'Now what am I going to get for dad?'
Matt strode through one of London's malls. He hadn't caught its name on the way in, but it was close to his temporary dorm room so it really didn't matter. He was finishing up a study abroad program in England which would cover many of the classes he needed for his major. Doing this would let him relax later on. His work would earn him something like twelve or fifteen credit hours.
Still, it was almost over. The day after next he would be returning home. Having planned to pick up things for family and friends, but having delayed due to school, he went out that night with a good amount of money and a few ideas. Luckily, he had found things for most of the people on his list.
His dad would be the hardest to shop for. 'Well... Look for anything pertaining to ducks. Mallard Drakes if we can find them.' Across the hall was a store that showed some promise, so he started over.
He was interrupted by a scream. Snapping his head to look over his left shoulder, he saw a crowd of people running in his direction. He bounded to the wall, getting out of the way of the human stampede. '...the hell?' He couldn't see beyond the crowd to see what they were running from, but his curiosity would not be denied. Moving against the wall, he walked 'upstream' until the crowd had run past. He stepped out into the hall to see what was going on.
It was a standoff. About fifty feet up the hallway on the left side stood a group of police. Well... they looked more like soldiers then police, the exception being the young woman at the fore of the group who wore a police- style uniform. 'If you ignore the miniskirt.' Though he had to admit, she was quite pretty. On the right side of the hall stood a lone man. The man and woman yelled at each other. Mostly calling each other "scum", "garbage", and "not worthy of the lowest circle of Hell." 'Hmm... That last one was strange..."
Matt had had enough. He started to turn to head back up the hall... when the man suddenly looked straight into his eyes... Matthew's mind blanked and his vision turned to a gray haze. He heard nothing, and felt as if floating. When his vision returned, he was looking at the young woman and accompanying soldiers. He felt an arm across his chest and sensed a head over his right shoulder. There was a gun being held by his left side. There was talking, but he couldn't hear is clearly enough to understand. He struggled to get free, but his motions were for not. His muscles would barely respond to his commands. "Let... me... go..." he strained to udder. He wasn't even sure he'd said anything.
Matthew had enough clarity of vision to analyze the people around him. He looked more closely at the woman, now a mere twenty feet away. The feature that stood out the most was her red eyes. 'Red eyes? Where in the gene pool did those come from?' He turned his eyes to the right and turned his head enough to see the man holding him hostage. He had red eyes too, and rather long and pointed canine teeth.
Matthew's guts turned to ice. 'No... That can't be... Vampires aren't real! This can't be happening!' His mind grew more chaotic as Matt looked for a solution to his problem. Each required tools he didn't have, namely control of his own body.
Suddenly, a voice cut through the haze. "Young man?" It was the young woman. Matthew recognized the voice from the verbal jabs she threw at the man holding him. As he couldn't see her mouth and the voice resonated around his head he wasn't sure if she'd spoken verbally or telepathically.
Either way, he spoke his reply. "Yeah?" he said slowly.
She spoke clearly, but as if she were choosing her words very carefully. In his time of chaos, her British accent helped to calm him. He'd always been fond of that accent. "I need to shoot the man holding you hostage. I cannot allow him to escape. But to shoot his heart I need to shoot through your lung. I know you don't want to die tonight, but you don't have to. You can join me. It must be your choice by your own free will. Make your choice."
He wasn't sure if it was her doing or shock on the part of his captor, but his mind abruptly cleared. He still could not control his body, but his brain was his. As quickly as he could, he ran what seemed like a million thoughts through his head. He thought of his family, his friends, his girlfriend Akira. 'Akira...' He wanted to protect them, and behind him was a threat. 'If he gets away, he could get to the States. I can't allow that.' Along with that was his desire to live. Not that he was afraid to die, but he wanted to live. And, with his mind as confused as it was, her voice provided him with some idea of a direction. All parts of his mind agreed. He closed his eyes. "Yes."
He felt the shot pass through him before he heard it. He couldn't even begin to explain how it felt, but hurting like a bitch would come pretty close. The next thing he knew, he was lying in a small but slowly expanding pool of blood next to a pile of ash. The young woman knelt beside him. "You didn't even flinch. I'm impressed." He wanted to tell her he hadn't flinched because he couldn't move, but he... well... couldn't. All he could do was draw a ragged breath into his barely functioning left lung. "Just remember that this was your choice, and that I'll be here to help you, ok?" All he could do was slowly nod. The young woman smiled lightly, as if reliving a memory. "This is where you're supposed to close your eyes." Matthew slowly shook his head. Whatever happened next, he wanted to see. The young woman gently moved Matthew's head to the side and bent down towards his neck...
Matt ended his mild groan as the pain in his neck subsided. The young woman got back up, her lips a shade redder then before. She pressed a fingernail into the bottom side of her arm and quickly sliced into her flesh. The small cut oozed red. "Now, you must drink this." Matthew didn't have the energy to argue. She lowered her arm to his mouth...
After a minute, she moved her arm away. "Just give it some time. You'll feel better in a moment." And he did, though for a time he was still immobile. He felt his mouth go numb for a few moments. He ran his tongue around to feel for changes and found his canines growing longer and more pointed. He started to wonder just what he had done... what he had allowed to be done to him... Gradually, he gained enough energy to pick up his head and survey the damage. He had a gaping hole in his chest, but it was strangely closing itself. He watched it curiously for a while, his mind still trying to grasp what was happening, but as it closed the young woman spoke again. "Can you stand?"
He looked up at her and weakly replied, "Yeah, I think so."
"Can you walk?"
He gave a very slight smile and a single chuckle. "How far?"
The young woman helped Matthew to his feet, then wrapped her right arm around his waist to help support him. For stability, he set his arm on her shoulders. Slowly at first, but gradually faster as he gained energy as his body healed itself, the two started for the door. On the way, Matthew looked at a storefront window. The lighting had caused a mirror effect. With the chest wound healed, the only change to his torso was a hole in his shirt. There were a pair of wounds in his neck, which still felt some residual pain. But the big change was his eyes. His formerly blue-green eyes were now red. 'I don't know if I'll ever get used to those...' Outside the mall stood another woman with very light colored hair dressed in a dark business-like suit. He couldn't see any other details. For lack of a better description, he designated the new woman 'leader' in his mind. Leader spoke. "First Alucard and now you. You'd better not make a habit of this." After a pause in which she looked at Matt, she spoke again to the young woman. "I'll see that someone takes care of him."
"No," the young woman carefully replied. "I'd like him brought into the Hellsing organization. He chose to join of his own free will." To back up her story, he slowly but strongly nodded.
Leader looked him over, then replied. "Fine. Train him well." Leader turned and started for a car.
"Come on," the young woman said to Matthew. "You know, all things considered, this has been a perfect night." Matthew looked at her as if she were insane, but she smiled. Confused, Matthew simply walked on. As the two approached an awaiting vehicle, a strange beeping sound filled the air...
Matt strode through one of London's malls. He hadn't caught its name on the way in, but it was close to his temporary dorm room so it really didn't matter. He was finishing up a study abroad program in England which would cover many of the classes he needed for his major. Doing this would let him relax later on. His work would earn him something like twelve or fifteen credit hours.
Still, it was almost over. The day after next he would be returning home. Having planned to pick up things for family and friends, but having delayed due to school, he went out that night with a good amount of money and a few ideas. Luckily, he had found things for most of the people on his list.
His dad would be the hardest to shop for. 'Well... Look for anything pertaining to ducks. Mallard Drakes if we can find them.' Across the hall was a store that showed some promise, so he started over.
He was interrupted by a scream. Snapping his head to look over his left shoulder, he saw a crowd of people running in his direction. He bounded to the wall, getting out of the way of the human stampede. '...the hell?' He couldn't see beyond the crowd to see what they were running from, but his curiosity would not be denied. Moving against the wall, he walked 'upstream' until the crowd had run past. He stepped out into the hall to see what was going on.
It was a standoff. About fifty feet up the hallway on the left side stood a group of police. Well... they looked more like soldiers then police, the exception being the young woman at the fore of the group who wore a police- style uniform. 'If you ignore the miniskirt.' Though he had to admit, she was quite pretty. On the right side of the hall stood a lone man. The man and woman yelled at each other. Mostly calling each other "scum", "garbage", and "not worthy of the lowest circle of Hell." 'Hmm... That last one was strange..."
Matt had had enough. He started to turn to head back up the hall... when the man suddenly looked straight into his eyes... Matthew's mind blanked and his vision turned to a gray haze. He heard nothing, and felt as if floating. When his vision returned, he was looking at the young woman and accompanying soldiers. He felt an arm across his chest and sensed a head over his right shoulder. There was a gun being held by his left side. There was talking, but he couldn't hear is clearly enough to understand. He struggled to get free, but his motions were for not. His muscles would barely respond to his commands. "Let... me... go..." he strained to udder. He wasn't even sure he'd said anything.
Matthew had enough clarity of vision to analyze the people around him. He looked more closely at the woman, now a mere twenty feet away. The feature that stood out the most was her red eyes. 'Red eyes? Where in the gene pool did those come from?' He turned his eyes to the right and turned his head enough to see the man holding him hostage. He had red eyes too, and rather long and pointed canine teeth.
Matthew's guts turned to ice. 'No... That can't be... Vampires aren't real! This can't be happening!' His mind grew more chaotic as Matt looked for a solution to his problem. Each required tools he didn't have, namely control of his own body.
Suddenly, a voice cut through the haze. "Young man?" It was the young woman. Matthew recognized the voice from the verbal jabs she threw at the man holding him. As he couldn't see her mouth and the voice resonated around his head he wasn't sure if she'd spoken verbally or telepathically.
Either way, he spoke his reply. "Yeah?" he said slowly.
She spoke clearly, but as if she were choosing her words very carefully. In his time of chaos, her British accent helped to calm him. He'd always been fond of that accent. "I need to shoot the man holding you hostage. I cannot allow him to escape. But to shoot his heart I need to shoot through your lung. I know you don't want to die tonight, but you don't have to. You can join me. It must be your choice by your own free will. Make your choice."
He wasn't sure if it was her doing or shock on the part of his captor, but his mind abruptly cleared. He still could not control his body, but his brain was his. As quickly as he could, he ran what seemed like a million thoughts through his head. He thought of his family, his friends, his girlfriend Akira. 'Akira...' He wanted to protect them, and behind him was a threat. 'If he gets away, he could get to the States. I can't allow that.' Along with that was his desire to live. Not that he was afraid to die, but he wanted to live. And, with his mind as confused as it was, her voice provided him with some idea of a direction. All parts of his mind agreed. He closed his eyes. "Yes."
He felt the shot pass through him before he heard it. He couldn't even begin to explain how it felt, but hurting like a bitch would come pretty close. The next thing he knew, he was lying in a small but slowly expanding pool of blood next to a pile of ash. The young woman knelt beside him. "You didn't even flinch. I'm impressed." He wanted to tell her he hadn't flinched because he couldn't move, but he... well... couldn't. All he could do was draw a ragged breath into his barely functioning left lung. "Just remember that this was your choice, and that I'll be here to help you, ok?" All he could do was slowly nod. The young woman smiled lightly, as if reliving a memory. "This is where you're supposed to close your eyes." Matthew slowly shook his head. Whatever happened next, he wanted to see. The young woman gently moved Matthew's head to the side and bent down towards his neck...
Matt ended his mild groan as the pain in his neck subsided. The young woman got back up, her lips a shade redder then before. She pressed a fingernail into the bottom side of her arm and quickly sliced into her flesh. The small cut oozed red. "Now, you must drink this." Matthew didn't have the energy to argue. She lowered her arm to his mouth...
After a minute, she moved her arm away. "Just give it some time. You'll feel better in a moment." And he did, though for a time he was still immobile. He felt his mouth go numb for a few moments. He ran his tongue around to feel for changes and found his canines growing longer and more pointed. He started to wonder just what he had done... what he had allowed to be done to him... Gradually, he gained enough energy to pick up his head and survey the damage. He had a gaping hole in his chest, but it was strangely closing itself. He watched it curiously for a while, his mind still trying to grasp what was happening, but as it closed the young woman spoke again. "Can you stand?"
He looked up at her and weakly replied, "Yeah, I think so."
"Can you walk?"
He gave a very slight smile and a single chuckle. "How far?"
The young woman helped Matthew to his feet, then wrapped her right arm around his waist to help support him. For stability, he set his arm on her shoulders. Slowly at first, but gradually faster as he gained energy as his body healed itself, the two started for the door. On the way, Matthew looked at a storefront window. The lighting had caused a mirror effect. With the chest wound healed, the only change to his torso was a hole in his shirt. There were a pair of wounds in his neck, which still felt some residual pain. But the big change was his eyes. His formerly blue-green eyes were now red. 'I don't know if I'll ever get used to those...' Outside the mall stood another woman with very light colored hair dressed in a dark business-like suit. He couldn't see any other details. For lack of a better description, he designated the new woman 'leader' in his mind. Leader spoke. "First Alucard and now you. You'd better not make a habit of this." After a pause in which she looked at Matt, she spoke again to the young woman. "I'll see that someone takes care of him."
"No," the young woman carefully replied. "I'd like him brought into the Hellsing organization. He chose to join of his own free will." To back up her story, he slowly but strongly nodded.
Leader looked him over, then replied. "Fine. Train him well." Leader turned and started for a car.
"Come on," the young woman said to Matthew. "You know, all things considered, this has been a perfect night." Matthew looked at her as if she were insane, but she smiled. Confused, Matthew simply walked on. As the two approached an awaiting vehicle, a strange beeping sound filled the air...
