With a groan he pulled his thread bare blanket over his head, but was interrupted by a pounding on the door.
Slowly he stood and cracked it open, standing in the doorway was Lord Hellsing himself, dressed in full military regalia complete with saber. Suddenly, Vernon felt quite under dressed in his PJs…
"Get dressed," Lord Hellsing stated sharply.
"What in the bloody hell is going on… Sir?" he blurted out.
"Vampire attack. A Hospital in Wales."
Vernon blinked, "Then what do you need me for?"
"First," Lord Hellsing stated in a commanding tone that brooked no anger, but also no room for disagreement, "When the klaxon's sound all members of this Organization are to report to their posts. Second, today you will accompany the troops as an observer. You are going to see what we do. Make sure you have your weapon with the proper ammunition."
Vernon nodded, after his years of diligent work and shameless ass kissing, he knew better then to put up any form of a fight.
In a blur the thick necked man rushed up the stairs, and less than three minutes later he was down stairs half-dressed in a suit, with the pin on his tie proudly announcing his place in the organization. Everything was out of place, and he looked like a mess, but he was dressed.
Lord Hellsing sighed, but as before showed less anger, and more the relaxed disappointment one shows for a rookie who has yet to prove himself.
"Come," He stated, "You can straighten your self up in the helicopter. We are going in with the second wave."
"We?" Vernon asked in surprise.
"I always accompany the rookies on their first mission. See how they account themselves."
Vernon gulped, he did not like the sound of that…
--------------------
Roughly thirty minutes later the chopper landed in front of a medium sized Welsh hospital. The entire area was taped off and the air sounded with unholy screams and gunshots. The entire mess felt wrong.
He has never liked being around James and Lilly Potter. They felt off to him, their magic ways always offended his sensibilities. This on the other hand felt wrong, as if all that was right was torn from the situation leaving a festering wound in his psyche.
Slowly and meekly he followed Lord Hellsing through the entrance of the hospital. The entire place was a wreck, covered in bloody and bodies. It made him want to vomit.
A solider walked up to Lord Hellsing and saluted, "Sir, the situation is contained, and we have done as you ordered."
Lord Hellsing smiled. "Good, follow me, Dursley…"
Slowly he followed the lord to the morgue. Tow guards stood vigil in front of a barricaded door. From inside the sound of pounding emanated. Something was trapped inside and wanted out…
"Open the door," the Lord told his vassals, and they did as instructed, immediately taking firing position behind their lord as the door swung open.
A wounded ghoul shambled from the nearly vault like room.
Vernon's heart leapt into his stomach as he looked at the gray skinned undead, into the pits of its empty eyes. Its shuffle was slowed to a near crawl due to a hip shattered by a Hellsing bullet, but still it came ever so slowly forward.
"Do your duty, Dursley," the lord stated.
Vernon slowly drew his pistol with an unsteady hand and looked at the monster.
He'd been briefed on Vampires and Ghouls but he'd hoped never to see one in person. He knew that this had ones been a person, a normal human being. From the looks of it a nurse. She was dressed in rather plain clothes, cheap even, but there seemed to be a sense of pride in the appearance of her clothes despite her menial job.
This was a life stolen, by pure evil. She was likely a mother too, and now the mother of orphans. For a split second he saw the face of his beloved Petunia pasted over the face of the undead monstrosity.
It was in that faithful moment that Vernon's fear was transformed into a burning rage in the pit of his stomach, a form of anger he had never before felt. No, an anger that he had never before felt possible.
He had defaulting remembering before, but words flowed to him as if they naturally part of him. In a strong, thundering voice he had saved for only his most outrageous fits of anger, he belted out, "In the name of God, the unclean souls of the living dead shall be banished into Eternal Damnation, Amen!"
Vernon fired three shots. The first two struck the monster in the head but they only stunned it. The third found its mark between the Ghoul's empty eye sockets and reduced the monster to dust.
As his rage faded, he looked blanking at where the monster had been. The monster he had slain. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to looking into the eyes of Lord Hellsing. The man seemed content, even proud.
"Well done, Dursley. Welcome to Hellsing."
Vernon breathed deeply. For a moment he was confused, why had they done this. Had him kill a Ghoul, and then, he realized.
It was a test. They needed to know if he could stand in the face of danger. It was one thing shooting a target, it was another shooting an unholy ghoul. He also felt that it was a trial of fire. He'd never actually though much about what Hellsing did before this moment, but not he understood. It was to save people from loosing their souls, from being killed or like the poor woman who he'd just put out of her misery, worse. People like his Petunia, his Dudley…
Slowly he looked at his employer, his lord, and in a calm and tired voice, he replied, "Thank you. I… understand."
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(Posted Tue, 22 Feb 2005 05:27)
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