1. HERE WE GO AGAIN
The year is 2347. And the world had been destroyed. Only it wasn't by nuclear war, which was the most popular belief, or by asteroid, which was the second most popular belief. It was by the one thing we thought could never happen. The Earth itself rebelled against us.
We don't know if it was the toxic waste or the changes in our atmosphere due to global warming; but for some reason Man became the menu. In time, the deaths could no longer be controlled or explained. The children were the first go. They picked off the weakest one by one. The adults, out of answers and out of their minds with fear, starting going all survivalist. The rich receded into their underground complexes. While the poor, who were used to scratching out a living were left up top to fend for themselves. But as always, it was the middle class that was stuck in the middle and became fodder. They were exploited by the rich for food and preyed up by the poor dregs for the same reason. After all, why work for it when you can just steal it from somebody else.
My name is Jessie. I was so named because that was the name of the woman upon whose grave I was found. My parents? I haven't a clue. I was just one of the ones left to die. I was found by a nun, or so they say. They called her Cyclops behind her back because she had only one good eye. The other one they say was lost in the war. Which war I was never sure. There were so many and she would never say. She was the only person that I could ever consider a real mother. She taught me to read and write, and she taught me martial arts and firearms. Strange lessons for a nun to teach, or so I used to think; but then one night our convent was attacked by vandals and hooligans. They were looking for food and a good time and thought that the nuns could provide both. You should have seen my mother in action. Man she was cool. She killed twelve of them before the rest of them got the message and left. I laughed as I watched run. My nuns were no one's prey. They knew how to fight back.
I was twelve when they made me leave.
You see, I…can see the dead. But they're not…dead, so much as they are agents of darkness. Things that creep around in shadows, especially at night. No one believes me, but these….things are the real reason that the world died. My mother calls them demons, but only some of them are. The others are more…solid. I've seen old horror movies. And the ones with serial killers in them are comedic. But the ones based on "ghost" stories. Those are real. Those are the monsters under your bed. The ones in the closets. The ones in your head. Those are the ones that let you see them and let you scream one second before you die. There is no fighting them and there is no hero on a white horse to save you. If you're lucky, you go insane and sent to a safe white room where they can't get you; but if you're not, and 99% of the time you're not then you just disappear. And are never seen again. That was how it started. After that, I started sleeping in a ring of salt. I had read that it keeps such things away. Yeah, I was laughed at. For the first eight months. Now all the kids sleep with salt around their beds. The adults should have listened to me.
One by one the nuns and some of the homeless that we looked after began to disappear. I told them about the monsters in the darkness. But of course no one believes a child. Even my own mother didn't believe me, until they came for her.
We were in the kitchen. It was about 3 am. We were just eating some ice cream, when the first one showed up. I saw it and froze in fear.
"Jessie, what's wrong? Why do you look so frightened?"
"It's here. We have to leave and now."
I pulled on her to leave, but she wouldn't move.
"Let go. There's nothing here."
"Yes, there is. It's a monster. A big one. It's standing in the corner just staring at us."
"I don't see anything." she said.
But I could tell by her voice that she was a little worried. She had heard the same stories I did.
"Please believe me. It's here." I began to cry, as tears started to fall. "We have to go."
"Tell me what it looks like." she said, as she reached into her pocket.
"It's big, and black, and humanoid in shape, but it has no features. Just two yellow eyes."
"Don't look it in the eyes. Never look them in the eyes."
"We have to go."
"No. It will only chase us. Which corner is it in?"
"The right one. Over there."
"You tell me when it jumps at us."
I kept my eyes on it, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw her draw her gun. She aimed at it. And it jumped us.
"Now!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
She shot off three rounds as we fell back onto the floor. It became solid as it fell to the floor.
"Holy cow! You weren't kidding." she cried out, in stunned amazement.
We slowly walked over to it. She kicked it with her foot and it fell into dust. I was still shaking with fear as she picked me up and placed me on the table.
"Are there any more?"
I looked around.
"No."
She took a slow breath and let it out.
"How long have you been able to see them?"
"Always."
"And you never told anyone."
"Of course I did, but they never believe me. I've seen more than one person die."
"So that's why the kids are calling you Jessie Jinx."
"Yeah." I said sadly.
"Name every time you've seen them."
I did.
"Just as I thought, they're drawn to you."
"What do they want with me?"
"They want your blood."
"My blood?"
"Yep, you're the one."
My mother sat down in a chair and sat back. She looked at me as if trying to decide what to do with me.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you have to leave."
"But…"
"I know. It's not fair. But it's the only way to save our lives. Dealing with the dregs is hard enough. Dealing with things that only you can see is too much. Besides, these silver bullets are running out."
"Silver bullets?"
"Yep. Silver bullets. See Jessie in times long ago, there were real monsters. Vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, and demons. We were on the bottom of the food chain then. Heh, looks like we've come full circle."
"Where do you want me to go?"
"To England."
"England?"
"Yeah, I had an ancestor once who used to fight these things on a daily basis. She was a berserker with a split personality."
"Ha, really?" I smiled. "She must have been fun."
"According to her journals, she and her partner used to fight these things all the time. There was an entire organization devoted to it. They used to call it Vatican Special Section XIII."
"If it was a Vatican Unit, why are you sending me to England?"
"Cause the Vatican is gone now. And so are all its tentacles. There is only one that might still be alive and he's England."
"Who am I looking for?"
"Not a who, a what."
"A What?"
"He's a vampire, The Ultimate Master Vampire. You see there were two organizations that fought these creatures. He worked for the one called the Hellsing organization. He was cursed in death never to enter heaven or hell, but to walk the world for eternity. So, since he couldn't be killed, the Hellsing Organization gave him the job of keeping humanity safe."
"So where are they now?"
"Like all government agencies, they determine that they don't need you anymore and they pull your funding. Both agencies closed down and were forgotten about."
"So the monsters won in the end by laying low and waiting them out."
"Ha, ha, ha. Yeah, looks like it. But that's about to change. Cause you're going to England. You're going to find him and you're gonna wake him up."
"What if he eats me?"
"He won't. He's not allowed to harm your bloodline."
"My bloodline? Do you know who I am?"
"I'm not 100% sure. But I think…you're Hellsing."