Hotel Transylvania: The Aftermath

chapter 19

The Bell Tolls

"Dad!"

Mavis' yell was just enough to distract Eustice for a second. In that time, Dracula grabbed onto the pistol and stood up with a sudden burst of strength. Eustice couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation.

"Brave daughter you have there… do you think she's strong enough to cope with another loss?" Eustice stared his foe down.

"You're the one who's losing everything today, Demon!" The Count answered defiantly.

The weapon sprung into life. The ground below them exploded with ethereal energy as the two of them were blasted off their feet. Hidden in the smoke, Dracula gathered his strength and used his superior senses to find the Hunter. He noticed him just in time to block his first blow. The second however was a strong kick to his stomach. Grimacing through the pain, Dracula gripped Eustice's swinging fist and landed his own blow towards his nose. Eustice had suffered worst attacks and so continued to fight regardless. The two Vampires battled at lightning speed, each smashing each other into the ruined buildings that lined the town centre.

"Impressive, I'll give you that. But you lack training!" Eustice's movements were far more fluid than Dracula's.

Although the Count himself was a powerful foe to reckon with, Eustice had practiced to turn himself into a weapon. He had played out this fight for so long, but now that it was finally happening, Dracula was stronger than he had anticipated. Bloody but still defiant, the Count continued purely on the determination that ran through him when he saw his daughter. Eustice believed himself to be in control, but was shocked to see the Count suddenly matching him.

It was as stalemate, each of them landed swift but powerful blows on each other. If it was not for the remaining army on his side, Eustice would be on the verge of losing. Bullets shot passed them. In the spray of broken brick, Eustice was temporarily blinded, giving Dracula the chance to land a ferocious kick to his stomach. Eustice was engulfed in flames, but he was too quick for them to be life threatening. He smashed his way out of the back of the house, hoping to pull back control. Instead, he came in contact with over a dozen hybrids, all lacking the whitened eyes of his slaves.

"Damn you, Vampire!" Eustice cursed him.

Using every ounce of speed he could draw, he engaged all of them. He darted between them, every time either snapping their neck of dealing a harsh blow to knock them away. They opened fire, determined to take revenge on the one that had imprisoned their souls. He yanked a pistol from the belt of one of them and used its previous owner as a bullet shield as he mowed down the rest. With the job done, he twisted the last one's neck and reloaded his new weapon.

"Get everyone back! Let the armoured suits and hybrids deal with the rest!" Dracula had met up with his friends and pleaded with them now to flee back the safety of the hotel.

Before they could answer, Eustice had them all in his firing line. Dracula covered Mavis and Johnny whilst Frank, now back together, took the full volley. He fell to one knee. He saw the three of them look at him horror.

"Don't worry guys. It takes more than this to kill a zombie." He groaned.

"Like that!?" Johnny pointed over his shoulder.

Eustice aimed his flintlock pistol and fired. The group ducked just in time as another explosion covered them. He used the smoke as cover against his lost hybrids and reached them with no resistance. Frank's head was punched clean off again, rendering him useless until he could find it again. Eustice and the Count tussled as he forced the Vampire to the ground. Dracula had no idea what affect it would, if any, but he channelled his new power at Eustice to break free. The hunter's eyes suddenly changed colour, from a dark purple to a bright green. Although he was not possessed like his hybrids, the spell appeared to cause him pain. He backed off and covered his face with his hands.