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CHAPTER THREE
Samuel galloped like Hades down the dirt road, mud splashing as his horse's hooves hit the ground. He had been traveling for about 45 minutes, and he kept seeing the creatures in the woods. He knew his horse would get exhausted, and then they'd come for him. He hoped and prayed for civilized people. Right as he was thinking that, a man appeared in the middle of the road, dressed in black, wearing a hat. Samuel's horse reared back, all most toppling him from his saddle. Samuel aimed his pistol at the man. "Who are you? Speak quickly!"
The man had had his head down, but now he raised it. He was a fragile-looking fellow and he had a Bible under one arm. "Greetings, soldier. I'm the Priest. Johannes Baumschlager is my full name."
Samuel lowered his flintlock. "Hello, Father Baumschlager. I must warn you now that this area is infested with the creatures of Satan! I just slayed a werewolf and saw a vampire with a knife through her chest! Please, get on the back of my horse and I'll give you a ride."
The Priest dipped his hat in thanks, but said no. "Nein, my brother. I am here for that exact reason. I have been employed by His Imperial Majesty Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor to come here and exterminate the foul creatures. Look down the road, please." Behind him came a drumming noise, and out of the mist came a group of Hungarian Grenadiers, wearing black clothing and carrying muskets. The strangest things were the bayonets: they appeared to be silver, and they were all pronged like deadly crosses. The Priest grinned. "Say 'guten abend' to His Imperial Majesty's Regiment of the Cross. All of them chosen from the Hungarian Grenadiers and specially trained in the Papal States to fight the creatures of the Devil. When you are in their company, count on victory. They are top secret, so you must not tell anyone about them. Since your uniform tells me you're a captain, I'm sure you won't, brother. Now, if you wish to accompany us... Wait. What is that silver box on your horse?"
Samuel scratched his head. "To be honest, I don't know. I got it from some Turkish soldiers at Banja Luka. I haven't tried opening it yet."
The Priest grunted. "Interesting. Anyway, feel free to join us. If you don't mind, take us to where you saw the wolfman and vampire."
Samuel nodded. "I can do that. Follow me."
Later...
The Hungarians circled Sophie's cottage. It started to rain again. All was quiet. The Priest trudged through the mud, his jackboots submerging his feet entirely. Samuel followed, carrying one of the special muskets. He had been told that the bullets were also silver, for killing wolfmen. The Priest walked up to the door and started beating the door with his foot. Finally, the door crashed open. On the floor before him was Sylvester, still in the pool of his own blood. "I thought you said a vampire was here, Captain," he said without emotion.
Samuel ran into the room. Sure enough, the bloody dagger Sophie had killed herself with was lying on the floor. "This is it! But what happened to her?!"
The Priest took the knife and examined it. "You, mein herr, have been tricked. A wooden stake is all that will kill a vampire. She obviously wanted you to leave without harming her, so she did this." He called for one of the soldiers.
The Hungarian saluted. "Jawohl, mein herr!"
The Priest shoved the dagger into his hand. "Take this to be incinerated, private. It has been contaminated by Vampire blood."
The man clicked his heels and left.
Samuel slumped down on the floor. The Priest stood in front of him, hands behind his back. "No reason to feel badly, Captain. It was most clever of her. Now, we must find her. Do you know where she may be?"
Samuel raised his head, casting his eyes on the cellar door. "Yes. The cellar."
The Priest clapped his hands. "Soldiers! Überwinden Sie die Kellertür! Schnell! Wir haben einen Vampir zu töten!" The soldiers came pouring into the room, and went to work dismantling the cellar door, which was indeed locked from the inside. The men started pounding the butts of their muskets, trying to tear it apart. They knew their business well. The Hungarians broke through in about a second and lit a lantern. The Priest took the lantern and drew something from under his coat. A wooden stake about two feet long. "Well, Captain, do you wish to go down with me?"
Samuel readied the musket. "Ja. I do."
The two men went down the small flight of stairs and into the cellar. Samuel cocked the gun and looked around a shelf of preserved vegetables and other items. The Priest scanned the place carefully and followed him. Samuel started getting bolder and bolder. Finally, he just started shoving shelves over, sending broken glass flying. At last, they noticed a small crack in one of the walls. The Priest started feeling around for an opening mechanism. "Get ready, Captain. We've found her now."
Samuel aimed the gun.
The Priest pushed on a brick.
The door slid open.
Out came Sophie.
The Priest eyed her nervously and Samuel's hands started shaking. She was once again young looking. And fanged. "Hello, my dear." She walked toward Samuel. "Did you bring this man here to kill me?"
"He came here himself. And yes, he's here to kill you."
She got to within arm's reach of him. The Priest was visibly calculating how to go about inserting the stake. She pointed the skin about three inches below her collar bone. There was a scare where the kinife had gone in, but she was totally unharmed. "Why don't you join me, Samuel? Just one painless bite!" She lowered her mouth to his neck. Blood flowed. Hers. In just a millisecond, the Priest had tossed him the stake and Samuel had driven it through. She screamed and stepped back, blood spluttering out of her mouth. Samuel shouted a battle cry and drove it in deeper, and then shoved her to the ground. She stared at him blankly, and died.
The Priest stepped over the body. He withdrew the stake and tossed it on the ground. He stooped down and put a crucifix in her mouth. "May the Lord have mercy upon your soul." With swift strike of a short sword, her head came off. "Only way to make sure they're really dead."
Samuel made the Sign of the Cross. "Why didn't you kill her as soon as she came out? You could've done that. Why let her almost bite me into vampiredom?"
The Priest took off his hat and held it over his chest. "Because. She was my sister. Sylvester my brother. Yes, Johannes, Sylvester, and Sophie Baumschlager. That's why I knew what was going on here."
Samuel just looked at the body while the Hungarian soldiers picked it up and took it for burying. Only the head would be buried. No one had ever seen a beheaded vampire come back to life, but there was no need to take chances.
"Now," said the Priest. "Let me see that Turkish box..."
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LEGO Builder, Writer, Video-Gamer, Greaser, History Professor, Swordsman, and Military Collector. I am the Most Interesting Man in the World. :p
Last edited by Napoleon on Sun May 22, 2011 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Oh, well, I'll use Amazon sometime. 
) Of course you could write parts for it! Anytime you want! This could be quite exciting, kind of like a 1700's Indiana Jones, which is what I've had in the back of my head. 
