Opposites of a Different Kind

Hellboy waved the Samaritan thought the darkness aiming at what seemed like nothing, “Show yourself! Fight like a man!”



Laugher began to radiate through the darkened room, “Man? Demon what do you know of what it is to be a man? You are a spawn of Satan, you are no man!”



Hellboy could feel his blood start to boil, who the hell did this ass think he is? A coward hiding in the darkness, that’s what he was. Silence soon filled the freezing room the mysterious phantom still unseen. Hellboy and Abe waved their flashlights around hoping to catch a glimpse of there inhospitable host.



“I am more of a man then you, hiding in the shadows are you scared to face me?” Hellboy’s hand shot out and found purchase around the mysterious man’s throat. “Gotcha you little worm!” Abe’s flashlight was on his face in no time. The young man looked too smug for Hellboy’s taste for being in his iron grip.



“It’s funny,” the dark young man almost laughed, “A demon saving an Angel you’d think you’d be trying to destroy her. I mean you are mortal enemies, isn’t she destined to kill you?” Hellboy took a closer look at the man in his grasp. Large white fangs flashed in the bright beam of Abe’s’ flashlight.



“Geez H.B. he’s the vampire!” Abe gasped laying his gloved hand on the demon’s broad shoulder.



“Yeah I see that Blue, Now listen here buddy, “Hellboy growled tightening his grip on the vampire’s wind pipe. “I have no idea what you’re talking about but I’m not your average Demon. I kinda dig the human race and all gods creatures and their safety. And she happens to be a friend of mine. So I’m gonna need you to let her off the wall there before I pop your head off like a spring dandelion.”



The vampire laughed despite the giant red hand around his throat. His white fingers came up and curled around the demons grasp. As if with no effort he peeled Hellboy’s red digits from his throat. Taking a step back the vampire twisted his body throwing the cumbersome demon across the room.



The shear force of the blow to the castle wall made the stone crack beneath Hellboy’s body. Connecting with the floor Hellboy crumbled into a heap of brown duster and debris.



“Ouch.” Hellboy moaned getting to his knees. Pressing his human hand to his lower back Hellboy arched his back cracking his misaligned vertebra back into place. “Gonna feel that one in the morning.”



Abe was on the defense as soon as Hellboy’s body came sailing past his head. Gun in hand and flashlight poised below his weapon he aimed at the vampire’s heart. “Alright sir no more funny business please let our friend down.”



The vampire threw his head back and let out a barreling laughter, “I haven’t had this much fun in centuries! Alright fish man since you asked nicely I’ll let her down.” Stepping up to Anessa’s motionless body he yanked on the metal chains. With a loud snap both loops broke sending her body to the ground. “It doesn’t matter anyways none of you are getting out of here.”



“Over your dead body!” Hellboy bellowed launching himself onto the sidetracked vampire sending them both sprawling to the ground. With the vampire distracted Abe gathered Anessa into his arms and made his way to the door.



Hellboy grabbed the vampire throwing him through the adjacent wall. Dust and debris filled the air making it hard to see. Abe made his way through the doorway and broke into a run. He needed to get her out of there and into something warm. If he didn’t bring up her internal temp soon her body would start to shut down.



“Abe?”



Abe looked down to see her eyes open her hand clutching to his suit, “It’s alright I got you.” He smiled down to her holding her hand in his, it was like ice.



Before Abe could make it to the main hall the wall beside him exploded dislodging Anessa from his grasp. Abe fell back into the hallway as Anessa went sailing into the main hall. From the ruble Hellboy stood brushing himself off, looking down he noticed his fish friend practically between his legs less one unconscious angel.



“Abe, where’s Anessa?”



“Out there!” Abe pointed out into the main hall.



There by the abandoned fireplace she lay, she had busted through a wooden chair that had been lying in her path.



“The vampire!? Where is he?” Abe called getting to his feet.



“I don’t know I lost site of the slippery bastard after he tossed me through this wall.”



Before they could make their way to her a startled cry alerted them to the vampire’s presence. Standing next to the mangled mess of the wooden chair the vampire had a good hold on Anessa; her back pressed against him and her neck exposed to his glistening fangs.



“You are stronger then I anticipated demon, but I grow weary of this game.” With his long finger nail the vampire cut a deep gash in Anessa’s exposed neck getting a feeble cry of pain from her. Hellboy and Abe lunged forward.



“Stop! Or I slice her jugular and bleed her dry this second!”



Abe and Hellboy stopped in their tracks.



With a long lick Anessa’s crimson blood pooled in the dip of the vampires pink tongue. “Sweet” he cooed closing his eyes in bliss. “The sweetest I’ve ever tasted.”



“That’s all you’re gonna get buddy…a taste.” Anessa growled beneath the vampires grasp. Before the vampire knew it, he was over her head racing to the floor and the broken wooden chair. A straggle cry rose from the vampire as the broken peg of the chair pierced his cold heart.



“How?” was all he could muster before his body burst into ash dispersing across the stone floor.



Hellboy and Abe just stood and stared at Anessa as she trembled in the castles cold air. How did she manage to over power the vampire in such a weak state?



“Are you two just gonna just stand there and stare at me or is one of you gonna give me something to wear? I’m fucking freezing!” Her lips were blue and her skin was still a pale shade of white and her teeth chattered like an annoyed chicken. Hellboy moved first removing his duster and wrapped it around her shaking form.



Abe moved around to the back of her and felt her plus, “Red, she’s hypothermic she needs body heat not a thin leather coat.”



Red quickly pulled his black shirt over his head and grabbed the coat around Anessa and put it back on.



“What? Jerk!” Anessa growled before she was pulled from her spot. With a quick tug he had her legs wrapped round his hips and her arms around his neck. Her body quickly recognized the heat radiating off his demon body and instinctively clung to him.



“God your warm.” Anessa mumbled inaudibly into his red chest.



Hellboy closed the brown duster in front of him and pulled his arms inside of the coat wrapping his massive red arms around her still shivering body. “It’s called hell fires blood. Toasty warm isn’t it?”



A loud boom from outside startled the castles inhabitance. With one final look at the ashes of the late vampire Abe and Hellboy with Anessa hurried outside into the night air. Agents littered the grounds, guns in the air bullets rocketing to their mark. Hellboy turned to see the giant, its arms in the air grabbing for the small projectiles. Its angry roar pierced the night as a missile from an armored truck hit its shoulder. With a loud gruesome sound the giant’s arm was dismembered from its body. It landed with a thud a few feet from the wailing giant. In a rage the monster came after the truck launching itself onto the vehicle. The giant’s remaining mitt reached into the opening of the truck pulling an unarmed man from the driver’s seat. Within seconds the monster had the poor man in its mouth and with one mighty crunch ended the man’s life.



Hellboy needed to help the men but he had Anessa wrapped around him and she was his priority at the moment. He looked down at her inside his jacket and she had passed out again.



Soon another agent in a distant truck exited his vehicle with a bazooka; aiming it for the giants head he pulled the trigger. It was over in a few seconds, what was left of the monster stained the once green grass and littered the grounds. In a way Hellboy felt sorry for the thing. It wasn’t easy being different and he couldn’t imagine being a large disfigured creature. But again life wasn’t fair and the monster chose to do the vampire’s bidding.



Hellboy and Abe made their way into one of the trucks. Abe found a thick blanket and opened it to receive Anessa. Carefully Hellboy opened his jacket and unwound her limps from his upper torso. Gently gliding her into Abe’s arms the red demon wrapped the remaining covers over her like a cocoon.



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Anessa woke in a warm bath, her body propped up so she wouldn’t drown. A young woman sat on the other side of the room reading a book. Hearing the water move in the tub the woman looked up from her book.



“You’re awake. How are you feeling?” the woman asked setting her book on the nearby table.



“Like warm shit, where am I?”



Getting up from her chair the woman made her way to Anessa grabbing a towel from a nearby hook. “You’re in the infirmary of the FBI building in Ireland. The fish man brought you here. You had hypothermia we needed to bring your temp back up. ”



“How long have I been in this tub?”



“About seven hours, I’ve been here adding hot water to your bath. If we raised your temp too fast the shock would have been too much and would have killed you.”



Anessa gripped the sides of the tub and tried to pulled herself up. Gaining a few inches from the bottom of the tub her muscles revolted sending her splashing back into the warm water.



“Please agent let me help you. Your body is still weak from the hypothermia. Let’s get you out of that tub and into a shower so you can wash up. We didn’t think it was right to wash you while you were unconscious.”



With a little help from the woman Anessa got to her feet. As the woman wrapped the large white towel around her body Anessa looked at the woman’s name tag, in big black letters it said “Jenny”.



“Thank you Jenny.”



The woman smiled sheepishly as she helped Anessa from the tub, “Oh don’t worry about it Ms. Davis. I am more then happy to help. Now let’s get you to a nice warm shower.”