#5 - R&R

By Adam Koeth

This issue is recommended for Mature Readers only!

Century, Florida. Near the Alabama border.

Blade sat quietly on the motel room's small bed, deep in concentration. Beside him lay the sword that had once belonged to the vampire Jean-Paul's sire. It was a powerful token, and obviously meant something to Jean-Paul and his ilk. It belonged to Blade now, and the vampire hunter thought that it would help in his crusade to eliminate the bloodsuckers.

But it was a crusade that was getting muddled and more difficult as time passed.

No matter how many vampires Blade killed, there always seemed to be more. Not even the supposed destruction of all vampires on Earth by Doctor Strange and the Montesi Formula seemed to keep the bloodsuckers down, as they returned again and again to plague mankind.

Then, there was the almost constant feeling that he was being watched.* For the past few weeks, since before Atlanta and the Ripper,** Blade had felt certain that someone... something... was watching him. He didn't know who, and he didn't know why... but Blade assumed that all questions would be answered in time.

* (ever since issue #1 - Adam)
** (an as-yet untold tale of our resident vampire hunter! - Adam)

Shoving the thoughts from his mind, Blade returned to his meditations. After a few moments, his breathing had become deep and regular, signaling that he was deep in the furthest recesses of his own mind.

The trio of men walked out of the motel's office, leaving the grisly scene of blood and gore behind them. Even though the motel owner had put up a good fight, he was still human... and certainly not a match for the three vampires.

They slunk through whatever shadows the one nearby lamplight allowed, heading towards Blade's room, on the bottom floor of the two-story motel. The moon was only a sliver in the night sky, and even the light from that was blocked out by the nearby copse of trees. Soon, they reached the room's door and paused, silent, waiting for the signal to attack.

One of the men, his eyes glowing with excitement and anticipation, nodded. As one, the three vampires slowly opened the door inward and quickly entered the dimly-lit room. From the bathroom, the sound of running water could be heard. Slowly, quietly, the three vampires crept toward the bathroom.

Blade watched the three pairs of feet as they passed by the bed, heading toward the shower he had just turned on. It was a tight squeeze underneath the bed, and he was lucky that at least one of them hadn't looked.

Unluckily for the vampires, he heard and smelled them coming.

Lashing out with the sword, Blade lopped off the foot of the nearest vampire and rolled out from underneath the bed. Now, the single-size bed stood inbetween himself and the three vampires.

The two left standing glared angrily at him, finally realizing that they had been duped. One of them, a man with short red hair, wearing a long black coat, jumped over the bed toward Blade.

"Tsk tsk," Blade said, swinging the sword in a lofty arc. The vampire's beheaded body touched down on the carpeted floor right next to the vampire hunter before crumbling into a pile of ash. Blade gave a short nod toward the other vampire. "You're next."

Suddenly, the window behind Blade burst inward. Blade found himself trapped by powerful arms wrapped tightly around his body, even as a fifth vampire walked into the room through the open door.

Rocking his head back, Blade headbutted the vampire that was clutching him. Grasping it's forehead, the vampire let go and stumbled back a few paces, almost falling out the window. Before it could, however, Blade shoved the sword through it's neck, jerked once, and ripped it's throat out.

The other three vampires, including the one with only one foot, slammed into Blade. The hunter fell backwards through the broken window, rolling to his feet as he hit the ground. Fangs bared, the vampires emerged from the room, ready to attack once again.

From the roof of the motel, an ear-shattering howl pierced the night. Turning away from Blade, the vampires peered through the darkness as two forms jumped down toward them, snarling and barking. The figures ripped into the vampires with such blinding speed that, before Blade even knew it, three piles of ash were lying at his feet.

Before him, their eyes green and glowing in the darkness, were two werewolves, their muzzles covered with blood. They stared warily at Blade for a few moments, before recognizing that he wasn't a vampire himself. As Blade looked on, astonished, the two towering wolves took human form.

"So you're the infamous Blade," one of the former werewolves, a woman with fiery red hair, said. She kicked at one of the piles of ash with her foot, scattering it across the ground. Looking Blade up and down, she finally concluded: "You're a lot smaller than I thought you would be."

"Excuse me?" Blade growled, sheathing his sword. "Who are you? How do you know who I am?"

The woman laughed, a light, melodic chuckle. Her companion, a gruff-looking man with piercing green eyes, simply stared at the vampire hunter. "C'mon Blade, you're a celebrity! Half the clans live in mortal fear of you every time they go out at night!"

Blade looked confused, "Clans?"

Laughing again, the woman smiled brightly. "So you don't even know about the clans, huh? Whistler was right... you DO have a lot to learn." Seeing Blade's total confusion, she leaned over to her companion and whispered something in his ear. He nodded in response. "Well, looks like we've overstayed our welcome here. Ta."

As the woman and her friend shifted back into their half-man, half-wolf form, Blade took a step forward and grabbed the woman by the arm. "Wait just a minute. Who the hell is Whistler, and what do you mean by clans?"

With blinding speed, the woman's companion grabbed Blade by the shoulders and tossed him to the ground. Blade was up in an instant, just in time to see the two werewolves racing into the woods. "See you around, Blade..." the woman said as they disappeared into the dense foliage.

Cursing, Blade brushed the dirt off of his clothes and walked back into his room. The police should be here soon, Blade thought. Best to be gone when they do. Gathering his things, Blade re-emerged into the night and climbed onto his bike. He guided it toward the road and sped off into the darkness, passing a duo of police cars heading toward the motel. The red and blue lights glowed on his angry face as the cruisers passed by.

Were they the ones that had been watching Blade for so long? It was possible, but why did they choose that moment to show themselves? And who was Whistler?

"Damn it all," Blade muttered, heading west. Behind him, rising into the sky, was the sun. A new day was dawning.

New York City

"L-lord Ra-Tet..."

The vampire turned in his chair, ripped away from his thoughts. The chess board was splayed out in front of him, many of the pieces still untouched. "Speak."

Kneeling, the other vampire continued. "Our expedition to eliminate Blade has... failed, my lord. Two werewolves interfered in the battle and annihilated our forces." The vampire stared straight ahead at the carpeted floor, visibly shaking.

Ra-Tet stood, nodded. "Yes, I expected them to fail. The werewolves, however, were unexpected." The Egyptian paced back and forth across the room, his mind racing. "Our men are still following Blade."

It wasn't a question.

"Yes, my lord," replied the other vampire. "He is heading west out of Florida. Last contact has him just east of Mobile, Alabama."

"Very good," said Ra-Tet. He crossed to his servant and, reaching down, raked his talons across the vampire's back, slicing it to ribbons. The vampire cried out in pain. "Keep Blade in sight, and find out who these werewolves are that interfered. Immediately!"

Stumbling to his feet, the injured vampire nodded. "Y-yes, my lord. Right away." He crossed the room, his wounds already beginning to heal, and exited through the door.

Ra-Tet smiled coldly, staring out at the city's skyline. "Soon, Blade, you will serve me. You will do my bidding, will continue to attack my enemies..." whispered the Egyptian, turning away from the window. "Or you will die."

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