Night Warriors

Transylvania, 1881

The moon wasn't out that night, so the dark forest was bathed in deep shadows. He knew tonight was the night that the vampires and the werewolves would be out the most tonight, but he didn't care.

This was what he was born to do.

He slipped some silver bullets into his revolver. His thick boots snapped some of the smaller twigs on the ground as he stepped on them. He heard similar cracks from behind, and he knew she was keeping up.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice low and deep.

"Always ready, Gabriel, always ready," she said. Like his voice, hers carried an English-sounding accent, though hers was a higher pitch.

A smile pulled at the corner of Gabriel's lips. It was good to have a partner like her. But she was more than just a partner, so much more...

A sudden flash of lightning lit up the sky. Its light illuminated the two, bringing their features to light for the first time.

Gabriel was dressed in black from head to toe, from his sweater to his boots. Messy, shoulder-length dark-brown hair framed his face, which was that of a man in his prime, about late twenties or early thirties. Weapons such as a revolver, several daggers, and wooden stakes were holstered or sheathed in various places. His brown eyes scanned the forest, searching for the threats he knew lay within.

His partner, a girl, appeared a little younger, maybe mid-twenties or so. Her messy brown hair was pulled away from her face, while her dark-blue eyes searched the forest as well. She too was dressed all in black, from the corset over her sweater to her boots. A quiver full of arrows was slung over her shoulders, she was carrying a bow, and she was also armed with a revolver and several daggers.

Without warning, three werewolves burst through the bushes. Gabriel drew his revolver and began firing, while she took aim and fired with her bow and arrows. Two bullets and a silver-tipped arrow hit one werewolf, but it didn't slow it down. Instead, it tackled her to the ground, snarling and growling. A few seconds later, it gave a high-pitched whine and collapsed on top of her. She pushed it off, and Gabriel could see what had killed it: a single silver-tipped arrow, stuck right in its heart.

"Good work, Kitty," he said.

They made quick work of the other two werewolves, which left them standing together in silence. They both could sense something...some sort of unseen presence...but they just couldn't tell what it was...

A large, fearsome, hell-bat-like creature suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. It gave a loud screech, then, it flew towards Gabriel and began to attack him. Its long, sharp talons slashed viciously at his clothes and any exposed skin.

"NOOO!!!" she screamed. She hurried forward, a dagger in hand, and stuck it in the creature's back, right between the wings. The creature dropped Gabriel and went for her instead, delivering several nasty-looking scratches to her face and arms. She fought back the best she could, stabbing him with her daggers as often as she could.

At long last, the creature ceased its attacks. He stepped back, a bored look on his distorted, horror-creature-like face, then spread his enormous wings and took to the sky. She dropped her dagger and hurried over to Gabriel.

He wasn't looking so good. His clothes were ripped and torn, and blood was gushing from all the gashes that creature had left in his skin. Beneath all the blood, his face was pale.

"Kitty..." he whispered, using the pet-name he'd given her when they were
children. "Please...help me...I...don't wish...to die..."

"You won't, Gabriel..." she whispered back, trying to keep from crying. "I won't let you."

He slipped into unconsciousness then, and she could feel panic setting in. He could survive his injuries, but only if he received prompt medical attention...which would be hard to come by in a Transylvanian forest.

But she knew of one place she could take him.

---

A Day Later; Vatican City, Rome

A carriage sped into the Vatican square. It stopped, and she emerged from inside, carrying Gabriel on her back as if he was a small child. She stopped long enough to fish out some money and pay the driver for his troubles, then proceeded to the steps of the largest building, St. Peter's Basilica. Despite its ancient and utterly holy appearance, she knew what lay beneath the church...

She carried him to the stairs and laid him there. He was still unconscious, but every so often, he would move a little, or even give a small groan. She kneeled next to him.
"I'm leaving you here," she whispered. "I'll be back soon. Do what they tell you...they know best."

She straightened up, then, when she caught a glimpse of movement within the church, she ran off into the dark night. Had she been looking, she would have seen the dark outline of a man, crouching on the ledge of one of the old buildings, his deep blue eyes fixed on Gabriel...

---

He woke up in a dark room, lit by a single oil lamp. He could see someone in the room with him, but...who was he?

The person turned around, and came closer. He was an older man in a red robe and a hat.

A churchman.

A cardinal, he thought.

"Where...where..?" he choked. It hurt for him to talk. Everything hurt...

"You are safe," the cardinal said. He had a strange, unplaceable accent. It almost sounded a little French. "You are the headquarters of the Knights of the Holy Order. It’s good to see you conscious...we all thought you were dead, you've been unconscious so long."
He took a breath, then continued talking. "My name is Cardinal Jinette. Do you...do you have a name?"

A name? He thought. Yes...I have one of those...don't I?

He searched his brain, looking for his name. He knew it...it was practically on the tip of his tongue...but...

He couldn't remember it.

He couldn't remember anything

It's...gone, he thought. Everything's just...gone...

But wait! There was something in there...a name...his name. It was only a surname, but it sounded right. It was all he had to go on...

"My name is..." he said."My name is...Van Helsing."