10.

What do you do when you know for sure that there is a darkness inside your daughter, your little girl, a darkness which can, has and will cause harm and even death in others? What could you do? The darkness may not be one hundred percent within the first-born for the Fontaine's, but it certainly is behind her, driving her on, urging her in ways which cannot be known, having gifted her with an ability long before she was born.

With whatever you chose to do with what you know, who do you confide in? Would there be anyone you could confide in? What if you came to the conclusion that the worst is what needs to occur then would you see it through? Could you see it through? Could you entrust someone else to see it through? And what if you second guess yourself?

Then on top of all that, if worst indeed came to worst then how could you live with yourself once the worst has been done? And how would you feel if others were to perish when, by doing nothing, if by inaction you allowed it to occur? Whether or not a right decision had been or could be made or not, what if that darkness decides to visit again somewhere down the road in a different and possibly not so severe incarnation?

By March of 1988 Jim and Estelle Fontaine had exhausted not only themselves but all possibilities too as it relates to their daughter and the future. Doctors wouldn't listen. Psyche evaluations, with mental health issues not quite being in the eighties what they would be in the late twenty ten's, had pegged little Ester Leigh Fontaine as being as ordinary a child as any other child in existence and this simply and clearly is not the case.

She, little Ester, indeed too had come to change aggressively since the school yard incident stemming possibly back the glasshouse incident. The little girl who craved attention from her mother and loved when 'uncle' Chris came over and generally done what she was told now gets away with whatever she likes for she knows she can get whatever she wants. Keeping her away from others or any attempt of such is no easy task.

You can probably imagine this leading to many a sleepless night and dad Jim at this point even sleeps night after night with a hunting knife and a thick plank of wood for he wouldn't know when he would need to defend himself or his wife.

Chris paid as much attention to the Fontaine's as he could. He simply could not leave them in the lurch, and this took a major toll on Chris physically, mentally and emotionally too for often when Ester would lose her temper Chris bore the brunt of her attacks which were severe but never fatal, not yet at least, for possibly Ester may still have some kind of love in her blackened heart for her parents and for her 'uncle'. Darkness having the ear of a child with a powerful gift is a powerful thing.

Like one evening in particular, an attempt is made to takes the lives of Jim and Estelle ... if the moment itself could be thought of as that. It could be considered a test, a test for Ester in what it is she does, or a test for Chris with what he does ...

After bedtime, when all is quiet, there are vines creeping. They move from a downstairs area up and along the stairs. By such a time as when this occurs, an obvious thing has long since been done. All household greenery has been long since moved outdoors, still Darkness has its ways ... if he wanted this moment to happen then it always going to happen.

The vines continue to creep and into the main bedroom they go and all the way onto the bed where Jim and Estelle rest. It is not Jim or Estelle who are first to become aware of these vines, rather it is Chris who reacts first.

Having been in the position of having come to stay with the Fontaine's, along with his own intuition to all that is occurring, Chris moves from the bedroom he had been given and quickly he goes on the offensive, waking both Jim and Estelle. Estelle wakes with a scream, she never expected this. Having come round to all that is, she never expected to be in a situation where her own life is in danger.

Jim immediately goes on the offensive using what he keeps near the bed to attack those vines. They retreat quick enough, all apart from one vine which has wrapped itself round Chris's neck. Jim attacks the vine though this one will not retreat so easily ... Chris is suffocating ... his face has turned quite puce.

The more Jim fought to free Chris, the more trouble Chris seemed to be in. Jim has to change it up and off her went leaving Chris to panic all the more. He returns with a hammer and chisel intending to use them upon the vine and he doesn't waste time in doing so. Chris passes out though he does make a full recovery from this moment.

Further toll upon Chris would soon come from his place of employment and with management being what it was, uncaring to the point of bullying; Chris would be dismissed altogether from the garden center. Being out of work and in many ways under attack wasn't a complete disaster as The Fontaine's indeed had a room in their rather large home for Chris to call his own. Having Chris closer to the heart of things could only be a good thing.

The bedroom Jim and Estelle shared would have zero plant life within it no matter how much Estelle still is drawn to such things and the same goes for the room Chris has come to have. Other rooms in the house, well that is a different story. After the night of the vine attack plants kept appearing, within the home. Taking these plants outside would do nothing for as soon as they'd be taken out somehow another plant would take its place.

Be all this as it may, having three adults live within the walls of the Fontaine family home, chances of survival, if it came down to that, would be greatly increased.

In as far as D-days go for the Fontaine's ... the third day of March 1988 would be a massive one ...