Author: Hey, guys, this is actually my first story to put on but it's not the first story I've written. I hope you all like this... It may take me a while to update on some chapters, but I really hope you enjoy this first chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one... except my own characters whom I created just for this story. The only characters in here that I own are Kera, Cecilia, Siren, and Memory; all of them you will meet in this chapter.
Enjoy!!
~*~*~*~*~
A girl with waist length black hair and eerily dark blue eyes looked up from an English IV text book on the ground; she was lying on her stomach below a bed with another girl with dark dyed blood red hair and dark, foreboding brown, almost black, eyes sitting up on it with the same book.
"Kera, would you mind helping me move some statues?" A female voice yelled through the door.
The red head, Kera, sighed heavily in irritation.
"We're never gonna get this report done by the end of the year." She muttered sarcastically.
The other girl laughed out right.
"We'll be right there, Ms. Cloud." The black haired girl yelled back for Kera.
Pushing herself off the floor, she stood and waited for Kera to get off the bed.
"You don't have to help, Memory, you know that." Kera sighed.
The black haired teen, Memory, just smiled and shook her head.
"Where'd all the fun be? Besides, I wanna know what new statues you got for your downstairs museum." She laughed.
Kera rolled her eyes and the two of them started out the door.
A long hallway greeted both girls' eyes, turning to their left; they headed down until they reached a large, slightly long staircase with wood furnished railings on both sides.
"Mom just had to live in a museum… do you know how many times I woke up as a kid because I was afraid one of the curses on one of the relics was gonna murder me?!" Kera demanded.
Memory laughed outright, her eyes dancing happily.
"Oh, shush, none of the relic's curses would've got you… just me!" A woman with shoulder length curly honey brown hair said cheerfully.
She had warm brown eyes and held most of Kera's features; her high cheek bones and smile.
"High, Ms. Cloud." Memory greeted.
She sighed heavily.
"Kid, don't call me 'Ms. Cloud.'" She mocked.
Memory grinned evilly. "Okay… Old Lady."
Kera laughed loudly and her mother just glared heartily.
"Alright, then see if I let you see these statues from… Greece." She breathed the name tauntingly.
Memory's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Oh great, now you've done it." Kera muttered, rolling her eyes.
Memory ran up to the older woman and grasped her hands tightly in hers.
"I'm so sorry, Cecilia, I swear I'll never do that again! I promise with all my heart; and you know how high I hold promises." Memory gushed.
Cecilia laughed heartily and regained her hands from Memory's grasp.
"Alright, kid, come see."
All three women walked into an adjacent room to see two immense creatures set in stone; both looked to be in some sort of granite, though none could be too sure, large almond shaped eyes took up a fourth of its head each, it looked as if snakes wrapped themselves securely around both necks, both were on all fours as if they were springing for attack, and both had large front fangs that set themselves just below their immense jaws. Memory, who stood at a solid five foot ten inches, was almost eye level with the great beasts that stood at least six feet on all fours even crouched.
"They're huge!" Memory gushed, reaching out to stroke one of the snouts.
Cecilia nodded and reached for some papers set in a manila folder.
"I just got the information back on them from Greece…. They're basically Vampire Dogs; that's what their name's translate out to be… and don't ask me to say their name because you know I'm no good with that." She explained.
"Vampire Dogs," Memory echoed in doubt.
Kera walked over to her mother to look at the printed pages and Memory continued to examine the statues.
"Yeah… there's a lost myth about them apparently… it says here that they were an offspring from Medusa's magic and Cerberus's want for puppies, but a vampire intercepted and the result was them." Cecilia read.
"I guess hence the snakes around their neck for Medusa." Memory muttered.
Kera nodded.
"But why not three head like Cerberus?" Kera questioned.
Memory shrugged and turned back to the statues.
"No clue, offspring of my own, that's all it says." Cecilia replied.
Memory shook her head with a laugh at the strange name Cecilia came up with, but stopped short when a stone plaque caught her eye.
"Hey, there's some writing!" She shouted excitedly.
Both women ran to her and bent down for a better look.
"It's in Greek… great, I can't read Greek." Kera sighed.
"You can't even read Spanish, shut up." Memory muttered.
Kera smacked her on the head.
"Girls, stop." Cecilia chided.
Reading for a moment, she finally stood and rifled through the papers in the folder.
"Someone wrote it down for me… it's supposedly how to kill them…." Cecilia muttered.
Both girls stood behind her and turned to face her.
"Not the silver of bullets
But a blade will suffice,
Blood of a pure one
Will be the sacrifice."
Cecilia looked up at both girls as Kera looked toward her mother, but Memory turned to look back at the Vampire Dogs that terrified yet excited her.
Shaking off the small feeling of dread that came after the writings, Kera clapped Memory and her mother on the back and pulled them close.
"Okay… let's get to work…. Both of those aren't gonna fit in the elevator and it's gonna be hell getting them up the stairs…. What's the plan, man?" She asked seriously.
Cecilia bit her lip in thought before answering, "Well… I was kinda hoping you two could help me… use the pulley… to lift them up to the second floor." She laughed nervously.
Kera and Memory looked at each other, both teens with the same look in their eyes: teenage laziness.
"You said I really didn't have to help… right?" Memory tried.
Cecilia grabbed her arm before she could move.
"Not a chance, squirt, you're helping whether you like it or not!" She hissed.
~*~*~
A large, red man with a very large stone hand walked down a metal hallway, a girl with short black hair and brown eyes, a man in what seemed like a tin suit with gas floating in where the head should've been, and a blue merman on either side of him.
"What's up now, Manning?" The red man asked a bald, slightly pudgy man.
Manning looked up at the three of them and only handed a black folder over.
"There seems to be an attack in a small town not so close by…." The merman said, looking over the contents of the folder.
"Who's attacking, Abe?" The girl asked.
The red man leaned over for a better look at the paper.
"It doesn't say… seems to be a creature though, Liz." The merman, Abe, replied.
The three looked around.
"If there are any photos of you this time, Hellboy, I'll have your head." Manning hissed, finally speaking.
"Do not vorry, Herr Manning," The tin man said dismissively.
The red man, Hellboy, looked at Manning and smiled cockily.
"What makes you think I'd do anything like that, Manning?" Hellboy asked.
Manning glared haughtily.
"No pictures." He said again.
Hellboy turned, his big stone hand waving absent-mindedly behind him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He muttered. "Come on, Johann, guys, let's go." He said to the tin man, Johann, and the others.
*~*~*
Memory literally rolled out of bed with a strong, uncomfortable ache in her arms, back, and legs.
She groaned loudly and fell back onto her queen sized bed with a loud THUNK as it knocked itself against the wall.
"I hurt," She whined to herself.
Only spending a short amount of time on wallowing in her own pain, Memory stood and moved to the door. Walking across the hall to the bathroom, she went to the sink to look in the mirror before walking over to the bathtub and starting a very warm spray of water. Stripping herself from her clothes, she stepped into the spray and let the water run over her tired muscles to relax them to the fullest.
Stepping back into her room after her shower, Memory dressed herself in a pair of tight blue jeans, a dark blue spaghetti strap tank top, and a pair of black combat boots. Before she could leave her room, Memory reached over to her dresser and grabbed a necklace with a white crystal on it and clasped it around her neck, making sure to put the stone under her shirt.
Walking quickly through the house, she grabbed her keys and made her way outside toward her midnight blue Ford truck. She pulled out of her house's driveway and drove down the street toward her school to wait for Kera.
Parking, she left the engine running as some songs from the radio rushed through the speakers, washing over her.
A sharp tap on the glass roused her from her music induced coma.
Turning, a face propped against the window was what greeted her.
"Hey, Siren," Memory muttered, rolling her window down.
Siren, a girl with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair and light green eyes, smiled happily as Memory turned her music down to listen to her.
"Hey, where's Kera?" She asked.
Memory stared up at her.
"She's supposed to meet me up here…." She started, a little unsure now.
Siren shrugged.
"I heard there was something going down near a museum downtown." She said, her eyes holding a hint of worry.
Memory stared up at her, a look of concentration pooling on her face.
"I'll be back, I'm gonna go get her." She hissed hurriedly.
Memory quickly threw the gears into reverse and sped away, leaving Siren looking after her in confusion and worry.
Memory sped down the road, her mind whirring with different causes as to why Kera could be in trouble, and she knew Kera was.
She had to stop three blocks from the museum because of road blocks that lined the roads pushing everyone into a detour.
Jumping out, she threw her keys into her pocket and rushed off, her legs pumping as she ran speedily down the sidewalk.
When the top of the museum came into view, Memory let a small, hopeful smile tug at her lips as the hot wind brushed against her sweat streaked face.
Running closer, she could see a mob of people crowding around trying to see something.
Pushing herself through the crowd, Memory finally stopped when she came to a police barricade, but only for a moment. Memory tried to jump over the blockade to get to her friends' museum, but found that she couldn't due to an officer moving to block her path.
"I'm sorry; miss, but you can't cross that." An officer persisted.
Memory only glanced at him.
"My friend lives in that museum, I'm not leaving until I see that she's okay!" Memory shouted.
The officer roughly grabbed her by the shoulders and tugged her back down behind the irritating obstacle.
"You cannot get through, miss, we have our orders and now you have yours. Follow them or you will be arrested." He threatened.
The teenage girl glared darkly at him before she turned and ran back through the crowd.
"I don't like being given orders." She hissed to herself.
Going to the side walk, she ran down an ally way and turned until she was able to turn and run behind the buildings until she came to the back of the museum.
Turning up the ally beside her friends' home, she made sure to keep out of sight until she came to the side door of the building.
Pulling out her ring of keys, she selected one and put it in the key hole. Turning the knob, she pushed the door open silently and made her way inside.
Walking carefully and silently through the kitchen and hallway, she came to the large staircase and silently climbed the steps.
"Kera," She whispered as she went along the hallway full of doors.
She repeated her friend's name until, suddenly, she felt a hand grasp her arm and pull her quickly inside a door to her right.
Raising her fist in warning, Memory slowly let it drop as she saw Kera's fear stricken face looking at her.
"What's wrong, Kera?" Memory whispered, her hands flying to Kera's trembling arms.
She looked around the room, her room, Memory recognized, in fear.
"Something's in the museum… Mom left early this morning after waking me… I heard crashing in one of the rooms and something broke the door into splinters…. I have no idea what it was, but it was big and scary and… I've never been this afraid for my life in… well… my life!" She shrieked, her panic filled rant falling to a whisper as she began to shake.
Memory let a small smile tug at her lips as she looked at her friend, relief flooding through her.
"Calm down, Kera… I'll get you out… you just have to trust me and follow me." Memory whispered soothingly.
Kera nodded shakily and as Memory held her hand out to her, she took it without a second thought, squeezing it tightly.
Opening the door slightly, Memory looked out as she strained her ears to hear anything to alert her to danger. Feeling nothing, she opened the door wider and walked out, pulling Kera with her.
"I won't let anything happen to you, Kera, I promise." She whispered.
Kera whimpered almost inaudibly, but nodded anyway.
Memory stopped at another door further down the hallway, cracking the door she looked in and, seeing nothing, pushed it open and rushed in, pulling Kera with her.
"Okay, here's the plan," Memory began pacing slightly, glancing at a window on the other side of the room. "You're going to go out the window first, take my keys," She pulled the metallic keys from her pocket and thrust them into Kera's hands before walking over to the window to open it. "Meet me at my truck, it's three blocks away at that little park, if I'm not there soon drive it to the school and wait for me, do not come back here. Go to the school and wait for me there, I will be there." Memory said stiffly, waiting for any sign that Kera would object.
When she stayed silent, Memory smiled and pulled her to the window.
"I'll help you down… but as soon as your feet hit that ground you haul ass to my truck and get to the school." Memory reminded her.
Kera nodded absentmindedly.
Pushing the window open, Memory moved and helped Kera over the window sill and down the fire latter that ran up the sides of the building.
"Remember, when you get to the ground, run." Memory reminded her.
Kera looked up and glared.
"I remember, quit saying it fifty different times!" She hissed.
Memory smiled softly and watched as she planted her feet firmly on the ground and, turning once more to chance a look at her friend, sped off down the ally toward the park.
Memory stood back to begin hoisting herself over the window sill, but stopped short as a loud banging noise hit her ears.
Turning, she looked toward the door leading into the opposite room where the noise was coming from and began to slowly make her way toward it.
Standing not even a foot away from it, the noise began again, this time shaking the door roughly. Memory gasped at the amount of force given out and began to regret not jumping out the window sooner.
Going back toward the window, she began to try to climb out once again but just as she reached it, a large force from the opposite wall made the window come crashing down, glass shattering all around, cutting into Memory's skin.
Stumbling back with a hiss of pain, Memory glanced down at her arms that had small shards of glass poking out of them and then turned her attention to her neck where, again, small shards were protruding out.
"Damn…" She hissed under her breath.
Trying somewhat unsuccessfully to pull the small shards out of her flesh, Memory glanced at the door in slight fear as a large force rammed itself against it while a sense of evil drifted over her. Seeing the wood of the door splinter, her fear grew and she backed up until she could see the door that lead to the hallway come into view.
Sprinting for it, Memory flung the door open and raced out, turning to walk backwards as she kept an eye on the door that led into the room that the noises kept emanating from.
"What do I do? What do I do?" She kept whispering to herself.
Just as she thought she might be able to make it to another window, the door to the room she had just vacated was suddenly thrown into the opposite wall, splinters and dust raining everywhere.
Memory jumped in alarm as two sets of large red, glowing almond shaped eyes followed her.
She gulped in fear, sweat trickling down the back of her neck and down her spine.
As the two figures moved closer, she saw that they were at least six feet tall… but on all fours! Large ivory colored fangs protruded from their mouth, saliva dripping from them, and, what seemed to be, snakes coiled around their necks.
Memory opened her mouth to scream… but only a small squeak came out.
The two beasts began growling at her, her scent hitting their senses.
She began to back up once more, but her slight movement sent them into a frenzy, growling and clawing at the floor.
"Nice beasty, good beasty… you're not gonna hurt me, right?" She managed a weak smiled toward the two creatures.
Another growl told her different.
As she began to step back once more, one of the great beasts crouched down and sprung forward towards her.
Memory screamed put her hands up to cover her just as a loud shot rang throughout the hallway catching the creature in the chest sending it backwards.
She stood shivering dangerously, afraid to take her eyes off of the beast, but turned anyway only to meet with red skin.
Looking up, she looked at Hellboy straight in the face as he looked down at her with an almost bored expression.
"Hi…" She muttered.
Looking over his shoulder, at first Memory thought he didn't hear her.
"Hey, Abe, she's bleeding." He said.
Liz, Johann, and Abe rounded the corner, Memory blinked slightly, but said nothing as she saw a white case clutched in the blue man's hands.
"I got it, it's over." Hellboy said proudly.
Liz walked over and patted him gently on the arm in congrats as Abe and Johann went straight for Memory.
Memory simply looked him over once, but Hellboy's words struck her thoughts.
"'It,'" She echoed, looking at him.
Liz and Hellboy looked at her as if she were stupid while Abe just cocked his head to the side and Johann began to try to speak, but Memory beat him to it.
"There were two of them!" Memory shrieked.
Hellboy stiffened.
Liz's hand immediately went to her gun.
Abe grasped Memory's arm and pulled her behind the two with Johann blocking them even further.
"Where'd the first one go?" Memory heard Liz ask.
Looking, nothing lay in the hallway except the broken door.
"Blue, don't worry about the first aid yet…" Hellboy said softly.
Memory saw Abe nod out of the corner of her eye.
Growls could be heard from the room with no door.
"What are those things?" Liz asked, only slightly glancing back at Abe.
Cocking his head to the side once more, Abe only looked at her and Hellboy.
"They are called Vampire Dogs." He replied.
Memory's head shot to look at him as she gaped.
As he turned to look at her, he didn't get to ask what was wrong before she began explaining.
"We moved their statues up here yesterday… they were granite yesterday afternoon!" She hissed, not believing.
Abe put a hand to her arm, her frightened and panicked expression worrying him.
"Not all zings are as zey seem with myth and lore." Johann explained briefly.
A loud growl came from beside them before the door was thrown off its hinges. Memory dove to the side taking Abe with her, both of them just barely missing what was left of the door.
"They're Vampire Dogs? Well… then they're probably after the girl since she's the only one bleeding." Liz said.
Memory looked up in terror.
"Don't worry; we won't let them get you." Abe whispered, helping her to stand.
She looked at him, her eyes locking onto his, she nodded.
"I trust you," She whispered, still afraid.
His features seemed to soften at her words, but he soon looked up to see one of the demonic dogs watching them from the door-less rooms.
Both of them helping the other to stand, they began to back slowly down the hall.
"There has to be someway to beat these things." Hellboy shouted.
Something struck Memory's memory.
"Wait… there was something written on their statues." She started.
Abe looked at her, waiting for her to finish.
Memory's brows furrowed in thought, but only bits and pieces came to mind.
"Bullets won't work… but… um… something about blood…." She looked up at him with a hopeless expression.
He placed his hands on her shoulders as sounds of Hellboy struggling with one of the beasts hit their ears.
"Try to remember," He urged.
"Yes, yes, you must try to remember." Johann urged as well, trying unsuccessfully to put a bullet through the creature.
Memory closed her eyes, thinking back to the day before.
'I was so excited… but I know it had something to do with blood and it played a role in killing it… like… like a sacrifice!' Her eyes shot open.
"Not the silver of a bullet," She began, her eyes set on Abe's face as she recited the text.
"Not the silver of a bullet
But a blade will suffice,
Blood of a pure one
Will be the sacrifice."
Memory smiled in triumph.
Hellboy grunted.
"Great, so how exactly does that help us?" He asked, trying to literally hold back one of the beasts.
Memory racked her mind trying to think.
"I think it means that you'll have to use something like a silver blade; a sword maybe." Abe offered.
Memory looked up, an idea forming in her mind.
"That's it; the Weapon's Room!" She shouted, turning and rushing down the hall.
Abe turned and began to follow her, watching as she raced into one of the rooms down the hall.
Memory stopped dead in her tracks as she looked around at the crude, fake weapons that surrounded her, until she glanced at the glass case with a long silver shining sword with a red gem on the butt.
Running to it, she grabbed a mace off of a table she passed and quickly shattered the glass. Again glass imbedded itself in her skin making her hiss in pain, but she didn't worry too much about it. Pulling the sword out of the case, she began to run to the door, but one of the great Beasts slid to a stop in front of her.
Looking around in panic, the sword swept across her blood stained flesh, smearing it around on the metal.
"Crap," She muttered absentmindedly.
As the creature stalked slowly toward her, Memory held the sword up as her only defense, but the beast didn't advance any further.
Looking at it in question, Memory glanced at the blood running down the blade of the sword.
"That's right… virgins were usually sacrificed to the gods in Greece…. I never thought I'd be so happy to be a virgin." She muttered to herself sarcastically.
Walking slowly forward, the beast began to retreat back into the hallway, its fangs still bared and a low growl emanating from its chest.
Just as Memory got to the door way, the creature turned its head as it caught sight of Abe.
Turning her head with the beast, she saw Abe stop a few paces away and begin to try and step back.
Memory's eyes widened as she looked back for Hellboy and Liz, but they were busy with the other beast.
Watching as if in slow motion as the creature in front of her reared back and began to lunge at Abe, Memory sprinted to him and threw herself onto him, throwing him to the ground as the sword slid across the floor toward Hellboy.
Memory shivered involuntarily as a dark feeling crept up inside of her, but she shook it off as quickly as it had come on.
"Try using the sword!" She shouted, trying to stand while pulling Abe up with her.
Hellboy looked down at the silver sword that held smeared blood on the blade.
"What am I supposed to do; stab it to death?" He demanded.
Abe shoved Memory against a near by wall as the beast lunged at them again.
"That's the general idea!" She shouted.
Picking the blade up, he expertly sliced through the air in the direction of one of the Demonic Beasts, who retreated a few steps toward its sibling.
Growling in anger, both beasts turned to Abe and Memory and began advancing toward both of them.
Abe pushed Memory behind him as both of them tried to back up.
"Any time now would be glorious, Red." Abe said, his voice trembling slightly.
Memory let her hands rest on Abe's black leather clad shoulders as she tried to pull him back more with her, trying to reach a door they could go into.
Suddenly, Hellboy raced forward and sliced one Vampire Dog's head off of its neck and shoulders. Seeing its fallen brother, the other turned, forgetting about the fish man and girl, and ran off down the hall, but not before Hellboy caught up to it and heaved the blade into its back.
As he turned back to the others, Hellboy raised the blade and let it rest on his shoulder as if it were nothing.
Watching in awe, Memory stepped toward the first beast that had been cut down and leaned down to examine it.
"I can't believe these came from those statues." She muttered, hesitantly reaching out to run a finger down its fang.
Abe leaned down beside her to examine the creatures as well.
"You wouldn't believe the things that actually can come out of statues." Hellboy muttered, walking back toward Liz.
Memory leaned down further to see the markings on the fang even more, but her finger scraped against the end causing blood to begin to pool slightly on the tip of her finger.
"Ouch," She muttered.
As the three new people turned to her, Liz was the one to speak first, "Abe, she needs that First Aid Kit pretty badly from the looks of her."
Looking down, Memory saw how bloodied she truly was; the small cuts from the glass and wood now burning in her skin.
Nodding, Abe helped her up and took her down the hall to a wooden bench, making her sit as he pulled a white First Aid Kit out, he began looking over her arms, neck, and chest.
"My name's Memory… Memory Black." She smiled, though it soon turned to a grimace as a chunk of glass was pulled out of her skin.
"I'm Liz Sherman, this is Hellboy, that's Johann Krauss, and the man with the First Aid is Abe Sapien." She introduced.
"Abraham Sapien to be exact… but Abe for sort." He corrected.
Memory smiled lightly.