"Where are you going, little one?"
Bela Dimitrescu's playful voice - coming from right behind him - sent shivers of raw panic down Ethan's already brutalized spine.
The poor man had time only to turn around to behold her mischievous amber orbs and slasher smile - before the vampiric bug-monster in the guise of a beautiful woman roughly shoved him with her left hand. So strong was the force in her slender arm that Ethan stumbled backwards - only to crash through the half-broken wooden door he was previously trying to dismantle. Weakened, rotted planks did not even slow his fall, causing his back to impact with the harsh, stone floor - stealing the breath from his lungs and forcing his eyes closed - for just a blink.
A blink of an eye was all it took for the horrible woman to hover right over him, her bloodied face inches from his own. The blonde vampire took a second to lick her lips in an overly-dramatic manner, which Ethan would undoubtedly find sexy, were she not covered in blood and flies and were her eyes not widened in insatiable hunger for his blood. After seeing what these girls were capable of, Ethan had no doubt that she would soon proceed to suck every last drop of his sanguine ichor from his veins. The man would be a liar if he claimed that he was not afraid as her insanity-filled visage leered down on him. He was fucking terrified.
But above everything else, Ethan was a survivor and the witch made a mistake - not restraining his hands. Gritting his teeth in determination to fight off even this unnatural foe - Rosie needs me! - Ethan swiftly attempted to hold her off him with his left hand on her right shoulder, while bringing his gun up - aiming right at her forehead. The witch's reaction to his shenanigans chilled Ethan's blood in his veins - she fucking smiled before letting out a cute laugh, as if finding his resistance highly amusing. Ignoring his fright, the man squeezed the trigger - again and again, and until the gun clicked empty. At the very least, even if this monstrous girl was truly immune to gunfire, he had expected the bullets to knock her off him with their kinetic energy alone, buying him some breathing room.
Instead, every single round appeared to simply pass through the blonde witch - through her head, her torso, her shoulder - doing no harm whatsoever to her partially intangible form. Seeing his shock, the vampiric girl proceeded to mirthfully gloat, "Your bullets cannot harm…"
The sound of cracking glass interrupted the blonde woman's mockery mid sentence - finally putting some fear on the seemingly unstoppable girl's face, to Ethan's palpable relief. Momentarily forgetting about her would-be prey, the monstrous girl stood back up to warily glare at the window to her left - which was likely struck by one of the bullets that previously went through her frame.
A beat of silence passed before the raging snowstorm outside the castle demanded entrance and the weakened window obliged - shattering into pieces and heralding the roaring winds and freezing snow.
Ethan's jacket with a hoodie was insufficient for him to resist the sudden drop in temperature, and the man immediately started to violently shiver, yet it was a mere discomfort in comparison to the blonde vampire's reaction.
The monstrous girl all but leapt away from the window, while letting out a guttural roar of pain, all previous mirth and playfulness forgotten. Moreover, Ethan could only stare in astonishment, as every single swarming fly that previously surrounded the girl akin to a halo of darkness, fell down onto the stone floor - dead.
Unfortunately for Ethan, while the vampire appeared to be in great agony from the exposure to biting winds, she was not done for. Struggling to recover from the frostbite, the girl hissed out in that same guttural voice - her previous melodic and composed voice nowhere to be found.
"You stupid man-thing!"
Ignoring her insult, the survivor of Dulvey crawled away from the monstrous girl, before finding his footing and bringing his gun back up - while slamming a fresh clip into the pistol and locking his gaze with the amber orbs of the vampire. Staring into her cruel eyes, Ethan could tell that two conflicting emotions were battling for dominance in her bug-brain. The desire to tear him apart and to feast upon his blood against the well-honed survival instincts.
Apparently, the monstrous woman - feeling herself weakened by cold to the point where the odds were stacked against her - decided to heed her instincts and with a guttural roar tore a wooden shelf that was affixed behind her off, only to hurl it at Ethan, forcing the man to duck. Collapsing a shelf cabinet in an attempt to strike Ethan, with him crawling away at the last second, the vampire has had enough and with a frustrated howl, flees back into the dungeon.
"Cassandra will cut you open!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep running, blondie!"
The man responded with more bravery than he felt, as he fully realized that only a random bullet striking a random window and therefore exposing the witch to her random weakness prevented him from becoming a tasty snack.
Seeing his foe escaping into the darkness and having exchanged meaningless threats, Ethan got back to his feet and continued his journey into this accursed castle while hoping to never see this crazy bitch again.
"I haven't cut open a man in a while!"
Meeting another crazy bug-bitch was most definitely not a pleasure for battle-weary Ethan, especially since this brunette witch had him locked in what looked like a medieval armory - with no windows in sight. Moreover, the man was quick to understand why the blonde bug-lady was so certain that her sibling would finish what she had started.
This Cassandra was a menace in human shape - stronger, faster and even more blood-thirsty than her blonde counterpart.
Ethan had only time for a blink before she was upon him, fangs bared and arms holding him in an unyielding grip after swatting his shotgun away with contemptuous ease. The excruciating pain followed the very next instant, as the vampire's painfully human-like teeth made contact with his skin - and pierced it as if it was wet tissue paper. With utter disregard for his well-being, the monster proceeded to rip and tear his shoulder apart with her gnashing teeth.
The wronged father was pretty sure that the only reason he was able to escape her death grip was the euphoric state Cassandra seemingly entered as she gulped down his blood and swallowed his flesh. Once again, finding strength in his purpose to rescue his child from these monsters, Ethan fought through the agony of his mutilated shoulder and pushed the vampire off him with both hands, before unloading his swiftly-picked shotgun onto her form, interrupting her ecstatic moaning and gleeful taunting with buckshot.
"Mother said you're stale, but I think you…"
Apparently, the shotgun turned out to be a slightly more effective repellent against these horrible bug-ladies than the pistol, as the great number of pellets striking her form saw a large count of flies cut down in mid-air. After the fourth shot, the witch gave him a nasty frown, before dissipating into her full swarm form and dispersing all over the armory.
Ethan's hope that the fight was won was dashed across the rocks soon enough, however, as the vile bugs started to aggressively swarm around his own shape, biting deeply and painfully, some of them even attempting to burrow right through his skin. The agony of having a hundred of these filthy insects ravaging his flesh was truly excruciating, but in his panicked throes, Ethan saw a single ray of hope.
A literal ray of light pierced the otherwise darkened armory through a shelf case. Ethan was not looking to be devoured alive by a ravenous swarm of man-eating bugs, so with a roar of effort the man leapt against the shelf, shoulder slamming it away from what turned out to be a crumbling part of the wall.
An instant stream of cold wind rushed into the room from a number of small holes that were previously concealed by the case, chilling all the insects that were assailing Ethan to death, even though the majority of them - all over the room - started to coalesce together once again.
Frantically looking around, Ethan knew that he only had a moment before the monstrous brunette would reassemble herself to finish him off - and he saw it - a crude pipe-bomb, lying on a crate next to a medieval suit of armor. Instantly figuring out the optimal use for it, the hardened survivor rushed towards the crate, even as a hateful feminine voice reached him from across the armory.
"You're going to die here!"
Cassandra was back together, and she did not look happy as one of her arms held a cruel sickle, while another - a wicked knife. Clearly, the time for games was up. Ethan could share that sentiment, as he promptly lit up the pipe-bomb and tossed it right at the unstable part of the wall.
Not seeing or not caring about the makeshift explosive, Cassandra charged right at Ethan, her implements of death at the ready to carve the offending mortal up. To the man's unending relief, the pipe-bomb exploded the moment Cassandra was in melee range and the blast of cold wind that followed was enough to momentarily daze her, interrupting her attack and causing her to let out a piercing shriek of pain.
"You've ruined the hunt!"
The malice in her angered scream would've been enough to chill Ethan's whole frame, were he not already shuddering from the raging snowstorm blowing into the castle. Still, even if Cassandra had managed to recover from the incapacitating effects of the cold, she was still greatly slowed as she charged right at him, allowing the man to dodge a series of brutal attacks that followed, if barely.
Returning her aggression, on sidestepping a particularly reckless charge, the man swiftly turned around and let loose with his shotgun - right into the cunt's unprotected back. To the man's shockingly violent joy, the effect was telling and now he could clearly see why the blonde vampire chose to flee rather than fight him in the kitchen. Large chunks of Cassandra's frozen flesh (or was it a mass of tightly-clustered bugs? He couldn't tell) were blown right off, causing the monstrous girl to cry out in agony and rage.
"You bastard!"
With surprising precision considering her enfeebled condition, Cassandra turned around and flung her dagger - hitting the man right in the thigh and making him hiss in pain and fall onto his knees, but not before unloading one more shell into her sickle-wielding arm - doing more telling damage and causing her to drop her sickle.
"My body!"
Roaring in anger and pain, the crazy woman apparently finally had enough, as she made a break towards the armory exit, even as Ethan attempted to deliver a killing blow - to no avail, as the shotgun was out of shells, making the man let out a disbelieving scoff.
Giving him one last look that promised the most agonizing death imaginable, the vampire pulled on a concealed lever that saw the grated gates immediately pulled down, allowing Cassandra to make her escape.
"Crazy fucking witch…"
Collecting his wits, catching his breath and covering his numerous injuries with that miraculous green stuff, Ethan was ready to continue his trek through this most inhospitable of dwellings. After meeting with the utterly monstrous second sister, he was almost eager to return to the relatively gentle embrace of the first one. He could only dread what the third one would have in store for him, were he unfortunate enough to cross paths with her.
"So you finally came to see me! Everyone falls for me in time."
Oh merciful God, not again.
The redheaded witch coalesced together right in the middle of the library the poor father found himself in. Mercifully, unlike her siblings, she did not appear to be in any particular hurry to dismember Ethan and instead walked towards him with brisk steps while swinging her sickle in telegraphed patterns.
This is all just a game for this fucked-up bitch…
Knowing their weakness but not seeing any way to implement it in this dusty library, Ethan unloaded his pistol's clip into the giggling girl while trying to lose her in between various bookshelves - only eliciting more joyous laughter and mocking comments from her.
"Poor little man-thing."
The crazy witch was definitely enjoying the little cat-and-mouse game the two of them were having - unfortunately - Ethan didn't, so he attempted to escape the library the way he entered it - only to slam into a locked door.
"Mmm, bad boy! You can't go anywhere."
The joyous giggling followed the comment that was delivered in a tone Ethan could describe only as flirty. Turning around to gaze at the source of his current ire, Ethan saw the redhead dangling a key-chain around her delicate finger in a clearly mocking gesture while having a shit-eating grin on her bloodied face. Just like with Cassandra, he was locked in here - forced to play some kind of insane game.
Gritting his teeth in silent frustration, the man could only reload his gun as he once again tried to seek shelter behind the shelves in a desperate attempt to buy some time from her ceaseless onslaught.
Performing a couple of quick dashes, the man finally managed to break line-of-sight with his tireless pursuer, giving him a moment to catch his breath, though he expected her to round a corner at any second now...
...which did not happen, surprising Ethan. The man tensed up even further, erratically glancing from right to left and visa-versa, yet he noted that both her giggling and that tell-tale sound of clicking heels had ceased.
Has she gotten bored and left? Jesus, please make her get bored and leave…
Of course, the swarming bugs all over the damn library implied that the monster was still locked in it - with him as her prey. Sweating a waterfall now, the man was prepared for her grinning face to pop at any second now, either from his left or his right.
"You wanted to see me? I did too!"
He was not expecting her voice to come down from above, however, and the man had only a second to glance upwards to see her grinning down at him from the bookshelf.
"Let's have some fun!"
Giving him a wink, the vampire leapt right at the startled man - sending them both into a violent tumble with Ethan struggling to throw her off him. While nowhere near as strong as Cassandra, this vampire still possessed power that far belied her lithe frame, allowing her to stick to Ethan like a mite. After several seconds of chaotic tumbling and rolling, the entangled duo found themselves in the middle of the library, with the man too out of breath to continue struggling.
Grinning wide from her spot on top of him, the redhead proceeded to blow him a playful kiss before baring her sharp fangs at him and biting right into his healthy shoulder.
While the pain was agonizing in its own right, the man had to admit that he would've taken this bite over Cassandra's, as the redhead did not appear to be particularly interested in his suffering - not thrashing her mouth around in an effort to increase the size of the injury like her sister did.
Still… being bit by a vampire girl sucked massively and Ethan was about to bash her in the head with a random object his hand managed to reach - a book - before he noticed something.
The library was equipped with a skylight - which was connected by a cable to a lever on one of the pillars.
Perhaps… it can be opened?
Set on his course of action, the prone man was surprised to see the redhead almost relax on top of him - focused completely on lapping up the blood from his torn shoulder, with the rest of her pleasantly-warm body lying comfortably on top of his. Moreover, her modestly sized and firm bosom was pressed hard against his own chest, while the girl made noise that sounded akin to… purring as she drank his vital fluids. Finally, neither her legs nor her arms were coiled around him anymore - merely lying on top of or next to each of his own respective limbs.
To his shock, Ethan found only three things that prevented him from actually enjoying this situation. The swarming bugs that did not sting yet were still buzzing annoyingly around the man and the searing agony of his violated shoulder. Finally, there was that little fact that Ethan's wife was murdered in cold blood just hours ago, while his baby daughter was kidnapped by the associates of this woman. And while, after the second sister, this was positively gentle treatment, Ethan was not looking forward to death by exsanguination, regardless.
Slamming the hefty tome against the witch's hooded head, Ethan did not waste a second in pushing her off him and crawling towards the lever with record speed. Just as his hand glided across the ornate handle, a sudden weight was dropped on top of him, almost making the man collapse.
"So mean!"
The witch's playful voice came from right above and behind him, making Ethan realize with a start that she was mounting him. Not waiting for a sickle to the neck, the man pressed hard on the lever, placing his last hope into some primitive mechanism doing what he was hoping it would do.
And Ethan was not disappointed - the cold blast of wind that would be most unwelcome in the majority of situations, now felt akin to a helping hand from the Heavens themselves.
Just like her sisters, upon being exposed to the chilled mountain air, the redheaded vampire screeched in agony, before promptly dismounting Ethan and hurrying to seek cover next to the library's walls - which were not as exposed to the winds as the middle platform.
"It's sooo cold!"
Stating the obvious, the monstrous girl proceeded to hiss and growl at Ethan akin to a wild cat, even as he brought his gun up. Registering the threat, the vampire darted between the bookshelves, clearly not wishing to taste his lead while in her vulnerable state.
Getting up from his spot on the floor and wishing to make the best of the situation, Ethan rushed towards the library's second door, hoping to make his own escape - to no avail, as it was locked just like the first. Clearly, the psycho witch did not want him to simply exit her little game. Turning around, the father could see the redhead hiding behind a shelf, with her amber orbs tracking his every move. Instead of playfulness or mischief in them, however, Ethan saw fear. In a twisted reflection of the vampire's game, it was not Ethan who was locked in here with her - not anymore. The moment the skylight was open - it was the witch who was locked in with Ethan. Still, the lone father was not a murderer, and therefore he made an attempt at diplomacy.
"I just want to find my daughter! Give me the key and we can part ways!"
"Never!"
Only to be met by spiteful defiance.
"Fine then!"
Unloading his pistol's clip onto the shelf the witch used as cover, Ethan started to advance upon his foe, fully committed to snatching the keys from her cold, dead fingers. These monstrous siblings had caused enough grief to the battle-weary father, in addition to their no-doubt extensive list of victims from before his arrival.
I'll not lose any sleep over her...
Under a barrage of gunfire, the girl screamed in fright before collapsing the bookshelf in a bid to buy herself some time, while dashing to another one. Their cat and mouse game from earlier continued, only the roles were reversed. It lasted for less than a minute, before Ethan attempted to intercept the redhead and shoulder slammed a shelf that was right in the witch's path - causing it to collapse and block her sole escape route.
With nowhere to run, the girl barred her fangs at him while hissing like a cornered cat. Raising her sickle menacingly, she nevertheless took a step backwards from him - right into an actual corner. The moment her back touched the wall, her unenviable predicament became apparent to the witch and the fear in her eyes gave way to a new feeling.
Despair.
Rapidly shifting her gaze from Ethan's gunbarrel and his brown-gray eyes, the girl was swiftly becoming hysterical, making the man hesitate in pulling the trigger - even as he lined up a perfect headshot - right into her flower-motif forehead tattoo.
"Oh, God, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die!"
Ethan took one more step forward and the sickle fell from her hands with a clung - forgotten. Instead, she attempted to cover her face with her gloved hands, while still channeling her slightly changed mantra.
"Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me!"
Ethan was not a fool and realized swiftly that it was silly of him to hesitate. These girls were monsters with hundreds of victims under their belts - he had learned that much from coming across random tidbits of information during his detour to this vile castle. Moreover, were the situation reversed, he was fully aware that none of them would've even entertained the notion of showing him mercy. Finally, these people had abetted the kidnapping of his baby daughter - who is not even a year old! God only knew what cruel rituals they wanted to use her for…
By all accounts, he should've filled that redhead's weakened body with lead the moment he got it in his sights… yet…
"Mama… help me, please…"
I am not a murderer!
Seeing the genuine terror in her amber orbs and hearing her call for her mother in the weakest voice possible was enough to break the man's resolve to put an end to this vampiric menace. Slowly and steadily, Ethan lowered the pistol and the redhead's mouth widened in shock as if she never expected the possibility of the outsider ever showing mercy.
Suddenly, with a noise of grinding gears, the skylight shut close and the ambient temperature in the room quickly started returning to a more manageable level. Taking just a second to glance over his shoulder to see it for himself, Ethan could not suppress a gulp of fright as he felt something sharp pressing against his throat.
With sweat starting to bead on his forehead, Ethan inched his head back - only to stare into these intense amber orbs - inches from his own.
In a blink of an eye, the redhead vampire had recovered and was now pressing her dagger against his throat while gazing at him with ferocious intensity. Clearly, she had played enough games with him and now that she had regained her advantage, his stupid act of mercy was going to get him killed.
So stupid!
Waiting for the inevitable slice that would see him reunited with Mia, Ethan returned the witch's stare - by glaring into her passionate eyes without blinking. The man was more than a little surprised when the staring contest he was expecting to be cut short at any second lasted for a full minute. Finally, the witch whispered the last thing Ethan expected to hear in such a situation...
"You are kinda cute…"
And just like that, the sharp blade that was prickling his skin was retracted and concealed back within the long sleeves of her dark robed dress.
The witch took a step back, but her eyes remained locked on his own with that same smoldering intensity, as if trying to peer into his very soul. Unsure about his next move in such a peculiar, potentially precarious situation, Ethan remained frozen in place, even as his tongue mumbled out his heart's deepest desire.
"I just want my Rose back…"
The vampiric girl ignored the statement, asking a question in a subdued voice, instead.
"You could've killed me… You didn't… Do you… love me?"
The suddenness of that query was enough to daze the weary father. Clearly, this vampire was delusional in addition to being a blood-thirsty sickle-wielding menace. Having had enough of their wicked games, Ethan - with complete disregard for potential bodily-harm that could be provoked with such a gesture - unceremoniously placed both of his hands on her respective shoulders before roughly slamming the redhead into the wall and hissing out his desperation to be reunited with his daughter.
"I am not a murderer or a thief - I just want my goddamn child back! That's all I fucking want!"
The witch's reaction was the opposite of what he'd been expecting - anger or fright. Instead, the redhead let out a tiny gasp at his violent gesture, before finally turning her gaze away from him and starting to nibble on her lower lip.
"So rough…"
Even her voice adopted a sensual tone, as if she was aroused by his violent display. Giving a scoff of disbelief, Ethan attempted to snatch the keyring that was around her neck by himself - only for her gloved hand to immediately intercept his own, and to grab it in an unyielding grasp.
"Let go!"
Despite her lithe frame, the vampire was shockingly strong and instead of letting Ethan's hand go, she merely squeezed it harder, affixing it in place right over her neck. Scoffing in frustration, but not willing to start another scuffle with this erratic creature, Ethan ceased his struggles, hoping that she would get bored and release him on her own.
Instead, what happened next was enough to make even this battle-hardened man feel the color of red tinting his cheeks.
Slowly, sensually, the vampire brought both of their hands down her chest, sneaking under her dress and her lacy bra - not stopping until Ethan's hand was firmly cupping her perky left breast. It was cold, likely from the exposure to the mountain wind, but the supple flesh of her chest was incredibly soft, momentarily causing the man to lose his gift of speech.
They stood like that for several moments, before the vampire finally managed to find courage to stare right back at him, once again. This time, her amber orbs were hazy with what the man could only assume to be some kind of wicked lust.
"Ethan… You're Ethan, right?"
The man just nodded, dumbly, making the girl let out a subdued giggle, before introducing herself in that same quiet voice.
"I am Daniela. But you can call me Dani. I have an offer for you."
Now, the man was not particularly eager to get into any kind of business arrangements with these violent and insane creatures, yet the alternatives were not presenting themselves, so…
"I am… uhm… listening."
Ethan was still quite uncomfortable from having his palm cupping her breast, or the fact of how soft it was. If not for a life-or-death encounter he'd just had with this girl, he might have even considered fondling it…
The girl fluttered her messy eyelashes at him seductively, before finally giving her offer.
"We don't have little Rose here, but we have something precious to Mother Miranda. I can get it for you. I can also provide you a safe passage from our castle, afterwards. You only have to…"
The man sweated a little, as the girl watched him attentively while speaking. What could this devilish woman possibly want from him? Intrigued by her offer, however, Ethan could do nothing but nod in a bid for her to continue. Daniela did, but not before adjusting her hand in a way that saw his fingers brush against her nipple - which was hard - making the man gulp from a barrage of mixed feelings that had assaulted him. He was not blind to the fact that underneath her drained mascara and bloodied grimace was a young woman of striking beauty.
"...kiss me."
Author's Note:
So this is another crazy story I thought up, and if you think the first chapter was weird, you ain't seen nothing yet. Expect a bit of an emotional roller-coaster in this story (especially from Daniela's perspective).
This story is completely independent from my other works (except for Alcina's backstory - which will still be the same, but will not really going to be relevant here).
Tell me what you think! :D
