Humanatural; Van Helsing

Humanatural; Van Helsing: Pt 2

School was over for the Christmas break and Theresa was bored. Christmas day was usually spent with the rest of the guild. She didn’t really get normal presents. She could remember what she got the previous Christmas; a silver plated stake with a wooden tip. Useful for killing both wolves and vampires alike. Not that she crossed paths with many wolves. Most wolves were domesticated now and caused very little problems for the public. 

She did wonder if she could perhaps spend Christmas with a friend. Just so she could get a normal taster of what Christmas could be like. But she didn’t really have many friends, only three.  

Luel, Judd and Cherish were her closest friends. They had all met about four years before when Cherish and Theresa had met at a summer camp. Since then they had kept in close contact. Cherish’s mother had also died a few years before, so they were sort of in a similar boat. Each year she would come down to the coast to stay with her gran, sometimes at Christmas and sometimes during the summer.  Judd’s parents were both in the army, so he’d join his cousins each time. 

Cherish was also like Theresa in the sense that she had a destiny that she couldn’t escape. Her name was Cherish Pendragon, she was a descendant of King Arthur. Though her guild had been lost as the centuries went on. Perhaps the most famous guild of them all, the knights of the round table. The difference between the two girls was that Cherish didn’t exactly want to escape her destiny, she loved fighting and she loved the notion of peace. That’s what she strived for. She wanted nothing more than to keep all around her safe. She was also a brilliant training partner. 

The thing about both Theresa and Cherish was that even with minimal training they could take on a group of thugs.  Cherish could handle any weapon without thinking about it. Theresa was good with holy water and a stake but that was it really.  

“Hey you!” Cherish shouted down the phone. She wasn’t too good with technology. “Do you want to meet me in town?” She spaced out each word as though she was talking to a deaf person. 

Theresa laughed. “It’s a bit cold isn’t it?” 

“Cold! I have no time for the cold.” She said coughing down the phone. 

“Okay, okay. Meet me by the entrance of the catacombs, I’ll open the door from the inside.” Theresa said. She wanted to stay inside and there was a many tunnels under the house leading to places all around town. It was a plus side to being part of an old family, her house was equally as old and full of passageways and mysteries.  

As she trudged through the tunnels she couldn't quite contain her excitement. She hadn't seen Cherish, Luel or Judd in such a long time. She missed their faces and their voices, missed the games they would all play and the stories they told. 

Sure enough as she opened the door of the creepy catacombs her friends were all waiting for her. 

She ran out to greet them, arms wide. They were soaked from head to toe. 

"You all look dreadful." She laughed.

"Thanks for that." Judd said, shaking his hair as they entered the catacomb. 

Though they were all technically family they had greatly different looks about them. Cherish had broad shoulders and was built like a tank, her voice was deep but very clear and her face was full of life and spirit. Her hair sat as a tangled mop around her face and was cut short, occasionally it would glisten blonde if the right angle of the sun hit it. She also had unbelievably mad eyes. The kind of eyes that seemed to follow you around wherever you went. 

Luel was a tiny little thing with bleach blonde hair and a squeaky voice. She was so innocent and breakable that it was unexpected when she came to attack. 

Judd, well clumsy would be the word for him. He was the kind of boy who thought a lot but at the same time so little. He wasn't exactly practical but he understood the terms of war and all of the technical jargon, his parents were in the army after all.  

Cherish was the oldest of the three at the time, seventeen and both Judd and Luel were sixteen. Though age never really divided them.  Even though age wasn't a huge factor, Cherish was the boss and made sure everyone knew it.

"I am the oldest after all." She would say.

"So what's the agenda?" Theresa asked, taking a seat on an old slab of rock.

Judd rolled his eyes. "Please don't get her started." He groaned.

"No, no please do." Cherish said energetically. "I've been searching and searching, trying to figure out what my destiny really is, other than protecting Avalon. I mean, I don't quite know how to do that considering I have no idea where Avalon is." She said.

"That's because you're crazy." Judd coughed. 

She gave him a devilish glare. "I was racking my mind trying to think of what could possibly be missing and then the thought struck Me." 

"Smashed her over the head and knocked the brains out of her." Luel commented.

Cherish stomped her feet and growled. "Will you stop making fun out of me already?" She shouted.

Luel and Judd looked at each other and pulled weary faces then nodded.

"I'm missing Excalibur. I need the sword to find Avalon." She said.

"Where's the sword then?" Theresa asked.

Cherish squinted a little and looked like she was in deep thought. "No idea."

"But you can be damn well sure she has a theory." Luel said.