The private plane cruised over the Deep South at 20,000 feet. Inside the small passenger compartment were three agents of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Development. They were an odd-looking trio. The creature known as Hellboy leaned back into a large seat. A cigar clamped between his lips sent lazy circles of smoke around his head. He was about seven feet tall, with deep red skin, filed down stumps of horns on his forehead, hooves and a tail. Behind him sat Abe Sapien, an amphibian with a mysterious, unknown origin. He was slender, with blue-gray skin and a set of gills. Abe was reading over a situation report. Across the aisle was the woman known as Liz Sherman. While she looked like a normal human, Liz was a pyro-technic of considerable power. She stared out one of the plane's windows.
"A ghoul infestation," said Abe, glancing up from the report. "Sounds simple enough."
"Ghouls just don't pop up by themselves," said Hellboy. "Somebody has to raise them." He exhaled a cloud of smoke. "I hate ghouls. They stink."
"Hmmm," murmured Abe. " In Louisiana, too. I hope this doesn't involve any voodoo. Remember that Haitian witch-doctor in '97? That was bad."
"Pessimist," growled Hellboy.
The plane landed on a private airstrip outside of Baton Rouge. The unlikely agents, stepped off the plane, each with a bag of equipment slung over one shoulder. A driver with a car waited for them on the tarmac.
"Hello," said Abe.
"Where we going," asked Hellboy.
"To the site of the latest activity," replied the driver. "A graveyard, I believe." Liz shuddered.
The team piled into the car, and journeyed mostly in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. After an hour, the driver stopped outside of a large, arched iron gate. "This is it," he said.
Hellboy, Abe and Liz climbed out of the vehicle and began to strap on weapons and various items needed to combat the undead. Hellboy looked at the driver. "You coming," he asked as he slid his oversized Samaritan pistol into a side holster.
"Not my job," replied the driver. "I wait here until someone comes out of there, then I drive them back to the airstrip."
"Figures," grunted Hellboy. He read the name etched above the gate. "Mignola Cemetery," he said. "Mean anything to you?"
"Doesn't ring a bell," said Abe.
"Let's get this over with," said Liz as she started toward the gate. Hellboy and Abe shrugged at each other and followed her.
Inside the gate, there was a noticeable chill in the air. Wispy tendrils of fog curled around the bases of trees and started to gather about the few small visible buildings. "I don't like this very much," said Abe as he looked up in the sky. "The sun will go down in about an hour."
"Yeah, it's creepy," said Hellboy. "Let's find these ghouls." The three agents trudged out into the deepening shadows, alert to any signs of ghoulish behavior.
After awhile, Liz stopped and peered into the twilight. "You guys hear that?"
"Uh-huh," said Hellboy. "Sounds nasty. We better take a look." He drew his sidearm while Abe pulled out a pistol and a flashlight. Liz thumbed on a flashlight of her own. The bright lights cut through the gloom to illuminate a horror show. Four ghouls bent over a freshly dug up corpse blinked in the harsh glow. They were dressed in little more than rags that showed great expanses of leathery skin. Vacant eyes stared at the agents while scraps of decayed flesh hung from rows of sharpened teeth. The hissing monsters scrambled to their feet, startled by the sudden appearance of living beings in their midst. The ghoul's attention was drawn mostly to Liz, the only human in the group. They slowly began to edge in her direction.
The Samaritan spoke. The lead ghoul was hurled to the ground with a gaping hole in it's chest. The remaining three turned and rushed Hellboy. They were fast and agile, and they crashed into him before he could shoot another one. Abe and Liz were watching their friend battle the three ghouls, caught in a moment of hesitation, when the one which had been shot, stood up. It's wound dripped black fluid, but was already growing smaller as the ghoul regenerated. Abe shot it again as the thing lurched forward. The bullets made a wet slapping sound upon impact, making the ghoul jerk and dance to a macabre tune. But it kept coming.
"Abe. Duck," said Liz as she came up behind him. He felt the air grow hot as her power rippled past him. The ghoul exploded in a ball of crackling flame. Abe turned in time to see a ghostly light fade from Liz's eyes. She smiled, no more than a twitch at the corner of her mouth. "Ghouls burn easily," she said. A yelp from Hellboy drew the duo's gaze toward him.
One of the ghouls had buried it's teeth into Hellboy's thigh. "That's it," he said. "No biting, punk." The Right Hand of Doom crashed down, smashing the ghoul's skull into pieces. "Get the hell off of me," yelled Hellboy, using brute strength to throw the remaining two ghouls to the ground. "You creeps are done." The Samaritan fired again, turning one ghoul's head into a black and gray mush. The last one turned and began to run away. Hellboy raised his gun again.
"I got him," said Liz. The running ghoul burst into pieces as lines of blue and yellow fire consumed it.
"Nice," said Hellboy. "I wonder if there are anymore of those things around."
"I hope not," said Abe. They continued to trek through the graveyard, dispatching single and pairs of ghouls as they went. Finally, they came upon a large mausoleum. A strange looking man was standing at the top of the steps leading to the tomb. He was dresses in black, which matched his hair and beard. He also held a curious staff in one hand.
"You people have cost me a great deal tonight," said the man.
"Shut up," replied Hellboy. "Drop that stick and come down off those steps."
"Irritants," said the man. He pointed the staff at Hellboy who was suddenly slammed backwards by an unseen force.
"Jeez," said Hellboy, as he rubbed his head. "What the hell was that?" A horde of ghouls erupted from the nearby canopy and made straight for Hellboy. "Aw, crap," he said right before he was enveloped by the undead mob.
"H.B.," yelled Liz, as her eyes began to glow.
"Not this time, fire-witch," said the sorcerer. He swung his staff toward Liz, who immediately dropped to her knees and began choking.
"His staff," whispered Abe. "His power is in the staff." Abe was not a great shooter, but he was better than Hellboy. Like a gunfighter in one of the old movies he always watched, he drew smooth and quick. His shot was true, and the magician's hand holding the staff was an instant mess of bone and useless red tissue. The staff fell down the marble steps of the mausoleum. Liz stopped gasping for air, and the pile of animated corpses on top of Hellboy went limp and still. Abe rushed up and grabbed the wooden staff.
"Goddamn," said Hellboy as he clambered out of the stack of putrid bodies. "These things reek. I'll be in the shower for three days." He looked over to his right. "You okay, Liz?" Still down on all fours, she nodded her head. Hellboy looked up at the man, who was on his knees and holding a ruined stump where his hand used to be. "Nice shooting, Abe," he said as he approached the steps. Hellboy climbed up the stairs and grabbed the man by his collar. "See, you had to do it the hard way," he said. "Now, you're coming with us and you've got one less hand. Idiot." He began to drag the man forward. "And don't bleed on me," said Hellboy. "I hate that crap."
The B.P.R.D. team exited the cemetery without further incident. The driver was waiting, and helped patch up the magician with a first aid kit, after Liz thoughtfully cauterized his wound. Abe tossed the staff into the trunk of the car. On the plane ride home, Abe and Liz put as much distance between themselves and Hellboy as possible in the cramped cabin.
"C'mon," he said. "It can't be that bad."
"Yes, it is," said Liz and Abe in unison.
"Stupid freaking undead," muttered Hellboy. "They always gotta stink up the place." He sighed and lit up another cigar for the ride home.
DA END