Safe and Sound (Hotel Transylvania Fanfic)

Chapter One: Midnight Hunt

The full moon shone above with an arcane brilliance, bathing the countryside in silver light. Not a single sound rose from the open grasslands or lush forests. A man stood alone in the shadows, doing his best to remain unseen, pitchfork at his side. The howl of a lone wolf, not far off, made him shiver and clutch the handle tighter. At the same time, a single bat flew out of the barn, startling the man. The man relaxed slightly as it vanished from view around the barn.

The bat flew on a short ways to the chicken coop. It crept inside amongst the slumbering hens. A bright blue mist enveloped it, and when the mist cleared a man crouched where the bat had been, icy blue eyes glowing with hunger. Before the hens could react to his sudden appearance he snatched one up in each hand and raced unceremoniously from the coop, surrounded by clouds of feathers and screaming chickens alike. He was long gone and well into the forest before the farmer could even catch a glimpse of him.

Keeping his ears alert for danger he stopped by a tree and sank his teeth into the chicken's jugular. The blood continually pumped its way into his mouth and he gulped it down hungrily, savoring the taste as best he could. But all too fast he drained the chickens of blood and moved on. He walked for a few minutes until the sound of an animal feeding caught his attention. He followed the noise into a clearing where a wolf sat, gnawing at the remaining scraps of a calf. Disgusted, the vampire threw the bloodless hens at the wolf's paws, and watched with increasing revulsion as they, too, were eaten by the hungry creature.

"Thanks for the distraction, Drac," the wolf said as he shifted slightly to stand on his hind paws.

"Yes, no problem Wayne," Dracula answered. There was a long pause before he asked, "Have you ever felt like...like something's missing?"

The werewolf looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I just have this feeling, like something's out there that I'm missing. For months I have wanted to go out into the world and see more...more than this. Maybe find that...thing."

"Yeah, I guess I can understand that," Wayne stated simply. "Do you plan on leaving? When?"

"No sense waiting." Feeling the gravity of what he'd just said, Dracula added, "I'll return within the year."

The werewolf shrugged. "Then I guess this is good-bye for now. Don't worry about me, have fun on your little trip."

With a quick wave of blue mist the bat appeared again out of thin air and flew off into the night, quickly disappearing into the darkness as he flew eastward, drawn by an unseen force towards whatever awaited him.