Tag: Editing

  • The Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 210

    The place had surrendered to nature long ago. There were trees growing out through the roofs. Some buildings  had collapsed onto themselves, leaving behind mounds of rot and decay. Brick structures fared better, at least on the outside. Although a quick glance through a window revealed the floors had either collapsed onto one another or rotted away. 

    Given the state of the town, a good night’s sleep at this town’s hotel was unlikely; since all that remained was a rusted out sign. Without their GPS, they might not have found this place.

    “I must have driven by dozens of times and never noticed,” Lauren said while others nodded in agreement.

    Picture of a ruined room. Front and centre is the face of a television on a stool, beyond where the screen should be there is a toy doll wearing a gas mask. The floor is covered in discarded gas masks. Image by Wendelin Jacober from Pixabay.

    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.


  • The Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 209

    As they entered the valley, Tyler noticed a woman standing on the side of the road. The truck was packed with equipment and tools, so they could not stop for her. Besides, Tyler figured that Laurent, who was driving in the rear vehicle, would lose it on them if they picked her up. Unless her heart were to grow three sizes.

    His eyes locked onto her. That bronze skin and black hair meant that she was indigenous. However, what she wore was unexpected. She had on a flowing white dress that was totally inappropriate for travelling the back-country on foot. I’m not even sure she has a bra on

    “Odd,” Tyler whispered.

    “Did you say something?” Kyle asked.

    The question distracted him long enough for the woman to vanish. That development was downright creepy, but Tyler dismissed it as being brought on by an overactive imagination.

    “Oh nothing,” Tyler said in reply. “I’m just thinking out loud.”

    Picture of a brunette facing away from the camera. She is walking down a snowy windy road, wearing a long white coat, a cowboy hat hanging off her back and combat boots. Image by Jasmin Chew from Pexels.

    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 Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 208

    There was something peculiar about all those records being lost or destroyed. He needed to confirm if Kyle had grasped the key elements of the situation before moving on. Still, Tyler kept quiet hoping their host would come through.

    “Lauren found a slew of missing person’s posters stemming from the Twenties on—” Kyle said in a flash of insight.

    Kyle paused as their four-by-four drove into a tunnel. This was one of his quirks; every time they drove under an overhanging structure. Loads of fun at a drive through.

    “There are more missing persons’ reports here than anywhere else in the country during this time. When you factor in the First Nations legends about this valley being cursed, it paints a grim picture,” Kyle added when clear.

    Picture of old hands holding an old picture frame, as though longing for times past or a person who is gone. Image by Ivan Samkov from Pexels.

    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 Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 207

    “So what are we up against?”

    “The town corporation dissolved about sixty years ago. All the records should have been transferred to the county.”

    Kyle paused long enough for the picture in his mind to focus.

    “Records that survived appear to have been sanitised. Those that remain create the impression that this was a mundane town that had the occasional bout of vandalism.”

    “Odd, considering they had a courthouse and a sizable police force… unheard of for such a small centre.”

    “You caught that detail, did you?”

    Picture of the front of an imposing court house. Red brick with white accents, and four white columns at the front. Image by Diane Webb from Pexels.

    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 Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 206

    “Yep. It was opened during the Roaring Twenties and declared bankruptcy when the stock market crashed,” Lauren added.

    Tyler smiled then asked, “Do you think these are legit?”

    “Yep,” Lauren answered. “I checked the metadata and found no artefacts in the images.”

    This once in a lifetime opportunity left him light-headed. They would need a couple of days to prepare, but knew they were up for the task.

    “Kyle!” Tyler yelled while facing the ceiling. “Road trip!”

    Picture of a two lane highway stretching out over plains towards mountains. There are no cars on the road, and the sky is cloudy. Image by MaxWdhs from Pixabay.

    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.


  • The Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 205

    “Except for that historical shot, these were taken last week by a fan. They sent these to us over Bealzabook,” Lauren said.

    “We can’t afford a trip to Europe,” Tyler said.

    “That’s not a problem,” Lauren said. “The place is a few hours from the city along the highway.”

    “A castle here?” Tyler asked.

    “Actually, it’s a hotel,” Lauren replied.

    “Some hotel,” Tyler said in awe.

    “Yep. It was opened during the Roaring Twenties and declared bankruptcy when the stock market crashed,” Lauren added.

    Picture of le Chateau Frontenac taken from the Levis side. Taken at or near sunset, with a crepuscular sky, the hotel itself is alight as is the palisade. Image by Emeric Laperriere from Pexels.

    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 Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 204

    Lauren turned back for a moment, which gave Tyler a good view of her backside. It would have taken an act of God to conceal his shit-eating grin.

    Sure, Tyler had no chance with her, but he found her stunningly beautiful. What was the harm in getting an eyeful? Especially if he never touched? I think she enjoys the attention.

    Lauren noticed his grin. She adopted narrow eyes, a tense jaw and thin lips that chilled the air. This time she had another ace up her sleeve. She dropped another picture, but this one was taken from an infrared camera. In this wavelength, the structure appeared to be intact, with no wear and tear visible.

    Image focused on the lower backside of a woman, wearing jeans with a bare back visible. Image by Vendula Kociánová from Pixabay.

    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.


  • The Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 203

    “Nice place… so what am I missing?” Tyler asked.

    Lauren’s smile melted away before saying, “You see that building in the historical photograph? Do you see how they built it right into the cliffside?”

    “Yeah,” Tyler said while eyeing the other pictures.

    A place like that would have cost a fortune to design and build. They must have carved out thousands of tons of rock just to make room.

    “Wait,” Tyler said.

    “Where’s the hole?” Tyler confirmed.

    Picture of heavy equipment tearing at a rocky ridge. Smoke and fust billowing in the air. Image by Hannu Iso-Oja from Pexels.

    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 Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 202

    “Well, this will cheer you up,” Lauren said and pointed at three photographs.

    He looked down to find what appeared to be the remains of an enormous castle. The first shot was an aerial shot of the site, while the latter two had been taken from the valley floor. As judged by the state of the buildings nearer to the photographer, these shots had been taken from the ruins of some deserted town.

    “Ruins are always good,” Tyler replied.

    He noticed there was a picture in Lauren’s hand. Experience told him that this shot would end up being the proverbial smoking gun they were looking for. The one that would make him forget about that fateful mission and his phantom leg pain. Fat chance for that last bit!

    “So what am I missing?” Tyler asked.

    Picture of a ruined castle complex, with a structure overhead, and arches overgrown with vegetation. Image by Alan Frijns from Pixabay.

    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.


  • The Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 201

    “See what?” Tyler asked in a distant voice.

    Tyler always needed a minute to come back to his senses. He hated it when memories consumed him and became his reality. That also meant that his leg pain would return.

    “It happened again?” Lauren asked. “Didn’t it?”

    “Yeah,” Tyler replied before sitting down to take the weight off his leg.

    As expected, his leg throbbed in pain, as though all those months spent in Germany recovering was all for naught. While it was said that time heals all wounds, his mind was not playing along.

    “Sorry,” Tyler said, his voice strained from the pain.

    Picture of a man getting out of his bed, holding his head, face strained from pain. Image by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels.

    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.


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