Night Warriors

Van Helsing watched as both Carl and Edward, whom they had informed of their emergency as soon as they reached Strenotia, paced nervously outside of the room where Catherine was. Edward had brought the local doctor to Fore Manor, and he had also insisted that, for the time being, Van Helsing, Carl, and Catherine stayed there.

While Van Helsing looked calm and collected, he, too, was nervous. Catherine had said she was attacked by a werewolf...was she bitten? Was it possible that her wounds had been tainted with the werewolf's curse?

The door opened, and the doctor came out. "Well, I've fixed her up for now. Thankfully, all the wounds were scratches, not bites, so she's not...infected. She's lost a fair deal of blood, but she's a strong girl. She'll be fine in a week or so..."

Carl and Edward sighed in relief, and Van Helsing relaxed. Catherine was all right. And, more importantly, she wasn't infected with the werewolf curse.

"May I see her?" Carl asked anxiously.

The doctor shook his head. "She's still unconscious. Give her a little time. I'll stay here through the night, and I'll let all of you know how she is come morning."

---

The next morning, Van Helsing was wandering the halls of Fore Manor, hoping to find a library of sorts, just to see what information Edward might have on werewolves. He felt something tug at his arm, and he found a young servant girl pulling at the sleeve of his coat.

"Are you Mr. Van Helsing?" she asked timidly. Van Helsing gave her a nod. "Well, erm...I was sent by the doctor...he says Miss Catherine has requested to see you..."

Van Helsing followed the girl back to Catherine's room, then he carefully opened the door and slipped inside. The room was dark, lit only by a few candles. The main feature of the room was a large four-poster bed, and that was where Catherine was lying. She looked about the same as she normally did, with the exception that her right arm was bound in bandages from her elbow down. Her corset and blouse seemed to be gone, too, and Van Helsing could see the edge of what looked like more bandages, probably wrapped around her chest, peeking out from under the comforter. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping, however, as soon as he closed the door, her eyes opened.

"Ah...good to see you, Van Helsing," she said softly, sounding like someone who had just woken up.

"Good to see you too, Catherine," he responded, approaching her. "So...how do you feel?"

Catherine smiled. "Like hell. But believe me, I've felt worse."

"I was told you wanted to see me."

Catherine nodded as she fiddled with the bandages around her arm. "I did. First things first...I wanted to thank you. You and Carl. You both essentially saved my life. You brought me back here, made sure I didn't die. And I thank you for it."

"It was nothing, really," Van Helsing, leaning against one of the bedposts. "After all, it wouldn't do me much good if my partner was dead, now would it?"

"No, it wouldn't..." Catherine smiled, then grimaced and put a hand to her side, giving a small hiss of pain. "Damnit..."

"You all right?"

"I'm fine..." she insisted through teeth clenched in pain.”It's just...Wounds take time to heal. And they hurt like the Devil until they do."

Van Helsing nodded in agreement. For a moment, they found themselves in that familiar awkward silence they spent a lot of time in, then, Catherine spoke again, “I wanted to ask you something...it's about what I heard a few weeks ago. When we at the library..."
Van Helsing nodded, but cold fear began to build within him. He knew what Catherine was going to ask, and he had really hoped to avoid that particular subject...

"I want to know what Carl meant by those things he said. What he meant when he said you weren't in control of your actions..."

Van Helsing lowered his head, trying to collect his thoughts so he could figure out what to tell her.

"I wasn't in control of my actions..." he finally said.”Because of what had happened a few days earlier..."

---

Pain. Shooting, searing pain, right in the middle of his chest.

That was the first thing Van Helsing was aware of when he awoke. The sky was light, meaning it was morning. Was it true that that hellish night was over?

He heard voices. Two of them. Anna and...was it Velkan? What had happened?

Van Helsing slowly got to his feet. He heard a low, male voice speaking, a moment of silence, then, Anna spoke. Her voice was thick with tears. "I will see you again."

He staggered out of the bushes, clutching his chest. Anna was kneeling next to her brother's body, tears streaking down her cheeks. She turned and saw Van Helsing, and the emotion in her eyes switched from heartbreak to rage in an instant. She got to her feet and approached him furiously.

"You killed him!" she howled, pushing him back against a tree. "You killed him!"

He gritted his teeth in pain as Anna pushed him against the tree. "Now you know why they call me a murderer..."

She looked as though she had more she wanted to say, but her eyes flickered to his chest, and how he was clutching at it. She put her hand over his, then, together, they opened his coat and vest to find his shirt ripped and stained with blood. Their eyes met, both filled with shock and horror.

"Oh my God," Anna breathed. "You've been bitten!"

She slowly backed away, just as pain coursed through him again. He closed his eyes; for a moment, the searing pain was all that mattered...

A second later, he heard a noise. He turned, only to find Anna being lifted into the sky by Dracula's last remaining bride, upside-down and unconscious...

---

Catherine listened raptly to Van Helsing's tale. She noticed, though, that he kept his head bowed as he did, as though he were...ashamed.

"You were bitten by a werewolf?" she asked.

Van Helsing nodded solemnly. "I was bitten by Anna's brother, Velkan, when he was a werewolf."

Catherine's eyes narrowed. "You're not still..?"

Van Helsing looked up and shook his head. "No...the curse was removed from me after I defeated Dracula..."

Catherine sat up so suddenly her wounds shot a fresh wave of pain through her, but she ignored it. "You defeated Dracula?! Dracula, the King of the Undead?!"

"Yes..." Van Helsing said. "A werewolf was the only thing that could defeat him."
Catherine nodded, then was silent for a brief moment. "What...what happened to Anna?"
Van Helsing's head quickly snapped around to stare at Catherine. Had his ears deceived him, or did she just ask..?

"Beg pardon?"

"What happened to Anna?" Catherine said. "You never did say what happened to her."

As Van Helsing tried to figure out what exactly he was going to say or do, the door opened and the doctor came in. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Van Helsing, but I'd be much obliged if you could step out. I need to tend to Miss Catherine's injuries a little more..."

Van Helsing nodded and left the room, silently thanking the doctor for coming in when he did. It's not that he was angry at Catherine for her question...it was that he didn't want to think about what had happened to Anna...

Maybe someday I'll be able to tell her... Van Helsing thought as he walked down the hall. But that day isn't today.