The Variant and the Vampire

Chapter 1

The chilling November wind blew in from the sea, catching the few remaining leaves on the trees that lined the cliff face like twisted skeletal sentries, wrenching them violently free and casting them into the air to drift away. The night sky was cloudy but in between the breaks in the clouds the light from the full moon would briefly cast its illumination over the land.

In one such break a lone figure was revealed making its way along the former costal highway, almost casually walking between the many husks of cars, long since abandoned. Whether the cars had been abandoned in the panic during the outbreak years earlier or the occupants had left afterwards was unknown.

The figure was a female of average height wearing a long black tenchcoat that was left open revealing a blood-red in colour stylised military or maybe a police uniform. She adjusted the straps of the large backpack she was carrying; one that seemed like it should be too big for her frame to be lugging about as easily as she was. She ran a fingerless-gloved hand through her messy blond hair that partly covered one eye and frowned as her sensitive ears picked out an unusual sound. A sound she had not heard for years.

Seras paused and cocked her head slightly at the sound of rotor blades approaching from the west. Rotor blades meant a helicopter, and a helicopter meant there must be a human settlement nearby. Humans meant blood; warm blood and Seras felt a stirring of hunger that she rapidly squashed.

“No need for me to go near to temptation.” Seras muttered to herself. “Don’t wanna add to these people’s problems. The last thing I need on my conscious is the deaths of any survivors from a half-starved vampire losing control.”

The sound of the helicopter was drawing closer now and Seras turned to stare in the direction of the noise. Her incredibly sharp eyesight easily picked out the shape of the helicopter, a Black Hawk Seras absently noted even as the moon was hidden once more by a passing cloud.

The aircraft was in amazing condition Seras observed as the sleek craft passed loudly overhead and headed out to sea. Seras briefly wondered what could have caused a group of survivors to take a helicopter and fly out to sea. Whatever it was must be important to their continued survival if they were using precious fuel on the endeavour.

“Weird.” Seras stated watching the Black Hawk disappear into the horizon before shrugging. “Whatever it is, it’ll be best to avoid it.”

With the nights oddity gone Seras once more began to lazily drift between the cars, basically just following the road. She had no idea where she was going or any inkling of what she was going to do when she got there. Since being chased out of England over forty years ago when Hellsing had been disbanded and the ‘pet’ vampires order to be destroyed, she had been wandering aimlessly. Seras absently wondered what had happened to Integra Hellsing not for the first time.

Integra had been able to get Seras out of the country after the devastation of London at the hands of Alucard and the Last Battalion in their bloody conflict. Seras had never had chance to actually thank her and as she was no longer a fledging tied to her former master she no longer knew what had happened to him, although she suspected that he was still around. There was no way in her mind that Alucard could have been destroyed, maybe ordered to sleep but never destroyed.

Seras had ended up in America where she drifted from place to place; occasionally she helped out people with troubles but generally kept out of sight. Preferring to keep to the shadows, she had survived on a diet of blood stolen from hospitals or that of criminals that had the misfortune to cross her, Seras still had her morals even if she was a true vampire now. As Alucard had once remarked, she walked in the sunset, not quite in the light but not in darkness either.

This had all changed nine years ago; an outbreak of some kind of virus in 2033 that reanimated the dead brought hell to earth. The virus dubbed Nekrosis, Seras had learned from the reading the newspapers had infected everyone, living and dead and it was fated that everyone who died would be reanimated as a mindless monster. For a time the governments of the world joined together to fight the zombies, but with every human that died, they bolstered the ranks of the undead hordes. Eventually the remaining survivors had managed to hide themselves away.

A sudden loud explosion from out to sea caught her attention and she found herself unconsciously whipping her head towards the horizon where an orange glow was seen. Obviously a fire with the thick black smoke rising into the sky, whatever had exploded had been big, maybe an oil rig.

Curiosity getting the better of her Seras altered her direction and headed towards the cliff face to get a better look. Hopping over the metal barrier that separated the drop from the road she approached the cliff edge and stared out to sea. As she scanned the horizon for any indication of what had occurred a large flock of seagulls had begun gathering over the beach.

Seras paused in her scanning the horizon to turn her attention to the local wildlife. Well not quite life, the birds where all in various stages of decomposition, all victims of Nekrosis. The virus seemed to infect everything.

The flock of undead birds were quickly gathering on the beach and waiting. Waiting for what exactly Seras wondered.

“Bloody birds.” Seras said annoyed as she remembered her own many encounters with flocks of dead birds herself when the little flying rats mistook her for something living. Despite being dead herself the zombies brought back by the virus did not ignore her like they did their own. Mostly they got confused before deciding to screw it and attack her anyway.

The flock grew bigger and Seras noticed they seemed to have encircled something. Looking down she was surprised to see a young girl, not more than six years old lying unmoving on the sand. She was wearing a bright orange lifejacket and Seras guessed the girl had been washed up. She must have been involved in the explosion and ended washed up on the beach.

“Poor girl.” Seras stated sadly as more zombie-gulls landed on the beach. Seras paused, a frown decorating her face as something tickled the back of her mind. Why would zombie-gulls surround a dead body?

“Oh no.” The words left Seras’ mouth even as she sprang into motion. Zombies only surrounded living things and as Seras raced towards the pathway that led down to the beach she hoped she would get there in time.

For a brief period Seras lost sight of the little girl as the cliffs blocked her view. As she rounded the corner the screech of hundreds of dead birds echoed across the beach. Seras shoot forward onto the beach like a bullet and sent sand spraying in multiple directions as she came to a skidding halt at the sight of the birds attacking the girl who was trying her best to fend off their razor-sharp beaks as they sort out the girl’s eyes with her lifejacket.

Even from the edge of the parking lot Seras could smell the fresh blood from the girl indicating she had been cut already by the birds. The girl was shrieking and flailing the lifejacket like a shield as she ran up the beach.

Seras burst into action again, grabbing a piece of driftwood and charging into the fray herself. The girl could not see Seras as Seras swung the makeshift weapon wildly sending tiny rotten bodies flying away, many with a sickening crunch or worse a dull squelching noise.

“Get off her!” Seras shouted drawing attention of the undead birds to herself. The girl ran blindly towards Seras seemingly to not hear her voice and with an exclamation of “oof” she ran into Seras and fell back onto the sand.

The girl looked up at Seras through tears and blood from her right eye where a zombie-gull had caught her face. Seras reached down and grabbed the girl off the ground dropping her weapon before the undead birds could capitalise.

“Hold on to me.” Seras commanded pulling the girl to her chest and wrapping her arms protectively around the girl’s head. With the girl held out of the way Seras turned and raced up the beach followed by the horde of zombie-gulls that had decided Seras was not going to escape with their supper.

Seras cursed zombie-birds once again as the swarm battered against her backpack, flapped around her head and tried to get at the girl. The cries of hundreds of the tiny demons filled her ears and many of the beaks pierced her arms and legs as Seras ran with the girl. Seras ignored the damage; she had had far worse in her time and she would heal it anyway and concentrated on putting distance between themselves and the flock from hell.

Seras’ feet finally hit the concrete of the parking lot and now that she was off the sand she began to pull well ahead of the zombie-gulls. All the time the girl she had rescued sobbed into her chest. Seras was now acutely aware of the smell of blood from the girl, fresh, healthy virgin blood and it took all of her willpower to ignore it.

Turning her attention to the road ahead Seras decided to head towards the forest. The tree branches would give them cover and even though the zombie-gulls could fly and smell the girl, they were not as agile in death as they were once in life. The branches would be a serious impediment to them.

Seras sprinted into the forest and was pleased to note her plan had worked. The noise of the birds began to fade as they crashed into branches or the trees themselves. Hope they skewer themselves Seras thought nastily.

Seras finally slowed down as the noise faded. They could not stop for long, undead humans could smell the living from miles away and undead animals even further. Soon there would be every zombie within a few miles radius heading towards the girl.

Seras stopped and gently placed the girl down on the cold forest floor. The girl’s terrified face stared up at her and Seras smiled putting on her friendliest face.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now. Mostly.” Seras told the shaking girl. Getting a good look at her Seras noted the scratch over the girl’s eye was still bleeding, making it appear worse than it actually was. The girl’s hair was a lilac colour which Seras thought was odd as it seemed natural. She was wearing loose fitting pants covered in a multitude of pockets and a gray t-shirt with a raven drawn on it. Also the girl was soaked to the bone and shivering.

“We better get that scratch patched up before more of them arrive.” Seras stated dropping her back backpack onto the ground so she could find a first aid kit she carried around in case of bumping into wounded humans. “I’m Seras. What’s you name?”

“Z...Zoe.” the girl answered her voice wavering.

“That’s a nice...” Seras started to speak while looking through one of the side pouches on her backpack when a zombie-gull burst from it squawking angrily. Zoe shrieked but Seras had already grabbed the undead bird by its throat and lifted it up. The zombie-gull’s glazed eyes bulged from its skull almost comically as Seras squeezed its neck. It attempted to squawk but no sound came from the dead bird’s crushed windpipes. Tossing the zombie-gull to the ground Seras stomped on it with a heavily booted foot crushing it into the ground and bringing a final death to it.

“Impure souls of the living dead shall be banished to hell. Amen.” Seras chuckled as she casually ground the lump of rotten flesh and bone beneath her boot. “Sorry about that, it must have crawled in while we were running.” Seras told Zoe.

The girl looked at Seras her good eye wide open in surprise. The girl’s expression morphed into one of amazement the recent trauma forgotten. “That was cool!”

“You think?” Seras smiled retrieving the first aid kit from her backpack. Popping the lid she withdrew an antiseptic cream, some cottenwool and a patch of gauze. Taking a damp wipe from its protective package Seras knelt down in front of Zoe.

“This might sting a little.” Seras told the girl as she dabbed the wound cleaning the dirt from it. “Keep your eye shut.” Seras proceeded to treat the girl’s wounds all the time fighting to ignore the smell of blood. Once the girl was patched up Seras placed the first aid kit back into the pouch and while the girl was not looking licked the blood from the cloth. Seras closed her eyes in rapture; the girl’s blood was so pure that Seras found herself having very bad thoughts.

“Ms. Seras.” Zoe asked tugging on Seras’ trenchcoat which snapped Seras back to reality.

“Ya?” Seras asked guiltily tossed to cloth over her shoulder.

“Can I go home now?”

“Home.” Seras pondered before asking the required question. “Where do you live?”

Zoe’s face scrunched up in concentration before she looked at Seras with a worried expression in her visible eye. “I don’t remember.”

“You don’t huh.” Seras replied examining the girl.

“I’m sorry.” Zoe stated looking downcast as if expecting Seras to be mad at her.

“Not surprising what you’ve just been through. Probably a mild post-traumatic stress disorder, you’ll probably remember in few days. Give it time.” Seras reassured the girl which caused her face to brighten.

“Y...you think so?” Zoe asked hopefully.

“Yeah.” Seras stated hefting her backpack onto her back once more. “Now that Black Hawk went out to sea so I’m betting you came from it or were being picked up. The chopper came from the west so if we head that way I’m sure I’ll be able to find a settlement.”

Seras held her hand out and smiled. “Well we better be moving.”

Zoe hesitated before taking Seras’ hand and the pair set off towards the west. Seras carefully kept her pace slow and her eyes and ears peeled for danger. There was no doubt in Seras’ mind that zombies would be approaching shortly. They were slow and dumb, but persistent and eventually they always caught up.

Zoe could not actually make out anything in the dark forest as her rescuer led her by the hand and remarked on this.

“I can’t see anything Ms. Seras.” Zoe whispered.

“Don’t worry, I can see fine.” Seras assured Zoe leading the girl steadily through the dark forest. “And just call me Seras.”

The only sounds were of twigs snapping under their feet or the rustle of branches as the wind passed. The former normal nighttime’s sounds of various nocturnal animals no longer sounded during the night. The world was to all intents silent now, day and night as if slowly dying away. This was probably not far from the truth. Even to Seras the silence was spooky and unnatural, even though she had grown used to it during the last few years. That was why it came to her as a complete surprise to hear faint music playing.

“Wait.” Seras stated causing Zoe to freeze up. Seras turned her head to get a better focus on the noise. It was some kind of orchestra music, scratchy and would jump now and then. Must be on an old turntable of some kind, old tech even during when she was alive.

“What is it?” Zoe asked frightened as she could hear nothing but the wind.

“Music.” Seras replied before gently tugging Zoe. Seras had decided to investigate the music. “Come on.”

As Seras led Zoe out of the forest and towards the music, the sound became stronger until even Zoe could make the faint music out. The pair paused at the foot of some steps that led up a hill towards a cemetery.

“Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.” Seras read out staring at the metal sign that formed the entrance arch to the cemetery. “You’re kidding me.”

“The music is in there?” Zoe asked her blond rescuer.

“Apparently.” Seras stated taking in the rusty gates that hung open and the general overgrown appearance. The cloud cover decided to move at that point in time and the full moon once again bathed the grounds with its light making long shadows appear to stretch out from the various different shapes and sizes of tombstones like clawed fingers reaching for them.

Seras sniffed the air. Moist dirt, grass, a definite smell of zombies and an overpowering stench of formaldehyde. Seras frowned at this. Who in their right mind wanted to preserve dead flesh these days? After all it would get up and walk around. Curiosity was eating her alive now, and Seras took a tentative step towards the cemetery. Zoe followed closely holding onto Seras’ trenchcoat.

At the top of the steps, Seras paused and looked around the cemetery. A faint mist hung around the base of the graves giving the cemetery the old horror movie look and as Seras stared around the music wound down and finally stopped with a scratching noise.

“Stay close.” Seras told Zoe who had no intention of letting go of Seras’ coat. They walked into the cemetery with Seras leading, following the smell of embalming fluids. They seemed to be coming from the largest of the mausoleums. Seras noted the door was open and a very faint light was on in the distant at the bottom of the steps down.

A wet moan to her left was all the noise Seras needed to know that there were zombies in the cemetery.

“Zoe don’t scream.” Seras stated precisely at the moment Zoe spotted the zombie and screamed.

“Oh great.” Seras sighed as the girl’s shriek alerted every undead in the cemetery. Seras turned around pulling Zoe with her and putting herself between the approaching zombies and the little girl. Seras swore under her breath at the sight, at least ten shadows moved slowly and jerkily around the various tombstones as if they did not know how to really move. Seras’ sharp eyesight could make out the various zombies, most in quite an advanced state of decomposition, flesh and sometimes whole limbs missing. Soon the groans and growls started to rise in volume as more of the undead became aware of a living body in the cemetery and began their conga-line-of-death towards them.

Seras dropped her backpack to the ground and indicated to it. “Zoe, stay behind that.”

Seras began to reach for her guns and paused. Knowing the noise from firing her guns would attract more zombies and the fact she had limited bullets, Seras decided it would be better to take this lot out by hand, messier but quieter.

“Until all targets are silenced.” Seras spoke an evil grin covering her face as she cracked her knuckles, feeling the lust for battle swelling inside.

Charging forward Seras decided to take the battle to the zombies. With a shout she punched the closest one right in the centre of its skull. The zombie’s head basically vanished into the distance from the impact with a crunch and its body collapsed. The others near it seemed to pause in confusion giving Seras time to grab the next nearest one.

She gripped the zombie by the skull and with a simple bit of pressure crushed the dead thing’s skull easily. The ones near her began to reach out for her as they realised she was not one of them. Seras twisted backwards and slammed her elbow into another zombie’s face, sending its teeth and jaw flying and the zombie stumbling away.

Zoe leaned out from behind Seras’ backpack and stared in amazement as her rescuer started to fight the zombies hand to hand. As she watched in fascination Zoe became sure that the zombies were going to be no match for Seras. Seras moved between them like water, punching zombie faces sending anything not solidly fixed to their skulls flying. Bones broke under Seras’ fierce kicks and any that fell soon ended up with a bootprint firmly and permanently embedded into their decaying brains.

Seras looked like she was enjoying herself Zoe thought and completely missed that Seras’ visible eye was no longer a bright blue but a blood-red. She also missed the zombie that had snuck up from her right, right until its decayed fingers grabbed her. Zoe jumped and tried to pull away but was firmly caught in the dead man’s grip. Zoe screamed as the lipless, noseless and eyeless creature opened its mouth wide giving her an unwelcome look at its bloated purple tongue.

“Zoe!” Seras shouted hearing the girl’s scream and cursed herself for forgetting the girl in her lust for battle. It was all the remaining zombies needed to rush forward and dogpile Seras. Seras fell to the ground taken by surprise as the zombies began to try to bite and tear her apart.

Zoe continued screaming as the zombie’s mouth inched closer and time seemed to slow down for her when suddenly the sound of metal impacting skull echoed around the cemetery. Zoe stared up as black drool splattered her face.

The zombie had come to a complete standstill, and attached to the back of its head was a metal shovel-blade. Zoe was certain that it the zombie had eyes they would be rolling around like in those cartoons she watched. The zombie collapsed bonelessly and the shadow of a large man behind it pulled the shovel back.

“Stay put little girl while I help your friend.” The hulking shaped stated, its voice deep and gravelly. Zoe could only stare up in surprise as her newest rescuer leapt away towards the zombies pinning Seras down.

“Get off!” Seras’ voice shouted out from under the pile before the zombies exploded off her. Seras pulled herself to her feet, a particularly stubborn zombie still clinging to her back.

“Fore!” A deep voice stated before Seras felt the rush of air past her head and felt the zombie fall off. Turning quickly she saw the zombie’s head disappearing into the distance and before she could turn to her would-be rescuer he spoke again. “Stomp em while they’re down.”

With that said the man began to slam his large shovel down on the bodies, severing heads. Seras deciding to ask questions later joined in, literally stamping out the zombie menace. The pair of them made short work of the remaining zombies, between Seras’ boots and the man’s shovel which he wielded like somekind of shovel-ninja.

“Phew.” The man stated spinning the shovel before jabbing the blade into the ground and leaning casually against it. “That would get your blood pumping, if you have any that is.”

“Thanks.” Seras stated turning to face the man and her eyes widened in surprise. Staring her in the face were a pair of milky eyes, set in a face that was little more than blueish skin stretched over a grinning skull due to having no lips. No nose, but what was left of it was plugged with what seemed to be a filter. The ‘man’ only wore a pair of tattered trousers and some bandages wrapped around his wrists. The man was in fact a zombie and Seras stared completely thrown, that was probably the only reason he was not immediately smashed by a vampire-powered fist.

“What’s wrong? You never seen a zombie before?” the heavily muscled dead man quipped amused.

“You...can...talk?” Seras dumbly pointed out.

“Give the crazy lady a prize.” The large zombie stated.

“Hey!” Seras snapped. “Who are you calling crazy?”

“The person who attacked a bunch of zombies with her fists.” The large dead man ground out standing to his full imposing height, even with a slight hunch he towered above Seras. “Seriously, who in their right man fights zombies without a weapon?” he asked yanking his shovel out of the ground.

“Seras?” Zoe asked walking over slowly, carefully observing the zombie that was talking with Seras.

“It’s okay Zoe.” Seras slowly spoke before adding. “I think.”

Zoe examined the large zombie that seemed like a giant to her before asking. “You’re not going to eat us?”

“If I was going to I’d have tried it by now.” The zombie rumbled. “But if you don’t want the other zombies trying to you should get in there and I’ll shut the door so they can’t get in. Also the strong smell of embalming fluids will hide your scents from them.” He pointed to the mausoleum.

“There’s more zombies?” Zoe asked looking around the graveyard nervously.

“There’s always more zombies.” Both Seras and the large dead man stated together before blinking and staring at each other suspiciously which caused Zoe to actually giggle.

“Well, that does sound like a plan.” Seras said while carefully placing herself between Zoe and the zombie, not quite trusting him. While Seras retrieved her backpack and lifted it easily over one shoulder the zombie observed her, he was feeling a strange vibe from the woman. Something was odd with her but he could not quite place his rotten finger on what it was.

“Do you have a name?” Seras asked turning to face him catching him by surprise. The large zombie paused and his jaw unhinged as if to speak. To be honest he could not remember if he had a name or not. He knew he must have had a name but could not for the un-life of him remember what it was.

“I...don’t know.” He admitted his decayed face actually seemed to show sadness. Glancing at the tomb door and his eyes wandered over the weathered inscription. The inscription was in Latin and read Dirge, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectus tuo viam meam.

“You can call me...Dirge.” Dirge rumbled.

End Chapter

This is a crossover with the awesome flash animation series called Xombie by James Farr, which is now a book and a comic. If you like zombies with a twist go read it. :D

I’m using Seras from the manga version of Hellsing after she had taken her first life and became a true vampire. Basic premise is too different yet similar monsters that are holding on to their humanity are brought together in friendship by the desire to protect one special little girl in a zombie infested world.