Level 9

Level 9

Dracula 6
Jonathan Harker’s Diary 4
Jonathan Harker’s Diary 4

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
Journal Entry: November 22, 1876, London
Van Helsing, Arthur, and Jack Seward spent the
following afternoon reviewing the professor’s collection
of vampire books, looking for something that could help
us hunt down the count. I continued to watch over Mina;
she was weak, pale, and rapidly losing blood─the same
symptoms that Lucy had suffered from before her death.
Oh, my beautiful Mina was changing into a vampire! What
were we going to do?
“I’ve got it!” The professor said, leaping up from his
seat. “Look here in this old volume. It says that anyone
who has fed from a vampire is destined to change into one
themselves . . . unless that master vampire can be killed
before the transformation is completed.”
The count! We had to kill the count! Without pause,
we gathered our tools and set out for his house; however, it
was already too late. All his belongings had been removed decided to return to his castle in Transylvania?”
and the windows were boarded up. Sure enough, when “Quick then!” said the professor. “Let’s get to the
we went into the cellar, we found that all the coffins were docks before he goes aboard that ship!”
gone; only some soil remained scattered on the ground. My We ran as fast as we could to the docks, but alas, the
heart sank in my chest. ship had already set sail. A young cargo loader who noticed
Just then, the sound of a ship’s horn from the harbor that we seemed troubled rushed over to offer his assistance.
gave me an idea. “What if we’ve scared him off and he’s “Were you supposed to be on that ship?” he enquired.

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 “No . . . But, do you know if a tall man dressed in
black was on board?” I replied, catching my breath.
“Yes. Actually, it was quite strange,” he explained. “He
arrived at the last moment with a long wooden box filled
with soil. He demanded that we let him on board. He paid
in cash, so the captain said it was all right.”
“That’s him!” cried the professor. “Where is that ship
headed?”
“Varna, Russia. It’s just a bulky cargo ship, so it’ll
take a couple of weeks to arrive at its destination. There’s a
faster ship leaving tomorrow morning at nine. If you want
to catch up with him, I would suggest taking that one.”
The four of us agreed that we would take the boat the
next morning, which gave us enough time to return to our
homes, pack our suitcases, and prepare ourselves for what
lay ahead. Nothing was going to prevent us from catching
that fiend and saving my poor Mina’s life. The next for the master vampire’s ship to arrive.
morning, we set sail for the Black Sea, ready to hunt down Some days later, we received news that the count’s
Count Dracula once and for all. ship had been rerouted to a nearby town called Galatz. Had
After a miserable week on the boat, we arrived at he killed the crew as he’d done on the ship that brought
Varna, a few days before the count’s ship was scheduled to him to England? Maybe he had cursed them, forcing the
dock. We found a hotel where we could store our suitcases captain to change his destination. Whatever the cause, we
and each take a warm bath. Then, we waited impatiently were frantic.

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 The professor booked us seats on the next train bound
for Galatz, and we quickly packed our things, anxious to
check out of the hotel. We boarded the train at noon and,
several hours later, arrived in Galatz to discover yet another
setback. Someone had already come for the box, and the
count was nowhere to be found. “We must hurry,” said Van
Helsing. “If we don’t find him soon, Mina will change into
a vampire forever!”
Our only solution was to hire a coach and travel to
Castle Dracula, but I was terrified at the prospect. My
memories of being held prisoner in that dark castle made
me shiver with fright, raising the hair on the back of my
neck. I swallowed hard and admitted to my friends, “I can’t
do it!”
“But you must!” begged Arthur. “Without you, we are
only three and the count could defend himself!”
I thought for several moments about my beautiful at the foot of the mountains, where we stopped to rest
Mina─her fair complexion, her lovely eyes, and lustrous before continuing. We planned to approach the castle after
hair. And then, in my vision, I saw her teeth grow sharp sunrise the next morning to ensure that the count would be
and her face harden with anger. I recoiled in horror at the asleep in his casket when we arrived. That gave us enough
thought. “I’ll do it,” I finally replied. “I will face Count time to find a room at the quaint little inn and get some
Dracula and I will do the deed myself.” sleep ourselves.
Our coach thundered toward the small town of Bistritz When we awoke, we discovered that the innkeeper had

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prepared a breakfast for us, and laid out four gold crosses.
“Take these,” he said. “We townspeople know why you’ve
come back and wish you luck. Be careful.”
Then, Jack Seward, Professor Van Helsing, Arthur, and
I, Jonathan Harker, climbed back into the coach and made
our way up the steep winding road to the castle.
Just before high noon, we pulled up at the large
wooden door of the castle and hopped out of the coach
with our bags and tools, ready to attack. We each carried a
gold cross and wore a garlic necklace to help weaken the
count. The professor carried a sharp stake and hammer in a
burlap bag. “It’s this way,” I whispered and motioned them
to follow me to the back of the castle, where I knew we’d
find the secret double door leading to the coffin room. “I’m
pretty sure we’ll find him down here.”
We cautiously unlatched the bolts of the door and
opened it, letting rays of sunlight into the cool, dirty As the others stood in a circle around the casket,
room. “There he is!” I pointed. “That is his casket by the holding up their crosses for protection, the professor untied
staircase. If we work quietly, we can lift off the lid without his bag and handed me the hammer and stake.
disturbing him and stake him without a struggle.” All of a sudden, the count shifted in his casket, his
Together, we opened the casket, revealing the body of eyes fluttered open, and he saw us standing there in a circle
the count lying there peacefully with his arms crossed over around him. Panicked, he sat upright, baring his sharp,
his chest. white teeth and lunged toward me. I stumbled backward,

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and, dropping the stake on the floor, I grabbed the gold
cross from my pocket, thrusting in his face. He recoiled as
though it pained him to set eyes upon it. Then, he turned to
face my friends.
Bravely, we all took one step toward him, holding up
our crosses close to his face. He growled in frustration and
pushed the doctor and Arthur aside with his strong arms.
He was heading for the door, trying to make an escape!
I quickly reached down and picked up the stake with
one hand, tightening my grip on the hammer in my other. I
hurried to get him before he could run away.
But then something incredible happened. I guess
our attack had left the count confused, because without
realizing it was daytime, he rushed toward the open door,
and when the rays of sunlight struck his face, he dropped
to his knees with pain. I decided to seize the opportunity. I
ran to him, looking him square in the eye before I pointed When our ship docked in London, Mina was there to
the stake at his chest, and brought the hammer down hard greet us with a smile on her face and a bouquet of flowers.
against it, driving it straight into his heart. “Such brave men!” she shouted, and then in my ear she
“AAAaaaaahhhh!” he screamed as his eyes flashed the whispered, “It’s too bad nobody else will ever know how
fiery color of hell. I kept hammering until his cries stopped brave you really are. My wonderful, strong Jonathan.”
and his body fell limp to the ground. The master was dead I was happy that my adventure was finally over.
and Mina was safe at last!

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