Vincent had no luck in finding the vampire.  However, he did manage to kill at least four more of the unholy devil spawn.  It was only three a.m. and he finally decided to call it a night.  He'd lurked in nearly every doorway of every club at which Nina had last been seen.  But to no avail.  Besides, he was still hurting from the Paris fiasco.  

    The next day found Vincent walking around Key West again.  It truly felt like paradise here.  However, the Key West Recorder, the local newspaper, drove away the illusion.  Apparently two people were brought in to the hospital, with wounds that could only have been from a wild animal, or perhaps a dog gone feral.  A corpse was found near a club that was on the other side of town, opposite of where Vincent had been last night.  The interesting things about these incidents was that all three victims were on the same side of town.  Also, the two victims in the hospital had wounds on their throats, and the corpse was found without any blood left whatsoever.  

    The finding of the corpse bothered Vincent.  Vampires, out of necessity are much sneakier than that.  They usually find a convenient dumpster or at least make some effort to hide the remains out of sight.  The corpse had been found right outside the door of the club.  This had to be the work of Nina.  It was just too deliberate.  Nina had left similar 'calling cards' in the past, designed solely to get his attention and to mock him.  Vincent suspected she did it to remind him how powerless he really was.  Even though he hadn't known to look on that side of town, he still couldn't help feeling that somehow he should have known.  That corpse had been someone's brother or sister, or child; and he felt the responsibility of their death keenly.  In the game Vincent had been playing since he was fifteen , a mistake could someone their life. 

    Vincent continued to walk around Key Largo, visiting the spots where the victims and corpse had been found.  No clues were found however.  Feeling morose, Vincent decided to revisit the bar near his hotel and grab a pint  of beer to soothe his nerves, had been a little past eight by then.  It was as he neared the bar, that he realized someone had been following him.  He cursed himself for not being more aware of what was going on around him.  Who could it be?  He decided to lead his stalker around a couple of blocks  before confronting him.   Vincent ducked into a doorway and pressed against its shadowy walls, and as the figure passed, he sprung out like a cannon shot.  He and the figure rolled a few feet and Vincent was able to maneuver on top.  Vincent pressed a small blade to the man's throat.

    "Who are you and why are you following me?"  he demanded.

    "Whoa!  Chill out man!  I'm unarmed!  I was just following you because I heard that you came into town and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  You are Dr. Vincent Van Helsing right?  The greatest vampire hunter alive!  I'm one of your biggest fans, you see, I'm a vampire hunter too. Look, see?  I got a stake and cross too!"

    Vincent sighed and let he much younger man up.  "Fine, well, it was a pleasure meeting you young man.  Now I really must be off, really important stuff to do. Good-bye."  He knew giving the kid the brush-off was just a spiteful act, but the fact that the young hunter had been able to shadow him for so long with Vincent knowing, bothered him more than he would admit.  He quickly made his way to depart, but the young man began shouting.

    "Wait!  Wait!  Hold up, man!  Actually there was something I needed to talk to you about!  I think I might need some help.  There's a vampire named Nina-"

    "What!"  Vincent whirled back to the young man.  "Tell me, where did you see this vile demoness!  I know who you speak of well, and make no mistake she is a creature of Hell as surely as you and I breathe!"

    "Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure I know where she'll be tonight.  I was wondering if you wanted to help me."  There was a moment when the young hunter held an expression of cold calculation, but it only lasted a second, and Vincent dismissed it.  Being a vampire hunter, it was entirely possible to become too paranoid.  Besides, they were both human, and in this line of work, humans were the only ones you could count on.

"Of course I'll help you!"

To the Next Page, or

What Is Nina Up To?