A girl wearing a red dress ran barefoot through the forest, fleeing into the dense trees in a desperate attempt to elude her pursuer. She could not hear his footfalls behind her but dared not turn around; she knew he was there, moving with demonic agility, eyes burning with the insurmountable desire to feed.
Pain shot through her leg as something sharp dug into her heel, but the girl suppressed her instinct to yelp and pressed onward, weaving past trunks of increasing thickness as she neared the heart of the woods. Yet she was exhausted-- her lungs were on fire-- and she knew she could never hope to outpace the mutant parahuman. Maybe if she hid-- just maybe-- he would be unable to locate her in the vast, confounding forest. But her dress was a glaring beacon in the sombre green; it screamed "blood," and realizing this the girl ripped the garment off her body in a single motion and left it fluttering in her wake.
Ahead, the sound of a river seemed to ignite a golden ray of hope in the girl's mind: something about vampires not being able to cross running water? Was that one real? It didn't matter; she would hide in the water and move with the river, leaving no trail for him to follow. Reaching the bank she slid down the slick escarpment and lost her balance-- she landed on her knees and then lowered herself into prone position. The girl snaked her way through the mud and river-slime until she reached the slow-flowing green water, cold but bearable in the balmy night, and slipped into its flow. The water was unfortunately low here-- barely enough to cover the girl's prone form, but she was nevertheless able to submerge her entire body and feel her way along the bed.
Enough time passed in this manner that the girl's frantic, terror-stricken mind calmed enough for her to reflect on the absurdity of her situation, slithering through the river like an eel in nothing but her formerly white underwear, but no sooner did she allow herself to indulge this thought than a vice closed around her neck and dragged her out of the water. Through the tendrils of dripping wet hair hanging in her face the girl saw a visage of pure hunger, a wicked expression of pleasure at the imminent fulfillment of one's primal desire. She wanted to scream and look away but could not manage to do either as the parahuman's fanged maw opened wide... and out of it came a silver cross at the end of a rigid black shaft. The girl stared at this; the confusion on her face was grotesquely mirrored in that of the vampire which still held her by the neck. Suddenly another of these crosses sprouted from the vampire's chest, then another. The girl felt the pressure around her throat mercifully slacken and she finally screamed, then shoved the vampire in the shoulder with all her force. He spun and fell, landing face-first in the water with a flop, and there he remained. Four of the black shafts protruded from her attacker's back, each neatly placed at points along the spine.
With wobbling knees the girl clambered out of the water and finally collapsed on the bank. As she struggled to regain control of her breathing and her thoughts a shadow detached itself from the trees on the opposite side of the river; a silhouette of a tall woman dressed in flowing black robes, resting what was unmistakably a crossbow on her shoulder. The girl watched as this mysterious woman solemnly performed the Sign of the Cross and then disappeared into the night; still utterly astonished and unable to think clearly, the girl found herself making the Sign of the Cross as well.
Pain shot through her leg as something sharp dug into her heel, but the girl suppressed her instinct to yelp and pressed onward, weaving past trunks of increasing thickness as she neared the heart of the woods. Yet she was exhausted-- her lungs were on fire-- and she knew she could never hope to outpace the mutant parahuman. Maybe if she hid-- just maybe-- he would be unable to locate her in the vast, confounding forest. But her dress was a glaring beacon in the sombre green; it screamed "blood," and realizing this the girl ripped the garment off her body in a single motion and left it fluttering in her wake.
Ahead, the sound of a river seemed to ignite a golden ray of hope in the girl's mind: something about vampires not being able to cross running water? Was that one real? It didn't matter; she would hide in the water and move with the river, leaving no trail for him to follow. Reaching the bank she slid down the slick escarpment and lost her balance-- she landed on her knees and then lowered herself into prone position. The girl snaked her way through the mud and river-slime until she reached the slow-flowing green water, cold but bearable in the balmy night, and slipped into its flow. The water was unfortunately low here-- barely enough to cover the girl's prone form, but she was nevertheless able to submerge her entire body and feel her way along the bed.
Enough time passed in this manner that the girl's frantic, terror-stricken mind calmed enough for her to reflect on the absurdity of her situation, slithering through the river like an eel in nothing but her formerly white underwear, but no sooner did she allow herself to indulge this thought than a vice closed around her neck and dragged her out of the water. Through the tendrils of dripping wet hair hanging in her face the girl saw a visage of pure hunger, a wicked expression of pleasure at the imminent fulfillment of one's primal desire. She wanted to scream and look away but could not manage to do either as the parahuman's fanged maw opened wide... and out of it came a silver cross at the end of a rigid black shaft. The girl stared at this; the confusion on her face was grotesquely mirrored in that of the vampire which still held her by the neck. Suddenly another of these crosses sprouted from the vampire's chest, then another. The girl felt the pressure around her throat mercifully slacken and she finally screamed, then shoved the vampire in the shoulder with all her force. He spun and fell, landing face-first in the water with a flop, and there he remained. Four of the black shafts protruded from her attacker's back, each neatly placed at points along the spine.
With wobbling knees the girl clambered out of the water and finally collapsed on the bank. As she struggled to regain control of her breathing and her thoughts a shadow detached itself from the trees on the opposite side of the river; a silhouette of a tall woman dressed in flowing black robes, resting what was unmistakably a crossbow on her shoulder. The girl watched as this mysterious woman solemnly performed the Sign of the Cross and then disappeared into the night; still utterly astonished and unable to think clearly, the girl found herself making the Sign of the Cross as well.
