Post by ReadingTrance on Jul 3, 2013 15:09:23 GMT -5
Chapter 5: Van Helsing
February 28, 1985, London, England
Abraham Van Helsing, a tough and grizzly looking man, sat alone in the back of the bar with his feet on a table, casually sipping his pale ale. His hat was situated on the table next to his boot-covered feet, while his leather jacket hid the pistol in his hip holster.Currently, he was in Western London where the poorer civilians resided. They were generally easy prey for the creatures of the night. Luckily for Van Helsing, it was still early in the afternoon and he had time to relax.
He was presently sitting in one of his favorite taverns, due to the fact that it was relatively quiet and occasionally hosted some very beautiful women. The Red Horse Tavern was nearly a hundred years old and had withstood the test of time quite well. That was also one of his favorite qualities the tavern possessed - the old, homely feel along with its ability to withstand the ages.
The inn was relatively empty, aside from several customers at the bar and a poker game at another table.
A thin, light-skinned blonde woman sitting at the bar peeked over at Van Helsing. She flashed him a quick smile before returning her attention to the bartender who had just brought her a drink.
She grabbed the beer and swiveled in her chair to look back at Van Helsing. Again, she flashed her irresistible smirk. The woman patted the seat next to her, indicating that he should join her.
Van Helsing didn’t hesitate, quickly grabbing his hat and drink before walking over to the woman and sitting beside her.
“Hello.” She greeted him with an Irish accent.
“Hello.” He politely responded, tipping his hat before removing it again.
“I was feeling a bit lonely and you looked lonely, so I thought we could help each other out.” She smiled.
“Lonely? No.” He laughed, tasting his pale ale. “Just taking a break before returning to work.”
“Work?” She asked. “What do you do for work?”
He grinned and briefly lowered his head. “I dance with the Devil for a living, Ms.”
“That sounds interesting. Why don’t you tell me more?”
“Perhaps later. I like to keep my work private.” Van Helsing wanted to change the subject. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Emily.” She extended a hand. “And yours?”
He took her hand and courteously kissed the top of it. “Abraham Van Helsing, at your service.”
“You are too polite.” She laughed as she pulled her hand away.
Then, a rough male voice called from behind him. “Did you say Van Helsing?”
Abraham spun around in his chair. “Who’s asking?”
“Me.” A tall, muscular man from the poker table stood up. Several goons followed his lead. “I work for James Walker, and he’s been looking for you.”
Van Helsing quickly turned back to Emily. “It was quite lovely talking to you, Emily. Take care.”
He snagged his hat before swiftly jumping off of the stool and then proceeded to run through the front door.
James Walker was not a name Van Helsing wanted to hear. The man was a crime lord in Western London and Van Helsing had the honor of killing Walker’s wife in front of him. Grant it, she was a member of the undead community, but Walker was unaware of that.
That meant there was only one thing James Walker wanted more than money and power – Van Helsing’s head.
March 1, 1985, London, England
The moon shined down upon Western London as he finally reached his destination.
Blade looked up at the wooden sign above him. A large, dark red horse stood above the name of the pub, The Red Horse Tavern. Rachel had told him about this place years ago. She had some wild adventures in this tavern, including several with her brother Abraham.
The Daywalker entered the tavern. A handful of customers sat at the bar, while most of the tables were filled. Several men in the corner played loud Irish music to keep the guests entertained, while several people made their way upstairs to their rented rooms for the night.
He approached the bar and claimed one of the last remaining stools. As the bartender neared, Blade removed his sunglasses.
“I’m looking for Abraham Van Helsing.”
The bartender laughed. “You and half of West London, my friend.”
Blade kept the same complacent facial expression. “Can you point me in the right direction?”
“Right over there.” The bartender literally pointed to the back of the tavern. “Van Helsing was in here yesterday. They scared him off.”
Blade looked over and saw the goons from the previous day playing poker again.
“Thanks.” Blade lightly tipped the bartender for the information.
He then hopped off of his stool and walked over to the men.
“Van Helsing. Where is he?”
The men had never seen someone approach them so confidently. Blade was so straightforward that it confused most of them.
Their leader stood up, seemingly a bit tipsy. “Why do you ask?”
The Irish music seemed to conceal their conversation from the rest of The Red Horse Tavern.
“Because I need to find him. Now.” Blade calmly replied.
“Are you a friend or an enemy of his?”
The Daywalker knew what he wanted to hear and was hoping his buzzed mind would accept it. “Let’s just say we’re looking for the same thing.”
The man smirked. “Perfect. Maybe you can help us find him. Van Helsing is dangerous. Maybe even a bit crazy. Perhaps we could use you to lure him out of hiding.”
“So you know where he’s staying?” Blade questioned further.
“Yes, we actually do. Recently we found where he’s been staying. Most of Walker’s men are too afraid to go after him, but not me. I can take him.”
“Then let’s do this. What better time than the dead of night?” Blade suggested.
He quickly agreed. “You’re right. Let’s do this. Walker will reward us handsomely. David Green will become a household name.”
Blade didn’t quite have a fully formulated plan yet, but knew that this David Green would be able to lead him to Van Helsing. That was all the help that Blade would need.
One Hour Later - Van Helsing’s Hideout
“Boris, how are we doing?” Van Helsing removed his jacket and hung it up, while setting down a crossbow on a nearby table.
His brother, Boris, was putting the finishing touches on a new explosive device that would emit ultraviolet rays of light – a vampire’s greatest fear.
“Almost there, brother.” He answered.
Van Helsing stared at a picture sitting on a shelf of his sister, Rachel. “Good. I want to be fully ready for Dracula when we decide to make our move.”
The two Van Helsing brothers were currently in an underground bunker. Boris, a mostly self-taught weapons designer, created all of Abraham’s toys. The bald, stout man had garnered much respect from Abraham after his many successes with anti-vampire weaponry. There wasn’t much in the bunker, other than some shelving, a couple table, physical inventory and Boris’s creations. The inventory mostly consisted of various weapons and ammunition.
“Where were you?” Boris questioned his brother, keeping his eyes on his project.
“Just hunting, Boris. I wanted to test the crossbow you modified for me.”
Boris lifted his head. “And? How was it?”
“Worked like a charm.” Van Helsing widely smirked.
“Perfect.” Boris returned his attention to his bomb. “So, I’m not completely sure this will function properly without testing it, but I believe it’s ready to go.”
“Let’s go test it then!” Abraham said excitedly.
“But you just returned from hunting, brother. Shouldn’t you rest?”
He laughed. “Rest? Who needs rest. I want to try my new toy.”
Now Boris chuckled. “Fine, fine. But I want to see it too.”
Boris lifted the basketball-sized bomb and carried it over to his brother.
“All you have to do is lift this up,” Boris pointed to a cap, “and push the red button. Then you have about five seconds to throw it.”
Abraham inspected the product. “Simple enough.”
Van Helsing snagged his jacket, slipping it back on before leading the way to the exit. Abraham and Boris climbed a short set of stairs, the only way in or out of the base. Once at the top, Van Helsing pushed the steel door open. Boris and Abraham were surprised by what they found.
“Van Helsing! I claim your life.”
David Green, the poker thug from the Red Horse Tavern, stood in front of Van Helsing with a pistol pointed at him. Behind him stood three more stooges, each equipped with a mini-Uzi.
But then in a flash, David Green was gone.
“What? Where’d he go?” One of the henchmen asked.
Then another blur caused a henchman to go missing. Two more flashes later, all three henchmen had disappeared.
Van Helsing slowly turned to Boris. “What the hell is going on?”
“I have no idea.” Boris slowly made his was back down the stairs.
A blur crossed in front of the brothers as a woman appeared. A familiar blonde woman stood in front of Van Helsing. Abraham recognized her from the Red Horse Tavern the previous day. It was Emily.
“Nice to see you again, sweetie. Now I will claim your life.” Emily flashed her fangs.
“Emily?” He sighed. “I can’t believe they got you.”
She let out a screechy laugh. “They simply helped me realize what it’s like to live.”
“One second, please.” Van Helsing said as he lifted the cap on the bomb he held.
“One second for what?” She asked, continuing to maniacally laugh.
He quickly pushed the button and threw the bomb in her direction. Van Helsing suddenly dropped to the ground and covered his head. In about one second, the bomb exploded and released a mass of ultraviolet light.
The vampire’s screams filled the night sky as she quickly turned to ash.
Abraham slowly removed his arms from his head and peeked out. She was definitely gone as nothing but a pile of ashes lay before him.
“Five seconds, Boris? That was not even close to five seconds!”
“I warned you that it may not function properly.” Boris disputed from the bottom of the hideout.
Abraham returned to his feet and dusted himself off. “Three mobsters and a vampire all at once. I would like to deduct that this was not a coincidence.”
“And you would be correct.” A deep voice agreed from in front of him.
Van Helsing looked up and found the Daywalker standing in front of him.
“Blade?” Abraham’s face was covered in shock.
The Daywalker nodded. “We have much to discuss.”
“Come, come.” Van Helsing motioned for him to follow.
Blade followed Abraham downstairs where the two men joined Boris.
“Blade, Boris. Boris, Blade.” Abraham briefly introduced the two as he took a seat in a nearby chair. “Now, do you mind explaining why I was just ambushed by three mobsters and a vampire?
“I needed a way to find you and the mobsters were that way.” Blade answered. “I would’ve killed them myself, but I was afraid the adrenaline and human blood would lead me into a feeding frenzy. That’s where the inexperienced female vampire came in handy. I recruited her to enjoy a free dinner. Then, I had high hopes that you could handle an amateur vampire.”
Van Helsing stared at him and took several seconds to process the events that just took place.
“Fair enough.” He laughed. “Now, what brings you here, Blade?”
“Dracula and Rachel. I want to find them both.”
“That’s great news. We were going to search for both of them in a couple of weeks. Boris here has just been designing weapons that might help us in our fight against them.”
Blade cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. “Your fight against them?”
Abraham nodded. “Yes, against them...” His words trailed off, realizing that Blade didn’t know. “Wait, do you not know about Rachel?”
This was a moment where time practically stopped. Van Helsing realized he had made a mistake. This was not the way to break the news to someone that their loved one was recently turned into a vampire. Even though Abraham wasn’t aware that Blade didn’t know, this was a horrific accident.
Abraham was well aware of his sister’s transformation into a vampire. After leaving Blade in Boston, she had briefly visited Van Helsing to inform him of her plan. However, Abraham and Boris were unable to assist Rachel in her quest.
Several weeks after not hearing from his sister, Abraham went on a journey to search for her. Unfortunately, he found her as a member of the undead. The two had a brief physical confrontation, but the battle came to a stalemate as Rachel was forced to retreat.
Van Helsing snapped back to reality as he noticed the half-vampire in front of him swelling up with anger and rage.
Blade’s eyes widened and went black. His fangs grew and showed over his bottom lip. Then, his voice got much louder. “What about Rachel!?”