Gather Unto Me the Children
That morning, Integra bathed and showered, and descended into her office at her usual spot. She sat and began to pick up from the last days paperwork…when she noticed an envelope. Walter must have left it for her during the night. Wondering what it was, she opened it.
And gasped.
The envelope was full of pictures, and a police report. These were of another child, a girl named Veronica Sharon. She lived in one of the slums of downtown London. Her mother was a prostitute at a local bar. The Sharon girl was twelve years old. She had been found in an abandoned lot outside the bar. Her head had been removed and thrown a few feet away. The girl had been torn open, the organs chewed on. Once again, the blood had not been drained from the victim. The current explanation was that a patron of the bar had killed the little girl in a drunken rage. Integra shook her head. A human being didn't tear another's head from her shoulders and throw it away, even if they were drunk. She began to growl deep in her throat. Another one. This had to stop. Integra looked up as Walter opened the doors with her tray of breakfast.
"Good morning Lady Integra, I---"
"What's going on?" Integra asked. "Did the men find anything last night?"
"Well, it was their first night out, and they---"
"What did they get?"
Walter sighed. "Three FREAKs and a few dozen ghouls. Not much, I know."
"Not much is right!" Integra exclaimed. "While they went out and did their little thing, another child was murdered!"
"My lady" Walter said gently. "Have you ever stopped to consider that this might just be a crazed murderer? Exceptionally brutal, but human nonetheless?"
"Walter" said Integra. "You and I both know that this was no human killing. It practically says so in the police report." She skimmed the pages. "Let's see…here. Rodrick Dunworth, a plumber who was a regular customer said he heard Veronica's screams outside in the lot. He was the one who discovered the body. He thought she was playing around, so at first he did nothing…but then he heard a laugh. He says it didn't sound human." They both looked at each other. "We have to find out what is doing this, Walter" said Integra. "I don't care if it isn't a vampire. It is some kind of unholy monster and it must be stopped!"
"I agree" said Walter. He set her breakfast on the desk and looked out the window. "However, I doubt that we will catch the thing that is doing this anytime soon. This is not the only incident of a child being murdered in London in this manner."
Integra almost spat out her tea. "What? There is more of this?"
"There were several other murders last night. A particularly bad one was of a two year old boy, Matthew Bernard. He was torn open and his bottom half was…" Walter grimaced. "Missing from the rest of his body. His mother was inside with his older sister who was suffering from chicken pox. They too, heard a scream and a growl that sounded like nothing they had ever heard before."
"What the bloody Hell?" Integra said as she got up from her desk and went to the doors.
"Where are you going, my lady?" Walter asked.
"To talk to these Wild Geese. I also want Sir Penwood in the phone when I get back. I will inform him of these matters and see if he can get someone on it. I need someone to talk to these families and see if they had something in common." She shook her head as she walked down the stairs. What was this thing? It sounded almost like a werewolf…but that couldn't be it, because they only came out at the full moon, and they devoured their prey completely. They had already ruled out vampires. There was another thing. Whatever it was, it only preyed on children. When Integra reached the mess room where the Wild Geese were, she could tell they were in their without having to go in. Loud cheers and laughter rang out from inside. Boasts of deeds done last night could be heard.
"You should have seen that ghoul thing's head fly, man!"
"Yeah, I didn't see because I was busy taking out the vampire, you know!"
Integra flung open the doors of the mess room with a loud bang. Pip looked up from his beer mixed orange juice "Well, 'ello Sir 'Ellsing" he said. "We got a right lot of things done last night. I think that---"
Integra cut him off. "You still did not kill what is doing the murders we've seen so far" she said. "The creature that is causing the scenes in these pictures!" she spread the new pictures out on the table. The Wild Geese grimaced at the scenes.
"Mon Deu" said Pip. "And eet only kills keeds?" he gave a nervous giggle. "What are we dealing with 'ere? The Boogey Man?" that drew laughter from the mercenaries.
"That is not funny!" Integra snapped. "This thing kills children, do you hear me? Children!" she was furious. "Do you think that funny? What is so bloody amusing about a child killing monster that is impossible to catch? This thing isn't a vampire! It isn't anything I'm familiar with."
"Then what should we do?" asked one of the mercenaries. "I'm against killing children, but if we can't find the damn thing, then there's no point in getting upset about it."
"Unless we're getting paid" Pip put in.
"Unless we're getting paid" the man agreed.
Integra left the room quickly to avoid any more arguments. What had happened to her old men? They would be indignant and appalled at the thought of some creature out there brutally murdering children and leaving their bodies to rot without even eating or draining them. And Ferguson! He would have been enraged to think something like this was going on. Integra felt her eyes sting with tears at the thought of her former commander. These mercenaries had no understanding of right. This was most assuredly wrong. How could they catch this thing? Then she stopped suddenly. She knew what to do.