[Carmilla, What Has Come Of Our Ginger Predator?]
Air locked in her lungs, Carmilla started as a misty graveyard met her gaze. The dispersing rush of wind settled at her back, pulling on her clothes and hair. It was as if she’d just opened the door to the dying embers of a hurricane.
Momentarily stunned by the abrupt change in sound, taste, and the experience of meeting the horrific visage of death she’d just escaped—no, not escaped…let off the hook. Scarlet and Rachel let her off the hook. Why?
A quake ran through her soul just thinking about the wide-mouthed, fanged black hare; bullet ants crawling down her throat or inside her ears would be better than gazing into those fathomless, swirling eyes that spoke of nightmares even she couldn’t stomach.
“I’m…alive? Hah…hahaha. I’m alive,” she choked, her pumpkin-themed dress fluttering around her as she collapsed to her butt and rubbed her shoulders; it felt like she’d just won the lottery. “I’m out of that…place.”
She felt so parched, but she was alive. She needed blood soon, or her crippling illness would return. That shouldn’t be a problem—however, a swift scan of the cold night sobered her panicked and elated mind.
Turning her head, a colossal hole brought her focus to the swirling blood sea of this world…below where Countess Elizabeth’s enormous castle had been. It was gone.
Over two kilometers in diameter, she slowly crawled to the edge, staring down at the foundation’s smooth, curved, and earthen slope that used to host the city-sized fortress. It was as if it had been sucked into another dimension. The cavity in the middle of the floating island showed no other damage; it was in the same category as a meteorite or nuclear bomb.
This had to be Scarlet…and Rachel fought against her? No wonder Babel is so interested in them… Why did Rachel throw me out of that zone… [Iron Maiden] is currently inoperable. How did she block my Feat? It’s as if it’s broken…and gradually being repaired.
Is Rachel dead? Wait, what is this fog? Hmm. It must be Kastilla’s work…if she survived. It’s only around the graveyard, and doesn’t extend downward, which means she’s probably behind me. The woman’s mother couldn’t have made it out if she confronted Scarlet…
Carmilla glanced down at the murky hole again, a lump forming in her throat.
Yeah, not likely. I need to escape this world to report.
Forcing herself up, she glanced around the misty graveyard she’d been sent to. No one was around. The oppressive silence made her more sure it was Kastilla’s work. The noble lady was no doubt scared and alone. It might be the perfect time to make a new friend. Rachel knew her identity, and if Elizabeth was dead…she had to find another way out of this planet.
She reflected on the truth behind Cássia’s identity. If Cássia is Elizabeth, it’s fair to think she knows my identity, which was the reason for all those warnings to stay away from her girls… Greedy hag. I need to be careful to avoid Rachel, find some leverage to force Elizabeth to let me leave, and find blood to strengthen myself… Blood comes first.
Her mind was dashed of thoughts when a heavenly aroma met her nose…Young blood, virgin blood. Straightening herself, she smiled. Whatever Rachel’s purpose was for keeping her alive, it likely had something to do with Scarlet’s conflicting feelings about her. Rachel took care of Scarlet like a little sister. If she kept her distance, then there shouldn’t be a problem.
She’d completed her mission; there was a way for her to slip back into Scarlet’s life while obtaining the needed information her mistress required. Now that her mission was complete, all she had to do was return to Babel in Iraq. It was time to search for a snack and new friends to wrap around her finger.
Jumping a few times to hype herself up, she practiced her best innocent fright impression as she slowly crept into the fog. She used the tombstones as cover, acting the part of the frightened 16-year-old girl looking for cover. Fidgeting with her broken bra strap and the holes in her damaged top, her focus darted between shapes in the fog, knowing a certain someone could be watching.
Breathing in deeply, Carmilla followed the scent of the blood that had tickled her fancy; she had to be quick, or someone else might get to the girl first.
“H-Hello? Is anyone there… I’m, um, I’m a little scared—I got lost…”
The rolling mist and oppressive silence closed in around her; it was getting thicker. Her fear grew the closer she got to the source, spotting droplets of scarlet on the neatly cut grass. She could smell the girl’s terror and desperation with an oddly potent sense of…determination?
“I’m looking for a little girl that lost her way… Her mom is worried. Hello?”
Silence met her as she drew closer. It was a strange scent she wasn’t accustomed to. Little girls typically lacked such drive when running for their lives. Then again, this was a different world that was used to vampires being their rulers.
A cool, rusted iron smell wafted up from the hole in the crater behind her, making her anxious as it mixed with the little girl’s smell. Bending down, she pulled back her messy bangs and ran her fingers over a few droplets on a blade of grass. She pressed it against her tongue and worked it into her gums.
Eight? No…nine years old. She doesn’t have that drug-like numbness that vampire blood gives me… No, she’s super sweet! It’s…like she’s never felt hardship before. Odd… It doesn’t taste right. It’s fresh…but not that fresh. I should be cautious…
“I-I’m c-cut…it hurts! Help… Mommy, it hurts…”
Carmilla froze, hearing the girl’s dampened voice in the fog ahead of her.
Aww. What a cute voice. Gah! Now my gums are aching… I’m salivating. Maybe I should have her guide me home so I can meet her family. Patience. I need a safe place…and a little hypnosis and daydream will do her good.
“Hello… Are you hurt? Where are you?”
Her heart felt strings tugging at it as the little girl broke into more tears, calling for her mother and big sister. If she had a big sister, then she most definitely needed an introduction.
“I’m here to help… Oh, haha. It’s okay—it’s okay… I’ll take you back to your family…”
“I’m sorry, Mommy—I’m sorry… I’m not crying! I’m a strong girl…”
Moving closer, she was careful when spotting the dark, quivering lump half-hiding behind a tombstone. She glanced around, taking careful track of her environment and the shapes in the thickening fog; it was getting worse by the second. She wasn’t alone.
This smells like a trap…but for who? A new fear welled up within her thumping chest; her body was somewhat unique for a vampire, allowing her to channel fresh blood to heat her blood and pump her heart. I’m as much of a treat to other vampires as a mortal…maybe more. Is Kastilla luring someone in to rebuild her strength? She could be using the little girl as bait…
She forced a laugh when seeing the large, bulged sheet concealed behind a large tombstone, wiggling frantically. Had she really caught some girl and tied her up to cry in the dark?
“Lady Kastilla… Please, let’s not do this…”
Her gut cramped when a dark figure weaved into focus, just beyond sight in the thickening fog. It was hard for her vampiric eyes to cut past the darkness with all the white surrounding them. The shade flickered and was on the opposite side now.
“Can’t we be friends?” she asked, spinning in a slow circle and keeping her guard up. “I can help you escape this island. I can be a friend…a good friend. Let’s not play this game of scare tag and have a real heart-to-heart! There’s no need to point fangs at each other’s throats…Kastilla?”
On high alert, Carmilla searched the veil. Once again, nothing but dark movements just beyond sight. Several more seconds passed, but all that met her was the girl’s sniffles; there might even be two kids tied up together underneath the blanket by its size.
The pressure against her chest increased as she sensed someone moving just out of sight; Kastilla’s amused laughter filtered through the dense fog, setting goosebumps crawling up her arms. She was sinking deeper and deeper into a losing scenario. From their earlier encounter, she knew her hypnosis wouldn’t work, and even [Iron Maiden] wouldn’t be useful—if it was even usable.
Dammit… They are the playful type of vampires. Her mother is probably dead… Would she care? I’m not sure, based on our short interactions. Belleza cared for her lineage overall, and knew her daughter couldn’t even be Scarlet’s appetizer.
If I want to survive, I need to maximize my strength… Maybe I can escape as a cat or fog. Not a good chance, but a chance… Just be patient. Be calm. Listen. Understand. Adapt. There’s no way she’s at her full power after whatever Scarlet did to her. I just need to get some blood…
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Reaching the bundle, she felt a tad amused at what the noble vampire had done. In Kastilla’s flight, she’d actually snatched a quality, decorative blanket from inside the castle. Staked to the ground with iron nails, likely from the graveyard itself by their tarnish, it could be made into a decent cloak to hide her face.
Carmilla was careful to keep an eye on the moving shadows, coming in and out of view with Kastilla’s chuckles, dispersing between sides. [Iron Maiden] was almost repaired and ready to use. She could vanish in mist at a moment’s notice or transform into a cat.
If Kastilla thought she could win in a straight fight, then she would have by now, she reasoned, carefully crouching to grip the blanket. She’s far beyond me in a straight fight. Unless…this is just a game… A different kind of trap? Maybe the little girl has something to attack me with.
Now faced with the possibility that a child from this world might be capable of following instructions to set up a trap, she readied her escape Feats. Something wasn’t right, yet she couldn’t put her finger on it. Feeding her undead strength into her muscles, activating [Blood Stat Boost], she ripped it off.
Why does this girl sound so…
“Shit…”
Kastilla came into focus…underneath the blanket, bound in some kind of vine. Little girl’s blood was spread across her torn dress, the enchanted vials that had held it lying beside her, and the vampire’s cut skin oozed black ink. Burns marred her neck, chest, and arms. It was a trap. A Hunter trap—a real-life nightmare.
Kastilla’s tear-stained eyes darted to something Carmilla had learned about only days earlier—a magical item from Mexico—a lamp and recorder with unique writing on them. The little girl’s voice cried out from it, as real as any she’d heard; no, a little girl she did know…one who was on her big sister’s phone, crying to her mom.
In that split second, she closed her eyes and looked away, trying to disperse into fog, but the searing heat of Solar Energy broke her concentration. Burns blazed across her exposed arms, neck, and legs as Kastilla cried out with her. It wasn’t enough to do more than lightly damage, but enough to stop her ethereal transformation.
A deep, earthy Dutch voice whispered through the mist, her brain swimming. “Out of the darkness…out of fear, here comes the monster. You’ll feel the chill start, raising your hair.”
Abandoning the idea, no longer strong enough to use [Misty Escape], she did the next instinctual thing, and transformed into a small, ginger cat—it wasn’t fast enough to evade the stake that hit her thigh. The stake left splinters in her leg as it was forced out in her transformation.
“Ack—mrrrow…hsssss!”
“Carmilla… What did I tell you?”
A towering figure stepped out of the mist, glowing brown eyes peering at her from beneath the brim of his hat that was sharp enough to cut steel. A predator’s smirk lifted his strong jaw as he walked after her.
“Don’t cross me, or you’ll learn quickly the hard way…that I’m not one to be messed with. It’s too late; you’re here now. I hope that you’re prepared, because there’s no getting out.”
That was skill, not luck… Abraham Van Helsing…
The wind picked up, tossing back his long, curly locks and black coat. Sweat broke out across her body. Each crunch of his steel-toed boots stabbed her heart as he pulled out a one-handed crossbow from inside his jacket, carrying a building’s worth of weapons, all designed to kill her.
Rachel! Damn you, Rachel! What did I do to deserve this? I can’t move! This feeling in my chest… Run…I need to run…run! I can’t beat Helsing; he’s built for Dracula!
“Electrified by panic…terror…doubt. We’re all alone… Heart rate rising, some call it scared. When you turn; I’ll be right there… You’re on your own. It’s you and me…who is going home?”
Dashing forward, fighting past the pain in her leg as yet more of her precious blood was used to push out the splinters and heal the damage. Fighting the limp, he vanished in the swirling mist, and not long after, a dart shot out of the fog ahead of her, burying into her chest. The long needle penetrated straight through into her heart, and the scent of garlic hit her nose like a brick.
[Blood Stat Boost Failed]
No! He’s playing with me! How did he…
Poison entered her body, tears slid down her eyes as the hunter’s frame flickered and he dissipated into the mist again; it was as if she were in [Dream World]—the Feat she used to get close to little girls—only this was not a dream.
“You should have never crossed me, because now you’ll never stop me. You should be afraid… You should be scared. I’ll haunt your dreams; welcome to a real-life nightmare. You can feel the energy, dark like clouds… When you turn, I’ll be right there. Look up…because I’m right here.”
[Cat Transformation Failed]
[Misty Escape Failed]
[Carmilla’s Illness Returned]
Stunned, all strength left her body. Hyperventilating, her ears pulled back as she shakily looked back, reverting to her human shape. Crouching behind her, Abraham Van Helsing stared into her quaking eyes, his hat brim centimeters from her face. The pungent scent of holy water and garlic bit into her brain like tiny knives.
Flinching, she closed her eyes as his rough hand closed around her throat and lifted her into the air. She couldn’t so much as twitch a finger; she didn’t need air, but those thirsting eyes made her feel like she did.
“She’ll possess all your dreams. A demon who preys on the weak, loveless girls of the village…Carmilla. Revenge is my calling, love… Unfortunately for you, I’m not the only one that wants you.”
Her spine curved as lightning shot down its length, and something pricked her back—holy water entered her veins. Pain, unlike anything she’d felt, assaulted her. Did she scream? She didn’t know.
Consciousness fading, feminine laughter brought her failing vision to a ghostly apparition that circled around her. The figure phased through Abraham and wrapped her arms around the hunter to smirk up at her writhing. She was going to die.
“Mmm. Is this really the little weakling you wanted for Abe? The mist lady was far more trouble than this loser. I suppose the Council of Presidents has their reasons. Night, night!”
The last thing she saw was the ghost taking a corporeal form of the hunter, creating a twin.
?????
Crackling wood punched Carmilla’s muddled brain as her dull eyes opened to a shadowy crypt. Her body felt totally numb…powerless. Struggling with everything she could, she felt her weight being held by her chain-bound wrists. To her left hung Kastilla, in a similar state.
Carmilla’s first, struggling words were of disbelief while staring at the disinterested, tall man on a lawn chair, reading a book in the torch-lit area. “…Abraham…Lincoln—a vampire hunter?”
The legendary president snapped his book closed, and a shiver ran down Carmilla’s spine upon seeing the title of the book he was reading: the novella, Carmilla…the basis of her myth. He tipped his top hat while rising to his full height.
Meanwhile, a shadow dislodged from the wall, with Helsing’s chuckles shaking his chest as his ghostly assistant’s face floated through hers to turn and smirk at them. “Awake, princesses?”
“Hmm. Part-time vampire hunter, my fanged lady—a hobby,” he said with a short laugh. “It seems my legend precedes me, Abraham.”
“Seems so. We had a deal.”
Carmilla’s panic started as Abe summoned a black ax in a pulse of darkness. He effortlessly flipped it around his arm before slamming it centimeters from her skull to sink into the stone wall. The sound and flash of sparks made her and Kastilla flinch.
“After all those missing children and teenage girl reports you gave me? I may need her alive for now to uncover more about Babel, and smuggling her out will carry some risks, but on my word, when this is done, I will deliver her to you myself.”
Working around her mouth, Carmilla strained a smile, barely able to get her tongue and throat to respond to her efforts. “Gentlemen…may I ask what you intend to do with this little girl—it isn’t as if I’ve been alive for centuries. Babel—what’s that? I was human not a month ago…”
“Well, that’s debatable. Also, Abraham, I only need one fang from the Mist Bringer. She’ll make an excellent gift for Elizabeth; there are a few more vampires we can collect that I’m interested in.” He showed a half-smile while glancing at the Dutchman, ignoring her question. “What did you think of my plan?”
“Overly complicated,” the ghost huffed.
“Don’t mind Katarina,” Abraham said, rubbing his light scruff. “She’s typically a cloud of sunshine; the recent story involves a rather charming ghost man she’d met.”
“Don’t cross me, boy…”
“I wouldn’t dream, Great Granny; your mysticism is too fearsome. As for your plan, Abe… It was fairly ingenious. Use the mist vampire’s defensive instinct to bring the mist to isolate, disorient, and trick our prey into a false sense of security of who she faced. We could have used some better equipment…”
Abe waved his hand dismissively while setting down his book. “Yes, yes. President James K. Polk is in the process of negotiating business dealings with Mexico’s new, developing industry. We suspect there is some deity involved. I will get you a catalog of their premium products when we’re back in the States… This adventure has been a success.”
The men and ghost looked at her with unsympathetic eyes. Carmilla would have glared at them, but that would only give them satisfaction and confirmation that she was a monster.
“I don’t know what…you’re all talking about. I’m scared. How do…do you know I did anything?! Scarlet will vouch for me. I haven’t hurt anyone! You don’t care if I’m innocent or…ack, guilty. I have fangs, and that is enough for you Hunters… A 16-year-old girl is a precious butterfly to be protected…but a 16-year-old innocent vampire girl is vermin to be ravaged…brutalized…”
Katarina’s blue eyes shone like daggers under the moonlight as Abraham extracted a magical recording device from his jacket.
“Oh? So…all of these recordings we have from little girls’ parents…birthdays, vacations, school days with their friends… All of these missing girl police reports are a product of after you turned into the Myth of Carmilla?”
Fear stabbed her in the chest as Abraham’s cold voice struck her with every name that left his lips. “Samantha, Katie, Amanda…Jennifer… Should I continue to the twenty-seven others? We’ve collected a very long list over the last month of studying the vampires we knew would be attending this little gathering.”
Abe pulled his ax out of the wall without effort, showing inhuman strength as he flipped it behind his back to hold it at an angle.
“You manipulated little girls…groomed neglected children so that only you can comfort…made them trust you…need you… And then, when they turn a certain age, you take their innocence, and kill them so no one else will ever have them…only you.
“After The Oscillation, you increased these activities. Dreams and nightmares that made them trust you, crave you. You didn’t lose your humanity with The Oscillation, you were never human.”
Abraham’s strong hands closed around her throat, turning her face toward his smiling eyes. “Curse your misfortune. What did I tell you, love? You should have never crossed me…It’s too late; you’re in my sight now. Revenging the innocent is my calling. Look at the monster, because I’m right here. Welcome to your nightmare.”
I should have never pushed Rachel; Mother, save me!
Unable to breathe, a bag closed around her head from her blind spot, and a needle broke skin to inject holy water, pumping fire into her veins.
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