Chapter 35: Flashback

Two Year Ago:

The sounds of the battlefield are audible all throughout the mansion. Soon the flames of war will engulf this castle, Delacroix castle, the castle of vampires.

Explosions, the sound of gunshots, and the screams of the dying can be heard even from where I stand within the castle. In front of me is a man I have grown to trust and respect during my time here in the castle. The king of all vampires, Delacroix, holds his sword posed to attack me.

"Why do you hold back? You will never defeat me if you allow yourself even the slightest hint of hesitation."

The king's opponent is a elite member of Twilight, who has been stationed at the castle with orders to observe the vampires in case they were plotting to overthrow the queen and raze the countryside.

The human weapon readied his guns, gritting his teeth in frustration. The reports had been all wrong, the vampires were peaceful people. However, this fact no longer mattered to Abraham Van Helsing.

"There is a reason why I cannot back down." Van growled to the opponent in front of him.

The king nodded his head in understanding and reminded the man before him of his own responsibilities. "I have one as well, the fate of my people rests entirely on my shoulders, but I understand your reason Van Helsing. Let us not bring petty anger and grudges into this battle." The king appraised the young man in front of him before continuing, knowing the fight would be close. "I swear by this sword, I will engage you here tonight, in this very battle as naught but a single swordsman."

Van let his bitter reluctance get the better of him. "...I will never forget what you have done for me."

The king advanced slowly, "Save your feelings for after you have defeated me. Let us test just how well your human body has been able to master the fighting techniques I have been drilling into you!"

Van narrowed his eyes as the king advanced and yelled out just before engaging. "I shall have your head!"

The king of all vampires avoided every one of Van Helsing's shots with extraordinary speed and dexterity with his blade posed to kill. The silver blade reflected the hungry red flames as the corners of the room caught fire. Van barely has time to get his gun up in time as Delacroix was on him within moments.

The two men clash with a terrible roar.

….The sound of birds could be heard as Van opened his eyes to stare at the embellished ceiling. "Ah, that dream again…" Van thought as he pulled his bare arm across his eyes muttering. "I suppose it won't fade into the past so easily…"

Van closed his eyes under the shade of his arm, attempting to drive away the fragments of the terrible memory from his mind to focus on other things. For some reason the future came to mind. The sheets fell off the hunter's bare chest as the man sat up in bed. The man ran a hand through his disheveled hair as he continued to think about yesterday's events.

It was so simple. To simple in fact...

Finis was dead and he wasn't even the one to kill him.

Still, Van thought back, he had killed Finis once before, two years ago. The leader had died by Van's hand back then. The revengeful hunter had blown the boy's head clean off with his own shotgun on that fateful night two years ago. Van's mind brought back the image of Finis's dead body laying abandoned on the floor of the lab. The hunter had confirming the kill before they had left the lab and the morbidly pristine image rolled through his reluctant mind. The hunter's hands collected the sheets covering him in a death grip as he tried to figure out the puzzle.

Finis had came back to life.

The boy had arose from the dead, even after Van had blown his head off two years ago. Somehow Finis had come back to life then...What was to stop him from come back this time, a third time?

Van groaned and released the sheets to rested his forehead in the palms of his hands.

"..."

Finis's secret was still unresolved.

The heaviness in Van chest was no lighter either. Flickers of Sierra standing in the graveyard, trembling as she confessed to him floated to the front of his mind and Van groaned once more.

He had gone back, later last night, to investigate the laboratory further. He had found Finis's body had been removed, along with most of the documents Van had located. The hunter fumbled around for his glasses as the images of floating heads and bodies of Sierra's kin came to mind. To think she had endured that, and if half of her stories where to be believed…

"Damn it…"`

Van growled as he tried to push the thoughts out of his mind. Frustration, confliction, and anger washed over him causing Van to slammed his fist into the bed.

"DAMN IT!"

Fran was on the other side of Van's door listing to him curse, but the panicked doctor didn't have time for whatever is causing the hunter to be so angry first thing in the morning.

Fran's fist thundered on Van's bedroom door. "Van! Van Helsing! Are you up? Van Helsing?!"

Van pushed the glasses onto the bridge of his nose and narrowed his gaze at the shuttering door. "...Fran….it's too early to be making this much noise."

Fran took a quick breath to steady his nerves, but the words gushed out of him in a panic anyway. "I am sorry, but we have a problem! It's bad! Both Cardia and Sierra are gone!"

Van took a second to process Fran's words. "...What did you say?"