Ninety seconds…

“Come the fuck—” Clara swore just as a low frequency rumble interrupted her bitching.

As a ball of flame enveloped the kitchen and surrounding areas, the hotel’s fire suppression system kicked in. Within seconds, the deluge from the sprinkles left her soaked to the bone.

“It’s a good thing I wore black today…” Clara 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.

Three openings appeared from out of the ceiling. The void was quickly filled as a turret dropped into place.

Eighty seconds…

“Horsefeathers!” Clara swore.

The turrets locked into place and trained on her. She transitioned into a run, flapped her wings to gain altitude. Once she was three metres above the marble floors, she dove towards the desk.

Eighty-five seconds…

The turrets engaged, leaving craters in the marble. Only once she was entirely behind the counter, did the turrets cease.

Ninety seconds…

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.

Throughout the kitchen there were several wheeled stainless-steel tables. She rolled six of them into the middle, to form a square. I’m the creamy centre. Before her thoughts coalesced, she was back at normal time.

“Come and get it boys!” Clara yelled.

“What are you doing?” Evelyn asked.

Evelyn could not follow what was going on, not without a high-speed camera. All that Marc and Evelyn saw was a constant blur of light and colour that culminated with her ringing the proverbial dinner bell.

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 distortion was almost enough to lose the message. Clara looked below and spotted a recessed cabinet with a fire extinguisher, hose reel, and an axe. She shattered the glass with her elbow and bought some time by kneecapping the two nearest zombies.

In the ensuing confusion, she reached inside for the axe and tossed her pistol. This was a two-handed weapon, and she could not afford to fumble an attack. —Thank god I have another pistol.

This time she had to be smart with her attacks. She used her speed to build momentum and buried the axe into the shoulder; the weight carried it forward until it came out nearer to the pelvis.

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.

By the time she had done an about face, Clara had eyes on four creatures.

The nearest one lunged at her. She responded by lining up her pistol’s sights with its head and squeezed the trigger.

Bang!

Pieces of skull and brain matter blew out through the back of its head covering the others. There was no blood splatter, because of exsanguination, or having settled in the extremities. However, they reacted like sharks did when chum was in the water.

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.

Homo Mortuum had been mentioned throughout this tome. Unlike ghosts, which were explicitly denied by staff, there was no mention at all of these creatures. The only noted details were an eerie green glow, and a taste for flesh.

“Looks like any flesh will do,” Clara whispered.

A hundred paces ahead there was hunched over a well-dressed man. By the looks of the expensive threads, fangs and obsidian claws, she assumed it had been one of them.

What best could be described as a zombie, was naked, and shaved bare. That gave her insight on its wounds. There was bone protruding through its right calf, gashes over much of its back, and the abdomen was splayed open. Even now, intestines and its heart were swaying from the hunched over creature.

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 one where she slams her wings shut with Bastet caught in the middle,” Evelyn replied.

“I suppose that could be seen as funny,” Marc said dryly.

Evelyn quirked a brow and said, “I’m surprised you even know what humour is—”

“Beyond the mathematical aspects?” Marc said to fill in the blank.

“Exactement,” Evelyn said. “Either way, it’s gone viral. Look…”

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.