The Return

This follows on from Blade:Trinity and features a crossover with another movie. I changed the dates a little so it would fit.

The Return

He had no idea how long he had been here, in this dark place. He felt oddly disconnected, as though he was only semi-awake. He was dimly aware that he could not move his arms and legs. Something was holding them in place. Beyond that he could see and feel nothing.

In the distance, he could hear cries of anguish. That had meant something to him once, but he could no longer recall what it had been. His mind was full of fog, making it impossible to recollect anything. Images flitted like dragonflies before him; people, places, but whether they were memories or dreams, he could not say.

Without warning, pain flared up within him, burning like white-hot fire. He screamed as it spread throughout his entire body. At the same time, he heard an awful cracking sound. The pain intensified, feeling as if every bone in his body was breaking.

Through the torment, he could vaguely make out a cacophony of high-pitched cackling, incoherent gibbers and yelps. Two things were clear. First, whatever was making those sounds; they were responsible for his pain. Second, they were enjoying it.

That thought enraged him. But as it did so, the confusing, dream-like images that had hovered on the edge of his consciousness began to flow smoother and quicker. What had previously been a confusing jumble now began to organise into a cohesive whole. Seven thousand years of life passed before him, moving with incredible speed, yet also with crystal clarity as he remembered in a blinding instant who he was

The first vampire. Gilgamesh. Dagon. Draculea. Drake. Together with countless other names he had used over the course of his life.

With a roar, Drake broke free of whatever restraints had held him. The pain receded rapidly as he stood. The amused cackling was replaced by inhuman cries of astonishment. Drake began to run, shouldering aside unseen shapes. Even though the darkness was absolute, he trusted his instincts to guide him.

He kept on running. Here and there, he saw glimpses of fires. The flickering light showed glimpses of indescribable, nightmarish shapes.

There! Ahead of him was a ring of glowing white light. He raced towards it as the sounds of pursuit gained on him. Some deep instinct told him that it was the right choice.

He dived into the ring. White light overwhelmed his senses.

When Drake came to, the first thing he was aware of was that he was half-submerged in freezing water. The second thing was that he could see. It was dim, but no-where near the stygian blackness of before. He looked around, realising to his surprise that he was at the bottom of a well. At the top, he could see daylight.

What is going on? Bemused, he began to climb out, using his vast strength to punch handholds in the walls. Finally he reached the surface.

Drake stood and looked around warily. He was standing in the middle of a field. Although he could sense no one else nearby, he knew that something was wrong. The colours were unusually pale and when he inhaled, he could smell nothing. Then he saw it; a rectangle of white light, similar to the ring that had brought him here.

How strange he thought as he walked up to the rectangle. He warily reached out a hand and pressed his fingertips to the glowing surface. They disappeared into it. He withdrew his hand and looked at it. There was no damage.

Drake reached into the rectangle with both hands and grasped the edges. They were solid. He drew himself through the rectangle, wondering what he would find on the other side.

Becca sat on the bed, waiting for Katie to return. What’s keeping her? She should be back by now she thought.

Her thoughts turned to what she and her friend had just been talking about. The tape that killed anyone who watched it. Becca didn’t believe it herself and she was pretty sure that Katie didn’t either. But still, something was on her friend’s mind. She had seemed vaguely on-edge all evening. Becca decided that she would ask about it when she got back.

Becca looked up as she heard a soft buzzing sound. Puzzled, she stood up and went to the door. “Katie, is everything okay?” she called softly.

There was no answer. Her concern growing, Becca started downstairs.

End of Part 1

Part 2

Drake was not sure what he had been expecting exactly, but it was not this. He now found himself in a room with soft carpeting and comfortable furniture. He hardly noticed the room itself though; he was more interested in its occupants.

At the far end of the room was a human, a young woman with light brown hair. Her face showed a look of confusion, disbelief and utter horror.

In the middle was a small girl. Her face was obscured by long, wet hair. Drake knew at once that this girl was neither human nor vampire. He could hear no heartbeat, smell no blood. And certainly no living thing would carry the smell of decay that this creature did. A spirit then.

The spirit turned to face him. Her cold dead eyes looked into his. A flood of sensations poured into his brain. Pain, betrayal, fear, coldness.

A regular human would have died from the psychic onslaught. Drake however, was not human and never had been. He reached deep into the recesses of his mind, calling up memories stretching back across seven thousand years. Images of blood and slaughter once more played out before his eyes.

He smiled as the spirit began to falter. She did not possess the intellect or the capacity to hold so much knowledge. Wretched shade he thought, knowing somehow that she could hear him. I have survived for thousands of years. I have faced challenges you could not imagine. You are NOTHING to me!

His smile widened as the spirit dissolved like mist in the sunlight. There was no time to waste in savouring his victory though. He turned his attention to the human girl.

He stopped. Judging by her expression, she was in no condition to answer his questions. And now he heard footsteps approaching. Drake turned to leave.

Becca entered the living room and saw Katie standing in a corner. She was staring at the TV and looked absolutely mortified. Becca hurried over to her. “Katie, are you okay?”

Katie pointed at the TV. She stammered out, “it was, it, it,” and then she fainted.

Becca caught her. For a moment she thought that her friend was just joking again, but that thought passed almost instantly. “Katie, Katie” she repeated her name with growing urgency as she gently lowered her to the ground.

Frantic with worry, she gripped Katie’s wrist and checked her pulse. Relief flooded her as she felt that it was steady.

An ambulance. I have to call an ambulance Becca thought as she stood and ran to the telephone. She began dialling hurriedly.

The irony was not lost on Drake that he might well have saved lives as he exited the house. A short distance away he stopped and once more looked around.

It was night in the streets of a city. To be more precise, the outskirts of a city, judging by the quiet. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of a nearby tree. Yes, this was indeed the world he had left. He looked down at himself. He was dressed in the armour he had been wearing during his battle with the Daywalker, Blade. His sword was strapped to his side.

How can this be? Over the course of his life, Drake had witnessed some extraordinary things, but this was definitely the strangest.

Then he smiled. It did not matter how it happened. All that mattered was that he lived. He stood for a moment, considering what to do.

Abruptly, he looked up as his hearing detected a wailing sound. He looked on with interest as a large white vehicle with flashing blue lights drove up at high speed and stopped in front of the house he had just left. Men and woman dressed in white got out of the vehicle and hurried into the house. He watched, as the girl he had seen earlier was taken out, unconscious. Another girl, this one with long black hair, stood in the doorway and watched with concern as the first girl (no doubt a friend of hers) was loaded onto the vehicle and driven away.

Drake almost laughed. A new chapter is added to my legend he thought.

Then he turned and disappeared into the night.

Becca watched the ambulance drive away with Katie. She pressed a hand over her heart and took several deep breaths.

Katie will be okay, Katie will be okay she repeated to herself. After a moment, she began to calm down. It occurred to her that she should call Katie’s parents.

As she was about to go, Becca saw something. Standing at a corner some distance away was a man. He looked to be in his thirties, powerfully built, with brown hair and an amused look on his face. Bizarrely, he was wearing some kind of armour and had a sword strapped to his side. As she watched, he turned and walked away.

Who was that? Becca thought. She shook her head and went to call her friend’s parents, closing the door behind her.

In a desolate, dark place, they had gathered to discuss what had happened. They looked silently at each other for a long moment before one finally spoke.

“Have they been notified?” it asked.

“They have” another answered. “They know that we did not intend this.” Both of them said the word they with deep bitterness and venom.

A third spoke up. “This is most unexpected. Because of it, another of our misbegotten, wayward children has been returned to us earlier than anticipated.” It paused a moment before adding, “and because of that, innocents that should be dead are alive. What should be broken is whole.”

“Unfortunate” said the first. “But of little consequence. This incident can be turned to our advantage.”

“Indeed” yet another replied. “The one that escaped, Drake he calls himself, is far more useful to us. And since this was not intentional, they cannot intervene directly. We need take no action at all. All we need do is give Drake a free hand.”

“Yes.”

End of Part 2

Abigail Whistler frowned as she completed the ritual movements of the kata and slowly exhaled. She had hoped that the exercise would clear her mind. Usually it did, but not this time. Instead she felt more charged up than before she had begun, as if she was warming up for a fight rather than finishing a training session.

She was still frowning as she picked up a towel and dried herself off. It had been this way for the last few days. She had been haunted by a creeping sense of unease. A sense that there was something not quite right. The feeling would pass over the course of the day, but it always returned. Abigail entered her living room and took a seat as she tried again to think about what could be wrong.

Abigail had been a member of the Nightstalkers, an organisation dedicated to ridding the world of vampires. Together with Blade, the Daywalker, they had finally succeeded. They had infected Drake, the first vampire, with a fatal virus that had then spread around the world. Within a matter of weeks, the entire vampire race was gone.

That had been three months ago. Since then, the Nightstalkers had disbanded, many of them returning to the lives that the vampires had forced them to leave. Her closest friend, Hannibal King, had been among them. For her part, Abigail had settled into a new apartment and had gotten a job as an archery teacher.

That thought caused her to glance at a clock on the wall. She jumped to her feet as she realised that it was nearly time for her class. I can’t believe I lost track of time she thought as she went to change her clothes.

However, Abigail was by nature a calm person, not given to fluster. It took her only a moment to settle down and change into something suitable. She glanced briefly at herself in a mirror. An athletic woman with light brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing combat pants and a jacket with red front panels, looked back at her. She smiled. Not bad.

She glanced at her watch and left. With any luck, she’d make it on time.

Abigail felt her spirits lift a little as she went on to the archery range. She enjoyed working here. However, it still wasn’t enough to completely dispel her sense of unease. She hoped that none of her students would notice.

She realised that someone was missing. “Where’s Katie?” she asked.

“She’s in hospital,” replied Becca. “It’s nothing serious. She fainted last night, but she’s okay now. She should be home this afternoon.”

Abigail nodded. She knew that Katie and Becca were best friends and if Becca was here, then Katie was fine. Nonetheless, she felt troubled by the absence. She decided that once the lesson was over, she would find out more.

Later, as they were leaving, she went to Becca. “Could I have a word?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“Can you tell me what happened with Katie?”

“Last night I was at her house. We were talking and I mentioned this urban legend I’d heard. A tape that kills anyone who watches it.”

“Yes, I think I’ve heard of it.”

“Well, she seemed freaked. She told me that she’d watched it.”

Becca paused for a moment, and then laughed lightly. “She pretended she was choking, and I totally fell for it.”

Abigail smiled. “What happened then?”

“You know how the legend goes? How after you watch the tape, the phone rings? Right then the phone rang.”

“Creepy.”

“Yeah. So we both went downstairs. I answered it and it was her mom.” Again she laughed. “When I picked it up, I acted all creeped out, and SHE fell for it.” They both laughed.

Becca’s expression turned more serious. “I went back upstairs. After a few minutes, Katie hadn’t come back. Then I heard this buzzing noise. I called down and she didn’t answer. I went downstairs and I found her staring at the TV. She looked terrified. I asked if she was okay and she fainted.”

Abigail looked at her sympathetically. “That must have been frightening.”

“Tell me about it. So I called an ambulance and they took her to hospital. I called her parents and we all went to see her. The doctors said she was fine. They couldn’t find anything wrong with her.”

“Do you have any idea why she was frightened?”

“Yeah. I talked to her after she’d woken up. She said that she had seen things. Weird things. She told me that the television had come on by itself and it showed a well. A girl climbed out of the well and started walking towards the screen. She climbed out of the screen and into the room. Katie told me that she was actually standing there, right in front of her.”

“That is weird.”

“It gets worse. After that, someone else came out of the TV. A man. He and the girl faced each other and the girl just dissolved. Then the man just walked away.”

“I see.” Despite her calm outward appearance, Abigail’s mind was racing. Did this have something to do with the unease she had been feeling?

Becca went on, “there’s something else. After the ambulance took Katie away, I saw someone standing at the corner. He looked just like the man Katie says she saw.”

“What did he look like?”

“Tall, short brown hair. Strong-looking. And you’re not going to believe this, he was wearing armour and a sword.”

Abigail felt a chill run down her spine. No, it can’t be. I saw him die. He can’t still be alive.

Becca noticed her sudden tension. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine” Abigail replied.

Becca clearly wasn’t fooled, but she decided not to push the matter. “I should be going. I’ll see you next time.”

“Thank you for your time. Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

As Becca left, Abigail stood, her mind racing, seeking possible explanations. One thought however, remained constant, despite her best efforts to deny it.

Drake is back.

End of Part 3

Part 4

Drake sat alone in a darkened chamber, lost in thought. For the first time in centuries he found himself unsure of what to do next.

He had returned to the vampire-owned Phoenix Towers to find that it was almost completely deserted. A small number of men and women had cried with joy and bowed down as they saw him. They had told him what had happened in his absence.

Three months had passed since his apparent ‘death’. In that time the plague that the Daywalker had used against him had spread. Now the entire vampire race had been destroyed. Their human servants –familiars- had been crestfallen; many had taken their own lives. Others had banded together, united in certainty that their masters would somehow return. To them, Drake was the answer to their prayers.

Which brought him back to the same question; what now?

Three hundred years ago, he had retreated from the world, sickened by what the vampire race had been reduced to, and gone underground, into a deep hibernation. He had hoped that when he emerged, his degenerate offspring would have found their heart and spine once again or destroyed themselves altogether. Now the latter had occurred. Like Noah’s flood, the corrupt old order had been washed away, allowing him to start anew.

Drake recalled the vow he had made so long ago. He would rule humankind one way or another. If not from over them, then he would rule them from below. He had kept that vow for millennia now. He had travelled the world, leaving tales of death and destruction wherever he went.

And yet within three centuries the human race has reduced my legacy to a joke.

He frowned as he thought about the shop he had visited soon after he had awoken. It had bee full of ‘vampire merchandise.’ All of the items had been caricatures. Mockeries. It was clear that the world had completely forgotten him.

Perhaps it is time for a new approach.

His frown faded as a plan began to form.

Abigail put down the phone and stared at the wall as she tried to make sense of what was happening.

After she had gotten home, she had made some calls to a number of informants who had worked with the Nightstalkers. She had been surprised that they had answered the encrypted frequency she had contacted them on.

What she had discovered was not good. The body of a ‘John Doe’ fitting Drake’s description had mysteriously disappeared from the morgue. The armour and sword that had been found with the body had also vanished.

How is it possible? How can he be alive again? As illogical as it seemed, she was certain that Drake was back. She couldn’t explain it, not even to herself, but she was.

Abigail walked over a cupboard and opened it. Inside was her personal arsenal of vampire hunting weaponry, all of which she had kept in excellent condition. A custom-made compound bow with a quiver of arrows designed to release bursts of ultra-violet light, boots that concealed spring-loaded blades, the UV arc; a crescent-shaped device capable of generating a high-intensity ultra-violet beam, another spring-loaded blade; this one worn on the wrist, plus a few other weapons.

Not enough she thought. None of it is enough. She couldn’t face Drake alone. Only Blade could do that and she had no idea where he might be.

She had to re-form the Nightstalkers. Their chances of success wouldn’t be much greater, but at least it would be a start. But how? The organisation had operated in sleeper cells; she had never met most of the members and she had no more idea of how to find them now than she did Blade. Besides, even if she could find them, how was she going to convince them that Drake had come back? And if she did, how could they stop Drake? Last time it had taken the Daystar virus to kill him and they no longer had any. Not that it had been that effective.

Enough. She had to concentrate on finding the others. Then they could begin to form a plan.

End of Part 4

Part 5

Hannibal King cheerfully whistled tunelessly as he strolled along. It was a bright, sunny day with a pleasant breeze. Days like this brought it back to him that they had won. The vampires were gone. King had moved on with his life after the Nightstalkers organisation had disbanded, as they all had, although he still kept in touch with some of them. He had gotten a job as a mechanic at a racing circuit. Life was pretty good right now.

His boss, Mr Yamanaka had called him a few moments ago and asked if he could come over. He hadn’t sounded particularly serious on the phone, so King wasn’t really concerned about what the matter was as he walked past gleaming cars towards the trailer where Mr Yamanaka had his office.

He knocked on the door. “Come in” a Japanese-accented voice called.

King opened the door and walked in. The office was spotlessly tidy, with not a single document or form out of place. Light shone through the large window at the back. The walls were off-white and the carpet was a light cream.

Mr Yamanaka stood up behind his desk. He looked to be in his fifties, with greying hair and a weather-beaten face. “Good day Mr King. I am glad you could make it.”

“No problem, boss” he replied. His tone was casual, but he sensed that something wasn’t quite right. There was something off about the other man, although he couldn’t quite place it. “So what did you want to see me about?”

His boss didn’t answer. Instead he turned and drew the curtains across the window, darkening the room.

“What are you doing?” Now he realised what was off; his clothes didn’t fit properly. They hung loosely off his body, a fraction too big. A sense of déjà vu hit him.

No way…

Mr Yamanaka moved with blurring speed. He leaped over the desk and punched King with such force that he flew back against the wall. Stars exploded in front of King’s vision. Dazed, he looked up as a hand closed around his throat, cutting off his air. King struggled weakly as the stars clouding his sight were replaced with blackness and he slid out of consciousness.

Yamanaka smiled as he looked down at the unconscious young man in front of him. Then his features began to warp and his skin tone lightened. Within seconds he had transformed completely.

Drake’s smile widened.

After her talk with Abigail, Becca had gone to visit Katie. Her friend had left hospital and gone home. She was still shaken, but was feeling much better.

Becca couldn’t stop thinking about her earlier conversation. It was clear to her that Abigail’s questions hadn’t come purely from curiosity and something was definitely on her mind. The way she had reacted to what Becca had told her suggested that she knew something about it.

“Katie, there’s something you should know” she said gently.

“What’s that?”

“Abigail wanted to know where you were today. When I told her about what happened, she looked like she recognised some of what I was saying.”

Katie looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Katie, I think that Abigail may know something about what you saw last night.”

Relief mixed with confusion on Katie’s face. Although Becca had told her that she had also seen the strange armoured man that Katie had described, it was still reassuring to hear evidence that she hadn’t just been hallucinating. “What should we do?”

“Let’s go and talk to her. Maybe she can tell us something.”

End of Part 5

Part 6

Abigail sighed in frustration as she reached into her pocket for the front door key. All of her attempts to locate Hannibal had proved fruitless. She had looked at his home, his workplace and all of the areas he was known to frequent. There was no sign of him. She froze in mid-step as a disturbing thought occurred to her. Could Drake have something to do with King’s absence? She tried to shut her mind to the possibility, but the thought kept easing its way back in.

“Abigail!”

She turned, blinking in surprise. “Becca, Katie.”

As Becca was about to reply, a look of alarm appeared on her face. “Look out!” she called.

Abigail twisted, barely dodging a strike from a nightstick aimed at her head. She caught hold of her attacker’s wrist and threw him to the ground. He’d been hiding behind a corner, waiting to strike.

She slammed him to the ground, directly in the path of a stream of sunlight pouring in from a window. She sprang away as he shrieked and burst into flame. Within seconds he had burned to ash.

Abigail grimly looked at the burn mark on the floor. If Drake was re-creating vampires, then she would have to move fast. Otherwise they would spread unchecked, and the Nightstalkers would be right back where they had started.

She turned to look at Becca and Katie. Both of them were wide-eyed with shock at what they had just seen. “Are you okay?” she asked gently.

“We’re fine” Becca replied shakily. She gestured at the burn mark. “What was that?”

Abigail hesitated for a moment and then said, “it’s a long story.” She opened her door. “You’d better come inside.”

Drake’s booted feet thudded softly against the stone floor as he examined his surrounding intently. He had visited this place several times throughout his existence, but he still found it an impressive sight. It was called the temple of Eternal Night, an underground structure created by his people centuries ago. Standing in the centre of a raised dais, he looked up at the glyphs carved into the walls and the towering statues high above

He smiled as he thought about what his followers had told him about Deacon Frost and his plan to summon La Magra, the vampire god. Drake thought that he might have respected him had they ever met. Frost at least had had vision. He had sought a means to restore the vampire race to their former glory. That was more than could have been said for most ‘modern’ vampires, who had simply hidden away from humanity because they were afraid of persecution. Furthermore he had succeeded in translating a tablet of the ancient vampire language, while all others had dismissed it as indecipherable.

Frost however had not known what Drake did. He had not possessed ancient knowledge that had been forgotten by the rest of the world. A part of Drake was appalled that so much had been lost, but in the main he was pleased. No others knew what he knew, and knowledge was power, after all.

Drake turned to look at the hunters he and his minions had captured. All of them were chained to a wall and gagged. Drake’s smile broadened as he walked up to the one he had captured himself. He recalled that this human had fought alongside the Daywalker. The man, whose name he remembered was Hannibal, glared venomously at him.

Drake laughed softly. “Are you surprised to see me?” he asked. “Did you truly believe that I could be destroyed so easily?”

He paused momentarily and then went on, lowering his voice slightly. “For generations I have preyed on your people. I have travelled from nation to nation, instilling fear within all races, so that they may know that there are things greater than them. You thought to erase my legacy; you thought that I could be forgotten. Now it is time for the world to remember me again. And you are going to help me to achieve my plan.”

Hannibal said something in reply, his words muffled by the gag. Drake merely smiled, turned and walked away.

Drake was not aware that at that moment he himself was being observed. That was through no fault of his, though. The entities that watched him could be seen or heard unless they wished it.

“This is highly disturbing,” said one. “It threatens everything that we are sworn to protect.”

“I know brother,” replied his companion. “But what can we do? If his return to the realm of the living had been deliberate, then we would be fully justified in sending him back ourselves. However it was not. Our masters have spoken to the Lower Powers and they are certain that his escape was not intended.”

“I know. It still baffles me that he was able to do so. He should not possess that kind of power.”

“You hope that there is more to this than we know and that this unknown factor will allow us to take action.” It was not a question.

“Yes. I fear that otherwise this world will be lost to us.”

“We must have faith. Trust that the mortals will find a way. For now though, all we can do is watch and wait.”

End of Part 6

Part 7

Abigail finished her story and studied Katie and Becca’s reactions intently. Both of them seemed bemused and sceptical, but that was only to be expected. At least they hadn’t dismissed what she had just told them right out of hand.

After a moment, Katie spoke. “You’re telling us that vampires exist and that you worked for a secret organisation that hunts them?”

Abigail nodded.

“And that supposedly all vampires were wiped out by this disease you created, but now they’ve somehow come back?”

“I know how it sounds” Abigail replied. “I know that it seems impossible, but I promise you it’s true. You saw what happened just a few moments ago. Can you think of any other explanation?”

“No” Katie admitted.

A thought occurred to Abigail. “Why did you come here anyway?”

Becca replied “when I told you what Katie told me about what she’d seen, I got the impression that you knew something about it. We thought that maybe you could tell us what happened.”

Abigail was surprised and slightly pleased to hear that. Too often in her experience, people who had had any experience with vampires, or anything that they didn’t understand, just dismissed it as a practical joke or something. Within a day or so, they had forgotten about it. That was how vampires had been able to remain hidden from the human race for so long. It was good to see that there were still exceptions to this, that there were still people that were willing to accept what most others said was impossible.

“I have no idea about the creepy girl or the tape” she replied. “But the man in armour sounds like Drake.”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s the first vampire to ever walk the earth. No one knows how he came to be that way, but apparently he was born in Sumeria, six or seven thousand years ago.”

“Wow.”

“I know. Anyway, he disappeared about three hundred years ago. As far as we can tell, he had become sickened with the way vampires had become, so he hid himself away and went into hibernation. The vampire race found him and dug him up.”

She paused, steeling herself for what she was going to say next. “He killed several good friends of mine.”

Becca and Katie looked at her sympathetically. They looked like they were about to say something, but she raised a hand. They took the hint and remained silent.

Abigail continued “we succeeded in infecting Drake with the virus I told you about. From him it spread to the entire vampire race. Within a few weeks they were all gone.”

“So how is he alive again now?” Becca wondered.

“I honestly don’t know” Abigail admitted. “Ghosts, coming back from the dead, people coming out of televisions, even I’d have thought that was unbelievable.”

“How many people think vampires exist?” Katie pointed out.

“True, but I told you, vampires are the result of a virus. There’s nothing magical about them” Abigail replied. “Something like this is completely different.”

She thought for a moment and then said, “Katie, you said that the television came on by itself and that it showed a well. The strange girl climbed out of the well and walked towards the screen.”

Katie nodded. “And then she climbed out of the screen and was actually standing there right in front of me. There was this weird smell, like something rotten. And that girl, there was something about her, I don’t know, like this air of malice about her. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

She shuddered at the memory. Becca gently put a hand on her arm reassuringly. Katie looked at her thankfully.

She continued, “and then this man in armour, Drake, he came out of the screen too. He and the strange girl glared at each other for a moment and then the girl just melted away. Drake looked at me for a second and walked away. Then Becca came in and I fainted.”

Abigail frowned as she nodded. “The only thing I can think of is that the story about the video tape must have some truth to it. Maybe somehow this tape allows travel between the worlds of the living and the dead.” She smiled slightly as she thought about what she was saying. “Drake was seven thousand years old and practically unkillable. Maybe his strength of will allowed him to take advantage of whatever the tape is. If this girl was some kind of malevolent spirit and the tape allowed her to enter this world then maybe Drake somehow hi-jacked it.”

A disturbing thought occurred to her. Maybe he truly can’t die. Maybe there really isn’t anything that can stop him.

She forced the idea away. She couldn’t accept it and she wouldn’t. There had to be a way to stop Drake.

“So what do we do now?” Katie asked.

“We don’t do anything.” Anticipating what they would say next, Abigail quickly added, “don’t get me wrong, I know that you both have nerve and I trust you. I wouldn’t have told you all this if I doubted either of those. But you have to understand that vampires are very dangerous. I had to train for years to be able to hunt them. I can’t put the two of you in danger.”

“But you can’t do this by yourself either” Becca pointed out.

That’s true Abigail thought.

“All right, here’s what we’ll do” she said. “I’m going to try and see if I can find some of my old friends. In the meantime, I want you both to keep out of it. I don’t want either of you to become targets. I’ll call you if I need you.”

Katie and Becca didn’t seem too happy at that but they nodded in agreement.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you” said Abigail.

In a chamber located deep within the temple of Eternal Night, Drake sat and listened intently to the report being given by Nina, one of those that he had appointed as his new lieutenants. She was a short but strongly built woman with dark brown hair and eyes.

In order to help facilitate his plan Drake had turned a select few of his followers into vampires. He had not been pleased that the first vampires to be re-created by him were the weaker half-breeds rather than purebloods, but they were still stronger and thus more effective than if they remained merely human, so it was a small price to pay if it meant increasing his chances of success. He had warned them in no uncertain terms that this was a blessing not to be taken lightly and that they were not to turn anyone without first consulting him. This time he would make certain that all who were initiated into vampirism were worthy of his legacy.

“Everyone has successfully returned except Mark,” said Nina. “We have heard nothing from him.”

Drake was quite sure he knew what had happened. Despite his warnings, Mark had been careless and almost certainly was now dead. That came as little surprise; Drake had seen it happen countless times over the centuries. Many newly turned vampires were overwhelmed by the sensation of power and thought that they were invincible. This foolhardy bravado made them easy to kill. It didn’t help matters that they were still accustomed to thinking in human terms. How many had died by simply allowing themselves to be caught in the sun’s rays which they were not yet used to thinking of as dangerous?

Drake checked his thoughts. It was possible that Mark had not failed him and had simply gotten delayed somehow. However he doubted that very much and he could not afford to take chances.

“Send Warren and Jack,” he ordered. “They are to take over Mark’s assignment, capture the hunter he was sent after, and bring her here.”

“Yes my lord” said Nina.

He waved his hand dismissively and she departed. Drake settled back and thought about this development.

After he had taken over Phoenix Towers, he had ordered his followers to restore the building’s computer systems and had also learned how to operate the machines himself. Knowledge was power after all.

Once the systems were functioning, he had assembled all available information on those who had hunted his people. He had learned that after than Blade, the main threat to vampires had been an organisation that called themselves the Nightstalkers. Of course, now that vampires were gone (as far as they knew), it was likely that the organisation had disbanded. So much the better, Drake and his servants would catch them unprepared and off-guard.

He had dispatched Mark after the huntress called Abigail Whistler. Drake had been intrigued when he had seen her image in the files. He recognised her as one of the two humans who had aided Blade. In fact she had provided the Daywalker with the necessary distraction needed for him to strike the deciding blow. An honourable warrior, to be sure. To face him as she and the other had done required great bravery.

If she had killed Mark then she would now be on her guard. Drake considered going after her himself, but decided against it. There were too many preparations that still had to be made.

As he stood to continue those preparations, he thought that despite the incompetence of his subordinate, all was going well.

End of Part 7

Part 8

Abigail took a careful look around as she put her suitcase into her car. She had decided that it was too dangerous to remain in her apartment; the vampires clearly knew where she lived and when the one who had attacked her failed to report back they would most likely send others.

She got in, fastened her seatbelt and drove off. As she drove, she tried once again to devise a plan, but nothing came.

I can’t find any of the others, I have no idea what Drake could be up to, or how many vampires he has working for him now and I can’t fight him myself. Hell, even if I did manage to assemble the other Nightstalkers, we couldn’t fight him.

She took several deep breaths, letting her frustration fade. One step at a time, she reminded herself. She glanced in the rear-view mirror, realising that there was a car behind her and that it had been there almost as soon as she had driven away from her apartment. At the same time she was surprised to notice that the sun had set.

Abigail continued driving. At the same time she carefully reached into the glove compartment and withdrew a small item.

Eventually the traffic dried up and there were only the two cars on the road. Satisfied that there were no bystanders around Abigail parked her car and quickly got out. As she’d expected, the other car pulled up behind her. Two men got out. Both of them snarled, bearing their fangs. Their eyes glinted in the dimness.

Without hesitation, she threw the object she’d taken from the glove compartment. It was a magnesium pellet. The vampires tried to cover their faces as it exploded in a flash of blinding white light.

Abigail sprinted forwards and leaped high, kicking the nearest vampire in the face as hard as she could. The impact sent him to the ground, hard.

The second vampire, however, had reacted more quickly and had been able to shield his eyes in time. As she landed, he threw a punch that she barely blocked. He continued the attack relentlessly, forcing her back.

Abigail countered with a blow aimed at his head. He easily blocked it, realising too late that it had merely been a feint as a silver blade shot from the dispenser mounted on her wrist. In one smooth movement, she thrust her fist forwards, the blade sliding between his ribs. She withdrew her weapon and stepped back as the vampire combusted and burst into a shower of ash.

She turned to the other one, about to deliver the finishing blow, and hesitated as abetter idea occurred to her. She drew a small dart pistol, took aim and fired. The vampire slapped a hand to his neck as the dart hit. His angry snarl melted into a confused look, and then he slid to the ground, unconscious.

Abigail looked down at him with a satisfied smile. The concentrated tranquillizer on the dart would have killed a human, but would be sufficient to keep the vampire asleep for as long as she needed. The Nightstalkers had always been careful to carry such darts on them in case they ever needed to bring in a vampire alive for questioning.

She loaded the unconscious bloodsucker into her car and drove off. At last she had a chance to learn something about what Drake was up to.

Fortunately it did not take long to reach a disused safe-house. She had made certain that her captive was securely restrained and had then woken him up with an injection of stimulant. The following interrogation went on long into the night but the prospect of finally getting some information kept her wide-awake. Eventually he had cracked.

“Drake has been capturing as many of you guys as he can. They’re being held in this underground temple. We were told to bring you in.” He glared furiously at her as best he could while being forced to squint due to the harsh fluorescent lights pointed at him. He was handcuffed to the back of a steel chair and would struggle against his restraints whenever he thought he could do so without her noticing.

Abigail felt a surge of anger and worry for her friends, mixed with relief that they were still alive. The underground temple sounded familiar; she recalled what her father had told her about the temple of Eternal Night.

Keeping her voice even, she said “Hannibal King.”

“Him too.”

“What does Drake want them for?”

“He said he needed them for something called the Ritual of Reawakening. I don’t know anything else about it.”

Eventually Abigail decided that there was nothing more she could learn. She stood up, stretching her arms and legs.

“So you’ll let me go now?” the vampire asked hopefully.

She walked over to a wall and pressed a button. There was a low electronic buzz as a set of metal shutters rose upwards. His eyes widened in dismay as light shone through the window. The second it touched him his skin ignited. Abigail watched dispassionately as he turned to fiery ash.

She stood up slowly. She had been awake all night and now tiredness was catching up with her. However there wasn’t much time. King and the other Nightstalkers were in great danger.

She would allow herself a short rest, no more and then begin finding out exactly what the Ritual of Reawakening involved.

End of Part 8

Part 9

A short time later, Abigail had called another of the Nightstalkers contacts. Jacob Barnes had been in charge of archives, keeping track of any information about vampire movements and activities. He had also gathered a large collection of vampire lore, including ancient ceremonies and rituals, most of which had been stolen by the Nightstalkers during raids.

Abigail had asked him to send her any information on the Ritual of Reawakening and he had done so. Fortunately all of it had been translated from the vampires’ old language into English, but unfortunately there was still a lot of material to sort through and she had no idea how much of it was relevant, since a lot of it tied into vampire myths and legends. Sorting out hard facts was going to be difficult.

As she had said to Katie and Becca, Abigail wasn’t much of a believer in anything supernatural or mystical. She did however know what Whistler had told her about the ritual Deacon Frost had used to summon the vampire god, La Magra. It had been third-hand information, since Whistler had heard about it from Blade, but from what he had said, the ritual had transformed Frost into something more than just a vampire. He had become much stronger and faster, and virtually unkillable. Blade had sliced him in half and he had simply re-formed.

And Blade was not someone who was prone to exaggeration.

She studied the piles of material that had been sent to her in frustration. Searching through all of it would take far too long. For all she knew, King and the others could be dying that very moment. There was no time to lose.

She needed help.

“Katie, it’s for you.”

Katie took the phone curiously. “Hello?”

“Hello Katie, it’s Abigail. Listen, I need you and Becca to come over to my apartment right away. It’s very important.”

“Okay, we’ll be there.”

Katie and Becca met up with Abigail at her apartment. She quickly explained to them what she had found out.

“I need you to help me find out more about this ritual,” she said. “What is its purpose, what does it involve, that kind of thing.”

“You got it,” replied Becca cheerfully. “We are your research girls.”

They began to sort through and organise the information that Abigail had found. The work was slow, but little by little, they made progress.

Abigail frowned as she read through a document. Yet again it was a reference to the ceremony that Whistler had told her about, the one that Deacon Frost had used.

That can’t be it she thought. This ritual requires the spirits of twelve Pureblood vampires to work. There aren’t any Purebloods left alive, except for Drake himself. How is he supposed to use it? Besides, Frost wanted to cause mass vampirisation; Drake doesn’t want that. Everything we’ve found out about him suggests that he doesn’t think most people are worthy to become vampires.

“Hey I think I’ve found something,” said Becca. “According to this, the purpose of the ritual is to make contact with the vampire gods, the Old Ones. Once they’ve been contacted, they can be called upon to carry out actions on the behalf of whoever held the ritual.”

“But how can that be Drake’s plan?” Abigail wondered. “He needs twelve Pureblood spirits and all of the Purebloods are dead.”

“Well apparently that isn’t quite true. It says here that the ritual can be altered in certain ways so that you don’t need Purebloods. Something to do with all things being connected to each other in some way. It doesn’t say what you have to do to make any changes work.”

But Drake probably knows how Abigail thought darkly. “Does it say anything else?”

“Well something’s been added here. It says it’s a counter-incantation.” She pointed to a small paragraph. “If this is recited partway through, then the whole thing will be disrupted. If that happens, it’s bad news for whoever started the ritual.”

“What do you mean?” Katie asked.

“It doesn’t really say. It just says that if the contact with the Old Ones is broken then the person who started it will feel their wrath.”

Abigail felt a surge of excitement. That could be the way to stop Drake!

“Well done” she said.

“There’s one more thing. The ritual must be held on the night of the new moon.”

“That’s tonight,” said Abigail in alarm.

Drake looked over the captive hunters again. Warren and Jack had also failed to return, but fortunately some of his other followers were not so inept. They had managed to find another Nightstalker. Now he had everything he needed. He had made the necessary adjustments to the ritual using knowledge possessed only by him that had otherwise been lost over the years. Now, it would require only the blood of the captured hunters to be effective.

He smiled. Once I have contacted the Old Ones, I will unleash their power on the world. The corrupt, decadent cities of humanity will be razed to the ground. The mockery they have made of my name will be destroyed utterly.

And then I will return this world to the old ways. I will rebuild my kingdom and re-create the vampire race. This time I will not allow the deterioration that took place before. The vampires I will create will be strong and will remain strong.

Abigail methodically checked her weapons, making sure that everything was in full working order. She checked the sights and string of her bow. Satisfied, she folded it up carefully and attached it to her belt. Next, she checked the release mechanism of the blade strapped to her wrist. Good, it was working perfectly.

Katie and Becca watched her with some anxiety. It was a little unnerving to see this side to the person who until recently they had known only as an archery teacher.

Finally she turned to them. “Okay” she said. “I need you both to come with me. I’ll rescue the prisoners while you recite the incantation. I’ll be honest; this will be dangerous. I won’t force you. If you want to leave, this is your chance.”

They looked at each other for a moment. Then Katie turned to Abigail. “We’re in” she said.

Abigail smiled. “Thank you.”

Part 10

The sun had set by the time they had driven to the site where the temple was located. They parked a suitable distance away and got out, looking around them carefully as they did so.

Satisfied that no one was watching them, Abigail whispered, “okay stay behind me. Keep alert and be as quiet as you can. At the first sign of trouble, I want you both to run. Is that clear?”

“Yes, absolutely” Katie and Becca both said.

They moved forwards slowly and quietly. After a few moments, Abigail held up a hand and they stopped. She looked through a night-vision scope at the entrance ahead of them. As she had expected, it was guarded. Two vampires stood, one on either side.

Abigail raised her compound bow, withdrew an arrow and nocked it against the bow. Taking careful aim, she drew back the string and fired. The arrow flew through the air and hit one of the guards in the chest. Before his shocked comrade could react, another arrow hit him in the throat. Both of them disintegrated in bursts of UV light.

Abigail gestured for them to continue. Still amazed by what they had just seen, Katie and Becca followed her.

At the same time, in a secluded chamber, Drake had sealed himself into a stone casket, the same stone casket that Blade had once been sealed into. The blood of a Daywalker was a vital ingredient.

Drake’s face was still, as sharpened blades cut into his wrists, allowing his blood to drip out in a steady flow. The blood was then directed into an elaborate network of ever-narrowing tubes.

Had he been human, or even a regular vampire, he would have been near death from blood loss. Drake, who had slumbered for over three centuries without feeding, had no such problems. He opened the casket and stepped out.

The Thirst flared to life within him, intensified by the blood sacrifice he had just made. This was the reason two of the hunters his minions had captured had been left on the floor before him.

Seizing one of them and hauling him upright, Drake opened his jaws and bit deeply into his throat.

The second hunter did not last much longer. The Thirst slaked; Drake turned and walked out, not even glancing at the bodies left behind him.

Abigail, Katie and Becca stopped as they approached a corner. Abigail, in the lead, glanced carefully around it.

The captured Nightstalkers were being held in a line that led up to a central podium. All of them were manacled around their necks to a chain that was bolted into the wall. She recognised Hannibal near the back. A small group of vampires were gathered close by. Her gaze was drawn to the ceiling where a series of red lines gathered in the centre of the ceiling. She realised that the lines were blood.

Drake’s blood she thought, remembering what Whistler had told her.

At that point, the vampire leader entered the chamber. He walked up to the podium and watched as drops of his own blood fell to the ground, hearing the little splashes they made as they hit.

“Nina” he said softly. “Begin.”

A dark-haired vampire woman grinned fiercely as she walked up to the first of the captives and drew a knife. Her grin widened as she slit the man’s throat. It took all of Abigail’s restraint to keep from drawing a weapon and shooting Nina. Doing so wouldn’t have saved him and would have meant death for all of them. As the dying man fell, Drake began to chant something in a language she couldn’t recognise.

“What’s happening?” Katie whispered.

“Sssh” she hissed back as loudly as she dared.

Something was happening. A crackling sound could be heard, faint but steadily growing in volume. A tiny ball of dim red light appeared above the podium. As Abigail watched in horror, the dead man’s body dissolved into a stream of red light. It flowed into the small point of light, causing it to instantly double in size and intensity.

“Start the counter-incantation” Abigail whispered.

Becca and Katie nodded silently. They each took out a sheet of paper and began quietly reciting from it.

Part 11

Abigail drew out a UV grenade and bowled it towards where most of the vampires were grouped together. They looked down at it in confusion for a second before it went off.

Two of them managed to take cover, but the others were caught in a blast of blue-white light. They instantly blew apart into clouds of ash. Abigail stepped out from the corridor.

Under normal circumstances Drake would have joined the fray at that point. Had that happened, Abigail wouldn’t have lasted a second against him. Fortunately, as she had anticipated, he stayed where he was. If he moved or stopped chanting, then the entire ritual would have been ruined.

Unfortunately there were still two other vampires left. Nina charged Abigail, while the other took her place by the prisoners.

She sprang forwards, one leg extended in a powerful flying kick. Abigail barely sidestepped. A split-second after she had landed, Nina had launched a roundhouse kick which would have fractured her skull had she not ducked in time. The vampire snapped her leg out again in a sidekick that connected just below Abigail’s ribs. She managed to step back in time to avoid the full force of it, but she still winced.

Drake’s first impulse was to attack the intruder. He resisted it and continued to chant. This was a critical moment; if he interrupted it now, then everything would be lost. As he continued to recite the incantation, he began to change.

His skin darkened to a deep crimson as sharp horns and spurs grew from his arms and head. His lower jaw split open like a ghastly cross between an insect and a snake. A barbed tongue flicked out from his vicious maw.

As he completed the change to his truer, more primal form, another of his subordinates executed another of the hunters, his body and life-force feeding the ritual energy.

Not for the first time, Becca wondered if this whole thing wasn’t some strange nightmare. A part of her didn’t believe that what was happening could all be real. Nonetheless, she and Katie continued to read out the words on the paper they each held. Neither of them had any idea what it meant, and it had occurred to her that if Abigail was right about this, then what would happen if they mispronounced something important? She pushed the thought away and kept reciting.

Then they both read the last verse simultaneously. For a moment they both stared at each other in uncertainty. Finally Katie asked, “what now?”

Becca had no idea.

Drake was forced to shield his eyes as the ball of red light in front of him suddenly erupted in a flash of white.

Something is wrong he thought. He roared wordlessly as he was dragged towards the light by an unseen force.

Abigail blocked a high kick and retaliated with a series of rapid punches. Nina managed to block each one but was forced back. She dropped down and tried a forward sweep. Abigail jumped over it, flipping backwards to land on her feet. A silver blade flicked out of her boot and she kicked. Nina’s block was a fraction to slow and the silver pierced her skin.

Abigail didn’t really notice the ensuing disintegration however. She was too busy covering her eyes from the sudden burst of white light. The counter-incantation is working she thought ecstatically.

As the light touched her images formed in her mind. She saw how eons ago the Old Ones had been defeated and imprisoned in a dark dimension. Almost all of them had caught, but a tiny piece of one had managed to escape capture. It had fled across time and space, finally finding a small blue-green planet where it could hide. There it had sought refuge in the body of an unborn baby. In doing so, that baby was changed into something no longer human.

Drake, she thought, That’s how he came to be.

She opened her eyes as the light faded away. Drake had disappeared completely and the last of his followers was looking around in bewilderment, trying to figure out what had happened. Abigail didn’t give him a chance. She sprinted over and slashed his throat with her boot blade. He collapsed into a pile of fiery ash.

She turned to King, delighted to see that he was alright. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah” he replied.

From around a corner, Katie’s voice called “Abigail, did it work? Is it over?”

The Old Ones were aware of what had happened, as they had been aware of everything that had happened since Drake’s ‘escape.’ Once again they gathered in their dark world, a place that knew no light at all, to discuss the events.

“An opportunity has been lost” one said, stating what they all knew.

“Indeed. Still, it was not a total loss. There has been death to those that our enemies favour. Innocent blood has been spilled. Not those we expected, but still the innocent.”

“True.”

“Our time will come. We can wait.”

Two days later, Abigail was talking to Katie and Becca again in her living room.

“We’re certain that we’ve gotten all of the vampires Drake created. Drake is gone, hopefully for good this time, and we’ve destroyed the temple so no-one can ever use it again.”

“It feels weird” Becca commented. “I keep wondering if it all really happened.”

“I know” Abigail replied. “That’s how I felt when I first found out about vampires. But I assure you it did happen. You both did something very good.”

“I don’t know” Katie said hesitantly. “When I think about how this started, with the tape and that strange girl, I can’t help feeling a little guilty. I mean Drake did save me in a way.”

“Don’t make any mistake about that” said Abigail, her tone not unkind, but firm. “Drake didn’t do it to help you. Believe me, he doesn’t care about helping anyone.” Her expression darkened as she said that.

She calmed herself; there was no point in dwelling on the past. “I want to thank you both” she said. “Becca, Katie, I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“No problem,” Becca smiled. “Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone a thing.”

“I appreciate that.”

“ We should be getting home now. Bye”

“Bye”

When they were gone, she closed the door and settled onto her settee.

It’s over she thought.

In the back of her mind, however, Abigail couldn’t help but think that that was exactly what she had thought the first time Drake had died.

The end.