Anna Van Helsing descends upon the deep sewers in Manhole 66 within downtown Los Angeles. There, she encounters heavy gunfire by a mysterious group of vampires. After putting up a strong fight Anna is cornered by the last remnants of this group. In the blink of an eye these remnants are slaughtered by a young girl in black. The girl sets her sights on Anna, knocking her out unconscious. The following is for those interested in the outcome of this entire story.

Chapter 25

Everything is black. The sound of clanking metal and dripping water touches my ear. I notice my eyes were closed and I try to open them. Everything was blurry on my first attempt to open my eyes. I let out a low moan. Suddenly I feel a sharp, stinging pain behind my head. It was pain that was very persistent; it was as if I was hit in the head by a hammer. I was probably bleeding. I then felt both of my hands above my head clasped together. Both of my feet were free but I couldn't feel the ground. I make an attempt to open my eyes again. A blur came and then everything came into focus. I was looking down at a girl who was in turn looking at me. She was sitting crossed-legged with a sword in her right hand. She had short, jet-black hair, brilliant yellow eyes and pale skin. She was wearing a skin-tight, full body leather suit and black combat boots on her feet. She was pretty muscular for her age and surprisingly beautiful. To my astonishment she looked awfully familiar. She was the girl I met in the sewer; the same girl who killed all of those suck-heads in one stroke. I tried to get away but as I looked up I discovered that both of my hands were tied up in thick chains and that I was suspended five feet off the ground. I was terrified; a kind of emotion that I never show in the face of the enemy. I looked around and found myself in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. The girl meanwhile was just staring at me. No movements, no emotions; just like a statue.

"Where am I?" I said while I was struggling to free myself. The girl didn't answer. She was still staring me down with those eyes. It was like she was trying to tell me not to talk through her silence. I started to stare at her now while at the same time I was trying to fight the fear I had. There was silence for about ten seconds until I finally said "Are you gonna kill me?" After about ten seconds of silence the girl said in a soft-spoken English accent "That's a very good question." There was silence again. "W…What am I doing here?" I said.

"I'm going to ask you a few simple questions," the girl said as she stood up and walked over to me. "There have been some events of late where many have claimed that there are people after me. All I want to know is what do you know of these things?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let me try to make it easier for you. There's someone by the name of Nathaniel Abrams. I cornered that fucker two weeks ago and he was telling me about vampire hunters working with him to take me out."

I remembered who Nathaniel Abrams was. He was the leader of Neo Elysium; the second I went to for info on Mina Harker. "What does he have to do with me?" I asked the girl.

"He told me that vampire hunters and vampires were joining forces to bring me down," said the girl. "Do you know anything about this alliance? After all, you are obviously a vampire hunter." I was shocked to hear about this. That motherfucker was lying through his teeth. The only reason I went to that guy was for some vital information, not to start a friendship. It was absolutely not the beginning of an alliance. "That's bullshit. I don't know anything about a partnership with those motherfuckers. Besides, he was only one guy."

"Very well," the girl said. "There was another one named Anderson Koch who is the Chief of Staff for the State Senator of your state Grendel Mohr who told me about many vampires talking about an alliance with the humans. I started to come across many who talked about meeting a young female vampire hunter who was looking for me. Almost all of them described her as being 5ft, 5 inches tall, having a pear of blue eyes and short brown hair. I really find it quite a bit of a coincidence that you fit that description." I felt mum when she said that. That moment was when I was totally convinced that I gave away myself way too much. "I suppose you're wondering how I found you," she continued. "I kept a close eye on you the moment Koch spilled his guts out. Just last night at the Holy Rosary Cathedral Father Curt Arnold told me that you came last week looking for me. I immediately made the decision to look for you. I happen to come across Wendy's Café one night, the same place where you and Mohr had your little date. I broke in and searched for some surveillance tapes and then I spotted you at table 15 with your face in full view of the camera. A certain doorman from Abrams' club happened to give me the license on your bike. I would prowl all over the rooftops catch a strong smell of your blood down at Central L.A. I found your apartment there and took a little tour. You're carrying some heavy artillery for a girl your age. I came across a journal you keep on CD that gave me info on all the moves you've made and your future plans. That's how I found you in the sewers. I must say I found you in the nick of time. What the fuck were you doing down there anyway?"

I was silent for some seconds. I couldn't believe that she was in the place where I considered it the safest: my apartment. I couldn't believe she was able to walk all around in living room and my bedroom without tearing the place apart. And the fact that she was following me the whole time just baffled me. I looked at her getting ready to explain my reasons for being in the sewers. The way she talked was as if she was my dad and she just found cigarettes in my bedroom. "A few days ago I went to this lady named Alexandria Wolfe who told where I could find these guys called the Sigma 12 and ask them where I could find this girl named Mina Harker." I said.

"Even if the Sigma 12 was there," said the girl "what were the chances of you getting your information and walking out of there in one piece?"

"You mean Sigma 12 wasn't there?" I said.

"Exactly. To start with, there is no Sigma 12."

"What?"

"Yes. That sewer is where all the bloodsucking thugs meet. They get their weapons from security firms from all across the United States. These groups are able to pay for their weapons usually through racketeering. That's why, if you've noticed, they have rifles basically used by the military. These groups are usually trouble makers the police worries about."

"Is there at least a guy named Dean Hoyt?"

"Of course there is. But he's not apart of this Sigma 12. He's actually a member of the group Eternal Flame. There's a rivalry between him and Wolfe that has lasted for decades with no end in sight. Wolfe was just yanking your chain. She's set you up for a trap." I was shocked. How could I have been so careless to take Wolfe's word after she almost killed me? That bitch! "As a member of the Van Helsing clan, I expect you to be smarter than that," I suddenly had a feeling when she said that. It was a huge blow to the stomach. How did she know what group I belong to? "How did you know?" I said.

"The scent of your blood," said the girl. "It's O negative just like your great grandfather Abram Van Helsing." There was another blow to my chest. She knows Abe Van Helsing? "Now tell me the truth," the girl continued. "What is your name?" I hesitated at first. Two things could've happened if I told her my real name. She could probably be ready to be my partner since she knows my great, great grandfather or she probably had a beef with my family and she wanted to kill me."Anna Van Helsing," I said after five seconds.

"Are you by any chance related to Eric Van Helsing?" the girl then asked. Another blow; she knew my father! Who the fuck is this girl? "Who are you?" I finally asked her. The girl paused for a few seconds and said "Wilhelmina Harker. You can simply call me Mina."

"Mina Harker?" I said. Mina nodded slowly. "Are you The Bride of Dracula?" I then asked. The girl suddenly pulled out her sword from her sheath and brought the blade to my neck. On her face was a look of rage, rage that was beyond human understanding. "Don't EVER call me that!" she shouted. My breath was suddenly trembling and I was overwhelmed with fear. Mina moved the blade from my neck and started to back away. Her eyes were still fixated on me and she still had that look of rage. She was now about six feet away from me and then she turned around and released a heavy sigh. "I don't blame you for calling me that," Mina continued. "Many over the years refer to me as Count Dracula's supreme lover. I'll never get over what he did to me that night exactly 108 ago. I'm now cursed among all races. Everything's changing except me. I've waited patiently for years a certain vampire hunter to finally kill me. I am a prisoner of invulnerability and immortality. I never thought the day would come when I would suddenly be fighting a Van Helsing." I was at a loss. I didn't how I was supposed to feel at that moment. I didn't know if I was supposed to feel sorry for her or turn a cold shoulder. "Eric Van Helsing was my father," I said. "He was a vampire hunter just like me. What was going on between the two of you?" Mina turned around, looked me in the eyes and said "We were once allies. I meet him and his brother Peter in New York City back in 1977. They were young and inexperienced and they needed my help in tracking down one named Demitri Mann, a powerful vampire elder. I provided them with the precise intelligence on his whereabouts, his personality and his movements in combat. Ultimately I was the one who eventually killed Demitri."

"What was in it for you?"

"It was personal. Demetri was one of Dracula's first apprentices. I sought to eradicate all traces of Dracula's memory but Demetri demise was just the beginning of endless hardship."

"If you've teamed up with a vampire hunter in the pass why kill vampire hunters now."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Are you working for anybody?"

"Absolutely not. To be honest with you when I kill a vampire hunter it brings on more pain than eases it."

"Why don't you just stop?"

"There are many vampire hunters as you know. Every year they hunt me down. I don't blame them though. My existence is the only thing that's threatening them. When I'm finally cornered I feel the need to fight back. They try and try and try. It's like torture. I would like to show them that it's pointless trying to kill me. Their killing methods are all in vain. What sense would it make if I simply tell them if they won't listen."

"…If you're not working for the vampires and kill any vampire hunter that comes your way, whose side are you on?"

"I'm on no one's side because no one's on my side. There are some who admire me, some who worship me, but there are many who want me dead. The humans want me dead and the vampires want me dead. I wish I could fulfill their wishes, but year after year I remain in existence. And year after year the world changes into something I can't stand. Every year one is killing the other, bombing the other and at the same time losing their moral codes. It's a sight that makes my heart bleed. I'll always remain trapped in the cold body of a girl never aging and never withering while the world around me evolves into a vicious beast."

In her words and in her voice I could sense vulnerability and great sadness. I kinda see those things around me too. I guess we were on the same page with that. "I'd still like to know if you aren't on anybody's side, then how you ended up working with people like my father and Todo Hotsumi." I said. Mina bowed her head slowly. "I felt I had a personal obligation to help a Van Helsing after a Van Helsing tried and yet, ultimately failed to help me. Before I met Hotsumi I was lost. I didn't know how to live with my newfound life. I came across Todo Hotsumi in the early years of the last century. He had promised to show me the way forward in the life of a vampire. From there things didn't turn out like he had promised."

"You think you'd wanna tell me about it?"

"If it will make you feel any better."