Vincent took one last look at the club called The Pit, before heading back toward his hotel. It was the last club on the list that Vincent had made. In hopes of narrowing down the parts of town Nina was most likely to be, Vincent had made a list of all the clubs Nina was known to frequent. As he visited each club, he made notes on where all the entrances were and what buildings were nearby. It hadn't been easy to narrow the possibilites. Being on an isalnd, the inhabitants built everything close together. This in turn provided a multitude of twisting back alley ways, where at night, anything could hide.
Vincent's thoughts were interrupted by the growling in his stomach. When had he last eaten? His thoughts had been too occupied with fighting tactics and possible escape routes, that he honestly couldn't remember. Yesterday? The day before? He had to eat if he planned on confronting Nina anytime soon. He checked his watch, and estimated having at least a couple of hours before sunset. He had some time to kill.
As he walked towards the cafe, he took a good look at the city, not in terms of a hunter searching for his prey this time, but as a tourist. Vincent watched a young woman take phtos of an old white mansion. As he walked along, he admired the buildings he passed by. Among the antebellum houses stood buildings in nearly every pastel shade one could imagine; light blues, shell pinks dotted the neighborhoods. As he passed the docks, he couldn’t help notice garish advertisements promoting guided boat and scuba tours. Yet what captured his attention the most were all the students everywhere. Vincent sighed, it was Spring Break for many students in this country.
Vincent couldn’t help but look at the students, as well as the general populace as a whole, with a mixture of pity and envy. He pitied their ignorance of the dark things roaming the night, yet he envied them for it as well. To him, humans were a vast force of potential. They could potentially save this world or ruin it. Nina simply saw them as, what did she call them, ‘happy-meals-on-legs’? He was passed by a couple of women who seemed to echo his thoughts as they loudly debated environmental issues. The one with dark hair was clearly outraged, while the red haired one listened intently, occasionally commenting and offering encouragement. Vincent didn’t have much time to think about the world that most people lived in. The world he was concerned with mostly existed in shadows.
He dimly recalled when his family first began instructing him on his ‘heritage’. Vampire hunting had been a family tradition for many centuries. A few were always chosen and trained from the day they turned thirteen. It had been a rite manhood, or womanhood in a couple of rare cases. He had been explained the differences in the supernatural world, how some creatures seemed to have ties to energies that, for lack of a better word, could only be described as ‘evil’, and others ‘good’. While they had taught him all they knew about the monstrosities that lived in the dark, they mainly focused on vampires.
Vampires were easy to undestand; they were evil. Very simple, really. Vincent had been taught that there were no ambiguity in the energies that vampires were tied to, their bond was completely and firmly tied to the evil forces. Strangely, his continual exposure to the supernatural had left Vincent the abitlity to almost see these ties to the opposing energies. As he walked and watched the people flow around him, he let his senses expand. In his mind’s eye he saw the ties that seemed to touch a few here and there. The word ‘puppet strings’ unpleasantly sprung to mind, but he pushed the thought away.Suddenly his breath caught in his throat, as an apparently normal young man passed him. At first vincent thought he had been mistaken, but he trusted his instincts. The man that walked intently ahead of him wasn’t tied to any mystical energies; he was energy, at least a part of it! Vincent quickly changed his course and walked an alternate route to the restaurant. It was always prudent to avoid the representatives of the divinites, even the ones associated to ‘good’. Divinities were by nature too mysterious for Vincent to work with; they were always meddling in someone’s destiny. He couldn’t suppress a shiver, even though he walked in the sunlight. Vincent hadn’t liked the surprise the afternoon had yielded him. As he entered the restaurant, he decided it would be a good idea to get more information on the supernatural flora and fauna around here.
2 hours later...
It was ten minutes past sunset, and if anyone had been wandering around the Pleasant Dale Cemetary they would have heard a scuffling noise of someone in a fight with what would almost sound like two wolves. If they continued to listen they would have heard a growl cut short and a loud thump.
Vincent stood with a stake pinned directly in front of a vampire’s heart. With his other hand grasping the thing’s neck, he thumped its head against the maseleum wall to make sure he had its attention. The creature glared at him and hissed, but due to the stake it didn’t move a muscle. Vincent silently laughed to himself. This one had to be new. As soon as Vincent spotted the creature he had pulled the I’m-simply-a-poor-defenseless-old-man-please-don’t-hurt-me act. Besides Nina, nearly every vampire he hunted fell for it. Surprise was one of the few advantages Vincent developed in hunting vampires and looking like a weak old man had its uses.
“Well, greetings hell spawn, my name is Vincent Van Helsing. You’ve heard of me I trust?”
The vampire simply glared.
“Good. Um, I’m in a quandry at the moment. I’m debating as to what I should be doing right now. On the one hand I am curious as to who the ‘locals’ are and may let you free if you tell me. On the other hand, I am a vampire hunter. Please notice the words vampire and hunter in my occupational title. By the way, did you happen to hear I was a lunatic as well? Hmm, that's good I suppose. Where was I? Right. Things could get very unpleasant for you if you don’t cooperate."
Vincent loved watching the vampires eyes widen in terror. It was such poetic justice. In the end the vampire told him everything he knew, including a few bits of special interest to Vincent. The first was that yes, Nina had been sighted at several clubs hunting, both of which had been on Vincent's list. The other item was rather curious. Apparently there was another vampire hunter here as well, at least that's what the young man called himself. According to the vampire the young hunter had only managed to stake one vampire within the past year, and that had only been due to the clumsiness of the vampire.
Hm..very interesting, Vincent thought. Perhaps I'll pay the young hunter a visit. Besides, quite frankly, I'm amazed he's survived this long.
After the vampire finished spilling whatever information it could, Vincent thanked it kindly and wished it luck in the world beyond. The stake had hardly needed to be pushed any further. Shaking off the dust, Vincent headed out to patrol the clubs the now doubly deceased vampire had mentioned.
