MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Chapter 8 A Bit… Different
March 11 2009
An hour before daybreak during a contemplative walk, Alucard picked up sniffling towards the back of the manor in the bushes just outside. He plucked out the tiny draculina out of the foliage. She was crying and had been for a while. Normally he wouldn't care about the Bug blubbering since he was the one that tended to cause that reaction. However, he had not interacted with the kid all night to make her cry so he was irked.
He set her down to immediately be attacked on his leg. Bug surprised him by wrapping her tiny arms around the limb and wiping her wet face on his trousers. It was something she normally did to Annabel, Police Girl, or the Captain; not to The No Life King.
"What's wrong with you?" He addressed her softly.
"Auntie," she sniffled, "forgot about me. Played hide and seek. Walked right passed. Didn't notice me." She sniffed again.
"How long have you been hiding there?"
"The moon was still in the sky." She answered with another sniffle.
Alucard couldn't help but feel a twinge for the girl. 'The moon dropped below the horizon hours ago.' He assessed his senses for a second. Annabel was nowhere on the property. 'In her state where could she have gone, and how did she forget about Bug?' He suppressed a sigh. He needed to go look for Spaz, but first.
"Come Bug. Its near bed time." He nudged her shoulder with his hand for her to take. Bug's small hand gripped around his pinky and ring finger. Alucard led her back inside and down to Seras's room without complaint. She did her best to stop the waterworks wiping the last trickles with her already quite damp sleeve.
When She was settled in her makeshift coffin near Seras's bed, she cuddled the malformed bear and asked "Why she forget me, Mr. Alucard?"
"I'm going to go find out Bug. Rest." She nodded and closed her eyes.
Once out of the room he phased back outside where he caught Annabel's scent. He followed to the back gate where singe marks displayed on the ground near where the two guards stood. With a quick look in their minds he knew they saw Annabel and that she seemed pissed at that them for being in her way. Alucard moved past them following the road toward London. He glided swiftly along the road ever diligent on her scent and upcoming aura. He didn't want her to notice he was tracking her. It would likely just make her more volatile and counterproductive towards trying to get her amiable with him.
He covered a considerable amount of ground when Alucard finally sensed her. Annabel was meandering inside a gas station mart looking at stuff on racks. She was the only customer in there with the male clerk eyeing her lazily. There was a small bundle of items in her hands and she didn't show any signs of leaving soon. With that empty mind she probably finds everything interesting in that lame store, Alucard reflected on in annoyance. He sneered mentally at the brightening of the sky. Soon the sun would break through the horizon giving him more reason to hate this period of wakefulness.
Twenty minutes later the sun was up and Annabel had not yet exited the mart. 'Damn her composure, I'll get volatile if she doesn't get her ass out of that pitiful place soon!' He stopped hiding in the waning shadows to lean against a lamp post near the gas station. If she didn't sense him she be able to see him easily. Fortunately for the mart she came out minutes later with a big bag of goodies and a smile on her face.
She saw Alucard, blinked repeatedly at what she thought was an apparition, then walked over to him. She looked at the sun, at the vampire, at the sun again, and back at him. She poked him in the chest just to see if he was real, the first voluntary non threatening physical contact she's bestowed upon him. "You're not burning." She stated curiously.
"Sunlight does not harm me. I just hate it." He said.
An evil glint grew in her eyes. She raised a finger to his big floppy shade providing hat and set it ablaze. In seconds all that was left was a fine powder of ash coating the top of his head and that disappeared with the gentle wind blowing through his locks. He gritted his fangs in a low growl.
The redhead giggled softly to herself then swayed her hips away towards the road back to the manor. Despite the aggravating bulb in the sky, Alucard held a flicker of hope that some of Annabel's demeanor was returning. He followed beside her glaring daggers at her for destroying what was his. "That was for following me, weirdo. So its your fault you're in the sun."
"No, Spaz, its yours for ignoring Bug." He amended.
She stopped in her tracks. "SHIT!" She bellowed slapping her face hard.
"You really did forget."
She resumed her stride. "I didn't mean to! I just got so angry at… it doesn't matter. I suppose I need to make amends?"
"Possibly." He opened his mouth in a big yawn. The sun often made him do that. Just another reason to hate the damned glowing ball of gases.
"You can go on back to your coffin. I know the way back."
"As much as I would like to return to my kingdom of darkness I would see you home. By the way how did you pay for that junk? I know you lost your wallet in the attack."
"I found a credit card in the luggage I had in Rome. I used that." She answered with a shrug. A full minute passed in silence.
"I think I like shopping." Annabel observed aloud. "Do I usually like shopping?"
"Most females do."
The redhead glared at him. "I don't think I'm most females."
"True, but you do like the useless hobby."
"Its not useless if it puts me in a good mood. I'm not minding your proximity at the moment." The pair continued to walk at a leisurely pace. It would take three hours at least at that rate to return to the manor.
She riffled through her new treasures and pulled out one of those long jerky sticks. She ripped off a piece with her teeth to chew it noisily. She flicked the bitten off end just under Alucard's nose. "Wanna bite?"
He sneered openly turning his nose away from the offensive treat. "Absolutely not." How can humans call that pulped, cooked, blended, processed, artificial meat stick edible? He thought with distaste. Or meat for that matter. The mere idea of her eating it turned his stomach. "Might we expedite this little walk by letting me teleport us to Hellsing?"
"You're not touching me with your battiness mister." She swallowed her mouth of jerky. "Besides the sunlight feels nice to me. I think I rather like it. Much like the sun in Florida when I walked to…work…in…" She trailed off as if she couldn't complete the thought.
"You walked to work in Florida…" Alucard tried to help her complete her thought. It was the first spark of good news he's had the last week. She continued to look confused. 'It would be so much easier if I can access her mind; bring out those memories and get my old Annabel back. I'm missing her and she's right here!' The old median grew frustrated knowing he could do nothing to speed up the process. Getting her drunk crossed his mind but since the alcohol produced short term amnesia effects it might hinder any of his efforts trying to get her memories to resurface. He'd only try it as a last resort should she not improve in the long run.
She blinked a bunch of times then took another bite of her jerky as if the episode hadn't occurred. She looked at him. "Are you sure the sun doesn't hurt you? You look kinda… drained."
He expressed a human sigh. "Its not the blasted sun, but could we walk a little faster?"
The redhead sped up the pace slightly. After ten minutes of silence she asked seriously. "Is it common for vampires to… congregate with humans?"
The road slightly curved so the pair now walked toward the rising sun. Alucard pushed up the frame of his orange tinted glasses further up his nose. "What do you mean?"
Soft lips pressed together in a small grimace. She really didn't want to spell it out to the perverted blood sucker. "I mean… sexual relations with a human?"
"I do not encourage the act though it happens from time to time, usually from the younger children of the night." He answered her question blandly as the daylight grated on him and the desire to sleep in a cold dark place also pulled at his body.
"What do undead beings like yourself gain from doing the act?"
"Usually pleasure and release, Annabel."
She shook her head. "You are essentially a cold corpse. There's no blood flow. How can…"
He stopped walking, grabbed her free hand, and held it to his rib cage, palm to chest. She jerked at his iron hold weakly in vain. He held her hand firmly with one gloved hand around her wrist while the other splayed over hers pressing it firmly into the fabric of his gray vest. "What do you feel?" He asked of her.
"Let me go!" She cried, thinking about torching him then and there.
"Annabel, What do you feel?" He asked louder.
Taking a breath to calm herself, she answered "No heartbeat."
"What else?"
Her face scrunched up in confusion. He was pressing her hand rather hard into that rigid torso of his. Then it slowly dawned on her. Her fingers moved slightly in tiny circles. The flesh was malleable like a thin slab of clay atop a hard wood table. So unlike a stiff dead body, and produced a moderate warmth to her fingers. In the winter air she should have noticed it quicker. He eased his grip a bit when her face changed from confusion to curiosity. "You are warm, but how?"
"You do not know the inner workings of a true nosferatu. There are things the story books have wrong. There is no beating heart, however blood does flow, just differently from most living creatures." He lifted her hand placing a chaste kiss on her knuckles and inhaled the sweet scent of her blood just under her skin. Surely the sun was causing this mellowness out of him. He swore it made Alucard act almost human if he was under its gaze long enough. He hated it so much for it having an effect on him.
Annabel blushed three shades. Alucard released her hand. The redhead swiftly turned her face away barely hiding a deep frown. Why she frowned Alucard wasn't sure. "Alright, take me to my room and please be quick about." An eyebrow rose at the abrupt change of heart about teleporting her, but dismissed it quickly since he would finally get to somewhere enclosed and be allowed to hold her close however briefly. He tucked his hands around her waist from the back causing a slight flinch from her person. He could smell the nervousness in her scent.
In one brief blink of darkness the pair appeared in Annabel's chambers. He held her a second more inhaling the scent of her hair so close to his nose. "Let go now." The redhead ordered darkly. God, he must be getting soft in old age. He didn't want to let go just because he wanted to hold her in his arms in a non sexual way. He did through with reluctance. It wouldn't help to break the fragile progress he seemed to have created with her.
"Good morning Annabel." Softly bidding farewell, Alucard disappeared to his much needed coffin.
000000000000000 August 8 2008 evening Giza Egypt
A weathered faced male whistled a tune in the passenger seat while his long acquainted friend lounged in the driver's seat lazily steering the wheel of the large jeep with one hand. The other arm rested in his lap.
The male's whistling stopped. "Hey Musim, did you see that?" He pointed over to the left towards the silhouetted triangles of the monuments a half kilometer away.
"No, I'm watching the road, Sadiki."
"It was something in the sky, and so bright."
Musim blew a puff of exasperated air. "A falling star?"
"No! Just watch." Sadiki continued to point. Musim glanced slightly the left to humor his friend. "There it is!"
"What the…!" Musim slammed on the brakes. Fortunately no one was behind the vehicle; it being so late at night. The two watched the skies over the ancient tombs intently as the brilliant sight appeared again and this time balanced itself on top of the tallest Pyramid. The sharp contrast of the being with the dark sky allowed the onlookers to see every detail. It gazed around it's surroundings as if assessing its location. "Wow." Musim breathed.
"By the Gods! It's the sign Ramla was talking about. It has to be!" Sadiki spouted.
"Yeah." His friend blankly agreed still too awed by what he saw.
Suddenly the creature darted of its perch toward the great lion as if darting for pray.
"We need to get closer!" Sadiki shook Musin clear out of his shock.
He switched his foot to the gas and off the jeep it went. Sadiki pulled out a cell phone and texted Mistress Ramla of the sighting and requested instructions.
00000000000 March 13 2009
The redhead finally broke down and enlisted Mr. Dornez's expertise in the kitchen. Although the old Annabel far surpassed Walter's culinary talents, he still possessed a passable knack for making food edible. Currently he instructed her how to make sugar cookies. Walter had it set up where both of them had their own set of implements and ingredients. She watched him while he voiced each step. She did her best to mimic his actions and follow his instructions. The old retainer did not pause long before going on to the next step, nor did he correct her when she miss measured a few ingredients. He was a true believer in learning from one's mistakes. It might make a mess later on but she won't soon forget the lesson.
The unfortunate victims to taste test the cookies were The Captain and little Deatrice.
The redhead did her best to make it up to the tiny draculina by explaining she got so angry at a few of the soldiers that she needed to go somewhere to cool off, and totally forgot about her and by giving her a bag of glass marbles she had bought from the gas mart. It placated the girl for the most part and mentally shrugged off the unfortunate event. To the girl it was just an aspect of her Auntie's memory loss.
The testers first nibbled into Walter's batch. For Pip, he knew it would be safe to eat. For Deatrice it was her first time eating a sugar cookie and wanted a basis for what one normally tasted like, and since Walter was teaching Auntie, his were likely closer to the norm.
Then came hers to sample. Pip did his best not to make a disgusted face as he chewed the bite and swallowed with reluctance. "Salty." He said simply.
Being a kid, Deatrice had no qualms making a face. She stuck out her tongue letting the bite sized piece fall out of her mouth back into her hand. "Yucky. Taste like the dolls I made."
Annabel sighed in defeat. She picked one of the cookies and took a tiny nibble. She made a similar face to Deatrice's. "I think I used the wrong spoon for the salt."
Walter nodded. "You used a tablespoon rather than a half teaspoon."
"And I think the wrong amount of that powdered sugar." She added.
"It was flour you added instead."
"Why didn't you stop me if I was doing it wrong?" Annabel pressed a finger at the butler's chest.
"People learn from doing and that includes mistakes. But look at it this way you now know how to make salty flour cookies." Walter offered friendly.
The redhead grumbled. "Who's gonna eat that?"
"Maybe zee salt monster on Star Trek?" Pip mentioned. Walter nodded in agreement. Both females stared at Pip wondering what in the world that meant.
"I'm done." She pulled off her apron and tossed her sheet of cookies into the dumpster.
"Hey, Annabel, would you be interested in seeing a few horror movies in zee barracks? There's a channel having a special for Friday zee thirteenth. Several of us geese are watching." Pip asked. He knew the old Annabel liked the old time horror flicks. He wasn't sure about the contemporary ones, but it didn't hurt to ask and maybe a movie will spark a little recognition into her brain.
"Horror movies?" She tapped her cheek thoughtfully.
"You can always leave if you don't like et. I believe its Saw III and Zee Haunting. Zhey are fairly graphic but for us hardened soldiers, eets nothzing."
Walter gave him a withering look thinking it might be one of Pip's worse ideas ever considering Annabel's condition.
"I suppose I could take a peek at one of those. I can always leave if I don't like it." She agreed to the invite.
"Its your choice Miss Phoenix." Walter muttered placing the tasty cookies on a plate and cleaning up.
"Zat's great. Uh at eight assuming zhere's no emergency mission zee boss puts us in. I'm getting bored with zhis bum leg around 'ere. At least zee vampires are on scouting missions the last couple weeks. I hope all zhis no activity is not just zee eye of zee storm." Pip shifted on his stool wiggling the toes of his left foot.
"What does that mean, Captain Pip?" Deatrice asked from her stool.
"Ah, you know what a hurricane is?" The little girl shook her head. "It's a big circular storm zhat's calm in zee center. We call zat zee eye. Everywhere else in it is rain and wind zat will rip your pants clean off."
Deatrice produced an "o" with her mouth. "And underwear too?"
Pip should have seen that coming. "I suppose, but I really mean zhat hurricane winds could blow just about anyzing away." He saw her face get a little worried. "But don't worry, zhose kind of storms happen in warmer places zhan England." He assured her quickly.
"Oh, okay." She looked thoughtful for a bit. "So you don't want it to be the eye of the storm because its dangerous whatever direction you go." She postulated slowly.
"You got it mon petit. Now I gotta go tell zee boys zat zhere will be a lady joining us." He awkwardly hopped off the stool and hobbled out the door.
Annabel blushed slightly. She rather liked being called a lady. Now if she could just get the black haired ogre to do that.
00000000
Pip saved a seat for Annabel at the front and center next to him. There were about a dozen metal folding chairs situated before a relatively decent sized twenty inch flat screen TV. He felt she should be next to him should she feel the need to find comfort during a scary scene. He felt that amongst all his men Annabel was most comfortable around him, not that he was looking for any intimate snuggling action. Annabel was after all Alucard's girl and no one but no one puts a move on her least he have a death wish.
Most of the dozen seats were occupied when Annabel entered the mess hall turned movie theater. Pip waved her over and she sat to his right.
When the last person got to his seat Pip snapped to one of his lieutenants to turn off the main lights. The movie started.
Pip constantly glanced at Annabel's face to check if she got particularly apprehensive about a scene. At first she appeared awkward about sitting with a bunch of soldiers. After twenty minutes she relaxed as she was drawn into the movie. So much so that she waved away the bowl of popcorn that was being passed around without even loosing her focus on the screen. At the first real gory scene Pip watched her particularly close. The screaming and evident pain of the characters didn't seem to phase her a bit. Halfway through the slasher flick Pip noticed a slight disturbing change with her face he wasn't expecting. Instead of appalling and apprehensive expressions that most of his men were showing on their face hers was veiled excitement. Something he'd easy expect from Alucard not her. She leaned far forward in her seat for most of the movie. Her eyes twinkled and mouth twitched in a little smirk, especially during the more violent parts of the movie. Towards the end he could swear she sighed in contentment when someone died or became painfully injured. Seriously freaked out on the inside did not describe how Pip felt about this. He had barely paid any attention to the TV for the flickering digital light upon Annabel's animated face unsettled Pip more than any horror movie ever could. She did not seem to notice him watching her so glued into the movie she was.
When Saw III was over she blinked several times taking several long moments to collect herself. Her face became placid when she turned to Pip. "That was… interesting. There was quite a lot of blood and people dying." She grimaced slightly. "Is The Haunting like that?"
Pip kept his face and voice calm. "I zhink it has more plot but I haven't seen zat one before."
A soldier behind her spoke up. "Yeah its got a few bloody parts and suspense. But if you handled one of the five Saw movies, Blue, the Haunting is no problem."
Annabel looked surprised. "There's five of those movies? That's nuts."
"People like to get scared I suppose." The soldier sat back in his chair to await the second feature.
"Do you want to see the second movie?" Asked Pip.
"Eh, I got nothing else to do with my evening." She shrugged then spied the fresh bowl of popcorn.
Pip faced away from her in thought. 'Maybe zhis wasn't a good idea. Just where did her mind go when she watched zhat violence? It's like she was a different person. The Annabel I know does not find pleasure in others suffering. Is zhis a side of her zhat she kept to herself before or has zee altercation in Rome warped her mind? Maybe I should bring zhis up with zee boss lady. Perhaps zee big guy would know of zhis aspect of her.'
The second movie held no interest as Pip again watched her in his peripherals. She expressed similar sadistic quirks in her face during frightening or disturbing scenes in the flick. Again she didn't notice his lack of interest in the movie and when that one ended she politely thanked him for the invite and left.
Pip, back in his cot for rest could not fall asleep easily. 'I need to talk to zee big guy about zhis. Maybe eets normal and will put my mind to rest. Hopefully tomorrow he'll let me speak to him.' He rolled in his cot trying to roll off that vicious image of her face out of his mind.
000000000 March 15 2009
The captain of the Wild Geese finally spotted the star gazing median on the tallest part of the roof; a rectangular four guard tower where shingles tacked on at a high angle. No normal person could hold their footing on it.
The day before he hadn't been able to talk to the vampire alone as he was spending that evening getting acquainted with Annabel, although to Pip it looked like he was just pestering the redhead. He'd found them behind the manor with Annabel thrusting her sword at an invisible enemy, though sometimes at Alucard, while Alucard gave her pointers or whatnot. Pip quickly asked if they had seen Seras and left quickly.
Pip looked upward at the intimidating vampire and cleared his throat.
"Police Girl is out in town. What do you want Captain?" He asked without turning to look down at the human.
"Et's not about Seras, Mr. Alucard. I want to talk to you about Annabel." Alucard did face him then and raised an eyebrow. "Mind coming down so I don't have to yell it to you?"
Alucard disappeared off the tower and reappeared two feet in front of Pip causing the Captain to back up. "Speak."
Pip took a breath to gather up his courage. "I figure you know Miss Phoenix zee best so you can answer zhis for me. Has she ever revealed to you any enjoyment in watching others suffer? Even if its minor."
Alucard narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. "You're asking if she has a sadistic side?" Pip nodded. Alucard huffed with a smirk. "She knows who and what I am, and yet loves me. She can be devious and deadly, but true cruelty isn't in her. Why do you ask?"
Pip scratched the back of his neck with a pitiful smile. "Well, I invited her to movie night with some of zee guys. Couple of horror type flicks and well I saw in her face zhat she was maybe enjoying it too much like you maybe with some of your, erm targets, and it just seem out of character for Annabel you know and…" He trailed off.
Alucard grew annoyed. "You saw this with one passable eye in a room of poor lighting. Your feeble mind is playing tricks, Captain."
"Yeah. Zat must be it. Sorry to bother you Mr. Alucard." He turned in his crutches for the nearest stairway.
Despite Alucard's admonishing words, The Captain wasn't entirely convinced. Something in his gut told him that something wasn't right with Annabel besides the memory loss. One thing about Pip was that he believed in his gut instincts. He was going to watch Annabel a bit closer from now on.
000000000 Date Unknown
Annabel barreled down the long hall for a place to hide or escape. She flicked her eyes around for any door or any window to help her plight. She heard the sure calculating steps on the wooden stairs she had trotted up moments ago. 'Why can't I get out of this place?' She panicked. She raced towards a waist level window and pushed urgently upwards at the lower glass panel. It wouldn't budged and she obtained splinters in her palms for her trouble. He was almost around the corner to spot her. If only Annabel knew the layout of this place she would have a chance. Unfortunately that advantage went to her captor right now. She ran further down the hall to find another stair case leading up. It was likely a bad idea in the long run. Hell, she'd seen enough bad horror films to know it was a bad idea, but it was the only place she could go. Up she went scrambling two and three steps at a time to the top.
Once there Annabel flung a door open and slammed it behind her. She looked around frantically for anything to bar it with. All there was in the dusty old room were paintings of all sizes and empty picture frames, several were covered in white sheets. There was nothing in the room heavy enough to keep that man from opening the door. She also noticed there wasn't any other doors and the one circular window she saw was far out of her reach. At the sound of approaching foot steps her mind screamed "Hide!" She ducked under a sheet covering a large free standing easel with a moderate sized canvas still propped on it. She forced her heavy breathing to become silent.
The door creaked open and in walked her cruel captor. There was no hurry to his steps nor was his breathing labored. A voice rang into the unkempt room. "Now, now Miss Tracy you shouldn't have done that." He tisked with a finger waving into the air, not that Annabel could see. "You know I punish little whores if they don't do what they're told."
Annabel clenched her teeth. She hated to be called that but couldn't afford to blow her position.
His expensive black shoes clacked on the hard wood floor around the room casually searching her out. Her body started to shake. 'Please don't find me. Please don't find me." She prayed whole heartedly.
Unfortunately God still was not on her side. His tapping shoes stopped before the veiled easel she was under. She could see the faint silhouette of the man's legs through the white sheet. Her heart slammed into her chest at the vile male's proximity. He'd found her.
In a last ditch effort she jumped up with her hands above her and smashed the canvas and wooden easel onto him then darted for the door without looking behind her. It seemed she was never fast enough. A hand grabbed at her un-tucked blouse and yanked her backwards. She fell hard onto the fallen easel. Two points in her spine cracked hard on the one inch thick legs making her whimper through her teeth with the pain. Before she could think to get up a foot stepped on her hand.
"Let me go! You bastard!" She yanked at her hand to get it free but it just would not budge.
He sneered with his hooked nose up in the air. He held a bat in his hands ready to swing down at her arm or her face depending what he had in mind. "Bitch, you do not slap me nor speak out of turn. This is what your measly hide gets." The bat started its arch downward.
She let out a cry. "NOO!"
0000000000 March 21 2009
The redhead sprang off her pillow in beaded sweats. She gasped gallons of air and ripped off the bed sheet. After a good ten seconds her shoulders drooped to a relaxed state. "Oh god, why those dreams?" She murmured to herself. It was the third one of that type to scare her awake. They were so vivid. He, was in each one tormenting her. How did she, Annabel ever survive him?
She got up off the bed and went to her bathroom. She splashed cold water onto her face then dried it with a wash cloth. Annabel's reflection in the mirror stared back at her. "I'm not his, nor anyone's whore." She proclaimed softly to the reflection. "This is my body and spirit, and I will do what I want with it." With that she tipped her nose upward and walked out of the bathroom.
000000
B/N: Oh crap, back with ex-boyfriend. This should be fun...wait...does this mean she's back in her own world? What the hell?
A/N: Look like it was just a dream, er, nightmare to me…