Libérateur Des Morte by Leo Mik

Shadows of the Guild

Molly Caradene III sighed after the detectives left their office as she was left alone in the cold room while the fan slowly circled on. “Alone…” she thought as a few tears escaped her eyes again then she closed them as the memory of that terrible night flooded her mind once again.

Molly looked herself in the mirror as she smiled. Molly II, her mother, smiled at her as well as she spoke “You’re the most beautiful debutant my dear daughter. I hope you have a great time tonight with Pierre to the grand ball. Just becareful out there, I am still worried about what happened to the Reilies”. Molly smiled again as she had waited for a long time with Pierre for this night of dancing and romance. “Oh Mother, you worry too much.” Molly, though, was worried as well for the Reiles had been long, good friends with the Caradenes. She sighed as she remembered what was on the newspaper: The Reiles, a high society family in France, has been brutally murdered in their mansion last night. Police have not released any evidence on what may have happened. This is the second high society family hit this week making five this month. Apparently, some serial murderers were going around knocking off families of the upper crust in France. Molly shook her head and tried to forget about it, at least for this night for she wanted to be with Pierre so much for he had just proposed to her the night before. There was a knock on the door as the butler’s voice came through it. “Madamoiselle Caradene, Mister Deucher has arrived and the bodyguards as well.” Molly looked at her mother, “Bodyguards?” Her mother sighed “Yes dear two of them are just going to follow you and Pierre while the other three stay here guarding our home.” Molly sighed as well and thought, “I guess it is for the best…” Molly then went downstairs where the eagerly awaited Pierre and two men in jackets awaited her arrival.

Pierre helped Molly into the car as it was getting late as they drove home from the ball. The bodyguards followed behind them. Molly yawned for it was so late and tired from all the excitement with Pierre and their friends. Pierre sighed and said, “I had a great time Molly. I hope you did too.” He smiled to her. She smiled back, “Of course Pierre. It will be one of the most rememberable moments ever.” Pierre lifted her hand while he drove with one hand and kissed it softly and smiled to her. They passed on through downtown as they were entering the highway and not long before he would get her to her house. Suddenly, there was a small scraping noise coming from the car. “Do you hear that Pierre?” Molly said with a worried look. “Yeah… I think the tire may have gone flat and we may be driving on the rim. I’ll pull over to a gas station and then…” Pierre was cut off as a hand came crashing through his side window and on his throat as he, on instinct, turned the wheel as the car hit the railing. Molly screamed as she tried to get the hand off of Pierre who was desperately trying to keep the car in control. The hand jerked and scraped Pierre’s throat as blood gushed out all over his driver’s side. His head fell sideways as his hands dropped from the driver’s wheel. Molly took control leaning over while she then saw a dark figure out the side of the window. It then reached over and tried to grab her through the window. The car veered into the tunnel as Molly saw the thing as the lights hit it. It had a pale face with reddish eyes and gleaming fangs. Molly’s mouth dropped as she stared in horror at a… Vampire. Molly, in her fearful awe, suddenly hit the wall as the car veered into the tunnel and flipped over landing on its roof sliding to a stop as sparks flew in all directions. Molly opened the door and crawled out of the flipped over car as she saw the other headlights stop with a screech and the two bodyguards got out and went over to Molly. The shorter one looked inside the car seeing the bloodied Pierre as he cursed and said, “We got to get her to her house!” The taller one agreed and they started to break into a run back to their car. The run suddenly broke off just as it had gotten started as they saw three dark figures sillouetted by the headlights of the car. Both bodyguards drew their handguns as they pointed them at the figures “Stay right there or I’ll shoot!” The lights went off suddenly as three “vampires” stood all with pales faces and blood red eyes. The one on the right was in torn clothes as he was the one that attacked the car. They let out a snarl of bestial sounds and lunged forward at the men as the 9mm lead flew right back at them. The torn one caught some rounds in the head and fell forward on the ground. The other two broke into the men as one ripped his face off with one swipe upwards as the man fell over dropping his pistol holding his face while blood poured out. The other was slashed right across his stomach as his intestines fell out of his body as he doubled over crying out in pain. Molly’s knees went weak as she saw both men on the ground yelling as their life ebbed away. The first vampire then stabbed into the faceless man’s back of his head and tore into the man’s brain. Molly heard that voice in her head yelling at her “RUN!” Molly broke into a run as she made it over to the bodyguard’s truck. The other vampires looked up at her as they focused their attention off the dead and profusely bleeding prey and moved towards her. She got inside as quickly as she could and turned the truck back on as she heard a haunting laugh as the vampire that was shot in the head looked right at her from the driver’s window. Molly hit the gas as the truck rammed through the wreckage while the vampires held on to the truck howling at her. She sideswiped walls as one vampire fell off the side. The same one that killed Pierre looked at her again from the side window as he put back his hand and crashed it through at her. Molly fell to the side but keeping her hand on the wheel as the claw reached for her and grabbed her elbow. She saw something down below on the floor. It was a revolver. She grabbed it up with one hand and pointed it at the vampire. .38 Special rounds caused that vampire to fall back and off into the road.

Molly drove frantically home wondering about all that happened so fast and sudden. She thought, “It must have been a nightmare. It had to be.” Molly’s heart sank as she drove to her house to see numerous police cars and emergency vehicles out there. She came to a sudden stop as bodybags were rolled on stretchers into the ambulances. Molly opened the door and pushed past the paramedics and coroners and opened one of the bags. And up staring at her was her mother’s decapitated head along with her body. Molly broke into tears as she fell onto the grass while a cop and a detective walked over to her.

Molly told the detectives that a gang attacked her. She didn’t want to be committed for saying undead Vampires did it all. Homicide let her go as she went back to the Deucher’s mansion who gladly let her stay now that her home was not only a crime scene but a place of ghosts of her loved ones. Later that day, she got a call from someone named Maximillien Reile and told her to meet him at the park. Molly’s eyes widened that the Reile’s son was still alive for he was proclaimed missing at the Reile’s murder scene.

Molly met Max at the park as they sat at the bench. “You are said to be missing you know that?” Molly started. “Yeah… if I go to the cops, they will just put me somewhere and those vampires will just get me there.” Molly’s eyes widened. Max knew what she was thinking, “Right… I said vampires… they killed my family and all the others including yours…” Molly raised her voice slightly, “But why?” Max looked around a bit and then back at her, “My grandfather showed me many things of old books and things that contained interesting facts. Vampires are of mixed variances even now. Everyone from some gang member in the slums, to some blue collar on the night shift, to even a wealthy business owner that “isn’t around a lot.” And this was just like it was back during the Middle Ages. Back then, though, everyone did believe vampires existed from what the Catholic Church said about purgatory and the myths of monsters of Caine born from him. They just believed they were savage monsters out loose from some cave that came into towns at night. There were nobles. Nobles of shadowy occurrences that never did business at day unless in their own palaces sealed from light as they secretly controlled the peasants and other barons while having a hand in the church and the government. Their influence in the church is what kept the Inquisition off their backs. Many nobles were tired of the corruption of supernatural proportions and decided to do something about it. Many noble families formed Slayer Guild known as the “Libérateur Des Morte” or the “Liberators of the Dead” They secretly hunted and slayed vampiric nobles. They had influence as well as they held off accusations against them. But, the Middle Ages ended and so did people’s beliefs as even the vampires themselves seemed to grow less and less. The Liberator Guild disbanded quietly but kept close ties with one another families. Now, apparently the vampires are back and there are some that seem to have taken revenge against the families of the Guild. The Reiles… the Caradenes… many others… they are being hit by the bloody bloodsuckers in revenge and we are in the middle. I am going to do something about it though. I am going to try to help out the remaining families and rebirth the Guild in hope that it might serve a purpose again. Molly, I want you and myself to begin a new life in this world opened before our eyes. Our old lives of getting good jobs with our family’s wealth is over now. We know vampires exist and its time something has to be done about them. There is evil incarnate and its time we laid some wood down on them. I’m not forcing you into anything. You have all right to not join… but will you still be safe?” Molly thought about all he said and thought for many minutes. Max said “Alright just tell me what you need and Ill get it for you. I will come back to society once this whole thing blows over and Ill claim my inheritence as you should as well Molly if you want to be a Guild Slayer.” She would make them all pay for what they did to her family and her fiancé. Molly looked at him right in his eyes and said, “I need some guns… I liked this Colt 1911 Government and this 9mm Micro-Uzi I saw in a gun magazine… and maybe a long range weapon of some sort…” Max smiled and nodded then got up and walked away. Molly looked out over the water and just stared at it deciding all the aspects of her new life as a Guild Slayer.