Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula #1 is an issue of the series Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2011.
Synopsis for "The Dead Travel Fast"
It is August 1900, it is two years since Professor Moriarty's attempt to infect London with an undead outbreak was foiled by the efforts of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson which created a firebreak that cauterising the undead as Britain's capital is gradually rebuilding itself to be accommodate to the dawning of the 20th century. Holmes and Watson are summoned to an appointment by Lloyd's of London, an insurance company. The insurance company consults Holmes and Watson over the fate of the ship Demeter, which was a Russian registered vessel bound from Varna, on the Black Sea, for Whitby which she was carrying only ballast of silver sand and a cargo of many wooden boxes filled with "scientific earth". The Demeter was founded offshore of Whitby during a storm with all her crew missing saved for the deceased body of the captain tied to the ship's helm. The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey, which described it's crew disappearing one-by-one and several reports of a mysterious and malevolent supernatural figure who was the cause for the crew's disappearance and their possible deaths. Also, the ship's cargo was removed under the charge of Mr. Billington, a Whitby solicitor after a freak swell carried the Demeter safely into the harbor. Holmes and Watson are charged into finding the cause of the crew's deaths on behalf of their families.
Meanwhile, at a gypsy camp, an overseer performed an extispicy on a chicken and tell everyone at the campsite that they are too late to stop "him" with "the pale horsemen and pestilence" from coming to England. She tells them that they have one chance to stopping him.
The next day, Holmes and Watson arrive at Whitby by train and visit the residence of the solicitor Mr. Billington. After ringing the doorbell, there was no response. Suspicious, and not believing nobody is home given the size of the house with it's fit for servants, Holmes brings out his tools to lock-pick the door. Once inside, they find everyone in the household are dead. Through Watson's observation, the bodies are afflicted with the final-stage symptoms of bubonic plague. Holmes beckoning Watson the analysis on how long bubonic plague would kills it's victim, which he gives about two to six days. Holmes then states that given the states of the victims, they were going about their everyday business when they died where they fell. He and Watson enters Mr. Billington's office and finds him also dead on his desk where all his manifests are ransacked. Holmes tells Watson that given Billington was only a solicitor, he was delivering the Demeter's cargo for someone and was killed along with everyone connected to him to make his contact anonymous. As they search the office, they find an open envelope containing which Holmes deduced as "scientific earth". Someone was "cleaning house" in which they are not finish. Suddenly, a group of armed gypsy men encounter Holmes and Watson in which one of them shoots at the latter, but for Holmes to quickly push Watson away and take the bullet - grazing his head and causing him to go unconscious. The gypsies then burn the house down. As the the residence is taking on fire, the same gypsy woman from the camp watches this at a distance.
Back in London, at Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria awaits for Lord Godalming who claims that a man has the knowledge for a supposed cure for the "royal disease" (haemophilia). Lord Godalming confirms to the Queen that the person of interest is here at the palace and presents him to her as Count Vlad Dracul of Transylvania.
Appearing in "The Dead Travel Fast"
Featured Characters:
- Sherlock Holmes
- Dr. John Watson
Supporting Characters:
- Queen Victoria
Villains:
- Dracula/Count Vlad Dracul of Transylvania
Other Characters:
- Mr. Billington
- Lord Godalming
Locations:
- London
- Whitby, North Yorkshire
Items:
Vehicles:
- Demeter
Trivia
- Watson's startlingly response to the reports of a hound being sighted on the Demeter is a reference to the hellhound from The Hound of the Baskervilles, in which Holmes describes that Baskerville Hall as being not far away from Whitby.
See Also
- Cover gallery for the Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula series
- Images from Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula Vol 1 1