Sweet Valley Twins #100: If I Die Before I Wake

[zippyladoodles]

OK, here we are after a l-o-n-g journey at book #100, If I Die Before I Wake. After a year involving different identities, Unicorns, boyfriends, princes, Slime, money, false accusations, marriage, trees, and a whole array of ghosts, not to mention several Christmasses and Halloweens, and an experience being adults, those perfect blond haired and blue eyed twins are still 12. But with a wealth of experience behind them, or so you would think. Avid reader, I hope you've enjoyed the journey, as having left the twins trapped on a balcony with a murderous half girl, half monster called Eva in #99, who knows what will happen to them........

OK, to detangle the final gossamer threads of the spider web plot we have so far discovered, let us begin.......I hope you're sitting comfortably.

The covers:
American Cover                                                 Fold out insert                                            English cover





Starting with the American cover...I'm guessing this was the original, as the English version looks much more modern. The house looks as though it's on fire, which is good as it does set on fire in this book. We have the obligatory full moon as well, as of course this helps to emphasise the horror within. Or something. The fold out insert shows Eva; I can only presume on the book her eyes are showing through the cover. I wish I had this cover! Sigh. Anyway I'm extremely disappointed by the artist depiction of Eva, as after hearing about how scary she is, with her scarred face and scary fingers etc, all I can see is a girl who would be pretty if she didn't look so upset. I don't even think she looks angry! And how has she maintained those perfect white teeth?  Though her eyebrows could do with some work, admittedly. And her hair wouldn't go amiss with an acquaintance with a hairbrush. But other than that I don't see what's so scary!

The British cover: what happened to the good old circle covers eh. I know they looked a bit outdated but they made Sweet Valley so recognisable I think. Anyho, we have a scary image of a girl's face looking rather multi-coloured and evil, with those black eye sockets. Oohhh!! That's about all I can say for this one. These covers are so boring!!!

The Evil Within...

For anyone who wishes to refresh their memories of what has happened so far, please read the following recaps:

#97: Too Scared to Sleep
#98: The Beast is Watching You
#99: The Beast Must Die

I'll just sit here, stroke the cat, and wait....

Oh, you're back......come closer my pretties, come closer, and sit.......

Jumping straight in with the thrills and chills, we open with an italics section from Eva's POV. She 'turns to face her prey. Her lips curl up into an evil smile. At last, she thinks. After all these years she has them just where she wants them.' In case anyone's wondering what on earth these kids have done to incur her wrath, well, we don't know. Jessica may have stolen her boyfriend, but we're not sure. Eva steps forward, a chuckle escaping her throat. One of the twins is crying. 'The creature fixes her victims with a victorious stare. She's been waiting for this moment. "Welcome," she hisses, "welcome to your worst nightmare. And, welcome, welcome to your death." The rain continues to pelt as the storm overhead gathers fury, and Eva steps forward....

Back to Elizabeth. She only has eyes for the 'monstrous girl' in front of her. I can understand that. Her eyes sweep across Eva's face; the'crooked nose, the dead-looking eyes, the horrifyingly scarred flesh.' Hang on a minute, go and have another look at that cover fold out. What crooked nose? What dead-looking eyes? What horrifyingly scarred flesh? Don't tell me the artists and ghostwriters didn't liase properly. Shock shock horror! Like that's never happened before. Elizabeth can make out the outline of a child's bunny slipper on one of Eva's feet. Only one, remember.

Amy suggests shouting for help. You're in a dream Amy, who are you hoping will save you? The dream police, maybe! Then she suggests leaping over the edge of the widow's walk, which is only four floors up from the ground. I really wish there was an eye rolling emoticon to insert here. When pointed out they'd die, which of course is what Eva wants anyway, she gives up. Over jumping or Eva, I'd take jumping.

Todd suggests fighting Eva. 'Cos that hasn't been tried before or anything. I really want that emoticon now. He moves into a karate stance. Ha, I just sprayed out some of my morning tea through laughing. As I'm reading this book as I'm recapping it, I'd actually forgotten Todd's karate stance until now. What happened to Todd Punch? The monster peers at him, 'a challenge glimmering in her half-dead eyes.' Oh, so her eyes are now only half dead, instead of dead-looking. Oh dear me, seems someone didn't read what they had written beforehand. Todd gives up as it's a bit obvious, if it wasn't already, that he has no chance. Someone give the boy a raisin. He's worked out the correct answer, for a change.

Eva comes steadily closing, hissing, smiling to 'reveal awful, broken teeth.' Elizabeth shrinks back against the railing, groping for Jessica's hand in the darkness. "If I'm going to die, at least let my sister escape...." Ahh, the nobleness!

Cut to Jessica: She is the twin crying. I'm surprised, actually, although I probably shouldn't be. We now get a review of the last three books leading to this one. About how the kids had nightmares, all featuring the same half girl, half monster who tried to hurt them. The girl with the one bunny slipper, the faded daisy print nightgown and the ragged teddy bear. About the secret room, discovered by the twins, which is actually a disused child's bedroom, and how there is a picture of Alice Wakefield, the twins' mom, on the wall with a young girl called Eva. How weird the babysitters' parents have been acting about the house. Jessica pictures Eva as she was as a child, and how she is now, a hideous half beast who wants revenge on everyone who enters her house. As Jessica is thinking this, Eva's fingers are inching towards Jessica's own neck....

Eva lunges towards the kids. Amy & Winston dive one way, and Jessica & Todd the other. Liz is left standing in the middle.What's that tell ya Liz about how loyal your own twin is, eh! Eva lets out a 'triumphant, unearthly scream.' She stretches out her 'horrible twisting' fingers, shaped like 'vulture's claws' and tears Elizabeth's sweater. I don't think she quite meant to do that, lol. Elizabeth climbs the railing behind her and, in running from Eva, accidentally overbalances and goes over the edge. I don't know what she thought she was going to do when she'd climbed the railing, after all, fundamental laws of gravity do state that what goes up must come down, and I thought she was the smart twin. So Liz is hanging over the edge of the widows walk, and as she falls she sees the iron railing flash past her fingertips. She is falling, falling.....she braces herself for the inevitable crash...when....WAIT.....a hand reaches over the railing and grabs her her wrist. Elizabeth is saved! Yay! It's just like that scene in Titanic where Jack saves Rose, minus the water. Liz thanks her lucky stars and cranes upwards, seeing which of her friends has saved her. "It's not Winston," she thinks, as this arm has muscles, and Winston clearly hasn't. Heh. Looking up, she slowly realises that, just possibly, it might not be one of her friends after all. It just might be....Eva! Oh Noes. She sees the face, the half-dead eyes, and pleads for her life. "Please don't hurt me, please." Bit late for that, Liz. Turns out Eva is pissed because Liz chose to fall instead of letting her have the pleasure of killing her, so she has saved her to try again. Lolz! Elizabeth bangs her ribs against the side of the house and cries out in pain. Dear dear me don't we have better things to be worrying about? Eva slowly tightens her grip on Elizabeth's wrist, the talon-fingers digging in......Liz feels her grip starting to slip and sees blood running down her wrist. Above her, Eva's face grins in triumph as Elizabeth slowly but surely slides lower and lower.......and falls.......Jessica is screaming, the thunder is crashing and lightning is cracking overhead, and Elizabeth is falling.......

Gripping stuff, huh! You can loosen those fingers from the death grip I know you had on the nearest thing, be it the mouse, the keyboard or the chair, and relax......

Well, Liz braces herself for the inevitable crash that.......never comes. Suddenly she is aware of a bright light shining above her. Is it heaven, Liz, is it? All the other angels come to welcome Saint Elizabeth into their fold? Ummm....no! Vaguely, she notices a sobbing noise, and thinks it is Jessica, who possibly has been thrown off the roof after her. BUT IT ISN'T'. Oh no. Eventually, taking her time, Liz realises that she has woken up, and the light is the Riccoli's living room light. And the sobbing is coming from Nate (youngest Riccoli child) who has manged to somehow climb out of his crib, come downstairs and wake her up. Go Nate! He is scared and demands to know whether the, "big, ugly girl gone."  He 'thinked Libabeff dead." He's so cute. Bless. Liz croons to him and rocks him, when a sleepy voice calls her name. This is of course Jessica. All the babysitters are waking up, and no one is dead. Yays! The ghostwriter uses a really weird description of Todd waking up here - 'Todd was slumped at her feet, yawning and stretching like the lions at the Sweet Valley Zoo when they'd just woken up.' What the fuck? We've gone from all serious possible-death scenes to.....lions at the zoo? I mean, I know Todd's ridiculous but....anyway, Liz hugs Nate and thinks, "We're all safe!" Indeed! But for how long....

Jessica is not happy. She doesn't want to admit that their shared dream was in any way real, but she has no choice. Liz won't let her leave it, which is the Liz we all know and love/hate (read as appropriate), so prompting Jessica to think the stock description of how, despite their, 'blue green eyes, long blond hair and dimpled cheeks', the twins are completely different. 'Why does Elizabeth have to be so sensible all the time," thinks Jess. Why indeed. That is the question! Maybe because if there were two Jessica's running around, all hell would break loose (as seen here). Jess wants to leave the house immediately, but, as it's only 5:10am and the kids need looking after (you'll remember Mrs Riccoli-sounds-like-Broccoli is in Florida), she can't, which of course Liz helpfully points out. Jess gets all upset because she doesn't want to be killed by Eva, to which Elizabeth sagely nods and determines they all had the same dream then. OK, I added 'sagely'. But I can imagine it.

They compare their nightmare. Everyone dreamed the same. On the roof, big storm, lightning, thunder, and....Eva! As described, and I quote, "A nightgown. In a flowery print.....a face that - isn't exactly there - a hissing sound when she breathed..." I hope you guys can all recite this description along with me now. Todd argues (he would, he would), saying none of this proves the monster girl, Eva, is real. Good plan, Todd, except for one flaw. Elizabeth can prove it. She is markedy marked! On her shoulder, below the ripped sweater, 'three angry gashes about two inches long, and three quarters of an inch deep. They looked like the mark of a vulture claw - only sharper. And more twisted."

Everyone has to concede that the dream was real, that Eva is real. Oh Noes! Liz then shows them the ugly gashes on her wrist too, where Eva grabbed her as she fell. Funny, it doesn't mention the blood. Ghostwriter, down one point. Jessica feels, 'a teeny bit jealous of her sister's wounds. Elizabeth was certainly getting a lot of attention. For a brief moment Jessica wished she'd been the one who got pushed off the widow's walk." SOCIOPATHY, JESSICA!!!! Besides, she wasn't pushed, she fell. Ah Jessica then changes her mind. She is redeemed!

They stay up the rest of the night. No one seems to notice the alarm clock is unplugged. D'uh!  Jessica thinks it's an 'eternal' night. Does she even know what that means? Liz suggests singing dumb songs such as, 'row row row your boat', to which Jessica snorts. Don't blame her. Todd suggests the Weather Channel to keep them awake. Heh Todd's foolishness in this book is brilliant! Jessica eventually concedes to singing, and off they go. As soon as the sun rises, Winston starts making up stupid poems, which cheers everyone up. As I'm sure it would :-s!

At breakfast, the kids are really lively, after having a full nights sleep. After squabbling about what to watch on TV, the twins agree to let them watch two shows, 'Dracu-Killer' and 'Dancing Pink Elephants.' I would like to note here that Todd, Amy and Winston have gone home, leaving the twins to deal on their own. V-E-R-Y nice of them! Mrs Riccoli rings and says she will be home in an hour or so, to which the twins are ecstatic, as you can imagine. As the kids are watching TV, both the twins fall asleep on the sofa, even though they know some monster girl is waiting for them in their dreams. Boy, are they ever stupid!

They wake up. Nothing's happened! Woo! It would appear that Eva has gone! Except this isn't the end of the book. Mrs Riccoli comes home and the twins leave. They discuss what happened and decide that, as there was no sign of Eva during the time they were asleep, maybe the monster has gone! Here's hoping, girls! When they get home, Steven is having breakfast and teasing them about being scared of the house. Considering he has had to rescue them from a fire there once, you'd think he would be a little more understanding. I'm very disappointed in Steven in this book right up until the end. He acts really immature by swigging milk from the carton and letting it drip from the corners of his mouth, which sounds disgusting. Jess comments he reminds her of Andrew Riccoli (who is 8), to which he teases her of having a new boyfriend, even if he is a little younger than her. Oh dear! Brothers! I don't have any, thank god! The phone rings, and Steven teases her it'll be Andrew, which of course it is. He's calling to tell her that none of the kids had any nightmares last night. Why he couldn't tell her that at breakfast, I don't know. And that their dad is coming down for Halloween. Elizabeth and Jess are so excited that the kids didn't have any nightmares they go out to celebrate at Caseys. Good grief!  Get a life. I thought you'd been up all night, so why aren't you going to bed?

At Caseys, the twins plan Halloween. It's just over a week away, apparently. Yet another one, anyway! Jessica is going as, "the greatest actress who ever lived." Elizabeth thinks she means Eileen Thomas, who starred in Liz's favourite films, lol, but of course Jess means Marilyn Monroe. And Liz is going as Jane Austen. Of course!  Jess thinks she wrote books, like, two million years ago. No, sez Liz, only two hundred. Lol. Jess says the only old book she likes is 'Great Expectations,' because the main character, Miss Havisham, spent her whole life trying to get revenge for being stood up on her wedding day. Foreshadowing, by the way. Jess suggests that Liz write a book called Stupidity and Steven, which of course Jess will star in. And so on. This is supposed to give the impression that the twins are happy and carefree because Eva has gone.

A full week later, the twins are shopping for Halloween costumes. They haven't had any nightmares since (but then, they have't babysat for a week either), and are convinced Eva has gone forever. Yeah, right on! That would make sense...how? Anyway, they are shopping at Sweet Valley Spooks and more ('cos originality is this ghostwriters strong point) and it's packed. Steven and Joe Howell are also there, but Steven can't decide on a costume. He can't find anything scary enough. I'm beginning to think I've missed out somewhere, because I've never made this much fuss of all Hallows Eve myself. But it sounds like fun *sighs wistfully.* Steven is lamenting the lack of scary costumes when he hears an 'eerily familiar voice.' Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Jessica. How can her voice be 'eerie'? She's his sister. I dunno! Jessica's 'eerie' voice gives our Steven a brainwave......for Halloween he will dress as...Eva! To scare the living daylights out of the twins I suppose. Gee, he's a nice big brother *rolls eyes*. Besides, he's NEVER EVEN SEEN EVA how the hell is he going to dress as her? So anyway, he tells Joe they're going to dress up as the twins' worst nightmare (Insert evil chuckle). Joe refuses; I can't blame him, what 14 year old male wants to go walking around in a flowery nightie and holding a teddy bear. So Steven decides to go it alone. Mwahahahahaha!

Back to Elizabeth. She is looking for a Jane Austen costume but, surprise surprise, the store doesn't stock any. Don't get me wrong; I'm British and I like Austen's works but I very much doubt any costume store, especially an American store, will stock her costume.  Jessica, however, has of course managed to procur a Marilyn Monroe outfit; in fact she's bought two costumes. One for her and one for....Alice. Yes, that's right. Alice. She of the terror stricken driving away from the Riccoli house, and who hates Halloween. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but apparently she hates Halloween. Or she does now, anyway. The costume for Alice is a shimmery ball gown, with a tiara and everything. Does anyone think Alice would want to go trick or treating here? Those who do, raise your hands now. Ummm, I thought not. So, is Jessica just stupid or what?!? Liz does protest (a little) but Jessica, as usual, overrides her and pays for both. Elizabeth still has a bad feeling, however. She would.

The twins drop in on the Riccolis, because they just can't leave that family alone. Personally, I'd never go back after falling off a dream balcony and coming back covered in welts and scratches, but they disagree with me. The kids are all happy happy, as they haven't had any bad dreams either, and Mr Riccoli is at the house. He is a joker of sorts, and fools everyone into believing he was a rodeo rider in the circus. What is the thing with these ghostwriters and rodeos and circuses? Anyway that isn't part of the plot in any way; I just wanted to roll my eyes at the amount of crap these ghostwriters rehash.Anyway, so after three l-o-n-g boring pages of dialogue about how Mr R was in a circus, but then he gets found to be joking, blah blah, they ask the twins to babysit. On Halloween. No Ways! But, Oh yes, say the twins. WHAT!!! As if you would. Especially on Halloween, the night they've been looking forward to all week, all month, all year. "With no monster around, this house is a lot of fun," thinks Elizabeth. If you call fun getting locked in secret rooms while the house burns down fun, or comforting crying kids after nightmares fun, sure! So the twins agree to babysit on Halloween so the Riccoli parental units can go trick or treating, and go home.

They give Alice the costume. Alice is so not impressed. She says, "you know I don't like to dress up on Halloween," in a soft voice and leaves the room. Poor Alice, I almost feel for her. Almost. She just wants to forget Halloween, and the twins have about as much perception as a wall. After she's gone, the twins discuss why she doesn't like Halloween. Maybe someone stole her candy when she was a kid. Erm, no. Jessica goes over to Secca Lake with the Unicorns, leaving Liz to ponder....

At Secca Lake, Lila (yes, Lila, you Lila fans out there), teases Jessica for babysitting on Halloween. Though how she found out in the space of a few hours is beyond me. Lila is throwing a party, and mocks Jess for missing it. What SV holiday would be complete without a party! Jessica, who is sharing a canoe with Aaron Dallas, is pissed. Lila's actually really bitchy in this scene, sorry guys. Will avoid those rocks. She tells Jessica to get a life. BUT, in true Jessica Wakefield Stylee, she gets revenge with Aaron by pretending to ram the canoe Lila is sharing with Jake Hamilton. Lila panics and falls in the lake. Heh. No one disses my Jessica and gets away with it! This little scene isn't relevant either, except for establishing Jessica will be missing the Unicorn party, and things seem back to normal for her.

Back at home that night, Jessica presses Elizabeth on the monster. Jessica thinks that Eva was just all made up in their imaginations. Err, explain all the same dreams and marks Liz got then, Jess! Liz still feels pain where she banged her ribs and so on, but agrees. Fuck knows why.

During the night, Jessica awakes at 2:57 am. She can't fall back to sleep because she can hear scratching noises. That she isn't making. Uh oh.....The noise is coming from the window.....Jessica can see something through the curtains, but she isn't sure what it is. You know, I'm alone in my new house at the moment and I am actually getting freaked out. Turn TV on. Better. Jessica goes to look, but the sound stops. She thinks she is hearing things and is just ready to go back to sleep when the moonlight brightens, and through the window she thinks she sees, ' a familiar, gruesome figure standing outside. A figure with half a face. A girl. Wearing a nightgown." Because Eva can so stand up in midair at the second floor. She goes to scream but the window is once again empty. She blames it on her eyes playing tricks, and goes back to sleep. Because that would so be possible after being scared out of your wits. I am totally in Jessica's bedroom with her at this moment, in a non-pervy way thank you, so I'm gonna take a break to sort the washing out, because I am actually getting a little too engrossed, even though I know what's coming next. Back in a mo...

Back. The next morning at breakfast, Jessica is jumpy. Liz is slicing a banana (heh, when I was younger I could never figure out where banana stopped, it was more like banana-na-na-na-na-err-na etc) and the scratching noise of the knife makes her start. She also uses her spoon to scoop up some orange juice instead of cereal. Hehe! Jessica pretends she's ok, not telling Liz about what she thought she saw, because she thought she was dreaming.

We skip a whole day to that night. Liz is trying to get to sleep but she is thinking of the latest edition of the Sixers. Boring! God knows why she can't sleep thinking of that. As she is thinking, Eva Sullivan's face flashes into her mind. She isn't sure why, until she realises that something that looks just like is staring through her window. Man, creepy or what! She scurries to the window to look (are these girls nuts or what) but the monster isn't there. I don't find Elizabeth's experience nearly as bad as Jessica's, but I don't know why. Liz falls sound asleep. Uh-huh!

In the morning, Jessica is watching Steven peeling a massive grapefruit. He says it's a 'monster' grapefuit, which freaks Liz out. Jess asks her what's wrong, and Liz tells her about possibly seeing Eva's face at her window. They describe her face and nightgown again, prompted by Steven, who is obviously fishing for information for his costume, but they don't know that.

That evening, the twins stay up late, as they don't want to go to bed and risk seeing Eva. Not that they admit this is the reason, but it so is. They won't discuss seeing her at their windows, but they are nearly falling asleep at the table. Until Liz sees a flash of something moving at the sliding glass patio doors they have in the kitchen. 'A twisted and bruised fist beat down heavily against the pane of glass." Yup, it's Eva. Jessica screams and Ned dashes down, brandishing an empty gin lemonade bottle (secret drinkers, these Wakefields). They tell him there was a horrible monster trying to break in, but he doesn't believe them. However, he does go outside to check. The twins are terrified he will be killed but he comes back OK, without having seen a thing. Jessica is terrified Eva is going to kill them all in their beds, but he tells them they are overtired and sends them upstairs anyway. They share Liz's bed, as both are petrified (I can see why) and they're trying to figure out how Eva escaped from their nightmares to Real Life. Good question. Jess thinks, maybe when Liz fell off the roof and woke up, she was holding Eva's hand, which somehow dragged Eva back with her. Liz thinks, "If I dragged her into the waking world, then I'll just have to...drag her out.'Ah, St Liz act again. Go save the world then Liz, we'll all sit and watch!

A Steven moment:  He is at the Riccoli mansion after school 'landscaping.' Remember the Howell & Wakefield landscaping business from the previous books? Well, Joe appears to have been erased from the scenario, probably because he is still sulking from Steven having that cheque, remember, or really because he wasn't convenient for this plot but whatever. So Steven is alone and hefting rocks around. Steven has realised that he 'doesn't have as many muscles as he'd thought.' Graft work, the bane of the working man eh! He is thinking about his brilliant plan to terrify the twins into hysterics on Halloween by dressing as Eva. Don't lets forget he will be able to recreate her perfectly, all from descriptions. Hmm! He classifies Eva in his head as 'the Teddy Bear Monster.' When you put it like that, it does sound a little....silly perhaps! He goes through what he has learnt about Eva; the pink bunny slipper, the daisy print nightgown, the scars. He shifts another rock and 'waddles' it over to the wheelbarrow. Upon returning to the hole left, he notices underneath is a scrap of what appears to be material. Muddy, but yet still discernible as white. With embroidered flowers. Yellow flowers....'somehow this material seemed very familiar.' Steven stares around warily but there is nothing to be seen. Dismissing the material, he drops it to the ground (LITTERING!!!) and returns to work. Hmmmm! The plot thickens!

The twins now go and do the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. Something well worthy of a tacky horror film - "now, we both know there is a deranged axe murderer here, so you go one way, and I'll go another. And, oh damn, both our mobile phone batteries are dead. And our ammunition is all gone. But, oh well, see you in five, yeah........arghhhhhhhhhh!!!" Something I'd have thought even Jessica would have the sense not to do. But, obviously not! They go to the graveyard, or, more correctly, the 'Sweet Valley Meadows Cemetery,' to see if they can find more information on Eva Sullivan. At dusk. Pause with me a second! In fact, no, no pausing, *shakes head in disbelief* lets just get on with it shall we. Even as a kid I thought this was pretty dumb!

They find their way to the Sullivan family plot, which they find is quite big, and the oldest graves are at the front, so therefore Eva's grave would be at the end, so to get to it they have to walk through the entire plot. I can hear you lot thinking, 'turn back.' Don't worry, so am I! They see a grave with 'Eva Sullivan' written on it, but it's too old, so on they go. Eventually, they get to Eva's parents graves, Jane and Thomas Sullivan.The ground is uneven and rocky here, which I suppose is meant to add to the creepy atmosphere. Turns out Thomas died twenty years ago, and Jane died only last summer. Thomas was 48, and Jane 61 when they died. Jess wants to leave (good girl) because she thinks she hears a cracking sound behind her, and it's actually pretty dark now. Liz 'sets her jaw.' She would. They have to know who Eva was, when she died and so on. Ever heard of old newspapers, Liz? We know you have but anyway you seem to have forgotten. There is one gravestone left. A small one, with a bunch of ragged wilted daises scattered in front of it. Odd and odderer! The daises look as if they have been ripped from the ground. Liz thinks its because the person who did it either couldn't risk being seen, or didn't know how to do it properly. Wasn't ever taught, maybe. Feel that thickening plot, people! They examine the grave. It is Eva's tombstone. 'Eva Sullivan, our darling daughter. May our daughter sleep at last in eternal peace.' Also, the dates show she was only eight when she died. The twins, having finally got what they came for, turn to leave, only to find that Eva is definitely not sleeping in eternal peace, as she is standing behind them! Because that so wasn't obvious!

They run as Eva lunges for them. She trips and falls, the bunny slipper coming off her foot and landing by her tombstone. Jessica is amazed at how small she actually is. Well, she was only eight. The twins run and vault over the railing surrounding the plot. They hide behind a large stone marker, hoping Eva won't know where they are. Guess they have no shadows all of a sudden. Liz peers round the monument hoping to see where Eva is, whilst Jessica fights an urge to cough and give the game away. Eva is there all right, waiting. The twins are terrified (thought if you ask me, if they weren't so stupid in the first place....) but when Jessica checks, Eva has given up and is walking away. Jess relaxes, and the need to cough disappears. Phew, right! Wrong! Liz coughs instead, and, in the dark, Eva turns round, her eyes meeting Jessica's. Oh Noes! They run (again) and end up lost. They decide to follow the wall, which will eventually lead them back to the gates. They hope. I don't suppose she'd have thought of that, and would be waiting, no? Or, they could just scale the wall and escape that way. They make their way through the graveyard, with no sign of Eva anywhere. Jessica thinks she recognises some of the grave markers, and they think they're near the main gates. Wrong again. They've managed to find their way alright, back to the Sullivan plot. Good if that's where they wanted to go, but I bet it isn't! And, guess who would be also there, but Eva. Well done, twins! She traps them against the wall and walks towards them, hissing and growling. They are forced to back up against the wall, tumbling over Eva's own grave as they do so. Liz feels the bunny slipper against her foot, that fell off after Eva fell earlier, and picks it up. The twins decide to jump the wall. Well done, I could have told you that girls, oh, about an hour ago! They run to the wall and Jess gives Liz a help up. Liz gets on the wall but Jessica can't get up on her own. Eva is closing in fast, and Jessica is frantically jumping, trying to catch Liz's hand. Liz has to stretch so far over, her head is almost vertical to the wall. She uses the bunny slipper for balance. Eva must be extremely slow, that's all I can say! Jess jumps, Liz grabs and somehow they make it onto the wall. Eva lunges and misses, and they drop and run off. Liz feels 'grateful' to Eva for dropping the slipper, because without it she could never have balanced to get Jess over the wall. Well, without Eva, my dear, none of this would be happening in the first place, and I doubt you'd be playing hide and seek with a dead girl in a cemetery in the dark anyway!

The next morning, which is Halloween, Liz wakes up early, knowing something bad is going to happen. After school, Jess is talking to Lila, who, again, is being a bitch (sorry, Lila fans). She tells Jess to 'get a life' because she isn't going to the party as she is babysitting. Poor Jessica! Liz and Jess ask the other babysitters to come help that night, and they all agree, because sure all of them will mind giving up their Halloween night to babysit in a house with a mad monster in it. Although, none of them have seen Eva since the last nightmare apart from the twins so...

Steven is finishing putting his costume together. He has made his face up to look like Eva's (even though he doesn't know what she looks like) and is making the nightgown out of an old sheet with yellow marker. He remembers he will need a bear, so he goes to get the one he remembers Jessica saying she put in her closet. He finds it, and the bunny slipper, and sees the bear's tag actually says it is the property of Eva Sullivan. Before he can ponder this, however, Jessica and Liz get home, and he is still in Jessica's room. He runs from hers to his, but Jess sees him and thinks it's Eva. How good at costume make up can this boy be? A new career, Steven? Jess screams that Eva has run into Steven's room, but when they go and ask him he pretends he is asleep and tells them to buggar off, thus making Jess think she is seeing Eva even when she isn't there. Surely, surely, when Steven hears how upset she is he might consider they are telling the truth? Or not go ahead with the costume because they seem genuinely terrified. No? Obviously not.

Steven goes trick or treating. He doesn't put his nightgown on, but instead scares people with his face. Heh. Obviously because of his make up, of course. Everyone is petrified, apparently, but Steven is looking forward to the main prey of the night, his sisters. Ter-wat!! Eventually, he changes into the main costume, noticing as he does that the slipper is nicked at the back, as if by something sharp like claws, and that the teddy bear not only looks old and threadbare, but looks it too. But, Steven, being dense, takes no notice and off he goes. Everybody laughs at him. Well, wouldn't you? He can't find the twins anywhere, as he doesn't know they are babysitting. He goes down a dark alley and sees a small figure, dressed in white, standing at the end. Hissing. It lurches toward him and guess who it is. Eva herself. Yay! I actually quite like Eva! For an eight year old, she's good! Steven suddenly gets a hint of intuition. The figure is, like him, wearing a nightgown covered in yellow flowers. Like him, it is covered in scars and bruises. And the nightgown has a swatch torn from the bottom that matches the one he found in the Riccoli garden.....When she reaches him (and why he doesn't run I do not know) she reaches out, and Steven sees a claw on the end of her hand. Oh Noes! Eva wants her bear back. And her slipper. And she's probably seriously annoyed that he is taking the piss by dressing as her too. Although, you'd think she'd be flattered but obviously not. Steven is frozen solid, and as he doesn't hand over the bear, she reaches out her claws for his throat...

Alice: She is alone in the house, feeling glad everyone is out. She is trying to hold back the memories of a Halloween night twenty five years ago, but they just keep coming. I know how that fels - drunken nights out always haunt me. Alice accidentally moves some post on the side, and in straightening it she sees a letter addressed to her, in strangely familiar childish handwriting. 'To Mrs Alice Wakefeeld,' it says. Inside, is a letter, and a photograph. Can we guess which photograph this is, people. Yep, it's the one of Eva and Alice, grinning into the camera. But, someone has drawn an X across Eva's face. And her own. Dun der dun....

Steven tries to push Eva off but she is too strong. However, he manages to throw the bear away, and she instantly picks it up instead. She makes cooing noises to it (aww) and then whirls back to Steven and demands the slipper. He holds it out politely (whafuck?) but she growls at him so he throws it at her and flees into the night. Good move! As he flees, he hears Eva say, "you and your sisters will be dead before midnight."

Alice realises she has no choice but to relive her memories. Yes, yes, that is the way of the world. She drops the mutilated photograph and siezes the letter, muttering, "I thought she was dead. I - I could have sworn..." Alice is secretly a mercy killer you see. She thought Mrs Sullivan was an unfit parent so she tried to kill her and steal her face, which is why she is such a crap parent. Honest! Heh, OK, joking! Alice opens the letter, thinking how she has pushed back the memories for 25 years, but now they are bothering her worse than ever. The first line says, "Dear Alice, " in 'the childish handwriting she remembered so well.' She refuses to read anymore, but catches the signature at the bottom, which reads Eva Sullivan. The plot is boiling up now, is it not!

Alice's memories continue: She is babysitting for Eva on Halloween. The Sullivan's leave, and she puts Eva to bed. Mrs Sullivan - Jane - has warned Alice that Eva has been sleepwalking again, and to be extra careful that the balcony door leading from Eva's third floor room is locked. I think we all know where this is going. Eva tells Alice she went trick or treating as a fairy princess, but she got scared after four houses so they came home. Remember, Eva is petrified of Halloween and ghouls, and has nightmares which cause her to sleepwalk. Incidentally, we never know what Alice's 'fun' surprise costume was. Probably an eraser. Or a paintbrush, in celebration of her later career. Anyway, Alice tells Eva that it's all pretend, and nightmares are just nightmares. Eva gets ready for bed, wearing her favourite nightgown with the yellow flowers embroidered on it, and asks Alice again for reassurance that monsters aren't real. Eva asks Alice for her new bear, the one with the 'This bear is the property of Eva Sullivan' tag sewn onto it, and also asks if she can wear her new bunny slippers. Trouble is, they muffle the sound of Eva's feet if she sleepwalks. Alice compromises, and tells Eva she can wear one slipper, if it will help her sleep. Alice feels a rush of pity for Eva, realising the little girl is a prisoner of her own fears, despite having everything a little girl could want (the Sullivans are rich).  Alice makes sure she locks the balcony door, and kisses Eva goodnight. She checks the balcony door again, and the one in the room next to Eva's, to check both are locked. They are. Alice shudders, imagining Eva sleepwalking over the rail surrounding the balcony outside. Why the Sullivan's haven't built a huge rail around it, to prevent any possibility of their only child falling off the balcony, is beyond me. Ah, we find out, apparently it's because they are hoping she will outgrow sleepwalking first. It's probably too expensive and doesn't justify their child's safety *rolls eyes.*

Alice goes downstairs and watches TV, one eye on the spiral staircase to keep a watch for Eva. All is quiet, until she hears what sounds like footstairs in the upstairs hallway. She dashes up but there is no sign. Then she hears a giggle from somewhere above her, and a door shutting. She thinks, "it's OK, the balcony door's locked." Like that's going to stop this little plot going ahead. She sees a light on in the room next to Eva's, and, going in, sees the balcony door from the spare room is open (it's a shared balcony between the spare room and Eva's).The room is, however, empty. She hears a giggle behind her, and, going back into the hallway, sees a figure rise up in a ghost outfit. It is of course her friends, Dyan Robbins, Walter Egbert and Jim Wilkins. They have snuck in to scare her. Nice of them. Alice is annoyed, especially when they laugh at her. Gee, Jim is great boyfriend material, Alice. They mention that they peeked into Eva's bedroom from the balcony, but saw nothing interesting so they left. BUT THEY DIDN'T CLOSE THE BALCONY DOOR BACK AFTER THEM!! (Hang on, surely if Alice locked it already, it wouldn't open either way. But, never mind). Alice is horrified and runs into Eva's bedroom, where she sees the sight she has been dreading for months. Eva is sleepwalking on the balcony, still holding onto her teddy bear and wearing her slipper.Alice screams her name, "EVA," and sprints forward as fast as she can, 'hoping against hope that she wouldn't be too late...'

Steven comes rushing into the kitchen. He knows he has to find the twins before Eva does. Yay, awesome Steven is back! He tries to tell Alice what happened, saying, "the twins...the monster...she said we're meat. History!" Alice tells him to buggar off; she has a pounding headache. Steven is speechless (I don't know why, he's lived with her crappy parenting for fourteen years) and tries to show her the marks on his throat, but she won't listen. Typical Alice. She tells him the twins are trick or treating, and he rushes out to find them on the streets of Sweet Valley. He accosts loads of people, as of course everyone is in costume, but to no avail. Eventually he rugby tackles someone dressed in a ballerina costume, who turns out to be Lila. She is seriously pissed because her costume cost $650 (heh) but she tells Steven the twins are babysitting ("like, can Jessica so totally get a life!") and he heads off to save them.GO STEVEN!! Lila calls after him, "nice nightgown Steven." Wonder if she reminds him of this when they date?

The twins are babysitting. The other babysitters turn up, and they herd the kids to bed. To while the hours away, as obviously they can't go to sleep, they play a game where they have to come up with different names beginning with letters of the alphabet in sequence. I do actually do this at night when I can't sleep. Is that sad or what? Anyway, everyone is jumpy, and when Amy says the name 'Eva' for 'E', everyone is like, "we're doomed." But nothing happens. Eva is only a silent ghost threat, at the moment anyway! Jessica thinks that, since they said her name and nothing bad happened, maybe she's gone after all. Yeah, right Jessica! D-U-M-B spells dumb, and that's what you are being.

Jessica goes to the toilet, which is on the second floor. On her own. Idiot. I feel that horror film scenario coming on again. As she goes to go back downstairs, she thinks she hears Elizabeth calling her from the third floor. Except her voice sounds more, mushy somehow. Eww, that makes me think of a dead body, I don't know why. Anyway, the voice commands her to come upstairs, as something is wrong. Jessica goes without question, silly girl! The voice is coming from the spare room next to the secret room that was once Eva's. The door is shut, but when Jess puts her ear to it all she can hear is water hissing through pipes in the house. *Headdesk moment* She goes in, but the room is empty. The door slams behind her, and a voice comes mockingly from the corner, "Hello, dear sister." Jess screams and realises that hissing noise wasn't actually water at all. Buggarit! Eva Sullivan stretches out a hand, and Jessica faints.

Downstairs, the babysitters are getting anxious, as Jess has been gone for a while. They hear her scream, and rush upstairs. They check the secret room, but nothing. Liz notices that the picture of Alice & Eva has gone. They check next door, and see Jessica's lifeless form. But of course Liz's mere presence revives her, not that she is really aware what's going on. God knows what Eva did to her. Liz realises a little too late that they have been tricked, as she sees a flash of white behind her, and the door again slams shut. Eva laughs, "easy bait. And now I've got you all where I want you..."

Steven arrives at the Riccoli's. He bursts in but there is no one around. Only a few minutes too late Steven, but still, your mistake slips by me 'cos you're still brilliant! Now, anyway!

Liz gropes around in the dark for Jessica's (??) hand. She doesn't want to make too much noise so Eva won't know where she is. Dude, Eva knows everything. Her fingers brush against something furry, almost like a nightgown, and she screams...

Steven, downstairs, hears the scream for help. He rushes upstairs, thinking, "If someone needs help, I've got to go." Go Steven!

The fabric turns out to only be a cover on a chair. But everyone is now panicking and screaming. Way to go, Elizabeth!This could confuse Eva more, to be honest, but I doubt it. "I'm too young to die," screams Winston. You pussy. You should be getting into a karate stance and threatening people. Liz grips a chair; she thinks she could use it to hit Eva if she comes near, and make her way to the door to escape. No chance darling, she could kick your ass! Before she can, however, she hears the hissing noise directly in her ear........and the door slams open. Liz stares in disbelief; there are now two Eva Sullivans! One is right next to her, and one is at the door. She gives in, and screams (again)!

Steven knocks Eva to the floor with a 'satisfying crunch. Any ref would give him a penalty for unnecessary roughness." This ghostwriter gets the biscuit for adding in weird descriptions when so not necessary. He yells at everyone to leave, but they are too terrified. Amy whispers, "there can't be two of her." Steven flashes with inspiration. He tells them it's him, in costume. Winston stops screaming, "I'm too nice to die, I'm too strong (heh) to die," and they all run out of the room. Eva leaps back to her feet, snarling, but he shuts the door on her and holds it. Because she has suddenly lost all that superhuman monster strength, yes? Steven wants to run but they tell him they can't leave the kids. So they go to rescue them too.

Jessica gets Nate and waits for everyone else. Damn that Mrs Riccoli for having five children. Also, surely with five against one they could have subdued Eva. But okies. Eva manages to break out of the spare room and lurches off down the stairs. Everyone meets and they all hope she's given up and gone. Yeah, right. They go downstairs but are stopped by the fact she has, umm, set the house on fire. Bollocks! And the fact she is coming back up the stairs. Bother! They run back and go to the study. They think they can escape out of the window. They shut the door and start herding the kids to safety through the window. Eva is banging on the door, which is straining on it's hinges. Indeed! The kids all escape, leaving the babysitters and Steven to get through. Winston pushes in front and tries, but he can't get through. Eva manages to break through the door, and Jessica yells at the kids to run and get help. Or just ring 911 but ok. She turns round as Eva lunges for her neck, and falls to the floor, 'wondering if it would be her last breath on earth.'

Alice squeezes her eyes shut. She can't block the image of Eva, poised on the balcony. 'She had to relive the nightmare. She had no other choice.'

Alice rushes towards Eva, but Eva has already stretched her leg over the balcony rail, her foot groping for solid ground. Alice screams her name again, and Eva opens her eyes suddenly, meeting Alice's gaze with a faint smile. She clutches her teddy bear and leans over into the nothingness. Alice gets onto the balcony and  goes to grab her, 'but, like an Autumn leaf, Eva began to fall.' Alice screams as she hears 'the sound of a human body crashing into the earth. No, not just 'a human body.' Eva.' Stunned, Alice peered over the railing, only to see the little girl's broken, twisted body, lying oh so silently on the dirt three stories below..........Alice's face grew hot, and her stomach churned (lack of babysitting wages, perhaps). But worse yet was the terrible, sudden feeling of emptiness as she stared at Eva. At what had once been a living, breathing little girl.'

Alice realises that, ever since Eva fell, nothing had ever been quite the same again. For one, she got stuck with Ned instead of Jim. She thinks that, when Eva fell, it was like a candle's flame going out, but the shadow of the candle's flame was very much alive. The ghostwriter is getting quite deep here methinks. Alice remembers the Sullivan's getting home, their anguished cries, and the funeral. Because Eva was dead. Her motionless body proved that. OR DID IT? Alice realises she will have to read the letter, the one impossibly signed, Eva Sullivan, and I will transcribe it here in full, so as to explain the whole story...

'Dear Alice,
I bet you thot I was dead, well Im not. I fell all right but I dident die. My mom and dad tok me to a hostable but I excaped. They told peple I was dead and they berried my doll but they did not berry me.
I went to lots of plases but i alwas came back to my house. I staid in a shack and in a old room next to the one that was my bedroom. No body knew I was there no even mom and dad.
Then dad dide and mom dide and the house got soled.
It is your falt you know. Alice it is all your falt and your frends falt. You did not have the rite to fritten me and make me loose my balans on the balconie.
Now other peple have moved into my house. And girls who look like you are here some times. I scair them Alice. I youse make up so I look like a monstr.
But I am not going to onley scair them now.
Alice I am going to kill them.
I am going to kill them all. Becaus of what you did to me.
Eva Sullivan'

Now we all know. A lot of questions arise from this letter, sadly ones which never get answers. Such as; how could an eight year old with horrific injuries make her way in the world with no money and no one noticing. Because she would be, what, 33 now (which makes Alice 37, in case anyone is interested and it's sad I've just even thought about that) and she would have needed money and food at least. And why did she escape and never see her parents again? What happened to the scared little girl who Eva was. I may be getting a little more involved with this than strictly necessary but I do feel a lot of sadness for the character. I just wish we could have had some scenes from Eva's point of view, maybe both as a child and then after she fell.

Alice slowly grasps the fact that Eva is out to murder her daughters, and possibly her son as well. She remembers that Steven said 'she' said they were meat, and rings 911, then Jim Wilkins. She hasn't spoken to him for twenty five years (what, they never discussed what happened, how it was him and his stupid friends' fault that Eva fell). She tells him Eva is out to kill his son (Toddyboy) and to meet her at the mansion (she calls it the Sullivan mansion) asap. Then the Riccoli kids appear on her doorstep, crying and telling her the 'monster from their nightmares, the one with the nightgown and teddy bear,' has got the twins and set the house on fire. How did they know where the twins live? I don't think they go to the twins house that we hear about. Alice leaves immediately, leaving the kids alone in the empty Wakefield house. Great sub-mothering, Alice.

Elizabeth is horrified that Eva is choking Jessica. She tells Todd to hit her with his baseball bat (no, he doesn't randomly carry one around with him in case a gang war starts off, it's part of his Halloween costume). 'Slowly, he raised it into a batting stance, holding it tightly with both hands.' C'mon Todd, it's better than karate, surely. If only you were four years older; Todd Punch. Todd Bat will have to do. He hits her and she keels over, but not for long. Long enough for them to escape from the study though, even though there is nowhere to go but up, as the staircase is now on fire. Eva follows them, croaking, 're-venge.' Love Eva, Eva is awesome. Liz wonders what on earth the twins have done for Eva to wish to hurt them so. If only you know. Though Eva should really be after Amy, Winston and Todd, as Alice only wanted to protect Eva, and it was them who left the door open and left it for her to fall. They run upstairs to the secret room, even though that really is Eva's territory. Really though, the whole house is. Eva pounds after them, and behind her, the flames.

The secret room has no windows. Jessica thinks it's weird, she could have sworn there was a big glass door out to a balcony where one of the walls is, but then she realises it must have been a dream. Eva appears, saying, "finally my dream has come true. My dream. Your nightmare." Jessica moves backwards to where she thought there was an exit in an attempt to evade Eva. "Say-your-prayers," croaks Eva. The fire is becoming worse; the smoke is extremely thick and beams in another part of the house are falling down. Poor Riccoli's they definitely didn't deserve to have their house burn down. Eva charges at both the twins, pushing them towards the wall. However, instead of rebounding off the wall, the wall crumbles and the twins hurtle through. She squeezes Elizabeth's hand as they fall, 'waiting for the wall that would knock the life from her - forever.'

Elizabeth lands and lays still. She thinks it's odd how she can still feel chilly wind around her. 'Does it get chilly in heaven,' she wonders. Heh, who said you were going there.  Suddenly she hears her mom's voice, and sits up.  She realises that they have landed on a mattress (which would still fucking hurt) and there are emergency vehicles waiting, as well as her friend's parents. She looks toward the house, thinking frantically about everyone still stuck up there with Eva. Todd is silhouetted in the hole in the wall, against the flames. Everyone yells at him to jump, which he does, followed by Amy and Winston. But, where's Steven? "If he dies, it will be all my fault," she thinks. How will it? Stop assuming responsibility Elizabeth, you are not that important. Suddenly, a figure appears at the hole, which a scarred and bruised face. She thinks it's Eva, but then figures it is too tall and is actually Steven. He jumps, but Liz keeps looking up as Eva, the real alive Eva,appears in the hole. Who wants her to jump and be saved? I do! Liz hears her wail as she staggers backwards and falls into the inferno. Poor Eva! Liz feels the same as me, but I guess she would.

Last bit now guys, and I do apologise for the length of this recap. The twins and Alice are at the cemetery. They have gone to visit Eva's grave, now she has been properly interred. Would there really be any bodily remains left? Liz comments how Eva's life was like Miss Havisham, she never got over what happened. Would you? Alice tells them how Eva was taken to a rehab centre, but there was a fast paced river at the back where several children had drowned before. A few days after Eva was taken in, she managed to make her way to the river. Her doll and a blanket were found on the edge, so they assumed that she'd drowned. Assumation, the mother of all fuck ups. Alice also explains how Eva used make up to make herself look worse than she was. But obviously her broken bones and damaged windpipe were never healed properly, which is why she couldn't walk very well, and why she hissed when breathing. The Sullivan's buried the doll instead of her. Liz asks the same questions as me, as in how did she eat and live but no one can really answer her. It seems Mr Brangwen the gardener may have been feeding her, possibly because she threatened him. That doesn't explain how she got into all the kids nightmares, and managed to hurt them whilst they were asleep, but Liz reckons that her presence was all around them, like a kind of living ghost. Good ol' Liz with the theories. Guess it will just have to remain a mystery forever. Alice thinks the whole thing is sad, and Jessica thinks it's scary, but Liz thinks it's both. Me too. Alice also tells the twins how she knew what was going on in the end, through the letter and from Steven (by the way, it seems he never got in trouble for trying to terrify the twins) and managed to rush over in time to place the mattress on the floor. The Sullivan's had walled over the glass window to wall off their memories.

They go to Eva's grave. It is sunny, and the ground looks more lush, apparently. The scattered daises are gone, and it feels peaceful.  They lay a neat bouquet of daises at Eva's grave, and promise not to forget her, thinking how glad they are she is sleeping in eternal peace. Til she comes back in 'Return of the Evil Monster,' of course. Lolz! And, together, they turn to leave.

The End!

Guys, apologies for the wait for this recap. Real Life has been piling up and only just got my new house sorted. Hope you enjoyed the arc, and thanks again to
dirtywingsgirl for doing them with me :-)!!!!!!!!!! I think my icon is very fitting for the arc, by the way. Lolz!