Antonio glared at Phillip as the anesthesia
slowly took effect, and his eyes began to flutter shut.....
Phillip: That's right.....don't try to fight it. You have nothing more to live for.
Farewell, Father...... be sure to send me a postard from hell, and give my
regards to Satan............
As he slipped into darkness, he could swear he felt someone grasping his
hand .........he saw her.......
(((((((((((( Gabi: Antonio...... Antonio, no..... don't go to sleep..... don't let him
win......
(((((((( The hallucination of her followed him to a strange place deep inside
his subconcious. An other worldly wasteland of his mind...... broken cement
slabs..... fallen beams, rubble. Well, okay.... it looked remarkably
like........there. A light snow was falling over everything.....but it wasn't even
cold. She laced her fingers with his and gazed at him with imploring eyes.
((((((( Gabi: (whispers)..........Please don't go.
(((((((( Antonio: Gabi.......there's nothing I can do....they're killing me...... I.....
I want to hold on to you......with everything I am.......but I can't.........
(((((((( Gabi: No! I won't let you give up....you have to fight this!
((((((((Antonio: I don't know how to, Gabi......this must be the way it has to
end......it must be time for me to pay for what I've done. But I never stopped
loving you......never, Gabi. And if I had it to do all over again.......I wouldn't
change a thing. Well.....maybe just one thing.....I wouldn't have been such a
clutz and stepped on your foot when we danced tonight.........(teary smile)
Remember me that way, Gabi....remember me happy.........
(((((( Gabi: Antonio.....there was something I wanted to tell you....under the
pier.......
((((((( She slowly caressed his face and led him into a kiss. His hands ran
through her hair and shook the settling snow to the ground like fallen stars. She
kissed him tentatively.....then with abandon.........he felt her lips curve into a
grin.....
...........and she punched him square in the gut.
(((((( He let out an involuntary gasp of pain and crumpled to the snowy
ground as Gabi let out a low-pitched snicker.......it grew into a twisted cackling
that burned into his soul.........as she transformed into a tall, long haired
vixen.............
(((((((( Francesca: Antonio, Antonio, Antonio.....does this sappy romanticism
come as a standard feature of your heart? Cause my frozen toosh sure as hell
could do without it. Ugh, this delirious Touched By an Angel fantasy is making
me sick!
((((( ....Do you really think that Gabi was gonna profess her undying
love for you tonight? Puleese. (laughs) I mean, the only reason she
quote, unquote, "made love" to you that oh-so-fateful night was because for all
intensive purposes, babe, you were the proverbial last man on
earth......
((((( She jokingly caressed his shoulders as he struggled to his knees.
(((((( Antonio: No........that's not true!!!
(((((((( Francesca: Do you honestly believe that anyone could ever
love a freak of nature like you? Come on, honey....just do the world a favor and
die. I've got hell to raise, and you've got hell to go to...........just let it allll
go........your little spell is broken....and you're never, ever gonna see Gabi
again.........(laughing) hm hm hm hm hmmmm.......))))))))))))))
Phillip: Well.....that was easy. Perhaps a bit too easy. I expected the
miserable bastard to at least put up a struggle. I suppose we should make sure
he's down for the count......
He picked up Antonio's limp arm by the blood-tinged sleeve of his shirt and
it flopped down like Jell-O.
Phillip: Just as I thought. Goodnight, Irene........
Dr. Manning: Just a speculation, Vargas....but why would someone
who was about to be surgically lanced at the heart and dissected play possum?
Wouldn't that be a bit, oh I don't know, painful? Heh heh heh.....er, just a little
medical humor, sir.....
Phillip: Am I laughing, Manning? Do I look amused? Just do it, tear
this vile devil apart, and let it be the inception of Francesca's rebirth........
Spence, Casey, Michael and Gabi charged through the door into the South
Bay lobby. Gabi nervously flipped her hair back as they approached the
ICU......she had just been here a few hours ago.....but it seemed like years.
She had just been here......shaken from a dream of Antonio's
embrace.......determined to deny what she felt for him and marry
Ricardo.......until that innocent date............
But every minute that passed since he disappeared threatened to
overwhelm her heart. She felt it sinking with every hollow lead to his
whereabouts......and with it the hope of finding him.
But if Ricardo was the lead they were desperate to find.......she had no
choice but to face the man she once tried so hard to protect from the burning
truth she wore on her sleeve tonight.
Spence: (opens the door) Ricardo?.........Talk to me, buddy, what's going
on?
Ricardo's soft eyes hardened as Gabi appeared behind them. He spoke in a
voice that was hoarse and strained, but clear.
Ricardo: Hey..........you still owe me that....CHiPs marathon...Spencer.......
Spence: Ugh.......are we sure we want this guy back on the force? (smiles)
Ricardo, Oscar said you had something urgent to tell us about Antonio......what
is it, man?
Ricardo: He...............I know.......he's missing........
Gabi felt as if she was swallowing glass. She motioned closer to the bed,
her heart pounding.
Ricardo: Someone....stole......surgical supplies.....from th-the hospital....said
that they were gonna take.......Annntonio.........
Casey: Oh man............
Ricardo: Don't know who's.....behind it........Tyus...is involved........a cr-
cryogenic experiment...... Francesca Vargas....
Their eyes widened in shock.
Ricardo: They're.......gonna k-kill Antonio.......a tran.....transplant........bring
back.....Francesca..........
Gabi knocked over the tray beside the bed.
Gabi: Oh God..............
Michael: Ricardo....are you sure about this, man?? This is.....damn, this is
pretty messed up!
Casey: I'd say that's the understatement of the year, Mike. Ricardo......do
you have any idea where they took him?
Ricardo felt the words rising up.......but hesitated. He looked at Gabi, who
had been inching closer, shaking. As much hatred as he felt towards her.....for a
moment, the morbid thought flashed through his mind that Antonio's death would
ensure that she would remain his..............
Suddenly, the lights flickered out, and the thought vanished as the ICU was
taken over by darkness.
The
Power Plant went pitch black.
Phillip: What the hell??? What happened??!!
Tyus: (handcuffed to a pole) The chamber must've drained too much power!!
There's probably a blackout from here to South Central. It's going to
decompress and kill her!
Phillip: Thanks to your ingenious design, you imbecile!!! Give me that damn
lantern, Manning!!!
Tyus: I never told you the project was flawless, Vargas! We have to get it
back to my lab before it's too late!
Phillip: Never! We're leaving over my dead body!!
Dr. Manning: I can't exactly operate in the dark, Mister Vargas.....
and there's no way in hell you're keeping me from my money!!
Tyus: Listen to me! The police will show up to investigate the power outage,
and you're both finished! Let's see--grand larceny, kidnapping, attempted
murder..........I think you two Frankenstein twins will be a little too busy to revive
the dead!
Phillip: Dammit!! Will you both shut UP?? We're getting the hell out of here
before I attempt to murder someone else!!! Load the chamber in the van,
Manning!
Manning: Van?? What van??
Phillip: The one in the alley I stole, you moron!!! When you've got a
capsulized wife, you can't exactly drive a Mercury Tracer, now can you???!
Errrrgh!!! Dammit!!!! This'll be a disaster!! One of you has to go........
Phillip's shaking hand aimed the gun at Tyus, then Manning....and the
unconcious priest.
Phillip: Him...... he can be eliminated......we'll find another donor
when we get the chamber back to Santa Barbara. I don't care if we have to pull
one off the street !!!
He held up the latern, casting a frightening shadow over his captor as he
pressed the gun to his temple.
Manning: Vargas, you idiot!!!! You can't leave a body here with a damn
bullet in its brainpan if the whole PD is going to be on our trail!!!
Phillip: No........we'll have to make it look like an accident. I'll leave him in
the drainage tunnel beneath the plant. The floodgates should be opening
soon.......and the search for the missing priest will end......yes, the poor soul was
trapped.....and drowned. Manning! Ready the chamber and throw Robinson in
the van as well. It's time to give the clergyman his very own Neptune
stateroom........
(((((((((( Antonio fought to his feet and stared at Francesca. He saw the
devilish apparition of her as what it really was........a symbol of his torment, his
shame. But the embers of his love weren't a stigma, a burden....not anymore.
And he was going to die the way he would've that beautiful night......loving
her.........)))))))
Phillip hurriedly opened the hatch and dragged him down the ladder into the
tunnel.......
(((((( A laugh wandered from Antonio's lips.
((((( Francesca: Aw.....now what could possibly be so damn hilarious,
Blasphemy Boy? You thinking of the negative number you probably rate as a
lover?
((((( Antonio: No, um, actually, Francesca? I was just thinking that no matter
how much you try.....you can't tear me apart......you can't destroy the most
important part of me.....
((((( Francesca: Uh, something tells me I really don't wanna know
what that part is.
((((( He turned around and gazed at the cavernous wasteland around them,
peaceful and motionless beside the falling snow.
(((((( Antonio: .....This place.........
((((((( Francesca: Yeah, yeah. It's "the one thing that'll never die, and it
always will, no matter what," yada, yada yada. Too bad you forgot to
die that night, huh, babe?
(((( Antonio: That night will always be mine......no one can ever take it away
from me...........and I might die tonight never knowing how she really felt about
me...... but she loved me here. And if I get condemned for that when I leave
this world......I plead guilty, Francesca............))))))))))))
Phillip: Eye for an eye........
He broke the rusty ladder, and it fell to the tunnel below with a clang. He
slammed the hatch shut, his revenge on the priest exacted.
Gabi: What happened???
Casey: There must be a blackout!
Michael: Don't panic, guys, the hospital has its own generator.....everything
should come back on soon.
As the lights flashed on again..... Ricardo wanted to say it......He's at the
Power Plant.......the Power Plant........... but the words failed him as he stared
harshly at Gabi...........
But then.......something strange....and inexplicable happened. He looked
into her eyes, frightened and teary..... and didn't see the snickering, spiteful Gabi
that haunted his suspicious nightmares. She seemed to be waiting for his next
words as if her life depended on it. She loved Antonio. She really loved him.
And he could tell how hard she tried to conceal it, even now........how hard she
must've tried to stop the feelings when.....she and he were together.
He searched deep inside his heart......but he realized that he might never
know what had gone wrong with him and Gabi. But he did know that for some
reason or another, the path of her fate had led her to the ruins of that explosion.
They discovered each other.......
For once, the cynic, the disbeliever in all his mother's sorcery shlock.......saw
the destiny the stars had written. Love couldn't be denied.....and he knew that
now, because he wanted them to find Antonio more than anything. He loved
him......and so did she. And that was the bond they shared now.......
Ricardo: The.......the Power Plant...........go. Find him,
Gabi.....he's.....he's..................waiting for you............
Gabi felt as if the world had stopped. At that moment, they looked at each
other and both knew the truth.........
Gabi: (whispers, crying)............I'm sorry..............
Ricardo: Shhhh...........just.....just be sorry if you don't.....bring him back to
us..................
She kissed his cheek, and felt him sigh.
Ricardo: Spence, full capacity sting operation.......surround the plant......take
'em down..........
Spence: You've got it, Ricardo.
((((( Antonio walked towards Francesca, who began to dwindle and fade.
(((( Francesca: Ooh-hoo-hoo, look, I'm melting..........
(((( Antonio: Enjoy your new life after I'm gone, Francesca. Cause you've
got a fate coming that's worse than the Rosario curse. You get to grow old with
Phillip........
((((( She gave him one last scowl and began to change shape.........and Gabi
was standing in front of him again.
((((( She was silent...........she wrapped her arms around him and stared into
his sorrowful eyes.
(((( Antonio: (whispers)..........I love you................
((((( As their roving lips kissed slowly........Antonio felt a pang of dispair. On
some level, he was vaguely aware that none of this was real.....that, just like the
cruel vision of Francesca, this Gabi was nothing more than an illusion. Or had
he slipped into the afterworld? Either way, he was dying without the love of his
earthly angel.....and it broke his heart.
((((( But he could stay here for a little while........in their special place, this
shattered world, frozen in time. A eternal winter that would never
end...........))))))))))
Water began to seep into the tunnel where Antonio lay.
Just then, the van of fugitives screeched away, turning up dust as the police
were arriving........
The officers burst into the dark place........
Ruiz: SBPD!!! Come out of here with your hands up!!!!!!
Their flashlights illuminated an empty room.
Spence: What...........???
Ruiz: This can't be........Ricardo was sure this was where they
were?
Spence: Wait....somebody was definitely here, and left in a hurry....(picks
up a scalpel on the floor) Uh.....something tells me Fabio wasn't using this to
spread his "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter."
Ruiz: Bet you any money the blackout hit and they high-tailed it out of
here.......
Spence: They could've left the country!!!
Ruiz: With a cryogenic chamber, Spencie? I don't think they'll be getting it
through customs anytime soon.
Michael and Casey struggled to hold Gabi back as she stormed into the
plant.
Gabi: Where is he?? Is he hurt??? Let me see him, please just let me---
Her heart dropped as she saw nothing but flashlights tracing the floor of an
empty room.
Gabi: (Whispers) No.........
Officer: Oscar......we've turned up nothing......
Ruiz: Radio the station and tell them we've got a change of plans.......this
place is dead as a church on Saturday.....
((((((( The warm falling snow in the cavern turned to a frigid rain. It soaked
them as their lips continued to graze each others, slowly, quickly. He broke from
the kiss and dropped to her shoulders, moving across them hungrily as her hair
brushed against his..........))))))))))
Beneath them, Antonio was still lying unconcious in the dark tunnel, the
shallow rising water lapping at his hair....
Gabi couldn't shake the feeling inside her that something was amiss.
Ruiz: Spence.......full scale search of Sunset Beach and the surrounding
area....they couldn't have gotten far. Let's go.
Casey: Come on, Gabi. We're not giving up yet......
Her brow furrowed as she walked out of the shadowy plant backwards,
slowly, hesitant to leave. She had a terrible feeling that something was wrong,
so wrong!
As they left, she covered her shoulders with her hands, a chill surging
through them..............
To Be Continued........ Next........the final chapter.............will Gabi rescue
Antonio in time? Will Tyus escape.......or finish his experiment once and for all?
Will Spence ever stop making TV references? Stay wired as we put Frozen in
Time on ice.......the end is near.......:-)
