The following occurs in December 3450
Chapter 11
The Hansen Triplets Camellia, Sonia and Cecilia rushed towards me with their wakizashi swords aiming straight at me. In half of a second I threw up the blade of The Final Dawn and all three of their swords collided into mine. All four of our swords locked and I looked into all of their eyes for about five seconds. I then jumped over them in a single bound and landed behind them. The moment I landed behind them they began moving at high speed again. Every time they moved they would become blurs. One by one they struck at me with their swords. With The Final Dawn and with my keen senses of sight and hearing I was able to block their strikes. Every time they struck at me they moved in different directions and struck at me again. I decided to fight on their level with my own speed. I just happened to glance over to the huge clock when I noticed that it read three minutes and forty five minutes. Almost in an instant I started moving at high speed to catch up with the triplets. Ironically, my speed didn't quite match theirs which shocked me. It took all of my energy to outrun one of them and stop her in her tracks. By the scent of her blood I discovered that I was engaged with Camellia.
The moment we made contact we threw strikes at each other back and forth at equal speed. Camellia then sped away and soon I found myself engaged with Sonia who threw fast strikes at me. I blocked all of her strikes and our swords then locked. We looked at each other eye to eye until Sonia said "You've gotta pick up the paste, Mina. You've got three minutes left." From the corner of my eye I saw the large clock reading three minutes; soon it became two minutes and fifty nine seconds. Sonia then pushed back onto my sword which sent me sliding across the floor on my feet. In the blink of an eye Sonia starts to move at high speed and suddenly I got engaged with Cecilia. She threw a combination of strikes and kicks at high speed which I blocked with my sword and my left hand. I then threw my own combination of kicks and strikes which Sonia dodged; she then jumped backwards away from me. "Since we're at this," Cecilia said "me and the girls have something to tell you." With those words she ran at hyper speed.
Suddenly I felt a sharp blow into my back which sent me flying towards a wall. I was about inches away when my feet touched the wall and I sprang off towards Sonia. Before I could touch her she sped away and I missed and ended up digging my sword deep into the floor. I then heard the sound of footsteps coming from my right and I sprung up and found myself engaged with Camellia. She began throwing fast strikes at me which I blocked with The Final Dawn. "Remember the time when you rushed to that apartment looking for the Fourth Horseman?" Camellia said. She then sped away and soon I heard running footsteps behind me. I spun around and got engaged with Cecilia. We struck back and forth at each other at high speed when she said "Remember when you passed out after getting electrocuted?" Afterwards she sped away at hyper speed. I turned to my left and found someone moving towards me in a blur. The figure stopped and started throwing a fast combination of kicks and strikes. This figure was Sonia. "Does the name Demyan Masmekhov ring a bell?" she said. She then threw a jump kick at me which a blocked.
Yes, the name was very familiar to me. Demyan Masmekhov and I first crossed paths in the year 2964 during the time of the Second Attrition. By that time Masmekhov was a 1,458 year old fiercely patriotic Russian vampire who waged low level attacks against American citizens across the United States ten years prior. He along with fifty members of his new group Blades of The Oppressed slaughtered 200 civilians as revenge for the American invasion of Russia. Masmekhov and his group stood out specifically with their Japanese tachi swords. I engaged with Masmekhov and his group among the ruined city of San Francisco where I eliminated thirty of his men and slashed Masmekhov across his chest causing him and the remainder of his group to retreat back to Russia. Why would they be reminding me of him? "Demyan's got a real beef with you ever since you gave him the impression that you were on America's side," said Cecelia as our swords collided into each other. Cecelia then rushed away at high speed and soon I got engaged with Sonia who threw fast strikes at me with her wakizashi. I blocked all of her strikes and each time our swords collided sparks would fly. "Demyan helped a lot in putting together our little scheme to get you," said Sonia. "He knew exactly what victim to choose and how to make your mission extremely complicated." She then kicked me sending me flying across the room. I slammed into the wall making a huge crater. I fell to the floor and in a split second Camellia rushed to my side and stood right over me. She then raised her sword above her head and brought it down at me. I threw up my sword and blocked the strike. Our swords locked and our eyes then interlocked. "This whole kidnapping was just a ruse to hit you when you were most vulnerable," she said. "During daytime." I then kicked her in the abdomen sending her flying down the room. I then sprung to my feet and got in engaged with both Sonia and Cecelia who struck at me at high speed. I made a quick glance at the time. It was now two minutes and twelve seconds.
"You're moving much slower than usual, Mina," said Cecelia. "It's all due to one thing."
"Sure the Blood of Dracula makes you unlike any other vampire," said Sonia. "Even though it's still in your veins, if it's not being pumped throughout your body, it's pretty much useless."
I was in a state of confusion by their rather vague reference to the Blood of Dracula. But then I thought the only way blood could be pumped through the veins is by the heart. Was something done to my heart? In a quick glance I saw that I now had two minutes. Cecelia came towards me individually and struck at high speed with her wakizashi. I blocked all of her strikes and each time our swords collided sparks would fly. In the blink of an eye I took one swipe at Cecelia's left arm wielding her wakizashi and off came her arm. It flew in mid-air and it turned into ash and dust. Cecelia held onto her severed arm with her right and screamed in pain. In an instant Camellia came at me and struck at me at high speed. I blocked all of her strikes and threw a kick into her abdomen which sent her flying down the room. Almost in an instant I felt a sharp blow in my back which sent me flying towards a wall. I was a few feet away from the wall when I put my feet towards the wall and landed sideways. I then sprung myself towards the one who I believed was responsible. I was flying towards Sonia and once I was a few feet away from her I stretched forth my right foot towards her. My foot collided into her chest which brought her down flat on her back. I then landed on top of her and slid across the floor with her body. I then jumped off her and found myself once again engaged with Camellia who threw kicks and strikes at me at high speed. I blocked all of her strikes and all of her kicks and I noticed that I now had a minute and thirty seconds. Sparks flew as we struck back and forth with our swords. Our swords then locked and we looked at each other eye to eye. With all of my strength I pushed back against her sword with mine which made her slide across the floor on her feet. Almost immediately I rushed towards her at high speed with The Final Dawn and the blade passed her neck. Camellia's head suddenly came off and the rest of her body turned into ash and dust and her severed head shattered on the floor.
A yell of rage then echoed within the room and in the corner of my eye I saw Sonia rushing towards me at high speed. In a split second I threw up my sword and blocked her strike. A loud clank rang throughout the room the moment our swords touched. We then struck back and forth at each other. Sonia threw a kick into my chest which sent me flying down the room and tumbling across the floor . The moment I stopped tumbling across the floor there was Sonia standing over me. She raised her wakizashi over her hand and brought it down towards me. With one arm I took The Final Dawn sliced off both of Sonia's legs by the knees. Her fore legs crumbled into ash and dust and Sonia fell to the floor screaming in pain. I sprung to my feet and slid the blade of my sword towards Sonia's neck. The Final Dawn sliced across her neck and her head rolled off. Sonia's entire body turned into ash and dust while her severed head continued to roll until it crumbled to burning ashes.
I glanced over to the clock which now read one minute and twelve seconds. A figure suddenly rushed towards me in a blur. With my keen senses I felt a wakizashi sword about an inch away from my face. I threw up my sword in just in time to block the strike. I spun to the direction of the blurred figure that stopped at the edge of the room. It was revealed to be Cecelia who was now wielding her sword with her right arm even though she was left handed. She spun around rushed towards me at high speed with her sword aimed at me. I threw up my sword and blocked her strike. Suddenly Cecilia started to strike at me from all different directions at high speed as if she was several people. I blocked every one of her strikes and each time I blocked her strikes sparks would fly from our swords. I then felt a sharp blow to my abdomen which sent me sliding across the floor on my feet. I looked ahead and saw Cecelia running towards me with her sword in her right. Expecting a strike from her sword I threw up The Final Dawn to block. Suddenly Sonia threw a flying kick at me. I blocked the kick with left and found myself blocking fast kicks from her. She swung her heel into my side which caused me to tumble across the floor. I rolled about ten feet away from Cecelia; soon she rushed towards me yelling with her wakizashi clenched in her right. I in turn rushed towards her with Final Dawn in hand. We ran towards each other in what seemed like an eternity. We were inches away from each other when I swiped my sword at Cecelia and ran past her. We both stopped and Cecelia began to scream in agony. I turned around and found her with both arms missing. About a few feet away from her laid her wakizashi lying in a pile of ashes. I then rushed towards her and rammed my fangs into her neck. Her screams of agony become louder as I began to drink her blood. She tried to get away with the help of her legs but I held her tight in my embrace. With every sip I took I felt whatever life she had left leave her body. Soon Cecelia had the appearance of a lady well advanced in years. I then released her allowing her lifeless body to drop limp on the floor.
I turned my attention to the clock. I now had a minute left which then changed into fifty-nine seconds. I looked at the three doors and rushed towards the door in the midst. With both hands I ripped open the metal door. Instead of finding Madeline Hudson I found an empty space with a bright white light shining in it. I then ran towards the door at my left only find the same empty space being illuminated with the same white light. With nothing to lose I inspected the last possible place where Madeline could be found. I opened the tightly locked door with all of my strength, hope and faith that Madeline would be found on the other side. To my horror I was facing the same empty space. Fear began to seep within every fiber of my body. The Hansen sisters played a very deadly and cruel joke on me. I thought that Madeline perhaps wasn't within the penthouse or that it was simply a trick to engage in a fruitless swordplay. I then looked up at the clock which displayed twenty-five seconds remaining. My sense of hope began to fade away when suddenly I heard the faint, muffled sobs of a little girl. I walked around briskly trying to pin point the sounds. In a single bound I jumped towards the ceiling thinking that the sobs were coming from an unknown floor within the penthouse. But I heard absolute silence. I looked down at the clock which now read twenty seconds. I landed back on the floor soon the sobs got slightly louder. I turned to my left and considered the tube-like platform which transported me to this empty room. "Could Madeline be hidden in that platform?" I thought. I rushed over to the platform and sure enough the sobs were more audible. I dug my fingers into the top of the platform and ripped it off effortlessly. What I found was both shocking and brought about great confusion. Lying at the base of the platform in a fetal position was a small human with a green hood over its head and its legs and feet bounded by ropes. By its scent I determined that it was a little human girl about nine years old. Most importantly this little girl's scent was very familiar. It was a scent that I came across days prior when I saved a little soul from being run over by a car. At that moment I was absolutely certain who I was facing. I pulled out the little girl from the platform and pulled off the hood. Facing me was the terrified Madeline Hudson. There was duct tape across her mouth and tears were streaming down her face. Madeline's eyes lit up once she recognized me. I stripped off the duct tape allowing her breath the precious oxygen that she was deprived of for so long. "Mina!" said Madeline beaming with joy.
"We have to get out here, darling!" I said frantically. I broke the ropes and that bounded her legs and feet and I turned back to the clock which now read fifteen seconds. I spun around searching for an escape route. I could not go back the where I came for the floor was sealed tight. There was only one thing left to do. I grabbed Madeline and rushed towards the wall ahead of us. Holding unto Madeline against my right hip I crashed through the concrete wall with my left elbow outstretched making sure Madeline wasn't hurt in the process. On the other side of this wall I caught a glimpse of a luxurious room. Most of the furniture was white which laid upon a grey carpeted floor and surrounded by walls painted in a pale yellowish color. With my left elbow upfront I headed straight towards the wall ahead. The moment my elbow hit the wall a large explosion was heard behind of us. Madeline let out a scream and I felt a faint heat brush against my cold skin. A section of the wall crumbled making an entry for us into the other room. Another luxurious room met us as the multiple explosions rang throughout the building causing concrete to rain down upon us. "Are you okay, Madeline?" I said with deep concern.
"What's happening, Mina?" she screamed in panic. Hearing her terrified screams instilled great fear and worry within me but at the same time her screams gave me assurance that I was still carrying a living, breathing human being instead of a corpse. I crashed through five more walls beholding even more luxurious rooms. In the process of using my elbow as a battering ram a huge wound was now present. The base of my humerus bone was now exposed and I was bleeding profusely. The explosions were getting closer and louder than before. Desperation had seized me which perhaps enhanced my speed. Madeline's screams became louder when I suddenly looked over my shoulder. A huge wall of fire was rushing behind us and seemed to be inches away from us. I turned towards the wall and crashed through it. On the other side wasn't an elegant room but the New York skyline with falling snowflakes. Before I could breathe a sigh of relief a huge ball of fire erupted behind us. I became disoriented and started falling downwards with Madeline in my clutches. The rooftop of a nearby apartment complex came closer and closer towards us as gravity began to pull us down. Madeline let out a blood curdling scream as we were about to slam into the concrete roof. At that moment I angled my body in a way so that my feet would meet the surface. I landed flat on my feet with Madeline in my clutches making a huge crater in the roof. I then sprang upwards into the night sky and floated over five other buildings. My eyes met another building and I stretched out my left hand. I gripped along the building but soon I started sliding down. I dug my fingers into the wall which halted my downward slide. I looked down and estimated that it was a forty story drop. Poor Madeline was dangling at my side sobbing uncontrollably. "Hang on," I told her. She yelped as I slung her across my back. "Hold tight," I instructed. Madeline obliged holding on tightly around my neck. In a single bound I sprang towards the top of the building and landed on the roof with Madeline safe and sound. I placed Madeline on her feet when another loud explosion was heard followed by another and another. Madeline and I turned our attention to the penthouse and found the entire building engulfed by flames with fireballs erupting from its sides. Not one area of the tall penthouse was spared an explosion. The sight was just as terrible if not worse than what the world witnessed at the World Trade Center that September morning in 2011. We both stood in silence as we watched the building being incinerated by flames. "Mina, you're bleeding," said Madeline breaking the silence between us. I turned to face her and found her staring at my left elbow. I then looked down on my arm and I discovered that wound had closed up considerably with the blood seeping back in. Soon, the wound was fully healed. "Your arm healed!" said Madeline with wide eyes. "It's just like magic."
"Black Magic, to be exact," I said.
"What?" said Madeline titling her head. I then let out a sigh and turned my body completely to face the adorable bundle of joy. "I'm sure by now a lot has been revealed to you," I said. "You've seen people with sharp teeth and scary eyes, correct?" Madeline answered with a nod of her head. "Well, I'm one of those people. But believe me; I had absolutely nothing to do with kidnapping you. The reason we have sharp teeth is because we use our teeth to bite the necks of innocent humans like you in order to drink their blood. I like the people who kidnapped you are vampires."
"Vampires?" said Madeline with a hint of shock in her little voice. "Vampires are real?"
"Yes. The only reason you were not aware of our existence is because we blend into society pretending to be friendly in order drink human blood."
"You…drink blood?"
"I do. I want to stop but it's so hard. When you become a creature of the night your mind is immediately programmed to do nothing but hunt humans and drink their blood. That's what I meant when I told you at your school that I won't stop killing. It's because I really can't even if I want to. Whenever I kill a human and drink their blood they come back from the dead and become vampires too. It's like a virus that can't be cured. For years I've been trying to solve the problem by killing those same vampires with my sword. But every time I kill a vampire a new vampire would pop up either because of me or some other vampire."
"There are other vampires too?"
"Yes and we have been living on the earth for years."
"Years?"
"I like many vampires are immortal meaning that we can't grow old. I have lived for 1,570 years all because I was turned by Count Dracula himself."
"Count Dracula was real too?"
"He was as real as I am looking at you now. His blood now flows through my veins making me strong against all methods used to kill vampires. I have to be honest right now, the night when you were kidnapped I was very close to drinking your blood and turning you into a vampire. If you weren't kidnapped I would've surely turned you into a vampire. " I turned away from Madeline and bowed my head in shame. "This cursed blood within me is the reason why I am lonely and why I don't seek friends," I said sadly. "I'm hated by both humans and vampires because I am a threat to both races. I am a threat to you right now, Madeline. It's quite understandable why you hate me." I then felt two arms wrapped around my mid-section. I looked down and found Madeline hugging me. "What are you doing?" I enquired.
"I don't hate you, Mina," said Madeline. She then released me and looked up at me. "My mummy told me that even though somebody does a lot of bad things they could make up for it by doing something nice," she continued " and you saving me could make up for all the bad things you did."
"But I almost killed you before you were kidnapped and I almost got you killed a moment ago," I insisted.
"But I didn't die. And it's all because of you," she said cutting me off. "You're not a bad lady. Those girls who kidnapped me were bad. You're nothing like them. If you were a bad lady you wouldn't come and rescued me." I kneeled down to meet Madeline at eye level. "Look into my eyes, Madeline," I said. "These are not the eyes of a normal human being."
"You're normal to me, Mina," said Madeline. "You're like the sister I never had." With those words she wrapped her arms around my shoulders in a tight embrace. A smile slowly formed on my face as I gave her a gentle embrace. Tears then began to well up in my eyes.
Police cars hovered near an apartment building with another civilian car hovering a few inches off the cold ground. Emerging from the driver's side and the passenger's side were Madeline Hudson's father and mother respectfully. They began pacing the sidewalks frantically as the police joined them "Madeline! Madeline!" called her mother.
"Madeline! Madeline, where are you?" shouted her father. Both parents continued to call out in the area only to have silence respond to them. Suddenly the silence was broken with the sweet melodic voice of a certain girl. "Mommy, Daddy!" said the voice. Both parents turned to the area and found Madeline racing towards them. They in turn ran towards the girl with the mother grabbing her daughter in a tight embrace and lifting her off of her feet. The father threw his arms around his wife and daughter as Madeline's mother began sobbing in joy. After a long moment the family began walking towards the waiting police with Madeline being carried in her mother's arms. As they walked down the sidewalk Madeline looked upwards and found me standing on the roof of the apartment witnessing her reunion with her parents. A broad smile appeared on her face as she waved at me. I in turn waved back returning a smile. About a half hour earlier I made an anonymous call to Madeline's parents telling them where they would find their daughter. I also gave Madeline my blessing to tell her family of my deed being sure to inform her to leave out the details of my vampire nature. After witnessing Madeline and her family being consolidated by the police I turned around and jumped from rooftop to rooftop and into the night sky.
Hi, it's me. I know it's been a long time since I've uploaded a story to this sight, four years to be exact! But I got caught up with so many things all these years and I may have lost motivation. But I promise never to be so tardy in uploading a new chapter to this story. My motivation has returned and I'll keep writing until this story is completed without going on hiatus. Don't worry. This will not be the last chapter and I won't allow so much time to pass before I could upload anymore chapters.