Van Helsing Chapter Four The Road to Redemption ... written by Danitha

Van Helsing's head pounded. His weak head, lolled up and down. His eyes ajusted to his surroundings. Everything seemed blurred. He squinted twice and, after a few moments he could finally visualise his surroundings. He was in, what appeared to be some kind of stone room. The walls where a darks, damp grey colour and in the indents of the stone, where small traces of dark green moss. There was no furnature, and the only sound was of some dripping water unseen to Van Helsing. He went to place his hand on his head, only to find he had been restrained. He looked at his left wrist. It had been chained to a wall by metal links. He was a prisoner, but to what prison was he confined too?

He waited for about fifteen minutes with only his thoughts to comfort him, the only problem was, they weren't very comforting thoughts. The oak door which seemed to be the only access in and out of the prison opened. Van Helsing straightened up his back. As he did so he remembered the deep wound in his left shoulder the Beast had left him with. He waited with great anxiety for the person to appear who had opened the door. As he watched a slender woman figure coiled herself around the door and shut it quickly. She was tall and had dark, coffee coloured locks that curled down to her waist. Her skin was pale and her lips were deep, blood red. She watched Van Helsing curiously. He eyed the woman up and down inspecting every detail she showed. He sensed evil and was cautious of the female. Her deep, blood red lips were shaped into a curved smile and her eyes were wide. She wore a light, cornflower blue dress, that was slightly transparent so you could see her female figure. Van Helsing got the impression the woman was slightly insane. She tilted her head to the right and her sly smile opened a little so her lips were parted. She took a step to her forward and to the left, still gazing at Van Helsing. Van Helsing became quite unnerved and he rested his pounding head against the cool, damp stone wall.

"You are Gabriel Van Helsing sir?" She said. Her voice, echoed against the stone walls. It was an icey, stale voice and it showed no emotion. Her eyes were still wide.

"Yes," Van Helsing's defences were high and he spoke sternly and boldly toward the female. "Why am I here?"

"Why are you here? That's what he asks. The legendary hunter asks why he is here and I should answer him," She said.

Van Helsing finally concluded that the woman was indeed insane. "Excuse me?" He said, squinting one eye in a skeptically fashion.

"He asks questions, he knows I have answers .... MARTHA!" The brunette quickly span around and as she did so her brown hair changed into a dark black colour. The skin, silver eyes, deep, blood red lips and figure remained the same but the hair had changed into a velvet black. The brunette's eyes were wide and flared with insanity, but the black haired woman's eyes were very placid and were only half closed. Everything about her posture was formal and she gave off an appearence of high intelligence.

"You must excuse my ... other side, Martha. I am Clarice and I am a deman known as Femella Maleficus,"

"Female Demon," Van Helsing stated.

"That is correct. There is only one of us left. We have be driven to the brink of extinction and I am the last. Let me tell you about us. There is three of us, myself representing sanity, Martha representing insanity and a Beast, representing evil. You have already been introduced to Beast haven't you?"

Van Helsing's shoulder throbbed. "Oh yes I met her," Van Helsing's eyebrow perked up and twitched "Why am I here?"

Clarice laughed cruelly and walked up to Van Helsing. She bent down so her lips were almost touching his. Van Helsing saw the silver eyes shine with excitement. "We are the only one left. We need to reproduce so our babies can thrive. You have heard of a black widow spider Van Helsing? I am the female you are the male," she smiled a sly smile showing a set of pearl white, perfect teeth. Van Helsing pushed the woman off him fiercely with his free hand and tried to stand up. He found he had to bend a little as the chain didn't exactly lengthen to his height. Clarice, when pushed off, didn't even touch the floor. As Van Helsing pushed her, she fell backwards and glided across the room to the back of it. As she did so she changed into Martha. Again Martha's eyes were wild and her brown hair floated as if she was in the path of wind swirled around her, even though there were no windows in the dark room. "Do not worry Van Helsing," she spat "I will try not to hurt you badly!" And with that she cackled and was gone. Van Helsing, slide down the wall and placed his free hand in his head.

'What could she mean?' Van Helsing thought 'Surely this, thing can't mean to ... no, no she can't,'