Seras stormed into her aparment, slammed her purse and keys on the counter; quickly shrugging her jacket from her slender shoulders the petite blond placed it beside her belongings. Angrily, she hissed, "I can't believe this! After all I've done in my short time serving as an officer! Fired!"
Walking heavily to her cabinet by the stove she jerked open its face and yanked out a bottle with amber colored liquor sloshing around inside. Unscrewing it's lid, she forewent a glass taking a man-sized swig straight from the bottle. "How the hell did I get fired for doing my job?" Tears swam dangerously in her sky-blue eyes. "It wasn't my fault that ridulously dressed stranger used me to get his way!"
Right on cue, remembering her actions, she questioned herself. "Speaking of which...how did he do that? How could he have forced me to hold my superior at gunpoint against my will?" Taking another drink, she shook her head knowing her family would be so disappointed. Especially her dad. The moment she'd told them she was going into the academy her dad had been prouder of her than ever before. He'd bragged to all their family and friends about her news.
Now that dream had been forcefully taken from her hands, not only by her boss, but by a man that she'd never met until tonight. A man she wanted to strangle with her bare hands, dismember, and set on fire. The thought of his flesh rotting and dying as it burned caused her to smile at the malicious thoughts.
'Well, isn't this a surprise. The kitten has claws! Such delicious ideas you have, my dear.'
A dark, foreboding voice startled her, and the bottle fell from her grip to crash into many pieces on the tiled floor. "What the bloody hell?" Her eyes darted back and forth, and all around the spacious apartment she called home. There was no one but her. What was going on?
The voice echoed in her mind again.
'Wouldn't you like to know.'
The teasing voice sparked outrage; spite inside the petite woman's heart. Tonight, he'd made her look a fool and caused her to lose her job, along with her credibility. She'd had to work hard for the little respect she'd earned. Respect was down the tubes with his screwed up stunt tonight.
Furious, she slammed her palms on the counter and yelled, "Screw you, bastard! Get out of my head and leave me alone or I'll personally hunt you down; make you very sorry."
Silence. Okay, so where was the proverbial pin drop? Seras should've known the quiet, the stillness, wouldn't last. The tempting voice cut through her the same as a knife.
'Soon, Seras. Soon you'll know all you need to know. But for now farewell...'
His words died off after his whispered farewell. Glancing down at the mess, she hurriedly went to her cleaning closet. Grabbing a broom, mop and dustpan she set about the task of cleaning up her "alcohol abuse". Damn, I hate to waste good alcohol, she fumed.
The second the last shard had been swept up, thrown away, and the floor mopped, her cell phone rang. Removing it from the belt clip, she answered it right away. A male voice greeted her.
"Hey! How are you?" Seras was relieved to hear the voice that always cheered her so. He was so special to her and always would be. "What did you say?"
Seras mentally apologized for her apathetic attitude, but she couldn't help it. Why force enthusiasm if it just wasn't there. What's the point? A question her caller posed to her dragged her from her introspective reverie. She waited while he repeated it and awaited her answer.
Walking over to the window, Seras paced back and forth in front of the bay window overlooking the street. "Am I busy? Right now? Oh!" Pondering his words, Seras realized his offer might be for the best for a few days. Thinking on her options her mind was aware that she needed to escape realism and life to overcome the stress abruptly thrust into her life.
"You know what? If you don't mind me coming I'll be glad to visit for a few days." Suddenly, her forehead creased as her eyebrows drew together in consternation. "How did you know about that? It just happened tonight!" Snorting in disbelief, she exclaimed, "Well, tell your contact to stay out of my business!"
Leaving the window, she agitatedly strolled through the apartment; tidying as she went along to find an outlet for her anger. Thinly, she smiled at his reiterated statement and request to come visit.
"Sure, uncle. I'll leave tomorrow. Is that alright with you?" Nodding her head and shaking the tousled, blond hair that lay almost even with the bottom of her neck. "Okay, so you want me to meet you tomorrow at your house. At what time? Okay. Four pm it is. Can't wait. Love you too, bye."
Pressing the end button, she sighed. A visit to the country...just what the doctor would order. If she had one, that is. Screw her boss and all the others. Being on permanent downtime allowed for whatever she wanted to do...her list grew by the minute.
Out of the blue a chill ran down her spine followed by an uncertainty she couldn't dismiss. Maybe the fun in life would take her over while in the country. She fervently hoped so. Fun was a much neglected commodity in her book. Even more so when she'd become a cop. A by-the-book cop.
Throwing it all out the metaphorical window, Seras entered her bedroom and collapsed on the soft surface. Inhaling several deep breaths, she fought sleep as long as she could before finally succumbing to it's welcoming arms.
Morning came early. Seras stretched, groaning at the piercing shriek of her alarm clock. "Man, it's to early for this." Throwing her arm out she slapped the top of the clock ceasing its loud racket. Pushing aside her sheets she climbed from her bed to stand and stretch again.
Greeting the morning with her bright smile, Seras showered, pulled on a white, cotton dress, its length falling mid-calf and stepped into a pair of white canavas sneakers. Rushing around she threw many outfits, her make-up and several necessities that she required into two huge suitcases. Gathering up her suitcases, purse, keys and phone, Seras carefully peered around the aparment ensuring nothing was forgotten. That included all appliances that could start a fire, such as her iron. Satisfied that everything was in order, the cool blond picked up the phone ordering a cab to transport her to the local airport. Picking everything up and holding it tightly, her petite figure struggled out the door effectively locking it behind her.
Several hours later...
Seras had fallen asleep as she rode along quietly. After changing a taxi for a ride on a small, country bus, her blue eyes took in all the panoramic scenery. A short time later her eyes grew heavy, finally closing to enjoy a small nap.
Some time afterwards the bus hit a bump on the dusty, gravely road jarring the sleeping woman awake. Her face met the back of the seat in front of her as the driver, rather forcefully, applied the brakes. Raising her head, she recognized much of the scenery outside.
"Your stop, miss." His meaning was clear. Get off my bus, don't dawdle, I've got better things to do. Gray hair covered with a company hat, and his uniform...was nothing short of immaculate, even for a bus driver. Opening the door, he let her exit before promtply shutting them again.
Making her way down the aisle she stepped down from the bus, pausing only to gather her things from the bottom of the mechanical monstronsity. The second her bags were clear, the bus took off like a bat out of hell leaving her to choke on the cloud of dust it threw up in her face.
Coughing a few times clearing the dust from her throat and lungs, Seras spotted the mile long driveway that lead up to her uncle's home. Ever since he'd joined the parish he was rarely home; always on missions to lead God's sheep back to the fold. Or so he said.
She reminisced as she walked, stopping short when she realized she was standing at the door to a familiar, white cottage by the sea. Her blue eyes surveyed its structure with a smile. The peaceful ocean, the sound of seagulls, all these tranquil sounds echoed back to her. Tightly coiled stress was already lessening, listening to the birds; just being back in a safe place caused a brief sheen of tears to glisten.
"Seras!"
The exlamation snapped her out of her unblinking gaze. Eyes shot up the porch where a very handsome man stood; his arms spread wide in welcome. "Uncle Alex!" Dropping her bags, Seras ran towards her uncle standing at the top of the small stair leading inside. Hugging him fiercely, she smirked as he replied, "Hey, take it easy! I'm an old man remember."
Uncle Alex was still absurdly tall, his height rivaling neighboring mountains. Blond hair cut short; its length ending above his ears, allowing his bangs, at times, to fall boyishly in his eyes. He was only thirty-eight years old. His brother had been nineteen when Alex was born. They were still very close in terms of brotherly love , which in turn caused Seras to be closer to her uncle than any other of their living relatives, aside from her parents.
"Old, huh? I'll remember that the next time you and dad have the equivalent of a who's is bigger, better and younger contest." Her lighthearted chuckles welled in her chest, its sound almost foreign to her as a result of the last couple of days.
Uncle Alex was exactly as she remembered. Everything from his smile to his larger-than-life presence eased her emotional burdens.
Retrieving her bags, she protested at him carrying them all inside. "You can't carry all those?" Glancing over his shoulder, flashing her a teasing grin, "Why not. You did." Facing forward again, starting up the steps, he threw back at her, "Besides, I know you're exausted. So let me do this small thing for you."
"I'm not weak, uncle!" She blurted out before thinking. A small hand slapped unceremoniously over her mouth in shame. Damn. She was really going to have to start thinking before speaking. It had always been a horrible habit. One she could never seem to banish.
Winking at her, Alex replied, "No one ever said you were, Seras. Now let's get inside. I've got dinner in the oven. Hope you're hungry."
Mentally licking her lips, her mouth watered in anticipation of the evening's meal. Uncle Alex cooked better than everyone she knew, including her own mother. He really should've been a professional chef.
Jogging after him, she asked about the contents of the evening meal, smiling when his answer floated back to her on the wind.
Seras sat back in her chair sighing with contentment. She'd just finished off a couple of large helpings of roasted chicken, garlic mashed potatoes and steamed, mixed vegetables. Finishing off with dessert was the most sinful chocolate french silk pie. What heaven!
"So, Seras", Alex began as he grabbed a napkin meticulously wiping his hands clean, "what will you do now that you're unemployed?"
Sadly she replied, "I really don't know, uncle. I don't even know where to start!"
Continuing the conversation in this bane for several moments, Alex, without warning blurted, "You can work with me, for me."
"Sorry, uncle Alex, I don't think I'm one of the best people to help you lead God's lost sheep back home. Right now I think I'm more lost than any of them."
Regarding her with a look she couldn't described, "Not true, Seras. It's just confusion talking." His face a mixed mask of emotions he told her, "Seras, I have something to tell you. It's a secret that I've carried for years, never telling anyone. But now, you're the exception and I think it's the right time. After losing your job in the way you did...I think you'd be perfect for being at my side."
Wondering how he could've kept a huge secret away from her dad, Seras blinked and nodded, "You can trust me."
"I know."
Flashing her a huge smile Alex divulged his greatest secret. "I'm not really in charge of a parish here. That's the excuse I gave your parents to make me seem responsible and respectable. But it couldn't be further from the truth."
The embers of an internal fire sparked in his green eyes. "I actually work for the Vatican in a discreet, covert part of it called Section Thirteen. We secretly hunt down and eliminate the supernatural, evil creatures that inhabit God's Earth."
"What kind of creatures?" Seras' mind was intrigued. She'd never believed in monsters, not the supernatual ones anyway. The realization that her uncle had met them, killed them didn't seem strange at all to her. She'd always felt that she was destined to be more than a cop and this might be her chance.
"Mostly vampires, but we also take down werewolves and any other creature that tries us on for size or endangers humanity."
The spark previously seen in his eyes were quickly becoming a flame. A righteous flame to inspire others to see things as he did. Was that same spark the beginnings of fanaticism? Seras just couldn't picture her uncle acting like the typical movie-like vigilantes.
"Have you killed a human before?" Seras posed the one question he didn't really want her to ask.
Alex didn't want her to view him in a different light other than a doting uncle. "Regrettably...yes. There were times it couldn't be avoided."
"But these werewolves...they're humans too, just in another form!"
Taking a sip of wine, he said, matter-of-factly, "Seras, we do what we must to protect the people around us. If we must kill werewolves and ghouls, who are servants of the vampire that created them, then we do it wholeheartedly and without mercy. For if we granted them mercy they'd be wondering around free to devour all humankind as we know."
Seras gasped. At this moment her uncle had never seemed so far away and cold. It wasn't his voice that was cold persay, but his words. In her lifetime she could never recall him speaking like this. Ever.
"Could you live with yourself if a being of that nature killed someone in front of your eyes and you could've stopped it? Tell me ,Seras, what if it was someone you loved or cared about? Would that make it any easier to influence your decision?" Watching the firelight flicker in her eyes , he softened his tone. "If you had the power to keep that sort of thing happening, would you use it? Or would you sit back, hoping they'd never find you or someone special to you?"
Her uncles words struck a chord inside. One that demanded she fight against those who wandered the night causing dischord and committing grisly murders, all in the name of evil and hunger with no end.
"What is your answer, Seras?"
"I'd fight!" she answered fiercely. "Just because I'm no longer a cop doesn't mean I can ignore the evil out there without doing something. I just can't!"
Smiling with approval, he nodded. "That's my girl." His green gaze seared into her blue ones. "Seras, I'm offering you the chance of a lifetime. The chance some never get and will never see. I'd like for you to come to the Vatican. Join me as my partner, helping me rid the world of these parasitic vermin. You don't have to answer right away, and if you need time to think about my request then take the time and deliberate. Just consider it that's all I ask."
"I'll think about it." Pushing back her chair, she slowly rose to stand. "If you don't mind I'm going to take a walk and think on what you've said. With everything that's happened I just feel so much is hitting me all at once."
Agreeing with her, "It's a lot to take in so take your time. Just be careful out there, promise me."
"I will, uncle Alex." Walking towards the door, she turned slightly, glancing at her young uncle so burdened with a secret most would never be privy to, but she felt no pity. The only thing that worried her was during his tirade he'd become somewhat fanatical and his tone, his words had frightened her. This had to be a result of working for the Vatican. But were the rest of his coworkers just like him? Were they all this way? Did they have to be?
Shaking her head to clear the mental cobwebs, she opened the door, closing it quietly behind her as she left. Seras walked down the steps and down the familiar stoned and pebbled path leading to the ocean. A place of serenity and peace. A place she'd frequented as a young girl enjoying the rolling waves and the feel of the white sand between her toes.
Reaching her destination Seras stood atop the cliffs looking out over the ocean. Hearing the surf crash, she watched as the water hit the reefs violently, water foaming, spraying the dark water up into the air as a geyser. Gently she smiled as she remembered all the times she'd played.
Now as an adult that luxury was something she couldn't afford, nor regress to. It was sad really. With all her conflicting emotions all she wanted to do was return to her childhood. A time of safety and ignorance. A chance to play without the adult world intruding.
Then her thoughts turned to the strange, red-garbed stranger she'd met the night previous with his arrogant attitude and even stranger ways. The things he'd made her do ...so extraordinary. The things he'd made her feel, however briefly, made her long to kill him. She also had the urge to touch him, make him touch her. What the hell? She needed to banish these thoughts before they brought him here.
"Too late, my dear. I'm already here."
Gasping, she turned around to glance over the surrounding area. No one. Where'd that voice come from? Instinctively, she knew who it belonged to, so why would he follow her here? Hadn't he destroyed her life enough as it was? She didn't consider herself an interesting person by any means. Seras felt as though her life was boring, she was boring.
"Not true, Seras. Those around you can't see what a gift you are, how special you are. They're too wrapped up in their own lives to notice, much less care."
Frustrated, she yelled, "Who are you? What are you? Why are you following me?" Wrapping her arms tightly around her small frame as they ocean breeze blew; whipping her hair and dress around in it's invisible touch. "What do you want with me?"
Silence. More silence. Exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Maybe he was gone. Could she be so lucky?
"I'm still here, Seras. I won't leave you" His dark tone took on a serious note. "However, I must warn you."
His words took her by surprise. "Warn me? About what?"
"You're in danger. Always be aware of your surroundings and the people at your side and your back."
"What?! Who am I in danger from? Why?" A measure of fear built in her gut. If what he said was true, she needed to find out the who and why. Damn. "And I came all the way out here so I could relax and now I have to worry about my life being in danger."
Angrily, she picked up a stone, throwing it into the churning waters several feet below. "It's not fucking fair!", she hurled the bitter phrase towards the unseen speaker. "First, you cause me to lose my job and now...now you're telling me someone or something's after me! Who the hell are you?! Why can't you leave me alone?!"
Breaking down, the petite blond allowed her tears to fall, hitting the sand at her feet. Without any warning an invisible hand touched her cheek, carressing its silkiness; wiping away her tears. His voice spoke to her again, trying to ease her pain.
"I'm intrigued by you. You've captured my attention"
"Why?" Why, indeed? For the life of her, Seras couldn't imagine why he'd do the things he did, act the way he did and expect her to welcome him with open arms.
"You remind me of someone I met once." His mind reflected back to the picture in the museum that was identical to the woman standing on the cliffs. It was fortunate that she didn't know about the picture. It was even more fortunate that she wasn't aware that it was he that she was in danger from. Mentally laughing, the vampire awaited the day she'd become his and she'd come so willingly. No one, not even her uncle could save her.
Alucard knew who and what her uncle was, but "uncle Alex" hadn't been completely forthcoming with his intelligent niece. He'd spoken half-truths, leaving out the part of the story about his background and how he'd been changed, no longer the mortal he used to be.
Smiling ferally, his fangs glistening in the moonlight, Alucard relished the opportunity to reveal Seras' uncle's past and present to her. The whole story, not just his version, but all of it. Including the experimentation he'd allowed himself to go through in the name of God. How ridiculous! He'd never compete with Alucard! He didn't possess the strength or the power.
Laughing, his fingers moved over her pale skin. Deftly, they worked their way down her face, her neck, chest and belly. Soft moans escaped her lips as the rapturous torture continued. Phantom fingers ran through the blond strands of hair; suddenly a pair of lips descended on her neck. Exquisite sensations streamed throughout her body, its palor replaced by a flush brought on by the creature who's image had taunted her for the last day and a half.
Whispering, her lips parted in sweet agony, "What are you doing to me? To which he replied, "Nothing you don't want, or ask for."
Her body, for some reason felt heavier as though she wore some kind of armor, sagged and began its descent to the sandy ground. But the powerful arms and hands that had been touching her caught her. The grip snug, but gentle.
Speaking aloud to her, the voice commanded in authoratative tones, "Sleep, Seras. You've had much to deal with. Close your eyes. Sleep and remember nothing of this."
Eyelids drifting shut, her vision hazy, she called to him, "Wait! What is your name? I want to know before I'm asleep."
Bringing his lips close to her ear he whispered, "Alucard." Not that she really needed to know yet, but it puffed his pride that she truly wanted to know. In fact, she'd responded well tonight. A definite improvement over her first impression of him, which was lacking.
Finally surrendering to the clutches of his induced sleep, she slept so peacefully against the strong body holding her tightly. The wind whipped his red coat around his intimidating form, his hair gently caught in the wind's grasp he placed a kiss on Seras' mouth.
"Soon you'll know all, my dear Seras, my dear...Lucy."
He stood there for what seemed like hours, disappearing only when the sun first broke over the rolling ocean's vast horizon.