recovery

With the fresh blood in him, Dracula's recovery was terrifyingly quick. The blood rushed through him, screaming at him that he was hungry, to attack, and all the discordant voices in his head joined together to shout at him to attack, to rend, to kill, to take out their own pain and rage on new victims.

Dracula obeyed, no longer fighting the insanity, not with the taste of fresh blood on his lips and rage at Mina's treatment screaming through him. He erupted out of the casket, a hell demon bent on rampage, and within moments the white snow was painted red.

xxx

Mina watched in horror as a glowing-eyed monster crept out of the Count's coffin. This was not the man she had known, but the monster inside. He laughed with glee as he ripped off heads, an insane grin plastered on his face as he played a brief cat-and-mouse game with another victim before ripping out their throat. He went throught the small troop of bandits like a whirlwind of death, tearing and rending his way through the camp. The last bandit he took was the leader, who stood motionless in shock as he watched his followers' destruction.

From the hopeless, shocked look on the bandit leader's face, Mina knew that he knew what was happening. There was a reason that bandits out in the mountains vanished, and he was witnessing that reason in all its bloody horror. The vampire dropped the last bandit and began stalking the leader slowly, creeping across the ground after his prey. The man shook off his paralysis to run, only to have the vampire leap at him, one long arm swiping at the man's legs. With a sickening crunch, the knee twisted and the bandit spun to the ground. The vampire crouched, watching gleefully, as the man levered himself up and lunged away, dragging the useless leg behind him. Dracula grinned, watching the man's desperate attempt to escape, then playfully swatted his remaining leg. The vampire cackled mirthfully as the man screamed, grabbing at the rocks and trees with bare hands, pulling himself along and away towards a nonexistent refuge. Tired of the game, the vampire pounced on his prey, rolling the man over and smiling his mad, crazed grin into his victim's face before leaning to rip out his throat.

Hearing the gulping, sucking sounds of the vampire feeding, Mina took advantage of this distraction to untie the wagon's horses. The remaining horses had broken loose and fled during the carnage, and the wagon's team was coated in sweat, stamping and switching tails and screaming in fear. Mina grabbed a bridle, fought the team to face back towards the hunter's camp, scrambled into the seat, and began desperately trying to free the knot holding the reins tight to the wagon.

But she was stopped, as icy hands gripped her arms and wrenched the reins from her hands. His cold hands released her arms to grab her body and the points of his sharp teeth pierced the skin at the base of her neck...and then stopped. His entire body, pressed across her as they sprawled on the wagon seat, froze. The horses continued to buck and scream, straining against the tight reins, fighting to flee.

But the vampire...did...nothing.

xxx

Lost in the joy and glee of a hunt, his body screaming for blood and more blood, voices in his head rejoicing in the slaughter, Dracula ripped through the humans about him. One, he recognized vaguely as a special victim, and took a few minutes to prolong his death. Playing with his food had always been a favorite. As he drank the last bits of blood from the corpse, he could hear the final human trying to escape. Smarter, this one, taking advantage of the speed of horses to escape, but still no match for him.

With a grin, he dropped the body of his last victim and leapt into the air, landing lightly on the seat by his final victim. His fangs touched her neck (her?) and he took a deep breath to enjoy the scent of terror and fear and (Mina?) began to

Mina?

MINA!

In shock at what he had nearly done, the vampire jerked himself back into awareness, quelling the screaming voices inside with his rage. He had nearly killed Mina with them goading him onwards. Furious with them and himself, in shock at his near destruction of the only person that meant anything to him, now that his family (his brides!) were gone... He gasped, fleeing away from the wagon and retreating to the trees while he calmed himself, reassured himself that Mina was unharmed, that he had not completely lost himself to the voices.

But it was close, so close.

He curled up against a tree, gasping needlessly, and forcing his iron will against the torrent of voices racing through this thoughts.

*****