had to be in on this, the director.
Who else was keeping the secret? She knew the other actors on the show
weren't that the light techs and the make up artists didn't
know. But could she be so sure?

She couldn't trust anyone. She had to outthink them before they
killed her. Whoever "they" were.

"I don't want to get out of the car." She said. She
reached into her purse, took out her can of mace. With lightning
quick movement, she sprayed the cops face, closed the door of the car
and started the engine. She almost wept with relief when it started.
It was real, it was a real car. She gunned the engine and pressed the
gas pedal.

Everyone screamed and jumped out of her way. She got the car off set
and ended up crashing into one of the sets walls with a blinding
crash. The windshield broke, shattering her with glass. She felt as
if she were being bathed in diamonds. The glass felt cold on her skin
and she blinked her eyes, feeling blood begin to pool there.

"CUT!" the director yelled. "Oh, god Miriam, that was
fantastic!" he ran over to her. "That was SO MUCH better than
what was written, how did you ever think of that? To think they
wanted to kill you off today!" He took her hand. "Great job
today honey, let's get you cleaned up…"


*


Miriam went home after the shooting, the sun setting in pinks and
reds in the hills. She stood on her balcony, sipping a glass of white
wine. Traffic blared below her. She could hear the horns blaring. It
always reminded her of children screaming in the streets, all the
needless noise. Still, she welcomed the noise.

After her husband, Chad Winthrop, had left her when her career had
begun to shine, she had changed back to her maiden name and got this
little apartment in downtown Burbank. It had been home ever since.
She lived alone, had no time for pets and was very lonely. Noise
could be a friend as much as a person could.

The director hadn't known. She was sure of that. Larry hadn't
known what was going on, that she was close to death on the stage. He
hadn't known what was going on. She wondered if anyone else
besides Harold on the show knew what was going on. Larry was only the
director; Harold was the producer. There were a lot of things that
directors didn't know.

She would need to find out some more information. If she was going to
fight for her life, she needed to know what she was fighting against.
And she needed a friend. She would try DeDe again, talk to her. See
if she could convince her friend, even though the very act of talking
could mean her downfall.

Miriam was about to mix herself another drink when she heard a noise
in the hallway. She stopped what she was doing right away. After the
fake head that had been left in her dressing room, she was on
constant alert.

She heard the floorboards creak outside her front door. She tip toed
to the door, careful not to make any noise. She needed to look
through the peep hole. She leaned forward and looked and was shocked
to see that the glass eye had been covered with white tape, in the
shape of an X.  Miriam could not see the hallway, could not see
anything but the white tape. She heard more noises outside her
apartment door and held her breath, waiting.

Someone tried her doorknob again, rattling it but not turning it. It
wasn't locked and Miriam prayed that whoever it was, they would
not open the door. The handle giggled again for a bit, shook, it's
gold handle jittering and then stopped. Miriam hear footsteps and
tried to look through the peephole, but it was still covered over
with the white tape.

Miriam hoped whoever it was would go away and was rewarded with the
sound of footsteps now moving away from her apartment. She let out a
breath and breathed deep. She could feel her heart racing and jumping
in her chest and she hugged herself.

Should she open the door? She had to, if she wanted to see out of her
peep hole ever again. She closed her eyes, counted to ten and ripped
the door open. There was no one there.

Cursing herself for acting stupid, Miriam peeled off the white X that
had been left over the peephole. She was about to close the door when
she noticed a small box, wrapped in crinkled black paper. The same
black paper as the envelope the other day.  It was sitting in front
of her door. She bent down and picked it up.

On the top was a little white card. On it was her name, written in
black. She opened the little card and looked at the words written
there.

"Open me" it said.

She frowned to herself, took the box into her apartment with her and
closed the door behind her. She turned both locks, put the chain on
and went to find the vodka.

Chapter Five

Miriam went into the studio the next morning and blinked behind her
sunglasses, narrowing her eyes against the bright lights and the
flashes from people's cameras.  Today, everything seemed bright:
the Burbank sun, the lights above her. She had another hang over and
had three scenes to shoot today. She choked back another Pepto-Bismol
tablet and made her way inside.

The fact that DeDe had not believed her had crushed her. She could
not believe that her best friend did not believe her. Didn't all
the heroines of novels have side kicks that they could count on, best
girlfriends that came to their aid? She cursed herself for her
romantic notions. She would have to go through this alone.

Besides, there was still hope. Her ratings were slipping, but they
had yet to fall drastically. Miriam had read the Lifetime Contract
through cover to cover, a total of twelve times. She knew it inside
out now. She would not make that mistake again. The contract said
that, only when the ratings fell below the fifty percent line, then
she was in trouble.

There had to be something she could do. With her present storyline
making her the evil character, her ratings would drop like a hot
potato. She didn't understand. Usually when a good character went
bad on a soap, it brought in tons of ratings. But the audience for
"Hope Falls" seemed to be fickle. Her characters current
position
displeased them. Not that Miriam could blame them.

Melanie Stevens had been on "Hope Falls" since its heyday,
and so had Miriam. She had played the roll from the very beginning.
Her character had started out as heir to the Stevens fortune, become
a countess, married four times, had been brought back from the dead
six times and was still the most beloved character in Hope Falls.
And now her star was falling.

Miriam supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Soap Opera's were
hypocritical. Many a time she had seen an actress start out the week
and be fired at the end of it. Acting was such a unstable field. But
she had thought she had stability. She had been wrong.

She passed by the front desk, waved to Louise, the receptionist and
went down the long hallway to her dressing room. She stifled a scream
when she saw what was inside.

A woman's head had been severed at the neck and sat on her
dressing room table, bleeding from the wound that was her neck. She
had pale blue eyes and platinum blond hair, not unlike her own hazel
eyes and light blond hair. She stifled another scream when she could
hear the blood dripping onto the floor and closed the door behind
her.

Standing there in darkness, Miriam felt her head spin. It felt as if
she would float away. She closed her eyes in the darkness to steady
herself and reached out to flick the light on. When she felt the
light hit her eyelids, she slowly opened her eyes. She turned around
slowly and slowly approached the woman's head.

As she got closer, she realized something however: the head was not
real. It was a very convincing prop, made to look like her. They were
warning her; they knew that she had talked to DeDe; how they knew,
she had no idea.

There was also the question of the mysterious envelope. Who had
brought it to her? Why didn't they show themselves so that they
could help her? With a small, disgusted sound, Miriam picked up the
dummy head by the strings of its hair and dropped it in the garbage.
That was when she saw what was underneath.

It was the script for her three scenes. "Hope Falls" taped in
the morning like most soaps and ran their taped footage in the
afternoon. Actors on soaps didn't have a lot of time to get their
lines right, but acting on a soap was so spontaneous, normally she
loved it. She already had a script for her scenes in her bag, had
been studying them all last week.

She picked up the script. It was a copy. There was no front page and
the paper felt different than the script pages, more coarse.  She
flipped through the script and was about to put it back when she saw
what was on the back.

"Miriam,

I am a friend.

Watch for me.

X"


Miriam blinked at herself in the mirror. Was this friend the same
person that had sent her the black envelope? What was going on?
Putting the script inside her bag, she blew her nose, wiped at the
mascara that had blurred around her eyes and went to get ready for
hair and make up.



*


On set, Miriam breathed deeply. She had shot two scenes already, one
with Anna, the actress who played one of her ten children and the
other with husband number four, Douglas Calliway who played Marcus
Daniels. Melanie hated acting with Douglas, he had breath bad enough
to peel wall paper, and he was always making lewd passes at her.
Anna, who played her daughter Allison, was a wonderful treat to work
with. She found herself happy knowing that there was no chance of
Allison having to sign a Lifetime Contract and have her life taken
away from her.

They were shooting the third scene, where her character continued to
evade police. They were getting close to finding the Hope Falls
Kidnapper, someone responsible for stealing twelve children from the
neighborhood. But they had yet to figure out it was Melanie. Miriam
wished they would find out soon, she was sick of playing the evil
character. It took so much energy.

The scene took place between Melanie and two police who stopped her
car during a routine traffic check. A child was hidden in the trunk
of her car. The director yelled action and she felt the lights get
brighter. It was hot inside the car they had erected on set. She
could feel her skin sweating against the fake leather interior.
"What seems to be the problem, officer?" Miriam said as
Melanie.

"Nothing m'am," said one of the cop actors. "Just a
routine traffic stop."

"Oh, of course, silly me!" Miriam said. "Carry on."
She watched as the actors checked out her car and as one went to the
trunk to open it. She narrowed her eyes. That was odd; that
wasn't in the script. She had gotten away at the end of the
scene.

Melanie watched in horror as one of the actors playing the cops came
to her window and tapped on the glass with the butt of the gun. She
rolled down her window, only to have the gun pointed right between
her eyes. She knew, somehow, that the bullets inside the gun were
probably real.

"Step out of the car, please, m'am." The cop said.

Miriam smiled and opened the door. They were going to kill her on
set. Execution style.

Chapter Four

"Oh, god sweetie, you look horrible!" DeDe said.

They were sitting at a corner table in Spigo's, a fashionable
Italian restaurant that served really wonderful mimosas.  Miriam
stirred hers with her finger, the ice clinking in the glass. She
licked her finger and took a sip. "Thanks." She said.

DeDe worked on "Days of Our Lives" and was another soap
veteran. She looked at her friend over the rim of her glass. White
wine swirled at the bottom. "I'm sorry honey, but you look
awful. Have you been sleeping?"

Miriam shook her head. "No, I've been having
these….dreams." Last night, she had dreamt of Toby, sweet
Toby. His face haunted her still.

"Are you having nightmares?"

Miriam smiled weakly and shook her head. "No, no, nothing like
that."

"Than what is it?" DeDe put down her drink. "Honey, what
aren't you telling me?"

"I'm okay." Miriam said. "Really."

"No, your not." DeDe reached across the table and took her
friends hands in her own. "You're shaking, you have dark
circles under your eyes, and your hair looks horrible. What is WRONG,
Miriam?"

Miriam closed her eyes and blinked back tears.  How could she tell
her, how? If she told anyone, they would know. They would find her.
But could she go on like this? How long would she last like this,
unable to talk to anyone? "I'm okay, I just…I just
don't like my storyline." She frowned. "That's
all."

"You're lying to me."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"I can't, I'm sorry I can't." Miriam felt the
tears starting.

"God, honey, what is it? What has you so scared?"

"Do you remember Bruce?"

"The actor who played your son?"

"Yes."

"He didn't just leave the show." She lowered her voice
and whispered, moving closer to her friend. "They killed
him." She said quietly.

"Who killed him?" DeDe said.

"They did, the show did." Even softer whisper. "Harold
did…"

"Miriam, what are you saying?"

"I told you that you wouldn't understand."

Her friend looked at her and shook her head. "Oh, sweetie."
She patted her hand. "You know what you need? You need a
vacation."

"What?" Miriam couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You're worn out. You've been working on that kidnapper
storyline and they haven't given Melanie Stevens any rest, have
they?" DeDe smiled. "You're the star honey, talk to them,
get them to give you some time off honey. You look like you need
it."

Miriam blinked. She spoke slowly. "Didn't you hear what I
said?"

DeDe giggles. "Oh, Miriam, sweetheart. You take your job too
seriously, you need a break. Honey, a real vacation." She
laughed. "Harold killing Bruce, honestly!" her laughter was
like needles into Miriam's heart.

No one would believe her, not even her best friend. She was in this
alone, she thought. She was in this alone.

She went back to her apartment after lunch and took a shower. She
felt dirty, like she couldn't get clean. The entire way home, she
felt as if she were being watched. While she was toweling off and
putting on her terrycloth bathrobe, she heard a noise in the hallway
outside her apartment. And then a knock at her door.

She froze. She stood there, in her hallway, looking at the front door
and not breathing. She had forgotten to lock the door. She could see
the chain dangling, a flash of gold against the white doorframe.

Miriam waited, listening hard. There was movement in the hallway. She
watched as her doorknob was slowly turned, and then it stopped. She
heard a noise and looked down. A black envelope was being slid under
her door. Footsteps walked away from her apartment.

She started breathing again, standing there for a few minutes until
the beating of her heart slowed to a normal pace. Slowly, carefully,
she bent down and picked up the envelope. She locked both the door,
the deadbolt and than slid the chain across for good measure.

Ripping the envelope open with her finger nails, she took out the
single white piece of paper inside. There was no name on the front of
the envelope.

The paper was white and thick, good stock. It felt smooth under her
fingers. She opened the paper and stared at the words written there:

Talk to no one. You are being watched.

Miriam gasped and clutched the paper to her chest. She looked around
her apartment and suddenly felt like a prisoner. Who had left this
for her and why had they not come into her apartment when they had
the chance? Miriam shivered and went to find the vodka.

Chapter Three

Miriam looked at the clock on her bedside table. She smashed the
alarm with her fist, ending its pitiful wailing and sat up in bed.
The first thing she saw was the empty vodka bottle. Never again, she
told herself. Her head felt as if it had been dragged through a field
of clouds. She went to the bathroom to splash water on her face and
put on the coffee maker.

While the coffee was brewing, she popped a bagel into her toaster and
stood waiting for it to toast. She was trying to keep her mind
focused on other things, but all she could think about was Harold in
his office. "Your ratings are slipping." She said out loud.
Even to her, the words had a chill to them. She wiped at tears that
sprouted up quickly and jumped when the toaster popped.

She remembered when she realized that Harold was serious about his
claims. It was almost a year exactly after the conversation in his
office.

Bruce. God, how she missed Bruce. He had played her son Jackson
on "Hope Falls" from day one. She had watched him grow from a
child actor into a stunning man. She loved him as if he were her own
son.

Bruce was getting on though and he wasn€  '²t as good an actor
as he had been. Rumors started around the studio that his character
was going to be killed off. Miriam knew that Bruce had a lifetime
contract too and thought of talking to him. But she never believed
for an instant that Harold was serious.

True to form, the rumors were true. One Monday, she got her script
and was shocked to find that Jackson was going to be shot by a mugger
while they were at Hope Falls Mall.  The entire set had a waterfall
running behind it and every time she was on set she could hear the
roar of water.

Hope Falls, the town, is a fictional town based in the western United
States. The old shows told the story of how the Stevens had come to
the town and found the waterfall and named it Hope Falls, after the
waterfall. Hope Falls was essentially the story of the Stevens Family
and all who know them.

Miriam remembered reading that scene and feeling a cold, twisting
pain in her stomach. She ignored it though, never believing for an
instant that anything would actually happen. She wished she had
listened to her intuition. If she had, maybe Bruce would be alive
today.

She pictured the day clearly in her mind; it was branded there, burnt
into her skull. She could close her eyes and replay each moment. They
had come on set and Bruce had been rigged with fake blood that would
burst when the fake gun was fired. They took their places and the
director called action!

"Mother, look at that!" Bruce had said, pointing to something
in the Hope Falls Mall window. The patter of water was loud.

"Oh, Jackson isn't that darling!" God she hated her
dialogue. "Stacey would love that!" Stacey was Bruce's onscreen love,
played by a young woman named Hillary Prue.

"Oh, Mother!" Bruce said, hugging her tightly. He was careful
not to put his head on Melanie's shoulder, lest he get make up on her
blazer. "Do you really think she will like it?"

"Of course she will. She would be crazy not to." She said.
She regretted that those were her last words to him.

They were both expecting it, but the shots of the gun scared her when
they went off, even muffled as they were by the roaring water. Blood
popped out of Bruce€  '²s chest, his neck, his stomach; again and
again the gun went off. Ten shots in all. Miriam remembered thinking
that it was a lot of shots, a lot more than a gun would normally
hold.

Blood poured from a wound in his neck and slipped in between his
shirt collar. Miriam ran to him and clutched him like the script said
she should. "Oh, Jackson darling!" She expected to feel Bruce's blood
packs squeezing out their ooze, but instead she felt the hot heat of
real blood pressing against her. She looked into Bruce's eyes and
saw the truth.

"Oh god!"she said. "OH GOD!" her voice was raising.
She couldn't help it. Bruce was going to die in her arms. He fell and
she caught him, falling to the ground with him, cradling him in her
arms. He looked at her, Bruce's eyes moving wildly.

"Mi...Miriam..." he whispered.

"It's Okay." Miriam said, touching a hand to his cheek.
"It's going to be okay."

"I...tell....love you...so much.."

"Don't speak, honey, don't speak." She said. She
could see the blood beginning to pool out of his mouth, moving down
his chin. She kissed him softly on the forehead and felt him go limp
in her arms."

"CUT! Good work people!" The director came onto set and
grabbed her, pulling her away from Bruce. "NO!" she screamed. "NO! You
killed him, you killed him!" she screamed.  She was taken off set and
given a sedative. Harold came to see her in her trailer.

"I hear there was a commotion on set today." He said.

"Bruce, oh god Harold, Bruce, he-"

"He had a lifetime contract." Harold said. "He knew what
was happening." He patted her hand. "Don't worry, he
didn't feel a thing."

"His ratings."

"They were dropping, yes. He had to go, Miriam. I'm
sorry."

She missed Bruce horribly after he had died, but she knew that if she
said anything, they would most likely kill her. And besides, who was
likely to believe her? She ate her bagel and than hopped in the
shower. She was meeting DeDe for lunch at Spigo's.

Why did you have to send this to me at work ? I know I won't be able to
stop reading!!

:)

"J. Wolf" wrote:

> Woo hoo, thanks Mum!! :)  I will! Glad your hooked :)  WOOHOO!
>
> susannewf3 wrote:
>
> > So far I am hooked and I cannot WAIT for the next chapter.  Keep em
> > coming.
> >
> > Yay!!
> >
> > Susan (Villeneuve)
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Woo hoo, thanks Mum!! :)  I will! Glad your hooked :)  WOOHOO!

susannewf3 wrote:

> So far I am hooked and I cannot WAIT for the next chapter.  Keep em
> coming.
>
> Yay!!
>
> Susan (Villeneuve)
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

So far I am hooked and I cannot WAIT for the next chapter.  Keep em
coming.

Yay!!

Susan (Villeneuve)

YAY !

Jamieson Wolf Villeneuve wrote:

> Chapter Two
>
> Miriam remembered running after Harold, catching him in the hallway.
> She had grabbed his arm and spun him around, a wild look in her eyes.
>
> "What do you mean you own me?"
>
> "Exactly that." Harold said. "I thought you knew."
>
> "I have no idea what you're talking about." She said.
> "I never read a clause like that before in my contract!"
>
> "Yes, there was, there is, I just showed it to you Miriam. Could
> it be that you were not paying attention?"
>
> They were standing in the hallway that connected all the dressing
> rooms. Pictures of the stars of "Hope Falls" adorned the
> walls. She stared at her own face and was almost disgusted by it.
> "It wasn't there when I singed it." She said.
>
> Harold smiled. "Nevertheless, you did sign it and it's a
> legal binding contract. All the actors with lifetime contracts have
> this clause." He looked behind her. The door to Toby's room
> had opened and he came out into the hallway.
>
> He had shoulder length, curly black hair and he made Miriam feel as
> if she were floating along on a cloud every time he smiled at her.
>
> "Hey Parker." He said. He flashed a grin.
>
> Miriam felt her pulse double. "Hello Toby." She smiled back.
>
> "How about we continue this conversation inside my office?"
> Harold said; Miriam knew it wasn't a question.
>
> "I'll see you around, Parker." Toby said. "Did you
> want to run lines later?"  Toby played Mark Dashing, police
> commissioner and Melanie's husband.
>
> "Sure, Toby. I'll come and find you later." She said. He
> smiled at her again and went back into his dressing room. Harold
> grabbed her by the elbow and led her to his office.
>
> It was behind a big oak door that was at the end of the hallway of
> dressing rooms. The sign on the door said "Producer".
>
> "Sit down," he said. "Would you like a drink?"
>
> "No." Miriam spat out at him. "I'd like to know what
> the hell you mean by saying you own me."
>
> "I've already told you, Miriam, why do we have to go over it
> again?"
>
> "Because I need to hear it again." She said and looked at him
> with cool grey eyes and waited for him to answer her. Finally he
> shrugged.
>
> "There's not much to tell. When an actor is offered a
> lifetime contract on "Hope Falls", it really is lifetime
> contract. We own the character you play, and the actor who plays that
> character, until the person dies."
>
> "That's barbaric!" she said.
>
> "It was necessary. All of our best actors jumping ship when they
> were offered something different?" he grinned at her. "We
> couldn't have that. So, we introduced the Lifetime Contract
> Clause." He pushed her file over toward her. "Here, read page
> twelve. That will make everything clear as crystal." He smiled.
>
> With a shaking hand and drew the file towards her. She turned to page
> twelve and began to read. Half way down the page, a part of
> the "Lifetime Contract Clause" caught her eye. It read:
>
> A) 1-Should said actors ratings drop for any reason, Callaway Ent.
> Inc. reserves the right to terminate said contract.
>
> "There!" she said. "There, if my ratings fall, I can
> leave, right?"
>
> "Yes, but not in the way you are thinking." Harold said.
>
> "What do you mean?"
>
> "You really haven't read this thing at all have you? God, I
> remember you that day you came in; you were so desperate for work,
> you would of worked for two dollars an hour."
>
> Miriam felt as if she had been slapped. "I don't
> understand." She said.
>
> "If you had bothered to read the contract, you would."
>
> "Harold, that was eight years ago-"
>
> He held up his hand to stop her. "There are only eight cast
> members that have lifetime contracts, including you. We needed to
> make sure that we would give you the right motivation to stay with
> our show, to keep it popular, so that the actors would never change.
> We wanted to give our viewers a sense of family and we couldn't
> do that with the lead actors wanting to leave."
>
> "What do you mean by motivation?" Miriam was getting awfully
> tired of repeating herself and wished that Harold would just get to
> the point.
>
> "Well, what do people value more than anything? Life. So, if your
> ratings drop, we kill you."
>
> Miriam's eyes widened in surprise; she wasn't sure she heard
> him right.
>
> "I beg your pardon?"
>
> "Your ratings drop, we kill you. You try to leave, we kill you.
> When we say lifetime contract, we mean lifetime contract,
> Miriam." He took out a copy of the contract and gave it to her.
> "Take this home, read it." He gestured at the door.
>
> Tears burned Miriam's face as she remembered that day, as she
> thought back to the moment she began to fight for her life. She took
> another sip of vodka and went to the fridge to get something to fill
> her depression.
>
> Her ratings were dropping. Her days were numbered. The blood moon was
> her only company, the red of its face like fire on the horizon
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Chapter Two

Miriam remembered running after Harold, catching him in the hallway.
She had grabbed his arm and spun him around, a wild look in her eyes.

"What do you mean you own me?"

"Exactly that." Harold said. "I thought you knew."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said.
"I never read a clause like that before in my contract!"

"Yes, there was, there is, I just showed it to you Miriam. Could
it be that you were not paying attention?"

They were standing in the hallway that connected all the dressing
rooms. Pictures of the stars of "Hope Falls" adorned the
walls. She stared at her own face and was almost disgusted by it.
"It wasn't there when I singed it." She said.

Harold smiled. "Nevertheless, you did sign it and it's a
legal binding contract. All the actors with lifetime contracts have
this clause." He looked behind her. The door to Toby's room
had opened and he came out into the hallway.

He had shoulder length, curly black hair and he made Miriam feel as
if she were floating along on a cloud every time he smiled at her.

"Hey Parker." He said. He flashed a grin.

Miriam felt her pulse double. "Hello Toby." She smiled back.

"How about we continue this conversation inside my office?"
Harold said; Miriam knew it wasn't a question.

"I'll see you around, Parker." Toby said. "Did you
want to run lines later?"  Toby played Mark Dashing, police
commissioner and Melanie's husband.

"Sure, Toby. I'll come and find you later." She said. He
smiled at her again and went back into his dressing room. Harold
grabbed her by the elbow and led her to his office.

It was behind a big oak door that was at the end of the hallway of
dressing rooms. The sign on the door said "Producer".

"Sit down," he said. "Would you like a drink?"

"No." Miriam spat out at him. "I'd like to know what
the hell you mean by saying you own me."

"I've already told you, Miriam, why do we have to go over it
again?"

"Because I need to hear it again." She said and looked at him
with cool grey eyes and waited for him to answer her. Finally he
shrugged.

"There's not much to tell. When an actor is offered a
lifetime contract on "Hope Falls", it really is lifetime
contract. We own the character you play, and the actor who plays that
character, until the person dies."

"That's barbaric!" she said.

"It was necessary. All of our best actors jumping ship when they
were offered something different?" he grinned at her. "We
couldn't have that. So, we introduced the Lifetime Contract
Clause." He pushed her file over toward her. "Here, read page
twelve. That will make everything clear as crystal." He smiled.

With a shaking hand and drew the file towards her. She turned to page
twelve and began to read. Half way down the page, a part of
the "Lifetime Contract Clause" caught her eye. It read:

A) 1-Should said actors ratings drop for any reason, Callaway Ent.
Inc. reserves the right to terminate said contract.

"There!" she said. "There, if my ratings fall, I can
leave, right?"

"Yes, but not in the way you are thinking." Harold said.

"What do you mean?"

"You really haven't read this thing at all have you? God, I
remember you that day you came in; you were so desperate for work,
you would of worked for two dollars an hour."

Miriam felt as if she had been slapped. "I don't
understand." She said.

"If you had bothered to read the contract, you would."

"Harold, that was eight years ago-"

He held up his hand to stop her. "There are only eight cast
members that have lifetime contracts, including you. We needed to
make sure that we would give you the right motivation to stay with
our show, to keep it popular, so that the actors would never change.
We wanted to give our viewers a sense of family and we couldn't
do that with the lead actors wanting to leave."

"What do you mean by motivation?" Miriam was getting awfully
tired of repeating herself and wished that Harold would just get to
the point.

"Well, what do people value more than anything? Life. So, if your
ratings drop, we kill you."

Miriam's eyes widened in surprise; she wasn't sure she heard
him right.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your ratings drop, we kill you. You try to leave, we kill you.
When we say lifetime contract, we mean lifetime contract,
Miriam." He took out a copy of the contract and gave it to her.
"Take this home, read it." He gestured at the door.

Tears burned Miriam's face as she remembered that day, as she
thought back to the moment she began to fight for her life. She took
another sip of vodka and went to the fridge to get something to fill
her depression.

Her ratings were dropping. Her days were numbered. The blood moon was
her only company, the red of its face like fire on the horizon

Chapter One

Miriam let herself into her apartment, closing the large wood door
behind her. The apartment had been built in the early 1950's and
smacked of older times. There were buttresses outside some of the
windows, gargoyles decorated the rooftops. It had been Miriam's
home ever since she had started on "Hope Falls".

For thirty years, Miriam had played the Matriarch on "Hope
Falls" in the character of Melanie Stevens. She had been a
desperate actress at the time and had been glad to get any work she
could get her hands on. She should have read the fine print, though.

She dropped her keys in the blue glass bowl sitting on the hallway
table. She loved listening to the tinkling sound they made as the
metal hit the glass. It was like music, she thought. It reminded her
of happy times. The blue glass caught the light from the lamp on the
table and made her think of springtime.

Miriam draped her coat on a the back of the wingback chair in her
living room, took off her high heels and went to the kitchen to mix
herself a strong drink. She let out a breath that she hadn't been
aware that she was holding and felt the tears start sliding down her
face.

She wiped them away angrily and marched into the kitchen. She poured
herself a double shot of vodka, watching the light twinkle on the
silver in the bottles label. She poured herself another drink and
felt the liquid heat her insides. She relished in the warmth, felt it
slide through her.

Miriam stabbed at more tears with a Kleenex, took another shot of
vodka and took the bottle out with her to the balcony. She opened her
sliding porch door and stepped out into her own private oasis.

She had planted things she loved her. Daisies, Morning Glories,
Daffodils. There were Snap Dragons and Jumping Jacks, their purple
petals brushed softly by a soft breeze. She fingered the blooms
lovingly. Everything was planted in white and terracotta pots that
hung from the railings. She came out here when she needed to think.
She had been doing that a lot lately.

She took another swig of vodka out of the bottle, wiped her lip and
looked towards the skyline. The sun was setting over Burbank
California was a startling scarlet, making Miriam think of that old
sailors saying. "Blood on the moon…" she whispered.

Miriam chocked back a sob and thought back. She had played Melanie
Stevens for so long that it seemed as if Melanie was really a part of
her, an alter ego. She'd played Melanie Stevens for longer than
she had ever done anything in her life. Longer than being married,
longer than anything.

She had married once, to an actor who had left her when her career
had begun to skyrocket and his plummeted. If only he knew the price
she paid for her freedom.

She remembered the day perfectly. She had been offered another part
on a competing soap opera, a reoccurring role on "Days of Our
Lives".  She had been thrilled with the offer and felt that the
character of Melanie wasn't going anywhere. She had wanted to try
something new, so she had told her agent to say yes, that she would
accept the offer. She had been playing Melanie Stevens for eight
years.

Miriam remembered how Harold Kowalski came into her dressing room.
She had just finished shooting for the day (her character had amnesia
at the time from being struck by lightning. She was recovering in the
hospital) and was taking off her make up when there had been a knock
at the door.

"Come in." she said.

Harold came in and closed the door behind him. "Miriam." He
said.

Miriam smiled when she saw him in the mirror. He had always been
friendly to her. "Harold, how are you?"

"Not so good, tell you the truth." He pulled out her folder
from under his arm. It had her head shot on the front, a black and
white 8X10. The folder was a lovely blue colour, she remembered that.

"What's the matter?"

"I just got a call from your agent." He said by way of
explanation.

Miriam frowned. "Oh, Harold," she turned to face him. "I
meant to tell you, I really did, but I only said yes this
morning, "Days of Our Lives" has offered me this wonderful
part-"

"You can't take it." Harold said.

Miriam looked at him closely. She laughed. "What do you mean,
Harold? Of course I can take it! I'll work until the end of my
contract-"

"That's not going to be good enough, Miriam." Harold
said, coming towards her slowly.  "You signed a lifetime
contract."

"But Harold, contracts are made to be broken. You gave me a
lifetime contract after I stayed on after five years. I love the show,
but-"

He cut her off again. "You don't understand." Harold
said. "You have a lifetime contract." He came toward her with
the file, opened it and  spread it on the vanity in front of them.
The lights around the mirror gave Miriam a kind of aura, like she was
glowing.

She looked to where Harold pointed, at the bottom of the contract.
There was a clause in red that read as follows:

****Agreement to the contract insists that each lifetime contract be
for said lifetime. By signing on the dotted line, the studio,
Callaway Ent. Inc. has ownership of character and above mentioned
actor. This is in agreement with the lifetime contract clause
outlined on page twelve****

Miriam looked up at Harold with a grave look on her face. "What
does this mean?" she had asked.

"It means we own you." Harold had said. He smiled and left
her dressing room.

Prologue


"Your ratings are slipping."

Miriam Parker looked at Harold Kowalski across the expanse of his
large oak desk and frowned. Her blond hair was coiffed and set, her
make up flawless. She felt a chill in the air that had nothing to do
with the rooms' air conditioning.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me." Harold narrowed his eyes at her. "Your
ratings are slipping." He took out a file from the filing cabinet
behind his desk and laid it on the desk in front of her. It was a red
file and her photo was on the front. A large black and white head
shot, 8X10, standard size.

"I don't understand." Miriam said. Her voice was soft,
light.

"What's there to understand, Miriam? Your ratings are
slipping and that's a problem."

Miriam felt her heart catch in her throat. "Surely you don't
mean-"

"You're in a lifetime contract, Miriam. We own you." His
eyes glinted at her like steel. "Don't forget that."

"I still don't understand what you want me to do about
it."

"You know the rules, Miriam."

"Yes, I do, but you certainly don't think you can threaten me
like this-"

"I'm not threatening you, Miriam." Harold regarded her
shrewdly. "You know the rules; you knew the rules when you first
signed on, when you signed your name on the dotted line. You know
what happens."

"Yes, Harold, but that was before I saw Bruce gunned down in
cold-"

He raised a hand, cutting her off. "You know the rules."
Harold said again. He opened the file. "Your ratings have fallen
steadily ever since that kidnapper storyline."

"I told you that was a stupid storyline!" Miriam shouted.

"Nevertheless, your ratings have been falling ever since. It
seems no one likes to see the matriarch in Hope Falls get her hands
dirty. It upsets them."

"You knew that would happen." She said.

Harold smiled. "Is that what you think?" He smiled at her.

Miriam told herself not to back down and kept looking Harold in the
eye. "Yes, that is what I think."

"What else do you think, Miriam?"

"I think you chose that storyline because you knew it would ruin
me. So that you could get rid of me like Bruce and Caroline and
Rachel and Stacey. Like Ronald and Jack. Like Toby." There was
pain in her voice as she said the last name.

Harold regarded her coldly, smiled again and closed the file. He
stood up and opened the door for her. "Have a good day,
Miriam." Harold said.

The conversation was over.

Introduction

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I never thought
I'd write a novel.  It was something I had always aspired to do
but just never got around to.  Life has a way of getting busy
sometimes, you know?  Perhaps I was afraid of the idea of writing a
novel. I also got bored far too quickly and would want to kill
everyone off at the beginning of the story. Not a very good prospect
for a novel, I know.

It was with great nervousness that I started Electric Pink, my first
serial outing and the first book in what is forecasted to be a
trilogy.  I had no idea what to expect, as writing novels had never
appealed to me before and it wasn't a format of writing that I
was a fan of.  Well, writing Electric Pink changed things for me.

I enjoyed the daily challenge of writing, of shaping the characters
lives as I went along, getting to know them as time went on, watching
them grow, prosper and change.  It was a revelation to me and a
writing style or process that, apparently, has agreed with me quite
well.

I was able to go on and write the second novel in my Electric
Trilogy, Electric Blue and had an awesome time doing it. Except that
now, I sort of (I hope) knew what I was doing and I'm a bit more
experienced. I had a lot more fun the second time around and I'm
looking forward to writing the third book.

But I wanted to write something a little different, try something I
hadn't tried before. This is still going to be a serial novel,
but not in the Electric Trilogy. This book, "Hope Falls" is a
stand alone about a new cast of characters and problems all their
own.

A note before we begin:  This serial novel. Essentially, it is really
the first draft of a novel, so there are bound to be tons of typos.
I'm not the world's greatest speller and the spellchecker is
bound to miss lots. So expect typos! I'll do my best though.
I'm writing this by the seat of my pants, so be kind if you see
an error.   I'll try to post an episode every day or every second
day or so.

Alright? All strapped in? Well, I hope you all enjoy reading
"Hope Falls" as much as I'm going to enjoy writing it!

Cheers to all of you!

Jamieson


If writing must be a precise form of communication, it should be
treated like a precision instrument. It should be sharpened, and it
should not be used carelessly.

--Theodore M. Bernstein, newspaper editor, 1979