Vampire Hunters ~ Chapter One

Instructions

Leaning against the trunk of a large oak tree, Martyn Woodhurst watched his determined companion stalk through the undergrowth. Sausage was wielding a ridiculously large net and a number of various types of protective gear (Martyn personally thought none of it looked particularly useful, just cumbersome). He noted this fact down, meaning to bring it up with Ren and Apo later. If they ever did come across something, they needed actually useful defenses. "The ground here is trampled.. Write that down, Martyn!" He exclaimed as he crouched low to the ground with his nose practically touching the earth. With a sigh, Martyn obliged. "It'll be nothing…" He muttered to himself, low enough that it was out of Sausage's earshot. Still, he felt a little curious and walked over to Sausage's side. To his surprise, the tracks actually looked human. Beside him Sausage practically squealed with excitement, twirling the net in his hands. "My senses are tingling, Martyn! Follow me!" Barely having a chance to respond before Sausage bolted into the trees, Martyn found he had no choice but to follow. As he tried to catch up with Sausage, he couldn't help a shiver of nerves pass through him. He wasn't fast enough. The way the branches of the trees seemed to lurch towards him made him jump each time. They kept snagging on his cloak, and eventually it was torn off him altogether. "Sausage!" He called, jumping up and trying to pull it off the tree. Ren could sew it back together when he got home, but he was so cold without it on a winter evening like this. A sigh escaped him as he realised he had to climb the tree to retrieve it, Sausage would've been tall enough to just grab the stupid thing. It took some careful manoeuvring to get it off the branch, and by the time he hopped off the tree he couldn't see or hear his companion at all. He took a slower pace. His leg was throbbing from the climb now. To distract himself he scribbled in the notepad, trying to remember what the footprints had looked like and sketching them. On the path ahead, a small creature (a rat, maybe?) burst out of the bush with a screech of terror. Perhaps a predator was nearby. He noted that down too. The tracks veered suddenly into the forest, and he felt reluctant to follow them, so he sat down on a fallen tree to rest. No doubt they'd lead to a dead end and Sausage would come back the way he came. His shadow stretched out before him in the dimming light, mingling with those of the trees and vegetation. His attention was drawn to said trees, where he noticed deep scratches down the bark of one. They looked animalistic, and he copied them into his notepad. That, at least, was something interesting. Were bears native to this area? He sure hoped not. Martyn felt a cold breeze pass by him as he waited like an idiot for Sausage to realise he wasn't behind him. But wait, there was the undeniable sound of footsteps crunching on the fallen twigs. He began to say Sausage's name again, turning around to the source, but a hand clamped around his mouth before he had the chance to speak. A hand that.. Definitely did not belong to Sausage. Or Apo. Or Ren. It was strangely clawed, unusually desaturated, appearing more grey than anything else. He snapped out of the trance he hadn't even noticed falling into, and wriggled furiously against the grip of his attacker. "Stop that." They hissed. It was a masculine voice, and definitely definitely unfamilliar. Martyn did what he did best, the exact opposite of what he'd been asked to do, and wriggled even harder. The attacker sighed, and… Oh. He was stabbed by fear and pain as teeth plunged into his neck. He let out a muffled yelp, but ultimately decided to surrender to his fate. What could he do against a vampire? Maybe it was the vampire-y magic working on him, but he felt helpless. He could kick at them, but they'd be so much stronger. He fell limp, and just as his eyes began to flicker shut, something conked him, and more importantly, the vampire on the head.