A Night's Work
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the VHD series. Do not sue me…
Chapter Two: The Sheriff
Light shone in sheets as it passed through the blinds hanging on the window. Patterns splashed across the opposite wall. The air was dank and old, dust floated in the air. The hot humid air. The door of the room swung open and light invaded the sheriff's post.
"Any news yet?" Abraham Relish sat at his desk labeled Sheriff. One of his men stood at the door puffing a cigarette. "No, none at all…" the man began, "he hasn't stepped out of his quarters at all today…" The man walked in to the small office, papers and other objects cluttered the dust filmed floor. Abraham stood and met the man at the middle of the room.
"The girl has been buried, armed men are watching her grave, just incase." The man said,
"Call them off, the girl wont rise." Abraham replied. "Vampires bring their victims with them to be turned, they don't just leave them in the middle of an alley."
"Yes, sir." The man said as he began walking towards the door.
"Wait…" Abraham called him back. "you say that the Governor has yet to leave his quarters?"
"Yes, he spends most of the day inside. Why do you ask?"
"No reason, just tell me when you see him out okay?" Abraham replied
The man nodded and left the building as Abraham sat back into his chair. The light slowly drained from the walls and yellow was replaced with a glum shade of purple.
Abraham Relish stepped out of the Sheriff's post and into the icy cold air. The mud and cobblestones on the street were slick with thin films of ice. You could smell the cold. Abraham walked down the steps and on to the street, a heavy cloak over his back and his rifle slung over his shoulder. Puffs of white smoke left his lips with every breath, his throat cold and his lips parched. As he walked the lonely streets of Durquishach, the moon slowly disappeared and a light drizzle came over the town. Abraham put his hands to his back and flipped his hood forward.
The thick leather hood set itself on his head and limited his vision as it fell over the sides of his face. Yet before the hood blinded the corners of his eyes, the faint silhouette of a man in the rain shone to his right.
He spun around and slid his rifle into his arms, aiming it at the shadow.
It was no longer there.
His mind drifted, he was old but the times he'd past still remain clear in his mind. He had been sheriff of this town 30 years, he was deputy for 28. Born and raised here, and the oldest resident, the towns memory stayed with him. He was living proof that this town had existed so long, alone and confined, and that it wasn't just some dream conjured by the young men who lived there.
He was now 75, an old man alone in the cold with a rifle, facing a shadow that may have never been there. He was not afraid.
"Who goes there?" he shouted at the hazy void. "This is the Sheriff, show yourself!" no voice answered. Abraham slowly walked forward into the dim alley, sweat began to form on his forehead, the heat inside of his cloak battling with the chilling cold of the air around him. His grip on the rifle tightened as he moved forward, a faint squeak coming from his gloved hands wrapping around the rifle's handgrip. A waft of wind cried behind him and he spun around, his hood falling of his head and onto his shoulders. His gray hair cut close to his scalp glistened as the drizzle coated his hair and face with water. There in front of him stood nothing… he turned once again, and again but nothing was there.
He lowered his rifle. In a whiff of air the tall shadow encased figure appeared in front of him.
"Good Evening…" the beautiful, deep voice of the figure tipped his head forward… his fangs shown in the moonlight. Relish felt like drifting into sleep. Then he leaned forward, and raised his rifle.
"Vampire…" Abraham brought the rifle up to the beast in a flash and pulled the trigger. The vampire gave a wail of pain and dispersed in a cloud of bats. Abraham shielded his face from the darkness that flapped about around him.
He ran through the streets carrying his rifle in his arms, the swarm of bats like a flood behind him. He looked back, aimed and shot at the squall of flying vermin. Blood splashed from the shadow of creatures and painted the alleyway. The bats came together in a dark mist and a sprinting man form emerged from the shadow.
The vampire. The beast lunged for the running sheriff in front of it and caught the lawman by the hood of his cloak.
The vampire rose into the air and cradled the sheriff in its arms. Abraham stared into the creatures beautifully distorted face.
"Listen to me…" the vampire crooned.
Abraham felt the mesmerizing allure of the vampires voice. He could feel the beast's mind creep slowly into his. But he could resist. He knew that he would not give in. He had the power to.
"Curse you, vampire" Abraham spat as he pulled the trigger of his rifle.
BLAM
A flare of light erupted between the vampire and Abraham. The creature screamed in pain as his shoulder burst into a flower of blood. The flesh around the wound began to sizzle and burn.
Abraham fell to the ground. Air whipped around at his face as he plummeted from the great height. He could see the vampire disperse in a cloud of darkness.
Abraham sped towards a roof and went straight through, his body forcing shards of wood and tiles flying into the air around him. He landed on a hard wood floor. Blood sprayed from his body staining the floor around him.
Screams echoed in the night.
Authors note: Sorry it took so long. I haven't really had that much time to write. D comes in the next chapter or so… just wait. Please review!