Part 1

by Chris

Ben is on a date with a girl called Cindy when Floyd calls over the radio and says he had people complaining about a foul semll coming from an abandoned house in Goat Town. Ben doesn't want to go since he's on a date, but Cindy thinks this is exciting and wants to go with him. At the house, we see Tina counting cans she collected for getting money. She hears Ben's car arrive. When they get out Ben is immediately struck by a bad smell, but Cindy says she doesn't smell anything. They see a light in a window and look inside. Ben is shocked to see a replay of Lucas snapping Merly's neck. He asks Cindy if she saw that, and she says she saw a man holding a girl in his arms. Ben asks her if she saw what he did, and she says, "This," and snaps her own neck. Her head hangs off at a weird angle, and she says "Remember me?" and transforms into Merlyn. Ben screams in horror.

Later we see Ben drinking at the bar. Billy joins him, and Ben complains to him that "All I want is a girl with her head screwed on straight, is that too much to ask?" Billy praises his girlfriend - she couldn't care less if he'd leave tomorrow. Ben can't see why this would be good, but Billy explains that he's an epidemiologist - "Have plague, will travel" - so a steady relationship is impossible. Ben is truly shocked to find out Selena is the mysterious girlfriend. He tells her she's cheating on Lucas, and she answers "Cheat is such a judgmental word. I only give him what he deserves. And besides, he has a girlfriend." When she walks off Ben says, "Everybody happy" and orders another whiskey.

Gail is undressing and talking into her tape recorder about love and (not) trusting men, specifically Lucas. "This son of a bitch is not to be trusted. Still..:" At that moment we see Lucas lie on the other side of the bed. "Can't beat his charm." He tells Gail to leave the recorder on since she might want to listen to it later. She asks which part, and he answers, "Ain't gotten there yet." (Fiona, Natalie - calm down!!)

Back at the bar, a girl selects "Echo of Your Last Goodbye" on the jukebox and asks Ben to dance. He is horrified when he sees it's Merly, and even more when he finds out the bartender and even Selena have turned into Merly too. She tells him that buried truth stinks. Ben panicks and runs out.

Next day in school Caleb and Boone walk up to Tina who is trying to get out a can of a vending machine. She bullies Boone into getting it for her. He gets the wrong drink the first time and she tells him to get the right one. Caleb tells Boone to not listen to her. Tina gets angry and slams the machine, which starts working. Boone's hand would've been hurt if not for Caleb unplugging the machine quickly. Tina tells him to watch it, and Boone is angry because his intervention didn't help at all. Caleb sees Selena walk up and asks her if she saw that, but she only tells him "Should be a good lesson for you: Don't be puttin' your hands where they don't belong. Least not yet, anyway." She tells him to go to class, and reads the card Billy gave her with a rose. "These boys just don't know what they're messin' with", Selena says dreamily. She pricks her fingers on the thorns and licks the blood off.

Ben fell asleep at the Sheriff's station. Lucas wakes him by pinching his nose. Ben says he had a rough night, but when Lucas asks "Who was the lucky girl?" he only answers, "Be careful, I might just tell you." When Floyd comes in Ben is angry with him for sending him to that house, but Floyd says he doesn't know what he's talking about. Lucas backs him up by saying Floyd wasn't on duty last night. Ben insists that he called him last night on the radio "when I was with..." -- "Who?" Lucas asks, but Ben just says, "I really don't think you want to get into this right now." Lucas asks where exactly on 12th he was, and Ben says, "12th and Main." Lucas dismisses Floyd and asks what Ben was doing there. Ben gets sarcastic and says he was havin' himself a little flashback. "A girl, a guy, a broken neck... seen this movie? Merly Temple sent me to that house Lucas." Lucas tells him that she is dead, and Ben answers he knows. Lucas goes on, "The death of that girl was a mercyful act, Ben. If this is haunting you - if she is haunting you - then you haven't accepted that." Ben senses there's more to it and asks why he thinks Merly sent him there, and Lucas answers "How should I know." Ben challenges him: "Maybe I should go back and find out." Lucas' temper flares a bit and he pushes Ben down onto his chair. "You should sit your ass down and do some work!" Ben: "I'm sick of keepin' secrets, Lucas." Lucas: "Then leave that one alone, Ben. Cause the next time you go back there, you'll be stinkin' up the place yourself." (I absolutely love this scene, beautiful Ben-Lucas dynamic. And we see a bit of the "true" Ben here!)

When Ben gets home he listens to the messages on his answering machine. Barbara Joy and the Trinity Guardian both ask for his money. Then there's a message from Merlyn. Ben desperately pulls the tape out and unplugs the machine, but he can still hear her voice. Suddenly the TV turns itself on, and Merly appears. "Better get a shovel, Ben. It's time to start diggin."

To be continued...

PART 2 ~ PART 3

1. August 2002