A/N: Another short chapter, but with more plot.
Prison Walls
As the group watched with horrifying interest, the cloth upon the body drifted slowly into its lap, revealing the hideous features of a rotting corpse. The two female companions screamed as all backed away from the sight, the creature blankly looking forward. Slowly, the body turned its head toward them, its mouth agape while its eyes were black, pitiless holes.
"Walter" Integra spoke calmly, though her gaze remained trapped toward the monstrosity before them.
"Yes, Sir Integra" he answered, his hand burying itself into his coat and pulling forth a long-muzzled handgun.
The group watched in horrible fascination as the creature slowly, awkwardly stood to its feet, groaning loudly as if in pain. Walter, however, raised his gun and pointed the barrel at the corpse's body, waiting for the command to fire.
"Wait!" Mira cried out, stepping before the retainer with her arms held out. "You can't kill him!" she firmly argued, scowling at the companions.
"You fool!" Integra responded to the challenge, grabbing the young woman by her shoulders. "He is already dead! This...creature that now stands before us is not Matthew! Stand down now!"
I'm not one of your servants!" Mira cried out, pushing herself from the woman's arms and turning to face the corpse. "Matthew!" she called, trying to attempt a smile as the dead creature began stumbling toward her. "Matthew, don't you recognize me?"
The young woman's only reply was a deep growl from the monster, his feet sliding along the floor as he drew closer. The group backed away, Walter's gun still trained upon the walking corpse but his line of fire barred by the girl's presence before them. The monster was nearly within arm's reach of Mira, its arms reaching upward in a false mockery of joyful return to the land of the living.
Seras watched the pitiful act before her with dismay, her mind confused by the sight of the dead walking and her heart wishing to believe they had been incorrect in accessing Matthew's body. However, she was not fooled by the display of life which the creature before them now showed, Its soulless eyes spoke the truth of its unholy existence.
"Move!" Integra commanded one last time before the creature reached out to the girl, its mouth gaping open in a triumphant grin.
Thus did Mira realize too late her folly as the monster, with more speed than the group supposed it had possessed, latched on to her. She screamed and struggled within it grasp, its rotting fingers digging into the cloth of her dress as its mouth quickly bit down upon her bosom. Seras could stand no more and rushed to the woman in need, her hands attempting to wrestle free the trapped companion.
"Let go!" she cried out, unsuccessfully prying the two apart. "Let go!"
Then, to the amazement of all present, the monster obeyed her commands. With a deep groan the creature released its grip and dropped its arms to its sides, staring ahead with those empty eyes. Seras, shocked at what had just occurred, could merely stand there staring at the obedient creature as Mira's body slowly drifted to the floor. However, Daniel was quick as he caught the young woman in his arms, lowering her gently to the floor.
"Seras, step away from it" Integra slowly commanded, stepping up to her retainer and taking gentle hold of her shoulders. Carefully she moved the stunned woman from before the monster and turned, giving a nod to Walter.
Several reports rang through the room as the creature stumbled back, its groans turning to loud growls of anger. However, Walter's bullets appeared to do little damage as the monster remained upon its feet, growling but still retaining its defensive position.
"My God" Seras heard Integra whisper behind her, the shocked tone in his mistress' voice more horrifying than what had just occurred. "Walter, aim for the head" she commanded calmly, her hands tense and causing pressure upon the young woman's shoulders.
Walter did as his mistress instructed, carefully taking aim and firing upon the center of the forehead. To the onlooker's silent relief the creature gave one last, horrific howl of agony and crumpled to the floor. However, as the corpse came into contact with the ground it burst into a cloud of dust, stunning the group even further as nothing remained of the body.
With the object of their attention gone, Integra focused her gaze upon the wounded young woman. She strode the short distance to Mira, with Daniel still holding her and Lucy beside, distinctly noticing the large amount of blood upon the woman's dress. Their healthy companion appeared strangely quiet, almost calm in expression, though Integra could see within her eyes subtle panic. She was beginning to break beneath the pressure of the situation.
"Is she all right?" Integra asked, kneeling down beside the bleeding woman and looking to Daniel. She would attend to the other woman later, with the wounded being the priority of the moment.
"I don't know" he regretfully answered, shaking his head. "She's lost a lot of blood and I can't seem to wake her. But what in god's name was that?" Daniel asked in a shaky voice, one of his hands cupping his forehead in disbelief.
"I believe it is what the native's call a ghoul" Integra slowly explained, spreading the young woman's upper vest apart and peering at the damage. "They are usually considered tools of the undead, a vampire of sorts" she added as she looked around them, finally allowing her eyes to wander to the broken furniture. "She will need bandages" the woman spoke, standing and walking to the cloth which had once covered the couches.
"What?!" Lucy asked with confusion, turning a questioning glance toward her male companion.
"You mean the person who is stalking these halls is not among the living?" Daniel questioned as he watched her go about the preparation, stripping the coverings off the wood. His voice lacking an incredulous tone at such a proposal because of their prior experience.
"Precisely" she responded, gathering the needed material and returning to the injured woman's side. "Help me wrap these pieces around the wound, or she may not make the night" she commanded to Lucy, handing the woman some cloth.
"Yes" Lucy spoke with a nod, assisting to the bandaging but her hands quivering slightly. When the work was done quickly, and not a word spoken between the three, she looked into Integra's face with large eyes. "What will happen to Mira now?" she softly asked, looking worriedly down at the woman now resting peacefully upon the floor.
"I cannot recall" Integra honestly replied, shaking her head in dismay.
Seras, meanwhile, had carefully approached the pile of dust upon the floor, being shortly joined by Walter as they stood over the remains. The young woman knelt beside the powder, inspecting closely the fine grains without touching them. She was well aware of the tales of ghouls and vampires told in the villages of this country, having been raised among the superstition before death had taken her parents.
Seras also knew the fate of one who had been touched by such an abomination to God.
"Lady Integra?" Seras regretfully spoke, the group shifting their eyes to her in curiosity. "The...the victim of a ghoul is not to survive" she explained slowly, turning her head from the intense gazes of her companions.
"What do you mean?" Integra asked, standing from the injured woman and peering at her retainer in interest.
"The superstitions among the villagers say one who is injured by a ghoul is doomed to become one" Seras restated, knowing her next words were to cause pain. "The victims are often killed before they become a ghoul" she added, flinching as she heard Daniel rise to his feet in indignation.
"Are you suggesting we murder Mira?!" the young gentleman asked, sweeping his arm across her unconscious body. "Are we to believe every superstition in the country is true?! Perhaps we should kill you for coming into contact with the devil of this castle?!"
"I believe Miss Victoria was merely explaining the local customs" Walter calmly chimed in, standing beside Seras.
"I agree" Integra spoke, turning to gaze at the injured woman in their party. "We must not toss aside any legends of the area, but Daniel has raised a valid point. They cannot all be taken as truth."
"Finally, some reasoning to be done" Daniel spoke, his tone still holding aggravation. However, he settled himself down comfortably beside Mira, with Lucy upon his right in quiet contemplation. "Now, what are we to do now?" he asked, looking about the companions for answers. "The storm still rages and Mira may be too injured to move."
"Indeed" Integra agreed, looking to the windows revealing the outside world. Though the thunder and lightning had subsided for a time, the rain still pelted the building unmercifully. "My only suggestion would be to remain within this room. All of us. No one must leave for any reason, unless the group agrees to follow. Is that clear?" she asked, looking about the room and receiving confirmation with a nod of the head from the companions.
"So what now?" Seras questioned, looking uneasily around at the group.
"Perhaps this creature, this vampire, has been a long occupant of this castle" Integra mused, beginning to pace the room. "Our answers may very well be found within this room" Integra suggested as she walked over to the bookcases, her eyes wandering over the titles. "Did you search the books in the library?" she asked the two companions, both nodding.
"We did, but the languages were foreign to us" Lucy replied slowly, her eyes listlessly peering over the great many volumes upon the walls.
"Regardless, we must search through them" Integra commanded quietly, taking a book from a shelf and peering at the dust-covered binding. "Even illustrations may help us find answers to destroy the creature, or at the very least protect ourselves from it."
With those words Walter and Seras began rummaging through the pages of the books, Daniel joining them soon after as Lucy watched over Mira. For a long while they succeeded in finding nothing, the strange words and lack of pictures presenting them with little to investigate. However, their fortune soon turned as Integra suddenly gave a small cry of success.
"What is it?" Daniel asked, dropping the book he had been holding and rushing to her side. The other two searchers quickly followed suit.
"A dissertation on the vampire lore" Integra explained, quickly leafing through the pages. "Fortunately the words are written in Latin, or I would not have found such a useful discovery."
"Well, what does it say?" the gentleman asked impatiently, his gestures mimicking his tone as he shifted around Integra's shoulder.
"Patience" Integra cooly commanded, her eyes quickly scanning the book's sections. "We must find our protection, therefore I must not overlook any minor detail. However, according to this account vampires are those bodies risen from the grave to prey on the living, often piercing the neck and drinking of the human blood. Thus creating ghouls from their victims."
"Lady Integra, there was blood beside Matthew as well!" Seras suddenly exclaimed, her eyes growing wide in remembrance.
"Where did you say he was attacked?" she inquired, looking to the pile of dust which lay at the far end of the room.
"Upon the neck" Seras recalled, the scenes from her memories coming willingly enough. "I'm sure of it."
"Hmm, then we appear to have our culprit" Integra calmly stated, her eyes returning to the book.
"Don't act so indifferent toward Matthew's death" Lucy suddenly blurted, her eyes full of venom and turned upon Integra. "If it had been one of your own people, I doubt you would be showing such coolness toward our tragedy."
"It is not the time to mourn" Integra answered, her eyes narrowed at the woman seated beside her wounded friend. "If you wish for your companion to live, then we must keep our heads about us and analyze the little information which has been given."
"Now isn't the time to argue, either" Seras quietly protested, looking to the book Integra held in clenched hands. "Is there anything else which could be of use to us?"
"The vampire can be warded off with the sign of the cross from a true believer and from the smell of strong herbs" Integra continued her narrative, returning to the literature. "However, he cannot be seen within mirrors, and may travel about as a great bat or wolf."
"Wolf?" Daniel interrupted, the expression upon his face one of intrigue. "We were stalked by wolves on our way here" he explained, receiving a nod of acknowledgment from Integra before she pressed on.
"They are also known to reside around crossroads, as the victims of suicide are said to become one of the undead" Integra concluded with a snap of the book, looking about the faces surrounding her. "We may have found our courteous gentleman of the black cloak
"Are you suggesting the creature directed us here?" Daniel asked, his face showing a horrified expression. "How could such a monster travel so great a distance?"
"The mountain is not so far across that a bat cannot fly or a wolf cannot travel over the land within a short time" Integra surmised, shaking her head in disbelief at the trap they had stumbled into.
The group became quiet, none breathing as they thought of the implications the new revelations created. Finally Daniel shook his head in dismay and peered about his companions, his grim face reflecting their own.
"He has led us here to die."