My name is Doc, and I've been tasked with a sacred mission. I am a vampire hunter - though I didn't start out that way.
"Hey Doc," my partner said, slamming the door behind him.
I winced at the noise. I never could get him to shut it gently. I grinned at him then turned back to the sheepdog trials on the TV. I especially liked to watch them when Nelli was working. She was a master, driving the sheep effortlessly. I often had fantasies of working sheep partnered with her - flying over the fields, sheep running before us. It was a good dream.
I growled as one of the younger dogs made a mistake, wanting to show him how it was done.
"Easy there Doc, those sheep aren't going anywhere."
I snorted and settled back in the lazy chair. He was right, but oh how I wanted to chase them.
"This weekend," my human said smiling at me. "We'll go find some sheep this weekend."
I cocked my ears forward and tilted my head, asking for a promise.
"Promise."
We might not exactly find sheep but he'd take me out so I could run.
"I didn't get him this time," he continued, clattering around in the kitchen before coming out and scratching my ears.
I licked his hand before going back to the trials... Joy of joys, Nelli was next. A quarter of my attention was on my human but he was talking about hunting again. I never went along so I didn't feel the need to focus on him. He was talking about the signs he'd seen of his quarry. I watched Nelli as she effortlessly moved the herd, her black and white coat gleaming in the sunshine.
"You're drooling, Doc.Nelli on again?" he asked as he sat next to me, pushing a dish in front of me.
I perked my ears forward and grinned again.
"Well then I won't ask to change the channel." I noticed him put the remote down out of the corner of my eye. He knew Nelli was my girl.
I almost didn't notice when he jumped up cursing, because Nelli was executing another flawless lift.
A sharp crash jerked my attention away from the TV. I grumbled in annoyance and turned. What I saw pulled all my attention away from Nelli and her spectacular run. A strange man had my human pinned against the wall. I wrinkled my nose. He smelled dead.
My hackles rose and I growled. How dare he invade my home? The man ignored me, snarling something at my human. My human struggled but couldn't reach anything to use as a weapon. The dead thing was grinning, fangs bared.
I barked, trying to get the dead thing's attention. He ignored me again, so, despite my training, I charged at him. I had to protect my human at all costs.
I plowed into the man's legs, tangling myself in them and bringing him to the ground. I nipped at his heels as he moved impossibly fast, getting away from me. I snarled, baring my own teeth at the dead man.
He laughed, meeting my eyes, then freezing as I exerted my will on him. I stood between the dead thing and my human, keeping him away, keeping him frozen while my human recovered. I pushed the dead thing back with my gaze, getting him further away from my partner.
I heard him scramble to his feet and slide a drawer open. I held the dead man with my gaze, just like Nelli did with her sheep, while my human came around, moving slowly. I could almost feel the creature struggling to break my gaze, trying to get away but he couldn't. I forced myself to keep concentrating, though it was getting harder, almost a physical effort to hold the dead thing's black eyes.
My human edged around behind the dead man and lifted a sharp stake. I couldn't break my gaze to look and see what he did, but suddenly the dead thing fell to his knees and screamed.
Blood spattered out from his chest, coating my face. I jerked away, blinking goo from my eyes. The thing screamed again then crumpled to the ground, body falling to ash.
I stared, trying comprehend what had just happened and couldn't quite make it. But my human was safe, and he was regarding me with a rather puzzled expression that probably mirrored my own.
"I don't know what just happened Doc, but you saved my life."
I grinned, happy that my human was happy.
He squatted down in front of me and, despite my gore covered state, buried his fingers in my white ruff and pulled me close, wrapping me in a tight hug. I tucked my chin under his and sighed.
"Didn't know that border collie eye of yours was good for anything but sheep," he said softly. "Maybe next time I'll bring you along."
I wagged my tail, happy to do anything as long as I was spending time with my human.
"Ok, let's get cleaned up. Then I'll find you some more herding trials to watch. Maybe we can even find some more of Nelli."
I grinned, perking my ears forward at her name. I licked some salty water from my human's face and he ruffled my ears one more time before leading me to the bathroom.
And that is how I became a vampire hunter.
~
