Beginning of Darkness - Story I wrote a year ago

Part III
Comments are welcome...
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I woke up. I kept my eyes closed, but I knew I was awake. A headache was almost splitting my skull, and there was a searing pain in my right arm. The rough tarmac was burning in my face. I tried to open my eyes. First there was only a yellowish haze surrounded by black. As the image focused, I knew I was looking at the cab. All its doors were open, and it was burning. I tried to remember where I was, and what was happening. It all came back to me, and a rush of panic came over me. I tried to see if there was anyone left in the cab. I saw only the driver, whom I could not save anymore. I did not care; my eyes looked for Verona and Vallin.
I sat up. There was a deep wound in my right arm, and blood ran down my clothes on to the street. I ran my left sleeve over my cheek, and saw that it was red too. I tried to move my legs. They were fine. My headache subsided a bit, and I looked around again.
I saw a dark man, or rather his silhouette. He wore a hat and a long coat. He carried the body of a woman. The eerie light of the fire shone on her face, and I recognized her. Verona…
I tried to stand up, but stumbled and fell. The man put Verona in a nearby car, and closed the door. He came back to me, and halted a few feet in front of me.
“Forget about her, boy.” He said with a hoarse, rasping voice. “You’ll never see her again.”
He returned to his car and drove off. I looked at the car until I could not see it anymore. Then I sat up and cried. I cried for hours on end. I felt alone, deserted, and completely empty. The Hunter had taken the woman I loved the most, and I was alone in a strange country. And where was Vallin…?

I woke again. The headache was gone. I found myself in a bright white room, in a metal bed with white sheets. I wore a light blue shirt, and there was a tube running from my arm. A hospital. A curtain was pulled aside, and a nurse came in.
“Ah, good, you are awake.”
- “How did I get here?” I asked, already knowing what she was going to say.
“The police found you next to a burning taxi, unconscious. They called an ambulance which brought you here. You’ve been asleep ever since you were brought in.”
- “How long wave I been here?”
“You were brought in yesterday during the night… so this is your second morning here.”
I tried to recall what had happened that night. The vision of the man in the long coat stood clear before my eyes.
“Now that you are awake you can go home soon… if you know where that is.”
- “Home…? Yeah, I know… I’m not from around here…”
“Before you do go, the police would like a word with you. You had no identification with you.”
- “When will they be here?”
“They asked me to call when you woke up, so they’ll probably be here in about a half hour, if I call now.”
- “Ok… I’m tired.” I lied. I was wide awake and wanted to get out of the hospital.
“I’ll leave you to rest some more, and wake you when the police arrives.”
- “Ok, thank you…”
I closed my eyes again and waited for her to leave. As soon as I heard the door close, I sat up and pulled the tube from my arm. I got up. My clothes were not there. I opened the curtains and saw that I was alone in the room. I walked a little wobbly to the door and looked through the glass window. Nobody in sight. I opened it quietly and slipped through. I walked down the hall until I reached a door with a panel that read ‘personnel only’. I opened it, and found it was a storage room. I quickly changed into a nurse’s tunic and got out again. Still nobody there. I followed the signs to the staircase and went down. Still nobody; I was lucky. Once downstairs I immediately found a door labeled ‘personnel – dressing room’. I entered quickly and looked around. There was nobody here, but I found some clothes that I could use. I quickly changed out of the uniform and got back in the hall. A few visitors walked passed, not paying attention to me. I casually walked towards the reception and the exit, trying to look normal and stay steady. As I approached I saw a police car pulling up in front, and two officers got out. I immediately ducked into a nearby bathroom, and waited for them to pass. My heart was pounding in my throat, and I hoped they had not seen me yet. They walked past the bathroom, smiling about some joke that I had not heard. I held my breath and waited until they had entered an elevator. I sighed in relief when the doors closed, but did not leave right away. My legs were shaking, and I needed to calm down first. I sat down on a toilet and tried to control my breathing. After a short while I regained myself and got out the bathroom. I walked confidently to the exit. The rotating doors were within arm’s reach. I walked through, and outside… An alarm went off. Not wanting to attract attention, I kept walking away. I did not look back. I walked into the unknown city lost in thought, and wondering how I would ever get out of this mess. I only had the clothes I had stolen, and even my wallet with money was gone.
A few hours later, I found myself sheltering from the rain under an overpass. The sun had already set. There was a homeless man on the other side doing the same, and every now and then, a car would pass by. I had never felt more lonely in my life. I just sat there and thought of Verona, and Vallin. What had happened to them? Had Vallin escaped? Had the hunter killed him? Probably. And Verona? Was she dead? Likely. Very likely. Thinking about it made me cry. I sniffed and fought the tears, trying to think of something else. The homeless man on the other side of the bridge was gone.
I stood up to leave, but suddenly the homeless man stood in front of me.
“I know you…,” he said thoughtfully.
- “I’m sorry, you must be mistaking me for somebody else” I replied, and tried to walk away.
“No, I do recognize you from something.” He said firmly, and took something from his pocket. He looked at it, and then at me.
“This is you, right?” He asked, and showed me the picture in his hand. It was me. Me sitting in the train, sleeping. Less than 48 hours earlier.
“Where did you get that?” I asked, less friendly than I intended.
- “A friend gave it to me. Asked me to look out for you.”
“A friend? Who? Vallin?”
- “I think you should come with me, it can be dangerous out here.”
“Come with you? Where to?”
- “You’ll see, you’ll see…”
He turned around and walked away. I looked at him for a few seconds, and then hurried after him. I did not know if I could trust him, but he had a picture of me that had to be taken by either Vallin or Verona, and so this man must know either or both of them, and have seen them. It was my only chance of finding them ever again.
I followed him through the streets of the city. We must have walked for at least an hour. I was soaked and chilled to the bone when at last we reached an abandoned hangar. The man entered without a word, and I followed. It was surprisingly warm inside. The hangar was mostly empty, except for a few weathered crates in a nearby corner, and a small office at the far end.
“You’ll be staying here for a while.” The man said.
- “Why?”
“Because he asked me to keep you safe, and you’ll be safe here. You must be very important to him.”
- “Him? Who? Vallin?”
“He said he had to go away for a while, but he’ll be back to visit you.”
- “When?”
“Soon, soon…”
- “Is the hunter after him too?”
The man jerked around and looked at me with a piercing gaze.
“Don’t say that name in here if you wish to live longer than today, lad.”
I caught a glimpse of two fangs. This man was a vampire. I could not be more relieved. This meant Vallin was alive! He was probably out looking for Verona, and would be back soon. Maybe I could help him find her and fight the hunter.
The man led me into the office. It was smelly and messy, with cobwebs in all corners, newspapers and magazines stacked three feet high in some places, and a dirty mattress in the corner. There were a few rusty metal closets against the wall, and a half-broken light on the ceiling.
“Do I have to stay here all the time?”
- “Don’t leave. Don’t go outside. It isn’t safe.”
“Why not? What have I done?”
- “You escaped from the hospital. And the hunter is looking for you.”
“What?! Why?! I’m not a vampire!”
- “You are vampire friend. They are rare, and he fears you.”
“Why would he fear me? I’m just a regular guy…”
He looked at me thoughtfully, and then shuffled off to one of the crates in the hanger. He opened it and picked something from it, then carefully closed the lid again. He returned holding a leather-bound booklet.
“These are the notes of Fengrin, a great vampire. He has tracked the Hunter for a long time, and learned a great deal about him. In here is also a part of his past, and some legends about him.”
He opened the booklet and skimmed through the pages. He stopped on a page with a drawing on it, but I could not clearly make out what it was. There was a text on the page next to it, which I could not read. He read over it, and remained silent for a few seconds.
“It is sais that he cannot be killed by an immortal, which he hunts. Only when a mortal stands up for them and confronts him he shall be defeated. This shall be his gift and his curse, for he too shall not die of old age.”
I kept silent and thought of what was just read before me. I could come to only one conclusion; the hunter thought I was the one who was going to kill him. But why did he take Verona instead of me? And why did he not slay her right there and then?
Vallin! That had to be it. Vallin had escaped, and the hunter wanted to get to Vallin by using Verona as bait. This meant that Verona was still alive too!
“I have to go away for a while.” Said the vampire.
- “Where to?”
“Shopping, unless you live on blood too.”

Nice, really kept me reading it 'till the end. I love your style of writing, too. Filled with detail, description, and what it takes for a good writer. Karma when my hour's up.

The next part;

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He left without another word, and I found myself alone in the hangar. I sat down in a corner, but quickly got bored. I decided to look around a bit, and open one of the closets. To my surprise I found my own suitcase there. It hat burns on it, but it seemed intact. I pulled it out and opened it. Everything was still there! Vallin must have found it and brought it here. Even my sword was still there. I took it out and looked at it. When I packed it two days earlier I decided it would be only to intimidate people. At that time, I never thought I would have to use it. Now I was almost certain I would. I unsheathed it and swung it around a bit. I felt clumsy. I stepped out of the office and tried again, now with more room to swing. It felt better, but I still felt that I was looking very silly doing this. I put it aside again and explored the second closet.
There were some books in there, mostly novels and books about vampires. There were also a few ancient looking books in the same unknown language as the booklet he showed me earlier. Then finally there were three books on various martial arts. I picked them up and sat on the mattress. Two of them were about karate, and I quickly decided that they would do me no good. The third was one about various martial arts that used different types of weaponry. I immediately skipped through to the part that involved swords, but it was all in Japanese, so I could only see the pictures. I felt clumsy again, and put the books away. I tried working with my sword again, but it did not go much better. I put it down and thought of how little I would be able to do if it came to a fight. I had read stories about vampires, and I knew they possessed superhuman strength and agility. And I would need just that if I was indeed the one to face off against the hunter…
The door opened, and two men came in. One was the vampire who had taken me in. He carried a bag and was talking in a strange language to the second. The second man was tall, and he looked dirty. As he came closer his features became more obvious, and I recognized him. It was Vallin!
“You found him!” Were his first words.
- “Yes, found him earlier tonight.”
“That’s great… Are you all right?” He asked, turning to me.
- “Yeah, just a bit bruised, but I’m fine… Where were you?”
“I survived the crash intact, but I knew the hunter was after us. I took shelter nearby, but I couldn’t help Verona. I was afraid he’d kill you as well.”
- “He didn’t kill Verona. He took her away.”
I know, I’ve been out looking for her since yesterday morning. I had to take care of you first…”
- “Have you found her yet?”
“No, but I know they are in this city somewhere. Vampires all over the place are whispering about the Hunter being in town.”
I was happy and sad at the same time. Verona had to be close, yet I did not know where. Every hour that passed by made me feel worse. Vallin and his friend would not let me out, as they thought it would be too dangerous. So I spent my time sharpening my sword and practicing with it…

Two weeks passed, and nothing happened. I was stuck in the hangar all the time, and Vallin was constantly out. His friend, whom I came to know as Victor, or Vic in short, was more frequently present, but he rarely said anything useful. Sometimes he would tell me about the Hunter, but never anything about a possible location.
Then one night, Vallin did not return to the hangar, while he said he would be back before sunset. Vic went out looking for him, but came back without results. He told me he had gone to the industrial area, where Vallin said he suspected the Hunter to be.
Just as he said this, the door of the hangar was blown out. I immediately ducked into the office and hid in one of the closets. I heard a few gunshots and screams of pain, and then silence. Footsteps approached the office. Someone was searching through the papers, but then left. I got out of the closed and peered through the dirty windows in the office walls. There was a man in a long dark coat, standing over a body. It was the hunter, looking at his latest kill. He calmly walked out of the hangar and disappeared around the corner. I quickly grabbed my sword and ran to Vic, but I could do nothing. He had several gunshot wounds. A wooden stake was jammed straight through his heart, and his head was severed. His body started to crumble, and within seconds there was nothing there but empty clothes and a pile of dust.
I swallowed my fear away and ran after the hunter. It was dark, but I saw him walking under a street light. I ducked into the shadows and tried to keep up. Lucky for me he was on foot, and I could keep up very well despite the fact that I was avoiding the lights.
I followed him through the city for a good two hours. Midnight had long passed, but I was determined to find out where the hunter was staying. I followed him to the industrial zone, just as Vic had said. Once there the hunter went to a remote area at the edge of the city lines. There he entered a small utility building. I approached it, only to find it locked from the inside. I listened at the door, but heard nothing. I sat down and sighed. I knew where to go, but I could not get in. I just sat there for a while, with my sword on my knees. Then suddenly I heard footsteps inside. I quickly hid around the corner of the building, and tried to see what was happening. The door opened, and the hunter came out. He walked away. I leaped for the door, and caught it before it closed. I went in, and closed the door behind me. It was dark inside. The gleam of the crescent moon came peering in through a small window. All I could see was some dark shapes, and a gaping hole in the floor in a corner. It had to be a staircase. Feeling my way around I made my way to it and descended. It was a long flight of steps, and it took me ten minutes to get down without skipping and falling. Once I got down, I found myself in a narrow corridor, illuminated by a few pale light bulbs. The air was stale, and the stench of molds was all around me. At the end of a corridor was a heavy steel door, rusty from the moist air. There was a slide on it, barring it from the outside. It easily opened, and I got in.
It led to a small room littered with all kinds of things. There was a wooden table and two chairs, and a rusty iron bed with a dirty mattress in the corner. A few bags stood next to the bed. Papers, magazines and torn books lay strewn around the floor. In the opposite wall was another barred iron door with a small window. I could not see what was inside, so I opened the door. The stench of garlic came out, and in the corner lay a petite human figure. It was that of a woman, with dirty black hair and pale yellow skin. She was thin and dirty, and dressed in a few muddy rags. It was Verona…
She looked up at me, shielding her eyes from the light with a trembling hand. She could not speak, but a tear rolled down her cheek amd a weak smile lightened her face. I kneeled beside her and lifted her into a sitting position.
“Are you all right?” I asked, but the answer was obvious. Her lips were crusted and her eyes dull. She tried to swallow. She leaned heavily against me as I held her up; she was to weak to even sit on her own. I tried to think of what I could do, but there was really only one solution. I tore the band-aids from my arm. The wound was still there, but it was almost totally closed up. I slashed it open again with my sword, and offered it to Verona. She looked at me with a mixture of hunger and hesitation in her eyes. Then she grabbed my arm and drank. I felt nauseous, as I always did when I saw my own blood, but I fought it and held Verona tightly as she drank. She was eager, starving for more than two weeks. I soon felt dizzy. She drank a lot. She stopped, and I almost fell on my back.
“T-thank you…” She said.
I swallowed, and tried to regain myself. I reached for the band aids, and placed them back on my arm as good as possible.
“Are y-you okay?” she stammered.
- “I’ll survive… Can you walk?”
She tried to stand, but fell over. I caught her, and she tried again. Slowly, leaning on each other, we shuffled towards the exit. Past the heavy iron doors, and through the corridor. At the bottom of the stairs we rested. I was still dizzy, but Verona was visibly regaining strength. After sitting in silence for a few minutes we got up again, and started climbing the stairs. It was difficult, as we were both severely weakened. About halfway we stopped to rest again. I was breathing heavily, and the loss of blood made me very dizzy. After sitting again for a few minutes we climbed the last stairs and got out of the building. We sat around the corner and sighed in relief.
“We have to get away from here” I said, fighting the nausea and dizziness. “I think he’ll return soon.”
- “How did you find me?” Verona asked.
“I followed him here, and caught the door when he left.”
- “Where is Vallin?”
I was silent for a few seconds.
“He went missing this evening. He left Vic and me to search for you, but didn’t return. Then the hunter came and killed Vic…”
Verona said nothing. She looked sad for a moment, as she thought of her lost friend. She tried to stand again, and together we got up. Slowly we walked back to Vic’s hangar. It took us all night. The sun was already rising when we reached it. I immediately dropped myself onto the mattress, and fell asleep…

I was woken up by Verona. She looked better than before, but she was still fragile. My dizziness was gone, but I did have a headache. It was light outside, but the shadows were long.
“How long have I slept?”
- “All day… We have to go, the Hunter knows this place.”
“I guess we’d better leave then…”
I picked up a few useful things and strapped my sword on my belt.
“Do you need anything?” I asked, fumbling the band-aid around my arm.
- “No, I’m all right…”
“you sure?”
- “Yes, I’m sure. Now let’s go.”
We walked out into the light of the setting sun. Verona closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She then looked around, and pointed down the street.
“That way seems best… Less immortals that way.”
- “How do you know?”
“I can sense their presence… That is how I knew the hunter was on the train with us.”
We walked on in silence. After a while Verona stopped and closed her eyes again. She then pulled me in a different direction. We walked like that for hours, stopping every now and then to see if there were any immortals nearby. It was almost morning when we came to an abandoned house. Its windows were boarded up, and the door was locked. I climbed over the fence to the back yard, and found the back door to be unlocked. I entered and let Verona in. She smiled, and I realized she could have done it a lot faster.
It was a large mansion, now devoid of most furniture. A few closets and cupboards was all that was left. We made ourselves as comfortable as we could and tried to rest. I gave her some of my blood again, but she only drank a little, not wanting to weaken me that much again. I could not sleep, and neither of us spoke much. Morning came, and I went outside. I had not eaten for more than a day, and I was hungry. Verona stayed inside.
I walked to a supermarket I had seen when we came to the house. Once inside I felt in my pockets, but I found nothing that resembled money. I went out again ,trying to think of a solution. I found none. At that moment luck was with me, and I found a small change bill. I bought some food, and returned to the house. When I arrived, I saw the door was open.
I put the food down in the hall and drew my sword, which was still hanging on my belt. Carefully I went inside. I heard Verona screaming upstairs. Quietly I climbed the stairs, careful not to make too much noise. As I reached the upper level, I saw the Hunter, standing over Verona with a sword and a pistol. Verona had some cuts and was lying on the floor, shielding herself with her arms. There was a small blooded dagger lying next to her. The hunter was bleeding as well; Verona was never as helpless as she looked. But she could not kill the Hunter, no immortal could. The hunter raised his sword, ready to finish off Verona.
A red haze shot before my eyes. As if controlled by some unseen force, I roared and leapt at the hunter. My sword struck hard on his back, and he staggered forward. The weapons fell from his hands. He managed to stand up again and dodge my next blow, and he jumped out of the window. Shards of glass and splinters of the wooden boards were flying all over, and I was forced to cover my face. When I could look again he was gone…

Next part - getting really close to where I'm still writing now...

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“That’s twice you saved me…,” said Verona after a while.
- “Thank goodness I came back when I did.” I said, and sat down on the floor, the sword dropping from my hand.
“We shouldn’t make a habit out of it,” she smiled. Her wounds were already healing.
- “We’ll need to look for a new shelter again.”
“Not tonight though, he won’t return before his wounds are healed. He may be immortal, but he can’t heal as fast as a vampire. We’ll be safe until tomorrow at least.”
- “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Verona answered, her face suddenly sad again. “One minute I was alone in the house, the next he was chasing me up here. I didn’t even feel him coming. I guess…”
She stopped. Someone was knocking on the door. Verona picked up the Hunter’s sword and pistol, and I grabbed my own weapon. Together we went down. The knocking was repeated, louder this time. Verona stood next to the door, where she would not be seen from the outside. Later I realized she was only shielding herself from the sun. I carefully opened the door and looked out. Out there stood a tall figure in a long raincoat, with a rag covering his face, large shades, and a hat. When I saw who it was I opened the door fully, and pulled the man inside. It was Vallin!

“How did you find us?” I asked, amazed to see him here.
- “I was walking around this neighborhood when I saw the hunter… I tried to follow him, but I lost him. A few minutes later I saw him running from this house, badly wounded…”
“Where have you been all this time?”
- “I got a message from our master, so I had to go back. But by the time I got there the order had been disbanded. A band of slayers had killed our master, and there were too few left to maintain the order.”
Verona was shocked by the news. She and Vallin had lost a lot of friends, and with the events of the past few days they were already a bit unstable.
“What do we do now?” said Verona, more to herself than to Vallin or me.
- “Let’s first try to survive this Hunter…” Was Vallin’s sad but resolute answer.
“How do we do that without an order to back us up?”
- “I don’t know…”
We said nothing for a long time. Then I worked up my courage, and broke the silence.
“I… I have an idea…”
They looked at me surprised. I cleared my throat and explained.
“Vic showed me a book, with information on this Hunter guy… He said that immortals couldn’t kill him, but a mortal can. Maybe I could…”
I stopped. I felt really stupid. Again. How could I know if I was the one the legend spoke of?
“Yes, I remember that part…” said Vallin. “He cannot be killed by an immortal, which he hunts. Only when a mortal stands up for them and confronts him he shall be defeated…”
- “But he can barely fight with a sword.” Objected Verona.
“He doesn’t…” Replied Vallin, lost in thought. “But we do.”
- “What do you mean?” Asked Verona, just as surprised as I was.
“We could hunt him with the three of us. He has a hard time taking on more than one, if he isn’t prepared for it. The two of us can bring him down together of we play it right…”
- “And then I can kill him” I interrupted.
“Exactly.”
- “Are you sure that will work?” I asked, not totally comfortable with it.
“It’s our only chance; otherwise he’ll kill the three of us for sure.”

We fell silent again. I thought about what was going to happen. And what the outcome would be. In my heart, I was mortally afraid, but I could not let my friends down. They meant everything for me, and I could not let them down. I clenched the sword in my hand, felt its grip. This would have to help me kill one of the most powerful warriors alive. I was probably the only one who could do it, and I did not even know how to wield a sword properly.
“We only have to find where he is hiding now…” said Vallin, breaking the silence.
- “I think I know,” I said. “I rescued Verona from there.”
“You did?!” Vallin was surprised. “You mean it wasn’t here?!”
- “No, it was in the industrial zone, like you said. I followed him there when he killed Vic, and got Verona out when he had left again…”
“I have never heard of a mortal who had done anything like that… I guess you really are meant to kill the hunter then.
- “I don’t know… I mean, all I did here was sneak up on him and catch him off guard…”
“But he ran from you. He fears you. He doesn’t know you can’t fight.”

It was already late when I went to sleep, and Verona and Vallin were still discussing how we would deal with the Hunter. I did not really care; I was too afraid to think about it. Chances were I would die first and then Verona and Vallin would be killed too. These thoughts spun through my mind all the time.
When I did finally sleep, I dreamt that Me, Verona and Vallin were walking through the narrow corridor of the Hunter’s lair. Suddenly, the lights went out. There was a whizzing sound, and then a sickly gurgle for Vallin, who dropped to the floor. I ducked and covered my head, while Verona tried to see in the total darkness. Another whizzing sound, and a scream from Verona. She fell next to me. I could see the gleam in her eyes. She looked at me. A second later, she disintegrated…
I woke up. I was sweating all over. It was dark, and Vallin was sitting against the wall.
“Where is Verona?” I whispered.
- “Out, feeding.”
“Don’t you…”
- “We won’t leave you alone.”
I lay down again, comforted by Vallin’s presence. I tried to sleep again, but the vision of Verona dying in front of me would not let go. I kept seeing her eyes over and over again, and I did not sleep until morning. Verona had returned and Vallin hat gone to feed as well. We had decided to go by day, as that would be the time when the hunter was most likely to be at ‘home’. Vallin had returned and left again to keep an eye on the place, and Verona and I would come when I had rested and eaten.
It was around ten o’clock. Verona and I were standing in an alley between two large buildings, waiting for Vallin. We were early, and knew we could have to wait for a while if the Hunter was out. Verona and I had been joking around a bit, but suddenly she became serious. She adjusted the heavy coat that protected her from the light – lucky for us the sky was overcast and the sun wasn’t visible.
“You know, ever since that first talk at my place, I’ve wondered something…” She said.
- “Really? What?”
“Why did you do it?”
- “Did what?”
“Give us blood…”
- “I… I don’t know… It just happened… I guess it felt right.”
“Oh…”
She looked at the ground. I looked at her. The soft breeze caught her hair and blew it in her face. She pulled it down again, and I smiled. I wondered how it would feel to do that. She looked up at me and smiled back.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be ok…”
- “Yeah, I know…” I replied, still not convinced.
“I’ll look after you. I won’t let you die out there…”
Vallin came around the corner. He carried a large sack. He looked back, and then came to us.
“He’s home. I dropped by Vic’s and got a bunch of weapons from his stock. He won’t need them anymore…”
Verona took two short swords and a dagger, and hid them under her coat. Vallin strapped a large two-handed sword to his back, and chose two Sai as his main weapons. I only took two long knives and my own sword. I had the Hunter’s pistol stuck in my belt, but I kept this to myself.
We walked to the utility building. It was totally quiet all around, and the soft breeze made it even more intense. I was nervous and very afraid, but tried not to show it. Vallin opened the door.
“It’s not locked…” I whispered.
- “What was that?” Asked Vallin.
“It’s not locked” I repeated, louder this time. “It was locked from the inside when I was last here.” I remembered my dream last night.
- “He probably forgot” shrugged Vallin, and he went inside.
We descended the stairs. The lights were still there. We drew weapons and carefully approached the door at the end. Suddenly the lights went out. Flashes from my dream came back to me.
“Duck!” I yelled, and dropped to the ground.
I heard the whizzing sound again. Verona ducked. Vallin was late. Something hit him in the face. He cursed as he fell.
“What the hell was that!” he demanded, wiping the wound with his sleeve.
- “I don’t know, but it’ll come back.”
We waited a few seconds. The whizzing returned. We saw a metal disk spinning through the corridor. It kept going until it reached the door, and then disappeared into the wall.
“Be careful,” Whispered Verona. “He obviously knows we’re coming.”
We crawled further. The disk stayed hidden in the wall, but none of us dared standing up. I kept looking for tripwires or other hidden switches that might set of traps. I found none, and without other incidents, we reached the door. This one too was unlocked. We hurried into the dark, dirty room and closed the door again. There was nobody there.
“I thought you said he was home?” said Verona. I sighed, both relieved and disappointed. “He was…” replied Vallin, frustrated. He walked towards the opposite door. It was opened, and there was nothing inside. I turned back to the door. I wanted to leave before it did come to a fight. At that moment, something hit me in he head, and I was sent crashing to the floor. The hunter leapt over me, a sword in his raised hands. He lunged at Vallin, who was caught completely off guard.
Vallin yelled, The hunter roared, Verona bent over me.
“Go fight!” I said, and sat up. I looked around, a bit disoriented. Vallin was dodging and parrying blows as well as he could, but he was wounded already. One arm was virtually limp, barely able to hold on to his weapon. Verona stood still, her hands lifted, her swords hovering in mid-air. She thrust one arm forward. A sword flew through the air, and hit the hunter in his back. He turned around and with a mighty swing smote Verona to the ground. Her other sword dropped. She scrambled back up, and focused on her second sword. It flew straight at the hunter’s head. He dodged the blade, and it hit Vallin in the neck. He fell to the ground, severely weakened by multiple wounds. There was a silvery powder oozing from them, and they did not heal.
I stood up and shook the headache away. I picked up my sword. This was the moment of truth. I raised my sword and jumped forward. In a reflex the hunter lashed his sword at me. Without realizing it I lowered my sword and parried his. He looked surprised, and a hint of fear lay in his eyes. Verona quickly grabbed one of Vallin’s sai, and threw it at the Hunter. He whirled around and slapped the blade away with his sword. I cut at him, but he parried. He launched a flurry of cuts and slashes, and he pinned me against the wall. Fear had taken over me. The hunter smiled wickedly.
“Well, if it isn’t the great vampire friend…” he smirked. “I should have killed you right away, shouldn’t I?”
I swallowed and clenched my sword.
“But then again, now I can take the pleasure in killing you slowly.”
He raised his sword and brought it down with inhuman strength. I held up my own and caught his sword. My sword shattered, and his found home. He cut deeply into my shoulder, and I fell.
“No!” Roared Vallin. With all the strength he had left, he stood up and drew out the two-handed sword. He jumped at the Hunter. Blood spattered in all directions as his sword struck. The hunter screamed, his face twisted in pain and agony.
“Fool!” he said, his voice even more rasping than before. “No immortal can kill me!”
He lashed out again with his blade. Vallin fell backwards, his arms severed. I tried to stand, leaning against the wall. I was still clutching the broken sword. Verona also stood up, one hand covering a gaping wound over her stomach. She clutched the broken leg of the table that once stood in the room, but did not survive the fight. The hunter was breathing heavily, bleeding from many wounds. He raised his sword at Verona.
“I guess I’ll destroy you first then…”
He brought his arm down, but despite her wounds, Verona was faster. She hit him in the head, and he twisted and fell on me. He looked at me, a mortal fear in his eyes. I felt blood run down my hand; the broken sword had pierced his chest…
I dropped the hunter, and collapsed next to him. My shoulder was bleeding heavily. Verona kneeled next to me, checking my wound.
“You need help.” She said, and lifted me up as if I weighed nothing.
- “V-vallin…” I stammered.
“He’ll be fine. You’re the one I’m worried about.”
I wanted to reply. Hold on to her, to keep myself from falling, even though I knew she wouldn’t drop me. I wanted to do something. Anything. But I couldn’t. I struggled to stay awake, but darkness was gaining fast…