Order 14: Newcomer
By: SleepyNinja
Disclaimer: Don't own Hellsing and not making a dime.
The mall was usually quiet most nights. The dull hum of the newly installed vending machines was occasionally interrupted by the late night shopper. The pale white walls and matching floor tiles usually were cleaned around this hour as elevator music played quietly in the background. To wrap it up, security officers patrolled all three levels making sure no harm came to anyone, or anything in the complex.
Unfortunately this was not a usual night. The vending machines and elevator music couldn't be heard over the sound of panicked running and screams. The security officers could not fulfill their duty. And the pale white walls and tiles on the ground were stained with blood.
Around a dozen people had fled into the mall from the approaching terror following them. They were killed in the middle of the large opening in the center of the structure. Several people on the third floor jumped from the balcony to escape the horror chasing them, leaving bloody corpses next to the ones who never made it to the stairs. People locked themselves inside back rooms of stores in an attempt for safety. But doors were torn away and people slaughtered, because with each death, the threat multiplied.
The security team shut the steel doors to the outside world in hopes to keep out the danger, not realizing they had just sealed their fate along with the doors. Survivors held out in small groups, arming themselves with whatever weapons they could find in the deserted shopping center.
One of the members of one of these groups was Jack Owens. He came in roughly five minutes before everything started to get a soda from a vending machine, or one of the fast food restaurants that lined the third floor, unaware that his craving for a carbonated beverage would change his life.
He was around 1.8 meters tall. At the moment his dark brown hair clung to his forehead with sweat, hanging just above his dark brown eyes. His usually handsome features were now crunched up in determination and anger. His blue T-shirt and blue jeans were spattered with blood and ripped in several places and covered with a fine layer of sweat which plastered them to his strong but skinny frame. He and several others had raided several stores, taking anything that could be used as a weapon. Several people had various sporting implements, like golf clubs and baseball bats, whereas Jack had the good fortune to find a machete in a hardware store.
They had entrenched themselves in an electronics store on the first floor, waiting for a ghoul to walk through the door, and then killing it. They had this going for the better part of half an hour, and twenty minutes after the attack was reported.
Jack gave a sigh as several more of the monsters walked in; he didn't know how long they could keep this up.
While all this was taking place, Seras Victoria checked her gun and loaded it. She had upgraded from her smaller pistol to a Desert Eagle, with several modifications of course. It wasn't nearly as large as Alucard's but it could still shoot through several ghouls or a centimeter of lead. She placed a clip in the weapon and went to the door on the roof of the mall.
"It's about time Police Girl."
"Sorry Master," she said as she kicked the access door down. "I'll proceed down to the first floor and look for survivors."
Jack ran down the white hallway that passed behind the stores. The rest of his group was dead; there were just too many ghouls. Knowing that staying in one place was certain death, he ran. He didn't know where, but anywhere were bloodsucking monsters weren't sounded like a good idea. He heard footsteps around the corner; he slowed his pace and readied his machete as he creped closer and closer to the corner. He jumped out from behind the corner, machete raised over his head and ready to strike.
"Huh? Oh! A survivor!" Seras said as she turned around.
"Thank God," muttered Jack as he lowered his weapon. "I thought you might have been one of those…those…things."
"Nope," Seras smiled. "Definitely not."
"Good, I've had enough of those bloody things for a while." Jack looked at the woman in front of her. She was cute, but seemed far too cheery in this situation; of course she also had a gun, which probably helped.
"Are there any others behind you?"
"No…they're dead."
"It's too bad. You better follow me, I can try to keep you safe."
"Sounds good." Jack motioned to the other side of the complex, "I think there were more people on the other side of the building."
"Alright, let's go." Seras walked down the hall slowly in the direction Jack had pointed to, with Jack in tow. She took the lead, checking for ghouls as they turned corners and passed doors. When they entered the main walkway they were greeted by 20 ghouls standing in wait.
"Well that's not good." Seras pointed her gun in the middle of the crowd. "Ready?"
"Not particularly," he raised his machete, "but do I have a choice?" he grinned as the ghouls began their slow march toward them.
"Not particularly."
"Thought so." Jack readied his machete and Seras emptied her clip into the group. Perfect headshots. Several ghouls in the middle of the group turned into dust. Jack swung his machete at the nearest ghoul but was surprised when the attack failed. The blade had sliced the ghoul to the elbow, but had stopped. Jack let go of his grip on the blade to escape a grab. He stood surrounded, with around three ghouls approaching, so he did what years of martial arts training had conditioned him to do: assume a fighting stance and beat the living hell out of what opposed him.
The first blow was a devastating crescent kick to the side of the head. The ghoul's head cracked under the force and exploded into dust. A ghoul grabbed him from behind and lowered his jaws at him, but before the teeth could connect Jack had already thrown him over his shoulder and into the bloody walls. The last ghoul had the heel of Jack's foot in his face before it could ever do anything. It collapsed and attempted to get up before a gunshot rang out. The ghoul's head disappeared and then the body turned to dust.
"Not too bad," Seras said as she loaded a fresh clip into her gun.
Jack stood up strait and stretched his arms. "Could have been better. Didn't have time to stretch beforehand, and besides you took all the fun." Seras laughed. Jack froze. Fangs. She had fangs. "What are you!" He shouted as he backed away.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're one of them!"
"No! No I'm not! I'm on your side!" Seras took a few steps toward him, her arms out, and her weapon holstered.
"Stay away!"
"But-"Seras tried to calm him, but Jack did what any sensible man in his situation would do.
Jack ran like hell.
Seras stalked in the back halls. She could hear a ghoul wandering up ahead. The hall was lined with doors, so it could be anywhere. She turned a corner and there it was. It looked like it was about to go through a door to somewhere. It didn't matter anymore as a gunshot rang out. The ghoul turned to dust and disappeared, but the door opened and a bloody Jack Owens fell to the ground. The bullet has passed through the ghoul, through the door, and strait through Jack's body.
"Oh god…" Seras ran to the fallen man and turned him upright and propped his head up. "Are you alright?"
Jack covered his mouth as he coughed. Blood seeped through his fingers onto his clothes. "What do you think?"
"Obviously not."
"Must be a Thursday. Never got the hang of Thursday."
Jack coughed again, sending blood over Seras and his chest. "I imagine." She clamped her hand over the wound, pretending it was going to help. "Do you want come with me?"
"With a monster? Well," he mumbled, "I was planning on bleeding to death, but your idea is good too."
Seras lowered herself onto Jack and tilted his head over for better access to his neck. "You're supposed to be freaking out about now."
"I might if I could move."
"Point taken." She lowered her head and bit into his neck.
The steel doors opened and the purification team ran in. Seras had propped Jack's arm around her and was helping him hobble out; he was too proud to be carried. They walked through the automatic doors as Alucard stepped out of the darkness behind them, "you took far too long Police Girl."
Seras turned to face her master. "There were complications Master."
Alucard looked at Jack and saw his red eyes and understood. "So no survivors then?"
"No Master."
"I see…" Alucard grinned and tilted his head up and gazed up at the sky. It was a clear night and the moon and stars glowed brilliantly. "It's a perfect night," he said to no one in particular.