~1829~
It had been two years since Abe had first encountered a vampire.
The disgusting parasitical demons that fed on human blood, that had killed his mother and that he had vowed to destroy, to erase from the human world.
Over the two years he had trained relentlessly, until his chest, arms and legs were covered in firm muscle, his instincts were tuned to perfection and his mind was expanded to know all that there was of the devils. His axe and its silver coated blade had become as much a part of his arm as his hand or his fingers. He was a killer, yes, undoubtedly, but a killer of the dark creatures of the night, not the innocent, as was the preferred prey of his enemy.
He never doubted either that there were others like him, hunters of the dark creatures, Henry was proof enough, yet he had never imagined just how many monsters of the night there were in the world, and just how far they spread.
0o0o0
Abe grunted as he swung his axe, immediately splitting a tree horizontally, reducing it to nothing but a tall, felled trunk, a wide, low stump and many, many handfuls of coarse sawdust. He pulled the back of his hand across his forehead, collecting a slick spreading of sweat.
No matter how well trained or passionate he was for the duty of killing vampires, the physical work and anger still drained him.
As he slung his axe over his shoulder, and meandered towards yet another tree stump, his ears were filled with the sound of his own racing heart and his rasping breath.
Abe sat down on the stump and placed his weapon on the leaf covered ground, taking up his flask of water instead. He drained what was left of it in a few solid gulps, and he sighed as he put down the empty bottle once more, a few cold drops spilling down his chin from the corners of his mouth.
The man then slumped, his arms resting unflexed on his legs as he looked about the forest, trying to slow his heartrate and calm his erratic breathing so that he might hear the soothing sound of the wind passing through the trees, or the call of birds passing overhead.
Abe drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes lightly as he exhaled, feeling all at once very in tune with the nature surrounding him. He felt at peace here, and he certainly didn't anticipate anything life threatening happening- And yet.
A body crashed into Abe's side, knocking him immediately from the tree stump and onto the forest floor.
His eyes shot open at the contact of course, but he saw little more than the trees about him blurring with movement until he was finally stationary on the ground, pinned by a great hulking man.
As Abe looked over his white face, riddled with grey, branching veins, there was no doubt that this man was one of the monsters he despised- a vampire.
Jagged teeth bared, the vampire hissed down at him, gripping his wrists so hard that they bruised to purple almost immediately.
Abe groaned in response, flexing his fingers for any sort of chance of finding his axe, as futile as that was. Desperate, he attempted to call out, for someone, anyone, even Henry, struggling wildly as he could- but there was no hope, he could hardly imagine that another living soul would be close enough to hear, let alone help.
The vampire only held him tighter, squeezing the air out of the man's chest by placing all of his weight on it, and he began down slowly, preparing to sink his teeth into the massively exposed portion of skin covering Abe's jugular.
The young man was hardly a pessimist, but in that moment, he couldn't help but think how awful it felt to die at the hands -and teeth- of that he hated above all else, before he had even managed to make his mark on the world.
Abe closed his eyes firmly, as he felt the disgustingly hot breath of the vampire on his neck, waiting for the sharp pain that was guaranteed to follow.
It did not however.
Instead, a loud echoing shot rang out about them, and the vampire shuddered atop him, before taking another shaky breath and then collapsing over him.
Abe gasped and swiftly pushed the now dead vampire off of him, scrambling to his feet as he went.
Fists clenched and stance ready, he then frantically looked around the forest, until his eyes fell upon an old man stood several feet away, a rifle in hand.
The man was wrinkled, but relatively healthy looking, somehow frail, but well rounded. His hair was light grey and thinning, but his cheeks were still pink in the cold.
He was unfamiliar, Abe could not say that he knew him,
"Are you alright son?" the old man asked, lowering the gun.
His accent was British and articulate- this made Abe all the more confused,
"Err… yes, thank you" the young man nodded, he then looked down the vampire's body at his feet, then back to the gun wielding man, and then back to the vampire as he realised his mistake.
Normal bullets didn't kill vampires.
Abe jumped back from the figure on the ground and slowly nudged it with the tip of his boot, prepared for it to jump up and attack him again.
"Don't worry, it's dead" the old man said, now much closer, having approached Abe during his concern, "Silver bullets" he said brandishing his rifle, joining him in looking down at the body.
"Silver bull-" Abe started, gazing over at him, "You're a vampire hunter?",
"I dabble in vampires, well-" the Englishman said with a shrug, "-I only dabble in everything now, being the age I am. But no, hunting werewolves was my trade. Thomas Clarkson" he then added, offering one wrinkled hand,
"Oh, Abe-" the younger man said wiping his hands on his trousers before accepting the handshake, "Abraham Lincoln", he was still stuck between looking at the dead vampire and the aged Mr Clarkson however, entirely distracted, "Werewolves you say? As to mean, 'wolf-men'?",
"Yes, that's right" Thomas said, finally pulling away his hand that Abe had been grasping tightly, "We don't get many vampires in England, but there is quite an abundance of werewolves",
"Incredible" Abe said putting his hands on his hips, "I didn't think such a thing existed",
"They certainly do, I can tell you that for nothing. Been hunting them for going on fifty years it must be"
"Fifty years!?" The young Mr Lincoln replied,
"Hardly a career though" Mr Clarkson nodded, hanging his rifle over his shoulder. He then stooped, struggling on his old knees as he went and took up Abe's axe, "Your weapon?",
"Yes, I split rails in as a younger man" he replied, taking it from him.
"Of course, you'd need to be quite close to a vampire to kill them with it" Thomas said, starting slowly back through the forest,
"Yes" Abe answered, gathering his possessions and catching up to the man, "Yes, but I do on occasion throw it"
"And that would leave you without a weapon" he countered, "You should invest in a gun".
Abe frowned and nodded softly, deciding to turn the conversation on the other man instead, "So what brings you here?",
"I'm visiting a friend, a fellow hunter, Henry",
"Oh! Henry. He's the one training me, he- he saved me from my first encounter with a vampire",
Mr Clarkson sighed, "As I said, it's hardly an occupation, something that could very easily get you killed".
"I suppose but-"
"But I've heard of you Mr Lincoln, and not for hunting",
Abe blinked, "Y-you have?",
"It seems we share another interest other than killing demons, another fight" Thomas nodded.
"And what fight would that be?" the young man asked, arching an eyebrow at the prospect that he and the Englishman had anything more in common after the obscure factor that they both hunted vampires, as that in itself seemed unlikely, due both to the massive age gap between them, and the drastically different worlds from which they came.
"The fight against oppression my boy"
Abe couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, and from a man of his age as well, "You're speaking of the slaves?",
"Of course" the elderly man nodded, "We haven't traded slaves in Britain in over twenty years",
"Oh yes, I am well aware of that. I've recently been reading about it" Abe nodded, suddenly realising just how surreal the conversation felt as they continued through the quiet forest, having moments before been dealing with a vampire, "In fact, I was doing some research into the society for effecting the abolition of the slave trade and-" he then paused however, even stopping on the spot, blinking rapidly as he was struck by a sudden thought, "I- I'm so sorry, but did you say your name was Thomas Clarkson?",
The man in question stopped ahead of him, and turned, still gripping his rifle loosely, letting it lie across his shoulder. A soft smile was now spread over his aged face, "Yes, indeed I did",
Abe's cheeks flushed pink, and he couldn't help but press his open palm across his eyes in embarrassment, "Of course! Will you forgive me? Mr Clarkson-" he then approached the man eagerly, going once again to shake his hand, "-Mr Thomas Clarkson, I've read about your work, you have done some truly incredible things!",
Thomas laughed and waved away the offered hand, starting back between the trees, "You flatter me Abraham, I have merely done what I thought was right" he said shaking his head.
"It truly is an honour sir" Abe assured him,
"Now now, enough of this 'sir' business, we are more alike than you can know, we are equals… as all are",
"Of course" the young man nodded, "I- I wonder, might I pick your brain whilst you're here? There's so much I want to know",
"By all means" Mr Clarkson nodded, "If I'm quite frank with you my boy, I'd rather spend a whole afternoon talking about slavery with you, than another hour on vampires with Henry" he smirked.