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Based on true vampire stories in Romania |
| [Introduction]
This story is centred around the tiny village of Little Dung. The villagers are a closely knit group who detest outsiders and live a bliss of isolation. However, things change when the deaths and disappearances begin. People play the blame game as a vampire hunt starts. I need more people to contribute here. Please email me. All are welcome. :) PS: Please review if you have read this. |
| Mary Cockfeather moved in circles within her hut as the pudding gave off a burning smell. She had overcooked it, but she didn't care. She eagerly awaited her husband's return and yearned to learn the ominous news. The village of Little Dung was in danger and she was a very superstitious woman. John Cockfeather returned home and closed the door as his wife rushed towards him. "What's that smell?" he asked. "Never mind that, old man", she replied, "What happened?" A few days ago, on the night of new moon, an unmarried girl Lucy was raped and murdered. The next morning, Parish Ramsay gave her a funeral and buried her body. But during the burial, Barney Locker swore he heard a noise from the coffin. But no one payed heed, until this day that is, when Joshua Grasspie showed them cattle mutilations on his land. Someone tore his cow's skin and sucked the blood out!!! Tales of the undead soon spread and today, the grave of Lucy was dug open in front of all the brave men. "What do you think?" John asked. "Well, she was such a frail creature...." "Far from frail. She looked healthy and bloated, aye." "Nay!!! What do you speak, old man?" "Yes, Mary, and that ain't the end of it. The body had blood dripping from its lips!!!" "Holy son of God, Bless us!! And what did the Parish say?" "Huh! That spineless man just sprinkled some holy water over the body and buried it back. He is also selling out crosses for protection - says we have to hang them on our doors at night or Lucy will come and drink our blood too." "So, so, where is ours?" "Shut up, stupid woman !!! Jack is right. That man is just making money. He ain't no real Parish !!! I got none." Mary realized it was futile to argue further. She silently prayed to the son of God, asking him to forgive her husband of his lack of faith. That night, Mary woke up from sleep as she heard someone (or something) scratching their door. |
| She tried to wake up John but he did not yield. Mary grabbed a wooden stick in her hand and carefully opened the door. No one. She was about to close when when an inverted head appeared on the door. Mary tried to scream but no sound came out. Though the stick was in her hand, she was paralyzed with fear. Lucy has hanging upside down from her roof, her hair falling her face. Lucy's eyes were gleaming green in the dark and she sank her fangs into Mary's neck. Mary heard a spark and felt a surge of electric current pass through her veins as she passed out in agony. Mary opened her eyes to find herself in a shack, deep within the woods. An old hermit with long hairs and beard was cooking stew. He said, "Don't worry, child. You are safe. But you cannot go back to the village." Many questions came to Mary's mind as she rubbed her hand over the bite-mark in her neck. "Where am I? Who are you? Where is John?" "They call me Rolland. It was John who brought you here to me, so that you would be safe. Parish Ramsay had ordered you to be burnt at stake, since you had got bitten by a vampire. But your husband knew better and carried you away from the village. He has instead shown everyone the burnt body of a pig in your clothes." ********* Back at the village of Little Dung, John, Jack and Ruddy sat for a bottle of whisky. "Act sad, Guv'nor," said Jack, a twenty-year old boy, "Or else, Ramsay will know of the truth. We still can't believe how you pulled that act off. And to think our entire village couldn't tell between the smell of roasted pork and human." Ruddy remarked, "This ain't stopping here, no sir. That Ramsay has begun a vampire-hunt. He will check everyone tomorrow. Any man found to have a bite-mark will be staked or burnt, and his house will be seized by Ramsay in the name of the Church." "What a stick-stuffed chum!!! He is making money out of all this", Jack added, "I had to buy the cross or else who knows, I would be next !!!!" "But Lucy's corpse did come. I saw it leave with my own eyes. Do you think it was magic?" John added, "I heard stories that he used to be one o' em Gypsies before he converted to Christ and became a parish!!" "Do you know why my old man Rolland was banished from the village years ago?" Jack boasted, "He had once found pipes under this village." "Pipes under the ground?" "Aye, like the electric ones from the city." "But there ain't no electric lights here!!!" "Exactly, he continued digging until they led him to the church graveyard. When he demanded answers, Ramsay declared him a grave-robber and had him ex-communicated." "Anyway," Ruddy advised, "keep your sickles sharp tonight. The undead woman might come and bite us. I doubt those stupid crosses will be of any help. Tomorrow is the vampire-hunt. If any bite-marks are found on our body, Ramsay will have us killed." |
That night all the doors in Little Dung were bolted tight. Outside, the nightwinds howled and blew. Inside, the villagers huddled around their various hearths while thick logs sputtered and crackled. Mary was tied to a bed in Rolland's shack, her arms stretched over her head and her feet spread and tied to the bedposts. She screamed and writhed as Rolland rubbed sesame oil onto her bare skin. "Easy, easy, this will soothe you," Rolland intoned as his hands carressed her limbs and belly with the oil. Gradually Mary became calmer and stopped screaming, but her eyes were fierce and there was still no human compassion in them. Finally, long after midnight she fell into a deep sleep and Rolland sat back and wiped his brow. "'Tis hard work," he muttered. He untied Mary's hands and feet and wrapped her in a blanket. Rolland knew from experience that the sesame oil would keep her quiet all day in addition to the fact that her vampirism would make her sleep during the day. But tomorrow was the vampire hunt. He must hide her in case anyone came snooping around his shack. There was a trap door in the floor of his shack leading to a little basement that he had dug. Carefully he slid Mary down into the basement. There was barely enough room for her. Then he shut the trap door and disguised it with a mat. On top of the mat he put a table and piled books and a cup and a candleholder on the table. |
| What is happening to me, Mary thought, as she lay in the dark basement of Rolland. Am I dead? No, in fact, she never felt more alive. She could hear her heart pumping, she could smell thousands of scents around her; she saw colours she could never see as a human !!!! She was a free soul which wanted to fly in the sky, but she felt trapped inside this human body. No, she must come out of the shell; she must fly !!!! She closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt lighter and lighter as she felt a strange buoyant force. She was no longer human, she was flying, and she could see through the dark. She was a bat!!! But she could see her body tied down to the bed. I did not turn into the bat, she thought, I transferred my consciousness into it. She flew to the top room where Rolland, the castaway was asleep. She caught a small piece of candle from the desk above the trapdoor and brought it back through the small air-hole of the basement. The bat placed it in the outstretched palm and then went out. Mary's soul returned back into her body as she felt the candle in her hand. Mary held the candle in one hand and lifted her finger over the wick. A surge of electric spark flew from her fingertips and lit the candle. She could see the trapdoor. I am locked inside, she thought. She used the heat of the candle to loosen the metallic latch of the trapdoor and got out. While Rolland slept, she tiptoed out into the woods. As she went out into the deep, she heard the rustling of leaves behind her. She turned around and faced Lucy. Lucy said, "Ramsay said I would find you here. Mary, I am your sire. Join us." "I will kill you", Mary answered, "and that Ramsay." "Well, I guess you will learn to obey the hard way," Lucy said and stretched her arms. Blue jets of electric current showed up around her fingers as dry leaves on the ground levitated, now charged up. Mary took a deep breath and focused her energy on her hands. Soon blue sparks accumulated on her hands too as she charged forward and screamed, "Bring it on, bitch!!!" |
The two girls rushed together and collided in a shower of sparks that sent them both tumbling backwards. Mary felt more vulnerable because she was naked while Lucy was dressed in tight black leather complete with a swirling cape. Standing twenty feet apart from each other, the girls raised their hands and a blue bolt of electricity leaped from Lucy's hands to Mary's hands. Mary screamed and sat down hard. It was obvious Lucy had more experience at this kind of fighting. Back at the shack, Rolland stirred in his sleep and woke up. Something wasn't right. He saw that the trap door was open and the basement was empty. When he rushed outside he smelled ozone in the air and there was a blue glow in the forest. "Oh shit," he said and ran back inside to get his garlic, cross, wooden stake, and pistol loaded with a silver bullet. In the village, Parish Ramsay was also having trouble sleeping, as he often did. Hardly a night went by that nightmares didn't make him toss and turn. This night he woke up and saw the flickering blue glow in the trees outside the village. He jumped out of bed. "Demons!" Quickly he pulled on his boots and ran next door where he hammered with his fists. "Wake up, Harry! All Hell has broken loose! There's demons in the woods!" Harry grabbed his shotgun and ran outside to join the slowly growing mob. Most were armed only with torches and pitchforks. "But we can't fight them at night! That's crazy! Demons rule the night!" Ramsay shushed them. "Our torches will protect us! Every man hold a torch! And make sure it blazes bright!" |
| As Lucy came nearer, she turned around to face another enemy. Rolland was aiming his stake at her. He threw the stake, but she ducked and the stake stood, harpooned in the ground beside her. She laughed a cruel laugh and made a move towards Rolland but something was holding her back. "Oh you can't", Rolland explained, "I staked your shadow, and you cannot move." "So what now, old timer?" Lucy taunted, now completely immobile. Rolland helped Mary up and then threw five flaming garlics around Lucy, forming a pentacle. Lucy screamed as she breathed the smoke of the five garlics around her. Rolland signaled Mary to strike her. Rolland chanted, "Trapped soul, I take away your earth." Mary threw a bolt of lightning at Lucy and Lucy's body burnt into flames. But the flames soon died down. Lucy looked up and laughed tauntingly at them. Mary was disappointed, but Rolland pointed out that one of the garlics had extinguished. He again chanted, "Troubled soul, I take away your fire." Mary threw another current from her fingertips and Lucy lit up in flames once again, writhing and moaning. When the flames died down, her skin was peeled off and she looked like a monster. But blue sparks came out of her body and her skin regenerated to its former self. Mary saw that the second flaming garlic had extinguished. "Wandering soul, I take away your wind." Lucy screamed in agony as Mary lit her up once again. This time, only the flesh remained. Lucy laughed and said, "I will keep coming back.", as the flesh mutated and rebuilt itself. Before the skin regenerated, Rolland commanded, "Vengeful soul, I take away your water." Lucy howled in pain as another shot of electricity set her body in flames. This time as the flames subsided, only bones remained. As four of the garlics extinguished, Mary could see through Lucy's empty eye sockets. There was no regeneration this time. Only one flaming garlic remained. "I give you one last warning", Rolland threatened, "Tell us everything. Is Ramsay behind this?" "I would never betray him," Lucy's skeleton remarked, "He helped me find my rapist and punish him. Ramsay is a good man, and I will never give out his secrets." "Unholy soul, I take away your heart". "Wait, wait. No. I don't want to burn in hell for eternity." "Then tell us." Lucy was now only a talking skeleton with a visible heart throbbing inside the rib cage, pumping electric current to her bones that kept her alive. But a shot was heard that pierced through that heart, and the skeleton fell down like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Father Ramsay appeared, holding a smoking gun in his hands, followed by villagers carrying torches and pitch forks. They were shocked to see Rolland and Mary there. Ramsay pointed his gun with silver bullets at Mary saying, "What ghastly ritual was taking place here?" Rolland took out his gun and pointed it at Ramsay. "I have silver-bullet gun too, Parish. Drop your weapon." |
There was a tense moment as Father Ramsay and Rolland stood pointing their guns at each other, then Ramsay slowly lowered his and grinned. "Very well, Rolland. I suppose we should thank you for killing Lucy." "It wasn't me that struck the final blow. You didn't want her to talk, did you Ramsay?" Ramsay shrugged. "You would be a fool to listen to the ravings of a monster like that. And speaking of monsters, what shall we do about Mary here?" Mary stepped behind Rolland. Rolland spread his arms to protect her. "You are not to hurt her. I can save her from the awful fate. She is only halfway there and I can turn her back." The villagers murmured in protest. "NO! There is no going back! She is a monster now and must be killed." Rolland looked at the angry mob with their torches and pitchforks. "Listen to me! If you believe that, then you are ALL doomed! You MUST believe in salvation and redemption. Just give me the chance to save her!" |
| There were whispers among the villagers and many nodded in agreement. Seizing opportunity, Harry fired his shotgun at Rolland's hand and Rolland's gun slipped out of it. Ramsay smiled and shot a silver bullet through Mary's heart as she fell down in peace. John rushed over from the crowd and knelt down beside his wife, tears streaking down his face. "If it wasn't her, what was it that he showed us?" TOmmy enquired. "OF course it was a pig," Harry answered, "thqat's why it smelt delicious." Suddenly all villagers had a sudden craving for roasted pork/ Father Ramsay declared, "Farmer John Cockfeather you have betrayed all of us and henceforth you are banished." ROlland, Mary (now dead) and John lay in pain as the villagers went back to the village with their torches and pithforks. The three were alone now. A bat came up from nowhere and landed on John's shoulders. "It is her,"m ROlland smiled and explained, "Just before she was shot, she transferred her soul into the nearest bat." |
"What frikkin good does that do me?" John sobbed. "You think I want to be married to a bat?" "I'm sorry, but at least she is still alive in spirit." "No! She is dead to me!" John lay on the ground hugging Mary's lifeless body while the bat flapped around over their heads. Suddenly the bat flew up high and then away. "Mary!" Rolland yelled. "Come back!" But the bat disappeared into the sky. Rolland whirled on John. "See what you have done? You have driven her away!" John's tears fell on his dead wife's cheek. "It's for the best. A bat, for God's sake! I'll never believe that. My precious wife is dead and you taunt me with bats? Go away! Leave me to mourn my wife!" Sadly, Rolland trudged back to his shack. Once again he had tried and failed. Was there no end to the misery that cursed their village? |
| Mary flew where her spirit drew her. John no more seemed attractive to her. He was just another animal. There were handsome bats flying all around her and they ogled at her. But no, if she gave in to temptation, she would remain a bat forever. She shouldn't forget her humanity, though it was diminishing second by second. She flew as fast as she could to the place where she was drawn. As the forest cleared on the other side of the village, she spotted a fire and immediately recoiled from the light. No, she thought, I must go on; someone is calling me. She finally landed on one of the tents around the fire. It was a caravan of traveling gypsies - all dressed in vivid colors and having hanging beads all around. An old woman in her - say nineties or hundreds, turned around to look at the bat and smiled. "Ah, I haven't seen the likes of you for a while. The spell I cast has finally worked." Mary screeched in a supersonic frequency and this turned the cauldron before the woman from red to green. "Yes, I hear you. Do you have help? I need to detoxify your human body. Someone should bring it here." Mary screeched again and the old gypsy Ariel Zubina Shakti nodded in agreement, carefully studying the patterns in the cauldron. "Listen carefully. You have to take this back to them." Ariel scribbled something on a parchment and attached it to the bat's claws. Mary flew back to John and Rolland, who untied the note and stared at the paper blankly. "What is it, Rolland?" "It's Mary. She has gotten help from somewhere. It is a note." "Well what does it say?" "How would I say? I don't know to read !!!" "Oh hell, neither do I !!!" |
John stared at the scribbling on the parchment. "Father Ramsay is the most educated man in the village. Perhaps he can read it?" Rolland shook his head. "I don't trust him. Perhaps he can read it, but he would just as soon lie to us as tell us what it really said. My son Jack might be able to help us." "Jack can read?" "No, but remember when he ran away and spent three months living in the city? They say that many who live in the city can read. Maybe Jack picked up a smattering of it. Can you fetch Jack to me? Quickly!" All the while they were talking the bat had been flapping around their heads. At the last words she screeched loudly and flew toward the village with John running along on the path below her. Jack and John came running back with Mary flapping above them. "What is it, father?" Jack gasped. Rolland showed him the parchment. "What do ye make of this, son?" "Why... that's gypsy writing! You don't know gypsy writing, dad?" "If I did would I be standing here asking you what it said?" |
| Jack stood before the two men and read out the letter: 'Dear, The Furry Bat's Friends, Bring me the body to our caravan to the east of Little Dung. Do so before tomorrow, for we are leaving soon. I have the secret that will repair the poison of silver in her heart. Only then can she come back. Love, Ariel, Angel of the East. PS: If her body is burnt or destroyed, bring me another corpse.' "Ariel, the angel of the East?" ROlland cried out, "I have heard of that. It means a great honour among the gypsies. She must be a powerful witch." "DO you believe in such things, father?" JAck taunted. "SHut your mouth, city boy. The vampire was real, wasn't it?" The next morning, as Jack and John journeyed to the east, the Hunt began in the village of Little Dung. Ramsay's men lead by Harry and Tommy went door to door and not only put everyone under tests (such as touching the cross and drinking holy water) but also asked every man, woman and child to recite paragraphs from the Bible. Those who had poor memory and those who could never read were rounded up as God's enemies. They were made to confess their sins and pay up every penny in their hut to the Church as 'retribution' for associating with evil. At dusk, Parish Ramsay gathered all villagers to the graveyard and said unto them - "The living have been purged and purified, but the Hunt doesn't end. We have to question the dead now. I want every strong man here to dig up the graves of our deceased and check the corpses for possible vampires. If the corpses you find are rotten, then they are safe, but any healthy and fresh body means trouble." And hence the villagers started to dig as the sun went down giving way to dark. |
There was no sound in the graveyard except the clink of shovels and the grunts of the diggers. Then Ruddy piped up, "Father Ramsay, is it wise to keep digging after dark? Ain't that when the undead awaken and roam around to eat human flesh?" Father Ramsay held up his silver cross. "Silence, coward! Do ye not se the sacred cross I bear? It shall protect us from all harm. Now get on with your digging." "I have a coffin ready to open," called one of the men. Everyone gathered around while Father Ramsay pried up the top. "Whew! Jimminy Cricketcrap that smells bad!" They let the top slam back shut. "OK, that's a keeper," Father Ramsay said. "Rebury it." |
| The villagers continued digging and dragged up the next coffin to the surface. A few were surprised that it did not take much effort in opening the lid. As the lid creaked open, the villagers gaped at what was inside with their mouth open. It was a child, or rather a teenager - a boy of around eighteen. He had golden hair and blue eyes that stared blankly at everyone. His skin was white as milk and he had a faint smile on his lips. "Who is this lad?" Tommy asked Father Ramsay, "I don't remember anyone like him." "You don't because he was buried during his time", Ramsay answered and turned to Harry. Harry staggered back in shock. "He was.... he was my older brother Heath", Harry stammered as the others caught a glimpse of fear on the tough man's face, "He died when I was eight. How is he even...." "Hey look," Jack cried out, "There is a wound on his neck - a hole." Tommy looked at Harry in eye and asked him, "Vampires are born only out of restless souls. How did he die, Harry?" "I.... I killed him - stabbed in his neck with a crucifix. But Tommy, after that I confessed my sins to Father Ramsay and he gave me shelter." "The Lord has forgiven Harry," Parish Ramsay intervened, "But Heath died sixteen years ago. His body should have been nothing but bones by now." "But it doesn't even smell," Ruddy pointed out, "And look at him. If his eyes were closed, I would have thought he was sleeping." "I think Heath Skinner is a possible vampire. Stake his heart men." The villagers obeyed Father Ramsay's commands and drove a wooden stake through the child's heart. Black blood oozed out of his skin as his chest deflated. Among the other graves dug out, most were decaying or just white bones. But some looked horrifyingly like living people, smiling. The fresh bodies were staked at heart and buried back. After the job was done, the men celebrated by drinking and singing in the village pub. Ruddy called Tommy aside and whispered in his ear, "I saw it Tommy and you saw too." "What are you talking about?" "You know Tommy. Next to Heath's grave - something black and long." "Nonsense. Could have been anything." "Pipes, Tommy. Electric pipes under the graveyard. Jack's father was right." "You are close to blasphemy, Ruddy. If Father Ramsay or Harry found out about this....... I cannot believe you are taking his side - Jack's side - that 'educated' city boy!!!' "Please, listen. Do you know anything about these electric wires at all? You are close to Ramsay. Did he ever say anything to you about them?" That night, |
"No," Tommy said. "He never mentioned any wires. I think you were seeing things." "Maybe," Ruddy said, and went back to drinking his beer. Something was going on in that graveyard. All the next day Ruddy thought abought the graveyard and the long black things he saw. Finally, he resolved to settle it. He waited until after midnight and headed back to the graveyard with his shovel. There was no moon and the night was dark. Only the lonely hoot of an owl broke the silence. Ruddy shivered as he dug into the graveyard soil with his shovel. Being there alone wasn't quite the same as having everybody else around. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He uncovered the long black things he had seen before and pulled at them with his hand. He flinched when he heard a voice behind him say, "Looking for something?" |
| Ruddy turned around and froze in horror. A young boy whose face he had seen a few hours back stood smiling at him. "Heath Skinner?" "Yes. You have grown up so much. You are Harieta's son right? I remember holding you in my arms when you were a baby. So what have they named you?" Ruddy clutched his shovel hard. He said - "My name is Ruddy. How can you be alive? We staked your heart." "Like that will work", Heath said holding out his right hand and showing sparks of electricity gathering into a ball, "One of these and it was reduced to ashes. Now answer me, what are you doing on my grave?" *********************** After a day of journey through the woods, John and Rolland reached the caravan of gypsies carrying Mary's corpse in turns, while the bat flapped over their heads. They handed over the note to one of them. "Angel of the East, I see. We usually do not welcome outsiders but an invitation from one of the four guardians can be an exception." "Four guardians of what?" Rolland cried out. "The four guardians of the Elixir - the divine nectar that gives strength, beauty and immortality." |
"Take them to Ariel," the gypsy man said. The three children who had been quietly watching immediately started chattering. "Come with us! We take you!" John and Rolland followed the kids to the tent of Ariel Subina Shakti. One of the children stuck his head in the tent flap and said something in gypsy talk. From within a voice said, "Please come in." Ariel was a very old woman but her eyes were bright and alert. The bat fluttered down and landed on her lap. Ariel gently stroked its fur. "Ah, you have come back, little one." "We brought Mary's body," John said. Ariel smiled. "Then I shall do for you whatever I can." "You can restore life to my wife?" "Your wife's spirit still lives on in this little creature," Ariel said. "We only have to move her spirit back into her body. Yes, I think we can do that." |
| ****** Ruddy drew up his courage and pointed his shovel in an offensive position, "Is Ramsay behind all this? Did he send you here?" "Allastor Ramsay? No. I, Heath Skinner am the Angel of the West while he is the Angel of the North. We are guardians of the secret." "You are no angel. You are a monster, an abomination. Angels are beautiful." "Read the bible again - angels are fierce soldiers of God, trained to kill", said Heath as his spine morphed into something gruesome and chalk-white. The bones grew out to form giant white bat-like wings as Ruddy watched in horror. Heath flapped his wings gently and rose a few feet above the ground. The electric sparks in his arm coalesced into a fireball as Ruddy felt the hairs on his body stand. "I.... I am not afraid of you," Ruddy stammered, "Angel or demon, I am not scared. Bring it on. Throw your fireball. It will be easy to dodge." Heath laughed mirthlessly and explained that the fireball he was holding was powerful enough to wipe out the entire village. He stopped into silence as a bullet pierced through his heart. Harry came out carrying Ramsay's silver colt. For a brief moment Ruddy thought Heath was dead, but then he laughed a cruel laugh again, "The elixir runs in my veins and is antidote to the silver bullet. That won't work, little brother." ************** Ariel Zubina Shakti was the oldest human being John had ever seen - her skin was pale white and as wrinkled as fat on milk. She had hair that was longer than herself and flowed on the floor. She wore a multicolored gown that was abundant in beads. As she injected a red liquid into Mary's corpse, she eyed Rolland and said "I never expected you, Rolland Redbone, Angel of the South, to come to me." "You must be surprised, Madame Ariel, for I did not have any elixir left." "Yes", Ariel reiterated, "Now for the spell...." |
Then Ariel began the long slow chanting of the spirit transformation spell. As she chanted, Ariel swung her arms in lazy circles over the body of Mary, once a living person. John watched intently. Rolland occasionally added a little chant of his own that harmonized with Ariel's. After an hour of this, John was getting woozy from the thick smoke of incense inside the tent, but he kept looking even though his eyes were watering. Suddenly Mary's body shuddered and the bat dropped to the floor, lifeless. John gripped Rolland's sleeve. "Is she...?" After another brief moment of chanting, Ariel made a final pass with her hands and looked up. "It is done. Your Mary is back with us." John sobbed and put his head in his hands. "Thank you! Thank you!" |
| Harry looked on in horror as his older brother smiled down upon him. He threw a glance at Ruddy and said, "Throw your shovel on its shadow." Ruddy looked back at the most feared man in the village - Ramsay's right-hand-man - in surprise. That was the first time they had actually talked. Harry probably knew Ramsay's secrets, but that betrayed him now. Probably, even the gun was stolen from him. Ruddy hated Harry from the bottom of his heart, but now trusted him. Something had happened between Harry and Heath a long time ago, and Harry was on Ruddy's side now. Ruddy threw the shovel towards the vampire's shadow, but the vampire flew sideways and the shovel missed it. But that was just a distraction. Seeing an opening, Harry shot a bullet at the ground and Heath Skinner was stuck, immobilized. He screamed at Harry, "You bastard, you will pay for this. Even if you have stopped me now, you cannot kill me. I am practically immortal." "What do we do now?" Ruddy asked Harry, forgetting his previous inhibitions. "I.... I don't know. He cannot attack us now. Let us... let us wait till sunrise, I guess." "Screw you", Heath Skinner shouted, "Tell him... tell him how you killed me. Tell him why, Harry. Tell him what you and Allastor Ramsay are planning." "Shut up," Harry screamed, "I.... I am sorry, brother. I had killed you once, and I will have to kill you once again." Saying so, he lifted up Ruddy's shovel and cut off Heath's head with it. As the head rolled over towards Ruddy, blue sparks were visible on his severed neck and another head regenerated out of it. Heath said unto Ruddy, "You are innocent, aren't you? Do you know what those black wires underground are?" Splash!!! Blood spilled on the ground as the second head was chopped off. A third head regrew in its place and said, "Harry, the monster is not me but you. You know that, don't you." "Shut up, snake-tongue, " Harry screamed and lopped off the third head. "Stop it... stop it Harry, let it speak," Ruddy screamed, now sure that Harry was hiding something, but those his last words, as Harry turned around and shot a bullet through Ruddy's throat. As Ruddy fell down dead, choking in his own blood, Harry looked back at Heath and said, "Angel of the West, hear His words. If you interfere here, more innocent people will die. Go away, brother and never return." |
Heath shook his head. "You know I can't make that promise. I am one of the Four Guardians of the Secret. What kind of guardian is it who runs away?" Harry sat down on a gravestone. "Very well. We'll wait for the sun to rise. Let's see what your opinion of bravery is then." "I have a better idea. Let's see what Allastor Ramsay's opinion is of you threatening to kill one of the Four Guardians." "I'll tell you my opinion," Ramsay said, and Harry whirled around to confront him as he walked into the graveyard. "My opinion," Ramsay continued, "is that brothers shouldn't kill each other. It never turns out well. Harry, your jealousy of Heath is dangerous. I forbid it." Ramsay's eyes bore into Harry until Harry had to look away. "I am sorry," Harry said. "I will not kill my brother." Ramsay chuckled. "That's a good boy." Then his face grew fierce again. "Now stop acting like a boy and be a man. What were you thinking? You know the importance of The Four Guardians of the Secret. Next time you won't be so lucky. If any harm comes to myself, Ariel, Rolland, or Heath... then all Hell will break loose and you will suffer horrors you cannot begin to imagine. That's a promise, Harry." Harry hung his head. "Yes, sir. I understand." |
| Ramsay bent over and picked out the silver bullet from the ground and Heath was free now. "Allastor", Heath whispered in a dangerous voice, "You have betrayed the other guardians. What is going on in this village?" Ramsay took a deep breath and said, "It is for our own benefit. But you never understand." "Really? Having me killed by my brother? Banishing Rolland from the village? What are you planning, Allastor? Where are your true loyalties?" "Are you threatening me?" Ramsay asked and came forward boring into Heath's demonic eyes, "Heath, you know that I am stronger than you." Harry watched in surprise as the winged vampire cowered away from Father Ramsay. "Leave this village alone and go away." "Yes, yes, go away", Harry echoed, "Never come back to torment me, brother." Heath threw a cold stare at Harry and then, flapped his giant bat-like wings to fly away into the woods. "Father, what do we do about Ruddy?" Harry cried out. "Simple," Ramsay replied, "We make it look like he was a vampire." Saying so, Ramsay bent over Ruddy and revealed his teeth. They were sharper and longer than Harry could remember. Harry couldn't believe his eyes as he saw the parish sink his teeth into Ruddy's neck and suck out his blood. A surge of current passed through Ruddy's body and tossed it for a second. But the silver bullet in him was poisonous. Ruddy's corpse looked bloated and unearthly. As the first rays of the sun touched the ground, Ramsay put on his hooded cloak and went towards the church to prepare for the mass. |
Rolland sat in his shack contemplating the happenings of the last day or so. He had never liked Allastor Ramsay, never trusted him, but he was bound by the Covenant of the Secret to do him no harm. However, recent events were very disturbing to Rolland. They seemed to indicate that Ramsay had strayed from the promises of the Secret, that he had turned from one dedicated to a better future into someone, or some thing, that was dedicated to sorrow and evil and destruction. And wasn't it curious that Ramsay had made it only himself who was allowed to stay in the village of Little Dung? Heath Skinner was banished. Ariel Subina Shakti was forced to live with the gypsies, and he himself, Rolland Redbone, must live in a shack in the woods. Meanwhile, Allastor Ramsay occupied a position of leadership in the village and told everyone what to do, say, and think. Rolland pounded his fist on the table and said, "Allastor Ramsay has broken the Covenant of the Secret!" Saying it out loud made Rolland feel better, but now what was he going to do about it? |
| While Rolland was in his shack pondering a way to get around the power and leadership of Ramsay and how to bring it to end, Ramsay went back to his home to relax from a most stressful evening. What am I going to do about the other guardians and the trouble they are going to bring me? He thought to himself. He knew the way he was acting was unorthodox in accordance with the ways of living the Guardians were to represent. He knew he was getting close to being put under scrutiny and realized the other Guardians can form an alliance against him. If that were to happen, all of them together would be able bring Ramsay down, and he had to find a way to make sure that didn’t occur. At the moment he would be more concentrated on getting the town of Little Dung more focused on the hunt. He knew that the there was enough distances between the other Guardians that there wouldn’t be an immediate strike against him. There were more important matters closer to home. Meanwhile, Mary was coming back to consciousness in the arms of John. As she opened her eyes, she quickly was aware of what had happened and leaped out of John’s arms. “I’m alive?!” She said looking suspiciously around her and at John. “Yes! Oh Mary! It’s good to have you back. You looked confused and scared. Do you not remember what happened?” John said as he cautiously moved toward her. “Yes, now it’s coming back to me, I was a bat, and now I am human again? I don’t feel so human.” “You don’t look so human either, besides like yourself in your human body. Something is different! Ariel what happened?!” John turned towards the gypsy, looking angered. “Allow me to explain.” Ariel said with a sly smile. |
| "The elixir runs within her veins and she is no ordinary vampire. She is practically immortal now - equal in power to the Four Guardians." "So, old woman," John asked, "You.... you are immortal too?" "Yes," Ariel answered, "Almost immortal. Rolland had only a drop of the elixir when he was a baby. He is one hundred and fifty years old. There was a vampire Heath Skinner, whom I had revived fifty years ago and he still looks no more than seventeen." "Well, what about you?" Mary asked her, "You look old and aged to me." "That's because I am turning one thousand next week", Ariel said with a sparkle in her eyes. ********************* Next day, all the people of Little Dung were shocked to find that Ruddy was in fact a vampire amongst them. Father Ramsay gave a thrilling account of how he was attacked by the servant of the demon and how Harry Skinner bravely shot him down. Tommy suggested that an evil soul like Ruddy did not deserve a funeral and hence his body was tied to a cross and set on fire to warn the other demons. That day, a telegram arrived from London. The District Magistrate Benedict Benet was coming to Little Dung for a routine inspection. Tommy smiled. He assured the villagers that no taxes would be collected this year as well. Father Ramsay had a hidden deal with the government official such that the authorities never disturbed the village for taxes, census or voting. They left the village to itself. In fact, the Government of England officially denied the existence of Little Dung itself. It was off all government maps. ************************* John looked at his naked wife thoroughly. She had sharper features and all the freckles on her skin had disappeared completely. She looked fresh, healthy and pink. |
That night in their bed he discovered she had changed in other ways as well. Before, she had merely endured his affections, but now she hungered for them. After a long intense round of lovemaking, John fell asleep exhausted. The next morning when John woke up, Mary was not in the bed. Hurriedly John dressed, but he couldn't find Mary anywhere in the cottage or in the yard or at the neighbors. Finally, he thought to look in the graveyard. Mary was standing there gazing at the sky. "Mary!" John said. "What are you doing?" Slightly startled, she turned quickly to look at him. "Oh. John. I didn't hear you walk up." "What are you doing here in the graveyard, Mary?" She looked at him with wondering eyes. "I... I don't know. I'm just... here." John put his arm around her. "Come back to the cottage. Let's eat some breakfast." |
| "John, I'm not human anymore. I don't think I'm hungry for that kind of food." she said looking slightly upset. "oh, should I be worried? Are you going to try and take my blood?" he said worriedly. " Maybe I shouldn't be here, I need to speak to Ariel about my thirst and hunger. I'm not sure if I could be strong enough not to hurt you until I feed." " Will you be back? I don't want to lose you again." " I promise." Mary rushed back to Ariels grounds in the forest. As she was getting closer, she saw a cloud of black smoke rising up. When she reached the grounds where the gypsies had set up shacks, everything had been burned. Mary began to panic, wondering where she would able to find Ariel. She found solace in the thought that at least Ariel was alive,but remembered all the innocent people that had been killed. Who could have done such a thing? What reasons were behind such actions? Before she could return to John she had to get these answers. Wondering how much longer she could put off her hunger, she headed towards Little Dung, remebering that other vampires lived there and were connected to the same cause as Ariel was. |
| As Mary turned around to go, she found a baby lying on the ground. Her maternal instincts grew and she bent over and picked it up. It was crying. It must be hungry, she thought and held it to her breast. The baby was about to suck on her nipples when a voice stopped her. She turned around her and saw a seventeen year old vampire with large angelic wings. It was Heath Skinner. He said, "I wouldn't do that. You are a vampire now and your blood is polluted. If the baby drinks it, it will be doomed forever." "But.... then", Mary stammered, licking her lips, "What shall I do with him?" "He can be put to good use," Heath answered, "You just have to give in to your instincts." Mary looked back at the baby and her heart started beating faster. ******************* District Magistrate Benedict Benet sat with Father Ramsay in his cottage drinking ale. He looked around to make sure they were alone and whispered, "Are the wires working well?" "Yes Sir," Ramsay responded, "They are. They have been giving very good results." "You do know the reason we never collect taxes from your village. Not only that, we direct a considerable amount of power from London here and thus incur losses. You do know the purpose." "Yes, I do. You will have your dreams fulfilled by the winter solstice." "I do hope so. Our country is at war, Allastor. Germany has to be defeated." "I understand Mr. Benet", Ramsay assured him, "Ask Harry if you want. He shot off Heath's head three times yesterday and they regenerated out of his severed neck. He was truly immortal." "I hope for your sake you are telling the truth, Allastor. We have already spent a large amount of money on this. It is our last desperate attempt to win this war." ************************ Mary could hear her own heartbeat racing fast as she held the baby in her arms as Heath smiled cruelly. He said, "I wanted Ariel to join me against Allastor and destroy the entire village before anything happens, but she refused. She would not kill people. Hence,I took out her entire caravan with my fireball." But Mary paid no attention to him. She was hungry. "I am asking you now to help me bring down Allastor. I am sure the one who made us four angels will understand. Join me, Mary." She could hear another heartbeat, faint and small, almost cute - the thumping heart of the baby and the flow of blood through its tiny cute veins. She could hear it all and it resonated in her mind. "You need to become strong and this is the only way." |
Rolland sat in his shack with his head in his hands. It was all falling apart - the Covenant, the Promise, the Secret - he could sense it. He wasn't psychic enough to get the details, but he knew something had happened to Ariel. He knew Heath Skinner was on the move and not in a good way. And he knew Allastor Ramsay was a traitor to the Covenant. Rolland stood up and kicked over his chair. "It's all bad!" he yelled. His eyes were bloodshot and quivering. He grabbed up the only thing he had that looked like a weapon - an axe - and marched out the door toward Little Dung with the axe slung over his shoulder. He muttered as he walked. "Yes, Allastor Ramsay, you have had your day. Now it's time to pay. Good-bye, Allastor Ramsay. You will die today." He chuckled insanely at his rhyme and began to shout it in a loud lusty voice. Yes, Allastor Ramsay! You have had your day! Now it's time to pay! Goodbye, Allastor Ramsay! You will die today! Clark the blacksmith looked up from his anvil when he heard Rolland come striding down the road. He sat down his hammer and tongs and watched Rolland march by. "That one is up to no good," Clark said. He wiped his hands on his apron and hurried out into the street. "Rolland Redbone, sir!" Clark called. "Where ye be going? Can I help thee?" But Rolland seemed not to hear and maintained his determined march - straight to the house of Allastor Ramsay. |
| Mary looked down at the baby, she knew that this was the only way to fufill her thirst. What would she do with the baby anyway. She also knew Heath was right, before the day she got bitten she did not trust Allastor Ramsay nor did her Husband John. At that moment she had to make her decision, as she was about to bite into the child, a large thump sounded from behind the her. Mary looked down at the baby, she knew that this was the only way to fufill her thirst. What would she do with the baby anyway. She also knew Heath was right, before the day she got bitten she did not trust Allastor Ramsay nor did her Husband John. At that moment she had to make her decision, as she was about to bite into the child, a large thump sounded from behind the her "Ariel! You're alive?!" Heath said, looking wide eyed and shocked. "You are such a fool sometimes Heath" she said grinning slyly. When Ariel had crossed over as a vampire she was given a second chance to live again, because of her good heart and her good deeds in life. This time she looked much younger and more beautiful than any human. She looked about 25 years old with a nice olive toned skin, long wild and wavy dark hair, the most mystifying green eyes and a spectacular body. Leaving Heath stunned and mouth agap at her figure. She quickly snatched the baby out of Mary's hands. "How dare you even think of killing such precious life!, Dont you have any conscience!" she said and smacking Mary across the face " I gave your life back to you so you may lead a good life not one of a crminal, Heath is no role model for what are kind are meant for and he should be stripped of his rights just like Allastor Ramsay." she turned to shoot a wicked glance at Heath. "You're being unfair Ariel, I came to you with good intentions and you would not form an alliance with me. You do not deserve the same rights if you won't support your fellow angels." Heath responded " We were not put on this earth to murder Heath, we are to protect the innocent, and I'm afraid I'll have to kill you if you disagree because we can not afford to have another tainted mind on the team" she said and set herself up in a fighting posture and ready to lunge at him. Before she could attack Heath flew up into the air. " You won't be able to outrun me Heath, i will find you!" yelled Ariel, then she turned around to Mary, who had fearsome look on her face. afford to have another tainted mind on the team" she said and set herself up in a fighting posture and ready to lunge at him. Before she could attack Heath flew up into the air. " You won't be able to outrun me Heath, i will find you!" yelled Ariel, then she turned around to Mary, who had fearsome look on her face. |
| Back at Father Ramsay's a commotion was heard at the entrance. Ramsay and Mr. Benet exchanged feared looks. Within no time, Rolland walked into the room where the gentlemen were having tea. Rolland was his Silver Colt. "Father Ramsay, your cottage looks no less than a mansion at London, while the people of Little Dung have no food to eat." "Do not complain, Rolland," Ramsay sneered, "for they don't have to pay any taxes." "Exactly, and why is that? Answer me, now", Rolland demanded, now looking at Mr. Benet, "What are those black pipes for?" "It is our only hope," Mr. Benet replied, stammering, "to win what is going to become the first world war." "Wait," said Ramsay, waving his hand, "You cannot hurt us, Rolland - I have the elixir running in my veins and even the silver bullet will be useless." "Yes, but Mr. Benet is still human, isn't he? There will be enquiry from London if I send back his dead body." "No... no.... please," pleaded the District Magistrate, "I will tell you everything. We need electricity to raise vampires who are immortal." "Yes," Rolland replied sarcastically, "Everyone wants to be immortal, I get it." "No you don't", Benet corrected him, "It is not for me to become immortal. I need an entire immortal army - an army of hundreds of vampires to fight against Germany - soldiers who will not die." Rolland stood back aghast. In the past hundred years, many persons approached him for individual or personal immortality, but an entire army of soldiers with regenerating parts? He shuddered at the thought. The twentienth century was the darkest of all !!!! |
"Are you mad?" Rolland said. "Have you not given one thought to what will happen when the war is over? Would you unleash hundreds of vampire soldiers upon the world?" District Magistrate Benet pulled himself up. "Aren't you forgetting that you are a vampire yourself, sir? These soldiers will be loyal to the nation. I am sure they can restrain themselves from killing their fellow countrymen." Rolland didn't know how to respond to that argument even though he sensed that it was completely wrong-headed. How many deaths had occurred just in the last few days from vampires right here in Little Dung? But how to explain that to Benet? Rolland said, "There is a lot you don't know about vampires. You have made a lot of assumptions about safety that are completely wrong. All I ask is that you immediately convene an inquiry into the happenings here at Little Dung for the last 7 days. I think you will be very interested in what they discover." "That seems fair enough," Benet said. "No!" Ramsay shouted. "There must be no inquiry!" Benet was startled. "I'm surprised, Ramsay. What harm can it do? I'll make sure it's very discreet." "No," Ramsay said. "There will be no inquiry. That's my final statement." Rolland made a wry smile at Benet. "Do you see, Mr Benet, that you do not know everything there is to know?" Benet was still staring in shock at Ramsay. "Yes... you may have a point." |
| Benet turned to Ramsay with suspicion this time. “Ramsay now that your fellow friend Rolland here has caused for some questions to be asked, instead of having a discreet inspection of the town and its happenings, I’m going to have to put you under house arrest and call upon my fellow colleagues in England to come here and do a full on inspection and I am putting Rolland here in charge of Little Dung until we get all the mess cleared up” Rolland smiled and laughed victoriously, he then turned to Benet and shook his hand, “Benet, thank you for agreeing to side with me, you will not be led in the wrong path. I can show you anything you’d like to know about vampires and answer any questions you may have. We can even try to form an alliance with your country to help fight this oncoming war, but I assure you that your idea is definitely dangerous in the long run.” Ramsay was staring at the two, and then in about two seconds was right behind Benet, one arm wrapped around his neck and the other on the forehead. “Rolland you stay where you are or else I will kill him!” He said, stepping back slowly while dragging Benet with him. “Ramsay, you don’t want to do this, we can all find a way to help Mr. Benet and keep the peace. There is no reason to continue to spill blood. This project could not be worth all this madness” Rolland responded, trying to get closer to the two. “You don’t even know the first thing about this project Rolland. You stay where you are and let me handle these matters!” Before Rolland could get to them, Ramsay opened up his wings and flew backwards out the cottage taking Benet with him. |
| As Rolland concentrated hard and wings grew out of his back too. As he attempted to fly out, following Ramsay, an unseen force held him back. He turned around and faced Susan Ramsay, Allastor's wife, standing next to Harry. She had greasy black hair drooping around, pale white skin (as if she hadn't fed for days) and a black smiling lips. "You.... you staked my shadow?" Rolland choked out. "Mister Redbone", Susan answered, "I do not need a stake. I am using my own shadow to hold down yours. After all, shadows and mirror reflections are the essence of the soul." Rolland realized that Susan was a powerful vampire as well, and she could manipulate and grow her shadow in order to hold down others. Susan came nearer to Rolland (who was now immobilized). "Mister Redbone, do you know that electricity is vital for life. It makes muscles move, it makes the heart pump, even in the brain, electric signals are responsible for thought. In other words, your soul is nothing but electric energy originating from your throbbing heart." "Such wisdom !!!! You must be the one who made us angels !!! You must be the one pulling the strings !!! You must be the Covenant of Secret. You lied." Susan smiled and plunged her bare hands inside Rolland's chest and pulled out his pumping heart as blood sprayed all over the room. Red sparks grew out of her fingers and charred the throbbing heart to death. Rolland's body reduced to dust and fell to the floor as a pile of ashes. Susan turned to Harry and said, "Harry Skinner, you must carry on Allastor's work. I have a feeling he won't return alive." ************************** In the woods, Allastor had interrupted an ongoing fight between two other vampires, Heath Skinner and Ariel. They turned to him and stopped. "Ariel," said Heath, "Look who is here. I propose we stop fighting each other and team up against him." "Agreed," Ariel replied. Allastor laughed at this and taunted, "I am more powerful than you think. I can easily take down both of you together." "But it is not just the two of us," Ariel corrected slyly as Mary came into the view, "The elixir runs in Mary's blood as well, and she is as powerful as one of us." |
Allastor threw Benet down on the ground, where he crawled off rapidly into the bushes to hide. Ariel, Heath, and Mary formed a line facing Allastor, but Allastor was confident of his power. Mary was too new to the game to be much of a threat. Heath was just a kid. It was Ariel he had to deal with. If he could put her down, then beating Heath and Mary would be easy. That's why Allastor summoned up everything inside him and sent a blast of hate at Ariel. The hate manifested itself as a swirling ball of green energy that engulfed Ariel. She screamed and fell to her knees while the green plasma writhed around her sucking the life out of her soul. Heath was enraged and rushed at Allastor only to be easily knocked aside. He landed on his butt looking surprised. Allastor grinned at Mary and she shrunk back like a frightened girl, but Allastor sent a wave of lust at her and she gasped as the raw sexuality began to consume her. She pulled at her collar, wanting to tear her clothes off, but she knew if she did that she would become Allastor's slave. Desperately she fought against the rising tide of sexual desire within her that threatened to destroy her rational thinking and turn her into an animal in heat. |
| Ramsay did not realize, regardless of Mary being very new to the life of vampires, she as a human had a very pure heart and that characteristic passed through to her in her vampire form, and it helped her fight off Ramsay. She thought of a pure white light, coming from the all the way up her spine and shooting up from over her head and with this image she had conjured was able to get the sexual feelings off of her. It had taken her a lot of energy to do, but she still was able to fight off Ramsay. Ramsay at that moment realized what he was up against, and tried to run away, but Mary had used her own shadow to stop, then she threw a wave of angry hurtful feelings toward Ramsay and this crushed his wings, since he had his back faced towards Mary. “Hahaha, now you have nowhere to fly to, you have lost your wings Ramsay! Before I kill you, I want some answers. What is the secret? What is going on in this town? What is your involvement in the conspiracies and murders?” She asked. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Benet who had been hiding in the bushes was already on foot at this moment. He kept running, horrified from what he had just witnessed. His next immediate thoughts were to head back to London Immediately and make sure that no one ever came back to Little Dung, but he realized also that maybe he needed to find a way to resolve this craziness, no matter how many people would tell him he was mad. He needed to find a braver colleague in London to come back with him and show them what is going on. He would not risk being put away and marked as insane, but he needed to share these stories with someone and not hold them in or else he would surely go insane… But would he get out of Little Dung alive? |
| FIVE YEARS PASSED SINCE THAT FATED DAY. Ruddy and Rolland died and John along with Mary was not seen by anyone from Little Dung. The vampire hunt was carried forward by Susan Ramsay, whom the villagers referred to as Holy Mother now. Fearing he would be next to fall, young Jack escaped to London and continued his education there. Five years, he thought, and after all this time, it could only be fate. He closed his eyes and tried to think straight. He was sitting in one of the highest offices of London outside the cabin of the most coveted person. He was working as a receptionist and page boy to Mr. Benedict Benet. After five whole years had Mr. Benet finally found the courage to visit Little Dung, and he was taking Jack along with him (to prove he wasn't insane). There would also be a third person and Jack was waiting for him. There was a ring outside and a knock on the door. Jack got up and opened it and his jaws dropped. In came a lady wearing a fashionable corset and hat. Jack stammered for sometime, entranced by her beauty and asked, "How may I introduce you, madam?" She smiled seductively, and extended her hand forward, saying, "My name is Ms. Buffameos Romulos le Vivian. I am here to see Mr. Benet." Jack raised his brows. He was definitely expecting a man, probably a hurly one with sideburns carrying a hunting-gun. He cleared his voice and asked, "So you are the legendary Slayer from Romania? Pardon me, madam for not believing that." She laughed and answered, "Oh, I just came back from betting at the races. But it is me, Buffameous, or Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." |
Jack and Benet and Buffy rode to Little Dung in a vehicle that was high mounted because the road to Little Dung had deteriorated over the years until it was nothing more than two muddy ruts through the forest. It was a grey day with crows cawing from the tops of withered trees. When they reached Little Dung, Jack was the first to set foot on the ground. "My village..." he sighed. "It looks even more forlorn than I remember." A loose shutter banged against the side of the blacksmith shop. No one came out to meet them. "Hello?" Jack called. "Is anyone here?" |
| As all three cautiously looked around the blacksmith's shop, they began hearing little stammers and running of feet outside the shop. Buffy, whose instinct is to always be in combat mode, took out a long knife from behind her. She had a strap on knife that swung around and across her back with a lacy band across her chest. She walked slowly, and then from the front of the blacksmith's shop, entered a tall dark figure. All three of them turned around to see what or who it was. It was Mary, and John crept right behind her. They all were stunned looking at each other for a moment. Buffy noticed that Mary was a vampire and pointed her knife out to Mary and was about to lunge forward and Bennett stopped her. "Bennett, she's a vampire, we came here to this town because you had a mission, we need to start killing them." "Buffy, she is not your typical vampire. Mary here will help us learn what has happened to this town in the past five years, and she will get us to who i am really looking for." "Alright, Bennett, I hope you know what you're doing." She said, putting her sword down, but leaving it close to her. "Bennett, its great to see you again. We have much to discuss." Mary said, walking in with John by her side. |
| After being offered a mug of cheap whisky, Mary and John began to explain what had happened. The village was now a private territory of whom the villagers refered to as the Holy Mother. She worked along with Harry and Tommy, her two henchmen who shot to death anyone who questioned her. The villagers are terrified and obey the Holy Mother's every order. But they don't complain much. She never asked them to do anything unreasonable. She also never extorted money. Only one thing - every month on the full moon day, she demanded a human sacrifice. The candidate had to be voted by the villagers themselves and thus it was always the weakest, poorest or ugliest that was chosen. Mary and John were banished and anyone who would help them would be danger. "Then we are lucky, I guess", Buffy retorted, "as a vampire and werewolf hunter, I keep track of the lunar cycle. The full moon day will be tonight." "And the place", John said, "would be the church graveyard." Buffy reloaded her silver bullets and dipped her knife in garlic juice. As Jack, Benet and Buffy prepared to leave, Mary gave them a bat saying, "It has part of my consciouness and will help you in danger." The sun set and the full moon shone in the sky with full vigour. |
Jack, Benet, and Buffy crept along outside the stonewall that ran around the cemetary. Inside a small group of villagers had assembled. They all wore long grey druid robes with hoods and each held a candle. Light from the full moon outlined the druids and the gravestones and the tree branches. "I wonder which one is the Holy Mother," Jack whispered. One of the druids stood on top of a stone slab and raised her arms. "Probably her," Buffy whispered. The robed figure spoke in a deep female voice. "We have assembled here in honor of his glory and grace, the lord of all that is and was and will be, to offer in sacrifice our precious blood, the lamb of our stables, the beating heart of our most precious. Oh shine your benevolence on us tonight, oh great one, and let your infinite influence carry us into that most welcome..." "Shouldn't we take her out before the sacrifice and save the victim?" Buffy whispered. |
| "It would be kind of hard to do that while her two henchman are standing beside her." Bennett said, "Why don't we see how this plays out. If things start to get carried away, we'll take the henchman out first. Plus I don't want her to die an instant death, there needs to be a much greater punishment for this woman. Death is just so easy, and not fun at all." Jack was astounded as he heard these words come out of his bosses' mouth. He wondered what had happened to him that was so severe that had conjured such thoughts into his head. The ceremony continued as it did, there were two stacks of fire wood on each side of the Holy Mother, a table with a knife and a bowl. "I wonder who the sacrifice is tonight." Jack said softly to his two other colleagues. ..."On many occasions I have left the decision be thought by you all, great citizens of my humble town. But tonight, I had requested a virgin sacrifice. I know it is a request that may make some of you very uneasy at the thought, but there is a greater purpose in all of this, you will all see one day what great work we are doing here together. I don't ask much of you all, my loyal and great followers, but this is one request that can not be disobeyed." She closed her eyes, raised her arms high into the sky, and the wind began to pick up and whistle into the dark night, the clowds moved fast across the white round moon, and thunder began to rumble lowly across the sky. At this time the villagers spoke in unison " Holy Mother, full of grace. Cleanse our souls, and heal us from the sickness and disease of this corrupt world. We shall not disobey thee, we shall honor thee and hope that we are worthy in your presence.Hummm...." The humming trailed off with their heads hung low. "BRING FORTH THE VIRGIN!!!" screamed the Holy Mother. Drumming began to play and muffled screams from a young girl had been heard right after. The villagers were carrying her on a rectangular shape made out of sage wood and white sheet across it. "Bennett this is insane! We must do something!" Buffy said pulling both Jack and Bennett away behind some trees away from the crowd. "Let's split up, we can not let this continue" |
| The virgin girl was brought forth and tied to a tree. "You guys stay here as back up. I will kill that bitch", Buffy said and went straight ahead. She took out her gun and shot the Holy Mother in the heart. The Holy Mother turned around and stopped Buffy with her shadow. Jack lunged to help her but strangely Benet caught his arms from behind with inhuman force. What was going on, Jack thought. As Buffy stood immobile, the gun in her hand, Benet brought out Jack in front of the Holy Mother. "Good Work, Mr. Benet", she said, "I have been counting on you." "How did...", Buffy screamed, "how did you not die? The bullet was silver. That gun killed eighteen vampires and twenty-three werewolves before." Susan laughed insanely in her shrill voice and retorted, "You are a slayer,I see. But the elixir runs in my veins. Even silver wont work." She turned towards one of the hooded men and said, "Harry, coil the electric wires around our sacrifice and continue the ritual." "Mr. Benet", Jack cried out, "How could you betray us?" Benet said in a deep voice that was not his, "Mr. Benet is only my container. I am posessing him." A demon? Jack thought - impossible. The wires were coiled around Lambretta, the virgin sacrifice, and the powers were turned on. A surge of current passed through them and when it was done, Lambretta emerged out a vampire. Then the Holy Mother blessed her by touching her forehead and chanted something. Just when Jack lost all hope, thress rustled and thousands of bats came flying towards them from the woods. They attacked the hooded men, biting them everywhere and driving them away. After they cleared, from the forest emerged Mary and John. "So this is how you killed Allastor?" Holy Mother Susan asked, "You can transfer your soul into multiple bats." "Yes", said Mary, "Now leave my friends alone" as John pointed a gun at Susan's shadow. Susan withdrew her shadow, releasing Buffy from its hold. "Buffy, stay back", Mary commanded, but she did not listen. She threw away all her cross-bows and guns and instead pulled out an ancient sword. She charged and thrusted the sword through Susan's heart and Susan screamed in pain. Her skin fell out, then her flesh and blood, then her bones turned to dust. "What the hell is that?" John cried out. "It is called the Excalibur of King Arthur", Buffy answered panting, "They say it kills anything." Benet let go of Jack and burst out in laughter, causing everyone to turn to him. He said in a devilish voice, "You really think it is over?" "Yes," John said, "The queen bee is dead, isn't she?" "No she is not. Just like Mary has the power to transfer her soul into bats, I have the power to transfer my soul into human beings and control them. A part of my soul was in Allastor, another part in his wife Susan, a third part in this body of Mr. Benet. The fourth part in Lamberta now." "Yes," Lamberta said, "When I blessed this girl, I transferred my consciousness into this body as well. From henceforth, I am the new Holy Mother. Isn't it right Benet?" Benet and Lamberta said in unision, "The real me is far away beyond your reach. We are one and the same, all a part of one, one a part of all." |
[Why do you guys have dueling spellings? One says Benet and the other says Bennet. One says Lambretta and the other says Lamberta. Tell me this is accidental and not a War of the Words. I don't want to get caught in the crossfire.  ]Buffy swung the Sword Excaliber at Benet and Lambretta but the duo leaped away like acrobatic twins. Still using the unison voice, they said, "You may have temporarily gotten the advantage, but I will be back with reinforcements. Not even a thousand bats and a hundred Arthurian swords can save you then. Enjoy your last hours on earth, Buffy." And they vanished. "Now what?" Jack said. John and Mary and Buffy looked at each other. "Now we wait," Buffy said. "Just wait?!" Buffy's clear eyes gazed at him. "What else can we do?" |
| The next day, Buffy had woken up early in the morning and walked around the town trying to figure out how last nights occurred. She had been around all sorts of myths and legends long enough to know there is a way to stop these forces. The town looked decrepit and dead early in the morning. There were some stray animals walking around, and there seemed to be a fog that would not leave, as if it was black cloud the shrouded this town that would never go away. Jack was totally tired from last night he had been sound asleep when she had woken up early to go walk and clear her mind. She did not bother to even look for Mary and John who had so humbly and kindly offered their home as shelter for Jack and her. As she walked back to the house, disappointed in herself that she could not find a way to save this town from its disastrous situation. She remembered a legend that her grandmother had told her about when she was a young girl. Her grandmother, Bellina Romulos le Vivian, spoke about a man she had fallen in love with, and who had also taught her everything she knew about wolves, vampires, demons, ghost and slaying. He lived in Eastern Europe too, even more remote of a country than Romania. She knew this was the last hope that Little Dung had. She had to tell the others. As she walked into the house, Jack was sitting at a small wooden table with both Mary and John. "Good, you're all here, pack anything of importance with you all, we must leave immediately, there is hope for us all and it comes through help of one man." They all turned to Buffy, with desolate and hopeless faces. Jack, put his head in his hands as he said "What now Buffy? Haven't we been put through enough?" "There is hope young Jack, and it is in Transylvania! We're off to find Van Helsing, my male counterpart. I just hope he still is alive." |
| As the group set out to travel to the continent, they practiced their skills and read up as much as they could about vampires. To go to Transylvania, they had to pass through the Forest of the Moon, that was infested with werewolves. Far away at a distance, they heard a woman scream, "Help me... Save me." As Jack lunged forward, Buffy held him back. She said, "It is a werewolf. They are capable of mimicking a human voice." The werewolf seemed to have heard her, for the leaves rustled and they came face to face with a hideous creature. It did not look like a wolf at all. It was a human whose face and body was covered with hair. He had a pig-like snout and deformed legs that vaguely looked like the claws of an animal. He said in a deep male voice "I can hear your hearts throbbing and they sound delicious. But yours" he turned towards Mary "is throbbing faster - almost ten times faster than any human. But never mind. I will tear out your hearts." Buffy jumped up, did a somersault and pulled out the Excalibur. But the creature transformed into a human and dodged her attack. He then climbed up a tree as quick as ever and went away. Buffy decided to follow him. [SPECIAL INFORMATION]================== Excalibur - A magnetic sword whose hilt has the symbol of a bear and on whose blade, it is written in Latin - "Fight All Evil". Legend says it was used my Archangel Michael to defeat Lucifer and throw him into the pits of hell. Merlin is said to have declared no man other than Arthur could wield it. Hence only women could use it after him, the current owner being Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. They say it kills anything - including the devil himself. ====================================== |
"Wait here," Buffy said to the others before she set out after the creature. Jack and John and Mary sat down under the trees. it was a beautiful forest in spite of it being populated by hideous freaks. "Are you worried about Buffy?" Jack asked Mary. "Not after what she told us about Excalibur," Mary said. "That sword can kill anything." "Yes, it kills, but it doesn't protect. Buffy could still be killed herself. I hope she doesn't get overconfident because she has a powerful weapon." "Is it true there is no defense against Excaliber?" John twirled his finger. "I think that since the sword is magnetic, a magnetic shield might be effective against it." "You mean some kind of force field?" "No, no. Just a shield like knights hold in front of them, but a magnetized shield." "How would you magnetize it?" "I don't know! I'm just saying... if there is a defense against Excaliber then that might be one." "Oh," Mary said. Then they fell silent for a while and they could hear the breeze rustling the leaves of the trees in the Forest of the Moon. Somewhere deep in the forest a werewolf howled. |
| The sound of the howling wolf, was getting closer and closer. Then there were two howls one following the other. Jack Mary and John stared at each other looking worried. They all sprang up from the ground and to keep themselves at guard. Now the ground was shaking, it seemed to them that the wolves could hear and smell them, so they were running towards them. John stood in front of both Mary and Jack, and Mary tried to see if there were any bats in the area she could posses and distract the werewolves with. The two large creatures came up to them and stopped right in front of John. They were towering over him and had drooled dripping from their mouths and their huge tongues licking the drool off in one wipe. These were some kind of other creatures, the werewolves could stand upright and had the shape of a human. These were just large monsters. Their faces stunned and looking frightened, they began to slowly inch backwards away from the creatures. From far away a piercing sound that was in the air came straight at these creatures and hit one of them who made a screeching sound and fell to the ground, and a second later the other creature fell to the ground too, making the same screeching sound. All three of them walked up slowly to the animals, then another rustling noise came from behind the trees. At that moment a large dark man came out, a cigar in his mouth a bow in his hand and an a satchel of arrows that went across his chest and all the way around his back. He had khaki shorts, that were stained, and a large black long coat. He lifted his hat above his forehead and looked at the three of them. Then from behind him came out Buffy. "Hey everyone, This is Van Helsing." She said grinning proudly behind him. "Good evening everyone." Van Helsing said in thick Transylvanian accent. "It is a pleasure to meet you all, allow me to explain what is going on here." |
| "These are my death-hounds. I usually use them to track down vampires and werewolves. Looks like they don't like you, Mary." Before he could say anything further, the werewolf that they had encountered before appeared from behind Mary. Van Helsing tried to take the Excalibur from Buffy but got electrocuted as soon as he touched it. He fell to the floor and crumbled. The werewolf cried out, "Looks like only she can use that thing", and stabbed his claws into Mary's heart and blood sprayed on the trees. But before he could pull her heart out, Mary regenerated her flesh and skin and they covered up even before the werewolf could pull his claw out. The werewolf was stuck with his claw inside Mary's chest, her flesh regenerating around it holding him tightly. Buffy screamed, "Got you now", and charged ahead with the Excalibur. The Latin Words glowed from the sword as she aimed it at the werewolf. By now Van Helsing got up to his feet and pulled out a gun with a silver bullet. Mary tried to hold the werewolf down but it was ten times stronger than her. Holding her in his hand, he jumped up to the branch of a tree. "Stop", John cried, "It is carrying away my wife." "She is not going anywhere", said Van Helsing as he fired a shot at the ground and the bullet hit Mary's shadow, immobilizing her above. The werewolf was stuck too. Jack held Buffy at her waist and threw her towards the tree with all his strength and she flew up and pierced the werewolf with her legendary sword. The werewolf bloated up like a balloon and burst with pieces of meat and blood flying everywhere. Soon Van Helsing's death-hounds were eating up those pieces from the ground. |
Finally things were settled down enough for John, Jack, Mary, Buffy, and van Helsing to have a serious conversation, although Mary kept looking over her shoulder everytime she heard a werewolf growl. Van Helsing was talking: "So you want me to go back to this village of Little Dung with you and help you clear out a vampire infestation? Sure! I'll do it. You hit me at my sweet spot. That's what I do!" "Thanks!" Buffy said. "You were the first one I thought of." There were no further incidents as they left the Forest of the Moon. Van Helsing's reputation was such that even werevolves had heard of him and avoided him. When they arrived in Little Dung they set up camp in the Blacksmith Shop. No one knew what had become of the blacksmith. He had vanished one night and never been seen again, so presumably it wasn't a vampire attack. Maybe he just got tired of living in Little Dung. The Blacksmith Shop was a huge barn of a building and there was plenty of room for some bunks and a couple of coffins. Sometimes Mary preferred to sleep hanging from the rafters with some of her bat friends cuddled around her. Fortunately, Buffy and van Helsing were used to weird roommates. |
| They all woke up in the morning to a loud crash outside the shop. Then there was banging and screams from a crowd right outside the door. "Please settle down everyone, they know we have arrived they will show their faces too" An all too familiar voice said. Mary, John, Jack, Buffy and Van Helsing huddled around together, staying close to whisper to each other. "Who do you think it is Mary?" Buffy asked. "I Believe it Bennett, he must have known some how that we were here and he has brought the town with him to bring us down or worse to kill us." "Let's fight back!" Buffy said raising her sword to the ceiling. 'No no, its probably better to go out and see what the commotion is for." Mary said with a worried face and bringing the sword down to Buffy's side. "I Agree with Mary Buffy, lets at least not make rash decisions, lets go see the people and what we are dealing with." Van Helsing added as he started pacing the room and thinking of a plan. "No, i'm going to kill Bennett" No one was able to stop Buffy quick enough. She ran towards the door opened and saw Bennett grinning with a huge crowd behind him. ff "Hello Buffy." He said and she lunged at him with full force, not realizing that Bennett too had a sword in his hand. Buffy was still quick enough to strike the sword into Bennet who burst into dust. But Buffy was injured now on the ground in front of a large crowd. |
For a moment no one knew what to do. The crowd was stunned that their leader Bennnet had been killed so suddenly and Buffy's friends were stunned at how quickly she had taken events into her own hands. Van Helsing recovered first. "Buffy!" he yelled and ran over to kneel down next to her. There was an ominous muttering from the crowd. Van Helsing stood up and glared at them with fiery eyes. "Go back to your homes! Your leader is dead!" The crowd shuffled around a bit but they didn't leave. Van Helsing knew there would be trouble. "Jack, John, Mary!" he yelled. "Help me get Buffy into the shop!" Quickly they carried the unconscious vampire-slaying girl into the shop and lay her down on a bunk. The doors were shut tight against the milling crowd. Then Van Helsing had a thought. "Coming in here might have been a mistake." "I know what you are thinking," John said. "They might set fire to the shop. Mary and I will go up on the roof and keep watch." |
| Van Helsing took the first watch of the night, while others slept (except Mary who was having sex with John while he was sleeping; she said for her it was equivalent of sleep). He stood at the roof moving about with his silver gun (he couldn't use the Excalibur). He felt goosebumps on his skin s a breeze past by, as if someone was whispering to him in his ear. He said out loud - "Come out. I know what this is. You are trying to invade and take over my body. But will not happen. I have fought dozens of body-snatchers before." He then heard a giggle in response and turned around to find Lambretta, who just appeared there out of nowhere. She had milk-white skin, dark liver-red lips and flaming golden curly hair. She was wearing a white dress - no, a wedding dress and carrying a boquet of red roses. "Van Helsing, my darling", she said, "You shouldn't have left me at the altar a hundred years ago." "What, you? It cannot be." "Of course it is me. Who else could be behind all this? Remember the day we created eternal life and eternal love? Wasn't it enough for you?" "No. What we did was wrong. Hundreds of people died. All people of Transylvania were slaughtered for our purpose." "But we did make the Holy Grail - the Elixir of eternal life. But the knights of King Arthur came after us with that sword Excalibur. Remember how bravely you killed all of them and defended me? Where did that love go?" "Our love was forbidden. The Elixir was the forbidden fruit, don't you understand? We both have sinned. I thought you would stop after I left you." "Oh no, darling, I did not. When you left my side, I chose four vampires to be my guardians. I threw bullshits at them like ancient wisdom and made them believe they were angels. The Four Guardians have been unwittingly helping me in my plan." "What do you want with me then? Why have you come here?" "Oh you have killed my mate, Van Helsing. You people have killed Benet. I need to make love to someone in the night. It is equivalent of sleeping. I need to make love to you tonight." |
"It's not going to happen," Van Helsing said, but he could feel beads of sweat rolling down his neck. She was making him hot with some type of love trance. "Stop it!" he yelled. "I don't want your love!" Then as an afterthought, hoping to cool down her lust, he added, "You're an ugly bitch, a pig, a dog, a hopped-up monkey girl with no brains, just a throbbing vagina that stinks like a sewer." That slowed her down. A vein throbbed in her forehead as she tried to check her anger and concentrate on her lust, but his insults were too much for her. "You bastard!" she screamed. "You're not worth it! I give my precious love to you and get back nothing. You're inhuman, just a shell of a man with no heart, no soul. Why don't you die and make the world a better place by leaving it?" Van Helsing chuckled. "That's more like it, Lambretta. I just want to be friends." She furiously threw the bridal bouquet at him and he gracefully caught it. "Hmmm, looks like I'll be the next bride." Lambretta's eyes glittered with rage. She spoke in a low voice. "You'll pay for this, Van Helsing. You'll pay." Then she disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared. |
| Buffy was standing right behind Van Helsing when all of this occurred. "What was that all about?" She asked, with questioning eyes. "Its just some silly girl trying to fool an older wiser man like myself. Is it time to switch shifts already?" "Yes, unless you'd like to stay, and see if you're lovely bride will come back."She said now with a chuckle. "You know, I've heard everything about you and Lambretta from my grandmother. You met my grandmother afterward didn't you? You're also a vampire aren't you Van Helsing. I just can't figure how your body hides it so well. Well as long as you're not off killing others like some of these other ones." "Yes, well I'm doing my best Buffy. I have my own secrets of what had been happening between Lambretta and I. But now is not the time to discuss, please be careful at your post, Lambretta is trying to snatch bodies. "Thanks, i think I'm as capable as you are with my experience in these matters." "Good luck, scream if you need any help." At that moment, from very close by a slightly deep but human scream came from inside the shop. Buffy and Van Helsing turned their heads to screaming and then quickly to each other. "Its Jack!" Said Buffy. They both ran to the shop to see what the screaming was for. |
| Jack was on his bed with Lambretta and her arms around him. Her nails dug deep into his flesh and turned him blue while her lips were locked on to his. "No", Van Helsing screamed, "Kissing between a vampire and a human is used to make a deal or a pact. Don't kiss her." But he was already too late. Lambretta turned back and smiled at them. "This wouldn't have happened if you had quenched my thirst, Van Helsing. Jack's soul belongs to me now." She brandished a vial of white fumes and charged out of the window before vanishing into the night. "I know what she is doing", Van Helsing said, "In order to make the Holy Grail one needs the blood of a hundred vampires and the soul of an innocent human." "Which means", Mary spoke, "She wants to first create an army of vampires using the population of Little Dung and sacrifice all of them to create the Elixir. She must have been doing that..... " "Since a very long time, yes. Her real name is Enigma. She is the first-born daughter of Cain and Lilith. Lilith, her mother was a demon and had transferred her soul into a serpent and gave Adam and Eve the fruit of wisdom. Enigma wants to give the similar fruit to other humans. It will go on in geometric progression. The Holy Grail can be used to resurrect immortal armies, whose souls she will own." "Then we need to stop her", John interrupted, "but first, we need to get Jack's soul back." =======[SPECIAL INFORMATION]================== VAMPIRE ORIGINS: Lucifer had two deputies - Azazel and Lilith. While Azazel, the goat-demon was the father of all werewolves, Lilith, the snake-demon was the mother of all vampires. She had the ability to possess snakes, and using it tricked Adam and Eve into committing sin. Later, she married their son Cain and gave birth to the first vampire Enigma. Enigma's first victim was Count Dracula who turned entire Transylvania into a swarm of vampires so that Enigma could use them for her sacrifice. King Arthur tried to stop her with his Excalibur but the sword was stolen from him, leading to his death and use of his soul. A large number of vampires were wiped out shortly from Transylvania and the first Elixir was created. ============================================ |
"It will be futile to chase Lambretta," Van Helsing said. "She has a million hiding places. What we should do is slaughter the vampires of Little Dung. That will bring Lambretta running back to protect them from us. Otherwise, all her years of work here in Little Dung creating vampires will have been for nothing." "I hope you're right," Buffy said, "but I don't need much excuse to slaughter vampires. Let's do it." "What if they gang up on us?" Mary asked. Van Helsing smiled. "That's why planning and strategy are important. The first thing we have to do is separate a small group of them from the rest. Divide and conquer, as the old proverb says." "I still think I should send some bats out to look for Lambretta," Mary said. "That's fine. Do that. Many sticks build a hotter fire." "You're full of old proverbs, aren't you?" Buffy joked. Van Helsing grinned. "I made that one up myself." |
| They all started preparing for the slaughtering. Van Helsing and Buffy gathered their equipment while Mary was conjuring the bats. This was no small task that they had for themselves, but there definitely was excitement for the slaughtering to begin. Van Helsing and Buffy walked in front of Mary and Jack as they followed sniffing for the vampires. They started early evening because thats when they would be more comfortable coming out. As they walk slowly, being cautious of their steps. They begin to hear rapid moving sounds and hissing. "They are near by, I can smell and hear them" Said Mary. "Buffy get ready, they will be storming at us as fast as they can. Be on guard." Said Van Helsing, as he readied his weapons. "i've been ready." Said Buffy. Then out of the darkness they saw about a dozen vampires walking towards them hissing and with wild red eyes. |
| Van Helsing loaded a torpedo inside his shoulder-Bazooka and launched it, while hopping from the recoil, as the torpedo left and leaving a trail of gas and blasted on the enemy. "What's that stink?" John cried out. "Pressurized garlic essence. It is poisonous to them", Van Helsing answered. As the fumes grew, the vampires instead jumped up high in the sky and glided towards them above roofs. "Exactly what I wanted", Mary said and opened her bosom. "What the hell are you doing? You are my wife", John cried out as Jack stared at her. "I have been collecting bats for a long time", she said as she showed the latin word for 'Seal' written on her chest with calligraphy. She placed her hands on her chest and said in Latin - 'Release'. Soon, a huge number of bats - thousands of them stormed out of Mary's chest and flew into the sky. They surrounded the flying enemy vampires and ate into their flesh until nothing was left of them. "This was how I defeated Allastor Ramsay five years ago", she recalled. "The next time however", Jack pointed out, "We need to capture one of them alive so that we can find my soul. By the way, I don't feel any different." "Of course you don't", Van Helsing answered, "Because it hasn't been used yet. We have to get to Lambretta before that." |
All night the group of vampire killers did just that - killed vampires. If they had been killing anything else you could say that blood ran in the streets, but since they were killing the unholy, it was a fine gray ash that filled the streets, soon dispersed by the breeze. The air was thick with the smell of garlic. "Be careful you don't breathe too much of that dust," Van Helsing warned. "I didn't just start killing vampires today," Buffy said. "I know about the dust." "What about my soul?" Jack asked. It was gettting close to dawn. Van Helsing sat down on on the ground. "Let's rest a moment. I think we've killed all the easy targets. What we have left now is the hard cases and the cautious ones. Some of these vampires are laying low now that they know what we can do." A bat flew overhead piping excitedly. Mary cocked her head. "It says they've found Lambretta. She's hiding in an abandoned mansion just outside of town. But she has some strange beings with her." "Not vampires?" Mary listened to a long series of peeps from the bat. "No. They resemble demon warriors." Van Helsing made a skeptical face. "What would a bat know about demon warriors?" Mary glared at him. "Some of these bats have done time in Satan's Realm." John's draw dropped. "Mary! You've been drawing up bats from Hell!?" Mary looked down. "I should have told you." She looked up at John. "But I needed lots of bats and there are lots of bats in Hell." Van Helsing stood up. "We'll deal with the bat problem later. Right now let's go to that mansion and make Lambretta return Jack's soul to him." |
| They packed everything together and went as a group. Mary's Bats were leading the way to the mansion. It was a journey they were ready to take a path they did not expect. It was all surrounded by nature that was a alive and breathing. It took them so long to walk, it seemed like they had been walking for almost a day. They took a rest near a swamp just about ten minutes away from the mansion. From this resting area they saw the mansion. It looked like a Medieval Castle, with high pointy towers,there was a draw bridge and a moat. What did they did not know is that there was a force field surrounding the mansion and they could pass through it but once they did, there would a whole slew of trouble waiting for them. They all decided to sleep near the swamp for the evening, and be all rested and ready to fight in the morning. John and Mary went off running in the woods to make love all night. Mary had assured them all that the swamp area was pretty safe, and if they were to run into any problems all the bats were on guard. Jack went near by in some bushes and tried to fall asleep, and was able to doze off in minutes. It had been a long day. Buffy and Van Helsing made a fire and sat by it for a bit before they got some rest. "Thanks for all your help today Mr. Helsing, its a pleasure and an honor working with you. It's always been a dream and fantasy of mine to work alongside you." she said with a blush and a smile. "Well you're not bad yourself dear. I'm getting older these days, and if you were to not come and look for me I would not have a chance to be involved in another adventure like this. Oh, and please do call me Abraham." He said smiling back. " Tell me something, what has your grandmother said about me?" "Many things, many stories. Mainly of what a great lover you are. It would always upset her to talk about how you would run off to go fight and not have her come along. My grandmother was a slayer too, and it skipped my mother but the skills and the particular assets of it were passed down to me. She realized it one day when I was able to sniff out a vampire at a market and I was able to describe what the smell was perfectly at the age of five. I loved her. She told me if I ever did get in trouble to go looking for you, that you would help me with whatever I needed. " She told Van Helsing, as she stared at the Mansion across the field. "Your grandmother was a great slayer. She was definitely more able than I at times. She was definitely passionate about her work, just like you are. We had many spiritual friends, and one who has a great fortune teller. She had told your grandmother that you would be born with the same set of skills and that you would need help some day as a grown women. I was prepared to help you, when you came looking. I didn't know what need it would be but I promised your grandmother I wouldn't fail you. I'm glad you came to find me." He said turning to her and looking into her eyes. Buffy was a bit mesmerized at that moment by his story and his eyes. " You know, when my grandmother spoke of you, I imagined myself standing alongside you and being with you. I'd never imagined that it would happen. I too am glad I found you, and my grandmother's stories and words do no justice for what you are like in person." She said, lifting her head up to match his gaze and smiling brightly, she inched closer to him. "Buffy, although you're amazing and beautiful, I do not think this would be the best idea." He said, but thought to himself how much he may want her right now, and how much his sexual instincts had kicked in during Lambretta's spell on him. "Take me now! I've waited so long for you." She then lunged at him and kissed him passionately. At that moment a loud sound came from behind them. Something was occurring in the distance by the mansion. |
| Red light glowed from within the mansion's windows and they broke open shattering glasses on to the ground. Then black smoke came out of them and coalesced into hundreds of hairy faceless and spineless giant dogs that growled in the night. "Death-hounds", Van Helsing said, "Well its time to release my seal as well. Saying so, he tore out his shirt as Buffy looked on to his chest. The pale pasty white skin had the Latin word for 'SEAL' branded onto it. Van Helsing placed his hands on them and chanted, 'RELEASE' in Latin. The pale white skin of his chest tore out and out of the burnt hole, black smoke came out morphing into hundreds of death-hounds under his command. "Attack", he commanded and as the two death-hound armies tore at each other, Buffy and Van Helsing made way for the main door. But something pushed Buffy and she flew outwards. "An electromagnetic shield", Van Helsing exclaimed, "It prevents your sword from getiing in. We have to leave the Excalibur behind." Unsure, Buffy obeyed him and the two slayers went inside. In the main hall, there was a rocking chair by the fire, turned away from them. It was rocking and someone was in it. The chair turned around and Lambretta smiled at them. "Mary Cockfeather can seal bats within herself and Abraham Van Helsing can seal death-hounds. What do you think I can seal?" she taunted as she took off the top of her dress and exposed her bare bosom. "But there is nothing written on them", Van Helsing cried."Yes", Buffy echoed, "You haven't sealed anything." "Right. I can seal humans. But I haven't sealed anyone. Not yet", Lambretta said and screamed in Latin 'SEAL'. Her chest tore open and both Buffy and Van Helsing got sucked inside her, and the word 'SEAL' appeared written on her chest. ************************************ John, Jack and Mary looked down at the Excalibur thrown outside the mansion. Jack on instinct bent down and picked it up. To everone's surprise, nothing happened. John said, "This might sound stupid, but you might be related to King Arthur. Last time, his soul was used and this time yours. Jack, you are the only man who could wield Arthur's sword." "You are right", said Lambretta as she appeared before them, "He is Arthur's descendant. He has his blood. Now that Mary has exausted her bats, let me kill you all." "Stay back", Mary warned, "I can still take you." "Can you?" Lambretta taunted and placed her hands on her chest. 'RELEASE' she said and Buffy and Van Helsing came out of it. But they stood with their heads down like puppets. "Van and Buffy, I command you two to do what you do the best - kill the vampire." "Yes master", the human slaves groaned in obidience and charged towards Mary as she drew back in fear from the world's two greatest Slayers. |
"Keep them busy!" Jack yelled. "I have to kill Lambretta to break the seal" John and Mary ran in circles around Buffy and van Helsing. A cloud of bats circled in a frenzy around them so that there were batwings beating everywhere and making them blink. Meanwhile, Jack gave a mighty yell and lunged toward Lambretta with Excalibur extended before him. She screeched and threw up her hands to make a shield to stop the sword, and for a moment Jack felt something in front of him slowing him down, but it was like a rubber sheet that stretched and stretched until he tore through it and suddenly he was right upon Lambretta plunging the silver sword deep into her belly. She stared at the sword and then at Jack and then screeched, "Noooooooo!" Jack let go of the sword and it began to glow with a white-hot light and Lambretta's screams became shrieks of agony as her flesh sizzled and burned. Van Helsing and Buffy stumbled forward, suddenly released from the seal Lambretta had put on them. Jack felt something hit him hard in the chest and he gasped, "My soul!" and fell down on the grass but he knew he was whole again. John and Mary hugged each other as the cloud of bats calmed down. Van Helsing shook Jack's hand. "Thank you, Jack. I guess it's time for the younger generation to take over from the old fogies like me." "No, sir, Jack said. I have much to learn. I hope you will teach me." "I will if I can, Jack. But you have done excellent work here today. Right, Buffy?" Buffy grinned at Jack. "Welcome to the club, Jack the Vampire Slayer." |
| They all walked back to Little Dung together like one big happy family. There seemed to be a good aura around Little Dung as well. The fog had gone, the tress were vibrant again, and out came out all the other Guardians, since Lambretta was killed they were able to come back to life and as vibrant as before. When they all united a glow would surround them and all of nature around them pop up as well. Van Helsing was about to get ready to head back to Romania, when Buffy went over to ask him. "Abraham, I think little Dung has their protection, they won't need me here anymore. I'd like to join you in Transylvania..if it is alright." "I don't see why not. I'd love to have you join me in protecting my l and. We can teach each other many things." He said grinning, Buffy was beside herself with excitement. Everyone was gathered talking sharing stories and embracing. Everything seemed to be going great as Buffy and Van Helsing prepared to leave for Transylvania together. |
| Jack, John and Mary meanwhile went to Rolland's shack to pay final tribute to him. As they searched through his material, they found a diary with records of all vampires known in history. Mary flipped through the pages and came upon 'Enigma', daughter of Cain and Lilith. As she read what she had already experienced, she came down to the final line and gasped. It read - "Enigma's real soul isn't in any of the bodies she possesses. It is tied to an object instead." A chill ran down her spine as she said, "Folks, we have one more final task to do." *************** John said, "An object, I see. Must be underground. My grandfather always said that the name Little Dung is a short for Little Dungeon. There must a dungeon underground somewhere." "But even if there is, we don't have Buffy and Van Helsing", Jack remarked sadly. "We have you", Mary answered, "Jack - the Vampire Slayer. And I'll help. We need to find this underground dungeon. That's probably where Enigma's life is." "Then I'll come with you", John barked. "No Guvnor", Jack interrupted, "Something terrible is going to happen in this village. The black wires Ruddy discovered earlier - Mr. Benet had mentioned once that they go in a circle around the perimeter of Little Dung. If a large amount of electric current passes through a ring, it induces a magnetic field within that will turn everyone in the village - dead or alive into vampires. You need to dig up the wires and cut them to break the circuit." *********************** No longer under Enigma's rule, the villagers of Little Dung were willing to help John now and began the digging as Jack and Mary questioned everyone whether they had any clue to the location of a hidden dungeon. |
But one after another they answered negatively. No one had ever seen or heard of a dungeon. Jack made a search of all the houses, looking for basements or trapdoors, but with no luck. One day he was walking across the town square with one of the villagers when the little hump in the middle of the square caught his eye. "Why is that tiny hill in the middle of the square?" he asked. "Oh, that's just the old well. When a child fell in it many years ago, they decided to fill it in for safety since the water was not fit to drink." Jack's eyes lit up. "I want everyone to grab a shovel and meet me at the town square. We have some digging to do." By the second day they had uncovered the stones of the old well. It was a round tube that extended down into the earth. For the next few days a dozen men labored to clean it out. Finally on the 7th day when they were 30 feet deep they discovered something. "Jack! You better come look at this!" Jack climbed down the ladders. The diggers had found a cross tunnel in the side of the well. "I thought so!" Jack said. "That, my friends, must go to the old dungeon. Now let's equip ourselves with torches and weapons. I want to explore it immediately." |
| Mary, Jack and five able strong men from the village followed down into the well. Mary also had some bats follow ahead of them and shriek if there was danger ahead. This was the typical looking well dungeon, once they got all the way down the space was wide enough to fit ten people. There was a long corridor to the right with a low ceiling. They all waited for the bats to go forward, then they all cautiously followed, with Mary in front of all of them since she was a vampire, then followed by the slayer. "What happens if the bats shriek?" Asked Jack as they continued, seeing tons of mortar, stone and bones in between them all over the walls. The men behind them, although large and very capable of killing other men, were not prepared for such sights. Jack looked back for a moment to make sure everything was alright, and just saw them lowly mumbling to themselves, and looking all around them with their torches lit. Jack smiled to himself, and turned his head back to look forward into the corridor. "Well, we won't know for sure what it is, until they fly back and go straight into my seal." She turned back to see if everything is alright, and her eyes beamed, wildly. "JACK! where are all the men" "What?! they were just here a few seconds ago!" They both turned fully around now, and bats started flapping their winds wildly and shrieking behind them, then a very sweet seductive laugh echoed through the whole corridor. |
| The voice said, "Welcome to my lair, petty humans. You better hope you know what you are up against. I am a ten-thousand year old demon who has walked this earth since you were cavemen. Even archangel Michael who defeated Lucifer was not strong enough to kill me. Instead, he could only seal me inside the stone with his sword. But years later, a fool named Arthur pulled out the legendary sword and released me from my prison. I escaped to the continent and seduced a young man named Dracula to create an army of vampires for me. I tipped off King Arthur about the Holy Grail and they arrived, slaughtering enough vampires to make me a jar of the Elixir. With the legend of that Elixir and the greed for immortality, I drove millions of people over ages to kill each other and increase the sin on this planet. When mankind sins enough, Michael will set Lucifer free again to destroy you all. The apocalypse is upon you and you have already been visited by the four horsemen - my four guardian angels." A rumble was heard from behind and stones fell; the tunnel had caved in from outside and the people were trapped within it. Jack opened Rolland's diary and started mumbling spells to strengthen himself - "I call upon Gaia, the mother goddess to provide me with the strength of earth. I call upon Ra, the god of sun to gift the strength of fire. I call upon Indra, the god of the sky to shine upon me the strength of wind. I call upon Tui - the god of the ocean to give me the power of water. I call upon the holy father of Jesus to give me strength of heart." |
Suddenly the diary burst into flames and Jack threw it down as the evil laugh cackled again. "Oh you poor humans are so proud of your literacy. Do you think you can defeat me with words scrawled upon a page? Hahahahaha!" But Jack had felt a surge of strength within himself just before the book burned. He gripped Mary's shoulder. "Be calm, sister. All is not lost yet. If this demon was able to kill us he would have done so already." A blast of hatred knocked Jack down. Again the laughter. "Hahahahaha! I haven't killed you already because I am lonely. I want someone to play with. Hahahaha! You are my new toy, Jack. Can you scream very loud, Jack?" A terrible pain ripped through Jack's insides and he screamed. "Oh, Jack!" Mary said and held him because he had slumped over when the pain hit him. "It's alright," he gasped and managed to wink at her. She wasn't sure if he was pretending to be hurt and using trickery against the demon or if he was really hurt and trying to show strength for her sake. Tears came into her eyes. "Mary!" Jack said with great effort. "We must both be strong. Do not crumble. Have you no anger against this demon? Is that your response? Tears?" Then Mary was ashamed of herself and angry with herself for being weak and she built on that anger and transferred it to the demon so that she hated the demon with all her heart and the seal on her chest flashed colors and thousands of bats poured out into the tunnel. She didn't know what damage mere bats could do against a demon but it seemed that possibly they could have some effect because they heard the demon cursing and swatting at something. "Argh!" the demon said. "Get thee away from me, foul beasties! I curse you back to hell! Return to the cave that spawned you!" The demon snatched bats from the air and crushed them in his fist. But no matter how many he crushed there were more flapping around him at his face and against his chest. Soon dead bats littered the floor and some that were not quite dead but fluttered and flopped around as they died. While the demon attacked the bats, Jack slowly crept forward with Excaliber by his side. He could feel the sword vibrating in his hand and he knew it sensed evil and wanted to kill that evil. It was begging Jack to make the plunge. Mary, watching, suddenly yelled, "Face!" and all the bats converged on the demon's eyes and mouth, almost choking him when some managed to get inside. That was Jack's cue to lunge forward and shove the shining blade of Excaliber as deep into the demon as his straining muscles could manage. Blue gore burst from the demon, showering Jack with slimy filth. He jumped back because the demon was thrashing around with his claws even as the fluids poured from him. But the thrashing grew weaker and weaker and finally stopped. The tunnel became silent. "Is it over?" Mary said. |
| "I'm not sure" Said Jack. They stood still for a bit in the silence. Then a white light started shinning through from the end of the tunnel. "What is that?" Mary said. They looked at each other and shrugged, but began walking towards the shinning light. They figured it could be way out since there original exit had been covered from all the commotion. They kept going and going, as the light got brighter and brighter. When they finally reached what was making the light, they were stunned. Their eyes wide with astonishment. It was Archangel Michael. Shinning so bright, his huge wings spread out. He was smiling, and was very happy to see them both. "Mary, Jack... It is great to finally meet you both. As you know that Demon was one of the worse of all time. Your prophecy had been written many years back of a vampire and a human joining forces to defeat the worse Demon of all time. I have come to congratulate you too for this triumph. Although you have defeated the Demon, you have not yet found the object to cure this town and rid probably the world of all its troubles. The Prophecy continues to say that you two will be able to do this, but even though i know how everything ends, I can not guide you from this point on. I have come here today to tell you two that you must continue to fight all evil that comes your way, and accept the help of anyone who offers it. Some people will survive, some will not, but you two together have the power to rid the world of the evil, and of course Little Dung. Thank you for helping me fight off the Demon, now I will open an exit back to where everyone in the town is waiting for you. Be Strong, you will come across more complications." |
| The people of Little Dung were overjoyed to see their heroes. "Things have been bad", old man Joseph Axehammer exclaimed, "We didn't know whom to trust. But now you people must lead the village." "Of course", Jack exclaimed in a moment of revelation, "Lead the village. Old man Axehammer, have you ever heard of Father Ramsay's cottage having an underground basement?" "The cottage? We are too afraid to go anywhere near. Allastor Ramsay, Susan Ramsay and later Benet and Lambretta ruled over us from there. But aye, my father said the cottage was built on a special location, guarded by the five Gods. It is in the shape of a pentacle and below it are the ruins of an ancient Celtic temple. But all that is hogwash, correct?" Jack did not stop to answer but charged towards the place. Mary flew in the sky after him to the amazement of the villagers. John managed a smile and said to them, "A wife who comes in handy, isn't she? Anyway, we need to focus on finding the wires underground." ********** The Celtic temple was indeed there and John and Mary faced two men guarding a stone in the centre. Harry said to Tommy, "Keep them busy. I will complete the work", he said and made a sideward dash. Mary followed him while Jack stayed behind and the two men Jack and Tommy circled each other around the altar at the centre. "Why are you doing this, Tommy? Give up." "You killed our master, didn't you?" Tommy said with tears in his eyes. Tommy was the gullible one, easily misled by Harry to join Ramsay. But once, even he was an innocent boy and Jack's best friend. "Yes, but no one is your master. You are a free man, Tommy. Can't you think for yourself at least once?" "Stop it", Tommy said, now hugging the rock at the centre of the pentacle, "You had always treated me like a burden - like I was some baby, but Harry believed in me. The Rock is in my hands and I will finally make a difference. History will remember me as the one." "Don't talk fiddlesticks", Jack shouted, losing his temper, "Don't you even realize? Step out of my way." "No. Don't you realize what this is? It is the rock from which King Arthur picked up the Excalibur." "And released the spirit of Enigma. I know. The only way she can be sealed is if I stick back the sword into it. Now step aside, crybaby or I will have to kill you. At least in the name of our past friendship, I don't want to hurt you." "Go ahead, strong boy. Kill me with your sword, but remember, even a drop of blood of a dead human will activate the stone and Enigma will return. I am willing to become that sacrifice only if it will make my name immortal in mankind's history - Thomas Albert Hawkeye." "You are pathetic - always looking for approval of others." "Not others, Jack. Just you", he and hugged the rock such that only his head was visible, "You know, Jack, how stubborn I can be." Jack prayed for forgiveness and swing his Excalibur. As Tommy's head rolled up in the air, Jack stabbed his sword into the rock through the head before a single drop of blood could touch the altar's surface. Jack stepped back and stared in awe as Tommy's headless body slid down. He then looked up at Tommy's head on the rock, pierced by the sword vertically. It opened its eyes and said in an unearthly voice, "Even if you have ended me, Harry will switch on the electric generator and kill you all. Goodbye, human. But never forget my name - Enigma." The glaze in Tommy's innocent eyes were gone and blood tricked down from them like tears. He was smiling, as if in peace. Blood trickled down from his eyes into the stone and formed the Latin word for 'SEAL'. Jack called upon the five gods - Gaia, Ra, Indra, Tui and Jehovah to forgive his sin. The gods appeared before him at the five corners of the pentacle around the rock. The earth under it cracked open and the rock was absorbed into the flames of boiling magma. Jack barely escaped and ran after where Harry and Mary was. |
Mary and Tommy were on the ground fighting with each other when Jack arrived. "Thank God you managed to hold him!" Jack said and leaped into the battle. Harry squirmed free and ran toward a huge electrical switch. "No!" Mary yelled. "Jack! If he throws that switch..." Jack running, Jack's eyes glued to Harry's hand reaching for the switch, Jack leaping toward Harry, all happening in slow motion... |
| Jack pushed Harry to the ground while Mary bit him in the legs as a surge of current came rushing in. Before the current could spread to his remaining body, Harry lifted his giant butcher's knife and cut his own legs from thighs below. He then swung it in front of Jack's face, forcing him to take a leap backwards. As Mary tried to pull out her fangs from the detached leg of Harry, the rest of him wiggled towards the switch and pulled it down. All three of them waited with short breath, but nothing happened. There was some noise from the ceiling of the cave as soil fell in. Through the sunlight now trickling from above, Jack saw John smiling down upon them with a spade in hand. "It is over. I had the wires cut sometime back and then we were looking for you." "No, you bastard", Harry screamed in agony and five minutes later, died of excessive blood loss. |
John helped them climb to the surface. "Whew!" Mary said. "I guess NOW it's over?" "I think so," John said. From above the treetops a lone bat looked down on the scene at the vampire hunters and the dug-up well and the cemetary and the the town of Little Dung. It flapped its wings and suddenly dove at a mosquito and caught it and swallowed it in one quick gulp. |
| "What shall we do now?" Said Mary, "My bats are at ease, I can feel it." "Well i'll be heading back to my duties back home." Said Jack, "You and John are now the keepers of this town. Thank you for all your help. I will take Excalibur with me, and guard it to make sure nothing evil happens ever again." "Thank you Jack." Said John Mary and John walked back to the well to figure out a way to close it up good. They spent they spent the rest of the closing it up, then went back to Ramsay's cottage to close up the basement hole. They began to search around the house and found a leather bound book with a large star on the front. They opened to find the true history of The town of Little Dung. |
| John's eyes widened as he scrambled through the book. He said to Mary, "We are going to be in trouble again. I cannot read much but it says 15 years from now." Mary closed his book and whispered in his ear, "That's okay. We have time. The dark times are over and we should enjoy the bliss now." John thought about it. Mary convinced him that he was the leader of Little Dung now and the people looked up to him. As John took up his responsibilities and went on to become the Count (with help from Jack, who was a high ranking government officer in London) Mary retired to Rolland's shack for she felt closer to nature. She did however promise to protect the village from behind the shadows and the villager in gratitude brought to her lair sacrifices of animals hunted. Van Helsing and Buffy married and were enjoying their honeymoon fighting the dangers of the Bermuda Triangle. Thanks to Steve and YoungThoughts for contributions I mention once again the characters we won't forget John Cockfeather Mary Cockfeather Rolland Redbone Jack Redbone Ruddy Roadcutter Heath Skinner Harry Skinner Tommy Hawkeye Allastor Ramsay Susan Ramsay Lambretta Lucy Mr. Benedict Benet Abraham Van Helsing Ms. Buffameous Romulous le Vivian Ariel Zubina Shakti Archangel Michael Clarke, the blacksmith who mysteriously disappeared and finally, Enigma |
| ============================== EPILOGUE The village of Little Dung was very different from what it was before. John, the Count learned to read and write from Jack and taught it to the others as well. As ignorance faded away, the people began to like and trust each other. They were no longer wary of outsiders. They were willing to pay taxes to the government for fighting in the first world war in return for irrigation facilities. To mark the end of tyranny, every housewife made puddings and gave them to other's children. The villagers were happier and wiser now. The new age of light began. ============================== THE END The End! |
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