Throwing up a cloud of dust, the truck pulled to a halt. Ahead, its high beams illuminated a thin strip of dry, sandy lake bed. Everything around it was an endless pool of darkness stretching to the horizon, which in contrast was a sea of twinkling stars, bright this far away from anything approaching civilization.

The driver’s side door opened and a man got out. He had on a black stetson hat and a long black duster coat. Between was a lean, lined face, with dark brown mutton-chops. The face was just begging for a pair of dark mirrored shades, but sometimes style had to give way to practicality. Driving at night down these winding dirt roads was hard enough not wearing sunglasses…

Walking around to the back, the man climbed into the bed of the truck and began tossing things out; several large, long wooden stakes, coils of rope, a tightly bound and gagged woman. She gave a muffled cry as she flew out of the back, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet, moaning slightly through the thick red ballgag jammed between her teeth.

The first thing one would notice about the woman, after noting the fact that she was bound and gagged, was how pale she was. Even in the pale starlight, her alabaster white skin practically glowed against the dark ground beneath her. Her hair, in contrast, was black as a raven’s feather, cut in a severe style that had once been elegant and poised, but at the moment was in an extreme state of dishevelment as a result of her abduction. Same for her dress, long, once pale white and hauntingly gothic, now wrinkled and torn and stained all over. Sticking out over the rubber ball jammed between her mouth, two noticeable fangs were just visible.

Emily, the Vampiress, squirmed slightly, struggling against her bonds, but this particular Hellsing knew what he was doing. The ropes had been soaked in a solution of Holy Water and crushed Wolfsbane. On top of sapping her otherwise supernatural vampiric strength, it made them itch like crazy. It also didn’t help she hadn’t had a drop of mortal blood in months. “That’s what I get for trying to go straight.” She thought ruefully.

The Hellsing climbed out of his truck, a hammer in hand. Emily flinched as he grabbed one of the stakes off the ground and walked towards her, but he kept going past, several feet, before kneeling down. Emily could hear the tapping of the hammer against the stake, driving it into the ground. While she certainly preferred that to her chest, she did wonder what it was for, especially as he repeated it three more times, with three more stakes.

She got her answer a second later as he now turned his attention to her, picking up the vampiress and carrying her over to where the stakes had been set out, forming a large square on the ground. He set her back down, on her back and reached into one of the many pockets of his duster. From inside, he pulled out something and bent over.

Emily gasped as the lead crucifix was dropped onto her chest, landing just between her breasts. Luckily it wasn’t silver or it would have burned her, but the tiny cross felt as if it weighed several tons and she was easily pinned to the ground. While she squirmed, impotently, beneath this, the Hellsing untied her hands and feet. They were immediately lashed once more, this time to the four stakes, stretching her out spreadeagled between them. When all the knots were yanked tight, he reached down and plucked up the cross again. Emily gasped in relief as the weight on her chest was lifted, but she once again found herself securely tied down.

The Hellsing then reached into his coat and pulled out a Bowie knife, the edge silvered. Emily flinched as the blade came towards her. Even from several inches away she could feel the silver on it, but instead of cutting her, he merely cut through her stained and ruined dress, in a few quick slashes reducing it to tatters which were quickly whisked away, exposing her equally pale, oh so naked body. A small patch of midnight black hair was all that covered her sex from his gaze.

“Is he planning to have his way with me?” Emily thought to herself. In her experience, would-be vampire hunters usually considered themselves holy warriors, above such carnal temptations, but she supposed this one could have some sort of forbidden attraction against that he hunted. But after removing her clothes, the Hellsing simply straightened back up, giving her one last glance, making sure she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Goodnight ma’am.” The Hellsing said, giving his hat a quick tip to the spreadeagled vampiress. “Enjoy what’s left of it. Dawn’s coming in a couple hours.” With that, he turned and climbed back into his truck and drove off. Within minutes, it was out of sight, leaving the dried up desert lake bed empty and deserted but for the helpless captive.

Emily struggled for all she was worth as soon as he was gone. She knew he was right, she could feel the heavy weariness settling on her, warning her it was time for her to be getting back to her coffin, safe from the burning rays of the sun. Instead though, she found herself staked out, helpless, in the middle of empty desert, no shade anywhere for miles.

The cables now binding her had likewise been treated against vampire strength, but she was straining in earnest now, undead terror lending her strength, and the stakes to which they had been attached were simple wood, though that was usually enough to deal with vampires normally, in those cases the stakes were driven into the vampire itself, not the ground. First one, then the others, began to wobble slightly as they loosened in the dirt. Given time, Emily thought she could pull them free entirely.

Time though, wasn’t something she had a lot of at the moment. Already, she could see a faint glow of red on the horizon, warning of the coming down. Pretty soon, the sun would rise over the peaks of the distant mountains, bathing the lake bed in the bright, unyielding rays of sunshine...