Van Helsing could feel the fear in the air. He was sure that the vampires would completely destroy the town this night.
He first noticed that the sky had become even darker than asual when night descended. It was as if God had abandoned this town. Perhaps that was not too far off, he thought to himself. When the first scream came, it did not surprise him.
The vampires' first victim was a young man who refused to go down quietly, for hiding behind him were his three children, and he would fight to the bitter end to protect them. Van Helsing could do nothing for the man, but perhaps he could save at least one of the children. It was time for him to be brave, as well.
He took out his crossbow and placed a flaming bolt on it, aimed for one of the vampires, and fired. The bolt made contact, but did not manage to hit the beast's heart. Still, the fire would occupy it for a bit, giving Van Helsing the time he needed to get to the youngest child.
The father was already gushing blood everywhere, but as the vampires ripped into his throat, they were too preoccupied to notice Van Helsing coming by. The man saw what Van Helsing did, and although he could no longer speak, the gratitude was plain in his dying eyes.
Van Helsing grabbed the child and began rushing to the church. A foolish notion, perhaps, but if this was to be his time, he wished to die in the house of the Lord. He thanked God the child was too shocked to scream, but he also knew this child would likely never be the same again.
Van Helsing did not turn around as he heard the vampires beginning to attack the children he had left behind. He made his heart hard to their screams. All he could hope for was a swift death for them.
Van Helsing reached the church just as the biggest vampire he had ever seen flew overhead. This looked more like a dragon than a bat. This must have been the legendary Count Dracula, perhaps the first of all vampires. If, by some miracle, Van Helsing managed to get out of here alive, he would dedicate his life to finding a way to kill this demon.
Van Helsing slipped inside, put the child under a bench, and bade her to stay quiet. All around them in the night, they could hear people dying excruciatingly.
Van Helsing looked at their Lord hanging on his cross, and silently wondered if even God was able to comprehend a being as evil as the one that now haunted the town's streets. As if in answer to this thought, a gigantic figure came crashing through the wall, shattering the crucifix. It had consumed so much blood that its body was slick with it, giving the crumbling statue the appearance of splattering blood everywhere.
So that was it. There was nowhere for them to run. This was the end. He closed his eyes, found the girl's hand underneath the bench, and squeezed it comfortingly. He tried to prevent his hands from shaking, but could not. He silently prayed that the Lord would accept them into His embrace, and waited for the final blow. It never came.
Instead, an eloquent voice rang through all the anarchy. "I envy you, mister Van Helsing. There was a time that I, too, could pray with such determination."
Van Helsing recognised it instantly as Alucard. Of course, how could he have been so blind. He dared to open his eyes, and witnessed the man in his true form. For a moment, he again thought that he was looking at Jonathan, but the bloodstains all around his mouth served as a painful reminder of the fate that had likely befallen the young man. "Did Jonathan at least die quicker than his sister?" He dreaded what the answer might be, but he could not die without knowing how he had failed the boy.
"He died valiantly, never betraying an ounce of fear. His end came swiftly."
Dracula considered the man, desperately holding on to the little girl beneath him. He suddenly did not possess the will to kill this man. Even in the town, he had taken part in the killing very reluctantly. It could not please him as it once did. He therefore ventured a question. "Do you believe the damned can get their souls back, mister Van Helsing?"
This was not at all what Van Helsing expected. Before he could stop himself, he answered truthfully: "The Lord is merciful, Count Dracula, but your sins are far greater than any man's I've ever encountered. I do not believe there is any hope for you." He felt surprisingly calm saying these things. He pushed even further: "Mark my words, Count, one day, you will die. I hoped it would be by my hand, but even if it isn't, you will not escape the judgment that awaits all of us at the end."
The last screams began dying down as the two men contemplated each other. "Perhaps you are right." Dracula began walking closer. "Or perhaps your pathetic god has deserted you. Here I stand, after more than a thousand years, and no man has yet to harm me. Bring your churches and your knights. Hunt me for eternity. All you will ever be are Cattle for us to feast on." Dracula had had enough of this church and this town. He wanted badly to hibernate for another few hundred years. He began making ready for his attack, when the little girl finally spoke up. "It's never too late to get fergiveness, sir. Me da always said no sin can go unforgiven if ye give yer heart to the Lord." Something inside Dracula prevented him from attacking at these words. His father had always said something similar. Dracula looked at this girl in wonder. It would have been so easy snap her neck, but something told him not to, and for the first time in over a millennium, he felt his rage dissipate. Dracula knew he was exposed here, so he bade all cohorts accompany him back to the castle and fled from the church as soon as his wings could carry him. He had leveled the town completely, as he always promised he would, but he felt no sense of victory, only a feeling of vast emptiness.
Van Helsing looked at the girl in wonder. He could start to see the sun rise over the hills. He did not expect to see this sight ever again, and for the first time in his life, felt like he truly appreciated it. This girl had lost everything and everyone she had ever known, so Van Helsing needed to get them both to safety. "Girl, what is your name?" The girl had gone back to being mute, so he gave it up as pointless, for now, and began making his way to his carriage. His horses were still miraculously alive, so he loaded the girl in and got in the front to begin steering his animals. All around him, the decimated ruins of the town lay scattered, interspersed with vast quantities of blood and body parts. He took this grim sight in, but it could not bother him as much as it usually would have.
After all, a child's soft words had just saved him from the worst being he had ever encountered. Today was the first time that he could honestly say he had witnessed a miracle, and nothing could take the awe away from him.
He would be back for Dracula some day, but this time, he would come with an entire army of vampire hunters. He would train this girl to succeed where he had failed. This he promised, as he reached the town's end and looked back upon it one more time.
FIN 