Chapter 2: The Crypt

The next couple of weeks were uneventful. I started school. It was a private school run by the church. No one spoke to me there. I had no friends. My dad paid very little attention to me. I hardly ever saw him, if he wasn't at work he was usually locked in his lab, doing god knows what. I was invisible.

That was, until I met him. I was walking home one evening. It was dark out, it being mid November, the days were shorter. I had gone shopping at the small shops that lined the street leading past the cathedral and the graveyard toward my house. As I passed the cemetery, a small black cat jumped out in front of me from the shadows. "AAAAAH!" I Screeched. I fell back and landed on my but. After I had gathered my wits, I looked up, to find the little cat sitting there, on the side walk before me. He had an innocent look on his whiskered face.

I mumbled, "Stupid cat," under my breath, as I stumbled to my feet and brushed off the back of my skirt. To my amazement, the cat brushed up against my leg, and started meowing and purring, begging for attention. "Don't try to seduce me with that cute kitten act of yours." I petted him on the head and scratched behind his ears. He seemed to like it. I went to pick him up, but he ran from me, into the cemetery. I couldn't help but go after him, he was the only real friendly contact I'd had with anyone in such a long time, my feet started moving before I had time to react.

I could hear his meow, beckoning me to him. I caught glimpses of him from time to time, sometimes looking back at me. I swear it was like he wanted me to follow him. I did. I looked at my surroundings as I called for him, "Cat! Cat! Where the hell are you! You stupid cat!" There was one grave that really got my attention. A crypt, with statues of angels guarding the entrance and a cross engraved into the door. I noticed a slender black tail slip through a crack at the bottom hinge. I sneaked up to the door, and tried to pry it open with all my strength. It was no good. The thing was bolted shut. By chance, I caught sight of the keyhole, beneath the handle of the door.

I nearly swallowed my heart! I grabbed at the key that I wore on a chain about my neck. I looked at it and back at the keyhole, both were a unique, toothed shape. It often reminded me of fangs or the teeth of a carnivorous beast. My mother had given the key to me just before she died. She had gotten it from her mother before her and so on. "It is your birthright as a woman of the Night family to bare the key to man's destiny," that's what my mother said when she dropped the key into my hand. She lasted another two hours, then… she was gone.

I jammed the key into the door, and twisted my wrist. The door opened. The open door revealed a passageway. Hesitantly, I made my way down the twisting staircase to the chambers below. Windows lined the walls of them, letting in the moonlight. I was astonished at how clearly I could see down here. I found the cat, sitting on what appeared to be a coffin at the very center of the room. This was no ordinary coffin mind you. It was made of stone, a type of marble, maybe. The lid was beautifully designed, there were images of roses, skulls, and crosses engraved in the stone.

I picked up the cat and held him against my chest. He began to purr at my touch. My god this was an affectionate cat! "What have we got here?" I whispered, partly to myself and to the cat. I let him jump down onto the tiled floor. I was becoming increasingly interested in the coffin. I stood before it, admiring the artwork that covered nearly every inch. I brushed away some dust, to get a better look. Most of it went into my lungs. Under the dust, I found an inscription in Latin. I have no idea how to read Latin, so I couldn't tell you what it said. I did however find a date, and an inscription written in English.

Here lies a devil. Vanquished- November 6th 1807

What the- what do they mean by "here lies a devil"? It's hard to believe whoever's buried here, in such an elaborate tomb, would be a criminal. And the usage of the word, "vanquished" on a coffin doesn't help the argument. I read the date again, "November 6th 1807,hey that's today's date! Whoever's buried here died exactly, 200 years ago!"

I just thought that that was the coolest thing in the world! Like I said before, I'm a spazz. Once again my curiosity got the better of me. (I must have been a cat in another life or something.) Before I knew it, I was sliding the heavy lid off the base of the coffin. There was a loud crash when it hit the floor; the cat ran off somewhere. When the dust had settled, I peered into the opened coffin.

I had expected bones and dust, but instead, my eyes were met with the sight of a perfectly preserved corpse. No, it wasn't just perfectly preserved, it looked down right fresh! It was the body of a young man, with a wooden stake pierced through his heart. Poor guy, I thought. I looked up at his face. He was quite the looker, with his shaggy black hair and seemingly flawless gray skin. He was not wearing a shirt, per say, it was more like a cloak that wrapped around his shoulders, and flowed down his back, it did not fasten about his neck like most. He had a strong build for a dead guy. He wasn't too skinny or bulky, he was just right for my taste. But what struck me the most was the peaceful look on his face. He looked like he was simply taking a nap.

Despite my fear, I reached out and brushed a few stray bangs from his face. I couldn't help it, he was just so cute! I felt so sorry for him. I didn't know what this guy had done to be called a devil, but he seemed like a sweet guy to me, so I decided to fix him up a bit. I figured I should at least remove that stake from his heart. No one deserves to be buried with the means of their deaths still with them. A stake… such strange murder weapons.

I took hold of it and pulled, It took some work, but it finally tore out his body. The minute the stake was removed, I heard a loud intake of breath, and saw him sit up in his coffin. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I screamed, and staggered backwards. I guess I tripped over something and banged my head. The last image I saw was that of him turning head to look at me, with luminescent green eyes, after that, blackness.

The dead-man sat up right. He had finally, after two centuries, been re-awakened. He heard a woman's terrified shriek. His unnatural, green eyes gleamed at her. He was amazed to find that a woman had released him and not the man whose job it was to do so. He wished to say something to her, but she tripped over the cat and hit her head before he could.

His lips had opened to speak, he closed them again, having no words to say. He felt a bit of pain in his chest. He looked down to see the gaping hole where his heart was. Had he been a normal man, he would have stayed dead. At least that fool of a slayer knew where to strike him. In a fluent motion he pressed his fingers over the wound, and sealed it.

Now in a speed that no human could ever accomplish, he moved silently to the unconscious girl lying on the floor. He fell to his knees and cradled her head in his hand. His eyes traveled over her face, down over the curves of her body. "Such a beauty." He whispered. "Too bad I haven't the patience to wait for her to reach her peak," His lips pealed away from his fanged teeth. A hiss escaped from his throat, as he lowered his mouth to the girl's slender neck. But before he could sink his teeth into her soft flesh, he caught sight of the key on a chain around her throat. "Night?" He jerked away from her, closing his lips over his fangs quickly.

He sat there staring at that key, for a long while. His mind was a whirlwind. The last he had seen of that key it was around the neck of Lucas Night, his one alli. He heard a meow and a puff of fir rubbed against his gray skin. He smiled his fanged smile at the little black cat, "Hello there, Alacard." He said, scratching the cat behind his ears. "What do you think, old friend? Should I keep this one alive a while longer?" The cat meowed, as if to answer. "I agree." The vampire replied, picking the girl up from the ground in his arms. He glanced down at her pretty face, his green eyes ablaze, "She may prove to be of great use to me."

With that, the vampire, the girl, and the cat faded into the night.

The vampire followed the girl's scent to a mansion, near the cemetery. He nearly dropped her when he realized whose home it was. "Helsing!" he snarled. He glared at the sleeping girl, "What does she have to do with the Helsings!" He inwardly argued with his better judgement before jumping down from the Cathedral's steeple to the girl's bedroom terrace.

Once inside, Alacard leaped from the vampire's shoulder, onto a chair by the desk. The vampire carried the girl to her bed, and laid her on it, he even took the liberty of tucking her in. He then decided to have a look around, any clues about this girl's origins would be helpful. He found a photo of her with what he assumed was her mother. She was a lovely woman, with short blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Her daughter was her spitting image. Those eyes seemed familiar to him, but he could not think of where he had seen them before.

Soon, his hunger became almost too much for him to bare. He went back to the girl's bedside and, brushing her hair from her face, he kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "Thank you." Into her ear, before moving away. He then turned to his feline friend, still sitting on the chair. "Keep watch over her my friend. I will return tomorrow night, as soon as dusk begins to set in. As for tonight, I must feed." One moment he was near the bed, the next he was on the terrace. Vampire speed is amazing. He looked up into the black sky, as his bat-like wings sprouted from his back, and unfolded. With a great gust of wind, and the silent flapping of wings, he was gone.