After several measured breaths to get her heart rate under control, Clara forced herself up into a sitting position. That’s when she noticed the blood stain in the carpet. It had enough time to dry, which meant that Clara had been there a while. —So, why am I still here?

That was a good question, considering she was alone. Since Ada had the upper hand, she expected to wake up chained in a dungeon, or perhaps being chased by the hotel’s guests though the forest hunting grounds. The last thing she expected was to wake up here intact.

She reached back to the side of her head and winced when she applied pressure. The scab was dry, and there was no trace of golden liquid. That meant she had plenty of time to recover. —How long?

Zzzzt. Zzzzt.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

Zzzzt. Zzzzt.

From the depths of Clara’s purse there came a sound. At first she did not realise what was going on, her mind was still muddled from getting brained. However after the third such notification, she opened her eyes slowly.

Her eyes felt as though they had been sewn shut. She fought to pry them open, only to reveal a world bathed in white. In turn, her head throbbed as though she were waking up after a hard night of drinking giggle water at the local speakeasy.

Of course, she had not gotten drunk in nearly a century, so that could not be the case. So what brought this one? Right… I met up with Ada.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pixabay.

“Maudite merde,” Evelyn swore while trying to warn Clara of what was going on.

Instead of a live streamed video that showed the hotel’s interior in stunning detail, it was more like watching a blocky video with significant lag. The image would freeze as sound went on, only to fast forward through the vital bits a minute later.

It was infuriating considering how effective the Ghoul Hunter’s videos had been. However, they never made it to the South wing, the one carved into the cliff. All that rock made a connection with the wireless carrier impossible.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

There was a crooked smile on that face, as though everything had gone to plan. Clara twirled, the walls became a blur until she slammed head first into the nearest one. For several heartbeats, her face slid down the hardwood panelling.

When her mind checked out, her knees gave out and she crumpled onto the floor with her chest facing the ceiling. Those steel-grey eyes may have been open to the world, but there was no one home.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

Pistol drawn Clara looked down one end, and then the other. For the moment she was in the clear, no one was running towards the gate, no alarms were going off. Clara, like any experienced hunter, began to wonder what was amiss. You still have a threat!

She liked up her weapon with the assailant. Her first guess about it being the clerk proved to be wrong, however the lack of breathing and heartbeat clearly implied it was one of them. Although an official diagnosis became impossible once the gate destination changed.

The man had been straddling the doorways during the transition. One second he was whole, his head, neck, and half his chest were missing entirely. To make sure they were not reunited in the future, Clara grabbed onto a foot and pulled the body away from the doorway.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth.

The next destination appeared to be underwater. Blue and Green made up the bulk of the colours, and light filtering from the surface was diffused by the action of the waves above. In many ways she felt as though she were in an oversized aquarium, equipped with schools of fish going about their business.

“Impressive,” Clara whispered.

None of their gates reached such destinations, and that was purposeful. Humans were not known to love long in oxygen deficient locales such as the moon, or the depths of an unnamed sea. However most of them had no problem with it. Explains why their system is hazardous for human travel.

When that destination faded out, she subconsciously held her breath. The next destination was The Grand and she had no intention of wasting this window of opportunity. The clerk was bound to wake up soon, and might actually harbour ill for knocking him unconscious.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

The act of triggering a lockdown would end up sealing all major entrances and exits. The oak doors were actually wood panelled, behind them a plate of steel. Once closed, steel crossbars would drop from below at several points to effectively seal them shut.

Steel plates would drop over the windows facing away from the cliff. The gates below and above would become electrified, and guests would be directed to secure areas deep within the hotel. However, the system had never been triggered, so this was all purely theoretical.

“Cecil,” Max said. “Muster the staff into the armoury. I want them booted, suited, kitted and ready for war.”

“Atta boy,” Cecil said.

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.

“The first activated when the moon rose over the horizon,” Cecil said. “Since then another five… now six have been activated.”

“False alarm?” Max asked, finding this whole situation hard to believe.

“Wall breach,” Cecil said. “Near the ruins of the town.”

“Fuck it,” Max said. “Mister Andrews, we are locking down.”

“But—” Nathan said.

“Now!” Max yelled. “Sound the alarm.”

Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.