Disclaimer: The characters and concepts pertaining to Van Helsing in this story are the property of Stephen Sommers, the director and writer of the original movie. This is an amateur writing effort. No money was made off the writing or posting of this story.
Also, any connections made between this story and real life is purely coincidental.
Chapter 10: Losing Grip
The bustling port was unlike anything Mina had ever seen before. Rather than having a market place in the center of the city, it seemed like merchants and peddlers simply disembarked and set up shop near the vessels that brought them into port. She regretted riding off the ship considering the hustle and bustle that carried on around her.
Carl peered out from under his cloak, eyeing everyone suspiciously. Mina could feel him tense behind her on the horse.
"Something wrong?"
"You can never be too careful with merchants," he said nervously. "You never know what they may want from you."
"Are you always this paranoid?" she asked, eyes narrowing. Carl shrugged.
"Isn't everyone?"
"Well Gabriel certainly isn't."
"Why do you…?" Carl bit his tongue. He nodded suddenly in agreement, "Quite right."
They stared blankly down the harbour at the chaos that surrounded them. It wasn't triggered by a great deal for foreign objects. It was around the ship that had crashed into the dock, on that happened to be covered in corpses.
"He really doesn't like doing anything the easy way, does he?" Carl asked, directing the question at no one in particular. Mina groaned audibly and rode off in the direction of the ship.
Gabriel crawled. He didn't care which direction he was traveling in at that point, as long as it felt like his was traveling north.
His fingers and toes were numb. Blood dripped from his neck and out his mouth, streaming down over his chest where is froze his clothing to his skin. It was an awful feeling, one he didn't particularly enjoy, even in his semi-conscious state.
He stopped short, breathing heavily. You've really done it this time, haven't you Gabriel? He could hear Carl in his mind. Rushing into things…pistols drawn…
And look at you now, a voice mocked him, on your knees just begging for Elizabeth to come and take you.
"NO!" He shouted, throwing his fists into the soil. He heaved forward with a loud cry, his voice cracking and blood flying from his parted lips. "NO! NO! NO! She won't have me…she won't!"
Gabriel…Mina's voice again, her haunting whisper; begging, pleading, crying out for help as she lay defeated in the falling snow.
"STOP SHOWING ME THIS!" He cried.
"No." Elizabeth knelt by his side once more. "Just ask for it Gabriel and I'll make the pain stop."
"No…" he whispered.
"What was that?"
"NO!"
There was silence again in the forest, the last sound of his voice fading off into the distance. It was called to her, over the mountains and villages, past the countries he had left to cross, and found its way to her waiting ear. And there, in his mind's eye, he saw her grinning, fangs gleaming, eyes shimmering in happiness, because his cry in anguish meant only one thing: she was winning. Slowly but surely, he was going to lose the battle she had thrown him into, and when he did, she would pick up the pieces.
A branch cracked over to his right. Gabriel shook his head lazily. On any normal day his instincts would cause him to reach for his weapon and prepare for anyone, friend or foe. But the fever made his head feel as if it were filled with water and it was hard to focus on anything but the pounding in his temples.
"Don't move." The voice echoed in his sluggish brain. Gabriel laughed. You're joking. You must be joking. Oh good God, you just love watching this don't you?
"You're trespassing on private property. I don't allow any visitors."
He spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground. The person to his right took another step forward. He could hear the sound the shoe made as it hit the earth, quiet as it was. His body went rigid suddenly as his ears were filled with another sound: the sound of a heart beat.
Gabriel turned his head a little, as much as he could manage with the injury on his throat. The figure was dressed in thick clothing from head to toe and remained sexless, even though they were only a few feet apart. In their right hand was a pistol, aimed at his head, in the left, a silver stake.
Joy…
"You're one of those God damn vampires aren't you?"
He spat another mouthful of blood to the ground. "Not yet."
"Than what are you?"
He wheezed, darkness clouding his vision.
"Something else."
There was something comforting there, being so close to where he had been. Mina knew Gabriel had been there. She knew his scent so clearly she could follow without looking, without thinking. It was the scent of gunpowder and blood, an aroma that left her mouth dry and lips burning, aching for some unconscious need.
Mina caught sight of the black Andalusian in the crowd. It was magnificent, one of the only living creatures spared in the attack to the ship. She bit her bottom lip a little and dismounted, moving through the crowd towards the horse.
"Where are you going?" Carl shouted, but his voice went unheard over the sea of people swarming around the ship. Mina's hair disappeared into them.
The friar groaned. It was one thing to deal with Gabriel's constant disappearance. That he could handle. For five years he had been experiencing Gabriel's vanishing act. One minute the hunter could be seen, fedora moving through the crowd of people, the next, it was gone. Normally, Mina was the dependable one. She was always in her home in Italy, never far from there. But now it was different. Mina was different. She was suddenly becoming Gabriel.
His horse paced restlessly. He scanned the crowd again, searching for any sight of her black coat and hat, the slightest flash of her hair…but the pandemonium around him made it hard to see anyone in particular.
Suddenly he say he jumping from the ship's hull, landing gracefully on the ground below. She had something hidden under her jacket, protruding from her back next to the quiver of arrows and bow. Carl recognized the shape. He saw the glint of steel and knew immediately what it was: she had Gabriel's crossbow.
His eyes narrowed though. She was heading away from him rather than towards. Where the hell is she going? He tried to ride towards her but the mob was impenetrable to even his pony. Carl squinted and found Mina untying Gabriel's horse quietly, without the notice of the guards clearing off the deck. Any second though, and they would take notice.
Carl thought quickly. "Diversion…must create a diversion…" He dug through the pockets in his robes, fumbling with stakes and bottles of Holy Water before finding what he was looking for. The tiny shafts were no larger than cigarettes with a short fuse at each end. He looked off in Mina's direction, nearly dropping the fire crackers all over the ground. He managed to light them and toss them into the crowd just as she grabbed the lead rope.
SNAP! CRACK! BANG!
Screams echoed through the harbour. Mina was halfway onto the horse's back when the stallion was spooked. It no longer cared about its rider. The beautiful animal reared and took off, dragging Mina with it across the square.
"CARL!"
"Sorry!" He shouted, riding after her.
Mina dug her nails into the horse's back and hoisted herself off the ground. The constant rocking back and forth of the body made it hard not to slip, but she managed to get one good kick off the ground and throw herself head-first over the back, hanging off with her legs on the left and torso on the right.
She twisted awkwardly to get out of the way of the crowds, but couldn't do a very good job. Her head was thrown into the ribcage of a merchant who failed to get out of her way fast enough. It caused her body to spin clockwise, and when she finally accomplished a sitting position, she was riding backwards.
"Just perfect…" Mina mumbled, swinging her legs over the opposite sides quick enough that she stayed on the horse. She grabbed hold of the halter and held on for dear life.
Carl was wearing that infernal jester costume again. He sat down on the floor next to Mina's throne. She was seated lazily in it, wearing a red dress the colour of blood while her long, curled hair hung down to the floor, adorned with flowers and jewels.
"And look who it is, Carl: The Vatican's warrior, back from the dead."
"In what distant deeps or skies burnt the fire of thine eyes?" Carl asked, reciting William Black while playing with the bells that hung from the hat of his costume. Mina turned to face Gabriel as he stood in front of the two.
I think I was enjoying the other dream more, he thought wearily, growing tired of unconsciousness. What was Elizabeth going to do to him this time? Berate him about not having a soul?
"I'm nobody, who are you? Are you a nobody too?" Carl fell back, screeching with laughter from Emily Dickinson's poetry. Mina rolled her eyes and stood up from her throne.
"You know it's strange. I've seen all your memories Gabriel. Every single one of them. But it is these two that you hold dear." She scoffed, glancing over her shoulder at Carl, who was still on the ground laughing. "A brilliant friar with a knack for invention and homicide…and a melancholic vampire with a fear of her power. I should love to meet these two."
"I wouldn't count on that."
"Oh, really?" She asked, walking around him, circling to keep him on his toes. "So sure of that answer, but you have seen it, just as I have. Mina and Carl dying in the snow."
"It's not going to happen," he repeated himself.
Mina smiled coyly. The vision was a flash, as quick as lightning, but Gabriel memorized it. He saw two horses moving across the countryside. One horse carried Carl, dressed in his usual brown robes that flew behind him like a demon with broken wings. The other was his, but the rider was smaller, dressed in clothing that hung off their body like bags.
"Still think that it's not going to happen?"
"Leave them out of this," he commanded again.
"You're hardly in the position to make demands." She replied, sounding somewhat offended at his words.
"I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I watered it in fears, Night and morning with my tears, and I sunned it with smiles, and with soft deceitful wiles." Carl laughed again before continuing. "And it grew both day and night, till it bore an apple bright, and my foe beheld it shine, and he knew that it was mine - and into my garden stole when the night had veiled the pole; in the morning, glad, I see my foe outstretched beneath the tree."
Gabriel snapped awake, regretting doing so immediately after his eyes opened. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Cold sweat dripped from every inch of his body and he could not stop shivering no matter what.
He was covered with something soft and thick, that blocked out the sunlight wonderfully and kept him blissfully free of the burning light that threatened him. It was a small comfort when he considered the agony the rest of his body was in. Each of his arms were slung over the shoulders of two people walking side by side, and neither seemed to notice that he had regained consciousness.
"I do not like this idea," the one on the left said. The voice was female and she spoke in Croatian. "Taking him in leaves us vulnerable to her attack."
"We have our orders," the one on the right replied. "Vulnerable or not, we don't have a choice."
"They've chosen a bad time to depend upon us."
"Don't be saying things like that. Whatever time they choose to call upon our hospitality, we will be ready to accept."
The daughter didn't seem convinced. She groaned and changed the subject. "Jesus, he's heavy."
"Watch your language, young lady."
"Well he is."
They stopped a moment, adjusting the hold they had on his limbs. The one on the left spoke again with a small groan. "He's not doing too well. The change is coming on too quickly now."
"He's special this one. Stronger than the others. Maybe she felt like she had to break him before she took him."
"She's never done that before," the daughter said. "But I can imagine why this one would be so special."
Why?
"Let's get him inside then. Block up all the windows before I take off the cloak."
"Yes mother," the daughter said.
Gabriel wanted to listen more, but darkness consumed him before they could speak again.
"Right," Carl said loudly, "So the plan is that we're going to try and find Van Helsing in hundreds upon hundreds of miles of trees and forest?"
Mina didn't have an answer to that. She suddenly felt like the decision to ride after Gabriel was too impulsive. Nearly half a day had passed and she and Carl were surrounded by trees of all shapes and sizes and there was no sign of clearing any time soon. Carl's commentary wasn't helping. Every now and then he'd scoff and say, "Oh, look, more trees."
"You're awfully quiet over there."
"What was that?" Mina snapped back into reality.
"What's the plan?" Carl asked, expecting her to revise their less than adequate idea. "You can't expect me to believe that all you have for an idea is simply to ride up to Cachtice, knock on the door with a cheerful, 'Hello! I'm here to kill you!"
Her throat went dry. She was usually the one who scolded Gabriel for being so vague. And now she was being equally as irritating, her plan so filled with holes it was unbelievable. What happened between there and Cachtice? Gabriel would be a thrall by then anyways. Perhaps he would show up and try to kill them.
NO! That's not going to happen. She won't lay a finger on Gabriel Van Helsing or so help me I'll…
"I don't know, Carl," she said. "We'll cross those bridges when we come to them."
She stopped suddenly, her ears picking up the sounds of a snapping branch. It was different though, not the hollow sound made by the horse's hoof as it struck the ground. It was a solid sound, made by a human foot, probably a size nine or ten boot with soft soles but a heavy heel. There's a weapon in it. And he's tall, probably six feet, a hundred and eighty…
Her eyes narrowed. Immediately her mind was calculating things that would be impossible for any human. She could hear Carl's heartbeat, pounding under his robes as he too came to a stop a few feet in front of her.
"What is it?" He asked. Mina raised a finger to her lips and drew her bow from her back, pulling the string from one end to another. She pulled the hat from her head and dismounted.
"Stay here," she said, holding up a hand to keep him on horseback. She handed him the lead rope and wandered off, following instincts she never knew she had. Somehow everything seemed so clear. The world was like she had opened her eyes for the first time. It burned in her vision, intense, so full of life. Mina strung her bow before loading, drawing the arrow back a few inches to test the weight. It was lighter than she remembered, but the thought disappeared as the sound of footsteps filled her ears again.
Mina stepped forward, glancing around hurriedly but intently. It was different now. Never before had her human instincts yielded to her vampire ones. They always lay dormant, hidden underneath her mortal intuition. It was as if they had come back to life.
Someone yelped behind her as a heavy, robed object hit the ground. Mina sighed, turning slowly to find Carl on the ground, fighting with his clothing, attempting to free himself from the thick layers of fabric that constricted his movements.
"You could have just stayed still," she said, relaxing her arm a moment. Carl got to his feet and rushed over to her, still fumbling with a weapon.
"Do you know what happens whenever I'm told to stay by myself?" he asked her rhetorically. Mina didn't want to know. She pulled the arrow back on the string before pressing onward. Carl staggered behind her, prepared with a knife and a stake. "This isn't a good idea."
"Relax Carl," she replied nonchalantly, still sniffing the wind. The footsteps were moving closer, spiraling inevitably towards them. She spun around to Carl's right.
"What was that?" he demanded at the sound of a snapping branch. Mina closed her eyes.Hundred and eighty pounds, nimble…someone who works out. Healthy heart…oh God, his veins…
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That last bit…" Carl said fearfully. Mina glanced over at him, watching as the colour drained away from his face. She reached for her face immediately, embarrassed, as she realized that her fangs had grown without her command. She turned back and took a deep breath, trying to will them back into place. Come on, she thought to herself, come on, come on…
The footsteps returned.
"DOMINICK! IT'S COMING!" Mina looked up just in time to see the silver shape move swiftly though the trees. Without another thought for her 'other half' she loaded her bow and fired, striking with surprising accuracy. The wolf roared, arching its back painfully before turning and glaring at Mina and Carl.
A wad of bloody saliva dripped out from between its lips as it shook the arrow from its thick skin. Mina held out her hand to Carl for him to hand her some silver ammunition, but he wasn't looking at her hand. He was staring wide-eyed and pale-skinned at the beast that seemed to give them a look of pure hunger, like it hadn't eaten in weeks.
"It would be a good time for someone to say run," he said shakily.
Mina exhaled heavily. Her mouth went dry as the creature's heartbeat filled her ears. She imagined it on the ground, writhing in agony as she clamped her jaws on its throat.
"Well if you won't…" Carl turned right around and took off in the other direction.
The wolf licked its lips and took off towards him.
Mina couldn't move for a moment, frozen in thought. You can stop him Mina. Think about stopping him. Think about the shape. Think about the power. Think about it hard.
"ARE YOU COMING?!" She finally tore herself from the voice in her head and ran after him.
"CARL! GIVE ME SOME SILVER BULLETS!"
"It's a little hard to do that when you're several feet behind me!" Carl shouted back, dodging another tree. Mina widened her steps a little more, still used to walking in the thick crinoline skirts of her corseted gowns. The pants allowed her to run freely, and the discovery that her legs were longer than she thought came at the most opportune moment, since a second later the giant paw of the wolf swiped across her back. The claws caught on the fabric but missed her skin by millimeters. Thinking quickly, Mina dropped to the ground. The wolf jumped over top of her, but did not stop. It kept moving for Carl.
The friar was slower than Mina. His own wardrobe did not allow the freedoms hers did. He looked over his shoulder, finding Mina nowhere in sight, but the wolf close behind. So close he could hear the growls from its throat, the heavy breathing, the smell of rotting meat…
"HEY!" The wolf dropped down onto its front legs, looking over it's own shoulder now.
SNAP! The sound of a bowstring being released was the last thing it ever heard.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Mina asked, loading another arrow into the bow.
The wolf charged towards her this time, the arrow hanging from its neck, shaking wildly with every step.
"Carl…" she said, firing again. The friar did not miss a beat. Already he had a revolver loaded with silver bullets and had started to fire.
A little too lat however, since the wolf hurled itself into Mina and dropped to the ground. And then the ground dropped beneath them, and the cage holding the two rose into the sky, near the treetops.
"GOT IT DOMINICK!" A voice shouted. "Along with something else."
Author's Notes: I've been having some ongoing problems with e-mails and attachments. It won't even let me send large letters. So Grissom, if you're reading this, instead of writing to you paragraph by paragraph, I'll just post and hope to God the problem is fixed in time for the next chapter. And even if you don't read this I'll e-mail you with the small letter of notice. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have several death threats to send to Hotmail.
However, before I leave, I would like to respond to my reviews. Not one on one, directly (I'm a little busy at the moment, I apologize) but I would like to write just a few.
1) I am trying to make Mina's character less 2 dimensional. In a response to Eccentricat's review I went back and re-read a lot of my original chapters and realized nothing had gone according to plan. I didn't want to push the romance between her and Van Helsing in fear of scrutiny, since I really hate Mary-Sues and the thought of my characters becoming them. Unfortunately in my crusade to stop Mina from being a two-dimensional character I actually succeeded in transforming her into one.
2) Carl will have a much large role. Because I've broken the story down into two parts really (Van Helsing's story and Carl and Mina's) he'll be having a bigger part to play than in the first. And no, I have no intention of turning Carl into a thrall. Not even becoming a vampire could make David Wenham any sexier.
3) The wolf in the forest is not a werewolf. If it were, I would have clearly expressed the factor of it being night. But it's not, so more on that in the next chapter.
4) Looks like a lot of people are rooting for a Mina/Elizabeth fight scene. Hmm…put them both in the mud in Dracula's Brides' costumes and you have a pay-per-view event on yours hands.
5) The Vampire Hierarchy I have created for the story was of my own design. I apologize if it looks like I was inspired from another source. Basically, it was a mixture of Quizilla and The Ninth Gate that gave me the idea. I am still attempting to work in the character description I was given last chapter. My biggest problem was the inconsistencies with the vampire archetype already established by Sommers. If the Vampire elder were to have a half-human child, the baby would never grow from its infantile state. Also, it would possess both human features and vampire ones, making for a rather ugly creature in my opinion, one that probably lacked significant intelligent thought the creature who would cure Van Helsing would need to possess. The female would have to have submitted herself entirely into darkness to attain the status of Incubus before breaking free from that, leaving no connection between her and the elders. Check back next chapter for my final interpretation.
6) Also next chapter: Vaseria. Who took over in the wake of Anna's death? Gabriel Van Helsing: Ow, that's going to leave a mark. Want me to kiss it better? Carl: Poor guy. Just when he gets armed he becomes not-so-dangerous. Mina: You better put a leash on your man or he is always going to get away. Elizabeth: Making her blood bath built for two. How…romantic? Weird Male Vampire Who Knows Mina: Become less miscellaneous dude. Maybe check in on her while she's bathing. Oops! Was that just a spoiler? Mother and Daughter Duo: Beloved saviours of Van Helsing. I have a whole bunch of Van-Fans who'll kill you if you don't make everything all better. Maybe you should find yourself a fairy godmother. Quick! Make a princess cry! Cardinal Jinette: You can't die! You're the one villain Van Helsing can't kill, or doesn't want to kill, or maybe just can't…I'm not sure. I can't discuss the psychological connection between the crazy-old-dude-mentor archetype Jinette and the rebellious-angry-amnesiac Van Helsing.
7) Oh yeah, and there was a review a while back regarding Peta Wilson, and I have to say I agree. I've changed my mind officially. I've started modelling her after Rachel Weisz. Any other suggestions for cast members?
Well, there's my lengthily author's note. Hope I answered all the important questions. If not, just review again and I'll get to them next chapter. Sorry I didn't do individual review responses!
Well, time to get back to my unnaturally long English Exam. (Gives evil glare in general direction of English teacher) SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER!
