Tag: Ghoul

  • The Van Helsing Impetus – Excerpt No. 214

    They reached an impasse before reaching the hotel. Dead ahead there was a heavily corroded wrought-iron fence. While it had seen better days, the chain and oversized padlock that secured the gate gleamed in the light. Why would anyone put a fresh lock on a rusty gate?

    Tyler went to the back of the truck for a zip-saw. With a saw in hand, Lauren tapped him on the shoulder. She pointed at the gate, and he realised the padlock was gone.

    “When did that happen?” Tyler asked.

    “Dunno,” Lauren said.

    To prove a hunch, Lauren pushed against the gates, and they swung open effortlessly…

    Picture of an old gate, fitted with a fresh clain and shiny lock. Image by Dele Oke 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. 213

    “Shall we head up?” Lauren asked.

    The men looked up at the ruined hotel, and then to the road that led to the cell tower. After that, they suspected it would be a rough ride. It was a good thing they left the van at home.

    “Sure,” they replied before getting back into their truck.

    “This should be fun!” Kyle exclaimed as the engine roared to life.

    “Oh yeah,” Tyler confirmed.

    If that were true, why were his instincts urging him to turn back?

    Picture of a lonely road travelling under the cap of gnarly trees, seemingly to a dark centre. Image by Dorothe 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. 212

    “Freaky,” Kyle said.

    Kyle took a shot of the ruins. After which he confirmed they had full bars, enough for media to be copied over the cloud in seconds.

    “Here we are standing at the edge of a ghost town. Our destination for today? The Grand,” Kyle narrated while typing out the words on his phone. He then took a selfie with the town’s ruins in the background and pressed ‘Send.’ That teaser would surely pique the interest of their fans.

    Picture of a squating on a railway line, holding a leaf to cover his face as he texts. Image by Craig Adderley 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. 211

    From a bridge that crossed an azure river, they had a clear view of the ridgeline. Behind the cliff, there were majestic snow-capped mountains, visible even at the height of summer.

    “Can you see anything?” Tyler asked Lauren.

    “It’s uncanny,” Lauren replied.

    The tech turned the camera’s viewfinder towards them to get a better view. Both Tyler and Kyle made out the walls, windows, and a structure. All of it untouched by time, but once she flicked the switch on the camera, the hotel was back to a state of ruin.

    “Freaky,” Kyle said.

    Picture of green rolling hills in the foreground with tall foreboding snow-capped mountains in the distance. Image by Dariusz Staniszewski 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. 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.


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