Chapter #17: The fog

The sunlight shone bright behind the bus windows, making the three vampires currently occupying it cringe. They had woken up early in the morning just so they could reach the village in time for the opening party. Alucard was not amused. Almost fifty people filled the vehicle and their loud voices, the sun and the fact that he hadn't slept at all due to the recurrent dreams were beginning to test his patience. He was tired and angry, maybe that was the reason why he didn't partake in the humans' conversation. His small party was seated at the back of the bus, with the two people from before who had introduced themselves as Miguel and Jolene. They were talking nonstop about this medieval paraphernalia. He scoffed, tugged the curtains closed harder than necessary and, with a last glare towards the girl, he turned away from them.

Inés was glad they'd decided to go with the group, even if she was a bit uncomfortable with so many people at once. Seras and Pip seemed to be having fun talking and laughing with them, but the brooding vampire had sat on the window seat, arms crossed and a permanent scowl on. The change in his personality was as sudden as his change in appearance and Inés didn't know what to think of it. It was as if someone had flicked a switch and he was a different person; she didn't understand why he was so angry.

He was so angry. Angry at himself for dreaming those delusional things, angry at the girl for involving them in this charade, angry at the mercenary and his fledgling for agreeing to this circus and angry at the boy who kept talking with her. Alucard growled and crossed his arms and shifted, trying to at least find a comfortable position in his seat, although it seemed not even that would be given to him. Desisting in the obvious futile attempt, he opted to listen to the human prattle as a form of entertainment, his curiosity perking when he picked up the Spanish girl's voice asking a question to the insipid boy .

"Yeah, some of our people just disappeared. We think they just quit, seeing as their characters were not that relevant in the act and they'd already been paid for the first representation. It's not uncommon in this business, you know? People who come for fun because it's cool and all that, and then they just ditch us after they realize all the work that goes into it. No hard feelings, though." Miguel finished his story with a beaming smile at Inés. "Don´t worry, you won't have to do much" Alucard resisted the urge to roll his eyes in annoyance at the evident flirting of the boy. As if Inés would consider him. He paused in his thinking; frowning. Where had that come from?

"So you've been doing this for how long?" asked the Frenchman while he tried, in vain, to put an arm around Seras . It earned him a punch in the ribs and an indignant huff from her. The boy and the red-head only laughed at their antics with a knowing smile before answering.

"I've been in this for several years now. This is my company, actually," he said proudly. "Though it's been quite a handful since I'm doing everything all by myself: planning, costumes, etc. It's a blessing Jolene appeared out of nowhere and volunteered for co-manager. Just in the right moment too, when these people decided to leave." The red-head merely smiled at this, winking at Inés when their eyes met.

Co-manager indeed…Alucard watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye. He had picked up the scent the moment the creature had come into view back at the motel, and he was sure it had picked up on them too. Too bad the police girl was still a newborn, for he was convinced she didn't suspect a thing or else she wouldn't have been talking so freely with it. He closed his eyes intending to sleep for the rest of the trip. As long as it was not a problem, he would do nothing. For now, he would watch.

The smoke from the expensive cigar filled the room, disappearing into the already heavy air at Integra's office. It was her third—no, fourth one—and she hadn't been able to calm down one bit. Her finger tapped the wooden desk at a fast rhythm while her eyes fixed on the unused phone. Her Vampire had called and what he had to tell her was not a good thing. True, they had completed their mission quickly enough and without no casualties, which was a first. But they were stranded God knows where and she couldn't take them back because the queen had summoned the roundtable and Iscariot (her eye twitched at that thought) to an emergency meeting to discuss Millennium. Integra sighed.

Millennium.

The finger stopped and she frowned, leaning back into her leather chair.

Two vampires lost in the middle of Brazil.

She gently picked up the ashtray and crushed the cigar on it, puffing out the last smoke.

The queen summoned her to a meeting.

She slowly stood up, dragging her chair back, ashtray still in hand, and made her way towards the window. Integra opened it with the excuse of letting new fresh air into the room, it felt crammed. She looked to the night sky and took in the tranquility of the night, a high contrast to the turmoil and stress she currently felt inside. She took a deep breath.

"FUUUUCK !" And with that scream she launched the glass ashtray out the window with all her might, closed the window and turn, fixing her suit as if nothing had happened. If she'd heard someone crying out in pain, she wouldn't have cared.

"That undead moron better be here for the meeting. " With that said, the blonde woman sat down again and called for Walter.

She really needed that vacation, but for now she'd make do with some tea.

A thick fog had begun to rise out of nowhere, but considering the humid climate they had right now, it wasn't a surprise. It looked as if the rain wasn't too far away, too.

They had been on that bus for the last hour and a half and the noise had quieted down considerably after the majority of people had fallen asleep or got tired of speaking. Their group was one of the last. They'd been talking for a while and now there was a comfortable silence, although the teen couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. She languidly turned her head towards the usual source of said discomfort only to find him fast asleep against the window. She couldn't help but giggle at the picture of a passed-out Dracula and briefly wondered if he would drool, seeing as his mouth was half open. Her brow furrowed for a second after she took in his whole appearance. She still didn't understand why he had changed into that form or why he would keep it . Inés sighed as she turned back and closed her eyes, intending to follow his lead.

At least he's not wearing armor anymore. The vampire had changed clothes that same morning, opting for his usual black trousers with riding boots and white shirt; his vest and coat forgotten. The Spanish girl wondered if it was to blend in with the locals or he did it on a whim just as his change in looks.

Her train of thought was interrupted when the same feeling from before made itself present again. A chill ran down her spine and she turned her head to where she thought it came from. Miguel and Jolene sat there but none of them were looking at her.

Weird. A heavy weight landed on her shoulder at that moment, spooking her. She would have screamed if she hadn't covered her mouth with her hand. Who knew that really worked… she thought as she looked at the invasive object that happened to be Alucard's head.

"God, could this be more clichéd?" She searched out her companions for help, but they were either asleep or not paying attention. What should she do? She had read you should never wake up a sleeping vampire and she didn't want to risk getting bitten. Well, at least her previous question had been answered: He did, in fact, drool. All over her shirt.

The teen tried poking his cheek carefully, tapping it and pinching as a last resort. Nothing worked, he was dead to the world, literally. Alucard didn't breathe, he was cold and he weighted quite a bit, just like a corpse. Inés shuddered, she didn't need that image in her head. Exasperated and a bit embarrassed, she tried lifting his head. She was making progress until his arms wrapped around her. "Fuck." One hand held the head while the other tried to pry open the clamp grip he had on her waist. One hand slipped and the other failed; Alucard was effectively hugging her like a teddy bear. "Fuck."

Okay, Inés, don't panic. She focused on the sound of what she thought were the beginnings of a storm. Taking deep breaths and trying to relax was proving effective, until she felt lips at the base of her neck. All the hairs on her body stood on end as a deep blush crept over her face. Was he kissing her neck?! Why?! The teen closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself, quite a difficult task with The Jerk sucking lovingly on her neck. Was he even asleep anymore?!

CRASH!

Her eyes flew open as she was propelled forward in her seat. Thank God for seatbelts. She looked around her and met Seras's questioning gaze and Pip's worried one. The only good thing that came from the abrupt brake was that the vampire had disentangled from her and now lay across the front seat, still asleep. Everyone else in the bus had been awoken by the sudden stop and a quick glance at the window told her it hadn't been planned. The bus was placed almost sideways on the lonely road, but the fading light of the afternoon and a thick fog kept any of the passengers from seeing the cause of it.

"What's going on?" one woman asked, rising from her seat.

"Did we hit something?" another man questioned from behind her.

As the second man moved to intervene, Miguel walked to the middle of the bus and began to give instructions in a loud voice.

"Please, remain seated. It was probably just a wild animal that the driver had to avoid hitting. We'll see what the problem is and we'll be going on our way soon enough." He turned to the driver, who was already stepping out to take a look. However, the man's calm voice did nothing to stop the rising murmur of curious and worried people.

Seras exchanged a glance with Pip, who smiled in a reassuring way, telling her it was probably just as Miguel had said. The former police girl didn't look too convinced but sat back trying to relax; her nerves were suddenly on edge and the whole situation didn't feel good. Inés looked around the bus, taking in every detail, not liking the worried face of the fledgling. Her eyes caught Jolene's, who was watching intensely at the thick fog outside as if she could see something out there that they could not.

A thud was heard outside the bus, against its side.

There was silence, the only sounds coming from the rain and the heavy breathing of the frightened passengers. A sudden movement out one of the many windows caught their attention, and they slowly approached the glass, trying to see what was going on for themselves.

A piercing scream rang through the quiet vehicle as a flash of lighting and thunder, too close for comfort, shone behind the window. Some of the younger people laughed at their idiocy, but were quickly silenced by the on-going cries of one woman who, having fallen to the floor in fear, pointed a slender finger at something in front of her. There, a stain of what could only be blood in the shape of a hand adorned the previously clean glass.

"Alucard, wake up! WAKE UP!" Inés frantically shook him or at least tried to; he was so heavy she barely managed to move him an inch. The vampire merely frowned as if disturbed but otherwise remained dead to the world.

"CLOSE THE DOOR! CLOSE THE GODDAMN DOOR!"

A man practically screeched as he backed away from the bloody print. Miguel, standing the closest to the driver's seat, ran for it and began pressing several buttons in hopes of finding the right one. He failed to close the door, but the wipers activated, the windshield drape closed, and the radio turned on. The signal was awful, though, so the only sound that came out from it was static and bits of what could have been some creepy classical music.

Seras rose from her seat and quickly made her way to the front of the bus with a gulping Pip behind her. They nodded to each other before venturing out, ignoring the pleas from the young man.

The fog was thicker that they had anticipated, and the heavy rain immediately drenched their clothes and hair. Thunder in the distance and close to no vision of their surroundings was what the Draculina and the mercenary had run straight into outside. They, however, met something else there: ghouls. Several of them surrounded the bus, groaning and moaning. Among them, the risen corpse of what used to be the driver limped towards them. Covering her mouth in a silent scream, Seras grimaced while Pip cursed under his breath and readied a gun.

Meanwhile, hysteria and paranoia ruled the interior of the vehicle; all except a sleeping vampire, a nervous girl and an oddly calmed red-head. The girl stood up on shaky legs, having forgone waking the vampire, and made her way to one of the windows. With trembling fingers, she opened it and a new wave of fear rushed through her when the first gunshot reached her.

"What's going on?" Inés whispered, leaning out. Water and wind greeted her face as she searched into the fog. Suddenly, a freezing hand grabbed her neck and pulled her out screaming and flailing. The last thing she saw was the figure of Jolene, arms stretched and a fearful expression on her pale face, trying to catch her in vain. Her head hit the wet concrete with a splash and her vision failed her for a moment. The teen waited for the inevitable end, but it never came. The sound of clumsy steps and gurgling noises surrounded her, but not a single claw or teeth touched her. Weird… was the last thing she thought as darkness took her.

Seras and Pip were about to kill the last ghoul when they took in the fallen form of Inés.

"Merde!" the mercenary cursed, shooting the head of the last undead.

Quickly, they made their way towards the bloodied but otherwise safe teen. They frowned at the lack of wounds on her, save from the clear bruise on her forehead, but that train of thought was quickly dismissed when a small form came out of the opened trunk of the bus. A vampire, young by the looks of it. The Frenchman picked up the stirring Spaniard while the angry police girl disposed of what they assumed was the mother vampire.

They walked side by side to the still open door, from where they could hear the ongoing ruckus and screams.

"I'M NOT STAYING HERE A SECOND MORE!" The form of a somewhat fat and sweaty man came into view, sat on the driver's seat and, with a twist of his wrist, got the engine started and drove off, leaving a vampire, a mercenary and a girl behind.

Inés lifted her head from the Frenchman's shoulder and watched the bus drive into the distance without them.

"Estamos jodidos."

A pair of red eyes opened in a solitary room. Wide awake and panting, trying to calm his breath, although unnecessary for the owner of said eyes. He turned, hand looking for the body beside him which clearly was not there. Confused, he looked around. This time the bed was soft but small, wooden and with stiff sheets; the floors creaked and the stained glass window rattled from the storm. A jug of water had been placed on a pathetic looking nightstand. It all painted a rather ancient look in the mind of the vampire. The only thing that stood out from the medieval set up was a little radio that kept playing that infernal song! Remembering his most recent drea- Nightmare, it was a nightmare, Alucard clutched at his chest, above his non-beating heart. Startled, he looked down to notice his change of clothing: a loose off-white linen shirt and dark brown breeches.

"Where the hell am I?!" He got up and approached the window. It was still night time and he could see the few people that still walked the streets retire for the night. Long dresses and hair pieces adorned the women, boots and tights the men. Was he still dreaming?

The vampire quickly turned when he heard noise outside the room. The door slowly opened as if the person behind it was afraid of what laid inside the space. Soon, the face of The Girl appeared in front of him. A pretty red dress and braided hair was what she decided to wear this time. Beautiful. He stepped closer to the dream version of the teen and without thinking about his actions he embraced her, relishing in her warmth and flushed cheeks. His hands traveled up from her waist, caressing her arms and landing on both sides of her face. He smiled and kissed her.

Not once realizing that the girl in his arms felt way too real to be a figment of his imagination, nor taking notice of the two stunned figures behind him: a blonde police girl and an eye patched mercenary.

Spanish words

"Estamos jodidos" – We're fucked

French words

"Merde" – Shit

Väl Apple here! I'm back my lovely readers! This fic is now also available on Archive of Our Own.

Remember to follow me on Instagram ( Tpr_apple) if you want to contact me or ask for any fanart. If you want specific fanart from this fic you can also ask me and it will be done!

I'll wait for your comments and thoughts on this new chapter.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Princess Bride I: Revelations. Alucard's dream and him finally realizing his feelings for our protagonist, some fluff and full medieval style!