CHAPTER XIX

Mary McQueen pulls over in her driveway in Greenvale, New York.

It is night time and she has just come back from a job; a hunting job.

She has been a hunter for as long as she can remember and she can't seem to get the thrill out of her system.

She left her husband, Frank McQueen, at home with their daughter.

The two always seem close and sometimes she gets jealous even though she loves them with all her heart.

She has always been grateful to have an understanding husband who never ran away even when he first encountered the world of the supernatural, courtesy of Mary, he still stayed by her side.

He made her see a world beyond the horrors of the supernatural.

She smiles at the thought of her husband and her daughter always pissing her off as she looks at the door and sighs.

"I hope they are both asleep", her hands are covered in blood and it's not something she would want her daughter to see.

If it was Halloween, she could easily lie about the blood but it isn't.

She opens the door slowly as she tries to enter the house like a thief. The little hallway is dark and the living room is quiet.

Or so she thinks.

"Mom?", a 12year old Rachael calls out, "Hey, baby girl", Mrs McQueen is surprised that Rachael is still awake.

She is caught off guard, "Are you trying out a costume for Halloween?", Rachael asks.

Saved.

She walks to her bedroom trying to take a bath and change into a more comfortable attire, but Rachael follows her mother into the bedroom.

"What do you want, Rachael?", "Mom," Rachael's voice carries a dreary expression with it.

Mrs McQueen takes off her shoulder guard and looks out of the bathroom, "What's wrong, baby girl?".

Rachael tells her about a bully in school.

Bully? My daughter? Only if they knew how badass her parents are?

Mrs McQueen sits on her bed and Rachael sits beside her, "Your father and I are going to look into this," Mrs McQueen says, "But before that, I can't have my little girl getting hurt by another brat".

"Come here," she takes a boxing stance, "Come up and take this stance," she says.

Rachael stands up in front of her mother and copies the stance, her stance seems off and her mother goes behind her to help her adjust.

She places her hands around Rachael's waist and helps her adjust.

"Just like that.

Before we go on, what I'm about to teach you is not supposed to be used against anyone only for self-defence. Got it?" "Yes, mom.".

"Put your hands up. Now you see most bullies at your age aren't fighters.

They just take out their frustrations on people they believe won't fight back and unfortunately, sometimes the school authorities don't care.

She will probably mock you but use your hands as a distraction and take the initiative and give her a kick on her ankle. Be fast and be precise".

Rachael nods even though she doesn't get what her mother is saying.

Mrs McQueen knows her daughter and giggles, "I know you are clueless, baby girl. Come on, let's try".

She helps Rachael adjust her form and teaches her how to throw a few jabs and kicks.

She smiles as she sees her little girl try to learn this basic self-defense.

If her husband was here, he would freak out that his little girl is learning how to fight.

He would rather fight all her battles for her but Mary McQueen herself comes from a family of hunters and has always had to settle things with her fists or guns or a stake.

Even if their daughter is not going to be a part of their supernatural world, she should at least be able to stand up for herself.

She rubs her daughter's head and gives her a peck, "You are a McQueen, no bully will ever bring you down".

Tears fill her eyes as this memory plays before her eyes.

She never got to find out about Rachael's safety, she is not going to tell her baby girl that she loves her again and even though she raised Rachael to be a strong woman, a wave of sadness covers her heart knowing her daughter is going to be alone in this unknown world of the supernatural.

No, she won't be alone.

She has John, she has Samuel and she has Gabriel; she closes her eyes and prays for Rachael's safety.

I am going out with a bang.

Dracula's hand digs into her back and he grips her spinal cord and she groans as she feels the pain.

She raises her head and stares at Gabriel, "Take care of Rachael," she mutters before raising the two grenades she brought and she smiles as blood begins to come out of her mouth.

Samuel has just finished clearing out Dracula's men on the floor and he is about to move to the next one before he hears a loud noise.

An explosion.

"Talk about being a badass," he mutters.

The force seems to affect the already deteriorated building and the ground below his feet breaks open and he crashes down onto the floor beneath him.

He lands hard on his back.

He groans in pain and begins to push debris off himself.

He coughs in reaction to the dust in the room, he looks around the destroyed room to gather his bearings and he sees him.

Skin and flesh burnt like a roasted bush animal, his muscles exposed beneath his skin and his flesh cocooned in ash.

Dracula lays motionless and vulnerable, a perfect opportunity to end him only if he had Nightmare.

"John, John", Samuel calls out only to see the blond vampire charge past him.

John's eyes turn blood red in anger, this monster who took his family, this monster who has just taken the life of his friend, all this monster knows how to do is destroy.

John wraps his jacket around his hand and exposes the tip of Nightmare.

He charges past Samuel who calls him but John is deaf to the world.

His rage shuts everything out and he moves towards Dracula who lays helpless on the floor.

Adrian charges towards John and smashes him through a wall.

Samuel sees the dagger fall onto the ground and he runs towards it and just when he gets close to it, a raging animal pounces on him.

"Get off me you fucking dog," he shouts as a huge wolf mounts him and bites his shoulder, Gabriel comes out from the dark and hits the werewolf off Samuel's back.

Alex comes in with reinforcements, they begin to fire heavily at the twins who try to hide behind the broken walls.

"Nightmare is in the midst of all that," Samuel says, "This could be our best chance to kill him".

"Not under these conditions, but we have to get that dagger," Gabriel says, "I will block, you get it", they agree with a nod.

Samuel takes off his tux, he removes his tie and his shirt.

He begins to growl as his spinal cord begins to enlarge and his shoulders expand.

Wings burst out of his back and they spread, he uses his wings as shields to block the bullets while Gabriel walks behind him.

Samuel screams in pain as he walks toward Nightmare, his eyes glow blue and he toughens up his skin as he pushes through.

He lets out a roar.

Gabriel picks up the dagger but it burns his hand and he shouts in pain, "Fuck, it burns" he laments.

Gabriel takes off his jacket and wraps it around his hand which he uses to pick up Nightmare.

Samuel sees John on the floor, "Let's get the hell out of here," he shouts, he swiftly moves towards John and picks him up.

He breaks his way through the walls and flies out into the night.

Gabriel jumps out through a nearby window and lands on his feet.

He set his eyes on John's Mustang and runs to it while Dracula's men still try to get their shots to hit him.

He starts the car and drives off with the memory of Mary McQueen's face in his mind; her smile in the face of death.

First Frank McQueen and now his wife, all because of me.

Rachael; will she die because of me as well?