Dead Instinct
Prologue
Abraham frowned at the stack of never ending paperwork on his desk. The tell tale signs of his fourth migraine that day were beginning to become impossible to ignore. In the past two weeks there had been a frightening amount of vampire attacks. He found himself looking at a list of 14 dead, and two missing citizens. if the attacks were not as random as they seemed, he couldn't find a way to connect them at all. One attack was on a family of five. The mother and father were found dead on sight, the obvious bite marks evident on their necks and out of the three children, one was missing. The youngest daughter, a small child with blonde hair and blue eyes, was found dead as well as the older brother, both in their bedrooms. There was nothing she could see that could locate the missing child, female and 12 years old. The family's single dog was also found dead with its neck snapped. Whatever vampire had attacked them, or possibly whatever group of vampires attacked them, had done it in the middle of the night and obviously didn't feel the need to keep it a secret.
Out of the remaining nine bodies that had been reported dead or missing, there were two couples, one couple homosexual, not openly, but Abraham's heart dropped just a bit when he read about their case. He believed whatever made someone happy was what was right. He was in no means homosexual but if someone else was he had no problem with it. Abraham actually encouraged it. The other couple was heterosexual. All the bodies for those four were found drained of blood and bitten on or around the neck area. A father and daughter had gone missing, last being seen happily shopping at a nearby open market. The reason they were identified as being supernatural attacks was because the incident took place at night and the daughter had made a panicked run across the street, where a widow had witnessed her horrified face for the seconds it took for the girl to dash through her point of view. During a later questioning, the widow claimed to not have seen someone chasing the girl. While this case had the possibility of not being supernatural, it was more then likely a vampire that attacked and kidnapped them. A young woman, a nanny going by the report, had been attacked after her latest shift, ending at about 10 at night, and had lived. She reported to Scotland Yard that some madman had come out of nowhere and tried killing her, biting her shoulder and being frighteningly strong. She said she had prayed to god and he answered her prayers when she passed out and woke up by her employer's home a few hours later. The man and woman who hired her were both out on a business trip with their son, and all of the staff had either retired to their homes or were sleeping soundly in the manor. Assuming the woman was telling the truth, then this had to have been a vampire attack. However when Abraham had sent an officer to question her further, they found her dead in her home, drained of blood and gruesomely had her throat ripped out. Another young man, 23, held a job as a painter and was seen at a art gallery, witnesses said he was acting off and left before his piece could be exhibited. His body was later found off a road not too far away from his home and he too was bitten. It was clear he had been killed first by having his neck snapped. The same situation happened with a local waitress. The only thing Abraham couldn't put together was the bodies.
When virgin they should have been turned. When not virgin they turn to a ghoul. In theses cases none of the victims had been ghouled or turned. The children were most certainly virgin and an autopsy showed they died of blood loss and not another form of death. The cases of the waitress and painter, showed that he vampire that attacked them could have been being careful and killed them before they bit them, preventing them from ghouling or turning into a fledgling. The nanny was the most confusing, she was not virgin, yet she had been bit and didn't ghoul. Then when they found her later she still didn't have any signs of being ghouled or turned. If these were the work of a vampire the only thing anyone should have been able to find of the victims, were either a ghoulish rotting body, or a pile of ashes. Not perfectly human corpses.
Abraham pulled his drawer open, pulling out a trusty box of cigars and slipped one between his lips and teeth. He flicked a match across the coarse side of the box and burned the end of the cigar before inhaling and exhaling the smoke. It did little to help his headache but the nicotine eased some of his nerves. Despite him being known to have no emotions, he needed breaks from the stress that came to him while dealing with all the paperwork and physical effort required for his job.
With only Abraham and the occasional help from the hunting party, tracking down and killing the undead was taxing and often left side affects. Sore muscles and tired eyes were becoming a normal part of Abraham's life and that wasn't healthy in the slightest. He needed the crown's support, desperately. Now more then ever. Because he originally came from the Netherlands, he was by no means a noble in Britain. That combined with the fact that his proposal sounded ridiculous to most. Odds were stacked high against him and all he had was a very clever and evil monster in an unknown state and condition to prove for his months long journey to Romania.
The Count came to the front of Abraham's mind. Thinking back to the capture of the monster, Abraham began seeing what he could have done differently. The vampire hadn't been let out of his coffin since they nailed it shut the moment they got him in the damned thing. That was in Romania, about a month ago. No more like three weeks. After the coffin was settled in the sub basements of Abraham's large home the party mourned their dead friends then Jonathan and Mina had returned to their own home, not wanting anything to deal with the evil sealed in the basement. Steward stayed for the initial week but neither him nor Abraham wanted to brave what was in the coffin with just the two of them. Who knew what the Count had planned! The monster had nothing in its coffin that could serve as a weapon but his hands were deadly enough.
Steward left to check on his hospital and sort things out there. He needed to and without anyone to assist in waking the vampire, he had no reason to stay longer than he already had. Abraham didn't even try to stop him, he knew the patients needed Steward and there wouldn't be a point in keeping the doctor there anyways. Abraham's thoughts wandered to the vampire. Certainly the monster was fine. There was nothing to hurt it and starvation would do no more then weaken it. He himself had seen the effects of weapons and starvation on the Count. They seemed to do nothing to affect him expect when he was lacking in everything needed to sustain him. Starvation, combined with being without his coffin, and constantly being on the run from weapons, had made it barely possible to capture and secure the creature in its coffin. Even then, the effort was great and the pay so far had been next to nothing, if not more of just a huge waste of time, lives, and resources.
The reminder of the utter disappointment ate at Abraham. The Count hadn't even been let out of his coffin since he was boxed into it the first time. He could be usable. Sighing, Abraham bit at his thumb nail, a habit he peevishly reminded himself to work on.
"Is there something the matter, Sir?" The young male servant, present by the door leaned forward and addressed Abraham. He could tell he was stressed and in his short time working as a butler and he liked to think he knew how to tell when someone had a headache. Abraham straightened and shook his head, picking up his freshly inked quill once more. He mindlessly glanced at the servant and frowned. Abraham had no need to hide his discomfort around the small staff of his home. He made no effort to hide his emotions when he didn't need to and in this case it benefited his stress. "Could you prepare some watered down beer? I need a break and a drink." Abraham requested after a moment of thought. He couldn't afford to get drunk and he didn't want to in an case. Still he needed something to take the edge off his nerves more then the cigar was doing and the papers on his desk promised a long night. With a small bow, the man nodded. "Yes, of course, I will pour you a glass immediately." He easily replied and exited the room, shutting the door soundlessly behind him. Abraham listened to the heavier footfalls of the man as they retreated from his study. Another sigh and he leaned back in his chair.
No matter how many times he looked over the reports and papers on the attacks he couldn't figure out where the vampire or vampires were, and couldn't predict when or where they were going to attack next. The scenes all took place in different parts of London and around London, they were so random, Abraham couldn't organize them. Without the help of Scotland Yard and the crown, he couldn't really get farther into the investigation either. The frown on Abraham's face got deeper. For all he knew, he could have been looking at multiple vampires not associated with each other at all.
That thought sparked a new pang of ache in his skull and he gently rubbed the bridge of his nose. Snuffing the end of his cigar out in the ashtray placed on his desk, he pursed his lips in thought and frowned at the ceiling. All it seemed like he was doing was paperwork. His move to London complicated his financial situation, paperwork then showed up to get his money to him.
He really had nothing else to do. There wasn't something more pressing then hunting the undead, that Abraham had to worry about. He didn't have a family and though he wanted to have one he wasn't looking for one right now. Hell, he couldn't have one because of how much danger they would be in. Most of his family didn't care for him and the few that did were not really close enough for him to write to. He doubted they even knew he had moved out of the country. Other then that he couldn't come up with something that required his attention more then the undead.
"Damnation." Abraham cursed under his breath as he abruptly stood up, pushing his chair back. He paused a moment, his lip caught between his teeth. "Damnation." He hissed and shook his head before walking across the span of his study. Patting his hand on his pocket, Abraham made sure the set of keys was nestled there. With his mindset and determination in his eyes, the hunter threw the door open and steadily made his way through his home and to the hallway leading to first the kitchen, where the cold medical bottles of blood were stored and then to the basement doors.
The passage into the basements was gloomy. The air was chilled and Abraham could have sworn his breath made a thin fog every time he exhaled. The stone was cold to the touch and created a feeling that was unique to basements alone. The feeling you got as a kid that made you run up the steps instead of calmly walk up them. The stone effectively blocked out any light except the very little that came down from the doorway. Before setting down the stairs, Abraham fetched a lantern, one that burned brightly and had plenty of fuel, as well as had a wooden handle. If he set it down for any period of time the wood would not cool as quickly and would be easier to pick up. He lifted the lantern with one hand and wrapped his hand around the gun in his waist belt, loaded with silver bullets, blessed to be sure, that sat next to the blessed stake, also in his waist belt. He didn't feel the overwhelming need to have any more protection then that but just to make sure he had a rosary dangling from the wrist holding the lantern.
If the count was awake, Abraham wanted to make sure he had the stake ready to penetrate flesh. He guessed he wasn't. It was slightly past sundown and the horizon shined with oranges, quickly fading to blacks and blues. If somehow the vampire had managed to get out of his coffin, Abraham had faith that the room he prepared for the creature, would hold him.
Walking down the hall you would see a heavy silver laced metal door. A weighted padlock and chains secured the handle. Past that was a small open room, one big enough to place one or two large chairs, and if both were occupied and if it were necessary, one or two additional people could stand on the other side of the room. Another metal door enclosed the cell itself. This one had two locks and had more silver in it. Abraham had the door blessed, but not the doorway. That way if he needed to remove the count from the cell he could but the vampire wouldn't be able to touch the door at all. Here Abraham had more doubt. He had seen the creature brush off holy items with little to no effort and he didn't know how well the door would hold the count.
Two barred windows flanked the door. Both the exact same. Only 1 and a half feet tall, and a half a foot wide. There was a silver bar every two inches in the windows and those were heavily blessed. The window frame was blessed as well and a bit of alchemy was engraved into the metal around the frame. He had a priest come and ward them as well. Abraham wouldn't make the windows less protected then the rest of the cell.
As for the rest of the cell, the floor was in guarded for there was no reason to put protection on it but right next the door was a thick line of silver and tar that was mixed with host. The room was little more then ten feet by eleven feet. And farthest from the door, the coffin of the beast laid on a foot high slab of cement.
Raising the lantern higher, Abraham squinted to see the coffin through the windows. The shadows from the flame casted themselves across the stone and against the walls. If the coffin was open the monster would have definitely known he was there if he couldn't hear him opening the doors then shutting them again. If he were to kill Abraham he wouldn't be able to get out of the cell, preventing the most damage in the worst case scenario when the precautions are effective. If they were not effective...well the count would tear into every human in London, maybe farther.
To Abraham's relief, the lid of the coffin sat neatly in place on top of the box. He couldn't see if it had been opened yet but the stillness helped calm him and assure him the nails he and Jonathan had embedded into the wood were still there. Steadying his slightly jumpy pulse he swallowed.
"Slave!" The word came out holding authority and firmness and bounced around in the quiet air. He wanted the former Count to know exactly who was in charge, as quickly as possible. Abraham wouldn't show the slight tinge of fright that the beast might not be in it's coffin. "Show yourself." He ordered coldly, half expecting the pale marble flesh of the beast to come from the shadows. When nothing responded to his order, a slight huff of annoyance came from Abraham. "Monster! You are my slave now. Nothing but what I want you to be and do as I say." A bit of anger filled his words. Already, his slave was being stubborn and difficult. When again, silence followed the echo of his order, Abraham say the lantern into one of the window frames and dug into his pocket to find the keys to the second door. His coat, bright red and very comfortable, also had deep pockets.
With his palm closed around the small metal piece, he unlocked the first then second lock. Hand firmly around the stake, the small room called for close combat weapon, he pushed the door open and watched it swing to the side. Without hesitation, his stake was in a defensive position and ready to strike.
It turned out there was no need to have it poised for attack. The room was empty of the vampire. He wasn't in the corners or behind the door with a check and wasn't anywhere in the shadows. The thin layer of sweat that gathered on his forehead, was wiped away with a handkerchief, and Abraham narrowed his eyes at the coffin in front of him. The dim light danced across the black wood and gleamed where small nail heads stood out from the black. It highlighted the silver lettering on the lid and dipped into endless shadows in the crevasses along the sides. The light made the coffin seem more imposing then it was and it brushed against Abraham's nerves, steel as they were.
Everyone be damned if Abraham was going back down from what he had decided to do! Huffing, Hellsing ran fingertips over the nail heads and smirked with the knowledge that the monster was very much still in the box. Good. He thought to himself.This monster deserves what's coming to it. His teeth found his way into his lips and worried them for a bit. Prying off the lid could damage it and he wasn't about to risk that. If his vampire was usable, which it had to be, then he needed everything that could help with it's healing and recovery from what Abraham had in store for the beast. That and Abraham hadn't had the chance to study a vampire's behavior and needs up close. Blood, he knew they needed and they cherished their coffins. but he wasn't sure how far their need for the box was or even if they needed it at all. All of the vampires he had hunted in the past and even Dracula himself took very good care of the coffins. It usually gave away where the vampires were hiding. Among the dusty coffins of others in graveyards, the well attended to wood was easy to spot and not at all hard to target during the day. Abraham made a mental note to ask about that later, when his slave was awake and able to answer him.
Again inspecting the wood and nails, Hellsing pulled his knife from his boot, something that came in handy more often then not, and wedged it between the lid and edge of the coffin. The wood gave a loud groan of protest when he began loosening the nails and pulling them out. Careful not to damage the wood more then necessary, Abraham wiggled the lid a tad loose, followed by a pop and scraping as the lid gave away to his constant strain against it. The wood slab slid off the coffin and thudded weightily against the stone floor on the opposite side of the coffin.
Peering inside, Abraham frowned and brought a hand to his nose, blocking out the horrendous smell coming from the beasts resting place filling the air around the coffin. Whatever had caused the overwhelming stench, wasn't visible to Abraham and he gagged once before holding down his stomach contents and removing the hand over his nose.
Instantly the smell invaded his nostrils and caused them to flare, stinging his eyes and encouraging small tears to form. He had smelled a great deal of things in his life time but this...this was worse then the smell of the dead and Abraham couldn't find out what the source was for his life. The vampire itself was prone in its coffin, fully stretched out. Something it was forced to be in the close quarters of the box. It's clothing was far from intact. Tatters and tears showed how worn out the monster had been before it was sealed into the coffin and dips fell in places between ribs, outlining the rib cage. The vampire must have been hungry. Starvation was evident in the face and body. Cheekbones showed under paper thin skin. Cracked and dry lips rimmed a gaping mouth, were inside were gums pulled back and a dry tongue, limp in the throat. Were there should have been glistening white, the teeth were a dull yellowish brown. Abraham farther inspected the body. Previously black hair was grey against the black insides of the coffin and several pieces were falling out. The arms were thin and resembled something close to an anorexic victim. Nail beds were pulled back like the gums in the mouth and while the nails were intact for human nails. They didn't look anything like the deadly talons, Abraham remembered. They were not sharp and glossy, no they were dull, like someone took a file to them and a muted grayish. The skin itself was stiff and stretched. It showed tenseness and had faded from a silken white to grey. This beast was not healthy by the looks of it and Abraham had a few guesses why. The major one being that the damned thing hadn't been fed since who knows how long before the party captured it and then for an additional three weeks, nearing four. Accompanied with it's injuries, Abraham guessed the vampire had used the last of it's energy to heal the worst of them. Lifting the shirt further proved his point. There was the stake's wound on the monster's heart. The flesh was black and rotted around the hole and prodding into the wound with a hesitant finger, Abraham concluded that the wound wasn't deep enough to penetrate the vampire's heart anymore. So yes that had been healed to a degree.
Long jagged black lines crisscrossed the chest of the demon. The flesh was black and rotted in those as well. Abraham hadn't seen the beast receive those wounds but had heard Jonathan speak about striking at the Count several times with his blessed dagger. That was the only thing Abraham could chalk up to have caused these. Pulling a leg out of the coffin and ungracefully draping it over the edge, Abraham took his knife and began at the ankle, cutting the fabric of the vampire's pants up to its hip. It tore easily and was parted to show more grayed skin. Grimly, Abraham noticed the lack of weight in the appendage. The muscles were tight and the condition of the thigh and calf brought raisins to mind. Making a mental note that lack of blood caused severe dehydration over an extended period of time, Abraham moved on to the feet. Scraps were the only thing left on the beast's feet. They were in worse condition than the clothes were and Abraham didn't have a clue why. They had holes everywhere and the soles of the boots were peeling away from the rest of the shoe. The left one was torn at the toes and showed more pulled back nail beds over grayed nails. Small scratches covered the big toe and the nail there was entirely gone.
Leaning back, Hellsing forced remorse from bleeding into his thoughts. God damn it, that creature deserved everything it got! Angrily, Abraham bit into his cheek and glared at the unmoving body of his former enemy. How much blood did he need to fix his slave? Would he even be able to fix him? Question after question flitted through Abraham's mind and all they did was cause his irritation and anger to grow by the second. After a couple minutes, he was pacing the cell and yelling at Dracula's unresponsive body. Most of the yelling came out in Dutch and German, Abraham having lost his grip on English. Several notable curses were flung at the coffin and beast inside it.
Exhausted and mad at himself, Abraham slammed the lid over the coffin once more and left the basements, slamming the doors behind him. Staff, confused over the ruckus, peeked around corners and hurriedly rushed away, not wanting to anger the master of the house farther. It was rare when Abraham lost his cool and when he did, many knew not to bother him. Hellsing more or less ripped his clothes off and changed into a pair of pajamas.
It was several minutes before Abraham felt he could lay down and sleep. "Damnation." He grumbled before shutting his eyes and falling into a listless sleep, plagued by the grayed skin of the beast in his basement.
