Chapter Ten
Enrico Maxwell's world of pain was suddenly shattered by the sound of broken glass and a scream. Opening his eyes he saw to his horror that he was outside the airship, surrounded by shards of glass swirling around him like ice in the light of raising moon. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on ones view of the situation, Maxwell's moment of painless flight quickly came to an end when his body smashed onto the outer casing of one of the main motor propellers which pushed the airship along in times of flight.
Maxwell's eyes widened for a split second as a horrible pain shot through his body, opening his mouth he tried to scream, to shout out, but all that he was able to achieve was a light, pathetic whimper. Clinging to the metal he pulled himself forward, and another horrible shot of pain coursed through his body causing his breath to catch in his throat. "O Domine." he whispered, softly, as he clung to the cylindrical casing. He tried to take a breath once more to but found himself only being able to managing only quick, short breaths of air. At the same time, the pressure on his chest only caused the throbbing pain to intensify. Suddenly, he felt a trickle of warm liquid rolling down his forehead, confused and disoriented, Maxwell reached up and wiped it from his face. Looking down at the red stain on his finger he frowned, unable to understand what it was he reached a bit higher causing his finger to brush against something hard and sharp. He was rewarded with a jolt of pain. Blinking quickly to keep the red liquid away he concluded that it must be a bit of glass.
Blinking his eyes he tried to clear his blurring vision with no avail, "Forget it Enrico..you're finished."
Suddenly he heard his name being shouted. Tilting his head he found that he couldn't place it, but It was definitely a woman's voice. Light, but strong. "Strange..Who could that be?" he thought trying again to place the voice, but found that he could not. His vision and mind was blurred by the pain and blood to work properly. Sighing he closed his eyes as darkness took hold of him.
-xxxx-
"Enrico! Enrico Maxwell!" Integra shouted her voice filling with desperation as she leaned out of the broken window trying to get Maxwell to respond, but he didn't move nor did he acknowledge that he even heard her. A chill ran down her spine, "Please Enrico. Please answer me." she thought as her eyes began to tear up. "Enrico! Answer me!" she shrieked , her emotions beginning to spill over her defenses. The scream echoed through the mountains causing a few of the guards to pause and look up at her.
"Calm down." a cold, metallic, female voice said as a hand came to rest on Integra's shoulder. Turning quickly Integra jerked her shoulder away from Zorin, "Don't touch me!" she shouted, her anger boiling over as she glared at the woman who had almost killed Enrico in front of her eyes.
Zorin frowned and pulled out her knife, "Now look here you little English bi-" but she was cut short by the sound of a light, male, voice ringing out in the hall.
"Vhat thze hell is going on here?"
Glancing over Zorin's shoulder Integra saw that it was the man who called himself the Major. His round glasses shone white in the moonlight giving him an inhuman quality. When he saw the window, his mouth fell open and his eyes widened, "Vhat thze hell!" he screamed. "Vhat happened!" He turned to Zorin flailing his arm gesturing at the window like a child.
"She threw Enrico Maxwell out of the window." Integra spat, glaring daggers at Zorin.
"You did vhat!" The Major's eyes were now as wide as was humanly possible and the vain on his forehead was throbbing with anger. "Sind Sie versuchen, meine Pläne zerstören du dumme Schlampe?" he hissed at Zorin who quickly pointed the knife at Integra.
"She vished to escape." she stated. "I had to stop her."
Integra glared at Zorin, her hatred grew by the moment, "You wanted to drink Enrico's blood and when you failed you threw him on that thing out there!" she pointed at the window at Maxwell who was still laying there, moaning.
When the Major saw that Maxwell was still alive his expression brightened and a grin spread across his lips. "Oh my my! Someone go and get someone to save him!" he ordered.
-xxxx-
On the ridge overlooking Millennium's base Heinkle Wolf settled herself and her Pontificia Cohors Helvetica-06 sniper rifle on a log and peeked through the night vision scope at the area in front of her. Moving her gaze slowly across the valley she was touched lightly on the shoulder, glancing to the side she saw Walter C. Dornez laying next to her staring out with a pair of binoculars. "What?" she asked softly.
"I can see some commotion near the back of the Airship." Walter replied, whispering.
Moving her gaze along the airship she came to see someone who looked much like Enrico Maxwell draped over the shoulder of a soldier. And while this wasn't a strange sight on it's own, the fact that Enrico seemed to be dressed in a Nazi uniform gave Heinkle pause. Blinking she adjusted the scope and gazed through it again, only to confirm to herself that it truly was Maxwell in the Nazi uniform, on the shoulders of another soldier. In the window she saw an overweight man in a white suit, with Integra Hellsing being held by a tattooed female, between the two of them there was a man; his features were hidden by a hat and trench coat.
"I think I have located Enrico and Miss Hellsing." Wolfe murmured.
"What?" a new voice asked. Glancing up, Wolfe saw that it was Renaldo with his own pair of binoculars.
"I am pretty certain that I found Enrico and Integra." She repeated, returning her gaze to the scope. "Maxwell is being held by a soldier, Integra is being held by some woman, she has a knife to her throat. "
"Shoot the woman." Walter ordered immediately.
"No, shoot the man." Renaldo countered causing Walter to glare daggers at the priest.
"The woman is a greater threat." Walter said in a harsh whisper.
Heinkle rolled her eyes and took the events in herself, paying close attention to the fat man in white as he seemed to be the one in charge. A fact evident by everyone's behavior around him, adjusting her scope Heinkle zeroed in on the man's face and began to read his lips. (A skill she had learned early as a sniper, which had come in handy on many occasions.)
"Take him to Dok and have him fix him up. I want him alive. Understood."
"Ah..." Wolfe, sighed with a slight smile, "So the fat man needs Maxwell...in that case he's safe."
Suddenly a hand grasped her shoulder, "Heinkle, what are you waiting for? Fire!"
Frowning, Heinkle quickly moved her cross hairs to the head of the woman holding Miss Hellsing and pulled the trigger.
-xxxx-
For Integra, the sound of the shot came as nothing more than a soft crack in the distance of the mountains but it's effect was a surprise as she felt the knife move away from her throat and the grip of her captor loosen up and finally vanish. For the Captain the shot was a thunderclap which echoed across the valley and rumbled in his sensitive ears making too much extra noise to pinpoint where the shot came from. For Zorin Blitz the shot was non-existent as the bullet had entered her brain before it could register the sound, sending her head back with a snap while her red and white matter splattered across the wall behind her. For the Major the shot was nothing more than the first snap of his intricately laid plan, as the death of one of his echelon members registered in his mind he went pale and almost lost his footing. Glancing out the window he registered movement of at the mouth of the valley.
"Vhat is...thzat?" he asked in a whisper.
"Thzey look like...men, Mein Mazhor." the Captain answered.
"Thzen we are being attacked, ja?"
"I believe so." came the calm reply.
The Major took a deep breath and clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, thzat is unfortunate..." he said softly. Turning to where Integra has stood he saw that she was no longer there. Frowning he slowly exhaled, frustrated that his work had been so rudely interrupted. "Right thzen, take care of it and thzen, we move out." The Captain gave a quick salute and quickly walked off. The Major himself ,adjusted his glasses and calmly went to his quarters as the airship around him exploded with noise from the alarms and the boots of troops rushing to their posts.
-xxxx-
Keeping her head down Integra pushed through the current of rushing soldiers as she roamed the airship trying to figure out what to do now. It was obvious from the event that had played out in front of her meant that someone had come to save her and Maxwell. As for which organization it was, she could not tell but in the end it didn't really matter. What did matter, was that they were going to get out of this hellhole. "It would be best to be with Maxwell, maybe even get outside." she thought.
For that though ,she would need to find Maxwell, who was probably in the infirmary awaiting "treatment" from the local mad scientist. "In that case, I will need weapons." Looking around her for the first time she noticed that the troops were running past her, not even bothering to give her a glance. .Frowning she wondered why until it hit her, she was still in her given uniform. To the men around her she was one of them. "Perfect." she thought, with a smirk as she approached a young looking man.
"Hey du!" she shouted, "Ich brauche deine Waffe! Jetzt!"
The vampire blinked his red eyes with surprise, "Excuse me?" he asked in German, taken aback by this strange woman.
"Are you deaf?" Integra shouted still playing the role, "An officer asked for a weapon and you can't hear?"
The young man's eyes, widened and he gaped like a fish, "Who the hell is this woman?" he thought.
Loosing her patients Integra grabbed the pistol off of his belt and shot the vampire in the knee. "That should teach you a lesson to ignore officer's orders." she growled and quickly ran off down the hall, leaving the man on the floor, unable to walk.
-xxxx-
Maxwell slowly opened his eyes, his visioned was blurred and his body ached in many places and the air around him was cold and uncomfortable. A moment later he realized that his back was also cold and that he was in fact, naked from the waist up. Groaning he tried to move but found himself restricted by ties. "What?" he moaned and blinked a few times to clear his vision.
"Ah ha!" he heard a voice ring out, "Thze trouble maker avakes!"
Frowning as his vision finally came to focus Enrico saw that he was on an operating table, restricted by leather belts which held him down, at the foot of the table stood a crazed looking man in a bloody doctor's coat. His hair was a long mess and on his face he had on what looked like some sort of optical helmet with lenses of many thicknesses. Maxwell swallowed as his gaze fell onto the scalpel in the madman's hand.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Me?" the man asked, "I'm thze local doctor on thzis establishment." he answered with a giggle.
Maxwell's frown deepened.
Dok ignored his and walked over to Maxwell's head, "You may thzink vhatever you vish, but I am a brilliant doctor. For example, I created all of thze vampires outthzere und soon, I vill have thze pleasure to cut you open and play."
Maxwell's eye's widened, "Y-you will not touch me" he spat as his throat went dry and a cold sweat popped up on his forehead. He struggled desperately against the straps holding him down. .
"Oh ho! I thzink I vill do vhatever I vish with you." Dok answered, "Especially after all of thze trouble you have caused for mein Mazhor." He smiled and lifted the scalpel to the light with a smile on his face, "Ja, I can only imagine what I will be able to do with this little thing." he continued as Maxwell closed his eyes and began to pray.
Looking down at Maxwell, Dok realized that the priest was not listening, sighing he approached the side of the operating table, "You know," he said coldly, "I never liked religious types, you alvays stick your noses in thze business of othzers, always dictating vhat is moral and vhat is not." he pressed the scalpel against Maxwell's chest piercing his pale skin. Maxwell winced but didn't cry out or make a sound. Annoyed Dok moved it down Maxwell's chest, cutting a gash into the skin which quickly began to seep blood. . "Thze vorst thzing thzough," he continued his little speech as he watched the flesh wound bleed, "Is how no matter how many times vone kills thze religious man, anothzer is right thzere to take his place. Like a bunch of cockroaches." he then leaned over Maxwell's chest and pressed the blade into Enrico's left side before cutting across leaving another bleeding gash in Maxwell's torso. Together, the two cuts created a cross, which caused Dok to smirk when he saw it. "But vhat really makes my blood boil, is how, truly vial, and hypocritical thze religious man really.." he paused and placed the scalpel in the center of the cross and leaned close to Maxwell ear "..are." he whispered and was just about to stab into the Catholic's chest when suddenly the door slammed against the wall creating a loud bang startling him. Spinning around, he pointed the small blade at the intruder. "You!" he exclaimed when he realized who it was.
"Drop the knife Doctor." Integra said pointing the gun she had stolen.
"Oh, I see Sleeping Beauty has decided to fight me." Dok murdered with a slight smirk on his face, "How invigorating..also it's not a knife..."
Integra took a step forward and aimed the pistol at Dok's hand, if he wouldn't drop the scalpel voluntarily she would force it out. "I said, drop the knife!"
Dok frowned as too took a step, this one to the side. "It's not a knife." he said, with a frown. "How can thzis stupid woman not know the difference between this tool of biological art and a regular tool of a butcher" he thought. Integra countered Dok's side step with her own, and so they began to circle, each other. Keeping an equal distance from one another. "I am warning you for the last time. Drop. The. Knife."
"It's not a knife!" Dok suddenly exploded lunging forward and swinging the scalpel at Integra who jumped back to get out of the way and fired her pistol. The gun shot roared in the hollow quarters of the operating room, and the bullet slammed into Dok's hand, blowing off a few fingers along with his weapon.
Shrieking he grabbed a hold of his wrist and fell over into his back. "You bitch!" he screamed as his stumps bled profusely. .
"I warned you." Integra replied as she pushed back some hair out of her eyes before turned and looking at Maxwell for the first time. "Oh...my Lord..." she whispered when she saw him. Maxwell lifted his head and smiled weakly. "Hello there." he said.
Stepping forward Integra slowly touched his chest, "H-How bad are you hurt?" she asked.
"It's just a flesh wound." he replied.
Biting her lower lip to keep herself from loosing her composure, Integra began to release Maxwell from his binds. Distracted by the task at hand, she didn't see that Dok began to stand up, his lab coat covered in his crimson fluid. Taking labored breaths he went over to the thick steel door and locked it. He then approached Integra from behind. A wide, insane grin was plastered on his face. Integra meanwhile had undid the binds holding down Enrico's wrists and turned to go to his ankles, just in time to notice Dok, who once again lunged at her.
Screaming, she reached for her gun but the taller male pushed her back against the counter of his medical supplies, causing veils and bottles to crash to the floor, shattering and spilling their contents as her head was pressed against the wall and her breathing was cut off. Eyes wide with a mix of fear and anger Integra struggled to get Dok's hand from around her throat. Dok, on the other hand, was insane with rage on account that his left hand was now useless, thus assuring that his work on various experiments would be hindered, if not totally halted. His only condolence now was to kill the person who disfigured him.
"Integra hold on!" Maxwell cried as he worked on his ankle binds.
Integra choked out a reply, she didn't want the already injured man to put himself into more harm but she was loosing her fight and she could feel the darkness of death approaching her as her lungs burned for oxygen. Desperate, she reached for something to use as a weapon and found a glass bottle which hadn't fallen. Not wasting a single moment she smashed it over Dok's head spilling the green liquid over his head, face, and shoulders causing the man to let out a horrible shriek and fall over while his entire head area hissed, smoke, and his skin bubbled. Integra herself was filling with the mixed feeling of relief and pain as air filled her lungs, while some of the acid landed on her own face. Sending her nerve endings into a frenzy as pain over whelmed them.
Stepping around the mad man, who was writhing on the floor and muttering profanities at her, Integra ran to the sink and splashed water onto her face, desperate to remove the corrosive acid before it ate through her skin. When the pain finally faded she looked into the mirror and saw the deep red scaring on the right side of her face starting from her hair line and going all the way down to her jawline and neck. But, in the end she could count herself lucky to be alive. Sighing, she wiped her still throbbing face and went over to Maxwell who was cleaning his wounds. "Now don't you do a thing." she ordered taking the cloth away from her. "Lay down, I'll take care of everything." she quickly stated pushing him down onto the table.
"Integra, please. Worry about yourself." the priest said pushing her hand away.
"I'm fine." Integra replied, "Now, don't argue with me. I'm returning the favor from back at the church." she insisted and couldn't help blushing a little.
Maxwell sighed and decided that arguing with her would bring him nothing, so he let go of her hands and laid his arms down next to him while she slowly, in an almost motherly way, cleaned the blood from his chest.
Maxwell stared at her face as he did her work, causing memories of what they had been through relayed through his mind. The way he would pretend to hate her, to despise her. When in truth, all he had wanted was to have her in his arms. To hold, to comfort. To have her open up to him and trust him. That moment, when she was bleeding in front of him and he saw the fear in her eyes, a strange need to protect her rose up from deep within him and he didn't wait a moment in starting to dress her wounds. He remembered how, as his fingers danced over her skin, he had to fight back to keep the butterflies from invading his belly. And when she rested her body against him, latter that night in her arms he felt a deep happiness grow from his heart and knew, that she felt safe. But, the unfortunate reality of life shattered the illusion when the next morning she didn't want anything to do with him. Sighing he turned his gaze away from her, it was much better to stare at the walls.
At the same time, as Integra worked on fixing up this man she had been meeting with for years but never actually spent time to learn about. Before this event, he was just her rival. An insolent,t hard headed, Catholic fanatic who was sure she would rot in Hell for eternity after her death. Or at least, that is what it seemed like to her. Now through, new ideas came to her mind, and a new view of Maxwell began to appear. A view in which the fanatical Catholic melted away into a man who could be trusted, who could be warm and protecting. Someone who cared for her safety not because it was his job but because he truly seemed to care. When she was bleeding from her wounds he was there, with his limited medical knowledge, to help her; And when his fingers danced over her skin, she had to fight back the butterflies which suddenly sprouted into her belly. That night, when she could not sleep, she sat with him, and his smooth soft voice filled her with comfort as he read the Holy Book to her like her father had done so many years ago. Unfortunately, the nightmare shattered the illusion and the realization that she didn't trust him. That she perceived him as a threat proved that his behavior was unpredictable and she could not trust him.
"How is your injury?" he suddenly asked.
"It was cauterized," she said simply gesturing at Dok who was still laying on the floor practically on his last wheezing breath.
"He healed you?" Enrico asked, sitting up slightly.
"You can say that..the scar is there though." she replied as she pushed him down, got a pack of bandages, and started to place them over the cuts. "Sit up." she ordered when she had put enough padding on the cut.
Maxwell did, and Integra wrapped another set of bandages around his torso. Just then, a loud, strong knock on the door snapped Enrico and Integra away from their moment of peace. "Are you alright? Herr Doktor?" a voice yelled from behind it.
"Shit." Integra breathed, "Come on, get dressed, we need to get out of here."
"How?" Enrico asked as he slowly got off of the table.
"I'll tell you in a moment." Integra replied as she looked around for a way out. Seeing nothing but the window she sighed, "We'll have to climb out."
"What!" Maxwell exclaimed. "We can't do that!"
"We have to!" Integra shot back, "Or do you want to end up dead?"
Blinking Maxwell, glanced at the door which was starting to bend from the force pressed against it, then to the window which could very well lead to death as well. "Where would we go from there? Up?"
"I'm hoping we can get down instead. Either way, anyplace is better than here."
Sighing, Maxwell stood and began to button up the jacket he was wearing. "Fine." he said, his chest stung with every breath but he ignored it. Now was not the time for pain, now was time to get out of harms way. Following Integra to the window he helped her push it open and stuck his head out. Looking down, he could clearly see that the ground under the airship was crawling with vampires, "I think," he heard Integra say, her voiced laced in annoyance. "That going up, would be better than going down."
"I...agree." Maxwell said looking around to find something they could use to climb to the top of the ship and when his graze landed on the rope swinging limply in the wind his eyes lip up and a wide grin spread across his face. "Perfect." He though, grabbing it he brought it in through the window. "Come on." he said quickly. "We'll use this."
Nodding, Integra took hold of the rope and the two of them climbed up on the window sill and wrapped an arm around the other. "Ready?" Integra asked, her breathing short, shallow breaths.
Maxwell, swallowed and tried to force his hand to stop quivering, "Yes." he said in a shaky voice.
With that, the two hunters of monsters leaped into the world outside.