18 September. I drove to Hillingham and arrived early. I knocked on the door and rang the bell. No one answered. I waited and knocked again. It was ten o’clock in the morning. I was very worried. I thought the house was full of death. I went around the house to find a way inside.
Every window and door was locked. Then, a carriage arrived. Dr. Van Helsing ran toward me. He asked, "How is Lucy Westenra? Are we too late?" I told him that I could not get inside. Dr. Van Helsing said, "We must make a way into the house. Time is very important now."
We went to the back of the house. We found a kitchen window. Dr. Van Helsing took a small saw (a tool with a metal blade used for cutting) from his bag. He gave it to me. I used it to cut the iron bars (strong metal sticks that protect a window). Then, we opened the window and climbed inside.
The kitchen was empty. We went into the dining room. We found four servant-women on the floor. They were not dead. They were in a very deep sleep. The room smelled like the sleeping medicine. Dr. Van Helsing said, "We will help them later. First, we must see Lucy Westenra."
We went to Lucy Westenra’s room. We opened the door quietly. We saw Lucy Westenra and her mother on the bed. Mrs. Westenra was dead. Her face looked very scared. Lucy Westenra lay next to her. Lucy Westenra’s face was very white. The flowers were gone from her neck. Her throat was bare. The two small wounds looked very bad.
Dr. Van Helsing looked at Lucy Westenra. He said, "She is still alive! Bring the brandy!" I ran downstairs and got the bottle. Dr. Van Helsing rubbed the brandy on Lucy Westenra’s lips and hands. He told me to wake the maids. I used cold water to wake them. I told them they must help us save Lucy Westenra.
The maids were very scared. They cried and sobbed. I was very firm with them. I told them to prepare a hot bath. We put Lucy Westenra in the warm water. Then, a maid said a man was at the door. He had a message from Arthur Holmwood. I told the man to wait.
Dr. Van Helsing worked very hard. He wanted to win a fight against death. After the bath, Lucy Westenra’s heart beat more strongly. Dr. Van Helsing was happy. He said, "We won the first part of the fight!" We moved Lucy Westenra to another bed. Dr. Van Helsing tied a silk cloth around her neck.
We went downstairs to talk. Dr. Van Helsing looked worried. He said, "Lucy Westenra needs more blood soon. If she does not get it, she will die. But you and I are too tired. Who can give her blood now?"
Suddenly, a voice spoke from the sofa. It was Quincey Morris! He had a message from Arthur Holmwood. Arthur Holmwood was worried because I did not write to him. Quincey Morris said, "Tell me what to do. I want to help."
Dr. Van Helsing took Quincey Morris’s hand. He said, "You are a brave man. A brave man's blood is the best thing for a woman in trouble." We did the operation again. Quincey Morris gave his blood to Lucy Westenra. Lucy Westenra struggled to stay alive. Finally, she fell into a deep sleep.
I talked to Dr. Van Helsing about the death certificate (a paper from a doctor that says why a person died). I did not want an inquest (a special meeting where people find out why someone died). An inquest would be too difficult for Lucy Westenra. We decided to say that Mrs. Westenra died of heart disease.
Later, Quincey Morris spoke to me alone. He said, "Jack Seward, I know you and Dr. Van Helsing gave your blood to Lucy Westenra. I think Arthur Holmwood gave his blood, too. That is four strong men. Where did all that blood go?"
I shook my head. I did not know the answer. Quincey Morris told me a story about a vampire bat (a large bat that drinks the blood of animals). He said the bat drank all the blood from a horse in one night. I told Quincey Morris that we must stay and watch Lucy Westenra. He promised to help us.
In the afternoon, Lucy Westenra woke up. She saw us and began to cry. She remembered that her mother was dead. We tried to comfort her. At night, she fell asleep again. While she was asleep, she tore a piece of paper in her hands. She looked very strange.
19 September. Lucy Westenra was very weak today. Dr. Van Helsing and I watched her all night. Quincey Morris walked around the house to keep us safe. When Lucy Westenra was asleep, she looked different. Her mouth was open and her gums were white. Her teeth looked longer and sharper.
We sent a message to Arthur Holmwood. He arrived at six o’clock. He was very sad when he saw Lucy Westenra. He sat with her and held her hand. Lucy Westenra woke up and was happy to see him. But she is still very sick. I am afraid she will not live much longer.
A Letter from Mina Harker to Lucy Westenra (Lucy did not open it)
17 September. My dear Lucy, I am back with Jonathan Harker. We are staying with Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins is very kind. He said we are like his own children. He gave all his money and his house to us. We are very happy here.
Jonathan Harker is a partner in the business now. But he is still a little weak. Sometimes he wakes up in the night and shakes with fear. I hope he gets better soon. How are you, Lucy? When is your wedding? Please tell me everything.
A Report from Dr. Hennessey to Dr. Seward
20 September. My dear Dr. Seward, I have news about Renfield. He was very angry today. Two men were moving some wooden boxes (large containers made of wood) to the empty house next door. Renfield shouted at the men from his window.
Later, Renfield escaped from his room. He ran to the men and tried to kill one of them. He was very strong. He said, "I will fight for my Lord and Master!" We put a strait-waistcoat (a special jacket that stops a dangerous person from moving their arms) on him. We put him in a soft room so he cannot hurt himself.
A Letter from Mina Harker to Lucy Westenra (Lucy did not open it)
18 September. My dear Lucy, I have very sad news. Mr. Hawkins died suddenly. We are very sad because we loved him like a father. Jonathan Harker is very worried about all the new work. We must come to London for the funeral. I will try to visit you for a few minutes.
Dr. Seward’s Diary
20 September. I am very sad tonight. There is so much death in the world. I watched Lucy Westenra tonight. She had garlic flowers around her neck and on the windows. She breathed loudly in her sleep. In the dim light, her canine teeth (the long, sharp teeth at the front of the mouth) looked very sharp.
A big bat hit the window with its wings. Lucy Westenra moved and pulled the garlic away from her neck. I put the flowers back. Later, she woke up. She held the garlic close when she was awake. But when she was asleep, she tried to push the flowers away.
At six o’clock, Dr. Van Helsing came into the room. He looked at Lucy Westenra’s throat. He shouted, "My God!" I looked, too. The wounds on her neck were gone. The skin was smooth. Dr. Van Helsing said, "She is dying. Wake Arthur Holmwood now."
Arthur Holmwood came into the room. He knelt by the bed and cried. Lucy Westenra opened her eyes. She looked very beautiful. Then, she fell asleep again. But then, her face changed. Her teeth looked sharp and her eyes looked hard.
She said in a strange, sweet voice, "Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you came! Kiss me!" Arthur Holmwood leaned forward to kiss her. Suddenly, Dr. Van Helsing grabbed Arthur Holmwood. He pulled him away with great strength.
Dr. Van Helsing shouted, "No! Do not kiss her!" He stood between Arthur Holmwood and Lucy Westenra. Lucy Westenra looked angry for a second. Her teeth snapped together. Then, her eyes became soft again.
She took Dr. Van Helsing’s hand and kissed it. She said, "My true friend. Guard him. Give me peace." Dr. Van Helsing promised to help. He told Arthur Holmwood to kiss her only once on the forehead. Arthur Holmwood kissed her, and then Lucy Westenra died.
I took Arthur Holmwood to another room. He was crying very hard. I went back to Lucy Westenra’s room. Her dead face looked very beautiful and young again. I said, "The poor girl is at peace now. It is the end."
Dr. Van Helsing looked at me. He said, "No. It is not the end. It is only the beginning." I asked him what he meant, but he did not answer. He only said, "Wait and see."
Dr. Seward’s Diary
The funeral was the next day. Lucy Westenra and her mother were buried together. I finished all the legal work. The undertaker (a person who prepares dead people for a funeral) was very polite. A woman came to prepare Lucy Westenra’s body. She told me, "She is a very beautiful dead person. It is a pleasure to work with her."
Dr. Van Helsing stayed near the body all day. Lucy Westenra had no other family nearby. Arthur Holmwood had to go to his father’s funeral. So, Dr. Van Helsing and I looked at Lucy Westenra’s papers. Dr. Van Helsing wanted to find her letters and her diary. He said, "I am a doctor and a lawyer. I do not want strangers to read her private thoughts."
Dr. Van Helsing found a few letters and a new diary. He kept them in his pocket. He said he would show them to Arthur Holmwood later. That night, we went to look at Lucy Westenra. The room was full of beautiful white flowers. Lucy Westenra looked more beautiful than when she was alive. She did not look dead.
Dr. Van Helsing looked very serious. He put some garlic (a plant with a strong smell) around the bed. Then he took a small gold crucifix (a cross with a figure of Jesus on it) from his neck. He put it over Lucy Westenra’s mouth.
Later, Dr. Van Helsing came to my room. He said, "Tomorrow, I need a set of special knives. I want to operate on the body." I asked if he wanted to do an autopsy (cutting open a dead body to find out why it died).
Dr. Van Helsing said, "I want to cut off Lucy Westenra’s head. Then I want to take out her heart." I was very shocked. I am a surgeon (a doctor who cuts open bodies to fix them), but I loved Lucy Westenra. I asked, "Why do you want to hurt her body? She is dead!"
Dr. Van Helsing put his hand on my shoulder. He said, "John Seward, I know you are sad. But you must trust me. I have a very good reason. There are terrible days coming. Will you have faith in me?" I took his hand and promised to help him.
The next morning, Dr. Van Helsing came into my room. He looked very angry. He said, "We will not use the knives today. It is too late. Someone stole the gold crucifix from Lucy Westenra’s mouth during the night."
At noon, a solicitor (a lawyer) came to the house. He said Mrs. Westenra left all her money and the house to Arthur Holmwood. This was good news because Arthur Holmwood was Lucy Westenra’s friend.
Arthur Holmwood arrived at five o’clock. He looked very thin and sad. He lost his father and his fiancée (the woman he promised to marry) in the same week. I took him to Lucy Westenra’s room. He knelt by the bed and cried.
Arthur Holmwood whispered to me, "Jack, is she really dead?" I told him yes. He looked at her for a long time. Then he kissed her hand and her forehead. He said goodbye to her. After he left, the workers came to close the coffin (the box for a dead person).
That night, we had dinner. Arthur Holmwood thanked Dr. Van Helsing for his help. Dr. Van Helsing asked for permission to read all of Lucy Westenra’s papers. Arthur Holmwood said, "Yes, Doctor. You can do whatever you want. I trust you."