Disclaimer/Summery: See Part 1
Three
LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
"Buffy! BUFFY!" Faith screamed, her voice dying, hanging hollow and flat in the suddenly ice-cold air, as she chased Buffy through the cemetery. Buffy was fast, and she was running flat-out now, in a straight line, like some panicked animal. Though Faith could barely see five feet in front of her in the darkness that had descended over the cemetery, and seemingly, the world, just minutes before, she knew exactly where Buffy was; she had her scent. But Buffy's scent was different now--it was harsh. Faith knew fear was polluting it...
As Faith kept after her, she saw Buffy trip over a tombstone, tumble headlong to the dirt, roll, leap right back up, and keep running.
Buffy never tripped. She was always sure-footed as a cat, even in the dark...
Faith had never seen her so afraid.
Faith kept sprinting, a lion on a scent. Normally, Buffy could outrun her; Buffy had always been faster, and her panic was lending her even greater speed now. But Faith knew that her love for Buffy was stronger than Buffy's fear. Faith knew her love would win this race.
A moment later Faith noticed a crypt looming up ahead of her. Buffy went around it, but Faith stepped up on to a tombstone without breaking stride, vaulted herself to the roof of the crypt, sprinted across it, leaped twenty-feet straight out into the darkness and tackled Buffy like a lion bringing down a gazelle. They went down in the dirt in a tangled heap together, and before Faith could even get her bearings Buffy lashed out, growling and screaming: she kneed Faith in the stomach and punched her in the face. It was a hell of a punch, Faith thought, as she went flying and landed on her ass a few feet away; Buffy was using all her strength. But it wasn't enough of a punch to knock out a Slayer, and Faith sprang at Buffy again as she tried to run, bringing her down again.
"BUFFY!" Faith screamed, as they rolled around in the dirt together and Buffy kicked at her and tried to throw her off. When Faith looked down into Buffy's eyes, they were far away; she knew they weren't seeing her. Faith finally managed to grab Buffy's wrists and pin her. But Buffy kept screaming...
And then Faith felt it. She felt the darkness all around them.
She felt the darkness, all over her...it felt cold, and she shuddered at its touch. That darkness was a physical thing; it had skin like a snake. It was like some predator, stalking her.
And a feeling came over Faith then...like something precious had gone out of the world.
As Buffy writhed around beneath her, shrieking, Faith felt the weight of that darkness, as if all the endless night in the entire world was piled on her shoulders now, trying to crush the life out of her...and if she collapsed beneath that weight, it would crush Buffy too...
Faith saw herself and Buffy for a moment, as if she was looking down from above...as if she was a bird, soaring above it all, not shackled to this cold, dark, dead world like everything else was: she looked down upon the world with a hawk's keen eyes from her haven in the sky, and saw two helpless animals, rolling around in the dirt, trapped, struggling in vain, lashing out futilely in their death-throes when their fate had already been decided...
And the hunters would be coming soon, to put them out of their misery...
"BUFFY!" Faith screamed again. "IT'S ME! IT'S ME!"
"MOM!"
It was the darkness, Faith realized...it had seeped into Buffy somehow... made her scared, made her cold...
It was trying to take her away...
Faith wasn't going to let it have her.
Faith kissed her. Buffy's lips were cold, and her face was pale. Buffy kept screaming, and tossing her head back and forth. Faith kissed her again.
"Honey...it's me," Faith said. "I love you. I love you."
Buffy stopped screaming. But she was still crying...she was taking big, trembling breaths, and making a keening sound every time she exhaled. Like something precious was being pulled out of her, a little at a time, and she was fighting to hold on to it. Buffy's cries didn't echo through the cemetery. They hung dead in the air...the darkness ate them. Faith knew this darkness was a predator, with skin like a snake and black eyes that stretched across the sky and breath so cold it could freeze your blood...and it was devouring everything in the world now...
When Faith looked down at Buffy, she could tell she was still far away. Buffy still didn't seem aware of her.
Faith was going to find Buffy, wherever she was...she wouldn't stop looking until she found her, and brought her back.
Faith wanted to cry, but she refused to let herself. She knew she had to be strong now...
She thought about Rebecca.
The darkness was heavy on Faith's shoulders, and its touch was cold on her skin, and she was afraid: afraid she would lose Buffy, afraid she would lose everyone she had left, afraid she wasn't smart enough, or strong enough, or brave enough, to fight this battle...so she thought about Rebecca. She let part of her mind wander back to a day, just six months before, when she and Rebecca had been planting flowers in the little garden in front of the house together.
There was nothing particularly special about that day, and Faith wondered why, of all the days she'd had with Rebecca, she'd chosen that one to go back to. But the sun was bright in the sky and the air was warm and Rebecca was laughing, and that was reason enough. Faith decided part of her was going to stay with Rebecca, in the little garden on that bright, beautiful May morning; Faith decided she would keep part of herself there, all the time from now on. Rebecca's scent was next to her, and the sun was warm on her skin, and they laughed together as they planted the flowers...
The darkness was still a weight on Faith's shoulders, and the wind howled in her ears, and she shivered at its icy touch. But part of her was with Rebecca in the garden...
And Rebecca's hand was on her shoulder, and Rebecca's lilting laughter was in her ears, and Faith felt the sun on her skin, warming her...
"I love you," Faith said, and kissed Buffy again. "I love you. I love you."
Buffy stopped struggling. She looked up at Faith...and then at the darkness all around them, as if she was just waking up...as if she had been trapped in a nightmare, and she wasn't sure where she was now.
Faith kissed Buffy's hand. It felt a little warmer, now. She kissed Buffy's lips. They felt warmer now, too. They were soft, and the remnants of Buffy's lipstick gave them a cherry taste.
"I love you," Faith said, as she looked down into Buffy's eyes, and caressed her cheek, and kissed her soft cherry lips, and took in her jasmine scent. This time, Buffy responded. Faith tasted Buffy's lips, and felt her breath, warm on her skin. Their tongues touched, haltingly, like lovers long-separated.
"You're my girl," Faith said. "Come back to me now, beautiful. Come back to me."
"Baby?" Buffy whispered, and looked up at Faith, and saw her for the first time.
Faith nodded, and kissed her tears.
"I'm right here, beautiful," Faith said. "I'm always right here with my girl."
"I got...I got afraid," Buffy whispered, her lips quivering.
Faith kissed them again.
"You're with me," Faith said. "I'll always protect you. You're my girl."
"I...hit you...?" Buffy said.
"Love taps," Faith said, and smiled.
"Oh God baby, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, baby...I didn't, didn't mean..."
"Sshhh," Faith whispered, and kissed her again. Buffy returned the kiss, and she didn't do it haltingly this time. Their tongues caressed, danced. Buffy rested a trembling hand on Faith's hip. Faith could smell it now...Buffy was becoming wet. Buffy's hand caressed Faith's hip, and moved along her waist.
Faith felt Buffy opening her legs for her. She heard her moan.
Faith realized she was becoming wet too. She almost giggled. The world was ending, and they were horny for each other.
Fucking and fighting, Faith thought. Slayers are built for fucking and fighting...
"We will, honey," Faith said, and kissed Buffy's hand again. It was warm now. Faith could feel Buffy's heartbeat, as she held her wrist. "Right now, okay? We're gonna go get Joyce right now. But we can't run all the way to Los Angeles, honey. We gotta use our heads. You said she's in L.A., right?"
"Yeah."
"You know where?"
"She's...staying with...like some old college friend of hers in the San Fernando Valley? I know the address."
"We're gonna drive there, okay? Right now, we're gonna get in Angel's car and drive there. Okay, honey?"
"Okay," Buffy said, nodding, her voice still shaky. "Okay." She put her arms around Faith, and moved her head against Faith's neck, with her nose just below Faith's ear, where her scent was always strong.
Buffy held on to Faith, as tight as she could, and breathed in her scent. She wanted Faith's scent all around her...she didn't want any other scents except Faith's now. She kept her nose right below Faith's ear, and just breathed in her scent for awhile, and shut out the world...shut out the darkness.
"I love you," Buffy said, after a moment.
"I love you too," Faith said. "I'm right here, honey. I'm always right here."
"We lost, baby," Buffy said, her voice cracking now, as she began to cry again. "It's...it's all over. We lost. I let everybody down. I screwed it all up."
Faith looked down into her eyes.
"We're in this together, so I don't wanna hear any more talk like that, okay, lover?" Faith said. "You didn't screw anything up. Maybe we did, but dwelling on it won't help so we're not gonna dwell on it. Instead of thinking about what we lost, we're gonna focus on what we still have. We still have each other. And we still have our friends. We're gonna find 'em, right after we find Joyce. Then we're gonna come up with a plan. Okay, my love?"
"Okay," Buffy whispered, with tears running down her cheeks.
Faith took Buffy's hand, and held their hands up together.
"This right here?" Faith said, and squeezed Buffy's hand hard. "Nothing is stronger than this. This dark, those vamps, the Horsemen, the First...this is stronger than all of 'em."
Buffy nodded. Faith kissed Buffy's tears away, and then she stood up, and pulled Buffy up with her.
The cemetery was silent, and cold. Faith took Buffy in her arms, and kissed her hand again, softly, tenderly. Faith's lips were warm on Buffy's skin.
"My love," Faith whispered.
"Forever," Buffy whispered back, and kissed Faith's hand, and managed a smile.
"Ready to save the world?" Faith said.
Buffy nodded.
"Lets go," Faith said, and turned and darted off into the night. Buffy followed her.
"What if the car's totaled?" Buffy said, as they sprinted beside each other, barely able to see where they were going. The cemetery was shades of gray and black; Buffy could make out a tree here and there, but only because its branches were moving with the wind; she could make out tombstones and crypts, but only when she was nearly upon them. "The way we plowed into those vamps, who knows if the car will even work anymore?"
"If it doesn't then we go to plan B," Faith said. "I can hotwire cars, we'll just have to steal one. But I figure Angel's ride can stand up to some punishment. It's from 1967. They made cars different then. The thing's a big hunk of metal."
"A big black hunk of metal and I have no idea where the hell it is. I can't see a frigging thing out here. Can you see it anywhere?"
"No, but I got an idea where it is, when I crashed it into the vamps it was...there," Faith said, pointing. She sped up, running at top speed now. Buffy kept pace. After a moment she saw crypts ahead, and then she could just barely make out the car's bumper.
When they reached the car they saw that its grill was buckled, one headlight was cracked, the fender was hanging off, the hood had a good dent and all that was left of the windshield were a few pieces of jagged glass. Faith tore the fender off with one hand and tossed it away, then she jumped in the driver's side.
"Think we might have to go to plan B?" Buffy said. "The front looks all scrunchy."
"Nah," Faith said, as she punched out what was left of the windshield. "Hell, the General Lee took twice this punishment every damn week and it always drove fine."
"The General what?" Buffy said.
Faith started the car. The GTX started right up and purred like a cat.
"Dukes of Hazzard," Faith said, and smiled. "I got a lot of work to do on you, girl. Gotta make you like, cultured." Faith turned on the headlights, put the car in reverse, spun it around so fast Buffy was knocked into her lap, and peeled out of there.
"Is that the show about like these two redneck guys in the race car always being chased around by that goofy sheriff?" Buffy said. "And they're like, constantly jumping the car over stuff and shooting stuff and saying 'Yee-hah'?"
"Damn straight," Faith said, and decided to slow down. Even with the headlights it was hard to see obstacles until she was practically on top of them and she couldn't risk damaging the car. "Show's a classic. Bo was a hottie."
"I think Xander made me watch it a couple of times. It's got that pretty girl who always wears the really short cut-off jeans, right?"
"Daisy. But she's not as pretty as you," Faith said, and caressed Buffy's cheek, as Buffy rested her head in her lap. "Okay, so where's L.A.? Point me at it, girlfriend."
"At the gate take a right, we'll pick up the highway in awhile and then we head south."
"How long a trip we talking?"
"L.A.'s about ninety miles. Figure a couple hours to get there."
"If we're lucky with traffic we can cut down on that with these wheels. We haven't done anywhere close to this thing's..."
They made it to the cemetery gate. Faith suddenly stopped the car.
The road outside was deserted, and silent. But there was something in the air...they both felt it...at the edge of their senses...
Buffy was sitting up now, her whole body taut.
"What is that?" Faith whispered. "It's...I can just barely feel it, but...I can't get a bead on it."
"I don't know," Buffy said, sniffing the air, and letting her senses reach out. "It's...like a vibe, like there's something out there in the dark...like it's everywhere, all around us..."
To Faith, it felt like something was brushing against her...running its fingers over her skin. It was the darkness, but it was something else, too... something the darkness was carrying with it.
A roar suddenly erupted out of Faith: she showed her teeth, and growled and snapped her head around, biting at the air like she was surrounded by unseen enemies. The hairs on her arms were standing up. Faith felt her: the lion, stalking back and forth inside her, scratching at her...the lion wanted to be free, and Faith was having a hard time controlling her. The lion wanted to roar, and find some prey animal and run it down and pounce on it...slash it to pieces with her claws, tear its throat out with her teeth...
The lion wanted kills. But Faith knew she needed to control the lion tonight. She needed to think tactically.
Faith tried to keep the lion in her cage. But the lion was scratching at her...
Faith roared again, and bared her teeth. Saliva dripped down her lips.
And then Buffy's voice was in her ear.
"Sshhh, baby," Buffy whispered, and ran her fingers through Faith's hair, and kissed her cheek.
Faith focused on Buffy's voice...on her warm breath caressing her neck. She focused on Buffy's scent. The lion focused on it too. The lion wanted kills, but she wanted Buffy more. She always did.
"Sshhh," Buffy said, again. "I need you with me now, baby. You have to stay with me now, okay?"
As Buffy ran her fingers through Faith's hair, and whispered secret things in her ear, Faith's roar became a series of soft growls. After another moment the growls faded, until all that was left of them was a low rumble welling up from Faith's stomach.
Buffy slid her hand beneath Faith's shirt, and rubbed her belly. The rumble gave way to purrs.
"That's my baby," Buffy whispered in Faith's ear, as she caressed her hair, and rubbed her belly. "That's my baby."
Faith and the lion inside her met and came to terms. Together they decided that the lion would wait. They agreed that Rebecca was always right, and that Rebecca would want them to think tactically now. But the lion made Faith promise that she would have kills, and soon.
It was an uneasy truce, and Faith wasn't sure how long it would last. But it would hold for now. She was able to think again. She came back to herself.
Faith took a right out of the cemetery and got the car going as fast as she dared down the dark, deserted road. The car's headlights helped a little, but this darkness wasn't normal...the headlights were swallowed up by it, somehow...
"Are you okay, baby?" Buffy whispered, still caressing her hair.
Faith nodded, and took Buffy's hand, and kissed it.
"It's this dark," Faith said. "It's...it's like it gets inside, y'know? Like it's doing stuff to us. You runnin' around blind back there, me gettin' all crazy just then..."
"Yeah," Buffy said. "It's like...I think we're sensing stuff, but it's like... subliminal, maybe?"
"What's subliminal mean?"
"It's stuff that people's brains can sense without people realizing they noticed it. In my communications class they talked about subliminal advertising, where they like, embed hidden images in billboards and stuff, and even though we don't notice them, we notice them subconsciously. They can do it with sound, too. There's sounds people can pick up on without realizing they heard them..."
"Yeah, I get it. Becca said something like that about Tara cards. Like, when you shuffle a deck of Tara cards, they work on your subconscious? And even though you don't think you noticed the way you shuffled 'em, you really did notice, but just like, subconsciously. This dark...it's pushing our buttons. It's carrying something with it...it's got stuff inside it. It's like...it almost feels like there's a scent out there I should be picking up, like I know it's there, but I just can't get a bead on it...like it's all around me. It's got me all jacked up, like, nervous isn't the right word, but...but I just feel..."
The wind battered them, icy and relentless. Faith put the top back up. Without the windshield it wasn't really any help against the cold, but they didn't feel quite so exposed now at least.
"Like we're being hunted," Buffy said.
"Yeah," Faith said.
"How much longer to the highway?" Faith said.
They had been driving down the dark road for a few minutes now, and the wind was battering them, and they felt the cold all the way down to their bones, and the endless night felt like it was closing in. Faith knew they weren't going anywhere near as fast as the GTX was capable of, but the headlights couldn't make much headway into the darkness and she was worried about getting into an accident. They had the radio on; the radio announcer was saying that the Mayor was confident the situation would be under control soon, and that people should remain calm and stay in their houses...
But Buffy and Faith could smell smoke now, and they could see golden light flickering against the clouds in a few different places, and they knew there were fires burning...
Not all the radio stations seemed to be broadcasting. Two of them had been nothing but static when Buffy turned the dial. The car's antenna was fine.
"Another minute or so," Buffy said. "But we gotta be careful and make sure we don't miss the--"
They both smelled it at the same time.
Blood...
"LOOK OUT!" Buffy screamed, and grabbed the wheel and yanked it to the left, as a car suddenly appeared directly ahead of them, right in the middle of the road. They barely avoided crashing into it, but Faith was having a hard time controlling the car now; it fishtailed into the trees on the other side of the road as Faith wrestled with the steering wheel and hit the brakes. She didn't hit the brakes too hard; Faith knew if she did they would both be thrown from the car like someone had punted a football. She tapped the brakes, trying to keep the car steady, as they barreled into the woods. The trees were tall Redwoods without any low branches, so the car actually made some headway through the woods before it hit anything, and Faith had a few more precious seconds to reduce their speed...
Buffy thought she heard someone shouting her name.
She felt cold, and she had a headache. Her back hurt.
"Buffy!" someone shouted, again.
Buffy opened her eyes. She felt dizzy, and a little nauseous. Her vision was blurry. Faith's scent came to her.
When her vision cleared, Buffy saw Faith leaning over her, lit by one of the car's headlights. The other one wasn't working.
Faith ran her fingers through Buffy's hair, and held her hand, and looked down into her eyes. Faith had a bloody scratch on her cheek, and she was crying.
"Baby...?" Buffy whispered. "You're...bleeding."
Faith kissed her, and took her in her arms.
"I love you, I love you, I love you," Faith whimpered, her voice wracked with sobs. "I love you, I love you."
"Love you too," Buffy said. It was hard to concentrate for some reason... hard to put sentences together. "You...hurt, baby?"
Faith shook her head. "But I thought...when I saw you I thought...I got scared," she said.
Buffy smiled, and wiped Faith's tears away.
"I'm okay," Buffy said, and sat up. She looked around. She was on the hood of the car. The hood looked like an accordion, and there was smoke coming from it. Buffy didn't know much about cars but she was pretty sure that was bad. The radio was still on. The announcer was saying that riot police had been dispatched downtown, and that reports were coming in of rioting in other cities...
"Car back there," Buffy said. Sitting up made her dizziness worse. She held on to Faith's hand. "Should...check it out." Buffy felt like she was going to vomit. She held it back. "There was...smelled...blood."
"Yeah," Faith said, looking down carefully into her eyes, and stroking her hair. She helped Buffy off the hood of the car. Buffy stumbled and nearly fell, when her feet touched the ground. Faith held her up.
"You're hurt," Faith said, her voice shaky again, and hugged her. "My girl's... my girl's hurt."
Faith started to cry again.
Then she thought about Rebecca, and stopped herself. She knew she had to be strong now. People needed her...Buffy needed her.
She went back to the garden. Rebecca was there, kneeling in the dirt in a tee-shirt and a pair of jeans, with a little shovel in her hand; she was planting flower seeds, and smiling.
Rebecca was wearing a Ziggy Stardust tee-shirt. It was old and faded.
"You find that thing in like an archaeological dig?" Faith said.
"The 1970's," Rebecca said. She raised her eyebrow. "So, yes."
"Who's the guy?"
"David Bowie. Quite possibly the most gorgeous man on Earth."
"He looks all..." Faith looked closely at the tee-shirt. It was so faded the image was difficult to make out. "He's like...all kinda gothy." She frowned.
"There were no goths in the 1970s. Bowie was one of a kind. And you should know that if he had so much as snapped his fingers I would've followed him to the ends of the Earth in those days. Or at least to his bedroom."
Faith laughed. "Had it bad for the guy, huh? But what about Mel Gibson? Mel would get all jealous."
"Yes, I suppose I would've had to try them both. So I could make an informed decision."
They laughed...
"Okay," Faith said. "We'll check that car real quick, but then we gotta get goin', okay?"
"Yeah."
Faith took Buffy's hand and walked her back down the road toward the car they had nearly hit. After a few steps Buffy seemed stronger, and she walked without stumbling. Faith knew the car was close; she could smell the blood. But she couldn't see the car in that pitch-black night; the harsh, white glare from the one working headlight on Angel's car was a match in a coal mine. It made the blackness surrounding her a little less than absolute but she could still barely see five feet in front of her. There were no sounds. There were no crickets chirping. The wind had died down. Even the sound of their footfalls was muffled. It felt like walking under water; Faith could discern vague shapes, and there was a pressure all around her, like the darkness itself was heavy, and trying to crush her. And the world was silent.
They came upon the car. It was an old station wagon, and there was another car in front of it; an SUV. Buffy and Faith separated, and inspected the cars.
Faith looked through the driver's side window of the SUV. It was too dark inside the car to see, but the motor was running...
Faith tuned in to her nose. She wasn't picking up anyone in the car.
Buffy couldn't see the dead body on top of the station wagon's hood, but she could smell it. It was a man. She felt shards of glass on the hood, and she stepped on them as she moved around the car; the man had been thrown through the windshield.
"Head-on collision," Buffy said. "Guy here got thrown through the windshield."
"Yeah," Faith said. She didn't need to ask if the man was dead; she could smell it. "No one in my car."
The driver's side door to the SUV was locked. Faith walked around the car and tried all four doors; they were all locked. She ran her hands over the windows, since she couldn't see whether any of them were open; they were all shut tight. She went back to the front of the car and ran her hands over the windshield. It was undamaged; whoever was driving it hadn't been thrown from the car by the collision.
The car seemed intact. Faith went back to the driver's side and smashed the window with her elbow. She unlocked the door, and tried the car's headlights. They worked. When Faith looked over at the station wagon, she wished they hadn't.
The headlights were harsh; they were indelicate. The darkness had allowed the dead body to keep its dignity. It had entombed the body, like a coffin. Now, the body was revealed. The scene reminded Faith of all those hospital examining rooms she'd been forced into when she was a little girl; they were bright, ugly, sterile places. The light in those rooms probed you, tried to take something from you.
Faith thought there was something obscene about it, as she looked at the body in the cold, white, unrelenting glare of the headlights. She wanted to put a blanket over the body. She wanted to tell the man, whoever he was, that she was sorry for seeing him this way...sorry she had forced him to reveal this to her.
The station wagon's front end was completely crushed. The dead body was lying halfway over the hood. The man had shards of glass from the windshield sticking out of his face. Buffy was standing over him, looking down silently at him. She gently closed his eyes.
Faith inspected the SUV again, walking all the way around it. It hadn't taken nearly as much damage as the station wagon; one side of the front end was caved in a little but the engine was running fine. By the dashboard light she saw the key in the ignition. She tried to figure out how someone could have locked the car with the motor still running and then walked away from it with the key still in the ignition.
She turned on the car's interior light. When she did, she noticed that the driver's seatbelt was still buckled. And there were clothes tangled up in it: a skirt and a blouse, a bra and panties, pantyhose. A bracelet. Earrings.
There were shoes down by the pedals. One shoe was on the gas pedal, and the other was over to the left of the brake...exactly where they would have been when whoever had worn them was driving. The pantyhose were still sticking out of the shoes, and stretched all the way up to the seat, and inside the skirt.
"What the hell...?" Faith whispered.
"Just the one guy here," Buffy said. "Car's totaled, I think. What have you got?"
"Questions," Faith said.
She looked back at Buffy...
She saw Buffy collapse to her knees in the middle of the road.
"Buffy!" Faith shouted, and ran to her. She knelt down beside her, and took her in her arms. Buffy vomited on the ground.
"Baby," Buffy whispered, and leaned her head on Faith's shoulder. "Sick all of a sudden. Feel all...dizzy...pukey. Everything's...blurry."
"I'm right here, honey," Faith whispered, and kissed her forehead.
"Love...my baby," Buffy whispered. Faith touched her cheek. Buffy's skin was pale and clammy. She was shivering.
"You're banged up, honey. I think you have like a concussion, maybe," Faith said. She took off her red leather coat--the one Buffy had given her, for her birthday. She wrapped it around Buffy like a blanket. She looked at Buffy's head, gently moving her fingers through her hair. There was no blood, at least. "We gotta get you to a hospital."
Buffy shook her head.
"My Mom," Buffy whispered. "Gotta...find her. Please, baby."
"Yeah," Faith said. "But we're getting you to a hospital right after, okay?"
"I'll be okay," Buffy whispered. She huddled against Faith as they knelt in the road together.
Faith stood up, and lifted Buffy in her arms.
"I'm gonna keep you warm, honey," Faith whispered, and kissed her.
Buffy nodded, and closed her eyes. A moment later, she was asleep.
Faith stood in the middle of the road, in the darkness, and held Buffy in her arms. She looked up at the sky. It was black, except for the parts where she could see a hint of golden light...from the fires.
The world was silent, except for the radio in Angel's car. The announcer was saying something about the National Guard, and rioting...and disappearances.
Faith looked down at Buffy, sleeping in her arms. Buffy hardly seemed to weigh anything at all now; it was like holding a baby.
Faith ignored the radio. She focused in on Buffy's breathing instead...on her heartbeat. She took in her scent.
"I love you," Faith said. "If you ever died? I'd die too, Buffy. I'd die too."
"Goddess," Tara whispered.
She was in her little Honda civic hatchback with Angel, making the best possible speed they could toward Giles' house.
Sunnydale was burning.
Tara smelled the smoke, and heard the sirens, and she saw the sky lit with gold in a dozen places...
The Mayor is urging all residents to remain calm, stay indoors, and allow the police and fire departments to do their jobs, the radio announcer was saying. The police are out in full force, and the Mayor is confident the rioting downtown will be brought under--
"How come you turned it off?" Tara said. "I mean...shouldn't we be listening for news?"
"We won't get anything useful from the radio," Angel said. "Not like they're gonna announce that vampires are running loose all over the world. According to the authorities we don't exist. Take this right. And drive faster."
"Wait...we don't exist? What?" Tara said, and took the turn. She signaled first.
"Who are you signaling to?"
"Uh...okay, good point."
"I didn't mean you don't exist. I meant I don't exist. I'm a vampire. I'm the monster under the bed. Most people think I don't exist."
"Oh yeah. I, um, sort of forget you're a vampire sometimes. Well if it makes you feel better I think you exist."
"Thanks."
"Sure. So...now what? I mean...wh-what's the plan again, exactly?"
"We get Willow, Giles and Xander, go back to Buffy's house and wait for her call."
"They're gonna call? I mean...they're...y-you think they're...okay?"
Angel looked at her. Tara's face was pale. She leaned forward in her seat and held on so tight to the steering wheel her knuckles were white.
"They'll call," Angel said. "Believe me, Buffy can take care of..."
His voice trailed off.
"What is it?" Tara said.
"Listen," Angel said. "I want you to just keep driving. Don't stop for lights, don't stop for anything you might see or hear unless I tell you to stop. Okay?"
"Are you like, sensing something? You told me you have like, super vampire senses, right?"
"I can hear screams. The closer we get to downtown...the more screaming I can hear."
He didn't tell Tara what else he was sensing...that there was something about this darkness...something strange...
Angel felt it, on his skin...like it was trying to slither inside him. The darkness felt cold...it made him feel cold inside.
"That's...okay, can I just say that you're really spectacularly bad at making me feel better?" Tara said. "Spectacularly."
"Bang a left at that set of lights down the street," Angel said. "We're gonna start to see people soon, and some vampires. I need you not to freak out. Just keep driving and don't stop unless I tell you to."
"Okay so like, how d-do you people do this? This s-saving the world thing? 'Cuz I feel like...like...like my whole body's shaking and I'm gonna, gonna just shake myself apart and...like I can hardly breathe."
Angel looked at her again. Tara had a tear in her eye. He could hear her heart beating, much too fast.
He put his hand on her shoulder.
"There's no rulebook, Tara," he said. "We muddle through. We make it up as we go along. The important thing is to keep our heads. We keep our heads and take it one step at a time. We're gonna get Willow, Giles and Xander and bring them back to Buffy's place. Then once Buffy calls we figure our next move. Until then we hold on. Okay?"
Tara nodded.
"And I protect you," Angel said.
"Okay," Tara said, and smiled. "So...how much farther?"
"It's just..." Angel started to say, when his voice suddenly trailed off again.
"What?" Tara said, and glanced over at him. "Spider sense tingling again?"
"Vampires," Angel said, sitting up in his seat and looking around. "They're close..."
"Um...how close?" Tara checked all the mirrors, and held on to the steering wheel tighter.
"There are too many of them...I'm picking up vampire scents everywhere now, all around. It's hard to pinpoint--"
"Do you--AAAAAAAA!"
Tara swerved up on to the sidewalk, as a pack of five vampires suddenly ran out from around the corner and sprang at the car, snarling like wolves.
"DRIVE!" Angel shouted, as he grabbed his battle axe from the backseat.
With shaking hands, Tara managed to get the car back on the street and up to speed. But when she glanced behind her she screamed again, as she saw the vampires running after the car and actually keeping pace with it...
"Get this bucket moving!" Angel shouted, as he leaned out the window and punched a vampire in the face. It sent the vampire tumbling away down the street. But the other four were still keeping pace...
As Tara stomped on the gas, she heard what sounded like two heavy objects hitting the roof of the car.
"What the hell was that now?!" she shouted, looking up at the roof.
"Balls," Angel muttered, as he glanced back down the street. He saw the vampire he had punched still tumbling away down the block, another one trying to keep pace but falling behind as the car pulled away, and a third climbing up on to the trunk. That left two more...
Angel opened the door.
"What are you doing?!" Tara screamed.
"Just keep driving," Angel said. "There are vampires on the roof. No big deal. I'll handle it."
"You'll handle it?" Tara said. She could hear vampires growling somewhere above her head now. "There are vampires on the roof? You'll handle vampires on the roof?!"
"It's no big deal," Angel said, and leaned out the door, holding it open with one hand while he held his battle axe in the other.
"No big deal?! We're going like sixty and there are vampires on the roof! You're gonna just jump out of a moving car? And there are vampires! On the roof!"
"Not for much longer."
"Wait! You can't just...just jump out of a moving car! People don't jump out of moving cars! It's...it's...it's just not done!"
"Bear right at the second set of lights by the way," Angel said, as a clawed fist punched straight down through the roof between them. Tara screamed again, and nearly swerved off the road.
"I'll handle it," Angel said. "Just keep this thing steady!"
"But--!"
"Uh...and try not to take any sharp turns."
"But--!"
Angel flipped himself on to the roof with one hand.
"BUT--!" he heard Tara shouting, as he crouched down on the roof and leaned over and slammed the door shut.
"Remember, no sharp turns!" Angel shouted, as he stood to face the three vampires who were crouched on the roof and the trunk of the car, snarling at him. "No sudden stops, either."
"You're on the roof now?" Tara shouted, leaning her head out the window and trying to crane her neck around so she could see him.
"Watch the road," Angel said, as he stood perfectly balanced atop a car traveling at over sixty miles an hour, and faced three vampires who wanted to rip his throat out.
"Angelus," one of the vampires snarled, and smiled. All three of the vampires looked like wolves, with red eyes and snout noses and pointed ears. Their clothes were dirty rags.
Each had a tattoo on his right hand: a serpent devouring its tail.
"Name's Angel, actually," Angel said. "Guess you're those Saint Vigeous guys, huh?"
"Why do you protect these animals?" the vampire who had just spoken said. He was the largest and meanest-looking of the three. But he seemed genuinely curious when he asked the question.
"Beats staying home and watching hockey, I guess. The Flyers are having a lousy year anyway."
"They say you have a soul," the vampire said. He spat the word out.
"And a twinkle in my eye, and a song in my heart," Angel said, and smiled.
The vampire chuckled. The other two sneered.
"And this," Angel said, and held up his battle axe. And smiled.
Angel adjusted his balance as the car took a right at the lights. Tara slowed down as she did it.
"Um, are you still okay up there?" Angel heard Tara saying.
"I'm fine," Angel said. "You wanna keep going straight for awhile until you see the movie theater on your right, then take that left."
"Okay, Starsky," Tara said.
"What?"
"Uh, Starsky and Hutch? It's like a TV show about these two cop guys who like drive this big car and...um...forget it. Are you fighting? I don't hear fighting."
"Right now we're doing the threatening banter part. They try to impress me with how evil they are, I make a few witty rejoinders. Then we fight."
"I don't believe my life," Tara muttered, and concentrated on keeping the car steady.
"You're a fool, Angelus," the vampire who had spoken before said. "A fool for protecting these prey animals. And a fool for fighting on when the battle is lost."
"Yeah, you know what it is?" Angel said. "I just really, really don't like you guys."
The other two vampires sprang at Angel, while the one who had been talking watched. Angel beheaded the first vampire in mid-air, spun out of the way of the second as the first exploded into dust, grabbed the second by the ankle as it passed, spun around again, and hurled it away from the car.
"Okay, he's at the fighting part," Tara said, as she saw the vampire fly spinning through the air across the street and slam into a wall.
"We're at the fighting part now," Angel said.
"Could we skip to the you get back in the car part soon?" Tara said.
The last vampire smiled again, and stood up.
"We have all the time in the world, Angelus," the vampire said, and somersaulted backwards through the air. He landed gracefully in the middle of the street as the car sped away from him.
"But your time is almost up!" the vampire shouted after them, and laughed, and walked away.
Angel watched him for a moment, as the car slowed down. He let his senses reach out.
He smelled smoke, and heard screams. He smelled vampires. The air was cold; it chilled him. He felt it in his bones.
At an intersection three blocks behind them, a woman was being chased down by two vampires. Her screams hung in the air. Her scent came to Angel; he could smell her fear. The vampires laughed as they ran her down.
Angel knew he couldn't stop to help her...he needed to get to Willow and Giles and Xander.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
The car was still slowing down.
"Keep the speed up, Tara," Angel said. "There are still a lot of vamps around and I'd rather we were a moving target."
Tara didn't respond.
"Tara," Angel said, and crouched down near the passenger side and pulled the door open. "Keep the car steady. And speed up. We're almost--"
The car was veering left now, but there was no left turn to take...
Angel looked down into the car.
Tara was gone.
"What the HELL?!" Angel shouted, and jumped into the car. He leaned over to the driver's side and grabbed the steering wheel, just barely wrestling the car back under control again before it drove up on to the sidewalk. He slammed on the brakes, and put it in park.
Tara's blouse and jeans were still there, on the front seat. Her sneakers were down by the pedals; one was still on the gas pedal. Tara's socks were sticking out of her sneakers.
The silver necklace with the crystal pendant that Tara wore was there on the front seat too, on top of her blouse. The crystal glowed for a few seconds, and then faded. That crystal had always been warm, before; warmer than the temperature around it. Angel's heightened senses could feel its warmth.
It wasn't warm now.
Angel picked up the necklace, and got out of the car.
He stood completely motionless in the middle of the street. He let his senses reach out...
He couldn't detect Tara's scent anywhere except in the car. Her scent was nowhere else...nowhere else in the world.
She was gone.