Chapter Five: Encounters
Several days of hard riding ensued as the Vampire Hunter D and his son Dirk followed the trail left by their vampire quarry. Silently, D was impressed by his son's resolve; already, the youth had seen some of the horrors and hazards that accompanied the trade, and yet, overcame them with the same determination and grit he'd seen in Doris.
"You'll make a fine Vampire Hunter outta that kid yet, D...Even though it just might be the death of us." Left commented, getting a wry smirk from D as a response.
"You may be right about that." D replied, noticing when Dirk drew rein and slowed down enough so he could ride alongside him.
"Dad, do you really think that that vampire we're after had killed that town back there?" Dirk asked.
"I don't know. It's hard to say, at the outset, what this Noble wants. Why do you ask?" D questioned, wanting to know what his son felt about what he'd seen.
"It just doesn't seem to fit with what we've heard about this vampire we're chasing. I can't explain why I feel this way, but I get the feeling that someone is trying to set him up." Dirk murmured, thoughtfully.
"The same thought had crossed my mind as well; but, as I had said before, we can't be certain if that is indeed the case." D stated, as he looked ahead of them at the terrain that awaited. The carriage tracks had disappeared into an expanse of undisturbed golden sand.
"Great. A desert. You're just askin' for a bout with Heat Syndrome, aren't you?" Left grumbled, as Dirk turned an inquiring gaze to him.
"Dirk, I want you to stay as close to me as you can. Crossing stretches of desert like this can sometimes be even more hazardous than the rest of your hunts combined." D advised, his ears listening for the telltale signs of the creatures living beneath the sand.
"I hear ya loud and clear. Lead the way." Dirk replied, eagerly; ready to learn something new. Without another word, D spurred his horse into action, heading straight into the center of the patch of sand. About three feet away, and slightly behind him, Dirk rode; carefully matching Burdock's pace with that of D's mount.
"Oh no...Don't tell me you're about to do what I think you're about to! C'mon! That's crazy! We'll never make it!" Left shouted, before two things happened; the desert suddenly became alive with the movement of some sand mantas, and D applied more pressure to his horse's flanks and took off. Within seconds, the fearless Vampire Hunter was riding along the backs of the huge mantas; his son following skillfully behind. He half-turned when he heard Dirk let out an exhilarated whoop, as he dodged the snapping teeth of the beasts, and jumped from manta to manta; smiling when he saw the thrill in the youth's eyes.
"At least the meeting with the competition hasn't phased him." D mused, as they arrived on the other side of the expanse, and raced into the woods that stood silently on the that side.
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Moonlight shone down on a scene that could have only been described as a picture of hell. A town emptied of its' inhabitants stood in silent witness to the carnage that was playing out in the cemetery. Zombies of every size and age group lay where they had fallen; silver arrows sticking out of them at odd angles.
"Rest in peace." a man murmurs, then pauses when he hears something approaching.
"Listen. Do you hear that?" the man asks, as he turns to his compatriots, two men and a woman, and gives them an odd look. They listened for a few moments, and nodded.
"Sounds like a couple of horses." One responds, as the other man and the woman listen intently to the sounds. Without saying a word, the apparent leader of the group notched an arrow into his small bow, closed his eyes, and took aim.
"They're coming in at a full gallop. Uphill, by the sounds of things...Let's see...right...Right about..." the man muttered, as he followed the sounds as they moved further uphill, and all eyes turned to the spot where the origins of the sounds would appear in just a few more moments.
"Right there!" the leader said, loosing the arrow and letting it fly. Like a guided missile, the silver arrow arced through the air; becoming almost a blur before it was caught by its' intended target. The momentum of the arrow almost pushed the black-clad rider from his mount, as he stopped it from impaling his heart. It also forced the rider to tighten his grip on the horse's reins; he pulled them back tight enough to make the horse rear. A startled yelp from beside the rider signaled that he had someone else with him. It was when the first horse's forefeet returned to the earth that the air around the group stilled; there sat the formidable figure of an infamous dunpeal Hunter, and at his side sat what appeared to be his partner.
"Beautiful! Simply beautiful! I applaud you stranger! Been a long time since I saw talent like that! My name's Borgoff. Borgoff Markus. And these are my brothers, Kyle and Nolt, and our sister Leila. What's your name? If we're in the same game, we should be friends!" The leader of the group stated, impressed by the prowess he'd just seen.
"D." the dunpeal Hunter replied, coldly, before turning and riding off. For a few seconds, the younger Hunter lingered; warily watching Borgoff for any signs that he was about to fire another arrow. Then he turned and followed D away from the scene.
"Huh, so that's the guy, the famous Dunpeal Hunter. I've heard of 'im, he's amazing." Borgoff muttered.
"Yeah, but who was that kid that was with him? None of the rumors had said that he's got an apprentice." Nolt murmured, as Borgoff thoughtfully chewed on his cigar, and started gathering his arrows.
"Hmm...I'm wonderin' about that myself." Borgoff mused, aloud, as he looked in the direction the competition had gone; curiosity the chiefest of expressions on his face.
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Dirk breathed a sigh of relief when he and D had ridden a few miles from the town.
"Damn, that scared the hell outta me!" Dirk muttered, then added, "I'm glad your reflexes are what they are, Dad."
"Be that as it may, those were our competitors." D murmured, as he turned slightly and gave his son an almost unreadable look.
"If that's the case, then I'd hate to end up on their kill list." Dirk said, matter-of-factly, as they got back on the trail of the vampire.
"Were you actually afraid of them, Dirk?" Left asked, jokingly.
"Let's just say that I don't have as much confidence in my own reflexes." Dirk responded, with a nervous laugh.
"Don't worry. Your reflexes will improve over the course of this hunt. Trust me." D stated, smiling slightly when his son gave him a deadpan look.
"You don't have to sound so ominous about it, though." Dirk replied, dryly, before they continued on their way.
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It took several days to reach their destination; but, when they did, D managed to surprise his son once again.
"Dirk, tell me what you see out there." D ordered, as they rode into what seemed to be a relatively peaceful part of the countryside.
"You mean towards the horizon-line? Not much. Why? Is there something I'm missing?" Dirk asked, as he gave his sire a questioning look. D nodded.
"When you hunt vampires, Dirk, remember this; there are many places where vampires can choose to hide during the day. Among them are resting houses." D informed, as he dismounted, but motioned for the younger Hunter to remain where he was.
"Resting houses?" Dirk asked, intrigued by this bit of information; this was something even he hadn't heard of before!
"Most of the time, they are well hidden; usually just within sight. They are designed in such a way that they mirror their surroundings. Watch." D said, as he kneeled, took up a handful of stones, and began to approach what appeared to be an empty copse. Seconds later, to Dirk's shock, several eye-like projections appeared every few seconds in the sides of the resting house D was trying to show him; and they were shooting what appeared to be lasers at the Hunter!
"Whoa..." Dirk's mind muttered, as he watched his father get closer and closer until he was finally in front of one of the previously indiscernible walls and placed his left hand to it.
"How many are in there?" D asked, when he'd given Left enough time to see what he could see.
"Two, I think...A man and a woman." Left replied, thoughtfully.
"See if you can find the door." D murmured, knowing that time was running out, since the sun was sinking a little too quickly in the west, for his tastes.
"All right." Left muttered, as D began to walk along the length of the wall itself. At the same time, Dirk kept watch. He knew, just as his father did, that they were quickly running out of daylight, and that the danger would only increase when the sun went down.
"I know you know how much time we've got, Dad, but please...Hurry up!" Dirk nervously thought, as he fingered his sword, and a set of daggers he'd recently bought as an extra defensive measure. He could hear the creatures of the night beginning to stir awake as the sun's rays diminished, and had a gut feeling that the vampire within the resting house was awakening too. Then, as though to add to his growing list of concerns, he could faintly hear some sort of vehicle coming towards them.
"Just what we need..." Dirk thought, then shouted, "Dad! I think the competition is catching up!" Seconds later, all hell broke loose. With the snarl of a motor, Leila Markus arrived on the scene, her weapons aimed at both resting house and D. She charged right into the range of the 'laser eyes', expertly dodging them as she did so.
"She's out of her mind!" Left yelped, echoing Dirk's thoughts exactly as he started to ride after her. No sooner did he move from that spot, did the door of the resting house open, and a black carriage shot out.
"Just like the night I rescued Belladonna!" Dirk absently thought, as he banked to the left and tried to head the carriage off.
"They're both outta their minds! The kid's gonna get himself killed!" Left shouted, watching mutely through D's eyes as Leila took a ricocheted blast from her gun (courtesy of the escaping vampire), and as Dirk bravely raced after the carriage; putting Burdock's endurance to the test.
"Not while I yet live." D muttered, as he quickly mounted and headed to the one road that the was still in reasonably good shape; hoping he could get there before something dire happened.
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Meier Link's heart raced as he tried to outrace the two Hunters that now chased him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the youth that had been some distance away from the resting house was beginning to catch up; the determined glint in his grey eyes becoming easier and easier to see.
"The lad has courage, I'll give him that much...Yet I can only hope that I won't have to kill him." Meier thought, hating the thought of shedding the youth's blood, since he could see that he also had vampire blood within him. He was shaken from his musings when someone landed behind him.
"I'm here for the young woman." a man's voice said, quietly. This got what could only be a slight smirk from Meier as a response.
"Taking on a vampire at night is a task for morons and fools. Which are you?" Meier asked, coolly, as he stood, turned, and looked the Hunter in the eye. His innards almost froze when he realized who it was that now stood before him.
"By the Sacred Ancestor! It's D!" Meier's mind yelped, as he faced the dunpeal with outward calm.
"She's here by her own free will, dunpeal. I'm sure the reason you are hunting me is because of the money involved, which I am sure is a lot. But I strongly suggest you get your sorry ass out of here now, and leave us to travel in peace." Meier growled, as D began to reach for his sword.
"I would if I could believe you, Meier. But your credibility, however, is less than impeccable under the circumstances." D smoothly replied, before he was forced to unsheathe his sword by Meier himself.
"Dirk! Go back and tend to the woman's wounds! I will meet you there!" D ordered, his no nonsense tone surprising Meier in a way he hadn't thought imaginable; it was the tone a father used with his son!
"No arguments here!" the youth replied, as he drew rein and began to turn around. Somehow, Meier wasn't sure how, the youth had sensed the threat that Meier could pose to him if he'd even dared to touch the doorlatch, and wisely retreated when D told him to.
"Smart lad. Your apprentice?" Meier asked, coolly.
"My son." D growled, straining against Meier hardened cape (that he was wielding as both an edged weapon and a shield).
"That explains the resemblance, then." Meier mused, growling softly under his breath when D started to push him back . He hissed when the tip of D's sword sliced the flesh of his left shoulder, and grimaced when he smelled his own blood welling from the wound. Yet, before D could pull the blade back far enough to stab him in the chest, a woman's voice called out from within the carriage, in fear and concern.
"Meier!"
With that yelp, D lost all concentration as outright surprise came across his normally expressionless features, and Meier successfully knocked him from the carriage.
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D winced when Meier's weapon made contact with his chest and still-healing side, but managed to land in a skidding crouch; much to Left's displeasure.
"Ow...Okay, what'd I miss?" Left asked, sensing some confusion within his host as he said that.
"I'm beginning to think it might be true what he'd said...Otherwise, why would the girl cry out?" D murmured, as he gazed after the disappearing carriage.
"She's ignorant of his nature, a child! She really doesn't know what he's capable of." Left replied, trying to reassure his host with those words.
"Someone is trying to set him up." Dirk's words from before stated, circling within D's mind and making him feel that he was missing something important.
"If that's the case, then who is doing it? And why?" D wondered, as he slowly got back to his feet again, and began to make his way back to Dirk's side; the uneasy feeling not dissipating in the slightest.
Author's Note!
Yeah, I realize that this chapter may be a bit strange, but I am doing what I can from memory. If anybody has any idea where to find a decent script (or a very detailed summary) of VHD: Bloodlust, please let me know! Thanks!
Gemini14