Okay wow, I wasn’t expecting that much attention from my previous post. I had fun reading everyone’s comments and replying to them. I think that was the most interaction I had with other people in the last six months. Anyways, one person had asked me about some of my other experiences which prompted me to make this post. I will only talk about one experience for this post since I have a lot to write, but if you’d like to hear about my other experiences let me know.
Okay, so yes, you read the title right; I encountered a real life vampire hunter. This happened after the incident in 1823 where I was shot in the neck. Apparently, I was shot by a hunter and upon discovering he shot a human, he ran back to his town and didn’t say anything in fear of what people would think. Well fast forward a few days and he finally cracks and tells his family. The family then decided to find my body and bury it in the woods so no one would know.
Unfortunately for both them and me, I had already awakened and had visited that town. They used his hunting dog to track my scent to where I was laid in the woods but I was no longer there. Not knowing what to do they went back to town when the hunter spotted me.
“Vam-vampire,” he shouted in fear.
Multiple people looked around and began whispering. I looked around as well, I mean, I didn’t think he was talking about me.
That was until he pointed to me, “It’s him, he’s the vampire!”
I was naturally taken aback by this, did he honestly think I was a vampire? How did he come to that conclusion? And then it clicked as just days prior I was shot in the neck.
Before I could respond, a town resident responded, “You’re crazy! Vampires don’t exist and even if they did, they wouldn’t be in the sunlight.”
The hunter’s family came to his defense, “It’s true, he shot that man in the neck and we went to go to the woods and bury his body, but he was gone! What else is he if not a vampire?!”
A silence settled over the people as they nervously looked at me. I had to leave, sure they can’t kill me, but I’d rather not experience the pain of a wooden stake to the heart. I ran, pushing people aside. This caused some to erupt in screams, I guess thinking I was going to hurt them. Finding a horse, I jumped on it and rode it as fast it could go.
After that, I tried to keep away from towns, who knows how fast the news spread. I’m sure some would find it ridiculous that there was a ‘vampire’ sighting, but others would believe the townspeople and hunt me down. Or in other words, vampire hunters. I know what it sounds like, but even in the early 1800s there still existed vampire hunters. Did they ever actually kill vampires? No, most people killed were those who went comatose with a barely noticeable heartbeat and buried alive.
Some woke up and were able to escape their coffins and some ended up dying. Those who lived and tried to go back home were labeled as a vampire and killed. It’s quite sad really.
Anyways, fast forward two months and it is now 1824. I visited quite a big city, a mistake on my part. As I walked through the city, I noticed someone was following me. While I may only be immortal, being alive for almost 100 years by this point has sharpened my senses. So I could easily tell I was being followed.
I turned down an alleyway quickly and hid out of the followers’ sight. As I suspected he rushed into the alleyway but didn’t see me. He stood there for a few minutes and I contemplated if I should show myself. Before I had made up my mind, he left the alleyway quickly. I breathed a sigh of relief and left the alleyway on the opposite end.
I found an inn on the outskirts of the city and paid for my stay there. There weren’t a lot of people here so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to stay inside for the night. I wished I had just decided to stay outside that night, however. I was sitting in my room, on my bed, reading a book. Upon hearing a knock on my door, I got up and answered it.
Before I could even react, a stake was stabbed into my chest and punctured my heart. I grabbed at the stake as I got a good luck at the man. How did he find me? My knees hit the floor as blood pooled in my mouth before running down my chin. I coughed, choking on the blood.
“This is what you deserve, you deceitful vampire,” he said with disdain.
I paid no attention to him as fear clouded my mind. No.. no.. no.. no.. NO! I don’t want to experience this pain ten-fold. I tried whatever I could to keep a grasp on my slipping consciousness. Please! Not again, I don’t want to do this again! I pleaded in my mind, hoping for mercy.
Before I knew it, I was reliving that pain. I relived the moment over and over again, the pain increased by ten-fold. I cried out to the strange man for a reprieve from this pain, but I was met with silence.
Eventually, I woke to the soft, grainy feeling of dirt. My eyes shot open just before dirt landed on me. I looked up at the man that had stabbed me in the heart. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he saw me alive. The stake was still in my chest, so I grabbed it and pulled it out. It hurt for a moment before the wound healed.
“H-how is that p-possible?” he stuttered out.
I struggled up, not bothering to answer him.
“I-I stabbed you in the heart with a stake! I poured holy water over you and blessed your body! How are you not dead?!” he yelled out as he fell back.
I finally made it out of the grave and stared at him. My body shuddered as it remembered the pain I had experienced. My mind trembled as I continually replayed that moment over and over. I bent over and hurled the little food I had in my system.
I finally got my bearings and paid attention to the man, “You. Who are you?”
“Why should I tell you?” he retorted.
“I mean, you don’t have to, but you made me experience that pain again. I’m not feeling the best at the moment so I advise you to answer me before I decide what to do with you,” I responded in a monotone voice.
This diminished what little pride he had left, “I-I’m a Vampire Hunter and I was told of a man fitting your description surviving a bullet to the neck. Naturally, I rushed to that town to receive a drawing of what you looked like. I-I just don’t get it, how are you not dead?”
“That’s a long story, but I’m not a vampire,” I said with a sigh, “Just leave, get out of here.”
I didn’t have to tell him twice as he quickly scrambled towards his horse and left. I finally looked around at my surroundings and saw I was at a church. I couldn’t help but to sigh once more as I started walking down the road as well.
You may think that is the end of this experience, but you are unfortunately wrong. You know those bullies where, by themselves you can scare them off, but they later come back with their bully friends and gang up on you? Yeah, that’s this guy, except his friends had guns and stakes.
A good four months into 1824, I ran into him and his friends. Before I explain that little incident, please remember that while I am immortal and pride myself on my fighting skills; I’m not invulnerable, have super strength, and endless stamina. Fighting six people with weapons is not easy.
Anyways, after the incident before, I tried to stick to just camping in the woods and only passing through cities and towns when I had no other choice. Days prior, I had noticed that I was being tailed, but I could never find the people. They would disappear when I searched for them. I tried not to focus on it because I figured I was just being paranoid. While I was camped out in the woods that night when I was ambushed by six attackers. All of which had weapons such as guns, swords, and stakes.
I had just started drifting off to sleep when I heard a twig snap. This jolted me awake as I looked around. Before I knew it, the sound of a gun went off and I instinctively dodged the bullet, but it still struck me in the side. I clenched my teeth as the pain burned throughout my body.
“Show yourself!” I shouted out.
And like that, six people emerged from the darkness of the trees. The only one I recognized was that man from four months prior.
“You, didn’t you figure out that stakes don’t work?” I hissed.
“It’s different now, demon, we know how to kill you,” he responded.
I couldn’t help but to laugh out of both anger and fear, “Sure, whatever you say, but didn’t you run away last time with your tail between your legs?”
His face contorted, “I was merely making a tactical retreat, you are much more dangerous than a vampire! It couldn’t be helped!”
Before I had a chance to respond, one of the members of his group shot their gun at me again. I couldn’t move in time and it struck me in the leg. I yelped in pain and I went down on one knee. Three of them then rushed at me with their swords drawn. I stood back up and protected my vital spots, taking most of the slashes on my arms and legs.
My skin burned as it was cut by the sharp blades. Blood dripped from the wounds and splattered onto the ground before they could heal. I found an opening and tackled one of them to the ground, removing his sword. I now had the sword and sliced the arms of the others, but before I could move in I was shot at once more. A bullet grazed my cheek while another lodged itself into my arm.
By now, I was breathing heavily and exhausted. My wounds were healing but it still didn’t mean the pain didn’t slow me down. After making a large swing at them, I took off running into the woods. My leg that had gotten shot, was just now healing after my flesh pushed the bullet from the wound. I ran as fast as I could from both adrenaline and fear. The memory of being staked was still seared painfully into my mind as was the pain I experienced.
I could hear them hot on my trail, their shouts echoing through the woods. Couldn’t they just leave me be? What the hell is wrong with them? I ran as fast as I could before my heart sank to my stomach. From ahead, I could hear the rushing water of a waterfall. I picked my pace up before skidding to a halt at a cliff that stood above water. The waterfall was feet from me.
I looked back at my pursuers and decided right then and there. Taking a few steps back, I ran and launched myself from the cliff. I noticed a root just below, if I timed it right, I could grab it and cling to the cliff’s edge. I plummeted and like some miracle, I grabbed hold of the root, breaking my arm. I clenched my teeth as I grabbed it with my other hand. I basically dug my nails into the rocky edge and laid evenly against it as much as I could.
I heard the pursuers above, “He really jumped, didn’t he?”
Another one sighed, “He’s long gone now, the current would have taken him away quickly.”
“Dammit, just when we had him. That sly devil just had to weasel himself out of it,” an all too familiar voice responded.
“It’s alright Joshua, we will track him down again,” another said.
I heard their footsteps grow distant, but waited there for what felt like hours. My arm fully healed and I began climbing up the cliff. It wasn’t that far down from where I was, but one wrong move and I was falling into that water. From this height, I’d shatter my bones.
Finally, after almost fifteen grueling minutes, I reached the top and pulled myself over the cliff. I laid flat on my back as I took in deep breaths. I laid there for the longest time, replaying the events that had just transpired in my head. I got up eventually, and discreetly made my way from the forest and away from that region all together. Ever since then, I stayed off their radar and didn’t appear around the public, until I traveled to England.
Well that’s the end of this experience I had with real life vampire hunters. I’m glad I never encountered them again. It was quite the frightening experience, especially since I was still mentally recovering from being shot in the neck and experiencing that hell for the first time. My advice is, if you ever encounter someone with a stake and crucifix, run the opposite direction as fast as you can.