Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Life in the Gloom ❯ Hunting Ground ( Chapter 3 )

“Hunting Ground”

 

“Turn left,” Integra ordered Walter in a soft yet firm tone.

 

As the car turned down a side street in the Piccadilly Circus district, the aging butler expressed concern. “My lady, is this really necessary?”

 

She was in a trance-like state, wide open to the link forged by mere droplets of blood. Integra could feel his presence and follow him as though he'd left breadcrumbs on the pavement leading from the compound to his hunting ground.

 

“I must see him,” Integra breathed. “I must see how he does my bidding.”

 

“Speaking from personal experience, he is not known for his mercy,” Walter warned.

 

“Good,” Integra lifted her chin proudly, “Those freaks don't deserve to be handled with the tenderness of mercy, Let my servant tear them limb from limb; it is a fitting end to such filth.”

 

Walter sighed and Integra sensed that he would seek to change her mind once more. She cut him off at the pass. “I appreciate your desire to shield my innocence, Walter. Truly, I do, but must I remind you that I witnessed Alucard slaughter my uncle's allies and that I was the one who killed Richard?”

 

“No,” Walter replied stiffly, “Forgive me, Integra. Sometimes I forget that your age is not the measure of your experience.”

 

Integra nodded, silently acknowledging his acquiesce. She felt anxious and excited as she was drawn closer to Alucard's horrible power. In her heart, she knew this to be a great rite of passage for her. No longer was she content with giving out her orders and passively awaiting Alucard's return.

 

Integra heard a distant gunshot. “Slow down!” She all but barked.

 

He was close, perhaps a few blocks away. Another gunshot split the silence of the night and Integra began to struggle out of her seatbelt.

 

“I'm getting out, Walter. Stop the car,” Integra instructed as she began to open the passenger's side door.

 

The butler cursed softly as she hit the pavement at a run scarcely a moment after he braked the Rolls Royce. Integra sprinted toward a dark ally. Any other sixteen-year-old girl might have feared the night and its sinister stillness broken only by screams of agony, but Integra only feared it would be over before she got there.

 

She turned the corner and stood at the mouth of the ally, panting heavily. The reek of blood hit her as strongly as the sight of her vampire standing over his quarry. It was a female, once quite pretty, but her legs had been shot off at the knees and her face was stained with bloody tears of pain. She was screaming hoarsely and wordlessly.

 

“Quiet,” Alucard snapped cruelly at her, “I have no qualms with tearing your throat out.”

 

“Shut up!” The woman howled, “You fucking mongrel, how dare you betray your kind under the orders of mortals!”

 

Alucard merely chuckled, “How dull you are. You suck the blood of gullible men and expect me to be impressed? I would rather lick the toe of my master's boot than break bread with the likes of you.”

 

Integra's heart pounded as she watched Alucard aim his gun for one last shot. She heard his voice, seemingly floating through the air. Are you watching, Master? I saved the killing blow for your eyes.

 

And watch she did. Integra stared as the bullet ripped through the vampire's skull. It took off most of the top and turned her face into a tapestry of shattered bone and tattered flesh. Alucard did not stop there and lifted the female's body with one hand after holstering his gun deep within the recesses of his coat. With one thrust of his free hand, he penetrated the chest in order to destroy the heart. The vampire did not turn to dust, as the legends would have you believe. It was reduced to nothing more than a bloodied and broken corpse. The clean-up crew would arrive in a few hours to burn the remains….

 

“Did you enjoy the show, Miss Integra?” Alucard laughed as he came toward her.

 

“Hmph,” She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of her elation, “Your work is exemplary as usual, but I must say that I disapprove of how you toyed with her. Now I know why we're always having to take great pains in covering up your exterminations.”

 

Alucard grinned, “Killing medians is no easy task to keep quiet.”

 

Integra smirked, “Not when you play with them like a cat batting a mouse. Enough of this. It's bloody freezing out. I'll hear your full report at the compound.”

 

 

Finis.