Vampire Hunter D: Stolen Sunlight

Chapter 2

Leigh vaguely heard something and groggily opened her eyes. It was pitch black around her, so she assumed it must still be the middle of the night. She laid still for a few moments longer to see if she could identify what it was that woke her. There was nothing around her but silence, so she decided to roll over and go back to sleep. As she tried to roll over, though, she realized she was on a hard surface and not in her bed. The realization brought her fully awake. She sat up quickly and felt around her first, with the vague thought that she might have rolled out of bed in her sleep. She couldn't feel anything near her and the floor was rough. It almost felt like stone. She also realized there should be some light from the street lamp outside her window. No matter how dark her curtains some of that light always seemed to get in. The absolute darkness was unnatural.

Trying to keep her panic to a minimum she pushed herself to her feet and picked a direction. She started walking in small steps in what she hoped was a straight line. She hoped she would eventually run into a wall at least. Before she had taken more than a half dozen steps though, she was brought up short by the emotions of others in the area around her. She had never tried to see what her maximum distance was, but she got the impression these were very close, within a dozen feet or so.

Her body had frozen and she was trying her best to not make any sounds. In different circumstances she might have called out to them for help but the emotion she felt was unlike anything she had ever felt before. If she had to name it, she would have called it bloodlust. Whoever these other people were, they were consumed with the desire to cause death. Leigh could feel herself trembling and tried her best to keep on her feet. She slowly started shuffling in the opposite direction from what she was feeling. Thankfully they didn't seem to be getting any closer but with the absolute darkness that didn't make her feel any better.

Leigh was unable to suppress a scream when a gravelly voice broke the silence from the direction she was presently headed. "D, this one looks human, and still in control of herself as well." After she heard the voice she was finally able to make out curiosity coming from that direction, but it had an alien feel. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to worry about it. It seemed her scream must have drawn the attention of the others as she could feel them getting closer. Before she had much time to worry about it she felt a strong arm circle her waist and lift her slightly. She heard a smooth masculine voice, very different than the one she had heard previously, right by her ear. "Don't move. I will get you out of here, so be still."

Before she could even process the touch or the command she felt air rushing past her. It felt as if the man who was holding her was moving extremely fast, but she was having a tough time processing everything. Leigh couldn't make sense of anything and she vaguely realized she must be in shock somewhat. Trying to focus on that thought she was able to concentrate on her situation a little better. The first thing she noticed was that she had a death grip on the shirt of the stranger. She started to release her grip, but the momentum of his movement had her shifting drastically in his grip. She grabbed on tighter again hoping he would stop soon, or at least that they would come into some light. The thought of him running in the dark like that made her a little nauseous.

While she was contemplating how much it might hurt if they ran into a wall she noticed that there were two distinct sets of feelings right beside her. One was the alien feeling set she had noticed earlier. She could still feel determination and some curiosity, but it was filtered. The second set was clear but cold. Determination was the only thing she could discern. She decided one must belong to the gruff voice and the other to the man holding her. She relaxed a little more as she realized he had no ulterior motivations that she could tell anyway. She could still feel the others as well, but they were faint. The distance between them must have increased. She hoped it stayed that way. She had no desire to meet whoever that was.

Leigh thought she noticed a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. Before she could fully lift her head and realize they were headed for a large window a hand came up to cover her head. She instinctively ducked her head when she realized he wasn't stopping as he reached the window. She tried to hold in the strangled scream that was pressing against her lips as she heard the glass shatter around her. She felt a slight jar as they hit the ground, and timidly looked up. She had to blink a few times to adjust to the light after the blackness of inside, but she found it was still the middle of the night. The light was from a nearly full moon.

As soon as they landed the stranger started running again which drew Leigh's attention back to him. She couldn't believe how fast they were going. She didn't think anyone could move with those speeds, much less while carrying another person. He didn't run for long though. After a few moments he stopped and finally let her down. Once she was on her own two feet he stepped back, and she saw him for the first time. She almost forgot to breath. She didn't think she had ever seen a man as beautiful as the one that was standing in front of her now. The stray thought that he had been holding her very close until a moment ago brought a slight flush to her cheeks, but she tried not to let it show. Once he stepped back he gave her a quick once over, presumably to look for injuries.

"Wait here." He was to the point, but his voice was as smooth as she had thought when he first picked her up. It suited him.

Before she could respond in any way, he turned back to the building they had just exited. When her attention was drawn back that way she was greeted by what looked like an old Western European style castle, but there were slight differences. She couldn't quite put her finger on what they were though.

As she looked back she found the busted window that must have been the one they exited several stories up. Realizing the distance they must have dropped, she suddenly felt faint. She focused on her breathing, so she wouldn't pass out, but her knees refused to hold her up and she found herself on the ground.

As she was focused on bringing her heart rate down again and trying to figure out what exactly was going on, she noticed that there had only been the man with her even though she had felt two people. As she concentrated now she could only feel once presence again, but it was the alien one.

Nothing was making sense. She wasn't prone to hysterics, but she could feel something close to a teary breakdown frighteningly close. It was getting harder to control her breathing. She tried to focus on the man that had helped her.

She jumped slightly when she saw three men leap from the already broken window before her rescuer had even made it back to the castle. She almost forgot her own situation as she watched the scene playing out in front of her. The three men fanned out and approached the stranger with the same speed he had previously used. He had slowed some and they all seemed to attack at the same time. Leigh screamed at what she saw next. She hadn't seen the stranger draw a sword, she hadn't even noticed that he had been wearing one, but before the other three could touch him they all stopped. Each was still standing at a weird angle but each of their heads slowly rolled from their shoulders and their bodies seemed to fall in slow motion all at once.

Leigh hadn't realized she was screaming but she didn't give the stranger a chance to turn back to her. She was on her feet and running away from him as fast as her feet would carry her. She didn't even notice the damage the ground was doing to her bare feet. She had no idea if the man was following but she wasn't looking behind to find out. The only thing she could think was to get away. She had just watched someone kill three people like it was nothing.

She was running recklessly, barely paying attention to what was in front of her. She only knew it was a clear field and she was focused on getting away. She hadn't gotten very far before she ran headlong into god knew what, but it felt like a wall. She had been running full out and having hit the unknown barrier at full speed, face first, it instantly knocked her back and down. She felt the pain explode in the front of her head where she had struck and, although she fought to remain conscious, she felt herself slip into total blackness.