Hellsing: Resurrection (WIP)

Chapter 29: Living Dead Girl

The forest howled around them, wind threading through gnarled branches like something alive, dragging with it the stench of rot and old blood. Moonlight fractured against the damp earth in jagged beams, silver cutting through shadow like a knife. The trees stood like sentinels, skeletal limbs clawing at the sky, unmoving witnesses to the hunt. The vampire darted through the underbrush, breath ragged, bare feet skimming moss and slick stone. His coat flapped around torn sleeves, blood dribbling from a split lip, his movements still sharp despite the punishment. He was quick, older too, more experienced than most of the feral things they put down. But none of that mattered. Not here. Not against them.

Seras came in low from the left, her boot cutting through the air, heel missing his jaw by a breath. He twisted hard, staggered, and slammed shoulder-first into a nearby tree. The impact thudded through the clearing, not loud, but solid, and the bark cracked where he hit. Splinters dropped to the mossy ground, tiny flakes catching in the moonlight as he pushed off, breath short and sharp. He didn’t get far. The air behind him shifted like pressure breaking, and Alucard was there. Just there. His coat flared as his fist punched straight through the branch above the vampire’s head. Wood split with a crack like a gunshot. Shards rained down as the trunk shuddered, and leaves peeled loose from the branches overhead, falling slow and silent like ash.

Seras came in low from the left, her boot cutting through the air, heel missing his jaw by a breath. He twisted hard, staggered, and slammed shoulder-first into a nearby tree. The impact thudded through the clearing, not loud, but solid, and the bark cracked where he hit. Splinters dropped to the mossy ground, tiny flakes catching in the moonlight as he pushed off, breath short and sharp. He didn’t get far. The air behind him shifted like pressure breaking, and Alucard was there. Just there. His coat flared as his fist punched straight through the branch above the vampire’s head. Wood split with a crack like a gunshot. Shards rained down as the trunk shuddered, and leaves peeled loose from the branches overhead, falling slow and silent like ash.

The vampire lashed out, claws flashing in the dark. He caught the edge of Seras’s sleeve, just barely, but she was already moving, slipping past him with a pivot that snapped her elbow into his ribs. The hit landed with a dull crunch. He grunted, body folding for half a breath, but stayed upright. Desperation kicked in. He ducked low, swung back wide, then kicked out with everything he had. His heel clipped Alucard’s chin, just enough to snap his head to the side. Alucard’s grin only widened. Blood smeared across his jaw in a thick line, sharp and red like war paint.

“Almost,” Alucard murmured, his voice low and rough, soaked in amusement. He didn’t move. Didn’t strike. He just stood there, head tilted slightly, eyes bright with something cruel and patient. He was enjoying this. Letting it stretch.

Twigs snapped underfoot, each impact echoing through the hollow woods like distant drumbeats. Blows landed thick and fast, the thud of fists, the hiss of breath through clenched teeth, the low bark of a curse. Dirt kicked up in heavy clouds. A flash of red. A blur of yellow eyes. The vampire moved fast, held his ground, but only because they allowed it. Seras deflected a wild hook with her forearm, twisted, and swept his legs clean out from under him. He crashed into the ground with a rough thud, rolled, and came up bleeding from the shoulder, fangs bared and breath ragged.

“You think this is fair?” he spat, blood stringing from his lip as he spoke. “Two on one?” His voice cracked around the words, thick with blood and pride, like he still believed they might care.

“It wasn’t fair when you tore through that shelter in Leeds,” he said, voice calm and unbothered. “Fourteen people. Most of them asleep.”

The vampire staggered upright, one hand pressed to his ribs where Seras’s elbow had cracked bone. His breath came in ragged gasps, steam curling from his lips as the cold dug deeper into the clearing. He didn’t answer, didn’t have one.