Day Three, 10:59 pm.
Shropshire. More accurate, the town of Cleobury Mortimer, where the streets seemed dull and empty, especially on this night. It was becoming cold out, as autumn was on its way, and on this empty night, it was chilly and almost too eerie of a silence. Alucard was busy taking in their surroundings, walking along quietly, looking from the Clee Hills, towards the town, and towards the peaked church. Sooner or later, he knew, a ghoul or Vampire would show up, to try to run him out, or kill him. There was an odd thought; a rogue Vampire killing the all-powerful Alucard.
"Seras," he barked out, looking to his left. "I trust you can sustain yourself in a fight against another Vampire or his little slaves, particularly since you possess that gun of yours. Head to the left of the town, I'll take the church and the rest." The church. Alucard was only going to go in there because he just knew that Anderson was here, hiding out in the church amongst dead ghouls and whatever soul decided to cause the outbreak. And perhaps that man had his hat.
"Yes, sir." Stoutly noted, before Seras disappeared into the gentle sheen of fog that was beginning to gather. Good. He was rid of the girl now. Time to go to the church.
There weren't even any people walking the streets. Whatever had happened here must have been horrid, either that, or there were no surviving humans left. A shame. Alucard was walking up the steps of the church now, gazing about the town a few moments longer, before disappearing inside the doors. Immediately, he could smell blood.
Anderson had to be there.
Making his way in through the lobby, Alucard let his gaze trail over the walls, looking at all the bulletins, the crucifix, the small portion of wall that had pictures drawn by kids hung with brightly colored pins. This was the worse part. The anticipation, the knowledge of something bad, and then seeing something so natural for humans to have, something so different from the next scene he would see. It just killed the mood.
Gloved hands came to rest on the doors the Vampire figured led to the part of the church where the sermons were held. He could definitely smell blood coming from that room now, rank and pungent. Either the whole town was in there, as ghouls and Vampires, or Anderson was in there with a dead Vampire or two, waiting. Alucard just knew that Anderson had to be in this town.
The doors were pushed open, and candlelight spilled over Alucard's red coat and the floor. He now knew why there was not a soul walking the village streets. The parish was packed full of people, the pews crowded, men and women and children standing along the walls, and sitting on the floors, all facing the alter. There were priests sitting at the front, with alter boys standing behind them, and one holding the good book, but none were talking, not a priest nor alter boy. There was a man standing there though, who was silent now, although Alucard was positive he had been speaking before.
That must be the Vampire he was in search of. A Vampire preaching to a town of ghouls. What was he preaching of though?
The silence was broken then, by that man standing at the front of the alter, arms out-stretched. "Welcome, stranger, to our lovely town of Cleobury Mortimer." And with that simple greeting, there was a rustle of clothing and shoes, as every eye turned to stare at the black haired man in the doorway, illuminated by the dim, flickering light. "What brings you to our little city?"
"Ahh!" Seras felt another blade slide into her flesh, as her body was forced back once more. Weakly, she aimed her cannon at the man before her. If he threw one more knife at her, imbedded it into her flesh, she wouldn't be able to take it any longer.
"No use, woman." A soft chuckling came from the fog, as footsteps began to near the female Vampire. A blade was held out to the girl's face, the tip set gently on her forehead. "There is no use fighting. Just tell me where the other one is." The sharp edge was pressed deeper into the thin layer of skin on the girl's skull, a few drips of blood forming around the edges of the small wound. "There is no way they sent you here by yourself."
"T-the church." The girl began to back up a bit, trying to make it so she could at least shoot the man's leg, if anything, albeit he was too close. "Or . . . or somewhere, over there." Brownish-red eyes widened some, as she stared up at the man. Seras knew that her gun could not help her with this, but could she use physical attacks?
"Good girl." Anderson bent down then, and began to pull his knives from the girl, no fear shown. Once he was through with that task, the man pulled from his coat a few pieces of paper, and stuck them in the ground around Seras, before standing up and taking a few steps back. "Now hopefully," he began to drawl with that accent, "your 'Master' won't come save you from the daylight." A soft chuckle, and then he turned his back to her. "Good luck."
With that, Father Anderson was off. He was here to find Alucard, to bring justification to the last time they met; if he didn't wish to be around Anderson, to be with him, then why had he slept with him? This was what Anderson had come to find out.
Green eyes fell upon the church, and a detached smile upon those lips. If that girl had been telling the truth, then inside lay the one he sought. Steps quickened, as if anxious, as he neared the place of worship.
But then he stopped.
A glance was shot to his right, then his left, as the realization dawned on him that not a single soul nor ghoul nor Vampire had been in the streets, or anywhere really, save for the police girl Alucard had turned undead. How come? Eyes narrowed, as the priest set his gaze back upon the church, as thoughts of a whole town being slaughtered crept into his mind. Murdered not by the hand of a Vampire, but perhaps a human, taking on the role of a Vampire? Could something like that happen?
The stench of death was not rank in the air though, just the subtle scent of blood he had been able to smell since he neared the town. If that was all he could sense, then maybe a man posing as a Vampire was plausible, whom may have buried the bodies long before the divisions dealing with the unnatural and supernatural could detect it, only to leave the trails of blood in the homes, in the streets—but no. A whole group of people would have to do something like that, for; one man could not manage alone unless the town was much smaller.
Perhaps then, a Vampire, old and strong, who had been hiding out from the world until now, slowly building his power so that something such as converting a whole town could be accomplished in a day?
No. These were wild thoughts of a man, on the fringes of his nerve from the tense atmosphere.
"What brings you to our little city?" The orange-haired man asked almost playfully, with a grin set upon his ashen face. He didn't look too young, perhaps in his early thirties, with a muscular build not unlike Father Anderson's. Steps were being taken down from the alter, as arms were opened wide once more. "For whatever reasons, I welcome you, on behalf of the whole town."
Alucard lowered his head, in a slow nod, before taking a step inside the room. The door was shut quietly behind him, and then red eyes came up to stare straight at the younger Vampire before him. "The town of Cleobury Mortimer has been on a list of places where an outbreak of Vampires or their zombies have been spotted. You're a foolish man, you know, for letting them find out." This time, it was his turn to grin, fangs shown and lips stretched. "What if they were to send another of your kind in their place, to rid the world of such a nuisance, a Vampire of much greater powers?"
"Hah, no." He replied, now walking slowly down the isle between pews, towards Alucard. "I have been careful of this, of letting meager humans figure out what was going on here. And, if they have found out, it is much too late now. Not a soul is left in this town that is living, truly living."
"A foolish man." Alucard repeated, reaching into his coat. "A foolish human who thinks that because he is what he is now, that he is stronger than any other out there." From the reaches of his coat, he pulled Joshua, that grin growing ever bigger as the moments passed. "A stupid, foolish human in the body of a wonderful creature."
