Snapping to acknowledgement Steve rips open his backpack at his hip grabbing the first thing to touch his skin. Yanking it out, he hurls the garlic strand at Raphael catching him off guard. The strand swings around the master's neck causing Raphael to cry out with a loud piercing screech as his flesh begins to smoke and turn slowly to ash.
Ripping the strand of garlic bulbs from his neck Raphael turns fiercely towards Steve, his body melts into a misty fog and with his silent command the torches extinguish.
Seized with fear, Steve reaches into his backpack drawing out the next useful item. Grasping it shakily, he attempts to turn on the flashlight. A thin beam of light cuts through the darkness. Creeping down the hall, Steve fumbles through his backpack grabbing out the knife. Thinking only of the task before him, to live and kill this creature of darkness, he cautiously and shakily looks here and there, the light darting back and forth reflecting his tension.
Abruptly a hand clasps around Steve's neck. Steve gasps and gurgles in his lack of oxygen. In his startlement, he drops his flashlight to the ground, the bulb snapping to a quick death. The wall torches light replace where the dim flashlight's beam left off.
Steve throws back his right arm, feeling his elbow catch in Raphael's stomach and his ribs. Raphael digs his fingernails into Steve's bite grinding the sharp points into the skin, causing blood to flow freely from the wound.
Raphael screams lustily seeing the blood on his fingers. Steve kicks back with his left foot meeting Raphael's knee sending him backwards with a cracking echo, releasing Steve's neck, Raphael's fingerprints embedded in the skin.
Steve turns slicing at Raphael with his blade gleaming in the firelight in his left hand. Raphael jumps back throwing his arms out in front of himself, his cloak flying wildly, torn by the desperate stab. Again the hallway is plunged into hellish darkness.
Steve backs up, his ragged breathing an earthquake in a dormant tomb. Sinking his hand one last time into his backpack, he pulls out a flask of holy water, still backing down the hall. Feeling the wall behind him, Steve tries to settle his breathing, feeling the blood trickling down his arm and dripping off his fingers. Terrifying, absolute silence entombs the hall.
Steve grunts as sharp claws are drawn over the side of his face, propelling him along the hall wall. The torches burst to life. Raphael strides rapidly towards Steve, rage showing over his body and his breathing. His fingernails drip with Steve's blood.
Rising from the floor Steve stands to meet the angry master. Raphael walks straight at Steve emitting a deep-throated scream from his very core and raising his arms above his head. Steve thrusts angrily with his right fist, pleasurably feeling the skin smoosh out of the way as he makes contact with Raphael's cheek. Raphael screams wide-mouthed, his fangs hanging out grossly. He kicks out, stealing Steve's legs from under him, knocking Steve on his stomach and again depriving him of a deep breath.
Raphael walks around the gasping Steve, smiling, hands clasped behind his back. Raphael stands staring for a moment, then opens his mouth to speak but can't finish his phrase. Steve rolls over towards Raphael, causing the man standing to straddle Steve, laying with his back on the floor now. He quickly slices the back of Raphael's calf. Raphael screeches staring down at Steve with eyes ablaze and fangs glistening in the light. Steve cowers unaware of his fate. Raphael returns to fog and the lights dim and extinguish.
Steve stands slowly and cautiously, backing away from where Raphael had just been. He picks up his flask of holy water. He tries to pull the top off but unexpectedly hits a solid obstacle with his back. The obstacle with blazing speed grabs Steve's shoulders and spins him around.
The flames return. Steve's hand with the knife remains on the plug of the flask in his right. Two long needle-like fangs plunge into Steve's neck. With a deep yell and a dancing struggle Steve grips the knife hard and brings it across Raphael's chest, blade into his tender skin. Shrieking, Raphael backs up bringing shaking hands up to the already healing cut.
Steve yanks the top off the flask and jumps in front of Raphael's squirming body, plunging the neck of the flask into Raphael's throat and slamming it to a tipped position, hearing the clink of the master's teeth. Raphael's face falls to his chest; Steve removes the flask spraying the remaining liquid over Raphael's body.
A trickle runs down the flask, making contact with Steve's skin burning and causing him to drop the flask, clanking to the stone floor.
The skin around the mouth burns to ashes and Raphael's body curls in upon itself, his own arms wrapping around his body. The burning spreads as the body falls to the floor, the final screams dying with the master. Steve falls to the floor exhausted and closes his eyes but the man from the police station flashes in the darkness behind his closed eyelids.
"You must separate the head from the body." Steve sighs tiredly, opening his eyes. And looking at the body of Raphael. He looks at the blade in his hand then crawls forward towards the body. He slices the neck, easily cutting through veins, windpipe, and esophagus then sawing much more slowly through the bone. The work takes the night to complete.
