Chapter 1: On Her Own

The beating of her heart and the growling of the monster seemed to be closing the gap. Brooke was not supposed to be running from him, but chasing and killing the monster. Blood was dripping down her leg from a wound she received on the side of her stomach from the monster's claws.

"I can't do this anymore," she sighed jumping over a log and nearly tripping on a pile of bones that were collected there…remnants of village hunters. The smell of the forest was of rotting flesh, with lots of flies hovering in certain areas. Brooke didn't need a closer look to determine whether it was a dead animal or man. The monster only ate human flesh and knew no resistance. A tiger hissed as she ran passed where it rested underneath a tree. Snow was starting fall and when she turned around the monster was no longer there.

"The snow must keep him in hiding….or he's out of energy."

Taking a seat on a rock she contemplated taking off her shirt to keep her wound covered, but the frosty weather kept her from making that move. Brooke knew that it would be impossible to start a fire, since the smoke would let the monster know where she was hiding. And with no map or sense of how far she had ran from the village lead her to believe that she was already dead.

The woods were so quiet, and every break of a twig made her jump. Clouds covered the moonlight, making it difficult to see what was around her. As she laid low to the ground inside a tiny cave Brooke played with her necklace. The symbol she wore around her neck was very unique; it was that of the Knights of Holy Order, one of only a few monster hunters still left to their allegiance. It was them who sent her to this small town in Russia, midwinter, to destroy a monster that had been a threat to the people living there. So many had died in their attempts to capture and kill the man eating monster. Brooke wondered how long it would take before the Order would send another as her replacement, and if she'd be alive long enough to be rescued.

A wave of disappoint started to rush through her veins. How could she have let them down? One of the best monster hunters, at least for being a woman. Through her years of service many men and women had came and went in the Holy Order. They either died or just seemed to have vanished. No one dared to question about the missing, because they were supposed to look out for only themselves.

Brooke had no family left since after her older brother died from influenza. They were never close, but his death seemed to make her aware of a void in her life. An empty space she filled with meaningless romances and killing. Most women her age were already married with at least one child. But even growing up Brooke never saw herself as a wife raising kids. Adventures were always in her plan: to leave London and never return to it.

After encountering a vampire and successfully killing it, the Holy Order recruited her to join them in their battle against evil forces.

It wasn't until this moment had she ever felt so hopeless in defeating her opponent. The monster was larger than her, with animalistic senses, and large teeth made for tearing flesh from a bone. Brooke did admit that she was too confident in this mission and should have taken more precautions, but it was too late to undo those mistakes.

Her dirtied hands undid the necklace and reached up to place it on a tree branch outside the cave. Brooke thought if she were to be devoured by the monster, that at least someone would see the necklace and know she had tried her best. But the stomach muscles she had used to reach up were a painful reminder of her wound. Looking around she decided to start walking again, even though the snow fall was now at least three feet in height.

"Surely if he doesn't eat me I'll die from this damn weather," she sighed mumbling those words to herself.

For a couple hours she walked through the snow to reach a frozen lake. Thirst was another concern, so she managed to create a small hole to get the cold water that was beneath ice.

Brooke found a nice ditch to sleep in for what was left of the night.

"Damnit…." She groaned as her untreated wound ached.

Laying down she looked up at the sky; the clouds seemed to be finally breaking apart and revealing the stars. "Please….stars hear my gentle voice? I hope they send someone soon."

Brooke's thoughts wandered to some men that she had worked with before. A smile came to her face thinking of one in particular, "Gabriel Van Helsing…." The name seemed to leave her lips so naturally.

It would be a bittersweet reunion if he was the one to replace her in the monster hunt. Last time she had seen Van Helsing was when he had caught her in bed with a vampire. This was during a time in which they were becoming more than just partners. Ever since that incident Brooke regretted sleeping with the vampire, which almost cost her her job with the Order. She knew he would never forgive her for it. After all he was still recovering from killing Anna by accident while fighting Dracula. At the time he was fragile and she wasn't sensitive to his state of emotions.